News

DIG Heroes reviews latest PTR Patch

MepH

MepH

Wed 6th Jul 2016 - 2:39pm

Only changes relevant to our players are listed. Find the full patchnotes here.

Index:

DESIGN AND GAMEPLAY

All
- Globe changes makes lane phase more relevant
- Denying globes will be an important strategy
- Minion change big buff to push heroes and global heroes in sidelanes
- Big impact on curse phase on Cursed Hollow
- Good catapult changes, makes them more reliable

Bakery
- Poke in lane to force a well tap more meaningful
- Higher Healing Well mana restore allows trading aggressively with spells
- Catapults will also die faster as they don't clear minions as much
- High level teams might factor catapults into core dives now

Snitch
- Healing Well changes won't have a huge impact
- Wave control and clear much more important; Might make meta slow

AlexTheProG
- Globe change could lead to boring map control style
- Would rather see lower Healing Well cooldown with lower effect; 2 minute cooldown too much
- Minion buff good, right now they are insignificant

JayPL/Mene
- Don't like minion changes, have to always defend lanes; races more risky
- Losing keep important; will result in splitpush meta


Regeneration Globes

  • Health Regeneration
    • Previously: Restore 6.24% of maximum Health over 4 seconds
    • Now: Restore 12% of maximum Health over 5 seconds
  • Mana Regeneration
    • Previously: Restore 32 Mana over 4 seconds.
    • Now: Restore 8% of maximum Mana over 5 seconds

Healing Wells

    • Cooldown increased from 100 to 120 seconds
    • Health Regeneration
      • Previously: Restore 41% of maximum Health over 20 seconds.
      • Now: Restore 40% of maximum Health over 20 seconds.
  • Mana Regeneration
    • Previously: Restore 20% of maximum Mana over 20 seconds.
    • Now: Restore 30% of maximum Mana over 20 seconds.

Minions

  • Ranged, Melee, and Wizard Minions
    • Now deal double damage to Structures.
  • Catapult Minions
    • Attack range increased by 20%.
    • Sight range increased by 17%.
    • Will now fixate on Structures. Catapults will not acquire a new target after fixating until the target is destroyed or the Catapult is killed.

All
- Map not great, changes/shorter games welcome
- Won't affect Terror vs. Terror awkwardness

Bakery 
- Not sure if right direction, Overgrowth doesn't feel that important

AlexTheProG
- Plant W not damaging structures is still awkward

BATTLEGROUNDS


Garden of Terror

  • Increased Overgrowth's damage bonus against Structures from 100% to 200%.

TALENTS

All
- Executioner: Not huge nerf; impacts Sylvanas (helped Executioner proc on structures)

Snitch
- Bribe: 50% faster respawn might be too strong

AlexTheProG/JayPL
- Bribe: Like that Raynor & TLV have more stacks; can even take hard camp; don't think it will be viable choice for Falstad/Brightwing, etc.

Bakery
- Relentless: More silence counterplay to Kharazim

AlexTheProG/Mene
- Relentless: Slight nerf, won't change pickrate


Bribe

  • New Functionality:
    • Nearby Minion kills grant 1 stack of Bribe. Spend 20 charges to instantly defeat a non-Boss Mercenary. 100 Charges maximum.
      • Raynor’s Raiders' Recruitment Talent also increased to 100 maximum charges.
      • Viking Bribery Talent increased to 200 charges maximum, but each use costs 40 charges.
    • ​If a Mercenary Camp is completely captured using Bribe, the camp respawns 50% faster.

Executioner

  • The Executioner Talent effect will now only trigger after attacking disabled Heroes. The bonus damage gained through this talent will still apply to anything attacked after the effect is triggered.

Relentless

  • Relentless and similar Hero-specific Talents will now only reduce the duration of Slows, Stuns and Roots. Silence effects will no longer be reduced by this talent.

HEROES

 

ASSASSIN


GREYMANE

GREYMANE

Snitch/Mene
- Insane, unnecessary buff
- Go for the Throat damage buff evens out cooldown nerf
- Marked for the Kill might be good for tank killing, but that's not Greymane's place in the meta right now
- Eager Wolf sounds too strong, excited to play with it

Mene
- Nerf to human basic damage understandable
- Cocktail buff won't lead to Cocktail build
- Against Vikings, Unleashed might be good

Stats

  • Human form Basic Attack damage reduced from 145 to 140.

