Heroes of the Storm

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


Heroes

Tank

Diablo

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Feast on Fear [Q/E]
    
    • Healing per second reduced from 4% to 2.5%.
      
    • Additional functionality: Now heals immediately when first applied.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Sacrificial Soul [Q]
    
    • Base Armor reduced from 25 to 20.
      
    • Armor at 100 Souls reduced from 50 to 40.
      
    • Armor duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds.
      
  • Life Leech [Passive]
    
    • Base healing reduced from 2% to 1.75%.
      
    • Healing at 100 Souls reduced from 4% to 3.5%.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Hellfire [W]
    
    • Damage per second increased from 17 to 30.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Debilitating Flames [W]
    
    • Slow per hit increased from 5% to 6%.
      
    • Slow amount required to affect damage dealt reduced from 25% to 24%.
      

Developer Comment: We're happy with the Lord of Terror's ability to wage wanton destruction, but we think he should do so at greater risk to himself. The hits to his survivability may be too heavy handed, in which case we are ready to grovel for Diablo's forgiveness and resolve it with our next update. While we’re here, we had an excuse to tune up Fire Stomp’s later tier talents.


Mal'Ganis

Base

• Health increased from 2550 to 2600.
  
• Health Regeneration increased from 5.31 to 5.41.
  
• Basic Attack damage increased from 92 to 96.
  
• Fel Claws [Q]
  
  • Damage increased from 63 to 66.
    
• Night Rush [E]
  
  • Cooldown reduced from 16 to 14 seconds.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Time to Feed [Passive]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Mal'Ganis heals for 70 when damaging an enemy Hero. This can only occur every 6 seconds per enemy, but is also refreshed when they are Slept by Night Rush.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Fueled by Torment [W]
    
    • Healing increased from 11 to 12.
      
  • Echo of Doom [W]
    
    • Damage increased from 66 to 68.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Will of Tichondrius [Q]
    
    • Additional Stun duration increased from 0.25 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
      
  • Spreading Plague [E]
    
    • Damage increased from 30 to 33.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Blood Rush [Trait]
    
    • Duration reduced from 8 to 6 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Frenzied Assault [Passive]
    
    • Attack Speed duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
      
  • Blind as a Bat [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 80 to 60 seconds.
      
    • Cooldown reduction from final slash of Fel Claws reduced from 5 to 4 seconds.
      
    • No longer sets Fel Claws on cooldown when it expires.
      

Developer Comment: Mal'Ganis has fallen off the list of tanks that are considered when drafting, and we hope this lift upwards leaves him on more solid footing. We also looked to level out the benefit from some underperforming talents, in particular Time to Feed now always heals for 80% of its previously conditional amount, and has a new bonus for Sleeping enemies. That said, Blood Rush has had a mild reduction in duration that should not be noticed while fighting, but will increase how often it is reset between scuffles.


Muradin

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Perfect Storm [Q]
    
    • Damage bonus reduced from 5 to 4.
      
  • Dwarf Block [E]
    
    • Block charges no longer have a duration.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Thunder Burn [W]
    
    • Damage increased from 50% to 75%.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Avatar [R1]
    
    • Bonus Health reduced from 1053 to 1000.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Bronzebeard Rage [Q]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Deal 15 damage per second, healing for 75% of the damage dealt. Hitting an enemy Hero with Storm Bolt increases this damage by 200% for 3 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Dwarf Launch [E]
    
    • Dwarf Toss cooldown reduction reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: Muradin has spent a long time being a consistent Tank, and has slowly drifted upwards in power. Sharpening Bronzebeard Rage should reduce Muradin's overall healing while allowing skillful play to earn a moment of its previous strength.


Tyrael

Base

• Archangel’s Wrath [Trait]
  
  • Duration increased from 3.5 to 4 seconds.
    
  • Damage reduced from 550 to 450.
    
  • Movement Speed increased by 20%.
    
  • Additional functionality: Enemies within Archangel Wrath’s radius deal 50% less damage. Enemies hit by Archangel’s Wrath deal 50% less damage for 3 seconds.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Justice for All [W]
    
    • Shield bonus for allies increased from 75% to 80%.
      
  • Ardent Restoration [Passive]
    
    • Additional functionality: Quest: Every Regeneration Globe collected increases the heal-over-time effect by 1%.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Stalwart Angel [Q]
    
    • Armor duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
      
  • Bound by Law [Q]
    
    • No longer increases El’Druin’s Might’s Slow.
      
