Early Access Balance Patch v0.7.2

Hotfix

Hotfix V0.7.3 (30/05/23)
◆ Resolved an issue that prevented new skins from appearing in game correctly.

Original update

Heya Champions! o/

The V0.7.2 balance patch is just around the corner and it is shaping up to be BIG. We also hope that it’ll mark the beginning of the end of our focussed efforts to tackle Time To Kill (TTK) improvements in Predecessor. As a reminder, our goal is to create a mid-late game environment that promotes more back and forth gameplay, more tense fights and most importantly, more rewarding counterplay.

The largest part of this process is of course, fiddling with the base stats of our Heroes. A lot of our Heroes have fairly varied base stats that were once fitting, but due to the changes we’ve made throughout Early Access are now no longer suitable. Generally speaking we’ll be looking to make most Heroes more durable, even in the early game, largely due to Crest sustain decreasing in the previous update meaning that damage now sticks better. However a couple heroes will be made a little squishier for certain cases and we’ll explain this reasoning case by case.

Next up, items are also getting a big check up. Lots of passives are losing additional tack-on effects that end up contributing heavily to shorter TTK scenarios due to overloaded effects. Most of these are being trimmed off, reduced or reworked.

Finally, as stated, a few items are also getting reworked to allow Tanks to provide a more utility-focused and durable role within a team, whilst providing options to more players to deal with those Tanks with particular itemisation. Now that Tanks have their new fun Crests to play with, we want their usual items to reflect a similar behaviour. As such we’re trimming their damage, haste, and natural use cases to provide more durable and utility-oriented effects.

Upcoming patches may look to make adjustments to the changes brought about in this patch as we continue to revise and hone our balance and design towards our original goal, so expect reaction based changes rather than a new goal or purpose over the next few weeks.

- Bloodmordius, Senior Game Designer

New

New Skins

It's time to polish up your appearance with our latest shiny new skins!

◆ Mechanical Titan Gadget [Common]
◆ Aegis Steel [Common]

Balance changes

Heroes

General:
Casters and Tanks have been a major issue thanks to their damage output, especially for melee-focused Heroes to deal with (who can easily get swept up by those pesky AOEs). To help, we’re granting a bit more Magical Armor across the board to help base durability for all Heroes.

◆ Melee Magical Armor increased from 30 (+1 Growth) to 32 (+1.8 Growth).
◆ Ranged Magical Armor increased from 30 (+0.5 Growth) to 30 (+0.9 Growth).

Countess has started to show a little more face since the Crest changes, as her sustain stands out a bit too much relative to other Heroes. We’re decreasing this alongside the damage of her ultimate to decrease her burst and lane sustain.

◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 3.5 to 4.

Blade Siphon [RMB]:
◆ Healing decreased from 10/11/12/13/14 to 8/9/10/11/12.

Feast [R]:
◆ Maximum Health Scaling decreased from 10% to 8%.

Overall we’re decreasing Crunch’s damage output in the mid-late game by a smidge, whilst increasing his versatility by opening up his magical power scalings to let him utilize more magical bruiser itemisation when the situation calls for it.

◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4 to 5.2.

Left Crunch [Q]:
◆ Base Damage changed from 25/50/75/100/125 to 20/50/80/110/140.
◆ Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 120% to 115%.
◆ AP Scaling increased from 50% to 80%.
◆ Cooldown decreased from 11/10/9/8/7 to 10/9/8/7/6.

Right Crunch [E]:
◆ Base Damage changed from 75/110/145/180/215 to 80/110/140/170/200.
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling decreased from 80% to 75%.
◆ AP Scaling increased from 60% to 70%.

Forward Crunch [RMB]:
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling decreased from 75% to 70%.

Dekker has been fairly stable and dominating in the laning phase. We’re pushing her damage down a little bit and putting a bit more emphasis on maxing out her Photon Disruptor instead of her Stasis Bomb ability. Her durability is getting a small increase to help match other Heroes in her preferred roles.

◆ Physical Armor increased from 20 to 24.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 3.5 to 4.5.

Photon Disruptor [Q]:
◆ Cooldown changed from 11/10.5/10/9.5/9 to 12/11/10/9/8.

Stasis Bomb [RMB]:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 80/115/150/185/220 to 75/110/145/180/215.
◆ Mana Cost increased from 60/65/70/75/80 to 80.

