Patch 0.21 Fresh Slate and 0.21.1 Deep Winter

Version 0.21, titled Fresh Slate, is dated 29 Oct 2026 in the client changelog. The public client fetched on 30 Oct 2026 also includes the newer 0.21.1 Deep Winter hotfix below; both entries are dated 29 Oct in the changelog. Every class on every bracket was set back to 1500. The minimum win gain is 16 up to 1500, tapering to 6 at 2500 and 2 at 3000. These are floors, not fixed payouts. A loss is at most −18. Even teams still use the 16-point win. An upset still pays the full amount. I am quoting those steps from the changelog, not from a ladder I climbed.

The queue tries to separate healers when possible. An extra healer waits only while another player can take that place; otherwise the match proceeds. A premade party chooses its own healers and they are excluded from this balancing rule. This is not a one-healer cap. This is a change to the split that started in 0.16, not the first time the game noticed healers. Read the rating page if you only want the ladder rules.

Long control now releases your previous target when you cast that same spell on a new enemy. This applies to Polymorph, Fear, Cyclone, Sap, Hex, Repentance, Blind and Seduction. It is a per-caster, per-spell rule, not a blanket ban on teammates controlling different targets. That matters for 3v3 setups that used to chain two sheeps.

Subtlety gained a real pass. Shadow Focus costs 40% less during Shadow Dance. Premeditation’s cooldown increases from 20 to 30 seconds, but it can now be used outside stealth and Shadow Dance as well. This is not an across-the-board buff. Waylay slows by 30% for 8 seconds from every combo builder. Backstab is listed at 440, Hemorrhage at 245, and Ghostly Strike at 240. Those are changelog figures. See the rogue page.

Hunters: Kill Command is 345 damage on an 8-second cooldown, and Spirit Mend is 500 over 6 seconds. Aimed Shot makes Auto Shot wait. Paladins: Hammer of Wrath is 560 on an 8-second cooldown, and Execution Sentence is 840. The interface binds F1 to you and F2 and F3 to teammates, lets you bind the mouse wheel, toggles fullscreen with Alt+Enter, and lets you drag the utility bar. Chat can pin a GM notice. AltGr and Mac Option characters type again, Windows can paste with Ctrl+V, and Alt+Enter no longer opens chat by mistake.

0.21.1 Deep Winter: public client notes

The official WebAssembly file fetched on 30 Oct 2026 contains this newer entry, dated 29 Oct 2026 inside the changelog. Its file timestamp is 30 Oct; neither date proves what every live server is running. Single source: the official client text.

When the server is full, sign-in now uses a waiting line with position and estimated wait. Reconnecting within three minutes bypasses it. While people are waiting, an idle player in town is logged out after 20 minutes with a two-minute warning; match queues count as activity and matches are never interrupted for this rule. A short sign-in countdown can also occur after restarts.

Auto attacks pause during channels. Frostbolt costs less mana; Ice Lance no longer breaks roots; Icy Veins also speeds up the global cooldown. Water Elemental replaces Ring of Frost, and players who had Ring of Frost selected need to choose the new talent. Rogue Stealth and Feral Prowl no longer slow movement. Both rogue specs gain Deadly Throw, and Hunter Auto Shot also waits during Revive Pet.