Published on February 12, 2020
Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.
** In regards to his trait, we want optimal play for Cho’gall to be to have Gall’s Ogre Rage be active most of the time, with emergency switches to Cho’s Ogre Hide when he is in danger. There are a few talents on Cho’galls tree that disincentivize this behavior, which we are adjusting now. Calloused Hide in particular was becoming an issue, as players have recently been finding it optimal to stay in Ogre Hide for the entire game, which removes the gameplay around the trait.
Calloused Hide [Trait]
Enraged Regeneration [Trait]
** In keeping in line with our changes to Cho, we’re adjusting Ogre Rampage to have a design that better matches how we want Cho’gall to manage his trait.
Ogre Rampage [Trait]
** Fenix has a fairly good talent tree, but we found some room to improve some of his talents. Inhibiting Energy in particular will now give him the ability to permanently Slow enemy Heroes provided he can keep hitting them with Phase Bomb, which should be a fun addition to what he can potentially bring to his team.
Inhibiting Energy [W]
Emergency Protocal [Trait]
Rapid Recharge [Trait]
** These are minor tuning changes intended to help Jaina’s build diversity. Ice Floes in particular is in a potentially powerful spot in the right situations, as when combined with Icy Veins and Northern Exposure or Numbing Blast, can do a lot of AoE damage to the enemy team in a short amount of time.
Ice Lance [Q]
Ice Floes [E]
Snowstorm [W]
** We weren’t satisfied that the changes we recently made to Maiev’s Cruel Chain talent were a clear enough win for the hero overall, so we’re going to revert the changes we made to this talent. However, we do believe that Vengeful Knives is in a better, more competitive spot compared to before, so we are keeping those changes in. ### Ranged Assassin
Cruel Chain [W]
** Uther has recently risen to the top of the ranks as the most powerful Healer in the game. Whether he’s played as a Healer or a Tank, he has proven to be a too effective at his role, so we’re reducing some of his overall power. ### Melee Assassin
General Base Stats
Hammer of Justice [E]
Holy Shock [Q]
** It’s been a long time since we made some serious changes to Zarya’s talents, so these changes should shake things up a bit for her. Plasma Shock in particular was not seeing much play, so we’re rolling its functionality into Pinpoint Accuracy, and buffing other talents on the tier to keep their competitiveness. We’re also redesigning Clear Out to give a massive cooldown reduction to Expulsion Zone instead of a radius increase, as we found the radius increase to not be the most impactful or fun Level 20 upgrade. ### Healer
Pinpoint Accuracy [Q]
Explosive Barrier [W]
To the Limit [Trait]
Hit Me [Trait]
Expulsion Zone [R2]
Plasma Shock [Q]
Clear Out [R2]
** While our recent changes to Resurrect have put Auriel in the spotlight, she has been performing a bit too well compared to other Healers for some time now. We’re reducing some of her power to keep her more in line with her peers.
General Base Stats
Sacred Sweep [Q]
Resurrect [R1]
** Similar to Orphea last patch, we’re removing a use case where it often felt like a requirement to take two talents together for their full effect. Ace in the Hole will now give Raynor the Slow that he desperately wants for its proc, and to make sure that his other Level 1 talents are competitive, we’re giving them a boost as well.
Veteran Marksman [Trait]
Ace in the Hole [Passive]
Exterminator [Passive]
Unstable Compound [Trait]
** It has been a longstanding request to make Tyrael’s trait have some more oomph to it, so we’re giving him a thematic change where he can reduce his death timer when hitting enemy Heroes. We don’t expect this to be a huge winrate bump, but we do think it makes it feel a bit better to play as the Archangel of Justice. ### Bruiser
Archangel’s Wrath [Trait]
Ardent Restoration [Passive]
Defense of the Angels [Active]
** To curb some of the frustrating gameplay where Abathur can continuously backdoor enemy Keeps, we’re reducing some of the buffs we gave to Locust Strain, as well as changing the functionality of Prolific Dispersal. While Abathur players can still do this strategy, it will be more difficult to pull off, as Abathur will have to travel to a more central location on the map to plant a Toxic Nest for vision to burrow into the enemy base.
Locust Strain [Trait]
Prolific Dispersal [W]
** Azmodan’s Level 16 All Shall Burn talents have been in a bit of an awkward spot due to competing with one another. We’re putting the talents on separate tiers and moving Trample down to Level 16, which should prove to be a powerful option for players who want a its utility at that level.
All Shall Burn [E]
Trample [Active]
Sins Grasp [E]
** It’s been a long time since we've looked at Muradin. He’s been such a staple in the meta for so long that we did not feel he needed any large changes. While minor, these buffs should help bring him back into the spotlight as a valuable member of any team.
Dwarf Toss [E]
Block [Passive]
New talent: Dwarf Block [E]
Heavy Impact [E]
** Throwing Shade has not really worked out as an interesting Quest talent, as Malthael is often in a solo lane with only one opponent. Rather than gate the benefit behind what is often an arbitrary time gate, we’re going to give him its benefits immediately. ### Support
Throwing Shade [E]
Tormented Souls [R1]
Last Rites [R2]
** We’re giving Stitches some love by slightly increasing his crowd control capabilities and moving his Level 16 talents to come online earlier in the game. Since they add a lot of power to his ability to function as a powerful front line Warrior for his team, this should help him make plays for a greater portion of the game.
Slam [W]
Patchwork Creation [Passive]
Fishing Hook [Q]
Digestive Juices [E]
Gas Flare [Passive]
Meat Hook [Q]
Pulverize [W]
Lacerate [W]
** Deathwing continues to be a force to be reckoned with, so we’re continuing to adjust his power level down. Rather than doing one fairly large set of Health, damage, and talent nerfs which can easily go overboard, we’re taking a more incremental approach.
General Base Stats
Incinerate [W]
Cataclysm [R1]
Skyfall [E]
** Mal’Ganis have been slightly too powerful for some time, so we’re toning him down a bit.
General Base Stats
Carrion Swarm [R1]
** While reasonably powerful, Rejuvenation didn’t give much feedback to the player in regards to the benefit that it provided. We’re changing the talent to have a little more visual clarity and gameplay compared to before, which should help improve its performance.
Rejuvenation [Q]
Revitalize [Trait]
Ysera’s Gift [Q]
** We like how the new Barricade is playing, but since Sgt. Hammer’s Mana tension is now fairly high, taking the talent often meant that she would very quickly run out of Mana. We’re giving it a hefty Mana cost reduction, which should make it an even more attractive pick.
Barricade [W]
General
Heroes
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