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Chromie Rework Discussion

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Lead Hero Designer Matt Villers discussed Chromie in the latest round of blue posts dealing with Hero reworks.

The developers hinted at possible changes to Chromie in the latest Balance & Design AMA. They don't like her binary gameplay experience and are experimenting with making her Dragon's BreathDragon's Breath [W] visible to enemies.

Blizzard LogoBlizzard (Source)

You can look forward to more Chromie changes in the future. I can't give a date, but we've started to experiment with various ideas, like pulling in her range further but reducing her cast time, and making her W visible to enemies. All of this is still early in development, but the idea is to make her feel more interactive with enemies, and not create such a binary experience for Chromie herself (if enemies reach her, she dies and can't do damage, otherwise she's untouched).

In the latest discussion on the official forums, Villers revealed that Chromie is well-balanced and decreasing her damage output would not be the right approach from a design standpoint. The biggest challenge for the devs when dealing with Chromie is not to change her so much that she loses her identity. What do you think defines Chromie? Is it her long range, burst damage, slow or something else? Are you a Chromie player or find her frustrating to play against? Let us know in the comments!

Blizzard LogoBlizzard (Source)

Chromie is a tricky one because there's no single element of her kit that pushes her over the line in terms of feeling frustrating to play against. She's also pretty balanced overall, so simply making her weaker isn't a great option.

Put simply, the challenge for us here is-
  • Change her enough that she feels noticeably more interactive for opponents.
  • Don't change her so much that she loses her identity - she should still feel like Chromie.
  • Figure out how to compensate loss of power from the removal of frustrating elements, without pushing her right back over the line in a different way.

There are many ways we could address the first and third items on that list, but the second one is where things get a bit more difficult. So with that I'd pose the question to you Chromie players out there:

Which parts of Chromie do you feel are core to her identity and which would you feel comfortable seeing changed (assuming she got something else in return)? Is it her long range that defines her? Her burst damage? Her ability to scale hard if she does well on her Quest? Her disruption via Time TrapTime Traps and Slowing SandsSlowing Sands? Some combination of these or something else entirely?

Follow-up Post

Glad to see really good discussion coming out of this. Thanks everyone!

A few quick thoughts on main points-

  • The goal here isn't to make Chromie weaker. A Hero can feel distinct and powerful to play as, and still be fun to play against.
  • We've already seen feedback on playing against Chromie and it's the reason we're having these discussions. The question I posed earlier is focused on the perspective of playing as Chromie, and what makes her feel fun/unique to you personally.
  • Looking through the replies so far, I already see some consistent themes bubbling up, which is great.

While I can't speak to what changes may or may not happen at this point, I love that we're getting so much player feedback on this and we'll be keeping it in mind as we talk about potential future plans for Chromie.

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Reduce her range. That's really all that's needed. She should be viewable when she's using her abilities, not 50 yds away.

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Making Dragon's BreathDragon's Breath visible is all I ask for. No hero feels as luck-based to fight as Chromie for this reason. Abilities should have counterplay options, and "move in a randomly chosen direction and hope you guessed right" shouldn't be the optimal play.

I'd be ok with a corresponding buff to it, even. Maybe make Dragon's EyeDragon's Eye baseline? This would be a fine change if it were visible, since it would change the talent's effect from "#$&% someone over real hard if they're super unlucky" to "reward Chromie for good aim/ team coordination".

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1 minute ago, Peaches9 said:

Making Dragon's BreathDragon's Breath visible is all I ask for. No hero feels as luck-based to fight as Chromie for this reason. Abilities should have counterplay options, and "move in a randomly chosen direction and hope you guessed right" shouldn't be the optimal play.

I'd be ok with a corresponding buff to it, even. Maybe make Dragon's EyeDragon's Eye baseline? This would be a fine change if it were visible, since it would change the talent's effect from "#$&% someone over real hard if they're super unlucky" to "reward Chromie for good aim/ team coordination".

I think a small range decrease would also be in order, also, maybe make it so that if she casts a spell she gets revealed, might make her feel less broken. Either or, a range decrease or reveal her location when she is casting. Probably not both, as that seems like it might be a bit too big of a nerf.

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Just reduce the damage, cooldown and cost of Dragon's Breath, i.e. reduce her burst. The most frustrating thing ever is to step on some invisible hourglass and get 90% health melted away instantly. A hero who's so good at poking shouldn't be equally good at bursting down enemies. And maybe a little range decrease on Q and W would be nice.

Laning against Chromie minus the hourglass is actually quite fun for both players because you're playing mindgames with your opponent. Prediction abilities aren't really random; you may get a bit lucky here and there, but what matters most is reading your opponent's mind, both playing and playing against her. Any player can dodge a Dragon's Breath if it's visible, and reduces its use to only combo'd with stuns and the goddamn hourglass, which is the most frustrating thing in the first place.

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16 minutes ago, ZeroFPS said:

Just reduce the damage, cooldown and cost of Dragon's Breath, i.e. reduce her burst. The most frustrating thing ever is to step on some invisible hourglass and get 90% health melted away instantly. A hero who's so good at poking shouldn't be equally good at bursting down enemies. And maybe a little range decrease on Q and W would be nice.

Laning against Chromie minus the hourglass is actually quite fun for both players because you're playing mindgames with your opponent. Prediction abilities aren't really random; you may get a bit lucky here and there, but what matters most is reading your opponent's mind, both playing and playing against her. Any player can dodge a Dragon's Breath if it's visible, and reduces its use to only combo'd with stuns and the goddamn hourglass, which is the most frustrating thing in the first place.

It's actually not that common to get hit by the chromie hourglasses. I don't know how to nerf chromie, maybe a little range decrease with a buff to cast time, and/or making W visible, but I cast hourglass about maybe 50 times a game, and only like 5 times a game does it get triggered. Also, only like once or twice a game do i actually hit someone time trapped with my full burst.

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Making Dragon's Breath visible is really pointless, since most of the time it's easy to predict where Chromie thought you would be when she activates the ability. Due to how you are supposed to counter it, it's range really should be shortened, not by a lot, but just enough so that Chromie is visible to the enemy when she casts it, so that enemy knows that they have to dodge an incoming attack. Also maybe make it do less damage. As a balance you could buff Dragon's EyeDragon's Eye and Deep BreathingDeep Breathing. Shortening the range of Sand Blast on the other hand is unadvised, since it's already pretty difficult to hit. 

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Sniping someone who can't see it coming is the most fun while playing as Chromie. Seeing them misjudge where I'm aiming. That's my Chromie identity. And if a Chromie correctly anticipates where I'm going to dodge to, to aim dragon's breath to where I'm going to move to avoid where I guess it's going, I feel like "well done". I don't see a reason to change her at all. I don't find her any more frustrating to play against than anyone else.

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5 hours ago, SteveFrost said:

"Chromie is balanced" Good one, Blizz, good one.

"Don't worry, this is gonna get nerfed." Inb4, Chromie buffs every 2nd patch

When have you EVER known a Blizzard Rework to actually improve a character? It ALMOST happened with Sonya but then they backpedalled.

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12 hours ago, Peaches9 said:

Making Dragon's BreathDragon's Breath visible is all I ask for. No hero feels as luck-based to fight as Chromie for this reason. Abilities should have counterplay options, and "move in a randomly chosen direction and hope you guessed right" shouldn't be the optimal play.

I'd be ok with a corresponding buff to it, even. Maybe make Dragon's EyeDragon's Eye baseline? This would be a fine change if it were visible, since it would change the talent's effect from "#$&% someone over real hard if they're super unlucky" to "reward Chromie for good aim/ team coordination".

I think that would help a lot. I think that also reducing its cast range would be fair since it is a pretty telegraphed move (like most of her kit). That would make the move more rewarding to land with the Dragon's EyeDragon's Eye as baseline.

2 hours ago, SenatorBinks27 said:

Sniping someone who can't see it coming is the most fun while playing as Chromie. Seeing them misjudge where I'm aiming. That's my Chromie identity. And if a Chromie correctly anticipates where I'm going to dodge to, to aim dragon's breath to where I'm going to move to avoid where I guess it's going, I feel like "well done". I don't see a reason to change her at all. I don't find her any more frustrating to play against than anyone else.

Yeah, there is that too. Currently Chromie and Hanzo are the only Heroes that can snipe others out of sight. I feel that Chromie is less frustrating than Hanzo, to be honest, because that motherfucker can really spam Storm BowStorm Bow in a way that tilts me very fast.

Chromie, on ther hand, is a setup-oriented character, she needs to use her surroundings in her advantage to land the perfect traps.

The problem is that fighting against Chromie, specially in Quick Match, can be absurdly frustrating when there is no one to dive at her, which results in a damn annoying snowball. Hammer faces a similar problem in this regard too; if there is no one to take her down she will obliterate all the forts.

