Raiders of Warchrome



Heroes of the Storm PTR Notes – July 2, 2018
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting until July 9. As always, if you encounter any bugs during your PTR play sessions, please stop by the PTR Bug Report forum to let us know about your experiences.


Quick Navigation:


Ranked Play

Third Ban
  • A third Hero ban has been added to draft modes as part of the initial ban phase.
    • During the initial ban phase, teams will alternate until each has banned two Heroes.
    • Ban and pick times have been adjusted in order to offset the addition of the new ban.
  • The number of level 5+ Heroes required to participate in Hero League has been increased from 14 to 16 to ensure players will always have a Hero available if they pick last.

Rank Point Decay
  • Diamond, Master, and Grand Master Hero League players who have placed in the current season but haven’t completed any games in a while will be considered “inactive”.
  • Once a player becomes inactive, they will receive a small amount of rank and MMR decay each day until they complete one Hero League match.
    • Diamond, Master, and Grand Master each have their own threshold for inactivity.
    • Players can earn additional “grace period” days by regularly playing Hero League matches during the current season.
  • Inactive players can avoid decay and regain active status by playing a single Hero League match to completion.

League Inactive Days Before Decay Extra "Grace Period" Days
Diamond 20 10
Master 15 10
Grand Master 10 10

Seeding Changes
  • Players who enter ranked play for the first time can no longer be seeded into placement matches higher than Gold 5.
  • Players who return to Hero League after an extended break will no longer be re-seeded into placement matches based on their performance in other modes.

Hero League Matchmaking Changes
  • Ratings Rather Than Points
    • For Master and Grand Master players, the Master-level players they are matched with and against are now determined by skill rating, and rank points no longer play a role.
      • This should provide better experiences for players of very high skill levels who start playing later in a season.
      • These players’ games should have allies and opponents of more consistent skill levels, which also match their own.
  • Match Quality Restrictions and Notifications
    • Players below Master who have waited fewer than three minutes in queue will not be placed into any matches that are outside of the game quality restrictions that would have been used if the match had been formed around that player.
    • Players will now receive a notification in the UI when these quality restrictions are expanded in order to help them find a match more quickly.
  • Stricter Rank Difference Requirements
    • Master and Grand Master players will now only be matched with allies and opponents who are within 1 division of their own ranks. This means:
      • Master players can be matched with players who are either ranked Diamond 1 or Grand Master, but never both.
      • Grand Master players will not be matched with players below Masters.
    • This restriction will not loosen for players in Europe and North America. However, it can loosen for players in other regions after they have waited in queue for 1 hour.
  • Stricter Rating Differences
    • Master and Grand Master players now have narrower ranges of acceptable skill ratings for the players they are matched with. For example:
      • It is extremely unlikely that a top Grand Master player will be matched with a Master who is on the cusp of demotion to Diamond.
      • If a Master player is placed into a Grand Master game, it is because that player’s skill rating is very similar to that of the Grand Master players.
        • In this situation, the Master player’s ranked points have not yet caught up to their rating.


Battlegrounds

Mercenaries
  • Heroes can no longer Heal, Shield, or target allied Mercenaries with Abilities unless an Ability specifically states that Mercenaries are valid targets.

Alterac Pass
  • Ice Giants
    • Attack speed reduced by approximately 30%.
    • Neutral Ice Giant Attack damage increased from 240 to 312.
    • Captured Ice Giant Attack damage increased from 400 to 520.
  • Cavalry
    • The damage bonus provided by Cavalry units no longer scales with each completed event. The damage bonus provided by Cavalry units is now a flat 10%, and no longer scales with each completed event.

Battlefield of Eternity
  • Minimap
    • The Minimap icons that represent Immortals during an event have received updates.
      • The opposing Immortal now uses an icon depicting crossed axes, while the allied Immortal displays a shield icon.
      • This should help players more quickly identify which Immortal to attack and which to defend.