Abilities

  • Curse of the Worgen (Trait)
    • Increased Worgen form’s damage bonus from 40% to 50%
  • Gilnean Cocktail (Q)
    • Secondary explosion damage increased from 177 to 236
    • Cooldown increased from 8 to 10 seconds
  • Go for the Throat (R)
    • Increased cooldown from 60 to 80 seconds
    • Increased damage from 125 to 140
  • Marked for the Kill (R)
    • New Functionality
      • When Greymane deals damage to the Marked target, the duration of the Vulnerable effect is refreshed.  This can happen indefinitely
      • No longer allows you to reactivate to leap to the opponent
    • Reduced cooldown from 60 to 50 seconds
    • Range reduced by 40%

Talents

  • Level 4
    • Insatiable (W)
      • Mana return increased from 5 to 10 per Basic Attack
  • Level 7
    • Incendiary Elixir (Q)
      • Increased cooldown reduction from quest completion from 2 to 4 seconds
      • Removed the impact damage increase from the Talent
      • Increased the explosion damage gained per Hero hit from 6 to 10
      • Reduced the cap of Incendiary Elixir from 160 to 150
  • Level 16
    • Concentrated Blast (Q)
      • Removed
    • New Talent: Eager Wolf (W)
      • Increases the Attack Speed bonus of Inner Beast by an additional 40% after it has been active for 4 seconds.
  • Level 20
    • Unleashed (R)
      • In addition to its current effect, killing an enemy with Go for the Throat increases the damage of Go for the Throat by 25% for 10 seconds, up to 100%.
    • Gilnean Roulette (R)
      • New Functionality:
        • All allied Hero damage done to the target will refresh the Vulnerable effect duration.

 

JAINA

JAINA

Mene
- Blizzard wave increase is nice; will get value during objective fights; might shred tanks
- Cone of Cold buff is welcome
- Frost Armor probably go-to pick at Level 4 now; else Arcane Intellect
- At Level 7 Frostbitten still only choice
- Ice Barrier buff is quite good

Abilities

  • Blizzard (W)
    • Increased the number of waves from 2 to 3
    • Reduced damage from 167 to 142
    • Increased Mana cost from 75 to 90
  • Cone of Cold (E)
    • Increased damage from 200 to 230
    • Reduced Mana cost from 50 to 40

 

Talents

  • Level 4
    • Snowstorm (W)
      • Moved to level 16
    • Arcane Intellect (Passive)
      • Reduced the Mana returned from Abilities from 25 to 20
    • Envenom (Active)
      • Removed
  • Level 7
    • Ice Lance (Q)
      • Now also restores 10 Mana when a Chilled target is hit by Frostbolt in addition to its current functionality
    • Frost Armor (Passive)
      • Moved to level 4
      • Reduced Block amount from 75% to 50%
      • Increased Block cooldown from 8 to 10 seconds
    • Ice Floes (E)
      • Increased cooldown reduction from .5 to 1 second, up to a maximum of 5 seconds per cast
  • Level 13
    • Ice Barrier (Trait)
      • Shield duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
  • Level 16
    • Snow Crash (W)
      • Removed

 

KAEL'THAS

KAEL'THAS

Mene
- E nerf will make Energy Roil (Level 4) valuable
- Mana Addict still taken at Level 1
- Gravity Crush nerf isn't too bad
- Will have to try out Q build with nerfs to E build
- Rebirth change is nice, but not huge difference

Abilities

  • Gravity Lapse (E)
    • Cooldown increased from 12 to 14 seconds
    • Mana cost increased from 80 to 90

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Convection (Q)
      • Damage bonus on Quest completion increased from 75 to 100
  • Level 4
    • Energy Roil (E)
      • Cooldown reduction increased from 7 to 9 seconds
  • Level 7
    • Sunfire Enchantment (Trait)
      • Damage reduced from 183 to 165
    • Gravity Crush (E)
      • Bonus damage reduced from 30% to 25%
  • Level 20
    • Rebirth (R)
      • The Rebirth casting range will now center on the Phoenix itself instead of on Kael'thas
      • This can now be re-positioned globally

 

