In a technical alpha, nothing is safe and everything's on the table.

Blizzard is waist-deep in development for Heroes of the Storm. They're running a technical alpha, which means big changes and constant flux are a given.

"... the Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha is the earliest in a development cycle that we've ever invited the community to test one of our games. It's an opportunity for us to try new ideas in their infancy, and work with all of you to help us make a better game."

After listening to feedback, the latest changes are to Artifacts and Talents.

Artifacts

They Are: Purchasable, persistent items which improved your character. (think LoL runes)

Blizzard Wanted: "...to provide you with a meaningful way to spend gold, while also providing additional options to customize your heroes."

People Said: Issues with "fairness, 'correct build', balance, new player tension,..."

Result: Removed! Blizzard says they'll find something else meaningful to spend gold on.
 

Per-Hero Talent Unlocks

They Are: Unlockable passives and ability mods, that modify as you level up.

Blizzard Wanted: "...to gradually expose new players to heroes and their talents, with meaningful progression that could be obtained relatively quickly on a per-hero basis."

People Said: Progression – unlocking talents at 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 20 – is too slow!

Result: Progression sped up! "... reaching hero level 4 will be more than three times faster than the original implementation. Unlocking all talents on a hero can be done in as few as three games with friends in versus mode."
 

Colt "ShdwFlm" Casey
Deputy Editor