Braxis Holdout
  • Beacons
    • Now become contested immediately when Heroes from both teams are on the point.
  • Zerg Waves
    • The baseline zerg wave has been strengthened significantly.
      • This should encourage teams to split up in order to defend against an incoming zerg wave, rather than send all five players to attack with an allied wave.
  • Beacon Progress Bars
    • The progress bars in the lower-right corner of the screen have received visual updates to coincide with the above changes.


Heroes

Assassin

Cassia


Abilities
  • Blinding Light (W)
    • Now also deals 50 damage (+4% per level) to enemies in the target area.


Chromie


Abilities
  • Time Trap (E)
    • Melee Heroes who can see a Time Trap can now use melee attacks to destroy it without triggering its effects.


Raynor


Stats
  • Health increased from 1,302 to 1,450.
  • Health Regeneration increased from 2.71 to 3.02.
  • Basic Attack damage reduced from 122 to 92.
  • Basic Attack range is now set to 6.5 and is no longer based on Raynor’s Trait.
  • Scaling increased from 4% to 5% per level.

Abilities
  • New Trait: Give ‘Em Some Pepper
    • Every 4th Basic Attack splashes in a small area and deals 125% more damage to the primary target.
  • Penetrating Round (Q)
    • Damage reduced from 240 to 220.
    • Mana cost reduced from 60 to 50.
    • Additional functionality:
      • Slows enemy Movement Speed by 20% for 2 seconds.
      • Knockback distance is based on the target’s proximity to Raynor.
  • Inspire (W)
    • Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
    • New functionality:
      • Raynor and all nearby allied Minions and Mercenaries gain 30% Attack Speed and 10% Movement Speed for 4 seconds.
      • Casting Inspire resets Raynor’s Basic Attack cooldown.
  • Adrenaline Rush (E)
    • Cooldown increased from 30 to 45 seconds.
    • Mana cost increased from 0 to 75.
    • New functionality:
      • Heal Raynor for 25% of his maximum Health over 1 second. Raynor’s Basic Attacks reduce Adrenaline Rush’s cooldown by 0.5 seconds, doubled against Heroes.
  • Raynor’s Raider (R)
    • Health increased from 766 to 1,000.
    • Damage per missile reduced from 31 to 24.
    • Attacks per second increased from 0.8 to 2.
    • New functionality:
      • Summon a Banshee that assists Raynor. The Banshee deals 96 damage per second and regenerates 75 Health per second if it hasn’t taken damage in the last 4 seconds. Can reactivate to retarget or move the Banshee.
      • The Banshee respawns automatically after 45 seconds.

