Balance Patch V1.0.2 | Predecessor

Balance Patch V1.0.2

Predecessor's 1.0.2 Balance Update Is Nearly Here!

Patch Notes 5. Sept. 2024

Introduction

Greetings Champions!

As the dust settles on our momentous V1 release we’re already looking ahead to the future.

V1.1 is mere weeks away, and brings a brand new original Hero, joining the ranks of Argus, Zarus and Kira! That’s not all though, as the update brings many highly requested features such as mouse and keyboard support for consoles, PS5 trophies and more!

But enough about V1.1 - let’s focus instead on the smaller, more balance focused V1.0.2 patch.

It’s not just balance changes though, V1.0.2 brings the highly demanded legendary Doomsday Steel skin alongside all-new variants.

Let’s jump right in!

Store News

Doomsday Steel [Legendary]

Foretell the end for your enemies and prepare for Doomsday, with the Steel’s new Doomsday Skin!

Available in Store in the skins tab or in the following limited-time Bundles:

Doomsday Steel Bundle

Doomsday Steel Variant Bundle

Clockwork Revenant [Uncommon]

Stick up your targets in steampunk style, with Revenant’s bronze-gilded new Clockwork skin!

Available in Store in the skins tab or in the following limited-time Bundles:

Clockwork Revenant Bundle - Revenant [ Hero] - Clockwork Revenant [ Uncommon Skin] - Clockwork Revenant Spray [ Spray] ( Exclusive)

Punk Phase [Common]

Blast your foes green with envy and prove that your punk power is more than just a Phase, with her new Punk skin!

Available in Store in the skins tab.

Dark Heart Morigesh [Rare]

The Dark Heart of the swamp returns once more with a brand new bundle of variants!

Available in Store in the skins tab or in the following limited-time Bundles:

Dark Heart Morigesh Bundle

Hero Balance Changes

Alongside some general efficacy hits to both his Ultimate and early-game threat, Argus is receiving some reductions to Dread Nova’s hitbox to provide more room for counterplay following frequent community feedback that the ability can be frustrating to interact with. With the tighter hitbox, not only will the visuals be more representative of the actual damaging area, but it will also require more accuracy from Argus to land, allowing for more dodging opportunities and better rewarding skillful execution.

General:

Dread Nova [Primary]:

Synaptic Obliterator [Ultimate]:

Aurora’s Ice Wall can be difficult for Allies to fully utilize before it melts away, so some additional movement speed is being granted to Heroes gliding on it to make it more quickly usable. Additionally, Boreal Sweep is receiving a reduction in raw damage in return for some additional uptime, further unwinding Aurora from excessive Ability Haste reliance and ensuring full-tank builds do not possess as much inherent burst damage.

Glacial Charge [Primary]:

Boreal Sweep [Alternate]:

Dekker’s general elusiveness and mobility is already on the high-end, made more extreme by her Movement Speed which exceeds many other ranged Heroes. She is receiving a reduction to her Movement Speed to reduce her general safety and roam effectiveness, providing more room for punishment should she overstep.

General:

Drongo’s ability to bully out a lane with poke and threaten all-ins provides him with too much general laning strength compared to other Carries. As a result, some general Ability damage is being stripped back to reduce Drongo’s general trading strength with him having to work a little harder to secure an advantage.

Rad Rounds [Secondary]:

Old Rusty [Alternate]:

The previous set of changes to Feng Mao have seen him make a resurgence in the Jungle as we intended. However, his general ability to snowball out of control should he secure a lead can happen in extreme ways. Some general mobility and damage are being pulled back, especially in the case of his Basic Attacks, ensuring his ability to run away with a gold advantage is not as extreme.

Windwalker [Primary]:

Guardian Shield [Primary]:

Reaping Dash [Alternate]:

Gideon struggles to keep pace with other Mages in the wave-clear department and is receiving some additional uptime to his Cosmic Rift Ability. Additionally, his Torn Space Ability is also receiving some additional uptime in the late game, in return for a higher cooldown in the early game to ensure the window for punishing him while it is down is more present.

Cosmic Rift [Primary]:

Torn Space [Secondary]:

Grux often struggles to function in the later stages of a match due to his high cooldowns and lower general mobility. Some additional durability and ability uptime are being granted to him in the later stages of a match to reduce his overall Ability Haste reliance, improving his build options and better allowing him to swap between targets in a fight.

General:

Smash And Grab [Primary]:

Crush [Secondary]:

Howitzer is seeing some of his damage redistributed away from his Basic Abilities and into his Ultimate, reducing his lane general poke potential in return for a higher impact moment when committing to Make It Rain.

R2000 Missile [Primary]:

Land Mine [Secondary]:

Make It Rain [Ultimate]:

Similar to previous changes, Kwang is once again seeing a reduction in early game trading strength while in lane in return for some additional Ultimate damage, bringing more emphasis to his Level 6 spike. Some further uptime is also being granted to Judgement of the Heavens in the late game, better allowing him to string combos together in teamfights.

