Predecessor News

◆ Addressed a bug affecting item interactions that could sometimes lead to incorrect calculations.

Ready yourself, Champions! Zarus is coming in V0.10!

Zarus of course is our second original Hero after Kira and a devastating bruiser who marries deft agility with raw and limitless power. Internally we’re thrilled with how he’s come out and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on him!

For those of you who haven’t already skipped ahead to read about his abilities, this game update also brings some fairly hefty improvements to the way ability descriptions are showcased in game!

We won’t keep you any longer, pick up a spear and let’s leap into battle!

~ Kari, Senior Community Manager



[h2]Zarus seeks out a new challenge![/h2]

The mighty Zarus, Champion of Nyr and blessed by the God of the Senezani, roars into combat!

A ferocious warrior with an insatiable appetite for power and glory, Zarus dominates the battlefield in his quest for godhood!



[h2]Watch Zarus In Action!
[/h2]
In case it Evaded you, now’s a good chance to catch up on our Zarus Ability Overview video!



[h2]Abilities: [/h2]

Gladiator [Passive]: 
Upon entering combat, gain a stack of Gladiator when dealing damage with basic attacks or abilities to enemy Heroes or Monsters, stacking up to 8 times. Each stack grants 1% increased physical power.

After exiting combat, stacks will fall off over 5s, restoring 0.5/1/2/3% (levels 1/6/11/16) of Zarus’ maximum health per stack consumed.


Thrust [LMB]:
Cleave: 10%
Range: 375
Effect: Melee basic attack dealing 54 (+80% Bonus Physical Power) physical damage.

Barricade [Q]: 
Cooldown: 22/20.5/19/17.5/16
Cost: 80
Effect: Unfold your shield for 1.75s, reducing incoming damage by 60/65/70/75/80%. Upon recasting or after the duration, swing the shield dealing 55/75/95/115/135 (+100% Bonus Physical Power) physical damage, increasing up to 110/150/190/230/270 (+200% Bonus Physical Power) based on duration, and Stunning targets hit for 0.5s.

Evade [E]: Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12
Cost: 40
Effect:  Dash in your current movement direction, gaining 15% movement speed for 1.5s and 20% Attack Speed for 4s.

Spear of Nyr [RMB]: Cooldown: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10
Cost: 30
Effect: Channel to throw a spear, dealing 70/100/130/160/190 (+110% Bonus Physical Power) physical damage to targets hit. Releasing within 0.3s will thrust the spear forward, dealing the same damage and refunding half the cooldown.

Damage increases by 100% against targets below 20% maximum health. Deals 75% damage to Minions.

Coliseum [R]: Cooldown: 120/100/80
Cost: 100
Effect: Leap at an Enemy Hero, dealing 150/235/320 (+150% Bonus Physical Power) physical damage. A large Coliseum is summoned for 6s and the bonus from Gladiator is doubled. 

If the target is killed within the duration you will permanently gain 6/8/10 Physical Power. You may recast this ability to end it early.





[h2]New Skin - Warlord Zarus[/h2]

Not all gods have to be pleasant. It’s time to show your merciless side.

Show your deific might with the new Warlord Zarus skin [Rare], our first skin with additional visual effects! Find it in store in V0.10!




[h2]Updated Hero Ability Descriptions:[/h2]

Hero ability descriptions have had a glow up! All of the important text you need to know is now colour-coded, with each of the ability’s properties having its own bulleted line. It’s never been easier to follow along with what each ability is doing for you!

It’s not just abilities though! Attack speed, critical chance and damage are now also shown on basic attacks.

And, as a final bonus, we’ve also calculated the total amount of damage each ability deals, meaning you no longer have to do advanced maths on the fly. Neat! 




Countess’s reliance on acquiring passive stacks to succeed in a match is a double-edged sword. It means she tends to function less reliably in low-kill games while conversely has the potential to snowball out of control and become a healing menace should she “feast” too heavily on her opponents. Stripping back on the Magical Lifesteal available in her Passive and redistributing it into her Ultimate will ensure Countess is less tied to her early kills to thrive, and won’t run rampant quite as easily, especially when building tanky. 

[h3]Blood Tithe [Passive]:[/h3]
◆ Magical Lifesteal per stack decreased from 1.5% to 1%. 

[h3]Eventide [E]:[/h3]
◆ Damage increased from 80/120/160/200/240 to 85/125/165/205/245.

[h3]Feast [R]:[/h3] 
◆ Percent Healing increased from 45% to 50%.



Gadget possesses an incredible amount of hidden utility due to the amount of Magical Armour Shred present on her Ultimate, which frequently enables heavy Magical Damage compositions to succeed beyond the norm. Like Drongo before her, we’re stripping back the Shred Duration to ensure its strength is isolated more to Gadget’s individual burst rather than her team, while also shifting some strength away from spammable waveclear and into her Sticky Mine to better reward her for singling out a target. 

[h3]Sticky Mine [Q]:[/h3]
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 70% to 75%.

[h3]Seek & Destroy [RMB]:[/h3]
◆ Cooldown increased from 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 to 12/11.5/11/10.5/10.

[h3]Tesla Dome [R]:[/h3]
◆ Shred duration decreased from 5s to 3s. 



The ‘Stone hasn’t been quite living up to his potential as of late, especially in the Offlane where he loses out to many opponents and struggles to come online. To help give him an edge, we’re bumping up his general strength in the early game to help him hold his own in lane, while also doubling down on his unique capability to block-basic attack by bolstering his Deflect capabilities in the late game.

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Base Health increased 620 to 645.

[h3]Stoicism [Passive]:[/h3]
◆ Deflect Cooldown decreased from 15-6.5 (-0.5 per level) to 15-4.8 (-0.6 per level).

[h3]Make Way [Q]:[/h3]
◆ Damage increased from 70/115/160/205/250 to 75/120/165/210/255.
◆ Cooldown decreased from 16/14.5/13/11.5/10 to 14/13/12/11/10.

[h3]Assault The Gates [RMB]:[/h3] 
◆ Damage increased from 90/135/180/225/270 to 100/145/190/235/280.
◆ Camera can now be rotated after casting.



More early boom for the R2000 missile, at the expense of some early Mana pool to ensure Howitzer doesn’t feel overly welcome in the Support role now that he’s bringing some extra heat to the early game. 

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Base Health decreased from 610 to 600.
◆ Base Mana decreased from 520 to 440.
◆ Mana Growth increased from 38 to 43.

[h3]R2000 Missile [Q]:[/h3] 
◆ Damage increased from 70/120/170/220/270 to 90/135/180/225/270.



Belica has been finding a little too much success lately, largely due to the pairing of her early lane pressure and late-game Stun capabilities. With less value coming from Missing Mana damage on early Neural Disruptors, enemy Mages will now feel less overwhelmed in the laning phase when at a Mana deficit. Likewise, a single Stun will now be slightly less of a death sentence after Belica achieves rank five, nudging down her late-game efficacy. 