Talents
  • Level 1
    • Seasoned Marksman (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Scouting Drone (Active)
      • Removed.
    • New Talent: Veteran Marksman (Trait)
      • Quest: Every time the primary target of Give ‘Em Some Pepper is a Hero, permanently increase its damage bonus by 0.75%.
    • New Talent: Ace in the Hole (Passive)
      • Deal 35% more damage to Stunned or Slowed enemies.
    • New Talent: Exterminator (Passive)
      • Basic Attacks deal 50% more damage to Minions, Mercenaries, and Monsters. This is increased to 100% while Inspire is active.
  • Level 4
    • Focused Attack (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Vigorous Assault (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Confident Aim (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Relentless Leader (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Fight or Flight (E)
      • Moved from Level 7.
      • New functionality:
        • Reduce Adrenaline Rush’s cooldown by 10 seconds. Casting Adrenaline Rush grants 25 Armor for 4 seconds.
    • New Talent: Sustaining Rounds (Trait)
      • Give ‘Em Some Pepper heals Raynor for 3% of his maximum Health, increased to 6% is the primary target is a Hero.
    • New Talent: Behemoth Armor (Passive)
      • Gain 250 bonus maximum Health.
      • Quest: Every time Give ‘Em Some Pepper’s primary target is a Hero, gain an additional 5 maximum Health.
  • Level 7
    • Hamstring Shot (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Revolution Overdrive (W)
      • Removed.
    • Puttin’ On A Clinic (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • New Talent: Fuel the Rush (Passive)
      • While Inspire is active, increase Adrenaline Rush's cooldown reduction from Basic Attacks by 200%.
    • New Talent: Unstable Compound (Trait)
      • Increase the area of Give ‘Em Some Pepper by 15%, and enemies hit by it are Slowed by 10% for 3 seconds.
    • New Talent: Heavy Slugs (Active)
      • Activate to increase the distance of the next Penetrating Round by 30% and increase its Slow duration to 6 seconds. 30 second cooldown.
  • Level 13
    • Giant Killer (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Double-Barreled (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Steel Resolve (W)
      • Removed.
    • New Talent: Debilitating Rounds (Passive)
      • Decrease the cooldown of Penetrating Round by 3 seconds. While Inspire is active, Penetrating Round’s Slow is increased by 20%.
    • New Talent: Rallying Cry (W)
      • Increase the duration of Inspire by 1 second. Casting Inspire grants nearby allied Heroes 10% Movement and Attack Speed for its duration.
    • New Talent: Giddy-Up (W)
      • Gain 10% Movement Speed while mounted and unmounted. Inspire grants 10% more Movement Speed.
  • Level 16
    • Executioner (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Cluster Round (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Bullseye (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Give Me More (E)
      • Moved from Level 1.
      • New functionality:
        • Increase Adrenaline Rush healing by 50%. While Inspire is active, gain 1 Basic Attack range.
    • New Talent: Paint Them Red (Q)
      • Increase the damage of Penetrating Round by 50% and heal for 100% of the damage it deals to Heroes.
    • New Talent: Bounty Hunter (Trait) (D)
      • If Give ‘Em Some Pepper’s target is a Hero, it deals an additional 3% of their maximum Health as damage and grants Raynor 10 Armor for 3 seconds.
      • Activate Give ‘Em Some Pepper to apply it to Raynor’s next Basic Attack. 40 second cooldown.
  • Level 20
    • Scorched Earth (R)
      • Removed.
    • A Card to Play (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Nexus Frenzy (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Dusk Wing (R)
      • Increase the damage, Health, and leash range of Raynor’s Raider by 100%. When it dies, both Inspire and Adrenaline Rush are activated for free.
    • New Talent: Indomitable Resolve (R)
      • Give ‘Em Some Pepper lowers the cooldown of Hyperion by 5 seconds if the primary target is a Hero. Inspire grants Raynor Unstoppable for 2 seconds.
    • New Talent: Weak Spot Acquired (Trait)
      • An enemy Hero who is the primary target of Give ‘Em Some Pepper has their Armor reduced by 25 for 2 seconds.
    • New Talent: Execute (Passive)
      • Increase Attack Speed by 20%. Your Basic Attack damage is increased by 25% against targets below 50% Health.

Developer Comment: We're extremely excited to bring Raynor’s long-awaited rework to the Nexus! We've been reading and absorbing all the amazing feedback that you have sent us over the past year and think the new design will do him justice. We've massively increased his wave-clear potential with a new Trait and completely overhauled his Talent tree (one of the oldest in the game). Raynor mains should have a whole new set of tools to play around with while new users should still be able to pick him up and right-click their way to victory. We have been having a ton of fun with the changes and hope you do as well. As always, please send us any feedback you have and get ready to fill your enemies full of daylight!


Specialist

Azmodan


Stats
  • Health reduced from 2,738 to 2,464.
  • Health Regeneration reduced from 5.7031 to 5.1328.

