heroes Azmodan Rework Spotlight

[Stan 5,240]

The Lord of Hell will be reworked alongside Raynor in the latest Heroes of the Storm content patch.

Azmodan Rework Goals

• Solidify his role as a long-range siege character.
• Increase strength as the game progresses.
• Reduce situational nature of many of his abilities.

Rework Highlights

• Azmodan receives stacks of annihilation when killing minions or hitting Heroes with Globe Of Annihilation. Each point increases the ability's base damage. The impact area is visible sooner, allowing enemy Heroes more time to dodge when firing from long range.
• Summon Demon Warrior no longer has 2 charges baseline, but his minions have increased health and deal constant AoE damage. 
• Army of Hell allows him to summon two Demon Warriors at once.
  • Hellforged Armor (new Level 4 talent) gives armor and increased duration to Warriors and Lieutenants.
• Battleborn reduces the cooldown of his minions through auto attacks.
• All Shall Burn now has a set channeling time that will do bonus damage upon completion of the cast. The ability pairs well with certain talents.
  • Master of Destruction (Level 7 talent) damages all nearby enemies at the end of the cast and grants Annihilation for every Hero hit.
  • Hell Rift (new Level 16 talent)
    • Summons a Demon Warrior and empowers all other Demon Warriors that are currently active.
• Azmo's Black Pool (Heroic ability) has been redesigned. It's now called Tide of Sin, costs 100 Mana and has a 30-sec cooldown.
  • Activate to make the next Globe Of Annihilation cost no Mana and deal 50% more damage.
• New Talents
  • At Level 1, Azmodan has 3 new talents:
    • Greed (Q)
      • Increase the time Minions will grant Annihilation from 1.5 to 3 seconds.
      • Quest: After gaining 200 Annihilation, the damage Globe Of Annihilation deals against Minions and Mercenaries is increased by 20%.
    • Gluttony (Q)
      • Increase the number of stacks of Annihilation gained by hitting Heroes with Globe Of Annihilation from 2 to 3.
      • Quest: After gaining 200 Annihilation, each enemy hit by Globe Of Annihilation reduces its cooldown by 0.25 seconds, doubled against Heroes.
    • Wrath (Q)
      • Basic Attacks against Heroes under 75% Health grant 1 Annihilation.
        • Quest: After gaining 200 Annihilation, hitting a Hero with Globe Of Annihilation increases the damage of Azmodan's next Basic Attack against them within 4 seconds by the amount of Annihilation he has.
  • Hellforged Armor (new level 4 talent)
    • Demon Warriors and Lieutenants gain 35 Armor and last 4 seconds longer.
  • Trample (new Level 20 talent)
    • Allows Azmodan to charge in any direction for an aggressive engage or a quick escape.

Say hello to a new and improved Lord of Hell! We’re implementing a series of significant talent and gameplay updates for Azmodan with our next Heroes of the Storm patch. Watch this spotlight video to catch the highlights and a get a few tips.

[lChronosl 182]

Some changes may seem like a nerf at first glance, but I think this is a solid rework. Azmo was no on a really bad spot, anyway.

I have to say that I liked the endless All Shall Burn, but the reworked version makes more sense on a fluid game such as HotS.

[Warper 12]

New baseline “All Shall Burn” will be significantly better.

[ArtVandelay 24]

Not sure I like losing the sieging aspect of black pool.  The level 1 talents are interesting though.  I wonder how Gluttony will play on Shrine or Braxis, with all those enemy units to reduce CD on.

Curious to see how Wrath would stack up with the other two over time.

[Peaches9 15]

The Black Pool change may seem like a nerf, and i suppose it technically is, but it's a large quality of life improvement. Quite often black pool is used for one Globe Of Annihilation alone, usually when firing from over a screen away. This sequence (self-cast pool, then throw globe with your screen on the target instead of azmo) is somewhat clumsy and has two potential issues:

1. You aren't actually in globe range when you place the pool, so it goes to waste

2. You have enough mana for a pool but not the globe, so you're stuck with a pointless pool

This change eliminates both of these issues, and I feel it will make his play more fluid. This seems worth the auto attack and demon damage nerfs to me. 

In addition, the trait change is quite nice, since it makes summoning demons (which was somewhat needlessly laborious) smoother as well. These two changes, while not really balance-affecting, just seem like good design choices to me.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Peaches9
Added note about trait change.

[lChronosl 182]

Since the link on Invenglobal is down for now, I will post his new talent tree here:

Spoiler

AZMODAN

Stats

o   Health reduced from 2738 -> 2464

o   Health regen reduced from 5.7031 -> 5.1328

 

Abilities

Globe of Annihilation (Q):

o   New baseline quest

Hitting Heroes and killing minions within 1.5 seconds of being hit by Globe grants 2 stacks of Annihilation.