Strike of the Heavens [Passive]:

Judgement of the Heavens [Primary]:

Light of the Heavens [Alternate]:

Fury of the Heavens [Ultimate]:

Lt.Belica received a meaningful bump in strength with her last set of changes but still struggles to keep pace in the Midlane in terms of waveclear. Void Bomb is being granted some additional strength to further bridge this waveclear gap.

Void Bomb [Alternate]:

Murdock’s Long Arm Of The Law has very high uptime and global presence in the earlier stages of a match. Not only does this heavily impact other lanes, but it can also accelerate his strength independent of how well he is playing in the lane when picking up stray kills. An increase to its cooldown is being levied to ensure Murdock’s general global presence is no longer as high, bringing more emphasis to every Ultimate he uses.

Long Arm Of The Law [Ultimate]:

Some changes are being made to Muriel’s abilities. Firstly, we’re bringing greater efficacy and emphasis to Alacrity, allowing for more frequent use as it is frequently an afterthought in her ability rotations. Likewise, Serenity’s Slow is receiving some changes, providing less efficacy in the early game in return for far more potency when leveled, thereby acting as a harsher form of disruption when Muriel wishes to peel away or catch out a target in fights.

Serenity [Primary]:

Alacrity [Alternate]:

Phase is receiving a suite of minor changes aimed at improving her general agency throughout a match. This can be seen through additional basic attack strength, providing a higher reward for playing aggressive in lane; more scaling across her kit, and a larger jolt of Movement Speed to Hyperflux that will better allow it to serve as a go-button when looking to capitalize on enemy mistakes.

General:

Essence Catalyst:

Energy Lance [Secondary]:

Hyperflux [Ultimate]:

The previous set of changes to Rampage have successfully facilitated a return to form in the Jungle. While we’re continuing to monitor his strength as the dust continues to settle, a small hit to his early-game clear speed is being levied to ensure he does not outpace other Junglers too heavily.

Rumble [Secondary]:

Riktor is once again receiving a bump to his Electrocute’s uptime and scaling, further pushing his ability to perform in the Jungle and Offlane - Roles where he relies on it most.

Electrocute [Secondary]:

Serath is receiving some additional Mana efficiency and Heaven’s Fury damage, better pushing her ability to perform in the Offlane and reciprocate early pressure against some of her harder matchups.

General:

Heaven’s Fury [Primary]:

Shinbi can struggle to have a direct impact, often taking too long to scale-up to the point she can win duels, just to struggle again once end-game fights occur. While further power could be pushed into her Line Tempo and All-Kill to make her more of a damage threat, this tends to be the least interactive aspect when playing against Shinbi as she can choose to play passively. Instead, we’re providing her with some further aggressive incentives, with Circle Rhythm and Rushing Beat now granting some additional damage and shielding, better allowing her to take duels and further rewarding her for getting up close and personal.

Circle Rhythm [Secondary]:

Rushing Beat [Alternate]:

Sevarog is receiving a shift to Colossal Blow’s damage profile, with some of the base damage being redistributed into scaling to further ensure a full-tank Sevarog does not output unreasonably high levels of burst damage given how difficult he can become to take down in the later stages of a match.

Colossal Blow [Ultimate]:

Terra is once again receiving a decrease to her durability, as well as a significant hit to Ruthless Assault’s empowered damage. The combination of these changes will reduce her general strength in lane, while also providing a better balance between durability and damage based on the Items she invests in.

Ruthless Assault [Primary]:

Wild Rush [Alternate]:

Unstoppable Force [Ultimate]:

Fey is receiving a significant set of changes aimed at improving the general responsiveness and enjoyment of playing her, opening up her skill orders and lean away from passive waveclearing, as well as providing more pronounced moments of strength. This can be seen in the form of more consistency from her Harvest Nettles as we improve its responsiveness and its ability to chain hits together, more incentive to invest in her Bramble Patch as a control tool now that it provides a stronger scaling Slow, and a sharper burst of speed when she secures a Takedown.

General:

Nature’s Vengeance [Passive]:

Bramble Patch [Primary]:

Harvest Nettles [Secondary]:

Untamed Growth [Alternate]:

Fly Trap [Ultimate]:

TwinBlast’s early game can feel too scripted around his Vaporize trades, otherwise feeling rather underwhelming until he hits his Item spikes. To help provide him with more agency in the early game some additional bonus Attack Speed is being granted to his Passive, further incentivizing ability weaving between Basic Attacks, as well as a slight bump in damage to his earlier Ultimates to grant him more consistent early-game impact.