Abilities
  • General of Hell (Trait) (D)
    • Renamed to Demon Lieutenant.
    • New Functionality:
      • Summon a Demon Lieutenant at any allied Mercenary, Minion, or Azmodan Demon. The Lieutenant will cast Demonic Smite every 7 seconds, instantly killing an enemy Minion. Lasts 20 seconds. 60 Second cooldown.
      • Can now be cast on the Minimap.
      • Can be used while channeling All Shall Burn.
  • Globe of Annihilation (Q)
    • New Quest:
      • Hitting a Hero or killing a Minion within 1.5 seconds of being hit by Globe of Annihilation grants 2 Annihilation.
    • Reward:
      • Each stack of Annihilation increases Globe of Annihilation’s damage by 1, up to 400.
    • Greatly reduced the delay before impact warning effects appear.
    • Range reduced from 35 to 30.
    • Casting time reduced from 0.75 to 0.5625 seconds.
  • Demon Warrior (W)
    • Can now be cast while channeling All Shall Burn.
    • No longer has charges.
    • Demon Warriors now deal a small amount of damage to nearby enemies every second.
    • Health increased from 365 to 390.
    • Attack damage reduced from 37 to 28.
    • Attack range reduced from 1.5 to 1.
    • Movement Speed reduced from 4 to 3.6.
  • All Shall Burn (E)
    • New functionality:
      • Channel a beam of death on an enemy, dealing 136 damage per second for 2.5 seconds. If the Channel lasts its full duration, deal an extra 272 damage to the target.
      • Azmodan’s Movement Speed is reduced by 40% while Channeling.
    • Cooldown increased from 6 to 8 seconds.
    • Mana cost changed from 12 per second to a flat 30 Mana.
    • Range reduced from 7 to 6.
  • Demonic Invasion (R)
    • New Functionality:
      • Rain a small army of Demonic Grunts down on enemies, dealing 65 damage per impact. Grunts deal 42 damage, have 750 Health and last up to 8 seconds. When Grunts die they explode, dealing 65 damage to nearby enemies.
    • Grunt Health increased from 365 to 750.
    • Grunt Health now decays over 8 seconds.
    • Grunt attack damage reduced from 51 to 42.
    • Cooldown reduced from 100 to 90 seconds.
    • Mana cost reduced from 100 to 60.
  • New Heroic Ability: Tide of Sin (R)
    • Activate to make the next Globe of Annihilation cost no Mana and deal 50% more damage. 30 second cooldown.

