Heroes of the Storm Forums

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This week's patch not only brings with it the new Specialist Hero, Probius but it also brings with it a rather significant change on the Warrior class. Blizzard wants to make a clearer distinction between those that are solo tanks and those that are bruisers and so they've done a pass on both Arthas and Anub'arak to have them better represent their roles. They've both received significant changes largely in their kits at the expense of damage. These changes take out their heavy hitting abilities but Blizzard hopes that this will be a healthier change for the game.

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Anub’arak has received some baseline changes and talent tweaks to embrace his role as an anti-caster Warrior. New additions to his kit include a lower cooldown and slowing Burrow Charge, a buff to his Harden Carapace shield amount, and some buffs to his Beetle build. Understandably some players may be wondering why we lowered his Spell Armor when we want him to be an anti-caster, but we felt that 25 base Spell Armor was a little too pointed in countering casters as they have no real options to deal with it when it is on a hero baseline. By giving him these changes, we’re hoping to make him a more well-rounded Warrior while still filling a niche that previously did not exist in our game.

General.display_name(General.keybind)- Basic Attack damage decreased from 102.96 to 98.8 - Spell Armor decreased from 25 to 20

Locust Swarm(R)- Damage decreased from 66 to 60 - Healing decreased from 18 to 17

Burrow Charge(E)- Cooldown decreased from 16 to 12 seconds. - Damage decreased from 107 to 96 - NEW: Targets hit by Burrow Charge have their Movement Speed slowed by 25% for 2.5 seconds.

Harden Carapace(W)- Shield amount changed from 312.312 (+4%) to 327.6 (+4%)

Resilient Scarabs

Nerubian Armor

Subterranean Shield

Acid Drenched Mandibles

Debilitation

Nullification Shield

Extended Spikes

Dampen Magic

Assault Scarab

Locust Needles

Blood for Blood

Hardened Shield(Talent)

Bed of Barbs- Tier decreased from 5 to 2 - Damage changed from 47.84 (+4%) to 23.92 (+4%)

Shed Exoskeleton- Tier decreased from 3 to 2

Leeching Scarabs- NEW: Also increases the damage of your Beetles by 20%

Epicenter- Cooldown reduction decreased from 4 to 2 seconds

General.display_name(General.keybind)- Reduced the period during which Artanis is locked in place during his Basic Attacks to be consistent with other Heroes with similar attack timings

For a long time Arthas has walked the line between being a Bruiser and a tank, though it was always intended that he be more of a tank as opposed to a bruiser. With Armor in the game, we saw the opportunity to really embrace him being that slow approach of Death that he encapsulated so well in Wrath of the Lich King. Arthas’s crowd control capability and survivability have been significantly increased, and now he should really shine as the Warrior to bring if the enemy team has multiple Melee heroes or those who strongly rely on their auto-attacks. In return for his extra control in teamfights, his damage has been reduced. While he will not put out damage as quickly as before, his ability to kill enemies will now rely much more on how long he can keep them in his Frozen Tempest, as once they’re in it will be very difficult for them to escape without using some kind of mobility.

General.display_name(General.keybind)- Health increased from 2500.16 to 2624.96 - Health Regeneration increased from 5.212168 to 5.468112 - Basic Attack damage decreased from 102.96 to 98.8

Army of the Dead(R)- Energy decreased from 100 to 80 - Cooldown decreased from 100 to 80 seconds - Ghoul attack damage increased from 18 to 20 - Ghoul Health increased from 960 to 1060

Frozen Tempest(E)- Damage lowered from 26 to 20. Now slows enemy movement speed and attack speed by 10% per second, up to 40%. This now stacks over 4 seconds instead of 5. - Now functions as an aura (same as Lucio's Crossfade) when concerning Stuns and Silences - If Arthas is Stunned or Silenced, he will not be able to toggle Frozen Tempest on or off, but if it is active it will persist for the duration of the Stun or Silence.

Frostmourne Hungers(Combat Trait)- Now deals a bonus 99 damage when hitting enemies (is no longer based on his normal Basic Attack damage)

Death Coil(Q)- Heal changed from 247.52 (+4%) to 272.48 (+4%)

Icebound Fortitude(Talent)- Cooldown decreased from 40 to 35 seconds

Anti-Magic Shell(Talent)- NEW: No longer provides 100 Spell Armor. Arthas now takes 0 damage from Spells instead and heals for 25% of the damage prevented.

Rime

Icy Talons

Shattered Armor

Block

Trail of Frost

Frigid Winds

Eternal Hunger

Frost Presence

Frozen Wastes

Deathlord- Increase the range bonus on Death Coil from 25 to 30%. - Increase the cooldown reduction from 2 to 3 seconds.

