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Heroes of the Storm received an update on June 15 with balance changes alongside renaming Loan Talents Gambit Talents.

Heroes of the Storm Tank update

Heroes of the Storm receives new balance changes
Blaze screenshot.

In addition to his level 7 and 13 talents being moved around and Grill and Kill [W] getting a buff, Blaze’s Crossfire [Q] talent was removed. He also received a new talent at level 13.

  • Level 13
    • (New) Collision Course [E]
      • Jet Propulsion deals an additional 325 damage to its collision target.

“Crossfire has always been a wildly popular talent, so we’re bringing it baseline,” the developer notes explained. “With this early addition of damage, we’re comfortable pushing back his damage talent tier and swapping it with his impactful tanking talents.”

Heroes of the Storm receives new balance changes
Garrosh screenshot.

As for Garrosh, his Into the Fray talent is no longer obtainable at level 7. Instead, it moved to level 1. To make up for this addition, Garrosh’s level 7 talents received mild nerfs. He was also granted Lok-tar Ogar!, which empowers Into the Fray.

  • Level 7
    • (New) Lok-tar Ogar! [Active]
      • Increase Into the Fray Armor by 20.
      • Into the Fray’s cooldown is reduced by 12 seconds for each enemy Hero hit.
Heroes of the Storm receives new balance changes
Johanna screenshot.

Meanwhile, Johanna received buffs to Iron Skin [D] and her level 7, 10 and 13 talents. Changes were also made to Hold Your Ground [D].

  • Level 4
    • Hold Your Ground [D]
      • Shield percent increase reduced from 60% to 40%.
Heroes of the Storm receives new balance changes
Muradin screenshot.

In terms of Muradin, Storm Bolt [Q] is no longer a starting quest. Instead, when he’s at level 10, the ability pierces an additional target. Muradin’s basic attacks reduce the cooldown of this and restores a few mana.

“Alongside this change, we also took the opportunity to redesign Perfect Storm to reward both aggression and the proper use of Storm Bolt,” the developers explained.

  • Level 1
    • Perfect Storm [Q]
    • New functionality:
      • Quest: Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes increase Storm Bolt’s damage by .5.
      • Quest: If an enemy Hero is killed within 3 seconds of being hit by a Storm Bolt, increase Storm Bolt’s damage by 10.
Stitches screenshot.

As for Stitches, he received nerfs that affect his health pool and healing capabilities. According to the developers, a small reduction on both these front would not trip him up.

“We’re also reducing his Hook cooldown reduction on both Serrated Edge and Master Hooker, so Stitches will have to work harder to play with his food,” the notes read.

  • Level 7
    • Serrated Edge [Q]
      • Hook cooldown reduction reduced from 5 to 4 seconds.
  • Level 20
    • Master Hooker [Q]
      • Hook cooldown reduction reduced from 5 to 4 seconds.
      • Healing reduction reduced from 100% to 75%.

Bruiser update

Imperius screenshot.

Next, Imperius is the only bruiser who got updates. He received some buffs to his basic attack and Solarion’s Fire [W] alongside buffs to his level 4, 7 and 20 talents. This was due to Flash of Anger overshadowing the other level 7 talents.

  • Level 7
    • Blaze of Glory [W]
      • Damage increased from 150 to 185.
    • Holy Fervor [Active]
      • Additional functionality: Casting Molten Armor grants Holy Fervor for 2 Basic Attacks.

Heroes of the Storm Healer updates

Anduin screenshot.

In addition to getting some buffs to his basic abilities and talents, Anduin can now use Inner Focus at level 16.

  • Level 16
    • (New) Inner Focus [Active]
    • New functionality:
      • Activate to reset the cooldown of Flash Heal and its next cast heals for 25% more.
      • Damaging enemy Heroes reduces this cooldown by 1 second.
      • 20 second cooldown.
Brightwing screenshot.

As for Brightwing, the Faerie Dragon received some buffs alongside some nerfs. “We’d prefer a Brightwing that isn’t as dependent on Hyper Shift, so we’re reducing its cooldown reduction alongside Phase Shift’s base cooldown,” the developers noted.

Meanwhile, Brightwing’s level 20 talents received some functionality updates.

  • Level 20
    • Intensive Winds [R2]
      • Changed functionality: No longer increases Emerald Winds’ Mana cost.
    • Faerie Protector [Active]
      • Additional functionality: [Passive] – Pixie Dust always bounces back and applies to Brightwing.
    • Speedy Dragon [Passive]
      • Additional functionality: Reduce Phase Shift’s cast time to 1 second.
Stukov screenshot.

Similar to Brightwing, Stukov had some functionalities adjusted and added into his existing talents. Spine Launcher [Passive] and Lingering Spines [E] were removed.

  • Level 1
    • Fetid Touch [W]
      • Additional functionality: Basic Attacks become ranged and Slow enemies by 15% for 1.5 seconds but deal 50% less damage.
    • Reactive Ballistospores [Active]
    • Adjusted functionality:
      • Activate: Instantly spread a Weighted Pustule to all nearby enemy Heroes (60 Second cooldown).
      • Passive: While below 50% maximum Health, Bio Kill-Switch cooldown refreshes 150% faster.
    • Low Blow [E]
      • Additional functionality: Lurking Arm persists for an additional 1 second after it is cancelled.

Ranged assassin updates

Orphea screenshot.

The developers noted the preference for level 1 Orphea’s Ancestral Strength and level 20 Eldritch Conduit talents, which led to buffs for competing talents. These include updates to En Pointe [Q] and Growing Nightmare [E], Monster Within [R1], Engulfing Oblivion [R2] and Final Toccata [Active].

  • Level 1
  • En Pointe [Q]
    • Additional functionality: Hitting Heroes with the end of Shadow Waltz grants an additional 1 Chaos.
  • Growing Nightmare [E]
    • Changed functionality: Initial damage bonus changed from Dread’s eruption to both Dread’s wave and eruption.
    • Initial damage bonus increased from 40% to 50%.
    • Quest reward damage bonus increased from 25% to 50%.
Raynor screenshot.

For Raynor, the developers returned Ace in the Hole to its original functionality thanks to player feedback.

  • Level 1
    • Ace in the Hole [Trait]
      • Talent changed from [Q] to [Trait].
      • Changed functionality: Damage bonus now affects all Raynor’s damage.
      • Damage bonus reduced from 25% to 10%.

“We have decided to remove Execute Orders from ARAMs, as we think even a less powerful version is still not healthy for the game mode,” the notes added.

Valla screenshot.

Finally, Valla received a nerf to Fire At Will [W] and a slight buff to Puncturing Arrow [Q]. The developers reasoned that Multishot [W] hit too hard.

  • Level 1
    • Fire At Will [W]
      • Damage bonus per Hero hit decreased from 4 to 2.
      • Additional functionality:
        • Quest: After hitting 20 Heroes, gain 40 additional Multishot damage.

That’s all for the latest Heroes of the Storm balance changes. After updating the game, players can test out their new builds in the Nexus.