Heroes of the Storm received a new balance patch on April 17. This round of changes touched on hero balance and mana management in particular.
Blizzard stated in the patch notes that they want mana to be “a meaningful part of the game.” They also noted that mana management should hold a different priority over the course of a game. To achieve that, they are adjusting the mana costs of abilities across many heroes. The patch notes don’t discuss Blizzard’s intention behind the many Heroes of the Storm heroes who don’t use mana.
Some of the notable changes include Varian and Imperius. Both heroes received a 50 percent mana cost increase to their defensive abilities. Imperius was only recently added to the Heroes of the Storm roster and is currently sitting at a miraculous 50 percent win rate. Nevertheless, he is also receiving a number of other balance changes, as Blizzard slowly removes quests from their talent system.
Ranged assassin — and source of endless frustration for squishy heroes everywhere — Chromie is receiving the longest list of changes. Almost all of her abilities and talents are receiving adjustments. This is coming less than a month since Chromie received a full overhaul.
Stukov is receiving a few changes that may have a strong effect on his overall play style and win rate. His Reactive Ballistospores talent is moved from level 13 to level 1. The defensive talent has high damage potential in the hands of skilled players and can allow Stukov to outlast and even defeat more combat-focused heroes in the right circumstances. Getting it earlier in the game would be a boon, especially on objective control maps.
Finally, the patch notes state that Anub’arak has been performing “a little too well” lately. To address that, Blizzard is hitting the bug tank with some slight numerical nerfs.
Blizzard addressing party size bias
Following this patch, Heroes of the Storm players won’t be able to see how many members of the opposing team are in a pre-made party. Blizzard states that this change aims to eliminate some unavoidable psychological assumptions that come from seeing this information on the pre-match screen.
Party size will still factor into the matchmaking algorithm, however. Teams with more pre-made party members may be matched against teams with higher MMR, according to the patch notes.
Keep up with Daily Esports for more Heroes of the Storm news.
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