    • Additional functionality: Every enemy Hero hit by El’Druin’s Might heals Tyrael for 3% of his maximum Health.
      
  • Divine Vigor [E]
    
    • Basic Attack heal decreased from 75% to 70%.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Reciprocate [W]
    
    • Shield expiration damage increased from 170 to 190.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Sanctification [R2]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 100 to 90 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Horadric Reforging [Q]
    
    • Cooldown per Basic Attack increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: There are so many things that we want to do with Tyrael in the future but for the time being we wanted to add some more utility to his Trait while adding some fun additions to some other under-performing Talents.


Bruiser

Artanis

Base

• Blade Dash [Q]
  
  • Initial damage increased from 57 to 63.
    

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • Psionic Synergy [E]
    
    • Duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Solarite Reaper [Q]
    
    • Damage bonus increased from 150% to 175%.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Graviton Vortex [E]
    
    • Phase Prism cooldown reduction increased from 1.75 to 2 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: Artanis has been finding more and more of his success by focusing on taking Basic Attack talents, so we’re trying to even out his choices.


Hogger

Base

• Hogg Wild [E]
  
  • Damage reduced from 36 to 32.
    

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • Brute Force [Q/Trait]
    
    • Damage bonus from hitting Heroes with Staggering Blow increased from 1 to 2.
      

Developer Comment: The last set of balance adjustments have left Hogger in a pretty good spot, but Hogg Wild’s damage could stand to drop slightly.


Ragnaros

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Sulfuras Hungers [Q]
    
    • Quest requirement reduced from 30 to 25.
      
    • Quest reward damage bonus increased from 90 to 100.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Hand of Ragnaros [Q]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: If Empower Sulfuras hits 2 Heroes, refund 10 mana and its cooldown recharges 100% faster for 4 seconds.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Cauterize Wounds [Q]
    
    • Healing increased from 40% to 45%.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Meteor Bomb [W]
    
    • Additional functionality: Meteor Bomb deals an additional 30% damage near its center.
      

Developer Comment: These changes are simply looking to help out some weaker talents. Hand of Ragnaros is still providing the same benefit in the same situations as before, and now also helps Ragnaros recover from a swing that failed to meet its requirement.


Healer

Alexstrasza

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Live and Let Live [Q]
    
    • Gift of Life’s cooldown recharge increased from 100% to 125%.
      
  • Circle of Life [W]
    
    • Globes required for unlocking second tier quest reduced from 20 to 15.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Lifeblossom [Q]
    
    • Additional functionality: Reduces the cost of Gift of Life to 10% maximum Health.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Draconic Discipline [D]
    
    • Dragonqueen duration bonus reduced from 7 to 6 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: While our Dragon Queen’s Talent Tree is in a pretty healthy spot, there were a couple of outliers that could be improved. On the opposite side Draconic Discipline was slightly stronger than we would like so we removed a second from the duration increase.


Li Li

Base

• Blinding Wind [E]
  
  • Additional functionality: Slows enemies hit by 15% for 1.5 seconds.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Serpent Sidekick [W]
    
    • Moved from level 4.
      
    • New functionality: Cloud Serpent no longer costs Mana and while Fast Feet is active its cooldown refreshes an additional 75% faster.
      
  • Eager Adventurer [Trait]
    
    • Duration and Mana Regeneration bonuses increased from 125% to 150%.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Wind Serpent [W]
    
    • Moved from level 1.
      
    • New functionality: Cloud Serpent grants it bearer 10% increased Move Speed. Casting Blinding Wind increases this bonus to 20% for 3 seconds. Passive: Cloud Serpent attacks 25% faster.
      
  • Safety Sprint [Active/Trait]
    
    • New functionality: Activate to gain Fast Feet, 30 Armor, and 30% Movement Speed for 3 seconds. Passive: While Fast Feet is active, gain 10 Armor.
      
    • Cooldown increased from 25 to 30 seconds.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Mass Vortex [E]
    
    • Moved from level 13.
      
  • Let’s Go! [Active]
    
    • Healing amount increased from 140 -> 160.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Water Dragon [R2]
    
    • Cooldown increased from 45 to 50 seconds.
      
    • Mana cost increased from 50 to 60.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Lightning Serpent [W]
    
    • Moved from level 7.
      
    • Bounce attack no longer requires Heroic targets.
      
  • Gale Force [E]
    
    • Basic Attack damage bonus increased from 75% to 100%.
      