________________

Since we're talking about reworking some Heroes, how about Probius and Anu'arak? They are two Heroes I feel are left behind in the meta because there are other Heroes that can what they do much better.

Edited by Valhalen
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The fact she has this binary playstyle, where you either stay back and do loads of damage or you get bursted and die if you get too close, is the core aspect of the hero. Rework the level 11 tier completely so she has no survivability at all when the enemy assassins get to her. Give her no counterplay to being dove to punish bad positioning. The ability to stay out of sight and, if you're smart and practiced enough, nuke people is Chromie. Without that there's not too much separating her from any other mage. She'll just be a squishy burst-focused hero.

What I do think, though, is Time Trap could be replaced. Giving players the capability to guarantee they land their Q and W from level 1 is dull. I don't mind Temporal Loop doing that because that's a 70 sec CD heroic that has some counterplay involved but Time Trap is probably what needs to go. Again it can be used to stop you getting dived, camping near one as you stand on the backline and kiting assassins over it as they chase you down.

Edited by Brutalis

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4 hours ago, SenatorBinks27 said:

Sniping someone who can't see it coming is the most fun while playing as Chromie. Seeing them misjudge where I'm aiming. That's my Chromie identity. And if a Chromie correctly anticipates where I'm going to dodge to, to aim dragon's breath to where I'm going to move to avoid where I guess it's going, I feel like "well done". I don't see a reason to change her at all. I don't find her any more frustrating to play against than anyone else.

Well, they changed stealth and killed most of my favorite characters.  They easily can do same to Chromie.
Even tho they killed Nova before stealth rework haha.

Edited by MrOger

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Uncommon Patron

Reduce her range and time trap radius(so you can distroy it with melee ). She has very long range, time trap nullifies divers, and her defensive talents make her even more difficult to kill(timeout, bye bye). At the moment I think only Zeratul can kill her reliable.

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7 minutes ago, MrOger said:

Well, they changed stealth and killed most of my favorite characters.  They easily can do same to Chromie.
Even tho they killed Nova before stealth rework haha.

Valeera and Zeratul are still very viable. Zeratul can deal some nasty eye-watering damage with some builds.

Stealth just requires a lot more of thought and strategy now, instead of ROFLstomping everything.

1 minute ago, XeaKon said:

Reduce her range and time trap radius(so you can distroy it with melee ). She has very long range, time trap nullifies divers, and her defensive talents make her even more difficult to kill(timeout, bye bye). At the moment I think only Zeratul can kill her reliable.

If she picks Bye Bye!Bye Bye! Zeratul can't kill her. And if there is a dive in the enemy team, a good Chromie will always pick this talent. I think Valeera is best suited to kill Chromie due GarroteGarrote, as well the fact that Valeera has the smallest frame of all the stealth Heroes, so even though it is really easy to spot stealth now, in the heat of the battle Chromie will be concentrated on targets miles away, which gives Valeera a way to sneak in.

Despite losing From the ShadowsFrom the Shadows, Diablo still is a solid counter for her, due his gigantic healthpool and lots of stuns and displacements to prevent her from using Bye Bye!Bye Bye!.

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3 minutes ago, Valhalen said:

Valeera and Zeratul are still very viable. Zeratul can deal some nasty eye-watering damage with some builds.

Stealth just requires a lot more of thought and strategy now, instead of ROFLstomping everything.

Well i'm not complaining that they made Nova balanced, but about losing her identity as snowball ranged assassin. While stealth rework made her q stacks as baseline (which i find a pretty good idea) nerf of stealth hit too hard on her defensive capabilities. Zeratul never was reliant on stealth anyway, so he don't miss stealth at all. Most of my grumpyness with stealth rework is about Valeera - rework hit her too hard. Like, ye, garrote build is still strong, but it's kind of the only build remained. She could use more true invisibility time on her passive for better mindgames, or even introduce new talent ability to give her short true invisibility while already in stealth for her openings.

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4 minutes ago, MrOger said:

Well i'm not complaining that they made Nova balanced, but about losing her identity as snowball ranged assassin. While stealth rework made her q stacks as baseline (which i find a pretty good idea) nerf of stealth hit too hard on her defensive capabilities. Zeratul never was reliant on stealth anyway, so he don't miss stealth at all. Most of my grumpyness with stealth rework is about Valeera - rework hit her too hard. Like, ye, garrote build is still strong, but it's kind of the only build remained. She could use more true invisibility time on her passive for better mindgames, or even introduce new talent ability to give her short true invisibility while already in stealth for her openings.

I think that for the sake of balance in all game modes (Quick Match and Ranked), they nerfed Valeera in a way she doesn't make the game too frustrating for new players, which is actually the reason they reworked stealth mechanics.

So instead of being burst monster as she was on launch, Valeera now is more focused on disables and securing kills for the rest of her team, rather than killing everything herself.

Sure, it made her lose some of her identity as a "WoW Rogue", but Rogues were never a balanced class to begin with, specially in Vanilla. So for the sake of the health of the game, this was the best decision. She still has a very strong burst-oriented build that can do around 2k damage, if I'm not wrong.

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1 minute ago, Valhalen said:

I think that for the sake of balance in all game modes (Quick Match and Ranked), they nerfed Valeera in a way she doesn't make the game too frustrating for new players, which is actually the reason they reworked stealth mechanics.

So instead of being burst monster as she was on launch, Valeera now is more focused on disables and securing kills for the rest of her team, rather than killing everything herself.

Sure, it made her lose some of her identity as a "WoW Rogue", but Rogues were never a balanced class to begin with, specially in Vanilla. So for the sake of the health of the game, this was the best decision. She still has a very strong burst-oriented build that can do around 2k damage, if I'm not wrong.

Ye, i remember about her Q oriented build, but i dislike it for reducing her already poor mobility. Relying on others for kill is most stupid idea for character design that literally screams "ASSASSIN", no offense. And moving toward "friendliness for new players" is a good way to bring the richness of the game down, fun games are not where everyone is balanced around each other, but where everyone is op in their own way.

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I think they actually could play with poison based abilities, like introduce talent on same tier of her other poisons that, for example, brings damage of all abilities down by 30%, but makes them deal 80% additional damage over 5 seconds.

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I'm reading all this comments about Chromie and I actually can't believe people are SO BAD at this game. Because you must be if you are "so frustrated" when Chromie hits you (at the same time Im NOT saying Im a master here). Acording to Blizz Im platinum level player and I have NEVER felt any oppression from this hero. I enjoy playing her and I really enjoy playing vs her (because  even when she is my opponent I can test how good I am. How good can I dodge her Q's. How good am I at remembering where is her trap. How good can I predict where she shot her W. Etc. )
Also you can almost instantly recognize a good Chromie player that spent HUNDREDS of hours to master her in comparison to a bad player that is easy to avoid and very predictable. Yes - she can scale nicely in late game IF YOU LET HER. Yes - she can burst you down in the late game IF YOU LET HER. Or if your team is COMPLETELY clueless.
Also - she has no escape other then 'Bye-bye' which can be easily interrupted with any stun.
Also - she has almost no mobility tools (other then 'Here and there')
Also - she is very squishy.

People complain about hero itself but in reality most of my games when I lose to Chromie look like this:
- 2-3 morons players stay mid most of the game and take SHOT AFTER SHOT from Chromie's Q stacking her like crazy
- players don't look at Chromie's animation and then they whine that they can't see her W
- if players are backing away from tf they go in a straight line and then wonder how could Chromie predict them with her W
- if Chromie uses her Temporal Loop, healer can't time his cleanse properly to negate it
- if targeted hero has some escape option or invulnerability he can't time it properly to negate it
- if my team has an option to just jump Chromie and insta-kill her to negate her TL, they don't do it - even if its a free kill. They just run away and get hit with W+Q anyways...
- etc. etc. etc.

IMO Chromie is great and unique hero that rewards you for mastering her. And punishes bad players for... being bad.
Im not saying she is perfect - maybe she needs some tuning, but imo more in stats and timers then changing her core playstyle.

BTW (from Hotslogs):
Bronze - Gold = 40% win rate
Platinum = 48% wr
Diamond - Master = 51,5% wr

P.S. Just to be clear - I got my ass whooped by good Chromies MANY TIMES. But that doesn't mean the hero is broken or OP.

Edited by Godeyes
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3 minutes ago, Godeyes said:

I'm reading all this comments about Chromie and I actually can't believe people are SO BAD at this game.

Hey man, your opinion is very appreciated, but different players have different levels of skill. Your comment, while it had a lot of weight and solid arguments, was very rude in some points, with that "GIT GUD" attitude. If people don't know how to deal with Chromie, they can learn with positive feedback. I would have appreciated your comment a lot more if it didn't include insults.