Talents
  • Level 1
    • Taste for Blood (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Sieging Wrath (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Gluttony (Q)
      • Moved from Level 4.
      • New functionality:
        • 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.
    • New Talent: Greed (Q)
      • Increase the timeframe in which Minion kills 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%.
    • New Talent: 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.
  • Level 4
    • Hellish Hirelings (Trait)
      • Removed.
    • Army of Hell (W)
      • New Functionality:
        • Summon Demon Warrior spawns an additional Demon, but its cooldown is increased by 10 seconds.
    • Hellforged Armor (W)
      • Moved from Level 13
      • New Functionality:
        • Demon Warriors and Lieutenants gain 35 armor and last 4 seconds longer.
    • Battleborn (Passive)
      • Moved from Level 16
      • New Functionality:
        • Azmodan’s Basic Attacks reduce the cooldown of Summon Demon Warrior by 0.5 seconds and Demon Lieutenant by 1 second.
  • Level 7
    • Infernal Globe (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Bound Minion (Trait)
      • Removed.
    • Gluttonous Ward (Active)
      • Removed.
    • Master of Destruction (E)
      • Moved from Level 1.
      • New Functionality:
        • All Shall Burn’s final damage applies to all enemies in an area around the target and grants 2 Annihilation per Hero hit.
    • New Talent: Bombardment (Q)
      • After casting Globe of Annihilation, Azmodan’s Basic Attacks within the next 3 seconds have an additional 2.75 range and can hit 2 additional targets. Hitting Heroes with Basic Attacks empowered by Bombardment grant 1 Annihilation.
    • New Talent: Art of Chaos (Q)
      • If Globe of Annihilation hits 2 or more Heroes, restore 25 Mana. If it hits 3 or more Heroes, gain an extra 5 Annihilation.
  • Level 13
    • Hedonism (Q)
      • Removed.
    • Infused Power (E)
      • Removed.
    • New Talent: Brutish Vanguard (W)
      • Demon Warriors gain 25% increased Health and Slow nearby enemies by 20%.
    • New Talent: Cydaea’s Kiss (Q)
      • Reduces the Channel time of All Shall Burn by 0.5 seconds. If All Shall Burn’s Channel lasts its full duration against a Hero, Azmodan is healed for 5% of his maximum Health.
    • New Talent: Chain of Command (Trait) (D)
      • Demon Lieutenants also grant 25% increased damage to nearby friendly Minions, Mercenaries, and Azmodan’s summoned Demons.
  • Level 16
    • Demonic Smite (Trait)
      • Removed.
    • Sin for Sin (Active)
      • Removed.
    • Forced Recruiment (D)
      • Removed.
    • 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.
    • New Talent: 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.
    • New Talent: Total Annihilation (Q)
      • Globe of Annihilation deals additional percentage based damage to Heroes.
  • Level 20
    • New Talent: Siegebreaker (R)
      • Azmodan’s Demons deal 50% increased damage to Structures.
    • New Talent: Black Pool (R)
      • Globes of Annihilation empowered by Tide of Sin also leave a Black Pool at their impact location for 5 seconds. Enemies within the pool lose 8 Armor per second, and take 56 damage per second.
    • New Talent: Pride (Q)
      • After gaining 400 Annihilation, Globe Of Annihilation’s area is increased by 15% and its damage is increased by 100.
    • New Talent: Trample (Active)
      • Activate to charge a short distance, dealing 240 damage and Slowing enemies caught in the path by 60% for 1 second. 60 second cooldown.


Support

Alexstrasza


Abilities
  • Life-Binder (R)
    • Now also heals Alexstrasza and her target for 100 Health per second during channeling.


Collection

New Bundles and Skin Packs
  • The following new bundles will soon become available for a limited time:
    • Heroes of the Dorm 2018 Bundle – Available starting the week of July 10 until July 23.
    • Raiders of Warchrome Bundle – Available starting the week of July 10 until August 6.
  • The following new skin packs will become available the week of July 10 until August 6:
    • Dominus Vile Azmodan Skin Pack
    • Diesel Speaker Nazeebo Skin Pack
    • Roadraider Raynor Skin Pack

Warchrome Skins
  • Azmodan
    • Dominus Vile Azmodan
    • Hazardus Vile Azmodan
    • Machinus Vile Azmodan
  • Nazeebo
    • Diesel Speaker Nazeebo
    • Hexplug Diesel Speaker Nazeebo
    • Neon Diesel Speaker Nazeebo
  • Raynor
    • Roadraider Raynor
    • Ghostly Roadraider Raynor
    • Nameless Roadraider Raynor

Additional New Skins
  • Arthas
    • Ruby Frostwyrm Arthas
    • Stromgarde Prince Arthas
  • Azmodan
    • Champion Azmodunk
  • E.T.C.
    • Fel E.T.C.
    • New Glam Metal E.T.C.
  • Gul’dan
    • Shadowmoon Gul’dan
  • Kerrigan
    • Champion Cheerleader Kerrigan
  • Li-Ming
    • Champion Striker Li-Ming
  • Samuro
    • Fel Burning Blade Samuro
    • Draenor Burning Blade Samuro

New Mounts
  • Celestial Billie
    • This Mount will be granted to players the first time they purchase gems using real money following the release of this patch.
  • Helldorado
    • Helldorado
    • Ghostly Helldorado
    • Nameless Helldorado


Bug Fixes

General
  • Fixed a number of typo and tooltip errors across several aspects of the game.

Art
  • Diablo: Will no longer appear to face the wrong direction while walking after Shadow Charge is interrupted.
  • Malthael: Fear the Reaper’s icon art in the buff bar now correctly matches its icon art in the Talent pane.