KERRIGAN

KERRIGAN

JayPL
- Stats changes weren't needed; Auto attack damage increase seems quite big
- Q cost decrease is nice and significant
- Clean Kill mana refund nerf understandable; damage increase will make Kerrigan's clear on Infernal Shrines much faster
- Battle Momentum still Level 7 go-to choice

Stats

  • Base Health increased from 1680 to 1848
  • Health Regen increased from 3.5 to 3.8 per second
  • Base Attack damage increased from 109 to 120

Abilities

  • Ravage (Q)
    • Mana cost reduced from 50 to 40

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Siphoning Impact (Q)
      • Now only applies if the target is killed by Ravage
    • Sharpened Blades (W)
      • Damage increased from 20% to 30%
  • Level 4
    • Clean Kill (Q)
      • Mana refund reduced from 100% to 75%
      • Damage bonus increased from 20% to 25%
    • Fury of the Swarm (Passive)
      • Splash damage increased from 50% to 60%
    • Psionic Pulse (E)
      • Damage increased from 17 to 24
  • Level 7
    • Impaling Swarm (W)
      • Removed
    • Adaptation (Q)
      • Mana refund increased from 50% to 100%
    • Assimilation Mastery (Trait)
      • Now increases the duration of Assimilation Shields by 100% in addition to its current functionality
  • Level 13
    • Queen’s Rush (Active)
      • Movement Speed increased from 25% to 30%
      • Cooldown reduced from 75 to 50 seconds
    • Lingering Essence (Trait)
      • Removed
  • Level 16
    • Blade Torrent (W)
      • Moved to Level 7

 

LUNARA

LUNARA

Snitch
- Changes don't really matter
- There might be a Q build with the level 13 & 16 talent changes
- Leaping Strike change probably irrelevant, not playstyle she is used for

Mene
- Alright changes
- Nature's Culling will probably still be go-to choice at 7
- They want to improve Q build, but auto-attacks are more reliable
- Level 20 probably still Galloping Gait (movement speed talent)

Abilities

  • Leaping Strike (R)
    • Damage increased from 246 to 271

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Photosynthesis (W)
      • Mana restoration increased from 8 to 10 Mana per target
  • Level 4
    • Skybound Wisp (E)
      • Revealed area size increased by 10%
    • Timelost Wisp (E)
      • Cooldown recharge increased from 100% to 125%
  • Level 7
    • Splintered Spear (Q)
      • Number of attack targets increased from 3 to 4
    • Nature’s Culling (Passive)
      • Damage to non-Heroes decreased from 200% to 150%
  • Level 13
    • Pestering Blossom (Q)
      • Range increase increased from 40% to 50%
  • Level 16
    • Choking Pollen (Q)
      • Bonus damage increased from 100% to 125%
  • Level 20
    • Abolish Magic (Active)
      • Cooldown reduced from 45 from 35 seconds

SPECIALIST


ABATHUR

ABATHUR

Snitch
- Symbiote change on stasis heroes is good
- Adrenaline boost (Level 16) might be good
- Not too significant changes

Abilities

  • Symbiote (Q)
    • Symbiote will now be paused if the allied target enters a Stasis effect or if Tracer uses her Recall ability
    • Symbiote can still be cancelled in these situations, but no Symbiote Abilities can be used

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Regenerative Microbes (E)
      • Heal changed to “over 4 seconds” instead of the full duration of Carapace
      • Heal amount changed from 31 to 68 Health per Second
  • Level 4
    • Ballistospores (W)
      • Toxic Nest duration increased from 20% to 25%
    • Sustained Carapace (E)
      • Now increases the Carapace Shield amount by 40% instead of increasing the duration by 50%
  • Level 7
    • Networked Carapace (E)
      • Now also applies an untalented Carapace Shield to all nearby allied Heroes
    • Vile Nest (W)
      • Decreased the slow duration from 3 to 2.5 seconds
  • Level 13
    • Assault Strain (Trait)
      • Increased explosion damage from 68 to 102
    • Spatial Efficiency (Q)
      • Now also lowers the cooldown of Stab from 3 to 2.5 seconds in addition to its current functionality
  • Level 16
    • Adrenaline Boost (E)
      • Movement Speed boost duration increased from 3 to 3.5 seconds
    • Volatile Mutation (R)
      • Increased pulse damage from 114 to 137
  • Level 20
    • Evolution Complete (R)
      • Monstrosity Deep Tunnel cooldown reduced to 25 seconds from 30
    • Evolutionary Link (R)
      • Ultimate Evolution Shield increased from 20% of maximum Health to 25%