[h3]Seismic Assault [Q]:[/h3]
◆ Innovation Stun duration decreased from 1.6s to 1.45s. 

[h3]Void Drone [E]: [/h3]
◆ Gold when destroyed increased from 10 to 20.

[h3]Neural Disruptor [R]:[/h3]
◆ Damage increased from 150/225/300 to 170/235/300.
◆ Enemy Missing Mana damage decreased from 0.5/0.55/0.6 to 0.4/0.5/0.6. 



The jolly Orc has proved too potent as of late. With high base damage and the ability to heal up any poke with a beat of his drum, punishing Narbash is a difficult task. To reduce his overall efficacy, we’re shifting some of his damage values to create more of a tradeoff between Tank and Enchanter itemisation, while taking a small chunk out of his early healing capabilities. Oh and there’s a Cleave buff too! If you know, you know...

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Basic Attack Cleave increased from 10% to 20%.

[h3]Song Of My People [E]:[/h3]
◆ Healing per Rhythm stack decreased from 0.3/0.35/0.4/0.45/0.5 to 0.2/0.25/0.3/0.35/0.4.
◆ Bugfix: Healing per Rhythm stack now correctly increases with rank.

[h3]Thunk [RMB]:[/h3]
◆ Base Damage decreased from 90/130/170/210/250 to 90/125/160/195/230.
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 50% to 70%. 

[h3]Crash Bang Boom [R]:[/h3] 
◆ Damage decreased from 200/300/400 to 180/270/360.
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 60% to 85%.



Revenant receives a lot of early upfront power from his passive, allowing him to overly stat-check others in lane should he get even a small gold lead. By shifting the curve of his bonus power gain from his Passive and redistributing some of his Obliterate damage into Scaling, Rev’ should prove to be a little less oppressive at his 1-item spike. 

[h3]Bounty Hunter [Passive]:[/h3]
◆ Base Physical Power Amplification at levels 1-18 decreased from 5.75%-10% to 1.5%-10%.

[h3]Obliterate [Q]:[/h3] 
◆ Damage Decreased from 40/60/80/100/120 to 40/55/70/85/100.
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 40% to 45%.



A quick bump in Mana Economy for the Reaper. In short, heavy Siphon use in lane will result  in 1 or 2 less casts before a recall, ensuring a fairer trade off in early efficacy for Sevarog given the scaling he possesses.  

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Base Mana Regeneration increased from 1.1 to 1.3. 

[h3]Siphon [Q]:[/h3]
◆ Mana Cost increased from 25 to 30. 



For this pass, we’re pushing The Fey’s damage profile away from relying on heavy Stun lock in favour of providing more raw burst potential. This should better enable her to blow up a target (or five) single-handedly with a well timed Ultimate, but leave her opponents more room for recovery and response should they survive the initial burst now that the Stun is less potent. 

[h3]FlyTrap [R]:[/h3]
◆ Damage increased from 200/275/350 to 200/300/400.
◆ Stun Duration decreased from 1.4s to 1s.
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 50% to 60%. 



TwinBlast is still overperforming in a few areas. For starters, Vortex Grenades are a little too effective in the later stages of the lane and could use a hit to their damage to bring them in line. On the other hand, Ventilate is a huge point of contention for many and can prove oppressive, especially in Deathstalker builds. However, now that Deathstalker has received a rework, we’ve chosen to hold off on any additional adjustments to Ventilate while we wait for the dust to settle. 

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ [Bugfix] Magical Armor Growth increased from 0.5 to 0.9.

[h3]Vortex Grenade [RMB]:[/h3]
◆ Damage increased from 20/35/50/65/80 to 25/40/55/70/85.
◆ Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 100% to 90%.



[h2]T2:[/h2]

[h3]Crimson Edge:[/h3] 
A slight bump in early lifesteal to facilitate those that need some early healing.
‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Lifesteal increased from 5% to 6%.


[h3]Rapid Rapier:[/h3] 
A quick drop in physical penetration to resolve recipe issues.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Physical Penetration decreased from 5 to 4.



[h2]Crests:[/h2]

[h3]Obelisk:[/h3]
Obelisk’s ability to turn its wielder, be they Mage or Tank, into a burst Mage veers away from the core identity of the item as a scaling option for Magical users and results in too much strength. We’re shifting some of its damage potential away from Soul stacking and further into its magical power scaling to ensure the overall damage output of Condemn is more reasonable, and more tailored to those that build for damage.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Condemn Base Damage decreased from 80 to 70.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Condemn Damage per Soul decreased from 15 to 12.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Condemn Magical Power Scaling increased from 20% to 25%.



[h2]Assassin:[/h2]
Included within this section are 3 Assassin item reworks: Deathstalker, Dread and Nightfall.

These are described below in further detail, but the goal with these items is to provide  clearer thematic options in the form of a new Attack Speed option, Anti-Magic option and Sustain option; which are not just viable for the Assassin class itself, but also creating new build possibilities for  Fighters and Carries alike.


[h3]Deathstalker [Reworked]:[/h3]
Deathstalker provided an extra Percent Shred option that doubled up damage against both Tanks and squishies alike, providing too much damage output for those few Heroes that could use it and being especially abusive when stacked with other means of Percent Penetration.

We’ve opted to rework it into an Attack Speed-orientated choice, better facilitating new build combinations that wish to blend high Attack Speed with the Assassin playstyle, whether that’s with Feng Mao, a wild Grux, or even a Rad Rounds slinging Drongo. 

NEW:
◆ Item Type: Physical Shred/Attack Speed
◆ Cost: 3100
◆ Physical Power: 40
◆ Physical Penetration: 8
◆ Attack Speed: 18
◆ Recipe: Rapid Rapier + Honed Kris + 650g
◆ Virulent Strikes: Basic Attacks against Enemy Heroes shred 2 physical armor for 3s, stacking up to 5 times.
◆ Onslaught: Gain Attack Speed equal to 70% of your Physical Penetration.

OLD: ◆ Item Type: Physical Shred
◆ Cost: 3100
◆ Physical Power: 45
◆ Physical Penetration: 10
◆ Ability Haste: 10
◆ Recipe: Honed Kirs + Ruthless Broadsword + 550g
◆ Corrode: Dealing damage to an Enemy Hero reduces their physical armor by 4% for 3s. Stacking up to 6 times.
◆ Virulence: Your abilities deal 25% bonus physical damage against Targets with 6 stacks of Corrode. 



[h3]Dread [Reworked]:[/h3]
While enjoyed by many, Dread provided too many benefits as a standalone item. Not only did it serve as an anti-magic option via statline, but it also granted Health sustain, Mana sustain and mobility, all while granting a reset condition that blurs the lines with Draconum. Having so many functions within a single item bloated its utility, frequently making it an optimal pickup in the vast majority of cases and best in slot, while also overlapping thematically with other items, thus convoluting the item set. 