Battlegrounds
  • Haunted Mines: Fixed an issue that could cause the Grave Golem in the Mines to stop issuing Basic Attacks and casting its Root Ability when defending against nearby Heroes.
  • Warhead Junction: Visual effects created by Boss and Podling Abilities are no longer visible through the Fog of War.
  • Try Mode: Changing the Enemy Hero setting to None and then using the Set Level button no longer causes an enemy Hero to spawn.

Heroes, Abilities, and Talents
  • Abilities: Fixed an issue in which certain Abilities, like Stukov’s Lurking Arm, could be unintentionally canceled immediately after casting.
  • Alarak: Deadly Charge will now always fire in the direction the player clicked, instead of the direction Alarak was facing when the Ability was cast.
  • Alexstrasza: Can no longer use Cleansing Flame to switch between the upper and lower levels of Haunted Mines.
  • Alexstrasza: Fixed an issue that could cause Cleansing Flame to fail if it was cast in the same moment that Dragonqueen was ending.
  • Cassia: Fixed an issue in which the Plate of the Whale Talent required more Basic Attacks to be absorbed per Health Regeneration stack than intended.
  • Deckard: Can now correctly use Healing Potions while affected by Zarya’s Graviton Surge.
  • Deckard: Canceling Stay Awhile and Listen no longer prevents the next source of damage from waking Sleeping enemies.
  • Diablo: No longer becomes unable to use any Abilities if Shadow Charge fails to cast.
  • Diablo: Fixed an issue that could prevent Diablo from using additional Abilities after casting Shadow Charge on an enemy who is using a dash, like Chen’s Flying Kick or Illidan’s Dive.
  • D.Va: Shift-queuing movement commands during Boosters no longer causes D.Va to become stuck indefinitely.
  • Garrosh: Can now correctly cast Into the Fray on Unstoppable allied Heroes.
  • Garrosh: Warlord’s Challenge no longer cancels Abilities that end upon taking damage, like Muradin’s Second Wind or Fenix’s Shield Capacitor.
  • Nova: After learning Anti-Armor Shells, the Target Info Panel now displays the correct amount of Basic Attack damage dealt.
  • Sleep: Damage over time effects that do not initially apply damage, like Gul’dan’s Corruption and Blaze’s Combustion, will now correctly wake Sleeping enemies.
  • Stukov: Healing Pathogen’s timer is no longer visually removed if the target becomes Polymorphed.
  • Takedown Credit: Fixed an issue in which takedown credit could still be granted to a Hero even if they left combat long before the target was killed.
  • The Butcher: Ruthless Onslaught’s visual effects will no longer persist on the target if they interrupt the Ability by entering Stealth.
  • Valeera: Sinister Strike’s targeting indicator now more closely matches the Ability’s area of effect.
  • Varian: Colossus Smash now moves Varian to a valid landing location, rather than placing him within a space that’s already occupied by the target.

Sound
  • Sonya: The La Pantera Sonya skin no longer plays sword impact sound effects when attacking Structures.
This article was originally published in forum thread: Raiders of Warchrome, Heroes of the Storm PTR Notes - July 2, 2018 started by Nerraw View original post
Comments 20 Comments
  1. Regnant's Avatar
    Cool looking skins, time to see how the reworks actually play for real
  1. Melsiren's Avatar
    I'm okay with this.
  1. skorpio's Avatar
    My 2 favourite specialits got amazing skins :O Too bad Azmo is nerfed to the ground ;(
  1. Super Kami Dende's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by skorpio View Post
    My 2 favourite specialits got amazing skins :O Too bad Azmo is nerfed to the ground ;(
    Lol no he isn't. Why do people always see a change in abilities as a massive nerf.
  1. Gallahadd's Avatar
    Oh what a day, what a lovely day!

