heroes Heroes of the Storm Balance Patch Notes: February 1st

[Staff 1,489]

A new balance patch for Heroes of the Storm just went live. Diablo received some soulstone changes, Genji has been buffed, Rehgar and Stukov have been nerfed. Check out the official patch notes for more details!

(Source)

Heroes of the Storm has just been updated with Hero balance changes! Read on for details.

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Heroes

TANK	BRUISER	HEALER	RANGED
Diablo	Malthael	Malfurion	Azmodan
E.T.C.	Yrel	Rehgar	Genji
		Stukov	Greymane
			Nova
			Probius
			Tracer

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Tank

Diablo

Base

• Black Soulstone [D]
  • Additional functionality: Upon reaching Level 10, Souls consumed when resurrecting is decreased from 100 to 75.

Talents

• Level 13
  • Devastating Charge [Q]
    • Armor reduction increased from 15 to 20.
  • Hellfire [W]
    • Damage per second increased from 30 to 33.

Developer Comment: Diablo is weakened longer than we would like after resurrecting with Black Soulstone, and we want him back wreaking havoc sooner.

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E.T.C.

Base

• Heath increased from 2250 to 2280.
• Health regeneration increased from 4.69 to 4.75.
• Powerslide [Q]
  • Damage increased from 91 to 105.

Developer Comment: E.T.C.'s talents are competing with each other nicely, so we’re just raising the volume.

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Bruiser

Malthael

Base

• Reaper’s Mark [Trait]
  • Damage per second increased from 1.75% to 2% maximum Health.

Talents

• Level 7
  • Touch of Death [Active]
    • Cooldown reduced from 25 to 20 seconds.
• Level 13
  • Shroud of Wisdom [Active]
    • Cooldown reduced from 30 to 20 seconds.
• Level 16
  • Memento Mori [Trait]
    • Damage bonus reduced from 90% to 60%.

Developer Comment: We want Malthael to be a more formidable threat overall, and especially when against high health opponents.

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Yrel

Base

• Divine Purpose [D]
  • Additional functionality: Divine Purpose’s cooldown is reset when Yrel casts a Heroic ability.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Maraad’s Insight [Passive]
    • Healing increased from 135 to 140.
• Level 4
  • Aegis of Light [E]
    • Armor increased from 25 to 30.
• Level 16
  • Divine Favor [D]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 2 to 2.5 seconds.
  • Holy Wrath [Passive]
    • Splash damage increased from 30% to 35%.

Developer Comment: Yrel's Heroics have a significant amount of counterplay so we're adding in more guaranteed power by buffing Divine Purpose.

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Healer

Malfurion

Talents

• Level 1
  • Deep Roots [E]
    • Max Mana gain increased from 10 to 14.
  • Vengeful Roots [E]
    • Treant Movement speed increased by 60%.
    • Treant Health increased from 411 to 450.
• Level 4
  • Celestial Alignment [W]
    • Bonus Basic Attack damage increased from 75% to 85%.
• Level 13
  • Revitalize [D]
    • Mana gain changed from 80 to 15% of Malfurion’s max Mana.
• Level 16
  • Ysera’s Gift [Q]
    • Bonus Regrowth healing increased from 60% to 75%.
  • Nature’s Balance [Passive]
    • Bonus Regrowth duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds.
  • Moonlit Harmony [Passive]
    • Additional functionality: [Passive] Increase Moonfire heals by 20%.
• Level 20
  • Astral Communion [R2]
    • Bonus Silence duration increased from 1 to 2 seconds.

Developer Comment: We'd like Malfurion to be a more reliable pick, so we're increasing the power of all his level 16 talents. Additionally, we're interested to see if direct synergy between Deep Roots and Revitalize helps those talents turn a new leaf.