Also:

5 minutes ago, Godeyes said:

when I loose to Chromie looks like this

*lose

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2 hours ago, Valhalen said:

Hey man, your opinion is very appreciated, but different players have different levels of skill. Your comment, while it had a lot of weight and solid arguments, was very rude in some points, with that "GIT GUD" attitude. If people don't know how to deal with Chromie, they can learn with positive feedback. I would have appreciated your comment a lot more if it didn't include insults.

But GIT GUD is exactly what you have to do in this game. Im playing 2,5 years now and Im sick of people whining ALL THE TIME without any proper reason. The reason is "Im a bad player and can't deal with good Chromie players. Nerf Chromie". This is insane.

Also it is sad that you are one of "those guys" that hear "toxicity/insults/trashtalk" instead of just criticism.
Sb is making a point that you are not good enough if you state that 40% wr hero is OP - just accuse them of insults and DO NOT change anything. Keep calm and stay bad. Then go to official forums and make a crypost that Chromie just whooped your ass and they should nerf it. Sure that attitude is way better then "git gud attitude".

I srsly don't want to attack you personally or anything like that (so pls don't get offended) but to prove my point... here are your words from december last year where they "nerfed" (removed pull from his grounbreaker) Garrosh:

On 12/21/2017 at 12:13 PM, Valhalen said:

RIP Garrosh. I know his gameplay was considered "toxic", but changing that pretty much kills the entire concept of the character. Now he's just another tank with stun. But let's see how this play out.

Now he is just another TOP tank.

Edited by Godeyes

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9 hours ago, Apologised said:

When have you EVER known a Blizzard Rework to actually improve a character? It ALMOST happened with Sonya but then they backpedalled.

Short answer: Yes, though infrequently.

Long answer: Most of the Heroes that have received reworks are ones I don't like/play. For those that I do, I'll share my thoughts:

Zul'jin: The latest changes landed very well, he now has many interesting choices and paths he can take.

Zeratul: Same with Zul'jin; tho he has had a lot more changes in the past by comparison, his tree feels adequately branched and diverse.

Nova: From disappointment to disappointment. Though her original state was pretty feast or famine, her first rework was the definition of epic fail. They practically took away her burst damage which was the only thing she had going for her and left her at that. Then they did some "buffs" from time to time (most of which were negligible). The 2nd time, the new talents were nice (but not too many of them), the baseline quest spot on, however they still failed to deliver on their goal to make her "healthier" and "fit for a competitive environment" (which was the goal since the first rework, their exact words) she still feels extremely one-dimensional and even Samuro makes for a better stealthy assassin imho.

Alarak: Him I don't play as much as the others but I enjoy how challenging he is to play well and how rewarding it feels when you manage so. Feels ok to me, at least for the most part.

Valla: Pretty well done, all I have to say.

Varian: I don't think "rework" cuts it here but nevertheless, the changes were helpful to him.

Tyrandu: She has had many changes, others good, others terribad. Now her tree is mostly ok imho, offers a good variety. She could use some light touches, hope the changes they have planned don't ruin her as a versatile character.

Malfurion: Another troubled one, lately they've done pretty well with him, adding the burst heal option cause burst heal is best heal and he was pretty much the only one without it. He may be pretty strong currently but a name like his deserves that imho.

Illidan: His was the first major rework iirc. While it worked on its goal, make him feel stronger, scale and increase his talent options, subsequent nerfs along with other changes (more counter options/"better" assassins, etc) pushed him out of the picture.

Medivh: Making The Master's Touch a baseline quest was single-handedly one of the best changes they've done in years. Overall, he feels better and funnier to play than before imho.

Cho'gall: I think the changes really hurt him (big nerf) especially Gall, but the core essence of the Hero hasn't changed; with good coordination, he becomes pretty much a raid boss.

Johanna: I particularly enjoyed the change to Blessed HammerBlessed Hammer, always went for that talent even if it was considered subpar, now it is a solid one and overall I'm happy with how they treated her.

Muradin: He didn't need much work and they thought the same way, which was good. A bit sad you can't have both SkullcrackerSkullcracker and Give 'em the Axe!Give 'em the Axe! (with how they used to be) and they could really make wonders with Dwarf TossDwarf Toss and its associated talents imho but I still enjoy him greatly, pros outweigh the cons.

Tyrael: If anyone's been reading my posts carefully, he would have noticed a pattern; that I talked about 2 specific Heroes most of the time. Two Heroes I had level 10 complete with Master skin on 2 accounts (Europe and NA) with the old, painfully grindy system. He waited far too long to get a rework (others getting two or even three before him & being in a much better spot) being nerfed to oblivion in the meantime. When the rework finally came, I was left with a bittersweet taste. His tree became much better (it was tragic tbh), branching with many and interesting choices, new talents were nice (tho again fewer than I'd like) but the bad thing imho was that, it seemed like the devs still didn't really know what they wanted him to do and that reflected on the changes; jack-of-all-trades master of none. For the Archangel of Justice, I sure felt there was quite a bit of potential wasted tho at least he's much better than where he was left at. Hopefully they won't ruin him with constant nerfs again.

Jaina: The other of the aforementioned 2 and my waifu. Now, I've talked about her A LOT of times, I'll try to keep it laconic here. Pretty much same with Tyrael; her rework was EXTREMELY LONG OVERDUE, imho she was left to rot for an unfair amount of time after suffering a large amount of consecutive, unwarranted nerfs (while Chromie and others kept getting buffed). When the rework came, again, same with Tyrael. Difference being new talents were scarce (I believe they were just 2-3) and they didn't do much to alleviate most of her issues (giving her the range and/or radius increases baseline instead making Snow Crash baseline and reducing BlizzardBlizzard 's damage, so in most cases, it did much less damage than before) which made her subpar compared to most other mages who were considered dominant and for good reason (advantage in range, radius, cooldowns, mana cost etc). At least she's not in the same boat as she was and I'm grateful for that. Hopefully, she can get a bit more love.

Now, the issue with Chromie imho is not just how much damage she can do and from what range but also how frequently (cooldowns? mana costs? what are those?) and as some others pointed out, from out of vision range. Also, she breaks one of HotS' most core elements; by getting her talents not one, but 2 LEVELS EARLIER  (of the biggest reasons why I consider her broken) she openly defies the "there's no I in team" philosophy since there's no individual but team level. Even if her team isn't doing very well, she isn't much affected or taken back by it. Now, I really wanna know how the devs consider this "fair" and "balanced". In the patch where they made this change, the "reasoning" was 'we're confident we can add power that resonates with the Hero and fits with his fantasy" or something along those lines. Ok then, Kerrigan should shoot thunderbolts from her hands and telekinetically push/destroy other people and things.

Edited by SteveFrost
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28 minutes ago, SteveFrost said:

(Nova) still feels extremely one-dimensional and even Samuro makes for a better stealthy assassin imho.

The problem is that Nova's gameplay style is one-dimensional. That's a problem with her entire kit. She offers little beyond being annoying and poking you with snipes. Blizzard should take the Zul'jin route and rework her in a way that she is offered more talents that at least give her two routes: Basic Attack Damage or Ability Damage.

30 minutes ago, SteveFrost said:

(Tyrande) could use some light touches, hope the changes they have planned don't ruin her as a versatile character.

Tyrande is the polar opposite of Nova. Where Nova is one-dimensional, Tyrande does a lot of shit, but doesn't excel at any. Which is not bad, but I feel that they need to rework her in a way that offers her four paths: versatility, utility, damage, healing. That way you can either be a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, or focus on strenghting specific attributes and spells. Kinda like making her akin to Kharazim.

33 minutes ago, SteveFrost said:

Cho'gall: I think the changes really hurt him (big nerf) especially Gall

The nerfs hit Gall, really. Cho is a thousand times better than her was before. His Basic Attack Build becomes insanely strong in the mid-late game, making him a nasty and sturdy Bruiser. I wish they'd give Gall some buffs, because he is really shitty now, although has some neat talent combinations (Twilight NovaTwilight Nova + Leaden OrbLeaden Orb). But I think that if they reverted the nerf to Dread OrbDread Orb's radius he'd be more interesting to play.

39 minutes ago, SteveFrost said:

it seemed like the devs still didn't really know what they wanted (Tyrael) to do and that reflected on the changes; jack-of-all-trades master of none.

Yes, I believe he suffers a similar problem that of Tyrande. He has a diverse kit, which makes hard to balance without making him too OP. Maybe refining some talents to add him three separate routes similarly to what I suggested to Tyrande would work: utility, tanking and bruising.