  • Hindering Winds [E]
    
    • New functionality: Increase Blinding Wind’s Slow amount to 30% and its duration to 2 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Blessings Of Yu’lon [W]
    
    • New functionality: Cloud Serpent grants its bearer 10% increased healing received and heals them for 0.5% of their maximum health each time it attacks.
      
• Level 20
  
  • Shake It Off (Trait)
    
    • New unctionality: Gain 35 Armor while Stunned, Silenced, or Rooted. Passive: Increase Fast Feet’s cooldown refresh bonus to 75%.
      

Developer Comment: After a brief visit to far-away fields of eternal conflict, Li Li returns to the Nexus with a new-found penchant for friendship. We didn't like how mandatory the old Hindering Winds talent felt, so we made some of its functionality baseline and repositioned some Blinding Wind talents to make her 'offensive' build more potent. We've also redesigned many of Li Li's Cloud Serpent talents to make them more individually meaningful and to make the collective Cloud Serpent build have more of an identity and purpose of its own.


Lucio

Talents

• Level 10
  
  • High Five [R2]
    
    • Movement speed while skating to target increased by 25%.
      

Developer Comment: Let’s gooooooooo!


Malfurion

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • All Level 1 Talents have been moved to Level 4.
    
  • Strangling Vines [E]
    
    • Removed.
      
  • New Talent: Emerald Dreams [E]
    
    • Entangling Roots Sleeps enemies for 2 seconds after its Root expires.
      
  • Deep Roots [E]
    
    • Quest: Hitting enemy Heroes with Entangling Roots permanently grants 10 Mana.
      
• Level 4
  
  • All Level 4 Talents have been moved to Level 1.
    
  • Shan’do’s Clarity [D]
    
    • Additional functionality: Gain an extra charge of Innervate.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Hindering Moonfire
    
    • Slow duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: We decided to add an additional quest to Malf’s Talent Tree and in doing so wanted to bring them online earlier in the game. Swapping the level 1 and 4 Talent tiers will allow players more time to stack their Broccoli...errrr, Treant damage or Mana Pool. On the same tier, Strangling Vines was always a bit of an oddball Talent so we decided to bring in something a bit more flavorful!


Whitemane

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Righteous Flame [E]
    
    • Attack Speed bonus increased from 25% to 40%.
      
    • Attack Speed duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Unwavering Faith [Q]
    
    • Attack Damage bonus from 15% to 20%.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Scarlet Aegis [R1]
    
    • Heal increased from 250 to 300.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Scarlet Wrath [Trait]
    
    • Duration bonus of Zeal for Basic Attacks increased from .5 to .75 seconds.
      
    • Cooldown reduction of Zeal Activation from Basic Attacks increased from 1 to 4 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Radiance [Q]
    
    • Armor gain increased from 10 to 15.
      

Developer Comment: When Whitemane's rework first came out her Basic Attack build was slightly too strong and we pulled back on it quite a bit. Since then it has started to wane so we are giving back some of its previous punch.


Melee Assassin

Illidan

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • All Level 4 Talents have been moved to Level 7.
    
• Level 7
  
  • All Level 7 Talents have been moved to Level 4.
    
  • Unbound [W]
    
    • Hero hits for quest completion reduced from 30 to 15.
      

Developer Comment: We don’t mind when Illidan players prefer to shy away from teamfights earlier in the game, but we want to make sure it’s not the only option. We’re swapping his healing talent tier with his mobility talent tier to help achieve this.


Ranged Assassin

Chromie

Base

• Time Trap [E]
  
  • Health reduced from 500 to 400.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Once Again the First Time [Q]
    
    • Additional functionality: Quest reward increases Echo mimic damage from 40% to 45%.
      
  • Timewalker’s Pursuit [Passive]
    
    • Area reveal duration increased from 2 to 4 seconds.
      
    • Spell Power reduced from 15% to 10%.
      
• Level 2
  
  • Time Troubles [E]
    
    • Enemy Armor reduction reduced from 20 to 15.
      
    • Allied Armor increased from 20 to 30.
      
• Level 5
  
  • A Proper Greeting [Passive]
    
    • Additional damage dealt reduced from 25% to 20%.
      
    • Duration reduced from 5 to 3 seconds.
      
• Level 8
  
  • Slowing Sands [R1]
    
    • Mana cost increased from 3 to 5 per second.
      
    • Cast range reduced from 10 to 8.
      
• Level 18
  
  • Unraveling [R1]
    
    • Spell Armor reduction increased from 7 to 10.
      

