[2020] Heroes of the Storm Balance Patch Notes - November 4, 2020

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

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Heroes

TANK	BRUISER	HEALER	MELEE	RANGED
Anub'arak	Chen	Alexstrasza	Alarak	Azmodan
Mal'Ganis	Dehaka			Falstad
	D.Va			Lunara
	Gazlowe			Orphea
	Leoric			Sgt. Hammer
	Malthael			Sylvanas
	Varian			Tychus

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Tank

Anub’arak

Talents

• Level 20
  • Hive Master [R1]
    • Damage increased from 153 to 165.
    • Healing increased from 50 to 80.
  • Cryptweave [R2]
    • Additional functionality: Upon exiting the Cocoon, enemies take 50 damage over 4 seconds. This damage is increased by 100% for each second that they were inside.
  • Hardened Shield [Active]
    • Removed.
  • New Talent: The Traitor King [Active]
    • Gain 10% bonus maximum Health and 20 Spell Armor. Activate to gain 75 Armor for 4 seconds. 60-second CD.

Developer Comment: We’re making some changes to Anub’arak’s Level 20 talents to make them feel more heroic to take. Currently Rewind is dominating this tier due to being both very powerful on its own and fitting Anub’arak’s kit in a great way. We like this and don’t want to take away from it, so we’re looking to make his other choices also feel great when picked.

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Mal'Ganis

Base

• Health increased from 2450 to 2550.
• Health Regeneration increased from 5.11 to 5.31.

Talents

• Level 4
  • Echo of Doom [W]
    • Damage increased from 60 to 66.

Developer Comment: Mal’ganis is underperforming compared to other Warriors. His talents are in a great place since his rework, so we’re giving back some of his Health so that he can more effectively tank for his team.

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Bruiser

Chen

Talents

• Level 1
  • Freshest Ingredients [Trait]
    • Cooldown reduction upon quest completion increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Deadly Strike [Q]
    • Damage bonus increased from 100% to 125%.
• Level 7
  • Gift of the Ox [E]
    • Damage taken over time reduced from 60% to 50% of damage taken.

Developer Comment: These are some fairly minor buffs to underperforming talents. We don’t expect huge shifts with these changes, but saw room to make Chen players’ lives a little more fun, so we’re doing it!

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Dehaka

Base

• Dark Swarm [W]
  • Damage increased from 49 to 52.

Talents

• Level 13 and 20 talents have been reordered to follow our normal conventions (Q, W, E, etc.)
• Level 4
  • Lurker Strain [E]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 4 to 6 seconds.
• Level 7
  • Paralyzing Enzymes [Q]
    • Slow amount increased from 30% to 35%.
• Level 13
  • Primal Rage [Trait]
    • Damage bonus increased from 1% to 1.25% per Essence stored.
• Level 20
  • Change is Survival [R2]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 30 to 40 seconds.
  • Apex Predator [Z]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 35 to 50 seconds.

Developer Comment: Over the years we’ve nerfed heroes like Dehaka quite a bit due to how effective players became at utilizing the power of their global presence on large maps. Dehaka has had a lower win-rate for quite some time due to this, so we’re looking to give him back some of the power he previously had.

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D.va

Talents

• Level 4
  • Rush Down [Q]
    • Damage and healing against enemy Heroes reduced from 3% to 2% maximum Health.
    • Damage bonus to non-Heroic enemies reduced from 75% to 70%.

Developer Comment: We’re generally very happy with where D.Va has landed since her rework, but Rush Down is still a little too strong and is a large part of D.Va’s power pie, so we’re continuing to tone it down.

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Gazlowe

Base

• Rock-It! Turret [Q]
  • Damage reduced from 40 to 38.
• Deth Lazor [W]
  • Damage reduced from 184 to 180.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Big Game Hunter [Trait]
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Rock It Sock It [Q]
    • Shield amount reduced from 215 to 200.
• Level 13
  • Superior Schematics [Q]
    • Splash damage reduced from 75% to 60%.
• Level 16
  • Ark Reaktor [E]
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.

Developer Comment: Gazlowe is a little bit too powerful after our last round of changes to him, so we’re pulling back a bit on some of our buffs and on some of his overperforming talents. Overall, he’s in a much healthier place, and we both desire and expect that he’ll be a relevant part of the meta, even after these nerfs.

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Leoric

Base

• Basic Attack damage increased from 109 to 115.

Talents

• Level 13
  • Unyielding Despair [W]
    • Cooldown reduction while Drain Hope is active increased from .5 to .75 seconds.
    • Cooldown reduction if Drain Hope lasts its full duration reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Hardened Bones [W]
    • Removed.
  • Burning Despair [W]
    • Added Crit kickers when Burning Despair deals bonus damage during Drain Hope.
    • Additional functionality: While Drain Hope is active, gain 40 Armor.
  • Shroud of the Dead King [Active]
    • Cooldown reduced from 30 to 25 seconds.