____

Also, I'd like to talk about the Rexxar rework. While it made him a way more viable character than the piece of trash he was before, I still believe Blizzard could do so much more with him. Because, at least to me, he doesn't really fit with the "fantasy" of a Hunter. I made a whole post about what a cool rework for him could be in my "Heroes of the Brainstorm" thread, and even posted in the Official Forums, but I highly doubt it'll reach Blizzard.

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    • By Elitesparkle
      Blizzard released a new Live patch for Heroes of the Storm and here are the official Patch Notes with all the changes.
      (Source)
      Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live! Read on for more information.
      NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.
      Quick Navigation:
      General Map Updates Balance Update Bug Fixes General
      New Skin: Bonny Butcher
      New Skin: Warthog Gear Head Thrall
      Players will now receive an announcement when a quest milestone is reached. This will only announce to the player who achieved the milestone. Ranges of abilities on numerous Heroes have been updated to be more consistent. This may cause certain abilities ranges to reduce or increase. Brawl Starting January 2026, Brawls will only be open the first 5 days of every month. Updated Homescreen and Startup Music. Return to Top
      Map Updates
      General A new Fallback Tower has been added to the longer lanes on each of the following battleground maps. This new tower will die when its corresponding Fort dies: Alterac Pass, Battlefield of Eternity, Blackheart's Bay, Braxis Holdout, Cursed Hollow, Dragon Shire, Garden of Terror, Hanamura Temple, Infernal Shrines, Sky Temple, Tomb of the Spider Queen, Volskaya Foundry, and Warhead Junction. Attacks from the Core, Keeps, Forts, Fallback Towers, and Towers near Keeps will now reduce Hero armor, and the reduction has been increased from -10/-20 Armor to -20/-40 Armor. Fallback Towers have the same HP and Attack Damage as Keep Towers. Forts, Keeps, and the Core will no longer grant Allied Heroes that take damage in their radius 35 Armor for 4 seconds. The comeback system has been slightly magnified, particularly at wide level gaps. Alterac Pass Objective capture timer reduced by 5 seconds in each phase. The first phase only spawns a single defending unit. Cavalry now gain more health in the later stages of the game. Cavalry now take 60% damage from structures (up from 50%). Braxis Holdout Early objectives have lowered in health by 15%, but scaling has been increased significantly after 15 minutes. Garden of Terror Garden Terror health scaling increased. Garden Terror structure disabling plant bulb now damages itself at 10% per second (up from 6%). Infernal Shrines Early objectives have lowered in health by 15%, but scaling has been increased significantly after 15 minutes. Warhead Junction Nuke damage has been changed to flat, scaling damage. Scaling is updated when a Warhead is picked up. Nukes now deal double damage versus Forts, Keeps, and the Core. Return to Top
      Balance Update
      General
      Pinnacle Rewards have been added to mutiple Heroes. These will be hard to obtain but provide powerful rewards. Heroes
      Falstad
      Base
      Lightning Rod [W] Cooldown reduced from 13 seconds to 12 seconds. Talents
      Level 1 Dishonorable Discharge REWORK: No longer reduces CD. Bonuses are now provided at 20/45/75 hits. At 20 hits, gain 30% damage. At 45 hits, gain an additional 75% damage and reduce the cooldown by 2 seconds. Pinnacle Reward: At 75 hits, Lightning Rod provides 2 additional strikes and Stuns for 1.25s on its last strike. Frequent Flyer REWORK: Reduced attack speed bonus from 40% to 25%. Now provides 1 stack per minion and 5 stacks per Hero. At 50 stacks, gain 20 Attack Damage. At 125 stacks, gain an additional 50 Attack Damage. Pinnacle Reward: At 300 stacks, gain an additional 125 Attack Damage. Gathering Storm REWORK: Bonuses are now provided at 30/80/150 stacks, rather than incremental gains. At 30 stacks, gain 30% damage. At 80 stacks, gain an additional 50% damage. Pinnacle Reward: At 150 stacks, gain an additional 70% damage. REWORK: Lose 8 stacks on death, but can not lose milestones that have already been completed. Level 7 Charged Up Moved to be a Level 13 Talent. No longer provides additional hits, but instead provides cooldown refresh on Hero takedowns. Level 13 Thunderstrikes Moved to be a Level 7 Talent. Guldan
      Base
      Corruption [E] Mana cost increased from 80 to 90. Talents
      Level 1 Echoed Corruption Increased stack requirement to 60. Pinnacle Reward: At 100 stacks, Corruption now heals for 50% of the damage dealt. Pursuit of Flame Increased radius from 10% to 15%. Reworded to say "Fel Flame's area is increased by 33%". Progress is now reset upon death and can not lose progress upon completion. Johanna
      Base
      Punish [Q] Slow on enemies reduced from 60% to 50%. Talents
      Level 4 Subdue Slow on enemies reduced from 80% to 70%. Kael'thas
      Talents
      Level 1 Convection REWORK: Every 20th Hero hit permanently increases Flamestrike damage by 150 and Kael'thas's maximum Health by 50. Kerrigan
      Base
      Primal Grasp [E] Cooldown reduced from 10 to 8. Delayed damage reduced from 195 to 165. Initial damage increased from 25 to 40. Ravage [Q] Damage reduced from 130 to 115. Now includes a baseline quest: Kill enemies within 1.5 seconds of hitting them with Ravage. Minions grant 1 progress and Heroes grant 5. At 75 stacks, Ravage gains 125 damage. Pinnacle Reward: At 125 stacks, Ravage gains 200 additional damage. Impaling Blades [W] Cooldown reduced from 12 seconds to 9 seconds. Damage reduced from 165 to 140. Radius increased from 1.5 to 1.65. Stun duration reduced from 1 second to .75 seconds. Assimilation [D] Increased the amount of shield gained from Basic Attacks from 10% to 20% of damage dealt. Talents
      Level 1 Fury of the Swarm No longer increases shields gained from Basic Attacks. Level 4 Sharpened Blades Talent has been removed. Ravaging Ferocity NEW: Gain 25% attack speed for 3 seconds after using Ravage. Level 7 Boundless Fury Cooldown increased from 10 seconds to 12 seconds. Queen of Blades Cooldown reduction increased from 3 seconds to 4 seconds. Level 10 Summon Ultralisk Damage reduced from 250 to 225. Level 13 Chrysalis HP lowered from 750 to 650. Reduced the amount of health regenerated from 5% max health per second to 4%. Level 16 Painful Spikes Damage reduced from 70 to 60. Level 20 Omegastorm Increased extended duration from .25 seconds per hit to .4 seconds per hit. Sylvanas
      Base
      Black Arrows [D] Black Arrows now refers to what was previously called "Banshee's Curse". New Baseline Quest: Deal damage to Heroes or Structures with 3 stacks of black arrows. At 250 stacks, increased the damage bonus of Black Arrows to 50%. Pinnacle Reward: At 400 stacks, heal for 25% of damage dealt against enemies with 3 stacks of Black Arrows, doubled against Heroes. Reduced base damage bonus of Black Arrows to 15%. Activatable portion of Black Arrows has been removed. Talents
      Level 1 Unfurling Shadows Talent has been removed. Unrelenting Torment NEW: Increases the damage of Shadow Dagger by 20% and increase its duration by 1 second. Level 4 Haunting Arrows NEW: You can now activate Black Arrows to cause all damage dealt to stun non-heroes. 90 second cooldown, reduced by 3 seconds when attacking a structure. Possession Now a Baseline ability. 25 seconds to restore each charge, 2 seconds cooldown. Max 4 charges. Level 7 Barbed Shot Bonus damage increased from 350% to 400%. Lost Soul REWORK: Reduces the cooldown of Shadow Dagger when attacking non-minions with 3 stacks of Black Arrows by .75 seconds, doubled against Heroes. Level 13 Windrunner Recast window reduced from 5 seconds to 4 seconds. Thrall
      Talents
      Level 1 Crash Lightning REWORK: Bonuses are now provided at 15 and 30 stacks. At each milestone, Chain Lightning gains 270 damage. Lose 6 stacks on death, but can not lose milestones that have already been completed. Echo of the Elements REWORK: Bonuses are now provided at 20/40/100 stacks. At 20 stacks, reduce mana cost of Chain Lightning by 20. At 40 stacks, Chain Lightning gains an extra charge and will bounce one additional time. Pinnacle Reward: At 100 stacks, Chain Lightning will fork to an additional target each time it bounces. Rolling Thunder Moved to be a Level 7 Talent. No longer increases Chain Lightning bounces by 1. Level 7 Maelstrom Weapon Moved to be a Level 1 Talent. REWORK: Bonuses are now provided at 20/40/100 stacks, rather than incremental gains. At 20 stacks, gain 20 damage and increase the movespeed bonus to 40%. At 40 stacks, gain an additional 40 damage and Thrall permanently gains 15% increased movement speed. Pinnacle Reward: At 100 stacks, Frostwolf Resilience now provides +200% Healing. Level 16 Tempest Fury No longer provides additional quest stacks. Thunderstorm Increased damage bonus provided at max stacks from 25% to 30%. Level 20 Wind Rush Cooldown increased from 80 seconds to 90 seconds. Tyrael
      Talents
      Level 1 Ardent Restoration Maximum healing stacks reduced from 10 to 8. Level 4 Reciprocate Damage reduced from 190 to 170. Level 7 Burning Halo Damge per second reduced from 15 to 12. Level 10 Sanctification Cooldown reduced from 90 seconds to 85 seconds. Mana cost reduced from 75 to 70. Level 20 Aspect of Justice Cast time reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1.25 seconds. Cooldown reduction per enemy Hero hit increased from 10% to 15%. Zul'jin
      Base
      Basic Attack Damage decreased from 96 to 94. You Want Axe? [D] No longer has a cap on stacks. Now causes Zul'jin to lose 3 stacks (15 hits) on death. Talents
      Level 1 Headhunter Increased damage bonus per hero kill from 2% to 2.5%. Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      Map
      Blackheart's Bay Fixed an issue that caused the Battleground Objective to not start if a particular chest is the last destroyed chest. Fixed an issue that caused the help text for attacking the Treasure Chest to not disappear if a particular chest is attacked. Warhead Junction Fixed Warhead Junction Nuke Damage Dealt tracking. Heroes
      Cho'gall Base Eye of Kilrogg [Skill 1] Fixed an issue that caused the Eye of Kilrogg's cast range indicator to be slightly larger than the ability range. Level 1 We See You! Fixed an issue that caused We See You's range increase tooltip value to display incorrectly after being selected. D.Va Fixed an issue that caused D.Va's Mech to not respawn with the correct amount of Blackheart's Bay Doubloons. Base Defense Matrix [W] Fixed missing icon in D.Va's Quick Cast setting for Retarget Defense Matrix. Gazlowe Level 16 Firin' Mah Lazors Fixed an issue that caused Firin' Mah Lazorz's warning to not display correctly. Fixed an issue that caused Big Top Gazlowe's Firin' Mah Lazorz to create permanent visuals. Kael'thas Base Living Bomb [W] Living Bomb will not activate its effects on a target that becomes immune to Living Bomb. Living Bomb will now apply its effects if the target dies with Living Bomb. Raynor Base Adrenaline Rush [E] Fixed an issue that caused Adrenaline Rush to not display the base duration in its tooltip after selecting Give Me More. Stukov Level 1 Reactive Ballistospores Fixed Reactive Ballistospores tooltip. Tychus Base Overkill [Q] Overkill retarget can now also be targeted in a direction. When clicking near or on a target, it will attach to that target, but if no targets are nearby, Overkill will start firing in that direction. If Overkill hits a target while firing in a direction, that target will become Overkill's primary target. If Overkill is active when there are no possible targets, Overkill will no longer be cancelled, and instead will start firing in the direction of the last primary target. Fixed an issue that caused mounting to not interrupt Overkill. Valla Base Hatred [D] Fixed Hatred Tooltip. Level 20 Storm of Vengeance Fixed an issue that caused Storm of Vengeance to not grant 2% Attack Speed per Hatred stack. Zagara Level 1 Infest Fixed Infest active current bonus tooltip. Level 16 Mutalisk Fixed Mutalisk tooltip. Return to Top
      Click here to discuss this post with other players in the official Heroes of the Storm forums.

