If you're an avid fan of titles like Overwatch, World of Warcraft or Heroes of the Storm, you might be interested to know that Blizzard's Battle.net client has received a pretty major upgrade.
The latest Battle.net update brings the client more in line with what you might expect to see from voice, text and now video chat client Discord. The update includes the all-new Battle.net "Social" tab and a host of other small tweaks to the client itself.
Within the new Social tab, users will have access to Discord-like Groups which contain chat channels, customizable player profiles and a new player avatar feature that was previously only available to Battle.net Beta users. Players will be able to select from over a hundred pre-made avatar options although it's not currently possible to upload custom images.
While player profiles don't offer quite the level of personal customization that you might expect from a major platform like Steam, you'll be able to toggle various Battle.net games for display on your public profile, share relevant social media links and even add a personal touch to your new "About" section.
Similar to Steam, Battle.net users are now able to send gifts to their friends within the client itself. To accept a gift, you simply click on your profile name and select the "View Gifts" option which opens up a menu where you can individually claim gifts you're interested in. To send a gift, simply select the Gift option when purchasing something and choose the recipient's name from a drop-down list.
Gifts can presumably include just about anything you can purchase via Battle.net although Blizzard only mentioned Overwatch's Loot Boxes and Hearthstone's Card Packs as examples.
Though the Social tab's similarities to Discord are clear, there is one important difference between the two. While you can still create private, leader/moderator-only chat channels in Battle.net, Discord's separate voice and text channels have essentially been merged here. When you join a chat channel, you simply click the small headphones icon above the Group's user list to initiate voice chat within that channel.