Developer Comment: We’re seeing a trend of high level Chromie players combining easy and consistent talents. We like these talents, but we don’t believe that they should continue to be the best options for our best players, so we’re reducing their raw power. We’re also increasing available counterplay for Time Trap and Slowing Sands.


Falstad

Base

• Hammerang [Q]
  
  • Hammerang damage reduced from 121 to 80.
    
  • Additional functionality: Hammerang can be reactivated mid-flight to explode, dealing 95 damage around the Hammer.
    
• Lightning Rod [W]
  
  • Additional functionality: Lightning Rod deals 100% additional damage to Minions and Mercenaries.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Wingman [Active]
    
    • Removed.
      
  • Seasoned Marksman [Passive]
    
    • Removed.
      
  • Gathering Storm [Q]
    
    • Damage bonus per quest stack changed from 2 to 0.2%.
      
    • Mana refund reduced from 10 to 6.
      
    • Additional functionality: Quest progress is gained from Hammerang's explosion.
      
  • New Talent: Dishonorable Discharge [W]
    
    • Reduce Lightning Rod’s cooldown by 3 seconds, and Takedowns reset its cooldown.
      
    • Quest: After 3 Lightning Rod strikes, subsequent strikes on enemy Heroes increases its damage by 1%, up to 75%.
      
  • New Talent: Frequent Flyer [Active]
    
    • Activate Frequent Flyer to gain 40% Attack Speed and Tailwind for 5 seconds.
      
    • Quest: Minion kills grant 0.2 Basic Attack Damage, and Hero Takedowns grant 0.5 Basic Attack Damage.
      
• Level 7
  
  • BOOMerang [Q]
    
    • New functionality: Hammerang's explosion deals 75% additional damage, and reduces Spell Armor of enemy Heroes hit by 15 for 3 seconds.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Giant Killer [Passive]
    
    • Removed.
      
    
    
  • New Talent: Sustained Winds [D]
    
    • Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes deal bonus damage equal to 1.5% of the Hero's maximum Health, increased to 2% while Tailwind is active.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Crippling Hammer [Q]
    
    • Bonus Hammerang Slow reduced from 35% to 25%.
      
    • Additional functionality: Hammerang’s explosion also Slows.
      

Developer Comment: For as long as Falstad has had the BOOMerang talent, there have been players that have wanted it to be a part of Falstad’s base kit. So, we’re giving it a try and seeing what happens! We’ve also altered early talents to be less reliant on slaying Minions to unlock their strength. While Falstad is no longer able to Bribe Mercenaries with Wingman, we hope the Lightning Rod bonus damage makes up for it.


Fenix

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • Inhibiting Energy [W]
    
    • New functionality: Every 10 seconds, your next Basic Attack with Phase Bomb active Slows targets hit by 60%, rapidly decaying over 1.5 seconds.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Dampening Field [Trait]
    
    • Spell Armor increased from 25 to 30.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Photonic Weaponry [Trait]
    
    • Damage bonus increased from 15% to 20%.
      
  • Arsenal Overcharge [Passive]
    
    • Additional functionality: Basic Attacks with Phase Bomb active reduce Ability cooldowns by .5 seconds per Hero hit.
      
• Level 20
  
  • New Talent: Armageddon Beam [R2]
    
    • Planet Cracker’s width increases by 100% over 1.5 seconds. Passive: Reduce the cooldown of Planet Cracker by 40 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: Get your side steps and shoop de whoops ready, cause there's a big new lazer in town. Overall, Fenix is in a good spot, but there are still some talents that are underperforming compared to other choices at their tier. We've also taken Inhibiting Energy in a new direction as the old version was a bit too inconsistent.


Mephisto

Base

• Skull Missile [Q]
  
  • Launch delay reduced from .75 to .625 seconds.
    
  • Missile speed increased from 17 to 19.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Unyielding Power [Q]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Second tier quest reward now grants an additional charge of Skull Missile.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Ghastly Armor [E]
    
    • Armor increased from 20 to 25.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Abhorred Skull [Q]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Skull Missile deals 40% more damage to Heroes under 50% health.
      

Developer Comment: Mephisto’s Skull Missile talents are underperforming across the board, so we’re looking to make the ability slightly more consistent baseline and injecting a little more power into its talents.


Tracer

Base

• Melee [W]
  
  • Pulse Bomb charge generation reduced from 6/12 to 5/10.
    
• Pulse Bomb [R]
  
  • Target damage increased from 288 to 298.
    
  • AoE damage increased from 144 to 149.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Parting Gift [E]
    
    • Number of bombs increased from 3 to 6.
      