    Also, if Azmodan doesn’t have a “Mediocre!” Taunt on kill, they’ve wasted a huge opportunity.

    Quote Originally Posted by Meat Rubbing Specialist View Post
    Lol no he isn't. Why do people always see a change in abilities as a massive nerf.
    I’m with you, a change doesn’t always mean a nerf...

    But seriously, look at those patchnotes. Azmo has been GUTTED. His Laser build is straight up GONE, and you’re pretty much forced to build for Dunks, meanwhile, they’ve lowered the range, speed and damage of dunks, while also giving the enemy WAY more chance to see them coming.

    I mean, if that’s not considered a nerf, I don’t know what is. I’ve not seen a rework this bad since Jojo.
  1. NoiseTank13's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Meat Rubbing Specialist View Post
    Lol no he isn't. Why do people always see a change in abilities as a massive nerf.
    https://us.battle.net/forums/en/hero...ic/20765506978

    because it's the biggest dumpstering of a hots hero, ever.
  1. tristannarutofan's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Gallahadd View Post
    Oh what a day, what a lovely day!

    Also, if Azmodan doesn’t have a “Mediocre!” Taunt on kill, they’ve wasted a huge opportunity.



    I’m with you, a change doesn’t always mean a nerf...

    But seriously, look at those patchnotes. Azmo has been GUTTED. His Laser build is straight up GONE, and you’re pretty much forced to build for Dunks, meanwhile, they’ve lowered the range, speed and damage of dunks, while also giving the enemy WAY more chance to see them coming.

    I mean, if that’s not considered a nerf, I don’t know what is. I’ve not seen a rework this bad since Jojo.
    you had to build for the dunks before and i was just on and like he has a half dozen talents that make his laser badass if thats what you want.

    seems basically the same to me, he just has no afk build. no "push a whole empty lane with 1 ability" and no "hit E and just laser till your mana is gone"

    idk if its a nerf it doesnt matter than much, in pvp its player skill and coordination that beat out abilities and in V AI you you always change your strategy based on their heroes and difficulty
  1. Super Kami Dende's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by NoiseTank13 View Post
    https://us.battle.net/forums/en/hero...ic/20765506978

    because it's the biggest dumpstering of a hots hero, ever.
    It's almost as if that's what a PTR and feedback is for His kit is fine, the PTR is to tune his numbers.
  1. NoiseTank13's Avatar
    PTR is for stability and game breaking bugs. Not for feedback and number tuning.
  1. Nikkaszal's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Meat Rubbing Specialist View Post
    It's almost as if that's what a PTR and feedback is for His kit is fine, the PTR is to tune his numbers.
    PTRs are RARELY - if ever - used to tune numbers. I think the only hero that ever got tuned during a PTR was Maiev, because her pre-release version was beyond OP. Most tuning happens a week or two after on live, when real-game meta data can be collated. PTRs are to find bugs and wierd mechanical interactions.

    So yeah - the Azmo you see on PTR is the one that will be seen on live, at least for a few weeks.
  1. DesoPL's Avatar
    Well... Maybe theory with next hero going happend at the end of july is actually true.
  1. ophion1990's Avatar
    Dude, those skins look crazy. The mount animation for Azmo and that themed Gargantuan/Vengeful Spirit, more of that, please. The new tint for Frostwyrm Arthas look pretty good aswell, better than the average random recoloring of an existing skin.
  1. skorpio's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Meat Rubbing Specialist View Post
    Lol no he isn't. Why do people always see a change in abilities as a massive nerf.
    Azmo is my 2nd highest lvl character, just after Hammer. I always thought Blizzard wants various viable builds on character and Azmo had 3, each for his ability - dunk, lazor and push. Now he has only dunk, with nerfed everything. Only benefit that stacks can be farmed faster.

    Lazor has longer cd and shorter range (which leads to easier interrupts or death, becoz of lesser health pool). It's full dmg can hurt squishes (like Valla or Jaina) for half of their life on lvl 1 as well as lvl 20 (but pretty useless against tanks). And lazor talents compete with stronger dunk talents.

