Hi! I’m Stukeleyak (aka Stukeley), and this post will be about an imaginary Heroes of the Storm patch that I think would be good for the game if I could influence it in any way.
Some introductory words about me: I have played this game for 8 years, achieving Rank 1 in the preseason (before proper ranks were introduced). I then played on and off for the next years, not actively participating in each season, but rather every second or so. I peaked at Master 2038 LP in 2018 Season 1. I came back to HotS a few months before making this post, after an almost 1-year long break – I played quite a lot in 2022 Season 2, reaching Master 89 LP. In total, on just my main account, I have played about 2100 games, and generally, while I am not a professional (are there even any anymore?), I would consider myself to have a decent knowledge about the game, the strategies, and the game’s past.
The last season (2023 Season 3) I played on three accounts – my main account is, at the time of writing this post, Master 1696 LP; the second account is Diamond 2 and I used it to play with some of my friends; and the third account, made very recently, climbed from Silver 4 to Platinum 3.
There are two main areas I used to think about these changes and make this post.
- Hero and talent statistics available at https://www.heroesprofile.com/Global/Hero/
- Subjective opinions gathered when playing the game
There are a few important things to note here. First of all, the stats that we have available aren’t necessarily representative of the entire game, since there is no official API (like in other MOBA games) that could be used for retrieving win rates and other information. They can, however, still be useful and tell about some outliers, especially if the sample size is big enough (for example, Rehgar’s sample size is much bigger than Kerrigan’s, so that data is more likely to be representative of the game).
Secondly, while stats are very important, and are probably the main point in balancing other MOBA games (where the sample size is much bigger and the data is better divided around player skill and team compositions), we cannot forget that opinions also matter. There can be a perfectly balanced (stats-wise) hero that is very unfun to play or play against – or both. The goal of making balance changes should be to ensure the resulting experience is fun for everyone. Not just that each hero sits as close to 50% win rate as possible.
The third point, while we’re already talking about win rates, is that it is impossible to balance a MOBA perfectly. There are way too many variables, way too many outcomes, situations, and other factors influencing a player’s opinion, or the final stats. Since the game is also somewhat competitive, there will be toxicity, and players will not always be able to perfectly evaluate a hero’s performance due to emotions. In my opinion, the goal should not be to artificially alter each hero’s win rate to be as close to 50% as possible, but rather create an interesting and changing meta with picks that can be situational, but also those that are fun to play and good overall. In the past, this was achieved with regular balance updates that would change the game, break the meta, and introduce new tactics to the table. Now, we are experiencing a period of complaining in the community because everything has been the same for almost 2 years now.
General changes
Storm League
- Ranks and MMR of all players have been reset and re-seeded.
- The base rank assumed for each player after the reset is Silver 3.
- Players will have to play 10 placement matches to regain their ranks. This is the case for this season only – future seasons will only have 3 placement matches as usual.
- After placement matches are played, players will gain and lose an increased amount of league points for a period of time to help them reach the rank that best represents their skill level.
ARAM
- Industrial District has been removed from the Battlegrounds pool in ARAM. The currently available maps are Braxis Outpost, Lost Cavern, and Silver City.
Sleep Crowd Control Effect
- Sleep effects no longer have a 0.5-second period on the target before they can be woken up.
- Any non-periodic damage over 50 (non-scaling) now instantly wakes up the target.
- This does not affect talents that allow to damage sleeping targets without waking them up (such as Mal’Ganis Echo of Doom).
Alexstrasza
Base
Dragonqueen (D):
- Duration increased from 15 seconds to 18 seconds.
- Healing on Basic Attacks increased from 43 to 50.
Level 1
Circle of Life:
- Talent reworked.
- Passively increases the amount of healing done by Abundance by 10%, but increases its cooldown by 6 seconds.
- Quest: Collect 15 Regeneration Globes. Reward: Abundance’s healing burst now creates a Regeneration Globe.
Level 10
Life-Binder (R1):
- Healing over time decreased from 480 to 440.
- Cooldown increased from 50 seconds to 70 seconds.
Level 13
Life Unbound:
- Healing increased from 15% maximum Health to 20% maximum Health.
Level 20:
On Ruby Wings (R2):
- Duration of Dragonqueen granted increased from 15 seconds to 18 seconds.
Anduin
Level 4
Piercing Light:
- Maximum Spell Power gained decreased from 10% to 5%.
Arthas
Base
- Health increased from 2860 to 2920.
Death Coil:
- Healing increased from 262 to 278.
Frozen Tempest:
- Damage per second increased from 40 to 44.
Blaze
Level 13
Collision Course:
- Damage decreased from 275 to 190.
Brightwing
Level 1
Hyper Shift:
- No longer reduces Phase Shift’s cooldown when nearby enemy minions are killed.
- Phase Shift healing bonus increased from 6% to 15%.
Deckard
Base
Healing Potion:
- Healing increased from 285 to 310.
Level 4
Potion of Shielding:
- Shield increased from 140 to 160.
Rejuvenation Potion:
- Healing over time increased from 114 to 130.
Level 13
Super Healing Potion:
- Bonus healing when the potion isn’t picked up for 2 seconds decreased from 100% to 50%.
E.T.C.
Base
- Health increased from 2280 to 2350.
Powerslide:
- Cooldown decreased from 12 seconds to 11 seconds.
Face Melt:
- Cooldown decreased from 12 seconds to 11 seconds.
Level 13
Encore:
- Heroic Ability cooldown reduction decreased from 5% to 2% per Hero hit.
Level 16
Show Stopper:
- Armor increased from 35% to 50%.
Falstad
Level 20
Wind Tunnel:
- Tunnel duration decreased from 4 seconds to 3 seconds.
Genji
Level 1
Agile Dismount:
- Bonus range decreased from 70% to 40%.
