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Watch your step - Spider Mines will be everywhere for the next week. Expect to see a lot of Nomad and Engineer, one hero who's making his debut in this patch and one who received major changes.

Version 2.0.23

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- Fixed the Zzz above creeps for player-controlled units
- Vagabond Leader, Minotaur, and Catman Champion can no longer use abilities against Magic Immune units

== Items ==

- Token of Life duration lowered from 10 minutes to 7 minutes
* Kongor's respawn time is still 10 minutes

- Bastard Sword removed from the game
- Halberd removed from the game
- Fortified Bracelet renamed to Fortified Bracer
- Talisman of Exile renamed to Amulet of Exile
- Great Arcana renamed to Arcana

Assassin's Shroud
- Fixed a tiny bug where if you had a high enough attackspeed you can proc Shroud bonus damage more than once on the same Shroud state.
- Bastard Sword replaced with a Broadsword
- Recipe cost increased by 200

Brutalizer
- Old:
* Bolstering Armband, Halbred, 1150 Recipe
* +6 Str, +30 Damage, Bash
- New:
* Mighty Blade, Quickblade, 1100 Recipe
* +10 Str, +10 Agi, +20 Damage, Bash

Runed Axe
- Renamed to Runed Cleaver
- Bastard Sword replaced with a Broadsword
- Damage lowered from 65 to 55

Savage Mace
- Old:
* Halberd, Halberd, Slayer
- New:
* Warhammer, Warhammer, Slayer

Slayer
- Cost lowered from 2400 to 2200

== Heroes ==

- Added a new Agility hero: Nomad
- Added a new Alt Avatar: Nomaddin
- Added a new Alt Avatar: Rosie Engineer

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Empath
- Essence Link fixed so it links correctly when the person she is inside of moves very quickly
- Made the detection if the target becomes invulnerable better

Engineer
- Push from Turret increased by ~20%
- Damage from Energy Field changed from % based to 28/58/88 per second to all units inside
- Tinker removed. Replaced with Spider Mines
- Spider Mines
* 7 second cooldown, 90/100/110/120 Manacost
* Activate to consume one charge to place a Spider Mine at your location. Up to 9 may be placed at one time, each dealing 150/200/250/300 Magic Damage.
* Up to 1/2/2/3 charges may be stored, refreshing every 30 seconds
* Spider mines are stealthed and appear when an enemy comes near them, chasing them until contact.

Fayde

Fayde
- Fixed illusions from switching targets if the target becomes invulnerable
- Improved the server performance of her stances and illusions

ForsakenArcher

Forsaken Archer
- Fixed an exploit with effects and Crippling Volley

PollywogPriest

Pollywog Priest
- Made the target animate properly after finishing Tongue Tied

Predator
- Made damage on Carnivorous be nonlethal
* Fixes Predator killing enemy units when he shouldn't be

Rampage

Rampage
- Fixed Stampede's projectile going through invulnerability

Scout

Scout
- Fixed Electric Eye so that if you use Detonate on the Eye, then it will put Scout's Detonate ability on cooldown
- The silence will no longer hit mechanical units

Slither

Slither
- Altered the effects of Poison Spray to fix it shooting off in the wrong direction

Succubus
- Fixed the dual-red wings so it moves with the target if the target is pushed

Valkyrie
- Frost modifier priority changed to fix issues in a real game with her projectile being invisible

Analysis by GosuGamers Strategist, Emin "Jinot" Eke

Brutalizer:
The recent changes have made the Brutalizer a more viable choice on Agility carries than it was before. Furthermore, the increased Strength is welcomed by most Agility heroes that lack survivability.

Runed Axe (renamed to Rune Cleaver):
This change was needed, in my opinion, since it lowered the efficiency of carries like Swiftblade and Scout during the early game.

Savage Mace:
The removal of Halberd was definitely an indirect nerf to Savage Mace, as the mini-stun was very useful, even before finishing the Savage Mace. While Warhammer provides more damage, it loses the ability to cancel channeling spells and efficiency in terms of chasing.

Engineer:
Engineer's "Tinker" skill has been replaced by Spider Mines. Spider Mines provide a lot of strategic maneuverability in terms of mind-games. In my opinion, it's a great change that makes Engineer more attractive for competitive play again. They could scale the damage down by 50 per level, but, all in all, it's a great skill that fits Engineer well.

Nomad:
Nomad is a melee Agility carry with a decent Strength gain per level. His first skill, Sandstorm, can be used in many ways, be it initiation or escape. Mirage Strike is also a very versatile skill that can be used offensively but also defensively in some matters. Mirage Strike can be used to harass the opponent since it is a ranged skill, but can also be used as an escape mechanism since it provides the Nomad with 3 seconds of invisibility. True Strike, on the other hand, is the chasing and killing skill. The additional attack speed allows you to kill your opponent in seconds. His third skill is Wanderer, a passive that makes the Nomad's next attack stronger the farther he travels. This can be used in addition with Sandstorm to move fast and thus gain charges on your skill. Edge Counter is a very unique ultimate that stuns the opponent. All in all, Nomad is a very strategic hero, in my opinion. Well-played, he can escape, initiate, and chase, thus being a very nice addition to every team. For me, a team fight could look like this: initiating with Sandstorm, casting True Strike on an enemy hero, pop off the ultimate, and escape with Mirage Strike's invisibility.

Links
forums.heroesofnewerth.com - 2.0.23 Patch Notes thread

Analyzing Nomad, Engineer Rework in Patch 2.0.23