To help keep Dread more focused, we’re repurposing it into a strictly anti-magical burst option, usable by anyone seeking some extra damage and looking to dive into the magical fray. 

[NEW]:
◆ Item Type: Anti-Magic
◆ Cost: 3,000
◆ Physical Power: 40
◆ Physical Penetration: 10
◆ Magical Armor: 30
◆ Recipe: Honed Kris + Nullifying Mask + Sabre + 600g
◆ Sinister Shield: Upon receiving magical damage from an Enemy Hero, block 25% of all incoming magical damage for 3s. Sinister Shield regenerates after not receiving damage from Heroes for 20s.
◆ Scourge: While Sinister Shield is available, gain 20 bonus physical power.

[OLD]: ◆ Item Type: Anti-Magic
◆ Cost: 3000
◆ Physical Power: 40
◆ Physical Penetration: 8
◆ Magical Armor: 30
◆ Base Mana Regeneration: 150%
◆ Recipe: Honed Kris + Sabre + Polar Treads + 350g:
◆ Voracity: Killing an Enemy Target restores 5% of your missing health, increased to 20% for Enemy Heroes.
◆ Celerity: Gain 10% bonus movement speed out of combat.


[h3]Nightfall [Reworked]:[/h3]
Nightfall’s isolate/splitpush condition did not translate well into the 3D space with its previous implementation, and saw little play as a result. In a bid to revitalise the item and redefine it now that Deathstalker is better occupying the Attack Speed niche, we’re doubling down on Nightfall as an alternative Sustain tool.

[NEW]:
◆ Item Type: Sustain
◆ Cost: 2800
◆ Physical Power: 35
◆ Physical Penetration: 12
◆ Lifesteal: 8%
◆ Recipe: Honed Kris+ Crimson Edge + 850g
◆ Eclipse: Abilities heal for 5% of damage dealt to Enemy Heroes.
◆ Blood Moon: While below 40% maximum health, Eclipse’s healing increases to 10%.

[OLD]: ◆ Item Type: Dueling
◆ Cost: 2800
◆ Physical Power: 45
◆ Physical Penetration: 12
◆ Recipe: Honed Kris+ Honed Kris + 750g
◆ Eclipse: Dealing damage to an Isolated Enemy Hero grants 10% attack speed and 10 ability haste for 5s, stacking up to 3 times. At maximum stacks, gain 8% omnivamp.


[h3]The Perforator:[/h3]
A quick shift in stats to make Perforator more Haste heavy, better rounding out builds when it is picked up and differentiating it further from Demolisher.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Cost decreased from 3300 to 3200.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Physical Power decreased from 55 to 45.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Ability Haste increased from 15 to 25.



[h2]Mage:[/h2]

[h3]Oathkeeper:[/h3]
Oathkeeper was needlessly scaling too heavily with Total Physical Power rather than Magical Power, so we’re adjusting its scalings to allow it ramp appropriately with Magical builds.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 60% to 35%.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 50% to 60%.



[h2]Support:[/h2]

[h3]Truesilver Bracelet:[/h3]
Less base shield, more scaling. This will help reduce the efficacy of Truesilver as a first buy (regardless of class) and ensure it scales more sizeably throughout a match.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Reprisal Base Shield decreased from 250 to 200.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Reprisal Bonus Health Scaling increased from 15% to 20%.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Reprisal Shield Duration decreased from 5s to 4s. 
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Reprisal Damage decreased from 60% to 50%. 



◆ Fixed a bug where Frostguard’s stacks would immediately be removed if the enemy walked outside the Aura.
◆ Fixed an error with Frostguard’s Item type. No longer states “Slowing Aura”.
◆ Fixed a bug where Mutilator’s enhanced ability proc would not scale down with On-Hit modifiers.
◆ Fixed a bug where Mutilator’s Mutilate passive would not correctly deal double damage when using On-Hit Abilities.
◆ Fixed a bug where Tectonic Mallet would cause Physical Power to be lost while Slowed.
◆ Fixed a bug with Cleaver’s shockwave VFX being larger than intended.
◆ Fixed a bug where Vanquisher would grant additional Malady stacks on kill.
◆ Fixed a bug where Feng Mao’s Ultimate Execute would not count as Ability Damage for certain item effects (such as Malady and Draconum).
◆ Fixed a bug where Murdock’s Stimpack would not display its increasing Mana Cost on level up.

◆ Fixed a bug where Terminus cost 50 gold less than intended.
◆ Fixed a bug causing Truesilver Bracelet’s explosion to deal more damage than intended.
◆ Fixed a bug where Draconum could stack with items in unintended ways.
◆ Fixed a bug where Dusk Minions could get stuck near Inhibitor ledges.
◆ Fixed a bug where players could stand on top of a tree in the Red Jungles.
◆ Fixed a bug where TwinBlast could use a rock to enable dashing up into Mid from River.
◆ Fixed a bug where Monsters would not always play impact SFX when hitting Heroes.
◆ Fixed an issue causing Tower Immune SFX to be too loud.
◆ Fixed a bug where TwinBlast would not show Cooldown notifications when trying to cast Vortex Grenades with no charges.
◆ Fixed a bug where Phase's Energy Lance [E] would pass through Steel's Force Shield [E].





That's all this week!

Let us know what you think of this update over on Twitter, the official Subreddit or our Discord server!

Happy Tuesday Champions! Let's jump right in with what you can expect from Predecessor V0.9.1!

The goal of this balance pass is to fine-tune various outlier Heroes & Items, with some post-release adjustments to TwinBlast and his Ventilate dominance, as well as some additional changes aimed at toning down the oppressiveness of Dekker’s close range crowd control. And of course, what would a balance pass be without a slew of item adjustments?

In the absence of larger balance changes this patch, you can look forward to a subset of Assassin Item reworks dropping in a few weeks alongside V0.10, as well as some broader Gameplay & Itemisation shifts on the horizon as we approach Season 3 and beyond.

Speaking of going beyond, it’s full steam ahead here at Omeda HQ as we prepare for V0.10 and the release of our next Predecessor Original Hero - known throughout the lands as the devastating Champion Of Nyr! What are you hoping to see from this brutal new Hero?

Until next time!

~ Rei, Game Designer





[h2]Matchmaking Improvements[/h2]
Thanks to your feedback and using the data at our disposal, it's become clear that our current matchmaking adjustment factor for parties needed work. The adjustment is extremely effective at balancing out parties of 2 and 3 in most skill ranges, but the max adjustment for parties of 4 and 5 has just proven to be too strong for teams of newer players (and not strong enough for very skilled parties).