Each stack of Annihilation increases Globes’ damage by 1, up to 400.

o   Warning splat is now created earlier in the ability cast.

o    Range decreased from 35 to 30

o   Cast time reduced from .75 -> .5625 seconds
 

Demon Warrior (W):

o   Can now be cast while channeling All Shall Burn.

o   No longer has charges.

o   Demon Warriors now deal a small amount of damage to nearby enemies every second.

Attack damage reduced from 37 -> 28

Health increased from 365 -> 390

Move speed decreased from 4 -> 3.6

Weapon range decreased from 1.5 -> 1
 

All Shall Burn (E):

New functionality

Channel for up to 2.5 seconds on a target, dealing damage every second. If the channel lasts its full duration, deal additional damage to the target. Azmodan moves at 60% speed while channeling.

o   Cooldown increased from 6 -> 8 seconds.

o   Mana cost changed from 12/sec to 30 flat mana.

o   Range decreased from 7 -> 6


General Of Hell (Trait D):

Renamed to Demon Lieutenant

New Functionality

o   Can now be cast on the mini-map and has a small slop range.

Spawn a Demon Lieutenant at any friendly minion, merc, or Azmodan Summon for 20 seconds. The Lieutenant will cast Demonic Smite at a random nearby minion every 7 seconds, instantly killing them. Lasts 20 seconds. Can be used while channeling All Shall Burn. 60 Second cooldown.
 

Demonic Invasion (R1):

New Functionality

Calls down 8 Demon Grunts in a circle around the targeted location, dealing damage to enemies in each impact zone. Demon Grunts last for up to 8 seconds and explode when they die, dealing damage to nearby enemies.

Demon health increased from 365 -> 750

Demon health now decays over 8 seconds

Attack damage decreased from 51 -> 42

Cooldown reduced from 100 -> 90 seconds

Mana cost reduced from 100 -> 60

(New) Tide Of Sin (R2):

New functionality

Activate to cause your next Globe of Annihilation to cost no Mana and deal 50% more damage. 30-second cooldown.

---

Talents

 

Level 1

o   Taste For Blood (Q):  Removed
 

o   Sieging Wrath (Q): Removed
 

o   (New) Greed (Q):
Increases the timeframe that minion kills will grant Annihilation from 1.5 to 3 seconds. After gaining 200 stacks of Annihilation, Globe of Annihilation deals 20% increased damage to minions and mercs.
 

o   Gluttony (Q): (Moved from Level 4)
New functionality:  The amount of Annihilation granted for hitting Heroes is increased by 1. After gaining 200 stacks of Annihilation, each enemy hit by Globe reduces its cooldown by .25 seconds, doubled against heroes
 

o   (New) Wrath (Q):
Basic Attacks against Heroes under 75% health grant 1 stack of Annihilation. After gaining 200 stacks of Annihilation, Heroes hit by Globe of Annihilation take additional damage from your next Basic Attack equal to your Annihilation stacks. Lasts 4 seconds.

---

Level 4
 

o   Hellish Hirelings (Trait): Removed
 

o   Army of Hell (W):
New Functionality: Summon Demon Warrior summons an additional Warrior but its cooldown is increased by 10 seconds.
 

o   Hellforged Armor (W): (Moved from Level 13)
New Functionality: Demon Warriors and Lieutenants gain 35 armor and last 4 seconds longer.
 

o   Battleborn (Passive): (Moved from Level 16)
New Functionality: Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of Summon Demon Warrior by .5 seconds and Demon Lieutenant by 1 second.

---

Level 7

o   Infernal Globe (Q): Removed
 

o   Bound Minion (Trait):  Removed
 

o   Gluttonous Ward (Active): Removed
 

o   (New) Art of Chaos (Q):
If Globe of Annihilation hits 2 or more Heroes, 25 mana cost is refunded. If it hits 3 or more Heroes, you gain 5 Annihilation.
 

o   Master of Destruction (E): (Moved from Level 1)
New Functionality: All Shall Burn’s final damage hits all enemies in a large area. Each hero hit grants 2 stacks of Annihilation.
 

o   (New) Bombardment (Q): Casting Globe Of Annihilation increases your Basic Attack Range by 50% and can hit 2 additional targets for 3 seconds. Each hero hit by Basic Attacks empowered by Bombardment generate 1 Annihilation.

---

Level 13

o   Hedonism (Q):  Removed
 

o   Infused Power (E):  Removed
 

o   (New) Brutish Vanguard (W):  Demon Warriors gain 25% increased health and slow the movement speed of nearby enemies by 20%.
 

o   (New) Cydaea’s Kiss (Q):  Reduces the channel time of All Shall Burn by .5 seconds. If All Shall Burn channels for its full duration on a Hero, Azmodan is healed for 5% of his maximum health.
 

o   (New) Chain of Command (D): Demon Lieutenants increase the damage of nearby non-heroes by 25%.