Immortal Coil- NEW: Bonus healing now applies to self-casting Death Coil. - NEW: Bonus healing reduced from 100 to 50%.

Frost Strike- Movement Speed changed from 40 to 50%.

Biting Cold- Tier increased from 2 to 5 - Frozen Tempest does 12.5% increased damage per second to enemies, up to 50% bonus damage (over 4 seconds).

Embrace Death- NEW: Now also affects the healing of Death Coil.

Demonic Invasion(R)- Casting Demonic Invasion will now remove/clear minions lingering from the previous cast

Taste for Blood- Killing a Hero with Globe of Annihilation will now increase its damage by 10

When we were first told about the new event “Two Heads are Better Than One”, we immediately set to work on giving Cho’gall’s talent trees a much needed face-lift. A lot of our Warriors were getting Armor updates in this patch and originally Cho’gall was no exception. After playing with a generic form of it internally, we realized we had a once-in-a-Nexus opportunity to do something very different and seized the moment. The foundation of the Cho’gall rework revolves around their new Traits, Ogre Hide and Ogre Rage, which are the keys to success with the Hero. The potential of Cho’gall should be greater than ever, but you will have to make sure both heads are working together in order to maximize your damage output while keeping yourself alive long enough to keep doing it.

General.display_name(General.keybind)- Health decreased from 3686.76 to 3082.75 - Health Regeneration decreased from 7.6823175 to 6.4210025

Ogre Hide(Combat Trait)

Ogre Hide(Combat Trait)

Twilight Veil(Talent)

Two-Headed(Combat Trait)

Rune Bomb(E)- Damage changed from 284.96 (+4%) to 229.84 (+4%) - Rune Bomb now continues its full path regardless of when or if Gall decides to detonate it.

Consuming Blaze(W)- NEW: Ignite all nearby enemies for 5 seconds, dealing 30 damage per second and instantly healing Cho for 30 Health per target hit. - NEW: Attacks against ignited Heroes reapply the debuff (instant heal + refresh dot duration).

Molten Block(Talent)- Tier increased from 5 to 6

Consuming Fire

Calloused Hide

Uppercut

Firestarter

Enraged Regeneration

The Will of Cho

Hour of Twilight

Blazing Bulwark

Fire Eater

I AM Hurrying!

Surge of Stamina

Crippling Blow

The Will of Gall

Fuel for the Flame

Seared Flesh- NEW: Each consecutive Basic Attack against an enemy Hero deals 20% more damage. Up to a 60% bonus. This bonus lasts 5 seconds or until a different unit is attacked.

Power Surge- NEW: Each enemy Hero hit reduces the cooldown of Surging Fist by 4 seconds.

Frenzied Fists- Tier increased from 2 to 5 - NEW: Gain 75% attack speed for 5 seconds after using Surging Fist.

Runic Feedback- NEW: Gall’s Runic Blast reduces the cooldown of Rune Bomb by 1 second for every enemy hit. This bonus is doubled against Heroes.

Runed Gauntlet- changed - NEW: Basic Attacks against Heroes decrease the Cooldown of both your and Gall’s Heroic Abilities by .5 seconds.

Surging Dash- NEW: Cho gains 150 Health per second and is unstoppable while Surging Dash is channeled.

Twilight Veil- NEW: Activate to triple the effect of Ogre Hide for 2 seconds (25 to 75 Armor). 30 second cooldown. If cast while Ogre Rage is active, instantly swap to Ogre Hide.

Molten Block- Tier increased from 5 to 6

Favor of the Old Gods- NEW: Upheaval roots all Heroes hit for 1.5 seconds

See comments for Cho.

Double Back

Shove(Mount)

Ogre Rage(Combat Trait)

Hurry Up, Oaf!(Mount)

Two-Headed(Combat Trait)

Eye of Kilrogg(1)

Twisting Nether(R)- Damage reduced from 415 to 353

Shadowflame(Q)- Damage changed from 154.35 (+5%) to 123.9 (+5%)

Shove(Mount)- NEW: Moved to Z - Cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds - Now also grants Cho 25% move speed for 2 seconds after using

Runic Blast(E)- Damage changed from 284.96 (+4%) to 229.84 (+4%)

Shadow Bolt Volley(R)- Damage changed from 107.12 (+4%) to 85.28 (+4%)

Dread Orb(W)- Damage changed from 155.4 (+5%) to 124.95 (+5%)

Keep Moving!

Taskmaster

We See You!

Ogre Rampage

Searing Shadows

Shadowsnare

Leaden Orb

Deafening Blast

Shifting Nether

The Will of Gall

Spurred Onward

Shove

Eye of Kilrogg

Dark Descent

Speed of Twilight

Dread Shield

Giant Scorcher

Shadowflare

The Nether Calls

Double Back- NEW: The third bounce of Dread Bomb deals 100% bonus damage to non-Heroic units. You can activate Dread Bomb again to reverse the last bounce.