    • Pulse Bomb Charge increased from 5 to 7 %.
      
    • Damage reduced from 250 to 240.
      
    • Added functionality: Heroes hit by bombs are also slowed by 60% for .75 seconds.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Leeching Rounds [Trait]
    
    • New functionality: Increase the healing from Basic Attacks by up to 200%, increasing based on Tracer’s missing health.
      
  • Is That a Health Pack?! [Passive]
    
    • New functionality: Collecting a Regen Globe instantly heals Tracer for 10% of her maximum Health and reduces the cooldown of Healing Fountain by 15 seconds.
      
    • New functionality: Drinking from a Healing Fountain instantly heals Tracer for 20% of her maximum Health.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Untouchable [Q/Trait]
    
    • Maximum damage bonus reduced from 30 to 25%.
      
    • Movement speed bonus duration reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
      
  • Jumper [Q]
    
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 125 to 150%.
      
    • Shield amount increased from 6 to 8% maximum Health.
      
  • Telefrag [E]
    
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from .3125 to .1875.
      
    • Damage increased from 160 to 175.
      
    • Added functionality: Tracer becomes Unkillable for 1 second after arriving at the recall location.
      

Developer Comment: Tracer's Recall talents are underperforming while a few other talents are overperforming, so we're making adjustments to both to even her out a bit.

Thank You and Farewell

Hello friends,

I’ve always believed that strong communication and building trust is paramount to making the world a better place, so I wanted to have the chance to talk with all of you about a change to the team.

I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve come to the difficult decision to move on to another project. I’ve been a part of the Heroes team for a very long time now, and in order to grow as a person and a designer I believe it’s important to constantly challenge myself in new ways. I’m still going to be at Blizzard, and I’m very excited about the new challenges that I get to overcome and the awesome experiences that I’ll be able to help bring to you.

I know these kinds of things are never great to hear, however I wanted to reassure you that we did hire a replacement for my position, and that it was someone who I was able to personally vet because it was very important to both me and the team that the game had someone who we felt could do the job and do it well. They have been around since the beginning of the game’s life and are just as passionate as I am about making Heroes the best that it can be. I have total faith that they will do a good job.

Being able to work on the Heroes team was such a life-changing experience for me. I first started in QA on a team who, among many other things, got to play the very first versions of Heroes and give feedback to the developers on the many, many wacky ideas that were iterated on to make this game something special. This was the first Hero Brawler MOBA that I ever played, and once I started playing I couldn’t wait to come into work on the days where we got to playtest it. I knew we were creating something special, and I wanted so badly to be a part of it.

I still vividly remember getting the call that I got the job to be a designer on this team, and shedding tears of joy outside of one of our buildings when it happened. It was a surreal moment for me because, like so many others, I had dreamed for many, many years of being a designer at Blizzard Entertainment with low expectations of it actually happening. It was one of those things you think would be the best thing in the world – but of course life can be hard and actually achieving those crazy, long-shot dreams is rare. I’m lucky to have been given a chance to work on this great game with incredibly talented people.

Over the last couple of years I was also given the chance to oversee a lot of the content that went into the game. Being able to create and execute on my own balance philosophies for such a large IP was an incredible experience that I’m very grateful to have had. I want to say thank you to Blizzard and to the leaders on the team who had enough faith in me to take on such a monumental task. I also want to thank those who are currently or have worked on Heroes in the past. You know who you are and how special this project was and is, and I have nothing but the highest respect for you all.

I want to say thank you to those who are reading this for continuing to support us. As someone on the inside, I can tell you that the people who work on Heroes care deeply about giving you the best experience that they can. Even if we don’t always respond, I can assure you that your posts, your views, and your passion for our game do not go unnoticed. I’ve read almost every post on our forums, on Reddit, and have spent countless hours watching various streamers and live events. We’re watching and enjoying this ride just as much as you are.

I want to leave with a quote that has stuck with me that I blatantly stole from a good friend.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” – Winnie the Pooh

I’ll see you all… In the Nexus.

~ AZJackson

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


Quick Navigation:

• Heroes
  
• Bug Fixes

Heroes

Tank

Blaze

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Endurance Stimpack [Active]
    
    • Shield amount increased from 530 to 590.
      
  • Neural Stimpack [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 40 to 30 seconds.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Grill and Kill [W]
    
    • Damage bonus increased from 20% to 35%.
      