    • By Elitesparkle
      Blizzard released a new Live patch for Heroes of the Storm and here are the official Patch Notes with all the changes.
      16 December 2025: This patch went live again, with some undocumented bug fixes.
      12 December 2025: This patch was reverted due to a game-breaking bug on Sylvanas.
      (Source)
      Balance Updates
      Kerrigan
      Base
      Ravage [Q] Baseline quest now provides 7 stacks per kill, up from 5. Baseline quest requirements increased to 85/150, up from 75/125. Talents
      Level 7 Bladed Momentum Cooldown reduction increased to .75 seconds, up from .6 seconds. Thrall
      Talents
      Level 1 Maelstrom Weapon Completion requirements increased to 25/55/100, up from 20/40/100. Falstad
      Base
      Lightning Rod [W] Now strikes every .8 seconds, down from 1 second. Total number of strikes stay the same. Range increased by 1. Talents
      Level 1 Frequent Flyer Cooldown increased to 60 seconds, up from 45 seconds. Quest requirements increased to 60/150/300, up from 50/125/300. Sylvanas
      Talents
      Level 4 Possession Now has a 1 second cooldown between uses, down from 2 seconds. Level 4 Unstable Poison Damage increased to 150, up from 130. Level 4 Haunting Arrows No longer affects Mercs. Gul'dan
      Talents
      Level 1 Echoed Corruption Pinnacle Reward healing increased to 100%, up from 50%. Pinnacle Reward requirement reduced to 85, down from 100. Level 16 Ruinous Affliction Damage reduced by 10%. Map Updates
      Alterac Pass Objective capture time is now capped at 55 seconds. Blackheart's Bay Cannon damage increased to 2,875, up from 2,815. Volskaya Foundry Late game health scaling of Protector increased. Warhead Junction Attacking a burning building now stops the duration of burn for 3 seconds. Click here to discuss this post with other players
      in the official Heroes of the Storm forums.