Overdrive [Passive]:

Ventilate [Ultimate]:

Zinx has emerged as an extremely capable Support, with her general healing output and versatility outshining much of the roster and requiring the need for some hits. To start with, reductions to her overall healing capabilities are needed to ensure she does not stifle aggressive plays too effectively. This is being done in the form of a general decrease to Infuse’s potency and the bonus healing offered by Triage Protocol. Additionally, she is seeing a shift in early-game mana economy to further discourage passively spamming heals in lane instead of being aggressive with Bad Medicine. Finally, there is a reduction in the Revival window of Neural Regenesis, allowing enemies to wait out its duration more easily should she jump the gun.

General:

Triage Protocol [Passive]:

Bad Medicine [Secondary]:

Infuse [Alternate]:

Neural Regenesis [Ultimate]:

Item Balance Changes

Carry:

Some additional Ability Haste is being granted to Nuclear Rounds, further differentiating it and facilitating builds revolving around a heavier emphasis on Ability usage.

Assassin:

Envy contributes to frustrating moments of gameplay and a feeling of inadequate counterplay due to the combination of damage and disruption it provides. General reductions to its overall strength are being levied to ensure there is an adequate opportunity cost when purchasing it over other damage options, and that its Silence does not feel as oppressive to be hit by.

Since the previous change to Cinder’s stacking, Infernum has naturally lost some of its general potency. Now that the abuse cases are far less frequent, we can provide it with some additional upfront strength, allowing it to serve as a more relevant anti-tank option for Assassins in need.

Malady’s ability to blast through Minions and Monsters thanks to Parting Gift’s AoE damage can lead to excessive clear speeds, often contributing to an extreme shift in Jungle pace, and an accelerated lack of interaction in lane as it begins to cull waves with ease. To ensure game pace does not shift as aggressively when Malady is acquired. Parting Gift is seeing a reduction in its AoE damage output.

Both Mesmer and Spellbreaker are seeing an increase to their Spellshield cooldowns to ensure there is an adequate amount of time to capitalize on them once popped. However, Mesmer is receiving some additional Physical Power to ensure it provides a comparable spike in power when foregoing other alternatives.

Fighter:

Basilisk is receiving an increase to Eminence’s Missing Health damage as it currently struggles to serve as an effective response to tankier targets now that they are more prevalent in matches.

Bonesaw is receiving some additional ramping Attack Speed, better allowing it to serve those Bruisers seeking to ramp up their damage over the course of a fight, especially against those chunkier targets.

Draconum aims to provide Fighters with a healthy injection of Physical Armor, allowing them to continue their investment in Bruiser Itemsation without the need for another option when heavier Physical Armor investment is not required. However, the current amount of Physical Armor it provides falls short of acting as a solid single source so an additional chunk is being granted.

Earthshaker’s stats were stripped back a bit too heavily since its switchover to Ability Haste. It is regaining the Attack Speed it lost to better allow it to stand out to the various Heroes it pairs with.

Legacy is another Item that does not provide an adequate amount of protections in a single slot. Like Draconum, it is receiving a bump to its Magical Armor to make it more impactful as a standalone defensive option.

Mage:

Lifebinder struggles to find its place in many builds given its relatively niche use-cases and the strength of its competing options. Some additional Ability Haste is being added to better allow it to justify its place in builds further and allowing it to compete more readily with other Haste options.

Contrary to its use-case, Magnify’s Shred effect struggles to have a meaningful impact when used against an Enemy stacking a ton of Magical Armor. Some additional Shred potency is being granted to allow it to better exist as an appropriate response when dealing with tankier targets.

Orb requires a significant time investment to receive a return from. Even when it is fully evolved, for Heroes other than Iggy it often struggles to justify the investment compared to simply opting for other sources of Health with more immediate return. Some additional Health is being given to its Enlightened effect, better rewarding those Magical Bruisers that delay their tempo in order to get it online, further closing the gap between other options such as Magnify and Elafrost.

Spellbreaker, like Mesmer, is receiving a cooldown increase to its Spellshield to ensure there is an adequate window of opportunity to play for after it has been popped.

Support:

Health is a bit of a luxury Stat for Supports, with few Items providing it in meaningful bulks. In its absence it can feel difficult to pair Armor heavy options such as Galaxy Greaves or Hexbound into a build, oftentimes feeling far more optimal to forego traditional Support options for the likes of Raiment to get the Health injection needed. Dawnstar is receiving a bump in Health to help rectify this and allow for a cleaner 1-2 pairing between more Items.

Lunaria is once again receiving a hit to its Healing efficacy and stack generation due to its inherent synergy with Zinx and the abnormal levels of healing it allows a hybrid Healer like her to put out.

Marshal exists as the go-to item for the majority of Ranged Supports, simply outshining other options due to how well rounded it is. To bring it back into greater contention with other options and make it less of a catch-all, some of its Mana Regen is being stripped back.

That’s all for now!

1.0.2 might be a lighter patch than our recent 1.0 update, but rest assured 1.1 is shaping up nicely. In fact we could say we think you’ll have a BLAST playing with the new Hero ;)

Until next time,

Rei, Alex & Kari

Game Design and Community @ Omeda Studios