 

AZMODAN

AZMODAN

Snitch
- Nerf to Taste for Blood is good, makes him more niche
- Not a huge difference
- Blood for Blood change is nice quality-of-life improvement
- March of Sin to Level 7 might be an early game buff
- Level 13 choice might now be Infused Power or Hedonism (Q mana cost decrease)

Abilities

  • Demonic Invasion (R)
    • No longer deals half damage to Heroes

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Sieging Wrath (Q)
      • New Functionality:
        • Quest: Gain 4 damage per enemy hero hit, up to a maximum of 100 damage
        • Reward: Gain an additional 100 damage and increases maximum range by 33%
    • Taste for Blood (Q)
      • Time window where Minion deaths grant additional damage reduced from 1.5 second to 1 second
    • Master of Destruction (E)
      • New Functionality:
        • No longer grants bonus damage to Structures
        • Now grants 10% range after each level of damage ramp up
  • Level 4
    • Gluttony (E)
      • Healing increased from 15% to 20%
    • Sin’s Grasp (Active)
      • Damage increased from 224 to 248
      • Total duration increased from 6 to 8 seconds
  • Level 7
    • Infernal Globe (Q)
      • No longer applies a damage over time effect to enemies hit
    • Infused Power (Q)
      • Damage bonus increased from 25% to 40%
      • Moved to level 13
    • Gluttonous Ward (Active)
      • Restoration per tick increased from 2.457% to 3%
  • Level 13
    • March of Sin (E)
      • Moved to level 7
  • Level 16
    • Blood for Blood (Active)
      • Talent renamed to Sin for Sin
      • Sin for Sin works identically to Blood for Blood, but can be cast while channeling All Shall Burn

 

SYLVANAS

SYLVANAS

Snitch/Mene
- Just small quality-of-life change
- Won't affect anyone in high level play

Talents

  • Level 13
    • Windrunner (E)
      • A 0.5 second cooldown time has been added to prevent accidental casting of the second Haunting Wave

 

 

XUL

XUL

Snitch/JayPL
- Just cleaning up the talent, won't matter since it's not used
- Main use was to deny Ancestral Healing, so no change there

Talents

  • Level 20
    • Mortal Wound (Active)
      • This Talent's effect will now only reduce Healing received by the target while the Mortal Wound effect is active. Healing effects that continue after the Mortal Wounds effect ends will no longer be reduced
      • Will no longer reduce Healing received by Healing Wells or reduce the duration of Heal over Time effects

 

ZAGARA

ZAGARA

Snitch
- Creep changes are nice, especially built-in bonus attack range
- Baneling change feels weird to play with but damage buff increases wave clear slightly
- Can't drain ammo anymore (no health), but always connects, free poke; good to stall tributes, pop spell shields
- Hunter Killer nerf big for laning phase, will rely on new attack range to win lanes
- Devouring Maw quite huge damage nerf
- Nydus Network a lot more rewarding in combination with minion/catapult buffs
- 10 Nyduses sounds silly, only problem is you have to put them on creep, so have to have been there before
- Not sure if Nydus will be the way to go, need more testing
- Reconstitution removal huge nerf to laning phase
- Infest, however, might allow her to shove lanes really hard
- Envenomed Spines probably not picked anymore; Medusa Blades might be good; Serrated Spines aswell, might buff her late game scaling
- Mutalisk with no life-timer is interesting
- Might have higher survivability in fights with Protective Coating or Hydralisk Transfusion
- Brood Expansion nerf, however, gives her a lot less pressure in teamfights
- Brood Expansion + Nydus passive (cooldown reduction while on creep) might allow her to get a lot of Hunter Killers up
- Corrosive Saliva interesting talent, helps with teamfighting
- Endless Creep (Level 20) sort of reverts the Nydus-on-creep-only nerf
- Losing Bolt of the Storm hurts lategame survivability (but maybe Nydus splitpush style will make that obsolete)
- Devouring Maw teamfight playstyle nerfed across the board

Zagara has undergone significant changes.