       
    • By Elitesparkle
      Blizzard released a new Live patch for Heroes of the Storm and here are the official Patch Notes with all the changes.
      (Source)
      Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live! Read on for more information.
      NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.
      Quick Navigation:
      General Map Updates Balance Update Bug Fixes General
      New Skin: Toon'Dan Gul'Dan
      All Quests that can lose stacks will never cause the player to fall below milestone thresholds. Pinnacle Rewards are now named Mythic Rewards to give a more Blizzard feel. So Mythic-y! The following Summoned Units now lose health each second: Creep Tumors, Demon Lieutenants, Demon Warriors, Gargantuan, Ghouls, Hydralisks, Roaches, Rock-It Turrets, Rush Zombies, Scarabs, Treants, Ultralisk, and Water Elementals. Total Health and Duration of these Summoned Units have been adjusted to compensate for this. Structures now prioritize Summoned Units when there are no remaining minions. Summoned Units no longer take half damage from Structures. XP Globe pickup sound is now also played when killing a minion that instantly yields XP. Updated Homescreen and Startup Music. Return to Top
      Map Updates
      General Watch Towers will now reset to neutral after 45 seconds of not being occupied. Volskaya Foundry Triglav Protector bonus Damage and cooldown speed increased from 25% to 40% when 2 players are inside. Triglav Protector Basic Attacks increased from +50% damage to structures to +100%. Triglav Protector Basic Attack damage decreased from 155 to 130. Triglav Protector Basic Attacks scale increased from +25% to +50% with 2 players. Warhead Junction The burn duration is now displayed on structures affected by a Warhead. Return to Top
      Balance Update
      Heroes
      Azmodan
      Base
      Globe of Annihilation [Q] Now deals 50% damage to non-Heroes. Upon reaching 225 Annihilation, Globe of Annihilation no longer deals reduced damage to non-Heroes Minions and Mercenaries. Window to kill minions for Annihilation increased from 1.5 seconds to 3 seconds. Summon Demon Warrior [W] Demon Warriors damage increased from 32 to 85 53 . Now deals half damage to Heroes Now deals double damage to Minions and Mercenaries. Demon Warriors no longer have a duration, but lose 26 Health every second. Demon Warriors no longer have Immolation. Now has 2 charges. Talents
      Level 1 Wrath REWORK: Now provides 1 stack for every 2 Basic Attacks hit against a Structure or Hero. Level 7 Art of Chaos Extra Annihilation amount reduced from 4 to 2. Bombardment Amount of time Bombardment lasts reduced from 4 seconds to 3 seconds. Master of Destruction Amount of Annihilation granted reduced from 2 to 1. Level 13 Brutish Vanguard Now slows the attacked target by 30%. Level 16 Hell Rift Damage bonus reduced from 75% to 35%. Level 20 Inescapable Annihilation NEW: Globe of Annihilation has unlimited range. Pride Moved to baseline. Now requires 450 stacks. Damage bonus increased from 125 to 150. Deathwing
      Base
      Attack Damage decreased from 155 to 110 117 . Form Switch [1] Active ability removed. Deathwing now switches forms solely from landing. Molten Flame [Q] Base Damage per Second reduced from 21 to 19. Incinerate [W] Cooldown increased from 4 seconds to 6 seconds. Energy cost increased from 20 to 30. Damage increased fomr 65 to 100. Lava Burst [W] Cast time reduced from 1 second to .75 seconds. Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 9 seconds. Energy cost increased from 15 to 25. Explosion Damage increased from 30 to 35. Explosion Damage over Time increased from 6 to 7. Slow increased from 35% to 45%. Onslaught [E] Bonus damage increased from 72 to 120. Damage increased from 38 to 60. Earth Shatter [E] Projectile speed increased by 30% Cataclysm [R] NEW QUEST: Damage Heroes with Molten Flame to gain 1 stack. Gain 50 stacks for killing a Hero. Mythic Reward: Upon reaching 2,000 stacks, Cataclysm now deals 2,500% damage to Structures and Minions. "I AM THE CATACLYSM". Dragonflight [Z] Cooldown delay after dealing or taking damage increased from 4 seconds to 6 seconds. Cooldown reduced from 45 seconds to 15 seconds. Talents
      Level 1 Dragon Soul Healing increased from 75%, 150% to 100%, 200%. Level 4 Heat Wave Damage over Time increased from 6 to 9. Damage over Time stacks reduced from 4 to 3. Initial damage bonus increased from 125% to 150%. Level 7 Firestorm Damage increased from 70 to 77. Landing delay reduction increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. No longer reduces cooldown of Dragonflight. Level 13 Fire and Fury Damage bonus increased from 30% to 40%. Falstad
      Base
      Lightning Rod [W] Range reduced by .5. Time between strikes increased from .8 seconds to .9 seconds. Jaina
      Base
      Frostbite [Trait] NEW QUEST: Deal Ability Damage to Chilled Heroes. Upon reaching 12,000 Damage, unlock Improved Ice Block, which allows Jaina to become temporarily Invulnerable. Mythic Reward: Upon dealing 30,000 Damage, Ice Block upgrades to Ice Cold, granting Jaina Protected instead of Stasis Ice Block allows Jaina to move and cast while active. Talents
      Level 7 Ice Lance Cooldown reduction increased from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds. Level 16 Numbing Blast Root duration reduced from 1 second to .75 seconds. Level 20 Wintermute Water Elemental cast range and damage bonus decreased from 50% to 40%. Kael'thas
      Talents
      Level 1 Convection Increased reward damage and health from 150/50 to 200/100. Kerrigan
      Base
      Ravage [Q] UPDATED QUEST: Enemies killed in a narrow proximity of Kerrigan provide stacks. Minion kills grant 1 stack. Hero kills grant 7 stacks. At 100 stacks, gain 125 Ravage damage, and Heroes now provide 14 stacks on kill. At 250 stacks, gain 200 Ravage damage. Kill window for receiving a free Ravage charge has been reduced from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds. Muradin
      Base
      Storm Bolt [Q] Perfect Storm Quest removed. NEW QUEST: Basic Attack Heroes affected by Slows or Stuns. Slows provide 1 stack and Stuns provide 2 stacks. At 35 50 stacks, Storm Bolt pierces to hit an additional target, and Muradin's Basic Attack reduces the cooldown of Storm Bolt by 0.5 seconds. Mythic Reward: At 150 200 stacks, Storm Bolt's range is increased by 50% and width is increased by 100%, and now pierces all targets. Talents
      Level 1 Dwarf Block Block charges reduced from 4 to 3. Give 'em the Axe! Moved Talent from Level 7 to Level 1. Level 4 Sledgehammer No longer increases Storm Bolt's cooldown reduction. Now increases Storm Bolt damage to non-Heroes by 500%. Level 7 Perfect Storm NEW: If an enemy hit with Storm Bolt dies within 3 seconds, reset its cooldown. This can only occur once per 10 seconds. Level 16 Dwarf Launch Range bonus reduced from 40% to 30%. Level 20 Mountain King NEW: Thunderclap and Dwarf Toss have an extra charge. Rewind Removed. Murky
      Base
      Murky now gains a 35% Shield for 10 seconds upon reviving. Spawn Egg [D] Egg now regenerates quickly instead of having a Shield. Slime [Q] Now applies its debuff to enemy Structures. Now deals 50% damage to Structures. Pufferfish [W] Damage reduced by 20%. Detonation time reduced from 3 seconds to 2.75 seconds. NEW QUEST: Hit enemies affected by Slime with Pufferifsh Kill Slimed enemies, or hit them with Pufferfish. Provides 1 stack per minion, 5 stacks per Hero or Structure hit. At 100 200 stacks, Basic Abilities now deal full damage to Structures. Mythic Reward: At 200 400 stacks, Murky gains 50% Health and increases in size. Talents
      Level 1 Egg Hunt Talent removed. Shell Game NEW: Murky can now place 2 eggs, but randomly revives from one of them. Increases the cooldown of placing an egg to 30 seconds and goes on cooldown if either egg dies. Level 10 March of the Murlocs Damage increased by 4%. Level 13 Egg Shell REWORK: Murky gains a Shield equal to 35% of his Health upon placing an egg or when one of his eggs dies. Fish Tank Healing reduced from 25% to 20%. Level 16 Wrath of Cod Reduced the amount of time needed to deal the full Damage over Time from 5 seconds to 4 seconds. Level 20 Big Tuna Kahuna Talent removed. Faster Fish NEW: Pufferfish detonates 80% faster. Making Inky Cooldown reduction reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds. Never-Ending Murlocs No longer deals reduced damage to Structures. Sylvanas
      Talents
      Level 4 Mercenary Queen Now also causes Sylvanas' Basic Attacks to instantly apply 3 stacks of Black Arrows to Mercs. Thrall
      Base
      Basic Attack damage decreased from 173 to 167. Talents
      Level 1 Crash Lightning Mythic Reward Damage bonus increased from 270 to 325. Echo of the Elements Mythic Reward now also allows Chain Lightning to bounce back to the same target. Tyrande
      Base
      Mana reduced from 500 to 450. Sentinel Shot [W] Mana cost increased to 55 from 50. Lunar Flare [E] NEW QUEST: Hitting a Hero with Lunar Flare increased its damage by 5%, up to 250%. After hitting 10 Heroes, increase Lunar Flare's range by 30%. After hitting 20 Heroes, Sentinel now pierces the first Hero hit. Mythic Reward: After hitting 50 45 Heroes, Tyrande's Basic Attacks occasionally trigger a Lunar Flare. Now restores 25 mana per enemy hit. Mana cost increased to 65 from 60. Starfall [R] Mana cost increased to 85 from 75. Shadowstalk [R] Mana cost increased to 85 from 75. Talents
      Level 1 Ranger No longer provides pierce. Moonlit Arrows Cooldown reduction reduced from .75 seconds to .5 seconds. Moved Talent from Level 7 to Level 1. Trueshot Aura No longer passively increases Tyrande's Attack Damage. Now also applies to Tyrande upon activation. Level 7 Elune's Gift NEW: Grants 20% Spell Power for 10 seconds after hitting an enemy with Lunar Flare. Level 20 Commander of Sentinels NEW: Sentinel now has an additional charge. Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      Heroes
      Alarak Level 10 Deadly Charge Fixed an issue that caused Alarak's Deadly Charge to not be activated by clicking the left mouse button if it occupies the Trait slot. Ana Base Aim Down Sights [D] Can now be toggled while affected by a Silencing effect. Jaina Base Frostbolt [Q] Fixed an issue causing Jaina's Frostbolt to not have its model updated by Dreadlord Jaina or Lunar Jaina. Orphea Level 4 Allegrissimo Fixed an issue that could cause Allegrissimo's cooldown reduction to not be granted when hitting a Hero at Shadow Waltz' end. Sylvanas Base Possession [1] Fixed Possession not showing in the Quick Cast menu settings. Fixed Possession not being correctly affected by cooldown reduction affects granted by allies. Tychus Level 10 Commandeer Odin Fixed an issue that caused Tychus' Odin to not display a cooldown for its Thrusters Ability. Return to Top
      Click here to discuss this post with other players in the official Heroes of the Storm forums.