Luckily we've been working on a brand new system, which we'll be unveiling in V0.9.1!

This new system uses a formula that accounts for both the party size and the party’s average Matchmaking Rating when calculating the adjustment factor, and is scaled to better align with the match data we’ve collected over recent months.

This should be much more forgiving of newer players, but does mean there might be a slight increase in queue times for large parties of our best players as the system attempts to compensate for their advantage.

Learn more about additional matchmaking improvements we're working on our dedicated Matchmaking blog here!





[h2]Monarch Murdock[/h2]

This is a red-hot new skin that is definitely worth getting hot and bothered about!

Fire upon enemies in style with the new Monarch Murdock Skin [Common], arriving in store with V0.9.1!




We’re making some changes to the efficacy of Dekker’s overall lockdown in a bid to increase the counterplay available to her crowd control potential. By normalizing the Minimum Stun Duration of her Stasis Bomb, Dekker will no longer be overly rewarded at short ranges in the late-game (the maximum duration still increases with rank), especially after a Blink or Rifties pull. 

[h3]Stasis Bomb [RMB]:[/h3]
◆ Minimum Stun Duration changed from 0.6/0.7/0.8/0.9/1s to 0.75s at all ranks.

[h3]Containment Fence [E]:[/h3]
◆ Duration decreased from 2.4/2.6/2.8/3/3.2s to 2.4/2.55/2.7/2.85/3s.


Gideon’s Mana Costs leave him feeling rather restricted in the mid-to-late-game, constantly running dry even with a heavy Mana build. To remedy this, we’re trimming back some of his Ability Costs at the expense of a small damage nerf to better facilitate his spell-slinging identity.

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Base Mana decreased from 420 to 380.
◆ Base Mana Regeneration increased from 1.3 to 1.5.

[h3]Cosmic Rift [Q]:[/h3]
◆ Mana Cost decreased from 80/90/100/110/120 to 80/85/90/95/100.
◆ Damage decreased from 100/160/220/280/340 to 100/155/210/265/320.

[h3]Void Breach [RMB]:[/h3]
◆ Mana Cost decreased from 60/70/80/90/100  to 60/65/70/75/80.


Greystone struggles in the earlier stages of the game due to a lower Base Stat profile. By adjusting his Growth Scalar (a lever we use to distribute Stat Growths), Greystone will be receiving slightly more stats upfront when he levels up, and should find himself enjoying a more stable early-game. 

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Growth Scalar from Levels 1-18 increased from 77-123% to 82-118%.
◆ Physical Power Growth increased from 2.8 to 3.2.


While Phase’s identity as a pocket Enchanter is great, currently she can sit back a bit too safely while still having access to her Pull. To bring better balance to the safety she provides we’re adjusting the range at which Phase can switch targets with her Link, as well as reducing the break range. This will result in Phase having to position herself closer to her Allies and play with more care, lest she find herself caught out - creating a higher skill floor and more room for punishment.

[h3]Telekinetic Link [RMB]:[/h3]
◆ Target Select Range decreased from 1800 to 1350.
◆ Link Break Range decreased from 2200 to 2050.


Rampage’s previous healing reductions have had a significant effect on his overall efficacy but the King still dishes out slightly too much damage given his durability. Some slight damage nerfs are in order to further slow down his clear speed and ensure he can’t run down his foes quite so easily. 

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Physical Power Growth decreased from 2.5 to 2.1.

[h3]Rumble [E]:[/h3]
◆ Damage decreased from 100/130/160/190/220 to 90/120/150/180/210.


While it was a useful experimental change, it’s clear that the previous changes to Steel’s Cleave were a buff too far and overly propped up his ability to deal with mobs in conjunction with his Mana increases. It’s time to pull it back.

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Basic Attack Cleave decreased from 30% to 20%. 


While TwinBlast has landed in a pretty solid spot, two key issues have emerged. 

On the one hand, TwinBlast has been struggling in lane due to his relatively low damage output prior to acquiring an item. And on the other, he can melt a target with his Ultimate in a way that would make even our next Hero jealous.

To better define TwinBlast and to bring him into a healthier spot, we’re bolstering his early strength while reducing some of his Scaling capabilities. In turn we’re allowing him to Rocket Dash more frequently to better fulfil his identity as a highly mobile gunslinger. 

[h3]General:[/h3]
◆ Base Physical Power increased from 48 to 52.

[h3]Vaporize [Q]:[/h3]
◆ Damage increased from 40/60/80/100/120 to 40/65/90/115/140.
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling changed from 40%/45%/50%/55%/60% to 50%.

[h3]Rocket Dash [E]:[/h3]
◆ Cooldown decreased from 20/19/18/17/16 to 18/17/16/15/14.

[h3]Ventilate [R]:[/h3]
◆ Damage per Bullet changed from 12/20/38 to 12/21/30.
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling decreased from 20% to 18%.



[h2]Crests:[/h2]
[h3]Pacifier:[/h3] 
More boom. More resets. What’s not to love?

◆ Adrenalize Bonus damage decreased from 40 to 35.
◆ Adrenalize Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 25% to 30%.
◆ Adrenalize Bonus damage multiplier increased from 2x to 2.5x.


[h3]Rift Walkers:[/h3]
As you may have noticed, we’ve been slowly trimming down many of the Damage Amps’ across our items. The ability to facilitate an engagement with a dash and displace an enemy for a free CC-chain is more than enough to justify Rift Walkers as a strong Crest choice, meaning it’s time these booties finally lost their Damage Amp.

◆ Rift Snatcher Damage Amplification removed.
◆ Rift Snatcher Pull Radius decreased from 600 to 550.


[h3]Tempest:[/h3]
Tempest’s Healing lingers on the strong side so we’re pulling back on it further to prevent its excessive wind of durability and compensating it with greater damage potential to ensure it remains relevant in the later stages of a match. 

◆ Overcharge Healing decreased from 75% to 50%.
◆ Overcharge Magical Power Scaling increased from 10% to 12%.



[h2]Carry:[/h2]
[h3]Dust Devil:[/h3]
A quick bump in Movement Speed to make the zoomies feel a little more rewarding to achieve. 

◆ Menace Movement Speed increased from 15% to 18%.




[h3]Mindrazor:[/h3] 
Mindrazor’s Cleave tends to feel a little underwhelming in the damage department compared to other Cleave items, despite the investment required to get it online. We’re upping its scaling to bring it into better contention with other options.

◆ Ingenious Cleave Total Physical Power Scaling increased from 25% to 30%.



[h2]Fighter:[/h2]
[h3]Augmentation:[/h3]
Rejoice my friends, Augmentation’s recipe has changed! The dark days of not being able to purchase a Shortsword are over!

◆ Recipe changed from Greatsword + Violet Brooch to Temporal Ripper + Banded Emerald.