Stats

  • Attack Damage Decreased from 95 to 86

Abilities

  • Creep Tumor (Trait)
    • New functionality
      • Now grants Zagara 20% bonus attack range while on Creep
    • Health increased from 111 to 150
    • No longer costs Mana
    • Increased cast range from 0 to 2.5
    • No longer grants additional Health regeneration while on Creep
    • Charge cooldown increased from 15 to 20 seconds
    • Base Creep spread distance increased by 33%
  • Baneling Barrage (Q)
    • Now fires a single Baneling at a time (4 charges) at a cost of 10 Mana per Baneling. Banelings have a 3 second charge cooldown
    • Damage per Baneling increased from 75 to 91
    • Banelings no longer have Health, and can no longer be targeted
  • Hunter Killer (W)
    • Damage decreased from 89 to 68
  • Devouring Maw (R)
    • No longer deals damage on impact
    • Damage per second increased from 43 to 80
  • Nydus Network (R)
    • New functionality:
      • Passively increases your Creep spread by 25%
      • Passively causes all Basic Attacks to lower cooldowns by 1 second while on Creep
    • Nydus Canals can now only be placed on Creep
    • Entering Nydus Canals is now cancelled by taking damage
    • The channel time to enter Nydus Canal decreased from 2 to 1.5 seconds
    • Health regeneration while in the Network increased from 8 to 10%
    • Mana regeneration while in the Network increased from 8 to 10%
    • Max amount of Nydus Canal’s on the map increased from 4 to 10

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Centrifugal Hooks (Q)
      • Removed
    • Corpse Feeders (E)
      • Damage reduction from non-Heroes increased from 30% to 40%
      • Now reduces the cooldown of Infested Drop by 3 seconds in addition to its current functionality
    • Reconstitution (Trait)
      • Removed
    • Demolitionist (Passive)
      • Removed
  • Level 4
    • Envenomed Spines (Active)
      • No longer adds Basic Attack range
      • Activate to have your next Basic Attack deal 230 damage over 5 seconds. 30 second cooldown
    • Medusa Blades (Passive)
      • Damage increased from 25 to 33%
    • Tumor Clutch (Trait)
      • Removed
    • Envenom (Active)
      • Removed
    • Infest (Passive)
      • Moved to Level 1
      • New functionality added:
        • Nearby ranged minions passively deal 200% more damage.
        • Quest: For every 1000 siege damage dealt, increase the damage bonus by 1%
    • New Talent – Serrated Spines (Passive)
      • Quest: Every Basic Attack against enemy Heroes increases Basic Attack damage by 0.3
  • Level 7
    • Swarm Momentum (Passive)
      • Removed
    • Volatile Acid (Q)
      • Moved to Level 1
      • New functionality added:
        • Also increases the range of Banelings by 50%
    • Ventral Sacs (Q)
      • Removed
    • Endless Creep (Trait)
      • Removed
    • Rapid Incubation (Active)
      • Removed
    • New Talent – Viscous Acid (Q)
      • Banelings also slow targets by 25% for 1.5 seconds
  • Level 13
    • Mutalisk (W)
      • Moved to level 16
      • No longer has a timed life. Mutalisks will now last until killed
    • Grooved Spines (W)
      • Removed
    • Bile Drop (E)
      • Moved to Level 7
      • Bonus damage decreased from 100% to 50%
      • Quest: Every Hero hit by Infested Drop increases this bonus by 10%
      • Reward: Upon reaching 150% bonus damage, increase the impact radius of Infested Drop by 20%
    • Giant Killer (Passive)
      • Removed
    • New Talent – Hydralisk Transfusion (W)
      • Zagara is Healed for 75% of the primary damage dealt by Hunter Killers
    • New Talent – Protective Coating (Passive)
      • While on Creep, Zagara takes 20% reduced damage from all sources
  • Level 16
    • Baneling Massacre (Q)
      • Moved to Level 7
      • New functionality
      • Zagara gains 2 more charges of Banelings
    • Brood Expansion (W)
      • New functionality
      • Now reduces the cooldown of Hunter Killer by 6 seconds
    • Metabolic Boost (Trait)
      • Removed
    • Stoneskin (Active)
      • Removed
    • New Talent – Corrosive Saliva (W)
      • Attacks from Hunter Killers deal an additional 2% of the targets max Health
  • Level 20
    • Broodling Nest (R)
      • Removed
    • New Talent– Endless Creep (Trait)
      • Increases Creep Tumor cast range by 2000%
      • Creep Tumor duration increased from 240 to 600 seconds
      • While on Creep Zagara gains an additional 20% move speed