    • By Elitesparkle
      Blizzard released a new Live patch for Heroes of the Storm and here are the official Patch Notes with all the changes.
      20 February 2026: After releasing a hotfix, Muradin has been enabled again.
      19 February 2026: Muradin has been temporarily disabled due to a game-breaking bug.
      (Source)
      We’ve just released a patch to the live servers in order to apply some balance and bug fixes.
      Quick Navigation:
      Balance Update Bug Fixes Balance Updates
      Deathwing
      Base
      Incinerate [W] Cooldown increased from 6 seconds to 7 seconds. Talents
      Level 7 Death Drop Duration of Spell Armor decreased from 6 seconds to 4 seconds. Muradin
      Base
      Storm Bolt [Q] Quest requirements reduced from 50/200 to 40/160. Talents
      Level 1 Give 'Em The Axe Bonus Damage reduced from 50% to 40%. Level 4 Sledgehammer Now also reduces the cooldown of Storm Bolt by 1.5 seconds. Level 7 Perfect Storm Internal cooldown reduced from 10 seconds to 8.5 seconds. Now also restores 25 Mana on reset. Level 13 Healing Static Heal per Hero hit increased from 5% to 6%. Murky
      Base
      Spawn Egg [D] Revive Shield duration increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds. Talents
      Level 10 March of the Murlocs Cooldown reduced from 110 seconds to 100 seconds. Level 13 Egg Shell Shield increased from 35% to 50% of Murky's Health. Shield now lasts until destroyed. Level 20 Never-Ending March Will now last a minimum of 7 seconds, even if stopped. Sylvanas
      Talents
      Level 7 Lost Soul Extra 10% damage bonus provided by Lost Soul has been removed. Tyrande
      Base
      Lunar Flare [E] Mythic reward requirements reduced from 45 hits to 40 hits. Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      Battlegrounds
      Hanamura Temple The Samurai Sentinel camp is now properly displayed with a Bruiser icon. Braxis Holdout Fixed an issue that caused terrain to be rendered incorrectly. Heroes
      Azmodan Level 4 Battleborn Now properly reduces the cooldown of Demon Lieutenant. Level 10 Black Pool Now properly deals reduced damage to non-Heroes. Deathwing Base Form Swap AI can no longer use the removed Form Swap ability. Gul'dan Level 16 Ruinous Affliction Fixed an issue that caused Ruinous Affliction to deal bonus damage on the 3rd and 5th hit, instead of the 3rd and 6th hit. Jaina Base Frostbite [Trait] Fixed an issue that caused Ice Block to not show the correct cooldown value in the tooltip. Fixed an issue that caused Ice Cold to allow Jaina to move through pathing blockers and stationary targets. Muradin Base Dwarf Toss [E] Fixed an issue that caused Dwarf Toss to go on cooldown when used on invalid terrain. Level 1 Dwarf Block Can no longer stack beyond 3 charges. Murky Murky will no longer revive faster than intended. Murky's level 20 talents have been rearranged to match skill order. Base Pufferfish [W] Puffed Up will now display first in the Buff Bar. Fixed an issue that caused Murky to lose his increased size after death. Spawn Egg [D] Fixed an issue that caused Murky to respawn faster than intended. Level 1 Shell Game Shell Game now shows the Trait button for the talent, instead of an Active button. Level 20 Faster Fish Faster Fish now also causes the animation of the Pufferfish to play faster. Faster Fish now shows the W button for the talent, instead of the Trait button. Rehgar Level 20 Elemental Conduit Fixed an issue that caused Elemental Conduit's Shields to not refresh to 5 seconds. Fixed an issue that caused Elemental Conduit's refresh to search for allies to give the Shield around the targets hit, instead of Rehgar's location. Thrall Level 1 Echo of the Elements Fixed an issue that caused Echo of the Elements bounces to bounce to cloaked targets. Level 7 Rolling Thunder Rolling Thunder damage now displays as a crit. Level 16 Alpha Wolf Alpha Wolf damage now displays as a crit. Zagara Base Infested Drop [E] Fixed an issue that caused Roaches melee attacks to launch missiles instead of directly hitting. Fixed an issue that caused Roaches to not display correctly in the death recap. Click here to discuss this post with other players in the official Heroes of the Storm forums.

