More nerfs than buffs this update as the top-tier mainstays were all taken down a peg.
A surprising balance updated looked to fix multiple bugs, the frustrating Rooster Quest and a whole lot of balance issues. The most popular Warriors have been nerfed and three of the least used heroes (Uther, Sonya, Zagara) are each enjoying buffs.
If you don't have time to read the full patch notes yourself, here is the Tl;DR to keep you informed.
Nerfed Heroes:
- Ragnaros - Less health, and slightly less damage / self-healing capability.
- Diablo - Most powerful talents nerfed, less damage and big nerf to Level 16 talent, Domination
- Thrall - Earthquake slows less and Sundering as a shorter cooldown. Still more of a nerf.
- Artanis - Most powerful talents nerf, results in slightly less shield and less damage. Phase Prism unchanged.
- Zarya - slightly less damage and energy quest grants less energy from regeneration globes.
Buffed Heroes
- Sonya - Big buffs to whirlwind, much more damage and healing.
- Stitches - More health and regeneration
- Uther - 10 base armor (10% damage reduction passively always)
- Zul'Jin - Buffs to Ability damage based Zul'jin builds. Moderate nerf to auto-attack build.
- Zagara - Move speed on trait increased, slight damage increase on Hunter Killer.
This biggest news of this patch is the introduction of Armor to Uther and Sonya's new Whirlwind numbers. Blizzard had this to say about these changes:
Developer Comments on Uther:
This is the first of a few changes we want to make to Uther. We're attempting to ensure that he has a distinctive niche beyond bringing Divine Shield. This is the first step in the direction n of making him a tankier
Developer Comments on Sonya:
Sonya has steadily been dropping to the bottom of our Hero winrates, primarily because a lot of Heroes fulfill her role slightly better. The focus of these buffs is to improve her winrate, but also to solidify the reason to take Sonya: when you can get a lot of value out of Whirlwind because of the map mechanic, an abundance of Mercenaries, or an enemy team that consistently groups up.
These changes make for some interesting theory craft. Will Uther become a staple alongside Valeera for stuns combos and Divine Shield enabling her damage? Will Sonya become a viable solo-laner for maps like Braxis Holdout? Only time will tell!
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