SUPPORT


BRIGHTWING

BRIGHTWING

Bakery
- Good direction, always hated TP build, as it felt unrewarding
- Pretty hefty nerf to Hyper Shift
- A small additional buff might put her in a great place

Abilities

  • Soothing Mist (Trait)
    • Heal amount increased from 96 to 120
  • Blink Heal (R)
    • Range reduced by approximately 15%

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Hyper Shift (Trait)
      • Will no longer reduce the cooldown of Phase Shift when Brightwing heals herself
  • Level 7
    • Dream Shot (Q)
      • Moved to Level 1
    • Phase Shield (Z)
      • Reduced Shield duration from 20 to 10 seconds
      • Reduced Shield amount from 548 to 400
    • Mistified (Passive)
      • Cooldown Reduction reduced from 1 to .75 seconds
  • Level 20
    • Continuous Winds (R)
      • Also increases the bonus healing of Soothing Mist (granted by Emerald Wind) from 8 to 15%
    • Rewind (Active)
      • Removed

 

KHARAZIM

KHARAZIM

Bakery
- No change in competitive (healing trait makes up ~40-60% of overall healing)
- Nice to see some variety for fun builds
- Could use a buff to damage or waveclear talents at cost of healing

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Insight (Trait)
      • New Functionality:
        • Quest: Every 3rd Basic Attack restores 14 Mana. After this effect triggers 100 times, every 3rd attack will also reduce the cooldown of all Basic Abilities by 1 second

 

UTHER

UTHER

Bakery
- Good that they kept the high skill cap "piano build" for competitive
- Blessed Champion is an insane talent; relies on Uther skill, team coordination and enemy counterplay; blinds on Uther might actually be good

Abilities

  • Divine Shield (R)
    • Mana cost reduced from 100 to 80
  • Divine Storm (R)
    • Mana cost reduced from 100 to 80

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Block (Passive)
      • Removed
    • Reach (Q)
      • Removed
  • Level 4
    • Hammer of the Lightbringer (Passive)
      • Moved to Level 1
    • Amplified Healing (Passive)
      • Removed
    • New Talent: Beacon of Light (Passive)
      • Uther Heals himself for 30% of all Healing done to allied Heroes
  • Level 7
    • Wave of Light (W)
      • Moved to Level 1
      • Mana returned reduced from 10 to 8 per target hit
      • Maximum Mana returned reduced from 50 to 40
    • Holy Fire (Passive)
      • New functionality:
        • Deal 18 damage per second to nearby enemies.  Auto-attacking an enemy Hero increases this damage by 20% for 3 seconds.  This effect stacks up to 3 times
    • Clairvoyance (Active)
      • Removed  
  • Level 13
    • Holy Shock (Q)
      • Cooldown reduction when using Holy Light against enemies increased from 4 to 6 seconds.
      • New functionality:
        • After hitting an enemy, the next Holy Light Heals for an additional 50%
    • Blessed Champion (Q)
      • New functionality:
        • After casting Holy Light, all Basic Attacks for 5 seconds will Heal Uther and all nearby allies for 20% of the amount Healed by Holy Light.
  • Level 16
    • Gathering Radiance (W)
      • Each Hero that Holy Radiance passes through increases the Healing and damage of your next Holy Radiance by 8%, up to a maximum increase of 80%.
    • ​Imposing Presence (Passive)
      • ​Removed
    • New Talent: Righteous Defense (Q)
      • Heroes healed by Holy Light take 50% less damage for 2 seconds

WARRIOR


ARTHAS

ARTHAS

AlexTheProG
- Not a big change
- Don't like Frozen Wastes, buff won't change it
- Buffs to Rune Tap (big) and Icebound Fortitude (small) are nice

JayPL
- Nice sustain buff, not sure if Icebound Fortitude buff was needed

Talents

  • Level 4
    • Frozen Wastes (E)
      • Mana cost reduction increased from 3 to 4 Mana Per Second
  • Level 7
    • Rune Tap (Passive)
      • Heal amount increased from 3% to 4% of Maximum Health
    • Icebound Fortitude (Active)
      • Cooldown reduced from 50 to 40 seconds