Developer Comment: Leoric is slightly out of the meta and is currently sitting at around a 48% win rate. We’re giving him some small buffs with a focus on his Level 20 talents to make them more interesting and powerful to use.

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Malthael

Talents

• Level 4
  • Throwing Shade [E]
    • Additional functionality: Death Shroud’s initial impact deals 2% maximum Health as damage.
• Level 16
  • Memento Mori [Trait]
    • Damage bonus increased from 80% to 90%.

Developer Comment: Malthael’s talents and overall performance are in a good place but Throwing Shade and Memento Mori have been lesser picked talents for some time. We’re adding some new functionality to Throwing Shade to make it more attractive, and buffing Memento Mori’s damage bonus to help it compete against his other Level 16 options.

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Varian

Base

• Health increased from 2116 to 2220.
• Health Regeneration increased from 4.41 to 4.63.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Lion’s Maw [Q]
    • Damage bonus increased from 5 to 6 per stack.
  • High King’s Quest [Passive]
    • Regeneration Globe collection requirement for quest completion reduced from 20 to 15.
• Level 20
  • Demoralizing Shout [Active]
    • Cooldown reduced from 25 to 20 seconds.

Developer Comment: Despite some other recent buffs, Varian is still a bit behind other heroes in regards to his general power level. Since this is true for all 3 ways to build him, we’re giving him a pretty decent Health buff as well as buffing up a few of his talents to help him out.

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Healer

Alexstrasza

Base

• Abundance [W]
  • Range increased from 10 to 11.5.
• Preservation [W]
  • Range increased from 10.5 to 11.5.

Developer Comment: We read some feedback that since our global Movement Speed increase many patches ago, Alexstrasza has a bit of awkwardness where she can outrun her Abundance proc, even when it is cast at max range. We agree and feel she can use a small buff in general, so we’re giving Abundance a range increase.

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Melee Assassin

Alarak

Talents

• Level 16
  • Mocking Strikes [Passive]
    • Adjusted functionality: Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes reduce the cooldown of Alarak’s Basic Abilities by 1.5 seconds. This bonus is doubled against enemy Heroes who are Stunned, Silenced, Slowed, or Rooted.

Developer Comment: Mocking Strikes is slightly underperforming compared to other options, so we’re taking its benefit and making half of it more universally available, which should make the talent less risky to take and get value from.

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Ranged Assassin

Azmodan

Talents

• Talent bonuses related to All Shall Burn will now proc their effects if the target dies while All Shall Burn is channeling on an enemy.
• This includes effects for Master of Destruction, Cydaea’s Kiss, Hell Rift, and Sin’s Grasp.

Developer Comment: We saw some feedback that Azmodan’s All Shall Burn felt awkward due to not getting various procs if the target dies while he is channeling on them. This was initially intended by us due to concerns of it being too powerful and resulting in some strange moments when playing against it, but we’ve since come around and agree the lack of usability is hurting these talents and Azmodan as a whole more than it’s helping, so we’re going to try allowing these procs to occur, even if the target dies.

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Falstad

Talents

• Level 1
  • Gathering Storm [Q]
    • Damage bonus increased from 1.5 to 2.
• Level 4
  • ​​Updraft [E]
    • Shield bonus increased from 60% to 70%.
• Level 7
  • ​Secret Weapon [Q]
    • Damage bonus increased from 80% to 90%.
• Level 10
  • ​Hinterland Blast [R1]
    • Mana cost reduced from 100 to 80.
    • Cooldown reduction when hitting enemy Heroes increased from 25 to 30 seconds.
• Level 20
  • ​Epic Mount [Z]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 40 to 50 seconds.

Developer Comment: It’s been a long time since we updated Falstad, so we took a look at him and saw a few talents that could be improved. In general many of his talent tiers have two choices that players seem to heavily prefer over the third option, so we’re trying to create a larger incentive for players to think about choosing those talents that they currently aren’t picking.

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Lunara

Talents

• Level 4
  • Blossom Swell [Q]
    • Adjusted functionality: Increase Noxious Blossom’s range by 25% and its radius by 20%. Blossom Swell applies 2 stacks of Nature’s Toxin to enemies hit.
• Level 16
  • Accelerated Contamination [Q]
    • Adjusted functionality: Reduce the Mana cost of Noxious Blossom from 60 to 40. While at least 1 enemy Hero is afflicted by Nature’s Toxin, Noxious Blossom’s cooldown recharges 75% faster.
  • Starwood Spear [W]
    • Adjusted functionality: Increase Lunara’s Basic Attack range by .5. Using Crippling Spores increases Lunara’s Basic Attack range by an additional 2.25 for 6 seconds.