[h3]Tainted Blade:[/h3]
A slight bump in health to make Tainted Blade feel a little juicier when you’re required to pick it up. 

◆ Health increased from 200 to 250.



[h2]Support:[/h2]
[h3]Hallowed Braid/Requiem:[/h3]
The ability to sit on a Hallowed Braid and cheat Mana Regen as the world burns around you can lead to some non-interactive plays and provides too much efficiency in high-kill games. It’s due a hit on the Regen’ front to limit cross-class abuse until we deliver on larger Support itemisation changes. 

◆ Elegy Base Mana Regeneration per Stack decreased from 10% to 5%.


[h3]Wellspring:[/h3]
A quick nudge down in the healing potential of Wellspring as it can provide too much uptime to allies as a result of its percent healing component, and it becomes especially powerful when used to juice up a frontline Tank. 

◆ Soothing Waters Max Health Healing decreased from 10% to 8%.


Additional bug fixes may be added to this blog after the patch is live. 

◆ Fixed a bug where XBOX prompts would display in-game when using DualSense controllers.
◆ Fixed a bug where Murdock’s Long Arm Of The Law would not play its SFX correctly.
◆ Fixed an error with Wild Hunt’s Description.
◆ Fixed an error with Salvations Description.
◆ Fixed an error with Tainted Scepter’s Description.
◆ Corrected the name of Murdock's newest skin.






That's all this week!

Let us know what you think of this update over on Twitter, the official Subreddit or our Discord server!

It’s time to load up, Champions!

The V0.9 Game Update is just around the corner, bringing with it our most Dashing new Hero yet, alongside some substantial improvements to our in-game chat moderation systems, as well as equally substantial changes to our in-game audio mixing!

At the risk of taking our sights off of TwinBlast for a moment, our Sound Team have been firing on all cylinders - making momentous improvements to the way that audio is optimised and delivered during matches. We’ll let Bartosz go into more detail a little later into this blog, but the team’s recent work on the sound front really builds on Predecessor’s immersion.

The other big thing to talk about in V0.9 is arguably one of our biggest pushes to address in-game toxicity to date.

As is all the rage right now, we’re working with an incredibly efficient and effective (and industry-leading) artificial intelligence tool to fully automate the moderation process for in-game messaging. But what does this mean specifically? Read on for more, and keep an eye out for a dedicated blog on Tackling Toxicity, coming early next week.

And lastly of course there’s our gun-toting new action Hero, TwinBlast! There’s no use waffling on about him here though, so let’s blast right into it!

- Kari, Senior Community Manager



TwinBlast is locked and loaded!
Blast into battle with the gunslinging extraordinaire, TwinBlast, the latest Hero to join the Predecessor roster!



Evasive, explosive and dashing in more ways than one, TwinBlast is second to none when it comes to gunplay!


Watch TwinBlast In Action!
Before we Rocket Dash into more details, why not watch what TwinBlast has to offer in our latest ability overview video!

Click the Video below to be blown away by some TwinBlast action!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]ABILITIES: [/h3]
Gunslinger [Passive]:
Using an Ability will cause TwinBlast's next 2 basic attacks (within 5s) to benefit from 40% increased Total Attack Speed.

Double Shot [LMB]:
Ranged basic attack that fires two projectiles, each dealing 24 (+50% Bonus Physical Power) physical damage and applying on-hit effects at 50% effectiveness.

Vaporize [Q]: Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6
Cost: 40
Effect: TwinBlast charges and fires two super-heated piercing projectiles in the target’s direction with each dealing 40/60/80/100/120 (+40% Bonus Physical Power)(+60% Magical Power) physical damage and applying on-hit effects to all targets hit at 60% effectiveness.

Rocket Dash [E]: Cooldown: 20/19/18/17/16
Cost: 40/35/30/25/20
Passive: When TwinBlast deals damage to an enemy Hero with a Basic Attack or Ability, Rocket Dash’s cooldown is decreased by 0.5s.
Effect: TwinBlast dashes.

Vortex Grenade [RMB]: Cooldown: 7/6.5/6/5.5/5
Cost: 20
Effect: Launch a grenade in target direction that explodes upon contact with an Enemy Target, dealing 20/35/50/65/80 (+100% Total Physical Power) physical damage in a small area and Slowing by 15% for 0.75s.

Max Charges: 2.

Ventilate [R]: Cooldown: 120/100/80
Cost: 100
Effect: Transform your guns into fully automatic machine guns, unleashing a barrage of 25 (+6% Attack Speed) bullets over 3s, dealing 12/20/38 damage per bullet (+20% Bonus Physical Power)(+15% Magical Power), for a total of 300/500/700 (+500% Bonus Physical Power)(+375% Magical Power) at 25 bullets.





[h3]New Skin - Shadow Ops TwinBlast[/h3]
It’s a bit of a shot in the dark, but are you a fan of the covert-operative look? You know, the sneaky sneaky, crawling through vents type thing? Well if you are - have we got the skin for you!



No mission is impossible for the new Shadow Ops Skin [rare] for TwinBlast, available in V0.9 in the store!



[h3]Improved Chat Moderation[/h3]
It’s time to talk about one of the hottest topics we see right now. No it’s not the British summertime causing some of our computers to melt, it’s in-game chat messages.

It’s no secret that in-game chat messages haven’t exactly always been hitting the quality bar we were hoping to see under our current moderation system.

We’re pleased to reveal that as of V0.9 we’re getting with the times and deploying the latest in totally-not-evil AI technology to help shore up our in-game message defences.

Specifically this AI tool has been extensively trained to detect hostile, insulting or discriminatory language and automagically apply appropriate sanctions, scaling from temporary chat bans right the way up to the permanent removal of in-game chat privileges, with repeat offences leading to increasingly harsher results.

Obviously there’s a lot more to be said here, so please look forward to a blog post explicitly covering the ways in which we’re Tackling Toxicity on Monday.



[h3]Sound Improvements:[/h3]
We don’t normally hand the mic over to other teams in the fortnightly patch notes, but considering we wouldn’t have a mic if it wasn’t for the Sound Team we thought we’d make an exception! Take it away, Bartosz!

"Not only have we added new sounds for TwinBlast, the Core and Minions, but we're also dedicated to improving the audio mix for an even better experience.

In a recent update we made a change by assigning each Hero to a listener switch. This means that as a local player, you'll now enjoy fully spatialized enemies and allies, greatly enhancing the overall clarity of the action and making navigation through the world of Predecessor a breeze. We want to empower you to make the most informed decisions after all!

Furthermore, we're working on improving the balance of the audio mix and adding a limiter to ensure that audio doesn't clip during intense moments.

We are also addressing the crash issues you might have been experiencing by optimising our audio and limiting the number of sounds that can play simultaneously. Unfortunately the crash is ultimately caused by the Unreal Engine's editor but rest assured, we're on top of it!