  • Adhesive Petroleum [W]
    
    • Slow increased from 35% to 40%.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Nanomachine Coating [W]
    
    • Duration increased from 2.5 to 3 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: While in a relatively good place, many of Blaze's talent tiers have one or two talents that are heavily picked over the third. We're trying to shore up the alternate picks to be more competitive, which should lead to more unique ways to play the Firebat.


Mei

Base

• Snow Blind [Q]
  
  • Slow and Blind duration increased from 1.5 to 1.75 seconds.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Heavy Pack [Q]
    
    • Cooldown reduction increased from .25 to .5 seconds.
      
    • Additional functionality: Each time Blizzard damages an enemy Hero, gain 3 Mana.
      
  • Ice Storm [W]
    
    • Bonus final Stun damage increased from 125% to 150%.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Slushball [Q]
    
    • Bonus damage increased from 50% to 75%.
      
  • Cold Front [E]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Reduce the cooldown of Icing by 4 seconds. If Mei enters her own Blizzard while Icing is active, the cooldown of Icing is reduced by 5 seconds and she gains 80 Mana.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Ice Wall [R2]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 70 to 50 seconds.
      
    • Mana cost reduced from 60 to 50.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Flurry [W]
    
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 100% to 125%.
      

Developer Comment: Mei has a few talent issues and hasn't been seen in the tank meta recently, so we're giving her some buffs, particularly to various talents that aren't seeing as much play as they should.


Bruiser

D.Va

Base

• Mech Health Reduced from 2250 to 2150.
  
• Mech Health Regeneration reduced from 4.69 to 4.48.

Talents

• Level 10
  
  • Bunny Hop [R1]
    
    • Damage increased from 52 to 70.
      

Developer Comment: D.Va's a very unique Hero due to her ability to go in and out of her Mech to survive in situations where other Heroes would perish. When she's too tanky, she can be overly frustrating due to having to "die" twice in order for the enemy team to remove her from the map. We think she's a little too beefy in this regard right now, so we're lowering her Mech survivability. We're also buffing Bunny Hop's damage so that it better competes with Micro Missiles.


Gazlowe

Base

• Xplodium Charge [E]
  
  • Damage reduced from 155 to 142.
    

Talents

• Level 10
  
  • Grav-O-Bomb 3000 [R2]
    
    • Damage reduced from 235 to 220.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Superior Schematics [Q]
    
    • Bonus range reduced from 50% to 30%.
      

Developer Comment: Gazlowe is still a little too strong and is seeing an overly high participation rate. To tone down his power we're lowering his Xplodium Charge damage and reducing the power of some of his highest performing talents.


Hogger

Base

• Health reduced from 2320 to 2260.
  
• Health Regeneration reduced from 4.83 to 4.71.
  
• Loot Hoard [D]
  
  • Meat duration reduced from 5 to 4 seconds.
    

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Journeyman Cooking [W]
    
    • Healing increased from 6% to 8% maximum Health.
      
  • On The Prowl [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 45 to 40 seconds.
      
    • Healing per second increased from 6 to 9.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Brute Force [Q/D]
    
    • Bonus for hitting enemy Heroes into terrain increased from 2 to 8.
      
    • Maximum bonus damage increased from 100 to 125.
      
  • Aggro Range [E]
    
    • Bonus Rage against non-Heroic enemies reduced from 1 to .5.
      
    • Bonus Rage against enemy Heroes reduced from 3 to 2.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Seeing Red [Q/E]
    
    • Attack Speed bonus increased from 25% to 35%.
      
  • Garbage Fire [Trait]
    
    • Loot Hoard cooldown reduction reduced from 4 to 2 seconds.
      
    • Damage reduced from 25 to 23.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Hoardapult [R1]
    
    • Cooldown increased from 50 to 60 seconds.
      
    • Damage reduced from 140 to 100.
      
  • Shockwave [R2]
    
    • Primary Stun duration increased from 1.25 to 1.5 seconds.
      
    • Primary damage increased from 306 to 335.
      
    • Secondary damage increased from 210 to 230.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Dust Devil [E]
    
    • Armor bonus when below 50 Rage reduced from 30 to 20.
      
    • Armor bonus when above 50 Rage reduced from 50 to 40.
      
  • Pummel [E]
    
    • Slow duration increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Kablooie! [W]
    
    • Damage bonus increased from 40% to 50%.
      

Developer Comment: Hogger’s release has been incredibly interesting. He started low, but his win rate has climbed significantly while perception of his potential power also continues to improve. We’re looking to do a mix of buffs and nerfs to him to largely address looming talent issues while also keeping his overall power in check.