Developer Comment: We’re making some functionality changes to some of Lunara’s talents, particularly when it comes to her Q build, with the aim of making their benefits more easily accessible. We’re also giving a small range increase to Lunara’s Basic Attacks to Starwood Spear as a baseline buff for picking the talent. While we know the range increase is small, we are nervous about giving too much of a range increase to a Hero who has a Movement Speed bonus as a baseline feature of the character, so we’ll be keeping an eye on this buff and will increase the bonus more if we feel it is appropriate.

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Orphea

Talents

• Level 4
  • Allegrissimo [Q]
    • Additional functionality: Reduce the cooldown of Shadow Waltz by 1 second.
• Level 7
  • Insatiable [W]
    • Cooldown on successful Chomp hit changed from 1.5 to 2 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Monster Within [R1]
    • New functionality: Eternal Feast grants 1 Chaos each time it hits a Hero. While Eternal Feast is active, the cooldowns of Orphea’s Basic Abilities recharge 150% faster.
  • Engulfing Oblivion [R2]
    • Armor reduction duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
  • Final Toccata [Active]
    • Cooldown reduced from 30 to 20 seconds.

Developer Comment: We’re taking a look at Orphea’s Level 20 talents and adding some power to them to make them more fun to choose between. While doing this pass, we saw a couple places to improve her overall talent picks, so we adjusted Allegrissimo and Insatiable as well.

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Sgt. Hammer

Talents

• Level 1
  • Maelstrom Rounds [Active]
    • Bonus damage reduced from 35% to 30%.
    • Cooldown increased from 90 to 100 seconds.
    • Additional functionality: Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes while in Siege Mode reduce the cooldown of Maelstrom Rounds by 5 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Barricade [W]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 3 to 4 seconds.
• Level 7
  • Pulse Detonation Core [Q]
    • Cooldown reduction increased from 1 to 1.5 seconds, and from 1.5 to 2.5 seconds while in Siege Mode.
  • Graduating Range [Trait]
    • Duration between Basic Attack range increases reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
• Level 16
  • Mechanical Know-how [E]
    • Shield amount increased from 5% to 20% maximum Health.
    • Basic Attack damage reduced from 50% to 30%.
    • No longer requires the Shield to be destroyed to gain bonus damage.

Developer Comment: Sgt. Hammer hasn’t seen large changes for some time, particularly to talents like Maelstrom Rounds and Mechanical Know-how. As you’ve probably seen as a theme of this patch, these talents aren’t too popular so we’re helping them out by giving them bonuses that should be more consistently achievable.

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Sylvanas

Talents

• Level 10
  • ​Mind Control [R2]
    • Cooldown reduced from 50 to 40 seconds.
    • Mana cost reduced from 75 to 50.
• Level 20
  • Dark Lady’s Call [R2]
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 30 to 25 seconds.
  • Withering Barrage [Q]
    • Additional functionality: Withering Fire applies Banshee’s Curse.

Developer Comment: We’re doing a small additional buff to Mind Control, as well as trying to give Withering Barrage some functionality that is worthy of a Level 20 talent.

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Tychus

Talents

• Level 1
  • Quarterback [W]
    • Additional functionality: Increase the damage of Frag Grenade by 20%.

Developer Comment: We anticipated that Tychus’s early game talents would have a shake-up with how much power we added to them, but we had a bit of an oversight with Quarterback. While moving a talent from Level 7 to Level 1 would seem competitive in and of itself, the power we added to its alternatives caused the talent to be overshadowed, so we’re adding some more beef to it and to the W build in general to make it more of a compelling way to build Tychus.

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Battlegrounds

Warhead Junction

• Layout Changes
  • Sewage Tunnels have been added to the top and bottom of the Battleground.
  • The bottom one has replaced the Junk Swarm Host.
  • An additional Sight Tower has been added below mid lane.

Developer Comment: Since the release of the Battleground, we have been hearing two resounding pieces of feedback: the map is very large and teams find it difficult to engage with each other due to the amount of ground needed to cover while picking up Warheads, and very often the game either ends up being a base-race as each team takes a Junk Swarm Host and tries to push opposite lanes to end fastest. To address this we have added a couple of Sewage Tunnels (think teleporters) to the map, one of which replaces the bottom Junk Swarm Host, and added an additional Sight Tower to allow teams to keep an eye on the bottom tunnel. We feel like these changes have been a breath of fresh air for Warhead Junction and are excited to hear your feedback!

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