Just a small health increase for Drongo to keep him in line with other durability changes.

◆ Health increased from 600 to 620.
◆ Health Growth increased from 92 to 100.

Feng Mao is getting a small reduction in base health as his Offlane presence is very potent thanks to his base stats, allowing him to trade quite favorably even at level 1. His Physical Armor Growth will make up for it pretty quickly over the early levels, and beyond this we reckon he’s in a pretty good spot stat wise so no huge adjustments right now.

◆ Health decreased from 650 to 640.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 3.7 to 4.2.

Gadget’s passive can be a little abusive in the Offlane. By increasing her durability we’re being cautious of her strength in matchups against melee opponents without affecting her mid lane potential.

◆ Health increased from 580 to 600.
◆ Health Growth increased from 100 to 104.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4.7 to 5.

Shock Absorber [Passive]:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 42 to 34.
◆ Scaling decreased from 60% to 50%.

Gideon is already fairly durable due to his high risk, high reward playstyle where he has to commit his health pool in order to access his ultimate ability. However his level 1 is a bit too durable for his lane, especially when combined with his mobility, making him a little too hard to kill. We’ll be giving some health back across the game but at least at the start of matches, he will miss out on a bit of durability.

◆ Health decreased from 640 to 620.
◆ Health Growth increased from 105 to 107.
◆ Physical Armor decreased from 26 to 24.

Cosmic Power [Q]:
◆ Scaling decreased from 51% to 45%.

Void Breach [RMB]:
◆ Cooldown changed from 9/8.5/8/7.5/7 to 10/9/8/7/6.

Black Hole [R]:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 450/675/900 to 405/630/855.

Grux has a lot of his HP back-loaded into his growth. So we’re bringing some forward to ensure he can be a strong presence in the early game where he should be able to bully out other laners.

◆ Health increased from 600 to 640.
◆ Health Growth decreased from 115 to 112.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4.8 to 5.2.

One of the biggest issues with Howitzer right now is that he has a very large health pool. Along with the size advantage, his range and utility keeps him extremely safe from most damage sources. We want to reinforce the fact that if you can catch the rat, then it can be exterminated. Alongside this we’re also taking down his Land Mine radius and Slow Grenade damage, as the latter’s total base damage can snowball a bit when used both as a poke tool or a combo tool.

◆ Health decreased from 680 to 610.
◆ Health Growth decreased from 110 to 108.

Armed Salvo [Passive]:
◆ Scaling decreased from 30% to 20%.

Slow Grenades [RMB]:
◆ First Hit Base Damage decreased from 30/50/70/90/110 to 20/40/60/80/100.
◆ Secondary Hits Base Damage decreased from 6/10/14/18/22 to 4/8/12/16/20.

Land Mine [E]:
◆ Radius decreased from 440 to 380.

Kallari is getting some larger changes in this patch to create a healthier play pattern for players to engage with. We’ll be increasing her jungle clear and lane clear potential so that she doesn't feel quite so incentivised to spam gank in the early game to build her lead. With this however also comes a hefty nerf to her early game stealth. She will still be able to pull off lots of the same routes as she could before, but timings should now be much tighter. This will make her early ganks a riskier and less free, resulting in healthier counterplay options for opponents. With this though we can also give her a few QoL buffs and increase the damage of her ultimate ability to compensate for Death Mark damage reduction, making her less reliant on the ability and more likely to get explosive AoE combos.

◆ Health increased from 600 to 620.
◆ Health Regen decreased from 2.8 to 2.
◆ Physical Armor increased from 27 to 30.

Shadow Walk [Q]:
◆ Damage changed from 60/80/100/120/140 to 50/75/100/125/150.
◆ Scaling increased from 30% to 40%.
◆ Duration decreased from 8/9/10/11/12 to 6/6.5/7/7.5/8.
◆ Fade In Duration decreased from 1.5s to 1s.
◆ Cooldown increased from 8/7/6/5/4 to 10/9/8/7/6.
◆ Bonus Damage now applies to Cleave Damage.

Crippling Dagger [RMB]:
◆ Bonus Monster Damage increased from 80 to 100.
◆ Bonus Damage now applies to Minions.
◆ Slow Duration decreased from 1s to 0.75s.