We genuinely hope you enjoy these changes, and we would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to share your feedback with us. Thank you for being an amazing part of our community!"

- Bartosz, Lead Sound Designer







Crunch’s level 6 power spike is extremely strong as it effectively unlocks the rest of his kit via new ReCrunch combos. To help mitigate the raw strength of this spike, we’re reducing the amount of healing he gains at that moment to ensure opponents have a fair chance of matching his aggression.

ReCrunch [R]:
◆ Base healing decreased from 30/85/140 to 20/80/140.





Khaimera’s Unleash ability allows for some heavy synergy with on-hit itemisation due to how frequently he can proc their effects during his Q window. Due to these interactions, the rest of his kit must always be tuned with on-hit purchases such as Sky Splitter in mind. To help alleviate this balance bottleneck we’re adding an on-hit modifier to his Unleash resulting in them dealing 25% less damage while his Q is active, thereby allowing us to better balance Khaimera both now and in the future, and redistribute some of that lost potential into his kit in other ways.

Unleash [Q]:
◆ Added 75% On-Hit Modifier.
◆ Total Physical Power Scaling increased from 40% to 45%.

Ambush [RMB]:
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 75% to 85%.





The Shadow Huntress has been running rampant as of late, heavily outshining other Carries across the board. To remedy this we’re dropping down some of the raw damage Kira has available in her kit via her Vengeance Passive and Mercy, as well as ensuring there is an appropriate mana cost to her to her trades.

On the flip side though, alongside some QoL changes to Mercy, we’ve now granted Kira’s Ultimate the ability to proc on-hit effects such as Sky Splitter and Ashbringer (at a reduced value) to better open up “on-hit Kira” as a legitimate playstyle and have re-tuned her Ultimate with these build differences in mind.

Vengeance [Passive]:
◆ Bonus damage per stack decreased from 2% to 1.5%.

Shadow Glide [E]:
◆ Range decreased from 600 to 525.
◆ Mana Cost increased from 50 to 60.
◆ Cooldown increased from 18/17/16/15/14 to 20/18.5/17/15.5/14.

Mercy [RMB]:
◆ Base Damage changed from 10/25/40/55/70 to 20/30/40/50/60.
◆ Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 80%/85%/90%/95%/100% to 80%/82.5%/85%/87.5%/90%.
◆ Bonus Minions/Monster Damage changed from 10/25/40/55/70 to 20/30/40/50/60.
◆ Mana Cost changed from 40 to 38/41/44/47/50.
◆ Range increased from 1400 to 1450.
◆ Projectile Speed increased from 15000 to 23500.

Purge [R]:
◆ Base Damage increased from 90/180/270 to 180/270/360.
◆ Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 490% to 330%.
◆ Critical Strike Modifier increased from 80% to 100%.
◆ Can now trigger On-Hit effects at 30% value.





Murdock has been struggling to keep pace ever since the ol’ V0.8 nerfs. We’re pulling back on them slightly to try and hit a better middleground.

General:
◆ Attack Speed Growth increased from 2.2 to 2.4.

Shots Fired [Passive]:
◆ Cooldown decreased from 12s - 6.9s (-0.3 per level) to 12.8s - 6s (-0.4 per level).





Phase’s ability to pump out heals in the lane provides too much safety, especially when combined with the ability to yoink her Carry out of danger. To provide more room for punishment, we’re dropping down the raw healing potential of Phase’s Passive and shifting it into scaling to ensure Phase must itemise on the squishy side to benefit from larger heals, while also making the proportional mana cost of using her Pull a more significant cost when it is forced by her opponents.

General:
◆ Base Mana decreased from 400 to 340.

Essence Catalyst [Passive]:
◆ Healing decreased from 16-135 (+7 per level) to 10-112 (+6 per level).
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 10% to 25%.

Energy Lance [E]:
◆ Mana cost decreased from 80/90/100/110/120 to 70/75/80/85/90.

Hyper Flux [R]:
◆ Movement Speed increased from 125% to 130%.





The previous round of nerfs to Sevarog helped alleviate the potency of his Q spam in the mid-game fights, but resulted in him feeling a little too vulnerable when farming up. By granting his Siphon a little extra kick in the early game, Sevarog should have a better time matching trades and reliably stacking up to find a happier middle-ground in strength.

Siphon [Q]:
◆ Physical Power Growth increased from 2.4 to 2.8.
◆ Base Damage increased from 30/50/70/90/110 to 40/65/90/115/140.
◆ Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 70% to 60%.






The Fey’s ability to default to passive play in lane by maxing out her wave clear can lead to uninteractive loops where she throws an Untamed Growth and nukes the wave without much room for recourse. To better encourage her to interact with her opponent (and further unleash the boxing machine we all know she is, deep down) we’re redistributing some strength away from Untamed Growth and into her Harvest Nettles ability.

General:
◆ Movement Speed decreased from 665 to 660.

Harvest Nettles:
◆ Damage amplification increased from 18% to 20%.

Untamed Growth:
◆ Base Damage decreased from 130/190/250/310/370 to 120/175/230/285/340.





[h3]Crests:[/h3]
Epoch: A quick mana bump to leave our Mages feeling less parched for mana.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Mana increased from 150 to 200.

Time-Flux Band: Same as Epoch - more mana!
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Mana increased from 150 to 200.


Saphir’s Mantle: Saphir’s has proven a little too dominant and overshadows Razorback in many cases due to its raw health increase. Given how it’s a strong scaling health option, we’re opting to nudge down its temporary health gain so that it’s less of a catch-all choice.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Atlas Health Gain decreased from 20% to 18%.



[h3]Assassin:[/h3]
Infernum:
Infernum has seen more play across various Heroes since its mini-rework last patch (which is great), but it’s still proving a little too powerful and needs another quick hit to its damage output to bring it into greater parity.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Cinder Base damage decreased from 20 to 15.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ◆ Cinder Bonus Physical Power Scaling decreased from 110% to 100%.