 

 

DEHAKA

DEHAKA

JayPL

- Sadly not Dehaka's meta, probably won't affect his pickrates
- Primal Aggression buff might, however, really benefit his waveclear, will have to try out

Abilities

  • Adaptation (R)
    • Time before Heal activates reduced from 5 to 4 seconds

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Enduring Swarm (W)
      • Increased Spell Resistance from 25 to 50%
    • Primal Aggression (W)
      • Also increases the duration of Dark Swarm by 0.5 seconds
  • Level 7
    • Essence Devourer (Trait)
      • Added Quest:
        • Quest: Every Regen Globe collected increases maximum Essence by 1
        • Reward: Upon collecting 10 Regen Globes, increase the amount of Essence gained from Regen Globes from 10 to 15
  • Level 16
    • Rapid Regeneration (E)
      • Increased Heal amount from 76 to 90
  • Level 20
    • Change is Survival (R)
      • Also lowers the cooldown of Adaptation by 30 seconds in addition to its current functionality
    • Apex Predator (Z)
      • Decreased cooldown reduction from 30 to 25 seconds

 

 

LEORIC

LEORIC

AlexTheProG/JayPL
- Unimportant talents buffed
- Mana Thirst still useless
- Lingering Apparition buff won't return E build, Ghastly Reach (Q range) too strong at Level 7
- Drain Momentum useless, you pick Crushing Hope at Level 13 to burst someone you Entombed
- Buried Alive is useless, you pick Spectral Leech

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Mana Thirst (Q)
      • Removed the cap to Mana earned from targets hit by Skeletal Swing
  • Level 7
    • Lingering Apparition (E)
      • Increases Wraith Walk duration from 60% to 80%
  • Level 13
    • Drain Momentum (W)
      • Now increases Leoric’s Movement Speed by 10% while Drain Hope is active
  • Level 20
    • Buried Alive (R)
      • Increased damage from 34 to 45

 

 

MURADIN

MURADIN

AlexTheProG
- Interesting changes
- No unstoppable frames was huge to juke Xul, E.T.C./Tyrande, Arthas
- Against a normal comp, the Resistant effect and lower cooldown will synergize greatly with stun on Level 16

JayPL
- Dwarf Toss changes are big improvement for my playstyle

Abilities

  • Second Wind (Trait)
    • Base Heal effect increased from 1.5% to 2% maximum Health per second.
    • Critical Health effect increased from 3% to 4% maximum Health per second.
  • Dwarf Toss (E)
    • No longer grants Unstoppable while leaping.
    • Now grants Muradin Resistant (25% reduced damage taken) for 2 seconds.
    • Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds.
    • Mana cost reduced from 70 to 55.

Talents

  • Level 4
    • Third Wind (Trait)
      • Base Heal effect increased from 2% to 3% maximum Health per second
      • Critical Heal effect increased from 4% to 6% maximum Health per second

 

SONYA

Snitch/JayPL
- Mostly irrelevant changes
- Nerf to Mystical Spear & Nerves of Steel not too bad
- Interesting to see if Leap playstyle will be a thing

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Endless Fury (Passive)
      • Removed.
    • Shot of Fury (Trait)
      • Now also passively increases maximum Fury from 100 to 150 in addition to its current functionality
  • Level 4
    • Hurricane (E)
      • Now also reduces the cooldown of Whirlwind by 1 seconds in addition to its current functionality
  • Level 7
    • Composite Spear (Q)
      • Now also increases the Fury gained from Ancient Spear from 40 to 60 in addition to its current functionality
    • Poisoned Spear (Q)
      • Damage increased from 75% to 100% of Ancient Spear’s damage
  • Level 13
    • Mystical Spear (Q)
      • Reduced the cooldown reduction from 4 to 3 seconds
    • Life Funnel (E)
      • Whirlwind Healing bonus increased from 5% to 10%
      • The tooltip has been clarified to state that this bonus is also tripled against Heroes
  • Level 16
    • Nerves of Steel (Active)
      • Cooldown increased from 60 to 70 seconds
    • Furious Blow (W)
      • Seismic Slam damage bonus increased from 40% to 50%
      • Fury cost increased from 35 to 40
  • Level 20
    • Arreat Crater (R)
      • Now also reduces the cooldown of Leap by 20 seconds in addition to its current functionality
    • Anger Management (R)
      • The increase to Stun, Slow, Root, and Polymorph duration reduction has been removed
      • Increased Fury gain bonus from 50% to 100%