Death Mark [E]:
◆ Bonus Damage decreased from 15% to 10%.

Guillotine [R]:
◆ Base Damage increased from 170/330/490 to 200/370/540.

Khaimera has suffered a similar issue to Grux, where his early game is diminished by a small health pool. We’re bumping this up at the cost of some late game health, meaning Khaimera will need to continue to build tanky in order to become the immortal jackrabbit of his dreams. We also have a small QoL buff to his Ambush so that he doesn’t lose his stacks as he majestically leaps towards his prey.

◆ Health increased from 560 to 610.
◆ Health Growth decreased from 115 to 105.
◆ Physical Armor increased from 31 to 33.
◆ Physical Power Growth decreased from 3.6 to 3.2.

Ambush [RMB]:
◆ Scaling decreased from 80% to 75%.
◆ [QOL] Ambush now extends Spirit Regeneration’s duration by 1s when activated if Spirit Regeneration will expire within the next 1s.

Kira is mostly getting some standard durability buffs and a small buff to Dusk, increasing her finisher potential in the mid to late game.

◆ Base Health increased from 590 to 610.
◆ Health Growth increased from 86 to 98.
◆ Physical Armor increased from 23 to 26.
◆ Physical Armor Growth decreased from 4.5 to 4.

Dusk [Q]:
◆ Scaling per Stack increased from 25% to 30%.

Belica is also a little too durable at level 1 relative to most Heroes, so we’re giving her a small nerf. Don’t forget - all heroes are getting a Magical Armor increase in some way that will more than offset these changes, specifically against mages and tanks in the mid to late game. Going back to Belica however, this comes a small QoL buff to her Void Bomb, allowing her to feel a little safer utilizing them without her Seismic Assault.

◆ Health decreased from 620 to 600.
◆ Physical Power Growth increased from 2.6 to 3.2.

Void Bomb [RMB]:
◆ Scaling decreased from 65%/80% to 60%/75%.
◆ Explosion Delay decreased from 0.8s to 0.7s.

Morigesh emerged from the forest pretty cleanly (well, aside from all the grubs and bugs), with only minor issues to her wave clear and trading. We’re giving her Mark a little more oomph in the early game so that minion aggression doesn’t feel quite as punishing, as well as increasing her passive damage to said minions.

◆ Base Mana Regeneration decreased from 1.4 to 1.2.

Pestilence [Passive]:
◆ Minion and Monster Minimum Damage increased from 8 to 12.

Mark [RMB]:
◆ Base Damage changed from 70/105/140/175/210 to 80/110/140/170/200.
◆ Scaling increased from 45% to 50%.

It’s time. We’re finally cracking down on the use of illegal Stims at Omeda and Murdock is a prime offender, so this patch we’re completely changing up his Stimpack. With the health gains removed we can shift more health back into his base durability, meaning he doesn’t have to live and die by field injections. This however comes with some large adjustments to his movement speed. We expect Murdock’s to use this tool more carefully to reposition, escape or chase targets, instead of negating burst damage and winning out extended trades with healing. This ability will most likely need further tuning, but we envision this option to be much more spammable late game and to lead to some big plays.

◆ Health decreased from 590 to 580.
◆ Health Growth increased from 88 to 102.
◆ Physical Armor decreased from 26 to 24
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 3.4 to 4.2.

Buckshot [RMB]:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 75/110/145/180/215 to 70/100/130/160/190.

Stimpack [E]:
◆ Bonus Health Removed.
◆ Auto Activate Removed.
◆ Movement Speed Duration decreased from 5s to 2.5s.
◆ Movement Speed Magnitude increased from 4/5/6/7/8% to 30%.
◆ Mana Cost changed from 80 to 60/70/80/90/100.
◆ Cooldown decreased from 20/18/16/14/12 to 24/20/16/12/8.

Muriel is innately powerful against Mages as her shields directly counter their cooldowns and damage output. Therefore, she needs to remain somewhat burstable to magical damage to retain that identity. We’re shifting some of her health growth in Physical Armor to allow Mages similar windows to take her down, whilst still providing more durability for Muriel vs ADCs and Assassins (who typically have more accessible penetration).

◆ Health Growth decreased from 98 to 88.
◆ Physical Armor increased from 24 to 28.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4.5 to 5.