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Rehgar

Base

• Health reduced from 2000 to 1935.
• Health regeneration reduced from 4.17 to 4.03.
• Chain Heal [Q]
  • Mana cost increased from 55 to 60.
• Earthbind Totem [E]
  • Totem Health reduced from 326 to 260.
  • Duration reduced from 8 to 6 seconds.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Colossal Totem [E]
    • Moved from level 7.
  • Feral Heart [Z]
    • Armor reduced from 20 to 15.
    • Duration reduced from 2 seconds to 1 second.
• Level 4
  • Earthliving Enchant [Q]
    • Duration reduced from 5 to 4 seconds.
    • Healing reduced from 250 to 200.
  • Healing Totem [Active]
    • Health reduced from 175 to 125.
    • Duration increased from 7 to 10 seconds.
    • Healing per second reduced from 2.5% to 2%.
• Level 7
  • Grounded Totem [E]
    • Moved from level 1.
    • Attack Speed Slow reduced from 40% to 30%.
    • Spell Power reduction reduced from 20% to 15%.
  • Purification [D]
    • Healing reduced from 260 to 220.
    • Reduced healing duration reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
    • Changed functionality:
      • No longer conditionally reduces Purge's cooldown.
      • Passive: Reduce Purge's cooldown by 10 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Pit Fighter [Passive]
    • Spell Power per ally Hero reduced from 4 to 3.

Developer Comment: We were over ambitious with several aspects of our latest Rehgar changes, and we hope reigning in the health and duration of his Earthbind Totem leaves him in a much more balanced state.

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Stukov

Talents

• Level 1
  • Fetid Touch [W]
    • Ranged damage reduction reduced from 40% to 35%.
    • Quest completion Hero hits required reduced from 20 to 15.
  • Low Blow [E]
    • Bonus damage reduced from 125% to 100%.
• Level 7
  • The Long Pitch [W]
    • Cooldown reduction duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
  • Growing Infestation [E]
    • Maximum channel duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds.
  • Targeted Excision [D]
    • Bio-Kill Switch set cooldown reduced from 8 to 7 seconds.
• Level 13
  • It Hungers [E]
    • Hero damage instances needed to proc cooldown reduction and Mana refund increased from 6 to 8.

Developer Comment: It's not a Heroes' patch if we're not changing Stukov. We view the Lurking Arm talents as an easier talent path than The Long Pitch or Targeted Excision, so we're shifting some power to better reward Stukov mastery.

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Ranged Assassin

Azmodan

Base

• Globe of Annihilation [Q]
  • Damage reduced from 184 to 176.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Wrath [Q]
    • Damage bonus increased from 75% to 85%.
• Level 7
  • Bombardment [Q]
    • Additional targets increased from 2 to 3.
• Level 10
  • Demonic Invasion [R2]
    • Impact damage increased from 65 to 85.
    • Grunt explosion damage reduced from 88 to 40.
    • Grunt Movement Speed increased by 50%.
    • Additional Functionality: Grunt explosion damage is doubled against Heroes.

Developer Comment: Azmodan's win rate has consistently settled above our preference after the increase in Globe of Annihilation's damage scaling from 2.5% to 4% per level. So, we're knocking it down a peg. We're also trying to diversify how players use Demonic Invasion, so it doesn't feel like the right option is to always cast it on enemy Structures.

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Genji

Talents

• Level 1
  • Agile Dismount [D]
    • Additional functionality: Landing near enemy Heroes Slows them by 30% for 2 seconds.
  • Pathfinder [D]
    • Changed functionality: Jumping over Terrain with Cyber Agility increases Genji’s Move Speed by 25%, and grants Stealth, for 4 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Shuriken Mastery [Q]
    • Hero hit quest requirements reduced from 35 to 30, and 75 to 60.
    • Shuriken charges refund increased from 2 to 3.
• Level 7
  • Cyber Shield [D]
    • Additional functionality: Genji dodges 1 Heroic Basic Attack every 5 seconds.
  • Dodge [Passive]
    • Removed.
• Level 16
  • Steady Blade [E]
    • Damage bonus increased from 20% to 30%.
• Level 20
  • Sharpened Stars [Q]
    • Additional functionality: Swift Strike’s refund grants 1 charge of Shuriken.

Developer Comment: Genji is a scary hero to buff, so we're proceeding with caution as we add spice to his talents.

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Greymane

Talents

• Level 1
  • Wolfheart [W]
    • Bonus cooldown reduction increased from .5 to .7 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Insatiable [W]
    • Additional functionality: Basic Attacks during Inner Beast reduce Healing Fountain’s cooldown by .5 seconds.
• Level 7
  • Incendiary Elixir [Q]
    • Damage bonus per stack increased from 20 to 25.
    • Quest reward cooldown reduction increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
• Level 13
  • Running Wild [E]
    • Additional functionality: Reduce Darkflight’s and Disengage’s cooldowns by 1 second.
• Level 20
  • Gilnean Roulette [R2]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 20 to 24 seconds.