 

---

Level 16

o   Demonic Smite (Trait):  Removed
 

o   Sin for Sin (Active):  Removed
 

o   Forced Recruitment (D):  Removed
 

o   (New) Total Annihilation (Q):  
Globe Of Annihilation deals additional 3% max health damage to Heroes.
 

o   Sin’s Grasp (E):  (Moved from Level 4) New Functionality: 
Increases the range of All Shall Burn by 20%. If All Shall Burn channels for its full duration on a Hero, its cooldown is reduced by 4 seconds.
 

o   (New) Hell Rift (E):  If the channel lasts its full duration, a Demon Warrior is summoned at your target and your Demon Warriors deal 100% increased damage for 4 seconds.

---

Level 20

o   (New) Siegebreaker (R1):  Azmodan’s summoned units deal 50% increased damage to Structures
 

o   (New) Black Pool (R2): Tide Of Sin creates a Black Pool at the impact location, dealing light damage and reducing armor over 5 seconds to enemies in the area.
 

o   (New) Pride (Q):  After reaching 400 stacks of Annihilation, Globe Of Annihilation’s area is increased by 15% and its damage is increased by 100.
 

o   (New) Trample (Active):  Activate to dash a short distance, dealing damage and slowing enemies in the path. 60 second cooldown.

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by lChronosl

[Arcling 898]

Tide of Sin certainly feels like more streamlined version of Black Pool, which isn't exactly a bad thing, though makes it less versatile. No longer can it be used to buff minions, his other heroic might look more appealing now. All Shall Burn change makes it more of a burst type ability, so at least he is not going to spend most of time channeling, and has to make more use of Q ability.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Arcling

[MrPumpson 4]

Quote

o   (New) Pride (Q):  After reaching 400 stacks of Annihilation, Globe Of Annihilation’s area is increased by 15% and its damage is increased by 100.

As someone who plays Azmo almost exclusively for the huge, 3-point Globe of Annihilation plays, this has me very excited.

[PrivateJoker 27]

At first I thought Trample sounded really interesting, and kinda cool. Then I realized they probably just took away Bolt of the Storm, so it's actually just less good because it doesn't teleport. I guess the slow is nice utility.

Edited June 29, 2018 by PrivateJoker

[gerbercage 15]

Too bad they take away lvl 20 "Forced of Recruitment", this is one of the best lvl 20 for azmodan.

Infernal Globa and hedonism also gone. Now globe of annihilation nerf a bit with max 400 stack only. cast spd reduce a bit but still longer than previous with talent. Range also nerf plus ppl easy to see it and dodge away compare to previous. Long range with this slow travel speed (no longer got speed buff in talent) plus  Warning splat make it nerf a lot.

Now R2 only increase 50% of Q dmg only? W and E no longer benefit? Last time 75% dmg, 20 sec cooldown, 60 mana, 2 charge, now for Q only with 1 charge and less dmg but save mana abit?

Base Q range nerf from 35-30. Last time got talent sieging wrath after complete quest, it give 33% more range which is about 46.55 now become 30 and no talent buff range of Q.

This rework has big impact on Q while buff W and E. His long range nuke lose those important range, spd,warning splat, cast time, max stack with exchange of bigger area, 3% hp(good vs tank but weak in dmg those assassin compare to previous) and mana return.

When release, hope that W and E that buff can help a lot in push and fight.

 

Later chromie rework also got warning on where u gonna hit. All my long range zoning hero get impact in rework soon.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2018 by gerbercage

[Warper 12]

Yea, it looks like Q got nerfed now reading the notes. So did W and D it looks like. D has smite but no longer buffs Mercs unless you take a talent at 13. Also has over double the cooldown. E looks much more appealing now, my E key may actually get some use other than on bosses.

[ArtVandelay 24]

19 hours ago, Peaches9 said:

The Black Pool change may seem like a nerf, and i suppose it technically is, but it's a large quality of life improvement. Quite often black pool is used for one Globe Of Annihilation alone, usually when firing from over a screen away. This sequence (self-cast pool, then throw globe with your screen on the target instead of azmo) is somewhat clumsy and has two potential issues:

1. You aren't actually in globe range when you place the pool, so it goes to waste

2. You have enough mana for a pool but not the globe, so you're stuck with a pointless pool

This change eliminates both of these issues, and I feel it will make his play more fluid. This seems worth the auto attack and demon damage nerfs to me. 

In addition, the trait change is quite nice, since it makes summoning demons (which was somewhat needlessly laborious) smoother as well. These two changes, while not really balance-affecting, just seem like good design choices to me.

 

Yeah, I have had a lot of scenarios when you drop the pool and someone knocks you off it before you can Q.  So, I think this will help a lot with those mechanics.  In the end though, he is a specialist, so I just hope his pushing potential doesn't get worse, as pool helped a lot there (he has always been a mix of mage/pusher).

[ATM2100 0]

Tide of sin is a mega nerf, very disappointed. only because of the reduced damage

Edited July 1, 2018 by ATM2100
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