Phase has generally felt loftier since her recent changes, but her Link ability still feels a tad clunky. We’re still looking into the targeting but have fixed a fairly large bug with it that was causing lots of frustration. We’re also taking her early game healing down a notch to decrease her fairly powerful lane presence.

Essence Catalyst [Passive]:
◆ Base Healing decreased from 20 (+8 per Level) to 16 (+7 per level).

Telekinetic Link [RMB]:
◆ [Bug Fix] Linking an Ally no longer prevents the ability to immediately pull them for 1s.

Rampage has been problematic for quite some time due to his fierce damage output. With the new Tank Crests and durability changes, we feel comfortable tackling his consistent DPS by hitting his Passive attack speed and Rumble ability damage.

◆ Base Health increased from 560 to 610.
◆ Health Growth decreased from 110 to 108.
◆ Physical Armor increased from 28 to 31.
◆ Physical Armor Growth decreased from 4 to 3.6.

King of the Jungle [Passive]:
◆ Attack Speed decreased from 20%-37% to 19%-28%.

Rumble [E]:
◆ Base Damage changed from 110/140/170/200/230 to 100/130/160/190/220.

Small durability increases four Rev with no particular theme four no particular reason.

◆ Base Health increased from 610 to 644.
◆ Health Growth increased from 86 to 94.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 3.6 to 4.4.

Riktor is also getting a minor nerf to his damage, but is also getting a large buff to his durability as his base stats do otherwise look a little sad. This should help him feel more confident engaging with ranged heroes in both the duo lane and offlane.

◆ Health increased from 540 to 610.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 3.5 to 5.3.

Shock Therapy [Q]:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 60/100/140/180/220 to 60/95/130/165/200.

Sevarog is another Hero getting some hefty changes this patch as we point him back towards the Jungle role! With changes to his passive ability his Offlane and Jungle stack acquisition should be much better aligned. For good measure, we’re also granting a few more stacks in general to increase the reliance on tiers over individual stacks and leveling to make hitting those shoulder pads even better.

◆ Health Growth decreased from 102 to 92.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4 to 4.5.

Reaper of Souls [Passive]:
◆ Now gains stacks based on the target's CS Values (capped at 5).
◆ Stacks on Hero Kill increased from 3 to 5.
◆ Stacks Per Tier increased from 30/60/90/120 to 40/80/120/160.
◆ Health per Tier increased from 40/70/100/130 to 50/100/150/200.
◆ Siphon Bonus Damage per Tier decreased from 10 to 8.

Shinbi’s wolf pack is on a bit of a diet due to some overindulging in the previous burst meta. 

All-Kill [R]:
◆ Scaling per Wolf decreased from 18% to 16%.

Sparrow’s on the radar as a Hero who’s fallen behind other ADC options. She’ll be getting significant buffs through the itemisation changes outlined later in this patch, and we’ll monitor to see how she turns out. We want to avoid giving her large amounts of mobility but may consider upping her utility in a future patch if we feel she needs it after these item changes.

◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4.1 to 4.8.

Steel is getting similar treatment to Riktor to help him tackle those pesky ranged opponents. We’re also decreasing his damage in Offlane trades just a smidge due to his larger durability buff.

◆ Health increased from 550 to 620.
◆ Physical Armor increased from 30 to 34.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4 to 4.8.

Shield Bash [RMB]:
◆ Enemy Target Max HP Damage decreased from 5% to 4%.

Fey is getting a dainty nerf to her burst combo damage output, but is also gaining a bit more utility with her Bramble slow to help her escape sticky situations or land an extra Harvest Nettle in those extended trades.

◆ Base Health increased from 590 to 610.
◆ Physical Armor Growth increased from 4.5 to 5.

Bramble Patch [Q]:
◆ Slow Magnitude increased from 30% to 40%.

Fly Trap [R]:
◆ Scaling decreased from 60% to 50%.

Items

CRESTS:

Ortus:
We’re finally fixing a fairly major bug with Ortus that was costing players a lot of their precious stacks. Alongside this we’re also increasing the duration for more leniency on stack gathering. 

Limit Breaker [Active]:
◆ Duration increased from 6s to 8s.
◆ [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue where CC would cancel the effect.



Razorback:
The reflective nature of Razorback is a dangerous line that has proven to be a bit too effective alongside the Armor increase. We’re giving it a fairly substantial decrease to keep it more focused on durability.

