In what is the fastest update ever for a hero, Zarya will be receiving significant buffs less than two days from her release.
Blizzard is planning to release a bug fix patch tomorrow (9/29) that brings with it the fastest hero balance changes in the history of the game. Zarya, released 36 hours ago in NA, is being buffed:
Stats:
- Increased Basic Attack damage from 20 to 24
- Increased Base Health from 2225 to 2336
- Increased Base Health Regen from 4.64 to 4.87
Abilities:
Particle Grenade (Q)
- Increased base damage from 62 to 74
Personal Barrier (W)
- Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds
Energy (Trait)
- Energy decay rate reduced from 3 to 1.5 per second
Graviton Surge (R)
- Cooldown reduced from 120 to 100 seconds
Bug Fixes:
Chen: Fixed an issue causing Chen’s Pressure Point talent to also double the duration of Keg Smash’s slow.
Chen: Fixed an issue causing Chen’s Storm, Earth, Fire spirits to have permanently increased attack speed while the Fire spirit is alive.
E.T.C: Fixed an issue preventing E.T.C. from gaining stacks of Prog Rock when gathering Regen Globes.
Sonya: Fixed an issue that prevented Ancient Spear from stunning and dealing damage if used while rooted.
A change of pace
There was a time when imbalance in Heroes threatened the pro future of the game. Consistently OP heroes and consistently weak ones coexisted for months as Blizzard stuck to their typical pattern of slow and careful adjustment (aka Soon™.) However, the HotS team made a decision in December of 2015 that they had to be more agile. Since that time, balance patches have occurred with regularity, averaging every 2 or three weeks and with major reworks to older characters accompanying the release of the last three new ones.
However, one pattern that wasn't abandoned was the minimum of two weeks of general play before any tweaks would appear. Even with 4 of the previous 5 heroes released before Zarya being underpowered (Chromie, Medivh, Gul'dan, Alarak; Auriel being the only exception) and with miserable win rates, there was still the two week "sorting out" time so that the team could get a good look at just how the new guys needed help.
But, apparently, with the rampant sentiment on Reddit that Zarya was simply a poor hero and notable figures in the game such as MFPallytime decrying not just the hero's stats and play but her basic design, Blizzard felt that they had to act sooner.
My oppinion
On my end, I agree with many of the sentiments expressed by Pallytime and others: the problems with the character are rooted deeper than simple numbers changes. Unlike any tank in the game, she lacks escapes of any kind and yet her short-ranged attack forces her to close with enemies and forces her to stand still while attacking. A 2-second shorter CD and a longer level of damage bonus to her appreciably poor overall damage won't change the fact that her basic attack is almost equivalent to a self-stun.
The problems with heroes like Chromie and Gul'dan are that other characters (Sgt. Hammer, Lunara) already do what they do and do it better. Same thing here. It remains to be seen whether numbers changes will improve Zarya's overall lackluster kit and, thus, her performance.
