Heroes of the Storm players have waited years for a rework to Raynor and Blizzard has finally delivered. However, Raynor isn’t the only one getting a rework… Azmodan is getting one as well!
Raynor’s identity over the past few years has been as somewhat of a sniper. He’s had one of the longest attack ranges in the game. Unfortunately, this ‘unique’ ability slowly fell off as new heroes were added to the cast. With the addition of Chromie and Hanzo to the game, Raynor lost much of his popularity.
Azmodan fell into the same boat in terms of player feedback. He became a one-trick hero in two ways. Players either went for his laser build or his globe build and were tasked with pressuring the map non-stop.
It seems that Blizzard is attempting to eliminate both of these problems. We’ve taken a deeper look into the reworks of both heroes.
Raynor’s Rework
Raynor has been kind of a meme in the scene. Players mostly saw him as a creep since his duties practically consisted of farming and marching down a lane until he died. With the rework, Raynor’s kit has had some interesting elements of skill added to it. His Adrenaline Rush ability is no longer a passive that triggers automatically, but an active heal you can use whenever you want. The base cooldown is longer but can be reduced by attacking enemies. This will definitely encourage players into more “high-risk high-reward” scenarios.
Raynor also has a real Trait now. He keeps his original extra range, but in addition, every fourth attack deals splash damage in an area around his target. Many of his new talents are built with this Trait in mind: it can be augmented to deal extra damage, apply a slow effect, or, at level 20, strip away your primary target’s armor. Raynor will still be an auto-attack based hero but players of the hero will feel a lot more impactful in many new ways.
Azmodan’s Rework
As we detailed above, Azmodan’s pushing toolkit has long been to choose either the globe or the laser. Now, you’ll want both.
Some players might see this rework as a bit of a nerf. Azmodan’s globe has had a baseline damage increase, but it’s now easier to dodge. Furthermore, you won’t be able to boost the travel speed via talents anymore.
Azmodan’s laser now has a defined casting time compared to the previous mana-metered functioning. This means that Azmodan will no longer be constantly melting buildings. Azmodan’s ultimate was one of the reasons why he was considered an all-or-nothing character. It’s now been replaced with an ultimate that buffs his next globe.
Azmodan’s Trait enabled him to be a powerful split-pusher; he could summon a Lieutenant in any lane on the map to push with his minions. Now, the General of Hell will be on a higher cooldown and a lower uptime. While the unit will be more powerful, Azmodan can no longer continuously pressure the map.