Additional bug fixes may be added after the patch is live.
◆ Fixed a bug where Kingsbane’s damage passive “Chaos” does not work.
◆ Fixed a bug where Greystone’s Assault the Gates (RMB) animation would not execute correctly.
◆ Fixed a bug where Heroes could get stuck in a hole behind Orb Prime’s pit.
◆ Fixed a bug where waterwheel water VFX was not displaying correctly in the practice map.
◆ Fixed a bug where Deathstalker’s damage displayed as Mooncleaver in the death recap.
◆ Fixed a bug where activating auto buy when in-game and using it to buy a first item results in no undo functionality.
◆ Fixed a bug where item slots in the in-game shop menu appear blank and cannot be selected.
◆ Fixed a bug where the player’s camera could lockup when opening the shop upon death.
◆ Fixed a bug where Revenant would receive damage from Gideon’s Cosmic Tether after pulling another user into the Nether Realm.
◆ Fixed a bug where the Execute Skull for Feng Mao’s Earth Shatter (R) would fail to show.
◆ Fixed a bug where Heroes were able to avoid damage from Primal Fangtooth by using abilities that remove collision.
◆ Fixed a bug where Peppermint Kallari’s hat would show while in Camo.
◆ Fixed a bug with Auto-Open where users could get soft locked if they navigate out of base with the Crest screen present and confirm a purchase.
◆ Fixed a bug with the Loading Screen where it would only display two Hero Portraits.
◆ Fixed a bug where disconnecting and reconnecting on the Loading Screen will cause the user to softlock on the Camera Overview and will be unable to play in the session.
◆ Fixed a bug where it was possible to queue up for Practice Mode in a party.
◆ Fixed a bug where if a player was issued a ban, a duration notifier would fail to show and they could become soft-locked in queue.
◆ Fixed a bug causing the game to crash after Draft is complete.



That's all this week!

Let us know what you think of this update over on Twitter, the official Subreddit or our Discord server!

Patch releasing June 27th, 2023.

Heya Champions! o/

Welcome to the v0.8.2 balance pass!

The arrival of Greystone has sent waves throughout the world of Predecessor, and we hope you’ve been enjoying his new look!

Of course, there’s plenty more to come, and rest assured, the chefs back at Omeda HQ are hard at work cooking up a storm as we look forward to v0.9 and beyond.

The primary theme of this balance pass is to smooth out power curves on many of our Heroes and underutilised items. Including follow-up adjustments to Greystone, broader shifts to Countess’ power curve, rectifying an issue with Rampage, and more significant changes to Infernum and Timewarp to help foster further build diversity.

As always, there is a myriad of other changes to be explored below, and we hope you enjoy this latest round of balance.

Much love, and see you next time!

-Rei, Game Designer.



NEW SKIN

Countess is getting plenty of love with this week's balance changes, so it felt right that this week's new skin was the striking Countess Punk skin!

Countess Punk [Common]









Countess’ polarising power curve tends to leave her feeling extremely underwhelming in the game's early stages, but an unstoppable force should she ever get a lead. To help smooth her progression through a match, we’re bolstering her early game efficacy in the stats department, as well as shifting a portion of her damage profile back into her healing identity and away from her Blade Siphon to provide for slightly less burst-heavy gameplay in the late-game.

General:
◆ Base Health increased from 560 to 610.
◆ Health Growth decreased from 105 to 97.
◆ Base Health Regeneration increased from 1.1 to 1.4.
◆ Base Physical Power increased from 53 to 56.
◆ Base Physical Armor decreased from 32 to 30.

Eventide [E]:
◆ Damage changed from 80/125/170/215/260 to 80/120/160/200/240.
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 75% to 80%.

Blade Siphon [RMB]:
◆ Cooldown changed from 9/8/7/6/5 to 8/7.5/7/6.5/6.
◆ Magical Power Scaling decreased from 80% to 65%.
◆ Healing per target changed from 8/9/10/11/12 to 6/8/10/12/14.
◆ Healing per target magical power scaling increased from 6% to 8%.

Feast [R]:
◆ Healing increased from 40% to 45%.
◆ Base % Health damage decreased from 8% to 5%.
◆ Max Health damage Magical Power Scaling increased from 4% to 5%.





It’s still early days for the ‘Stone, but his ability to stick to a target with Sacred Oath has proven a little overbearing, especially if you’re the sort of pyromaniac that loves setting people ablaze with Infernum (more on that later). While we’re still monitoring his performance, we figured a few nudges would help move him to a happier spot.


Stoicism [Passive]:
◆ Deflect Cooldown changed from 14-7.2s (-0.4s per level) to 15-6.5s (-0.5 per level).

Sacred Oath [E]:
◆ Slow on hit decreased from 15% to 12%.

Stone Forged Soul [R]:
◆ Cooldown increased from 140/110/80 to 150/125/100.
◆ Damage increased from 250/350/450 to 250/375/500.





Shadow Glide provides an often underappreciated (and powerful) source of bonus physical power after use. A quick hit to its duration ensures Kira must better commit to a fight post-dash should she wish to reap the benefit of the power buff.

Shadow Glide [E]:
◆ Bonus Physical Power Duration decreased from 6s to 4s.





Much like Countess, Morigesh has proven quite divisive and often gets feasted on in lane before becoming a monster in the later stages of a match, should she weather that initial storm. Once again, we’re smoothing out this power curve with shifts to her general damage and healing profile to ensure Morigesh feels more engaging and fair to play as in lane, better rewarding her for a smart commitment of her body to a fight while stripping back the raw DPS threat of backline Mark spam.

General:
◆ Health increased from 580 to 595.

Hive [Q]:
◆ Cooldown decreased from 14/12/12/11/10 to 13/12/11/10/9.
◆ Magical Power Scaling Increased from 45% to 50%.

Swarm [E]:
◆ Magical Power Scaling increased from 60% to 65%.
◆ Damage decreased from 80/115/150/185/220 to 80/110/140/170/200.
◆ Base Healing increased from 5/10/15/20/25 to 8/14/20/26/32.
◆ Healing Magical Power Scaling increased from 5% to 6%.
◆ Marked Hero Healing modifier decreased from 8x to 6x.

Mark [RMB]:
◆ Magical Power Scaling decreased from 50% to 40%.





Unfortunately, our change to Rampage’s Healing in V0.8 didn’t quite go as planned. It emerged that some dark magic (AKA: bugs) had afflicted us at Omeda HQ, with previous presumed healing values acting as a false benchmark to balance and test against.

With the burning of some sage, we’ve cleansed the premises and rectified the issue. These new values should reflect the ~20% intended nerf stated in the last patch more accurately. Please accept our apology for not spotting it earlier!

King of the Jungle [Passive]:
◆ Max health healing decreased from 0.5% to 0.4%.

Behemoth [R]:
◆ Max Health on use increased from 200/350/500 to 250/400/550.





Revenant has been struggling lately, with half of the roster becoming better equipped to run him down in a slower TTK environment. A slight bump to his survivability and 4th shot should help level the playing field and have him cashing in those bigger targets in no time.

General:
◆ Base Health decreased from 644 to 635.
◆ Health Growth increased from 94 to 98.
◆ Movement Speed increased from 645 to 650.

Hellfire Rounds [RMB]:
◆ Percent Missing Health damage per level increased from 0.5% to 0.7%.





While Sparrow generally has a solid lane phase, she sure is mana thirsty if she wishes to maintain a presence in the lane. An increase in her early threat and mana economy will better equip Sparrow to stand her ground and bridge herself into the late game, where she shines the most.

General:
◆ Base Mana increased from 320 to 350.
◆ Base Mana Regeneration increased from 1.1 to 1.4.
◆ Mana Regeneration Growth increased from 0.12 to 0.15.

