Blizzard developers Centaurik and BlizzJohnzee hosted an AMA on Reddit. The duo commented on community concerns, possible changes in the future and their hero design philosophy
In classic Blizzard fashion, Centaurik and BlizzJohnzee were nuanced in their responses, sharing just enough information to whet the appetite. Nothing definitive was confirmed but expect specific hero changes on the horizon.
Regarding Kael’thas, they discussed their intention behind his talent and passive. It seems there was a lot of discussion internally about whether or not his Phoenix ability should have been a basic ability instead of heroic, and the nature of his trait.
What else can be expected in the future?
If these hero designers are to be trusted (given how secretive Blizzard is, we cannot be picky here), there are several changes on the horizon:
- The warrior class seems most likely to undergo changes. The development team tried to bring some variety by revamping ETC and Diablo, who are easily the most popular warrior heroes in the game.
- The developers hinted at changes coming to Tyrael and Stitches.
- This is the second confirmation from an official Blizzard post that Tyrael’s Sanctification will be changed to encourage different talent builds.
- In a similar vein, they gave very strong suggestions there will be a tweak to Sylvanna’s posession ability. Like Sanctification, this is at least the second time a Blizzard developer has hinted at this.
- Probably the most eagerly rumored change discussed were tweaks to Illidan’s talent pool as right now his build is quite one dimensional.
- One semi-confirmed nerf was they're trying to remove the Unstoppable abilities (eg Illidan's Dive) so there'll be more crowd control in the game.
As a Gazlowe fan, I have to mention the changes Blizzard released this patch. While some of the changes appear to be nerfs like the cone targetting, overall they thought Gazlowe got a significant buff with his laser ability which is now usable mid fight instead of an elongated wind-up.
Some other interesting information from the AMA included how the developers decide on heroes to release (expect more Starcraft heroes!) and how they actually design heroes. A lot of it comes from community demands, the hero's lore, and what kind of talents they can build around the hero. Interestingly, the design changes they made for Diablo and ETC were actually created four months ago and didn't have to do with the current meta itself.
We’ve already covered the Kael’thas patch notes here, but Centaurik and BlizzJohnzee provided some excellent insight on the reason behind the decisions. You can view Centaurik’s responses here and Blizzjohnzee’s here.
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