 

 

STITCHES

STITCHES

AlexTheProG
- Vile Gas on ground wasn't too useful; new functionality will make him stronger, will be similar to Burning Rage
- Hook change is great, will give slightly more utility, but not a huge buff
- Restorative Fumes seems quite good, but depends if it stacks with multiple enemies; however, Amplified Healing at Level 4 is probably too good if you want tankiness/sustain; if not, Putrid Ground is your go-to
- Toxic Gas will probably make Tenderizer obsolete

JayPL
- Hook changes quite cool; in double tank setups, one could bait some spells, Stitches hooks him back to safety and the team re-engages
- Probably still won't make Stitches a priority
- Stitches already has a lot of sustain, Restorative Fumes might even improve that

Abilities

  • Vile Gas (Trait)
    • New Functionality:
      • When damaged, Stitches emits a gas cloud that poisons nearby enemies over 3 seconds (no longer leaves Vile Gas on the ground)
    • Cooldown reduced from 4 to 3 seconds
  • Hook (Q)
    • Hook can now target allied Heroes by default. This functionality can be toggled on and off through a new “Helping Hand” button. (Default hotkey: 1)

Talents

  • Level 4
    • New Talent: Restorative Fumes (Trait)
      • Each time an enemy Hero takes damage from Vile Gas, Stitches heals for 27 Health
    • Vile Cleaver (W)
      • Removed
    • Mercenary Lord (Passive)
      • Removed
  • Level 7
    • Toxic Gas (Trait)
      • Radius increase reduced from 50% to 25%
      • No longer increases the duration of Vile Gas
      • Now increases the damage of Vile Gas by 50%
  • Level 13
    • Helping Hand (Q)
      • Removed

 

TYRAEL

TYRAEL

AlexTheProG
- Don't like Archangel's Wrath increased damage, don't want a big part of his power be put into him having to die
- Level 1 talents much more balanced
- Protection in Death looks good in dive comps
- Even in Death will be great, likely the best Level 1 talent
- Swift Retribution will rival Amplified Healing; good for teamplay to overrun enemies
- Angelic Momentum removed is sad, other choices aren't great, Reciprocate probably only option
- Imposing Will probably still best Level 13 talent, Angelic Might possibly okay
- Holy Ground still only Level 16 option

JayPL
- They buffed a lot of talents, but to even it out removed Angelic Momentum; hard to say, could be an overall nerf

Abilities

  • Archangel’s Wrath (Trait)
    • Increased damage from 456 to 550

Talents

  • Level 1
    • Protection in Death (Trait)
      • Increased the Shield duration from 5 to 10 seconds
    • Horadric Reforging (Q)
      • Moved to level 4
    • Purge Evil (E)
      • Damage increased from 25% to 30%
  • Level 4
    • Even in Death (Trait)
      • Now also increases the damage of Archangel’s Wrath by 25% in addition to its current functionality
      • Moved to level 1
    • Retribution (E)
      • New functionality
        • Increases the Movement Speed bonus of Smite from 25% to 35%, and increase the duration from 2 to 3 seconds
      • Name changed to: Swift Retribution
  • Level 7
    • Angelic Momentum (Passive)
      • Removed
    • Angel’s Grace (Q)
      • Increased Movement Speed bonus from 25% to 30%.
    • Reciprocate (W)
      • Increased damage from 151 to 200
    • Zealotry (W)
      • Also reduces Righteousness’ cooldown by 2 seconds in addition to its current functionality
      • Bonus duration reduced from 100% to 50%
  • Level 13
    • Angelic Might (E)
      • This bonus now only applies when hitting Heroes with Smite
      • Increased damage bonus from 25% to 75%
    • Angelic Absorption (W)
      • Increased heal amount from 46 to 52
  • Level 16
    • Blade of Justice (Q)
      • Instead of increasing Basic Attack damage, now increases Attack Speed by 50% for 5 seconds
    • Salvation (W)
      • Increased Shield value from 25% to 35% for each ally Hero shielded
  • Level 20
    • Angel of Justice (R)
      • Increased cooldown reduction from 30 to 40 seconds