Imperius

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Impaling Light [Q]
    
    • Damage bonus per Valorous Brand reduced from 125% to 75%.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Sovereign Armor [E]
    
    • Armor amount reduced from 25 to 20.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Angelic Armaments [R1]
    
    • Shield amount reduced from 1000 to 850.
      

Developer Comment: The Angel of Valor was shrugging off enemy damage too easily while dishing out too much of his own, and the other Bruisers were getting jealous.


Ragnaros

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Shifting Meteor [W]
    
    • Damage bonus per hit increased from 5% to 6%.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Molten Power [Passive]
    
    • New functionality: If Living Meteor hits enemy Heroes at least 5 times, then reduce its cooldown by 7 seconds, and refund 30 Mana.
      

Developer Comment: We didn't love how Molten Power's strength was offered in an upcoming cast after meeting its conditions. This version should give a more immediate reward, while also being more attractive for solo laners.


Healer

Anduin

Talents

• Level 20
  
  • Light of Stormwind [R1]
    
    • Additional functionality: If Holy Word: Salvation lasts for its full duration, then reduce its cooldown by 60 seconds.
      
  • Desperate Prayer [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 40 to 30 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: We're experimenting with a change to Light of Stormwind to allow for Anduin to have higher highs when using Holy Word: Salvation to its full potential. When he gets a full cast off he will now have a greatly reduced cooldown, allowing it to be used multiple times in a single fight.


Auriel

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • Heavy Burden [E]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Detainment Strike Slows enemy Heroes for 20% for 2.5 seconds. Slow and duration doubled on enemies it Stuns.
      

Developer Comment: Heavy Burden wasn’t keeping Auriel as safe as it should, especially when compared to Repeated Offense, and we want it to be a dependable option.


Brightwing

Talents

• Level 13
  
  • Safety Dust [E]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Increase Pixie Dust duration by 1 second. Soothing Mist and Blink Heal heal allies with an active Pixie Dust for 75% more.
      

Developer Comment: We liked how Safety Dust boosted all of Brightwing's healing tools. However, its healing was overflowing when paired with Phase Shift and Hyper Shift, and not in a way we consider exciting. We believe this change keeps the core of what makes Safety Dust fun.


Deckard

Talents

• Level 20
  
  • Morenados! [R2]
    
    • Additional functionality: Adds another charge.
      

Developer Comment: Gimme more.


Lucio

Talents

• Level 7
  
  • Good Vibrations [Q]
    
    • Shield amount increased from 35 to 38.
      
  • Boombox [Active]
    
    • Boombox no longer has a duration.
      
• Level 10
  
  • High Five [R2]
    
    • Cooldown increased from 15 to 20 seconds.
      
    • Mana cost reduced from 35 to 30.
      
    • Additional functionality: Heals Lucio for 125 and grants him Unstoppable for 1 second.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Up to Eleven [E]
    
    • No longer an activated ability.
      
    • Adjusted functionality: Increase the duration of Amp It Up by 1 second.
      
• Level 20
  
  • Summer Anthem [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 75 to 60 seconds.
      
    • Additional functionality: Now also affects Lucio.
      
  • Mixing Fire [R2]
    
    • No longer increases the duration of Amp It Up by 1 second.
      
    • Additional functionality: Reduce the cost and cooldown of High Five by 50%.
      

Developer Comment: We did a pass on Lucio and found some places where we could make his talents more interesting and fun. We're particularly interested to see how our change to High Five working on Lucio helps with his ability to keep both himself and his teammates alive.


Stukov

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Fetid Touch [W]
    
    • Number of enemy Heroes hit for final quest requirement reduced from 30 to 25.
      
  • Reactive Ballistospores [W]
    
    • Cooldown increased from 15 to 25 seconds.
      
  • Low Blow [E]
    
    • Health threshold for bonus damage increased from 30% to 50%.
      
• Level 4
  
  • Biotic Armor [Q]
    
    • Armor amount reduced from 15 to 10.
      
• Level 13
  
  • It Hungers [E]
    
    • Number of enemy Hero hits required reduced from 10 to 8.
      

Developer Comment: Some of Stukov's talents have been too inconsistent to be considered viable, so we're making some small buffs to them in order to increase their competitiveness. We're also reducing the strength of some of his overperforming talents to keep his overall power in check.


Melee Assassin

Kerrigan

Talents

• Level 7
  
  • Queen of Blades [Q]
    
    • Damage bonus increased from 50% to 100%.
      