    Push is still there, but much weaker. Removing warrior's charge, doubling general's cd and shortening his duration, removing Bound Minion talent, nerfing Demonic Invasion and putting Siegebreaker talent on 20 lvl where it's pretty useless. Funny thing that push talents doesn't compete with dunk talents.

    So Blizz wanted to make Azmo as dunk/siege instead monochromatic Q, W, E character which leads to overall nerfs.
  1. Ryme's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by NoiseTank13 View Post
    https://us.battle.net/forums/en/hero...ic/20765506978

    because it's the biggest dumpstering of a hots hero, ever.
    I tried to play him this morning, enemies have to actively try to be hit by long range dunks, the notice period for it is hilariously long.
  1. Nerraw's Avatar
    I have no doubt that Azmodan will have his place and that his numbers will be decent. I will however miss his existing playstyle, because that is being destroyed.
  1. Gurluas's Avatar
    They even make an event called Warchrome and still NO CHROMIE SKIN?! >: (
  1. Gallahadd's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by tristannarutofan View Post
    like he has a half dozen talents that make his laser badass if thats what you want.
    That’s the thing... he has talents that effect his laser, but very few are FOR the laser. He has one that lets it grant stacks (to buff his dunk) and he has one that lets it summon a demon (on the off chance you channel to conpletion) but none that would let you build around laser as your primary ability. Which sucks, because I always enjoyed his laser build, I know it wasn’t the most viable build, but I found it the most fun.
  1. Tenris's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Gallahadd View Post
    That’s the thing... he has talents that effect his laser, but very few are FOR the laser. He has one that lets it grant stacks (to buff his dunk) and he has one that lets it summon a demon (on the off chance you channel to conpletion) but none that would let you build around laser as your primary ability. Which sucks, because I always enjoyed his laser build, I know it wasn’t the most viable build, but I found it the most fun.
    I agree with you his laser build was amazing for taking down forts and it made an unstoppable machine 1vs1 due to the heal and slow, I remember in a team fight being involved with every kill and finishing everyone off with laser and no one could escape or kill me. It was very boring tho, press E wait for things to die, next target.
  1. Gallahadd's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Tenris View Post
    It was very boring tho, press E wait for things to die, next target.
    Yeah, that’s pretty true. It was boring but quite good in its niche. He was great at wrecking forts, was an excellent Duelist and decent in team fights. Sadly, it didn’t have the flashy appeal of his dunk build... so it's gone.
  1. Frozen Death Knight's Avatar
    Azmodan got a pretty good rework, if you ask me. He is no longer a Hero with extremely linear talent choices who is also honestly quite shallow. For people complaining about the Laser build being gone, good riddance I say. It was a very low effort skill to use that also happened to be nearly useless when when going Dunk build, which made Azmodan effectively only have two basic abilities during every game. The rework actually encourages you to cast all of his abilities during a fight without needing to fully commit to a single build already at lvl 1. The Laser on the PTR also has an advantage that the live version doesn't have; burst damage, which makes him able to deal higher bursts of damage in a short time span when using his Q. There is also some fun synergy with his W, where you could summon a constant wave of summons that worked both for sieging structures or in fights (the lvl 13 talent that make your W slow I liked in particular)

    As for the removal of Black Pool, I am glad it is gone. A huge problem with Azmodan's design is that all his damage is balanced around having Black Pool in the game, which has led to him having really awful damage baseline. While the new Tide of Sin ulti isn't particularly exciting as an ulti, it is at least more practical since you can now move freely while avoiding accidental self-casts when alt casting Black Pool+Globe of Annihilation. I wouldn't mind seeing a new ulti for him or perhaps even putting his lvl 20 Tide of Sin upgrade at lvl 10, which has some interesting uses as a zoning tool.

Site Navigation