Evil Mojo unveiled details about the upcoming Paladins update on their community Mixer channel today. The update will also usher in the game’s Steel Forged Battle Pass. As always, the Paladins update will also be packed with bug fixes, balances changes, and new cosmetics. There is furthermore the new Siege map, Bazaar.
The Steel Forged Battle Pass will land immediately after the Battle Byte Pass ends in late May. It will cost 600 crystals, and from what we know so far, it will be a pretty standard treat. It will feature 50 levels of progression-unlocked cosmetics, including eight Epic Champion skins.
The Hunt is on, of course, and brings on another wave of bug fixes. Inara’s Summit card will no longer be affected by effects reducing crowd control, and Furia’s Wings of Wrath projectiles won’t home in on enemies Banished by Atlas. Issues with a number of other champions will be fixed too.
New Siege map
The Bazaar Siege map will also become available with the release of the Paladins Steel Forged update. While there are no surprises coming from the Battle Pass, the new map is sure packed with them.
Bazaar consists of a number of low balconies and narrow alleyways surrounding a central marketplace area. Control over the central area spawns the payload, which then takes a rather winding path to the enemy base.
Battle for victory in the streets and alleys of Bazaar, the next Siege map coming to Paladins in the Steel Forged Update. pic.twitter.com/0QzkATCfYP
— Paladins: The Game (@PaladinsGame) May 1, 2019
Bazaar is a distinctly fantasy-inspired map, featuring many beautiful details such as fountains and cat statues. Its labyrinthine layout should feel familiar to players who have “Test Maps” enabled in the Quick Play settings, as the map has been in development for a while.
Notably, this map is the first in Paladins history to feature team-specific interactive elements. Near each team’s spawning area is a small gate at the base of a wall. Only members of the team spawning on that side of the map can use each gate. This adds some additional escape and flank options when playing on the back leg.
Stealth and balance changes
The Paladins design team is unifying the stealth mechanic found across a number of champions. Starting with the Steel Forged patch, all stealth will follow the same rules. Invisibility will no longer be removed by being affected by damage or CC effects. On the other hand, damaging an invisible Champion will now show damage numbers, giving players a chance to track their hidden quarry.
Everyone’s favorite Shooting Man Viktor will receive a slight buff. His Cardio talent will heal for 400 health per second, up from 250. Frontliner Barik is also getting buffed, but his changes are more sweeping and purposeful.
Barik will receive buffs to the cooldowns and effectiveness of his Rocket Boots and Barricade abilities, and his ultimate. On the other hand, a number of cards interacting with his abilities will be proportionally scaled down. This change aims to make his base kit more flexible and less reliant on his build.
His shotgun is also being improved, with better consistency and less damage falloff over range. There’s good news for shotgun-user Buck as well. His weapon will now have five ammo, up from four.
Furia’s Cherish talent will now increase the range of Kindle Soul by 300 percent. While this buff feels situational at first glance, it is in line with Furia’s backline healer design. And Cherish is a strong pick as it is, so there’s nothing to complain about.
Champions Imani and Lian will also receive some slight balance tweaks. Imani’s Frost Bomb projectile will travel 30 percent more slowly, which players can remedy by including the Permafrost card into their build. It seems this effect will replace Permafrost’s current functionality, which increases the ability’s root duration.
Lian’s changes come in reduced scaling on two cards, making her Presence ability less spam-able.