- Cooldown reduction decreased from 14 seconds to 10 seconds.
Level 4
Strike At The Heart:
- Damage increased from 134 to 150.
Level 16
Final Cut:
- Damage increased from 125 to 150.
Level 20
Living Weapon:
- Cooldown reduction per enemy Hero hit decreased from 10 seconds to 8 seconds.
Hogger
Base
- Health decreased from 2260 to 2220.
Loot Hoard:
- Healing per second decreased from 3% of maximum Health to 2%.
Hogg Wild:
- Now deals 75% damage to Mercenaries.
Level 4
Hogger’s Joggers:
- Now only increases Movement Speed and Healing Received by 10% when Hogger is at or above 50 Rage.
Level 16
Headbanger:
- Bonus damage decreased from 8% of maximum Health to 6%.
Imperius
Level 1
Burn The Impure:
- Bonus damage decreased from 2.5% to 2% of the Hero’s maximum Health.
Johanna
Level 4
Subdue:
- Movement Speed slow decreased from 80% to 70%.
Kel’Thuzad
Base
Chains of Kel’Thuzad:
- Missile size updated to better reflect the hitbox of the secondary chain.
Level 7
Arcane Echoes:
- Talent moved from Level 16.
- Cooldown reduction per Hero hit decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1 second.
Level 16
Accelerated Decay:
- Talent moved from Level 7.
Li Li
Base
- Attack Damage increased from 60 to 64.
Level 1
The Good Stuff:
- Moved from Level 7.
- Healing per second decreased from 42 to 36.
Free Drinks:
- Talent removed.
Level 7
Serpent Synergy:
- New talent.
- When Cloud Serpent attacks a Hero that is Blinded, it deals an additional 13 damage and heals its bearer for an additional 10.
Level 10
Jug of 1,000 Cups (R1):
- Base cooldown decreased from 20 seconds to 10 seconds.
- The cooldown per thrown cup is unchanged.
Level 16
Pick Me Up:
- Merged functionality from the Free Drinks talent.
- New functionality: If the hero healed by Healing Brew is below 50% health, increase the healing by 33%, reduce its cooldown by 1 second, and refund its Mana cost.
Mephisto
Level 4
Spite:
- Regeneration Globe bonus duration decreased from 150% to 60%.
Level 10
Durance of Hate:
- Cooldown increased from 50 seconds to 60 seconds.
Level 16
Lightning Reaction:
- Damage decreased from 138 to 120.
Rehgar
Level 4
Earthliving Enchant:
- Healing decreased from 160 to 140.
Level 13
Tidal Waves:
- Talent reworked.
- Reduces Chain Heal’s Mana cost from 60 to 40. Every time Chain Heal heals a Hero below 50% Health, reduce its cooldown by 1 second.
Earth Shield:
- Shield amount decreased from 14% to 12% of the Hero’s maximum Health.
Level 16
Rising Storm:
- Bonus duration decreased from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.
Level 20
Farseer’s Blessing:
- Nearby ally healing decreased from 590 to 320.
Stukov
Base
Healing Pathogen:
- Healing increased from 222 to 240.
Lurking Arm:
- Cooldown increased from 10 seconds to 12 seconds.
- Now can always be channeled for up to 3 seconds only.
- Functionality reworked. Stukov cannot move or attack during channeling Lurking Arm, but can cast other abilities. Can still be cancelled early.
Level 7
Growing Infestation:
- Bonus area decreased from 50% to 40%.
- Maximum channel duration is still 3 seconds (it is now baseline).
Level 13
It Hungers:
- Talent reworked.
- Increases the range of Stukov’s Lurking Arm by 30% and decreases its cooldown by 2 seconds. Gain 15 Armor when Lurking Arm is channeled.
Virulent Reaction:
- Root duration decreased from 1.5 seconds to 1 second.
Level 16
Pox Populi:
- Duration increased from 3 seconds to 4 seconds.
Level 20
Top Off:
- Bonus healing increased from 30% to 50%.
Uther
Comment: These changes intend to make Uther a stronger situational pick, with less overall healing and self-sustain but stronger Armor application.
Base
- Health decreased from 1975 to 1950.
Devotion:
- Ally Armor increased from 25 to 40 for 2 seconds.
- Self Armor is still 15 for 2 seconds.
Holy Light
- Healing increased from 362 to 400.
- No longer heals Uther if cast on an ally.
Holy Radiance:
- Width increased from 2.5 to 3.
Level 1
Silver Touch:
- Now also passively reduces the cooldown of Holy Light by 2 seconds.
Wave of Light:
- Passive Mana gained increased from 5 to 10 per Hero hit.
Level 4
Holy Shock:
- Talent reworked.
- Holy Light can be used on an enemy to do 50% of its healing amount as damage. When used this way, its cooldown is reduced by 5 seconds, Uther gains 60 Mana and the target’s Armor is reduced by 15 for 2 seconds.
- This talent no longer applies healing or Devotion on Uther.
Level 7
Armor of Faith:
- Cooldown increased from 20 seconds to 30 seconds.
Level 16
Beacon of Light:
- Talent reworked.
- When Uther targets others with Holy Light, he is healed for 400. When Uther is below 50% Health, this heal is increased by 50%.
- This includes enemy heroes if Holy Shock (Level 4) is taken.
Level 20
Divine Protection:
- Ally Armor increased from 40 to 50.
- Uther Armor increased from 15 to 25.
- Duration bonus increased from 0.5 seconds to 1 second.
Xul
Base
- Health decreased from 2080 to 2040.
- Attack Damage decreased from 95 to 90.
Level 10
Poison Nova (R1):
- Damage decreased from 630 to 600.
Skeletal Mages (R2):
- Cooldown decreased from 90 seconds to 80 seconds.