    • Ravage cooldown reduction increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: We were too scared of Queen of Blades being too powerful when we redesigned the talent, so we're tuning it up to better match our original vision. This should enable her to clear waves much more efficiently while also allowing her Ravage to be up much more often.


Valeera

Base

• Sinister Strike [Q]
  
  • Energy cost reduced from 30 to 25.
    

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • Relentless Strikes [Q]
    
    • Energy cost reduction reduced from 15 to 10.
      
• Level 10
  
  • Smoke Bomb [R1]
    
    • Smoke Bomb Armor increased from 30 to 60.
      
• Level 16
  
  • Thistle Tea [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 40 to 20 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: Valeera feels too good to play with a low-cost Sinister Strike. We’re moving some of Relentless Strikes’ benefit baseline and also helping out some weaker talents.


Ranged Assassin

Cassia

Base

• Basic Attack damage reduced from 125 to 120.
  
• Lightning Fury [Q]
  
  • Damage reduced from 165 to 158.
    
• Fend [E]
  
  • Damage reduced from 34 to 32.
    

Developer Comment: Cassia is slightly overperforming at a 53% win rate and is seeing a high amount of participation. We're slightly reducing her baseline numbers to bring her more in line.


Fenix

Talents

• Level 4
  
  • Inhibiting Energy [W]
    
    • No longer requires the primary target to be a Hero to Slow enemies in an area.
      

Developer Comment: Part of Phase Bomb’s charm is that it deals 100% Splash damage, opening up possibilities for who Fenix targets. This change realigns Inhibiting Energy to that philosophy.


Gul'dan

Talents

• Level 10
  
  • Horrify [R1]
    
    • Horrify can no longer be interrupted and put in a 10-second cooldown if Gul'dan is Stunned while it is being cast.
      

Developer Comment: We're changing Horrify to no longer be able to be interrupted during its cast. It was never intended to have a long cast time, and due to its unique setup we've had a lot of bug reports over the years due to it being interrupted and being put in a 10-second cooldown, but its sound still going off. This change should fix the issue and get rid of the confusion.


Kael'thas

Talents

• Level 16
  
  • Twin Spheres [Trait]
    
    • Additional functionality: Gain all level 7 talents.
      

Developer Comment: Empowering abilities is fun, but we feel Twin Spheres struggled to pack the punch it needed to compete as a Level 16 talent. We hope this provides the power it needs while retaining its flexibility in choosing which ability to empower.


Nazeebo

Talents

• Level 13
  
  • ​Guardian Toads [E]
    
    • Adjusted functionality: Hitting enemy Heroes with Plague of Toads grants 30 Armor for 1.5 seconds, stacking up to 4 seconds.
      

Developer Comment: Guardian Toads wasn’t beating out Superstition in terms of continuous value, or Ice Block in terms of immediate value. We think this will help it compete while playing more into Plague of Toads gameplay.


Tychus

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • ​Quarterback [W]
    
    • Bonus damage reduced from 20% to 10%.
      

Developer Comment: To get people to play W build, we overbuffed Quarterback, so we're scaling back on some of that buff.


Zul'jin

Talents

• Level 1
  
  • Recklessness [D]
    
    • Basic Attack damage bonus reduced from 20% to 15%.
      
    • Additional functionality: While below 50% Health, Basic Attacks against Heroes grant an additional stack of You Want Axe?.
      
• Level 7
  
  • Vicious Assault [Q]
    
    • Damage bonus increased from 35% to 45%.
      
• Level 13
  
  • Lacerate [W]
    
    • Additional functionality: Slow duration is increased by .5 seconds.
      
  • ​Ensnare [Active]
    
    • Cooldown reduced from 45 to 40 seconds.
      
    • Additional functionality: If no Heroes are hit, reduce the cooldown to 10 seconds.
      
• Level 16
  
  • No Mercy! [Q]
    
    • Additional functionality: Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes marked with Grievous Throw deal an additional 2% of their maximum Health as damage.
      

Developer Comment: Light tuning to level out Zul'jin talent tiers gave us an opportunity for some extra love. It's hard to feel Recklessness' benefits as Zul'jin's health lowers so extra quest credit might help it get noticed. The consistency of Eye of Zul'jin was hard to beat at Level 13, so we've targeted these changes to help Lacerate and Ensnare be more reliable. We're comfortable with No Mercy! being a more niche option in response to enemy Hero compositions, but it wasn't as strong as it should be even in those situations.


Bug Fixes

Heroes

• Murky
  
  • Wrath of Cod now properly follows DoT rules.
    
• Tychus
  
  • Melting Point now properly follows DoT rules.