Hail of Arrows [Q]:
◆ Slow increased from 20/25/30/35/40% to 28/31/34/37/40%.

Piercing Shot [RMB]:
◆ Mana Cost changed from 50/60/70/80/90 to 60/65/70/75/80.
◆ Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 130% to 150%.





Okay, hear us out… Ever wondered why Steel is orange?

It's a question as old as time itself. And what’s the opposite of orange? Blue! And lastly what’s blue that Steel lacks? Mana! Yep, the lore totally checks out.

Okay, but seriously, Steel’s Mana economy and ability to maintain shove in a lane is rather poor. It’s time he was thrown a blue bone or two.

General:
◆ Physical Power Growth increased from 3.2 to 4.2.
◆ Mana Growth increased from 40 to 50.
◆ Basic Attack Cleave ratio increased from 20% to 30%.

Bullrush [Q]:
◆ Damage increased from 80/115/150/185/220 to 80/120/160/200/240.
◆ Mana Cost increased from 75 to 80.

Shield Bash [RMB]:
◆ Mana Cost changed from 50/55/60/65/70 to 60.





[h3]T1:[/h3]

Potent Staff: Living up to its name, Potent Staff is getting a slight increase in power to better reward those holding out for the purchase.

◆ Magical Power increased from 40 to 45.



[h3]T2:[/h3]

Blood Tome: We’ve adjusted the power on the Tome to make it a more effective standalone item.

◆ Cost Increased from 800 to 900.
◆ Magical Lifesteal decreased from 5% to 4%.
◆ Magical Power increased from 20 to 25.

Brimstone: More health is never a bad thing, so we've increased Brimstone’s overall health gain.

◆ Health increased from 150 to 200.

Chaotic Core: Chaotic Core is no longer used in any Item Recipes, so we’re removing it from the Shop. Expect it to return as we explore further reworks and even brand-new additions… #spoilers.

◆ Removed from the Item Shop.

Fortified Mantle: Similar to Brimstone, Mantle could use a little help to feel worth the investment.

◆ Physical Armor increased from 15 to 20.



[h3]Assassin[/h3]

Infernum: Infernum has seen a resurgence of play with the arrival of Greystone, and frankly, the item is a tad bonkers to anyone that can use it well. To help normalise it further and mitigate the more abusive cases (still looking at you, Greystone), we’re shifting its trigger condition and adjusting Cinder’s damage scaling to a healthier middle ground. This change should ultimately have Infernum feeling more reasonable to play with and against while also becoming more desirable for the likes of Kallari and Feng now that they can trigger it one attack earlier in their combos.

◆ Physical Power increased from 45 to 50.
◆ Cinder Damage changed from (120% Total Physical Power) to 20 (+110% Bonus physical power).
◆ Cinder Stacks required to trigger decreased from 4 to 3.
◆ Cinder Stacks duration decreased from 5s to 2.5s.



[h3]Fighter[/h3]

Basilisk: Basilisk, at times, still doesn’t quite fit the brief of a strong spike you’d want on a Bruiser compared to other foregone options. A slight nudge in stats should help make its pick a more meaningful one for the buyer.

◆ Cost increased from 3000 to 3100.
◆ Physical Power increased from 35 to 40.
◆ Health increased from 300 to 350.
◆ Recipe: Vitality Beads replaced by Violet Brooch.

Citadel: With the changes to Fortified Mantle, we’ve had to adjust and compensate Citadel to ensure it meets the boundaries of its component stats.

◆ Armor increased from 35 to 45.
◆ Fortification Armor per nearby Enemy Hero decreased from 10 to 8.

Legacy: Legacy rarely sees play despite its otherwise significant effect, primarily due to the opportunity cost associated with its purchase. A quick lift to its Tenacity stat is our first port of call to ensure it can better compete with other Tenacity options, such as Salvation.

◆ Tenacity increased from 15% to 30%.

Salvation:
Speaking of…

◆ Physical Power increased from 35 to 40.



[h3]Mage
[/h3]
Azure Core: Azure's shift away from Haste in prior patches has left it feeling like an undesirable completion, with many preferring to hold on to their Alchemical Rods for most of a match. A small bump in Ability Haste should help Mages feel better equipped to opt-in for scaling or mix up a build path needing some Haste.

◆ Ability Haste increased from 10 to 15.

Caustica: Less raw burst against squishies, but at a discount!

◆ Cost decreased from 3200 to 3000.
◆ Magical Power decreased from 80 to 75.

Lifebinder: Like many other changes in this patch, Lifebinder also stands out as an item that feels awkward to slot in due to its lack of power. By improving its recipe and giving it a little extra kick, some Mages (and Junglers ) may now consider it twice and slip it into their build.

◆ Magical Power increased from 70 to 80.
◆ Recipe: Scepter replaced by Blood Tome.

Timewarp: Mana Regeneration on a Mage item, you say? We hear you! We’re experimenting with Timewarp for this patch to help promote impactful options for Mages. The item now functions as a better bridging tool for those high penetration builds that formerly looked to Megacosm as their Haste stick or when looking to double down on low cooldown builds.

◆ Cost decreased from 3300 to 3200.
◆ Armor Removed.
◆ Added 150% Mana Regen.
◆ Magical Power decreased from 100 to 90.
◆ Ability Haste increased from 15 to 25.
◆ New Recipe: Potent Staff + Chronomatic Wand + Essence Ring.



[h3]Tank[/h3]

Crystalline Cuirass: Crystalline can feel awkward to stack up at times, unable to capture the same magical impact the Void Helm of Old could create with its movement speed condition. Allowing it to stack slightly faster in a brawl should leave it feeling closer to its former glory.

◆ Celestial Carapace: Cooldown per stack decreased from 1s to 0.5s.

Fire Blossom: We’ve slightly adjusted the health stats on Fire Blossom to bring back greater parity with other choices.

◆ Health increased from 275 to 300.

Flux Matrix: Flux Matrix’s damage amp contributes to some pretty insane damage under the right conditions, and like many other amps in the past, it’s time to pull it back.

◆ Unstable Shackles Magical Damage Amplification decreased from 15% to 10%.



The following list of bug fixes may be updated after the patch is Live.

◆ Fixed an error with Mesmer’s description.
◆ Fixed an error with various Item classifications on the Recommended Items page.
◆ Fixed a bug where Resolution was only granting 8 Physical Penetration instead of 10.
◆ Fixed a bug where Spiked Birch was giving 5 less Magical Power than intended.
◆ Fixed an issue where bans were incorrectly issued for AFKing in Custom Games.
◆ Fixed a bug where loading screen portraits would be incorrect if a match ended while in the main menu.



That's all this week!

Let us know what you think of this update over on Twitter, the official Subreddit or our Discord server!