The Oct 15 Heroes of the Storm balance patch comes with some interesting changes. To start off, Blizzard is going after Diablo’s sub-par win rate by making him less dependent on his trait. His base health is now higher by roughly 17 percent. In return, his Soulstone health bonuses are down from 0.4 to 0.3 percent per Soul. Diablo’s Apocalypse ultimate now takes only half of the previous mana cost of 100.
Varian is receiving a number of talent buffs to help diversify his built paths. On the flip side, his Twin Blades of Fury ultimate is now weaker by around 20 percent. This makes a lot of sense, as according to Blizzard’s own developer comments, that ultimate out-performs the other two. It’s also arguably much easier to use. Sometimes this motivates players to pick it over Taunt or Colossus Smash, even if that’s not a good idea.
Heroes Whitemane and Junkrat are also changing slightly in this Heroes of the Storm balance patch. This is to be expected after their recent overhaul. In bear and orc-ogre-hybrid news, Rexxar is catching some small nerfs to tone down his respectable 57 percent win rate.
Healers of the Storm
This is a great patch for Heroes of the Storm players who like to keep their teammates alive. Nearly half the game’s roster of healers received buffs. Those blessed by positive balance changes are Li Li, Ana, Deckard, Malfurion, Lt. Morales, and Whitemane. Ana is receiving particular attention, in the form of multiple talent buffs and improved baseline self-healing from Shrike. The patch notes indicate these changes are deployed to help the Overwatch healer find her footing after the July movement speed update. It seems healing exclusively through skill-shots can be a bit tricky when everyone is moving extra fast.
Morales hasn’t been particularly fun to play since her major rework in 2017, which took away most of her utility. While this patch isn’t improving the situation, it does give her an interesting new talent: Medi-drone. When picked, heroes with a Safeguard buff will receive 50 percent of the healing Morales provides with her Healing Beam to other heroes.
Heroes Qhira, Junkrat, and Li-Ming are also receiving some minor balance tweaks. You can check out the full list of changes in Blizzard’s official patch notes. And make sure to stay tuned to Daily Esports for more Heroes of the Storm news and content!