Developer Comment: Historically we've been happy with Greymane's talent spread, but lately he has been taking the same paths too frequently. We're not looking to teach this old dog any new tricks, just encouraging him to keep his enemies guessing.

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Nova

Talents

• Level 1
  • Covert Ops [W]
    • Required Stealth duration reduced from 4 to 2 seconds.
    • Bonus Pinning Shot Slow increased from 15% to 20%.
  • Advanced Cloaking [Trait]
    • Required Stealth duration reduced from 2 to 1 second.
    • Mana per second increased from 2 to 3.
• Level 4
  • Rapid Projection [E]
    • Cost and cooldown reduction increased from 50% to 60%.
  • Holo Stability [E]
    • Additional functionality: Reduce the cooldown of Ghost Protocol by 15 seconds.
• Level 7
  • Perfect Shot [Q]
    • Changed functionality: Hitting an enemy reduces Snipe’s cooldown by 2 seconds and refunds half its Mana cost, doubled against Heroes.
  • One in the Chamber [Passive]
    • Bonus damage increased from 60% to 65%.
• Level 10
  • Precision Strike [R2]
    • Cooldown reduced from 60 to 50 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Precision Barrage [R2]
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 30 to 25 seconds.

Developer Comment: Similar to Greymane, Nova has generally been in a good spot with her talents, with a few exceptions. We're looking to stabilize some of her talents with changes to Perfect Shot and Advanced Cloaking, so they're dependable in a wider range of situations.

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Probius

Base

• Warp In Pylon [D]
  • Cooldown increased from 12 to 14 seconds.
  • Additional functionality: Enemy Heroes and Minions drop Minerals on death. Gather Minerals to reduce Warp In Pylon’s cooldown by .75 seconds.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Warp Resonance [W]
    • Damage bonus increased from 100 to 120.
• Level 4
  • Turbo Charged [Z]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 10 to 14 seconds.
• Level 7
  • Particle Accelerator [Q]
    • Hero hits required reduced from 4 to 3.
    • Pulse damage increased from 71 to 78.
  • Rift Shock [W]
    • Damage per second increased from 30 to 35.
  • Tower Defense [E]
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 4 to 3.5 seconds.
• Level 10
  • Null Gate [R2]
    • Damage increased from 17 to 19.

Developer Comment: We're overall pleased with Probius' latest warp in but found some opportunities to tinker. We're excited for Warp In Pylon's change, as aggressive Probius players are given more room to play forward, and we don't think we're negatively affecting safer Probius play styles. Plus, who doesn't like being the Best Probe by gathering all the minerals?

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Tracer

Talents

• Level 1
  • One-Two Punch [Q]
    • Cooldown between uses increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Pulse Generator [R]
    • Healing reduced from 25% to 18% of maximum Health.
• Level 13
  • Untouchable [Q]
    • Movement Speed duration reduced from 1.5 to 1.25 seconds.
  • Jumper [Q]
    • Shield amount reduced from 8% to 6.5% maximum Health.

Developer Comment: We hope these changes keep Tracer a worthy draft consideration regardless of her healer, but we want fewer situations where Tracer is among the very best choices.

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Bug Fixes

MAC

• Fixed an issue where Character and Ability reticles were not properly displaying on M1 hardware.

Heroes

• Falstad
  • Fixed an issue with Dishonorable Discharge's cooldown reset mechanic.
• Johanna
  • Fixed an issue with Sins Exposed's duration after being refreshed.
• Junkrat
  • Fixed an issue where Spread Volley could be cast multiple times without going on cooldown.
• Lunara
  • Fixed an issue with Abolish Magic reducing crowd control effects too much.
• Probius
  • Fixed an issue with Shield Battery granting allies Shields too quickly.

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[Kuarinofu 78]

Still better than nothing, I guess.

[Arcling 898]

At this point, I'm not really expecting anything. At least there are some balance changes being made, but collection still hasn't been fixed since last year.

Edited February 2, 2022 by Arcling