Heroes Battlegrounds just dropped a winter update, and even though it looks small at first glance, it actually changes a lot about how some of the most popular characters play. The biggest spotlight is on the Dabi rework, but the update also added new finishers, ultimate themes, limited Christmas content, and some global balance changes that affect every fight.
Heroes Battlegrounds Christmas Update – Dabi Rework, Finishers
Let’s break everything down so you know exactly what changed and how it impacts your gameplay.
Limited Christmas Content and Game Modes
This update added several festive game modes and rewards that are only available for a limited time.
New modes include King of the Hill, Reverse Tag, Santa’s Sleigh, and Snowball Storm. These modes rotate in and give you a fresh way to play the game while grinding Christmas rewards and emotes from the Christmas Shop.
There is also a redeemable holiday code:
Code: 2025CHRISTMAS
This code gives you free rewards and is worth claiming before it expires.
Dabi (Azer Flames) Full Rework Breakdown
Dabi received the largest number of changes in this update, and his kit feels noticeably different now.
All of his move visual effects were reworked except Infernal Burn, giving his attacks a much cleaner and heavier impact look. Several abilities were also adjusted for balance and combo flow.
Here are the important changes:
Azur Grab now has a longer cooldown. The old grab tech was removed, but knockback is now a guaranteed combo extender unless your opponent ragdoll cancels. You can no longer extend it using forward dash.
Infernal Burn now pulls enemies toward you when they are standing normally. If they are already ragdolled, it knocks them away instead. This makes it far better for starting or continuing combos.
Ember Eruption received a slight cooldown reduction, allowing it to be used more frequently.
Ember Assault received a cooldown increase, meaning you will need to be more careful with how you use it.
Infernal Burn is now blockable at close range but remains unblockable at long range, which adds more counterplay during close-quarters fights.
All of Dabi’s V1 move damage values were adjusted for balance, and Ember Assault now has reduced block lag, making it smoother to use in pressure situations.
Dabi also received a brand new finisher cutscene for Ember Assault, which is one of the cleanest base-move finishers currently in the game.
Split Ice (Todoroki Variant) New Finisher
Split Ice Mastery received a brand-new finisher for Flash Tempo. The animation locks the enemy in place and ends with a clean knockout sequence. It does not change gameplay performance, but it adds serious style points and makes finishing opponents much more satisfying.
Jet Engine (Full Throttle) New Finishers and Ultimate Theme
Jet Engine received two new finishers and an ultimate theme.
Aerial Turbine Drive now has a fast, clean aerial finisher that glides you across the enemy.
Aerial Ground Slam also received a new finisher with a heavier, more brutal animation.
Jet Engine now has a custom ultimate theme that plays music when activating his ultimate, making his transformation feel far more dramatic.
Human Architect Ultimate Theme
Human Architect also received a new ultimate theme that plays during ultimate activation. It does not last the entire duration, but it adds cinematic impact to his power-up.
Global Balance and System Changes
Several universal balance changes were applied across the game:
All punch damage has been reduced by one, making raw M1 trading slightly less dominant.
Networking was improved for smoother combat.
All ultimate dashes were buffed. They now travel farther and have shorter cooldowns, giving ultimates more mobility and aggression potential.
Down slam end-lag was increased.
Players can no longer use emotes while airborne.
Camera transitions during cutscenes were improved.
Even though this looks like a smaller update on the surface, it makes meaningful changes to how Dabi plays, adds fresh style content for multiple characters, and improves overall combat flow with global balance tweaks. If you main Azer Flames, you will immediately feel the combo changes and cooldown adjustments, while Jet Engine and Split Ice players get some of the cleanest finishers added so far.
Between the limited Christmas modes, new finishers, ultimate themes, and balance improvements, this update quietly does a lot more than it first appears.