Echidna [Active]:
◆ Reflect decreased from 20% to 15%.

T2:

Alchemical Rod:
We’re moving Azure Core’s passive to the completed passive of Alchemical Rod. This will make the T2 more valuable but will provide less Haste in return for that power.

Font [Passive]:
◆ Maximum Stacks 10 Ability Haste removed.
◆ Font now grants Magical Power equal to 3.5% of maximum mana when fully stacked.

Barbed Pauldron:
Barbed Pauldron is a little weak on the T2 spike thanks to its stacking nature, so we’re upping its potency and allowing a stronger curve into Frostguard.

Stifle [Passive]:
◆ Attack Speed Slow per Stack increased from 3% to 4%.
◆ Stacks increased from 5 to 6.

Scalding Sceptre:
Percentage-based penetration items are getting overhauled back to unique passive, so we’re also taking the opportunity to clean up their efficiencies.

◆ Cost decreased from 1450 to 1300.
◆ Percent Magical Penetration decreased from 20% to 18%.

Zealous Tomahawk:
Nothing exciting to say for this one - changes here follow the same logic as above.

◆ Physical Power increased from 15 to 20.
◆ Percent Physical Penetration increased from 15% to 18%.

ASSASSIN:

Deathstalker:
Deathstalker has a lot of anti-synergy with its own penetration, especially in high-penetration builds, so we’re bumping up its damage a tad but switching its profile to now benefit from this penetration. Overall though the item should see a small damage decrease in most scenarios.

Virulence [Passive]:
◆ Bonus Damage increased from 20% to 25%.
◆ Bonus True Damage changed to Bonus Physical Damage.



Demon Edge [Reworked]:
Demon Edge has been in an odd place, cresting awkward situations with powerful sustain. We’re shifting it into a new Anti-Shield item for Assassins to utilize when taking out compositions that stack up multiple shield effects.

◆ 3000 Cost.
◆ 50 Physical Power.
◆ 12 Physical Penetration.
◆ Built from Greatsword+Honed Kris.

Demonic [Passive]:
◆ Damaging a shielded target deals 30% of the remaining shield as bonus Physical Damage and grants you 20% movement speed for 2s.



Dread:
Dread is a little too efficient stat wise and its takedown healing can swing fights a bit too easily, so it’s getting a small nerf.

◆ Physical Penetration decreased from 10 to 8.

Voracity [Passive]:
◆ Hero Takedown Healing decreased from 25% to 20%. 



Malady:
Malady is getting yet another small nerf, this time to its Ability Haste. Overall a lot of Haste is getting trimmed out of the item system to keep cooldowns a little higher in the mid to late game.

◆ Ability Haste decreased from 15 to 10.



Mesmer:
Sometimes Assassins want to access the spell shield mechanic even against Physical Damage dealers, so we’re shifting the defensive profile to health to make this item more accessible.

◆ Added 275 Health.
◆ 25 Magical Armor Removed.
◆ Build Path changed from Honed Kris+Nullifying Mask+Sabre to Honed Kris+Banded Emerald+Sabre.



Mindrazor:
◆ [Bug Fix] Fixed an issue where the Hud Notification for Potent Font displayed as Critical Font.



Omen:
Omen is getting damage shifted into utility allowing it to output less burst but provide more options to an Assassin using this effect.

Bestial Torment [Passive]:
◆ Physical Power Scaling decreased from 40% to 20%.
◆ Cooldown Reduction on-hit increased from 1.5s to 2s.



Painweaver:
Like Malady, we’re revising item Haste and Painweaver is a prime candidate for this.

◆ Ability Haste decreased from 15 to 10.



The Perforator [Reworked]:
Perforator is becoming a new percentage based penetration option for Assassins to make use of. This does however come at the cost of some Haste, as is the theme of this patch.

◆ 3300 Cost.
◆ 55 Physical Power.
◆ 15 Ability Haste.
◆ Built from Zealous Tomahawk+Sabre+Temporal Ripper.

Unique - Puncture [Passive]: 
◆ Gain 30% Physical Penetration.

Unique - Chilling Spells [Passive]:
◆ Damaging abilities Slow affected Units by 25% (10% for DoT Abilities) for 1s.