    • By Elitesparkle
      Blizzard released a new Live patch for Heroes of the Storm and here are the official Patch Notes with all the changes.
      (Source)
      Our next Heroes of the Storm patch is live! Read on for more information.
      NOTE: Orange text indicates a change between PTR and Live notes.
      Quick Navigation:
      General Map Updates Balance Update Bug Fixes General
      New Mount: Scrapper Mad Axe Mono Wheel
      Unranked Mode has been removed. Respawn timers have been reduced in the mid-to-late game. By level 22, respawn timers are back at 65 seconds. Updated Homescreen and Startup Music. Return to Top
      Map Updates
      Garden of Terror Classic The original Garden of Terror has returned to Custom Games! The name has been changed to Garden of Terror Classic to differentiate from the current Garden of Terror. Haunted Mines Haunted mines has returned to Quick Match! The Mine Golem now drops an additional 10 Skulls over the course of its lifetime. Map objective is now complete when one team collects 55 Skulls, rather than when all 100 Skulls have been collected. Hero vision is reduced while in the mines. Warhead Junction Cast time for Nuke increased from 2.5 seconds to 3 seconds. Cast time for Nuke now breaks upon taking damage. DoT damage from Nuke increased by 100%. Damage to Forts and Keeps from Nuke increased from 100% to 125%. Return to Top
      Balance Update
      Heroes
      Arthas
      Arthas has been fully reworked! All abilities and talents will be listed below. Base
      Death Coil [Q] Mana: 40. Cooldown: 9 seconds. Deals 164 damage to target enemy. Can be self-cast to heal for 262 Health. Howling Blast [W] Mana: 50. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Root enemies within the target area for 1.25 seconds and deals 68 damage. Frozen Tempest [E] Mana: 13 per second. Cooldown: 1 second. Deals 36 damage per second to nearby enemies and Slow their Movement Speed by 10% per second, stacking up to 40%. Heroes hit also have their Attack Speed Slowed by 10% per second, stacking up to 40%. Frozen Tempest's effects last for 1.5 seconds. Army of the Dead [R] Charge Cooldown: 18 seconds. Consume all charges to summon an equal number of Ghouls that last 15 seconds and attack for 20 damage. Ghouls can be sacrificed to heal Arthas for 240 Health. Stores up to 6 charges. Every time an enemy minion dies nearby, reduce the charge cooldown of this ability by 1 second. Takedowns reduce the charge cooldown of this ability by 6 seconds. Summon Sindragosa [R] Mana: 100. Cooldown: 100 seconds. Deals 230 damage and Slows enemies by 60% for 4 seconds. Also disables Minions, Mercenaries, Monsters, and Structures for 20 seconds. Frostmourne Hungers [D] Cooldown: 12 seconds. Activate to make Arthas' next Basic Attack strike immediately and deal 71 bonus damage. Dealing damage restores 40 Mana. QUEST: Killing a Minion or hitting a Hero with Frostmourne Hungers permanently increases its bonus damage and Arthas' Basic Attack damage by 1. Talents
      Level 1 Frost Presence Increase the area of Howling Blast by 20%. QUEST: Root enemy Heroes with Howling Blast. REWARD: After Rooting 15 Heroes, Howling Blast's range is increased by 20% and it hits enemies in its path. REWARD: After Rooting 30 Heroes, Death Coil Slows Heroes hit by 50% for 0.75 seconds. Borean Winds After Frozen Tempest has been active for 2 seconds, Arthas gains 10% Movement Speed. PASSIVE: Frozen Tempest's Slowing effects last an additional 0.5 seconds and its Mana cost is reduced by 4 per second. Rime Every 5 seconds, gain 75 Physical Armor against the next enemy Hero Basic Attack, reducing the damage taken by 75%. Stores up to 3 charges. PASSIVE: While Arthas is Slowed, Rooted, or Stunned he heals 24 Health a second. Level 4 Shattered Armor Enemy Heroes hit by Howling Blast have their Armor reduced by 15 for 4 seconds. Icy Talons Gain 3% Attack Speed for 2 seconds every time a Hero is damaged by Frozen Tempest, to a maximum of 60%. Frost Strike Frostmourne Hungers deals an additional 115 Ability damage in an area and Slows Heroes hit by 20% for 2 seconds. Level 7 Immortal Coil Gain the healing effect of Death Coil even when used on enemies. If Death Coil is used on Arthas, it heals for an additional 75% bonus healing and its cooldown is reduced by 3 seconds. Rune Tap Every 3rd Basic Attack heals Arthas for 5% of his max Health. PASSIVE: Each stack of Frostmourne Hungers increases Arthas' Maximum Health by 10. Icebound Fortitude Cooldown: 35 seconds. Activate to gain 25 Armor and reduce the duration of Stuns, Slows, and Roots against Arthas by 75% for 3 seconds. Each Hero Rooted by Howling Blast reduces the cooldown of this ability by 2 seconds. Level 13 Deathlord If Death Coil is used on an enemy Hero, launch an additional Death Coil at a nearby enemy Hero. PASSIVE: Death Coil deals more damage the lower Arthas' current Health is, to a maximum of 50% bonus damage. Deathchill Howling Blast's damage is increased by 2 for each stack of Frostmourne Hungers. Howling Blast deals 100% additional damage and Roots for an additional 0.25 seconds against Heroes under 50% Health. Biting Cold Each second an enemy is damaged by Frozen Tempest, it deals 15% bonus damage, up to 75% bonus damage. Level 16 Remorseless Winter Enemy Heroes that remain within Frozen Tempest for 2.5 seconds are Rooted for 1.25 seconds and heal Arthas for 3% of his maximum Health. This effect has an 8 second cooldown per target. Frostmourne Feeds Reduce the cooldown of Frostmourne Hungers by 6 seconds. Arthas heals for 75% of the Basic Attack damage dealt by Frostmourne Hungers. Anti-Magic Shell Cooldown 60 seconds. Activate to make Arthas immune to Spell Damage for 4 seconds and heal Arthas for 25% of the damage prevented. Level 20 Legion of Northrend Reduce Army of the Dead's charge cooldown by 5 seconds. Each charge consumed spawns an additional Ghoul to attack nearby enemies. These Ghouls cannot be sacrificed. Absolute Zero Sindragosa flies twice as far. Enemy Heroes are Rooted for 2.5 seconds, and then Slowed by 60% for 4 seconds. Death Pact Instantly double your stacks of Frostmourne Hungers, but it no longer gains stacks from hitting Heroes or killing Minions. PASSIVE: Takedowns grant 2 stacks of Frostmourne Hungers. Path of Frost Activate to instantly Mount with 10% additional Movement Speed. Taking damage does not dismount Arthas from this mount. Lasts up to 5 seconds. When Arthas dismounts, Slow all nearby enemies by 30% for 2 seconds and deal 66 damage. Chen
      Base
      Keg Smash [W] Breath of Fire initial decreased from 85 to 40. Breath of Fire duration increased from 3 seconds to 6 seconds. Breath of Fire no longer costs Energy. Keg Smash energy cost increased to 35 40 from 30. Fortifying Brew [D] Drinking now stops additional commands for a fraction of a second. Talents
      Level 1 Accumulating Flames Moved from Level 4 to Level 1. REWORK: Quest: Gain stacks from hitting Heroes with DoT damage from Breath of Fire. Each stack provides 0.25 damage. At 20 damage, Keg Smash becomes ranged. Mythic Reward: At 75 damage, Breath of Fire redcues enemy Armor by 20 and is refreshed from Chen's Basic Attacks. Level 4 Eye of the Tiger Moved from Level 1 to Level 4. Level 7 Elusive Brawler Movement Speed reduced from 30% to 20%. Level 10 Wandering Keg Cooldown increased from 50 seconds to 60 seconds. Level 13 Pressure Point Slow duration increased from 1 second to 1.5 seconds. Deathwing
      Base
      Onslaught [E] Cooldown increased from 5 seconds to 6 seconds. Dragonflight [Z] Cooldown increased from 15 seconds to 20 seconds. Talents
      Level 16 Gaze onto Destruction Duration reduced from 5 seconds to 3.5 seconds. Falstad
      Talents
      Level 1 Frequent Flyer Range to receive kill credit reduced from 14 to 8.5. Garrosh
      Base
      Wrecking Ball [E] Range reduced from 6.5 to 6. Search range reduced from 2.5 to 2.25. Talents
      Level 1 Unrivaled Strength Ranged bonus reduced from 20% to 15%. Gazlowe
      Base
      Rock-It! Turret [Q] Turret Health increased from 510 to 600. Health decays over 20 seconds (from 17). Talents
      Level 10 Robo-goblin Damage per second increased from 90 to 100. Mal'Ganis
      Base
      Necrotic Embrace [W] Now benefits double the amount from Vampiric Touch. No longer provides 25 Armor for 3 seconds. Now provides 15 Spell Armor for 3 seconds. Damage increased from 110 to 121. Talents
      Level 1 Will of Tichondrius Moved from Level 7 to Level 1. REWORK: Hit Heroes with Fel Claws to gain 0.5 damage. Hit 4 Heroes in the first two swipes to cause the last wipe to provide 2 additional damage. Upon reaching 40 stacks, Fel Claws now steals 4% health from opponents and Stuns for an additional 0.5 seconds. Level 4 Vampiric Aura Moved from Level 1 to Level 4. Self healing increased from 30% to 40% and healing of nearby Allies increased from 15% to 20%. Might of Sargeras Now provides 35 Armor for 3 seconds when using Necrotic Embrace. Level 7 Fueled by Torment Moved from Level 4 to Level 7. Now causes Necrotic Embrace to Slow by 25% for 3 seconds. Medivh
      Talents
      Level 1 Winds of Celerity Movement Speed bonus increased from 50% to 75% 100%. Raven's Intellect Bonus increased from 75% to 125% 200%. Level 4 Raven Familiar Slow reduced from 30% to 20%. Level 7 Force of Magic Spell Power increased from 30% to 35%. Level 13 Circle of Protection No longer increases the cooldown of Force of Will. Level 20 Guardian of Tirisfal Now also increases the range of Arcane Rift by 50%. Muradin
      Base
      It's Hammer Time! [Q] Muradin gains 5 stacks if a target dies within 3 seconds of being hit by Storm Bolt. Stack requirement for pierce increased from 40 to 45. Talents
      Level 16 Dwarf Launch Cooldown reduction decreased from 2 seconds to 1 second. Level 20 Mountain King Dwarf Toss cooldown increased by 2 seconds. Thunder Clap cooldown increased by 2 seconds. Sgt. Hammer
      Talents
      Level 1 Maelstrom Rounds Damage bonus increased from 30% to 40%. Level 13 Hyper-Cooling Engines Cooldown reduction no longer triggers off of Splash damage, but now triggers off of Structures. Level 20 Advanced Lava Strike Damage bonus increased from 50% to 65%. Ultra-Capacitors Cooldown reduction no longer triggers off of Splash damage, but now triggers off of Structures. Thrall
      Talents
      Level 1 Crash Lightning Amount stacks lost on death reduced from 6 to 4. Echo of the Elements Damage done by the chain lightning bounces rewarded from obtaining the Mythic Reward reduced from 85 to 70. Kill window increased from 1.5 seconds to 2 seconds. Stack requirements increased from 20/40/100 to 20/50/125. Second reward no longer provides an extra bounce. Level 7 Rolling Thunder Now also provides an extra bounce of Chain Lightning. Tyrande
      Base
      Lunar Flare [E] Tyrande gains 1 stack if the target dies within 3 seconds of being hit. Mythic Reward now also increases Attack Range by 1. Lunar flare damage from hitting a Hero reduced from 4% to 3.5% 3%. Talents
      Level 16 Quickening Blessing Movement bonus increased from 20% to 25%. Level 20 Commander of Sentinels Cooldown of Sentinel increased by 3 seconds. Return to Top
      Bug Fixes
      General
      Fixed an issue that caused Unstoppable targets to not be immune to Blinds. Maps
      General Fixed an issue that caused Bosses to attack Summoned units. Blackheart's Bay Fixed an issue that caused the AI to have issues turning in coins. Infernal Shrines Fixed an issue that prevented Minions from pathing near the Arcane Punisher's beams. Heroes
      D.Va Base Defense Matrix [W] D.Va's Mech will now retarget Defense Matrix when controlled by an AI. Deathwing Base Dragonflight [Z] Fixed an issue that caused Dragonflight's cooldown to increase upon taking damage to only occur when the cooldown is below 4 seconds. Garrosh Level 4 In For the Kill Fixed an issue that caused In For the Kill to not completely reset the cooldown of Bloodthirst. Gul'dan Base Drain Life [W] Fixed an issue that caused Drain Life to not always be interrupted if the target leaves its range. Jaina Base Improved Ice Block [1] Fixed an issue that caused Improved Ice Block and Ice Cold to not be used correctly by AI-controlled Jaina. Kael'thas Level 20 Rebirth Fixed an issue that caused Rebirth to not be used correctly by AI-controlled Kael'thas. Li Li Base Cloud Serpent [W] Fixed an issue that caused Cloud Serpent to not be made visible when damaging a target while in the Fog of War. Medivh Level 10 Poly Bomb Fixed an issue that caused Poly Bomb to not be used correctly by AI-controlled Medivh. Nazeebo Level 13 Superstition Fixed an issue that caused Superstition to display a blank ability for the damage dealt by its Corpse Spider. Samuro Base Mirror Image [Q] Mirror Images will no longer move towards Samuro's attack move target point on creation. Mirror Images will now properly have their AI enabled when Samuro has their AI enabled. Stukov Base Weighted Pustule [W] Fixed an issue that caused Weighted Pustule to be removed when an effect that removes Slows is applied. Thrall Base Feral Spirit [W] Fixed an issue that caused Feral Spirit to not be extended correctly if it is about to expire. Return to Top
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