Runic Persistence- NEW: Detonating Runic Blast leaves a damaging field on the ground, dealing 180 damage over 3 seconds.

Bomb's Away

Edge of Madness- NEW: Every subsequent hit of Shadowflame on an enemy Hero deals 8% more damage, up to a 40% bonus. These bonuses are lost after 4 seconds.

Double Trouble

Rising Dread- NEW: Increase the size and damage of each Dread Orb bounce by 25%.

Twilight Nova- Tier decreased from 6 to 5

Psychotic Break- NEW: When Cho dies, you gain the effects of Ogre Rage and can continue casting Basic Abilities for 10 seconds.

I’m not exactly sure where this Goblin keeps getting the hoards of gold he needs to bribe the Design team, but sure enough he has done it again. The changes to him started off as quality-of-life fixes but eventually evolved into something of a minor rework. Overall, we tried to even out the power level of a couple talent tiers (including his Heroics), while bringing in a swash of baseline changes in order to make him feel a bit more user-friendly. We realize his win rate is above average in certain MMR brackets (and game modes) and that this may be viewed as a substantial buff to him. However, we felt it was important to bring these changes to our players and are prepared to act quickly if any tweaks are needed.

Robo-Goblin(R)- REMOVED: No longer grants Focus Turrets! - REMOVED: No longer grants PvE bonus damage - NEW: Now grants 100% Basic Attack damage. - NEW: Activate to gain 30 Armor and 30 Movement Speed for 4 seconds. 60 second cooldown.

Rock-It! Turret(Q)- Damage changed from 70.72 (+4%) to 64.48 (+4%)

Deth Lazor(W)- Can now be channeled indefinitely. - Can now be cancelled with a full refund by right-clicking.

Goblin Repairs

Hired Goons

Regeneration Master

Mercenary Lord

Sprint

Clockwerk Steam Fists- Duration bonus per attack decreased from 2 to 1.5 seconds

Rock-It! Turret XL- Search arc increased from 65° to 80°

Engine Gunk- Movement Speed changed from 25 to 20

Hyperfocus Coils- NEW: Also lowers the Mana cost of Deth Lazor by 50%

EZ-PZ Dimensional Ripper- Slow increased from 40 to 50%

Goblin Fusion- Tier decreased from 6 to 5

X-Tra Large Bombs- REMOVED: No longer increases cast range - NEW: Whenever Gazlowe is stunned or rooted, he drops a Xplodium charge at his feet.

Turret Storage- Tier increased from 5 to 6

Superior Schematics

Mecha-Lord- Grants 25 Armor - Increases Basic Attack damage by an additional 100%

Metamorphosis(R)- Will now clamp the cast to the maximum range of the Ability

General.display_name(General.keybind)- Health decreased from 2549.04 to 2266.16 - Health Regeneration decreased from 5.309616 to 4.72056 - +25 Physical Armor

Amplified Healing

Spell Shield

Talents/Reinforce.display_name(Talents/Reinforce.keybind)- Physical Armor decreased from 75 to 50

Summon Ultralisk(R)- Cooldown increased from 70 to 80 seconds - Cooldown now also counts down while the Ultralisk is alive

Since his activation, Probius has always wanted to prove himself. He may be small, but he made a big difference by warping in a critical pylon during the retaking of Aiur. As the bravest of probes, Probius is eager to fulfill his purpose in the Nexus.

Worker Rush(Mount)

Warp In Pylon(Combat Trait)

Disruption Pulse(Q)

Warp Rift(W)

Photon Cannon(E)

Pylon Overcharge(R)

Null Gate(R)

1 (?) 4 (?) 7 (?) 10 (?) 13 (?) 16 (?) 20 (?)

Abilities/Raynor's Raiders.display_name(Abilities/Raynor's Raiders.keybind)- Damage changed from 44.928 (+4%) to 51.584 (+4%) - Health increased from 639 to 766

General.display_name(General.keybind)- Health decreased from 2566.72 to 2387.84 - Health Regeneration decreased from 5.346224 to 4.972448 - +15 Spell Armor

El'druin's Might(Q)- Will now clamp the cast to the maximum range of the Ability

Nullification Shield

Amplified Healing

Imposing Will

Hardened Shield(Talent)

Angelic Absorption- Heal amount increased from 52 to 60

Taunt(R)- Health gain reduced from +60% to +40% - NEW: Now also grants 15 Armor

Banner of Ironforge(Talent)- Armor Granted changed from 25 to 20

You Want Axe?- The buff tracker (located next to the portrait) now shows a specific number for Heroes hit, and how many hits are required to complete the Quest reward