CARRY:

Breach [Reworked]:
Breach has been reworked (again) into a critical strike focused wave clearing item that has powerful synergy with abilities such as Sparrow’s Ultimate. This is also another Attack Speed heavy option for ADCs to make use of in critical strike builds.

◆ 2800g Cost
◆ 30 Physical Power
◆ 35 Attack Speed
◆ 25% Critical Strike Chance
◆ Builds From Barbaric Cleaver+Robust Arbalest.

Critical Cleave [Passive]:
◆ Basic attacks deal an additional (+30% Total Physical Power) physical damage in a small area around the Target. This damage can critically strike. Damage ranges from 100% to 50% based on distance between Targets.



Demolisher [Reworked]:
Demolisher is turning into a reliable penetration option for many Crit-based builds. This rework should mean the effect is now much more general and enhances almost any Hero that would buy crit-boosts to specifically face off against Tanks. We’re moving to a unique passive system for Physical Penetration though, in order to make these items possible.

◆ 3000 Cost.
◆ 35 Physical Power.
◆ 25% Critical Strike Chance.

Added Unique - Puncture [Passive]:
◆ Gain 30% Physical Penetration.

Added Deicide [Passive]:
◆ Deal 0% − 25% (based on maximum health difference) bonus physical damage against enemy heroes with greater maximum health than you.



Lightning Hawk:
Lightning Hawk is an item that allows both crit or on-hit Carries to come online sooner. We're giving it a small boost to allow ADCs to have a slightly better first item spike if they choose to opt into this path.

◆ Cost decreased from 3300 to 3200.
◆ Attack Speed increased from 20 to 25.



Stormbreaker:
We’re increasing Stormbreaker’s potential as an item that helps define on-hit builds and bridge them into more itemisation. This will give on-hit users access to items like Demolisher, Lightning Hawk, Dust Devil and even increase the potency of Tainted Rounds.

◆ Cost increased from 2800 to 3200.
◆ Physical Power decreased from 30 to 25.
◆ Attack Speed decreased from 40 to 35.
◆ Build Path changed from Ironwood Warbow+Rune Bow to Ironwood Warbow+Composite Bow

Zap [Passive]:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 60 to 40.
◆ Scaling decreased from 50% to 40%.

Added Thunderstruck [Passive]:
◆ Basic attacks deal 30 bonus physical damage on-hit. Additionally, convert every 1% critical strike chance into 1.5 additional bonus physical damage on-hit.

FIGHTER:

Augmentation:
A small Health increase for Augmentation as its damage is finally in a more reasonable space. 

◆ Health increased from 250 to 300.



Bonesaw:
Bonesaw can be a really hard item for most Heroes to build up and keep stacked - unless of course your name is Grux. So we’re making those stacks fall off in a way that other Heroes can maintain more easily. It will still be more potent on Grux though, due to his ability to quickly stack the item.

Flurry [Passive]:
◆ Attack Speed increased from 6% to 10%.
◆ Stacks decreased from 6 to 3.
◆ Stacks changed from falling off one at a time to falling off altogether.



Draconum:
Draconum’s Attack Speed led to lots of strange power trough scenarios that allowed heroes to snowball through fights by chaining kills too easily. We’re going to instead hone in on the takedown healing element of Draconum’s passive to better synergise with other bruiser itemisation and help make it more consistent.

◆ Physical Power increased from 35 to 40.

Flow [Passive]:
◆ Missing health restore Scaling changed from 12% missing health to 100% Bonus Physical Power.
◆ Attack Speed Removed.



Legacy:
Legacy is also losing its secondary passive as it tends to bloat the power budget. This allows us to build better synergy between this item and other Fighter options.

◆ Physical Power increased from 40 to 45.
◆ Resolute Passive Removed.

Tenacious Bravery [Passive]:
◆ CC Immunity threshold increased from 30% to 40%.



Mutilator:
Mutilator is being shifted away from a Haste-heavy option for Bruisers like Crunch and instead becoming a more sustain-focused item as originally intended.

◆ Ability Haste decreased from 25 to 15.
◆ Omnivamp increased from 5% to 8%.



Overlord:
Overlord is hard for most Heroes to utilize due to its on-hit nature. So instead we’re allowing it to grant Physical Power so more Bruisers can get use out of its effects. This also removes Khaimera abuse cases, allowing us to buff the base stats of the item.

