Some balance patches are about buffs, but the latest November update is all about the nerfs. Some heroes got it bad, while others seem surprisingly untouched.
It's a good day if you love to play Melee Assassins. The latest PTR patch notes has buffed Zeratul, Alarak, Thrall and even Illidan! We know for certain that one player is thrilled:
And with this latest balance update another Melee assassin, Samuro, might have finally received the changes needed to not get banned every single Hero League game. In his current state, players simply do not allow him to ever get past the ban phase.
Is it because of his true power level (which many feel is dubious at best) or his frustrating play style? No one really knows, but these latest nerfs will help us find out.
SAMURO NERFS:
- Basic Attack Damage decreased from 93 to 88
- Mirror Images (Q)
- Damage dealt reduced from 30 to 25% of Samuro’s damage
- Illusion Master (R)
- Damage increase reduced from 15 to 10%
- Damage increase reduced from 15 to 10%
Level 13 Talent
- Shukuchi (E)
- Teleport range decreased by 20%
- Teleport range decreased by 20%
These are not nerfs to be taken lightly: Samuro is now strictly a worse hero. Less damage and less mobility from a hero that's only team contribution is damage and mobility is troubling to die-hard Samuro fans, but perhaps these changes will lift the iron curtain of bans that essentially remove him from the game anyway.
The second most impactful set of nerfs this balance update is to everyone's favorite imbalance rocker, E.T.C:
E.T.C NERFS:
- Maximum Base Health decreased from 2556 to 2428
- Base Health Regen from 5.32 to 5.06
Level 1 Talent
- Prog Rock (E)
- Quest reward ally heal reduced from 53 to 50
Level 7 Talent
- Echo Pedal (Passive)
- Bonus damage to Minions and Mercenaries reduced from 100 to 75%
Level 13 Talent
- Face Smelt (W)
- Slow amount reduced from 60 to 50%
Are these nerfs enough? Blizzard concedes that the hero is imbalanced (we have an interview being released soon that even confirms this) but it feels like his survivability isn't the issue. Powerslide is an incredible ability and, if you want this writers opinion, its "guaranteed" stun nature is far too oppressive in a game decided by pick-offs and single target elimination.
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