◆ Health increased from 350 to 450.
◆ Bludgeon Passive Reworked.

Bludgeon [Passive]:
◆ Gain (+2.5% Bonus Health) Physical Power.



Tainted Blade:
Tainted Blade no longer needs a cooldown with the bloated damage being removed.

Hex [Passive]:
◆ Additional Flat Physical Damage on Ability Hit removed.
◆ Cooldown removed.

MAGE:

Astral Catalyst:
Astral gains far too much hidden value from its second passive, so we're shifting some of it into base stats but overall decreasing the item's damage potential.

◆ Magical Power increased from 60 to 75.
◆ Spellslinger Passive Removed.



Azure Core:
Same as Alchemical Rod, we’re shifting away from some Haste here and moving the secondary passive into the Font passive.

◆ Magical Power increased from 50 to 60.
◆ Arcane Magic Passive removed.

Font [Passive]:
◆ Maximum Stacks 10 Ability Haste removed.
◆ Font now grants Magical Power equal to 3.5% of maximum mana when fully stacked.



Dreambinder:
Dreambinder is allowed a bit more base durability at the cost of its Thaw passive that wasn’t being utilized as intended and ended up being bloated damage.

◆ Health increased from 250 to 350.
◆ Thaw Passive Removed.



Golem's Gift:
Golem's Gift is getting the Haste treatment too. It’s also getting a slight cost increase as it is very efficient stat-wise currently.

◆ Cost increased from 2800 to 2900.
◆ Ability Haste decreased from 20 to 10.

Stone Skin [Passive]:
◆ Casting Abilities will now refresh 1 stack per cast up to the maximum of 5 stacks.



Lifebinder:
Lifebinder never really gets strong use out of its Magi passive, so this ability is going alongside its base Haste ability. This allows us to grant more strength to its other stats and make it a more sustain based item for Mages.

◆ Cost increased from 3100 to 3200.
◆ Magical Power increased from 60 to 70.
◆ Health increased from 200 to 275.
◆ Magical Lifesteal increased from 10% to 15%.
◆ Ability Haste Removed.
◆ Magi Passive Removed.
◆ Build path changed from Blood Tome+Violet Brooch+Scepter to Blood Tome+Banded Emerald+Scepter. 



Magnify:
Magnify is honing in on its Attack Speed fantasy for on-hit Mages to utilize. Sporting a better build path, extra Attack Speed and less Haste, it becomes much more appealing for the Prophecy+Typhoon builds. This does come at the cost of a little passive strength though!

◆ Attack Speed increased from 30 to 50.
◆ Ability Haste Removed.
◆ Build Path changed from Chaotic Core+Rune Bow to Potent Staff+Rune Bow+Rune Bow.

Shredding Strikes [Passive]:
◆ Shred decreased from 6% per stack to 5% per stack.

Magnifying Strikes [Passive]:
◆ Magical Power per stack decreased from 8 to 6.



Oblivion Crown:
Oblivion Crown is losing its larger damage amp and having its power shifted strictly into the current health damage. This should help decrease overloading burst with other damage sources.

Oblivion [Passive]:
◆ Current Health Damage increased from 8% to 10%.
◆ Bonus Magical Damage removed.



Prophecy:
Prophecy is getting some power shifted into its Magical Power, then shifting its passive to incentivise building more Attack Speed over more Haste.

◆ Magical Power increased from 60 to 70.
◆ Ability Haste decreased from 20 to 10.
◆ Hasty Reworked:

Hasty [Passive]:
◆ Gain (+30% Bonus Attack Speed) Ability Haste.



Spellbreaker:
Spellbreaker is getting a small Magical Armor boost to help its efficiency a tad.

◆ Magical Armor increased from 35 to 40.



Tainted Scepter:
Tainted Scepter is about bursting targets whilst they are anti-healed, so we’re shifting it to a magical penetration option instead of a Haste option.

◆ Added 10 Magical Penetration.
◆ Ability Haste Removed.
◆ Build Path Changed from Spiked Birch+Violet Brooch+Scepter to Spiked Birch+Diffusal Cane+Vitality Beads.

Malice [Passive]:
◆ Damage reworked from True Damage to Magical Damage.



World Breaker:
World Breaker is finally getting its passive shifted to bonus Health over maximum Health. This should stop it being as potent of an early game spike, but will boost its potential on heroes like Sevarog.

◆ Magical Power increased from 45 to 55.

Maya [Passive]:
◆ Scaling changed from 2% maximum health to 4% bonus health.

TANK:

Crystalline Cuirass:
Crystalline is replacing Void Helm as our new large defensive option vs Magical Damage. This item should be a go to for tanks that look to counter damage over time effects or sustained Magical Damage.

◆ Cost decreased from 3100 to 3000.
◆ Health increased from 275 to 350.
◆ Magical Armor decreased from 70 to 60.
◆ Volatile Passive removed.
◆ Build Path changed from Nullifying Mask+Violet Brooch+Nullifying Mask to Nullifying Mask+Banded Emerald+Nullifying Mask.
◆ Added 2 New Passives:

Celestial Carapace [Passive]:
◆ Receiving magical damage grants a stack of Celestite for 5s, stacking up to 6 times. Stacks can only be gained once every second.

Celestite [Passive]:
◆ Gain 5 Magical Armor per stack of Celestite. At maximum stacks gain 15% additional movement speed.



Dynamo:
Dynamo is being moved to a support item classification and gaining a new passive that’ll serve more general cases whilst providing less durability for its cost.

◆ Reworked to a Support Item Classification
◆ Cost decreased from 2800 to 2600.
◆ Health decreased from 300 to 200.
◆ Physical Armor decreased from 55 to 35.
◆ Added 10 Ability Haste.
◆ Build Path changed from Banded Emerald+Steel Mail+Spirit Beads to Violet Brooch+Steel Mail+Spirit Beads.
◆ Immobilizer Passive Reworked:

Immobilizer [Passive]:
◆ Immobilizing an Enemy causes them to take 10% increased damage for 4s.



Flux Matrix:
Flux is getting some small balance shifts to allow it to be more accessible for Support roles.

◆ Cost decreased from 2900 to 2700.
◆ Health decreased from 350 to 300.
◆ Magical Armor increased from 35 for 40.



Frostguard:
Frostguard is getting a pretty cool update with some more durability, a more reliable Attack Speed slow and removing the Movement Speed slow. This will keep the item more specialized and potent against Attack Speed-oriented heroes.

◆ Physical Armor increased from 60 to 70.
◆ Ability Haste decreased from 15 to 10.

Chilling Presence [Passive]:
◆ Radius increased from 400 to 700.
◆ Movement Speed Slow Removed.

Stifle [Passive]:
◆ Attack Speed Slow per Stack increased from 3% to 4%.
◆ Stacks increased from 5 to 6.



Raiment of Renewal:
The changes here are about delivering a little less healing to decrease some of the more invisible healing Tanks have been acquiring.

◆ Health Regeneration decreased from 125% to 100%.



Stonewall:
Stonewall is getting some of its passive strength shifted into a general health pool to make the item more accessible. 

◆ Health increased from 150 to 250.

Bulwark [Passive]:
◆ Physical Armor Scaling decreased from 7.5% to 5%.



Tainted Guard:
Tainted Guard is losing some of its Haste in favor of some more durability and a little buff to its scaling, since the big bug that was hampering it was fixed in a previous patch.

◆ Physical Armor increased from 40 to 50.
◆ Ability Haste decreased from 15 to 10.

Blighted Thorns [Passive]:
◆ Scaling increased from 21% to 30%.



Void Helm [Reworked]:
Void Helm is being reworked into a sustain-focused option for sustain and CC-oriented Tanks. 

◆ Cost decreased from 3100 to 2900.
◆ Health decreased from 500 to 450.
◆ Magical Armor increased from 30 to 40.
◆ Ability Haste decreased from 15 to 10.
◆ Justicar Passive Removed.
◆ Added 2 New Passives:

Anima [Passive]: 
◆ Gain 10% increased Healing.

Abyssal Grasp [Passive]: 
◆ Immobilizing an Enemy Hero restores 3% of your maximum health over 4s.

Bug fixes

◆ Morigesh’s doll now correctly respects Hero outlines.
◆ Controller Triggers now correctly cycle between players in Replay Mode.

Additional bug fixes/patch notes may be added to this post once the update is live.

That's all this week!

Let us know what you think of these changes over on Twitter, the Predecessor Subreddit or our official Discord server - all the links are down below!

Catch you next time!