#402 - Into the Nexus: “Rehgar Salad Bar”
• Garrett • Kyle • NotParadox or Guest
Tracking Link:
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/
Sponsors:
Our Patrons support Into the Nexus at Patreon.com/ITN. If you enjoy the show consider supporting it with 25 cents, a dollar, or however you would like! We thank all our Patrons for their support!
Intro: Welcome to Into the Nexus! The Heroes of the Storm podcast!
It’s patch time! Rehgar rework, Probius update and a horde of other adjustments. Garrett and Kyle walk you through all the upcoming changes to get you ready for December 6th. What themes will develop? What can we expect from the future and its this balance for our home games, or CCL focused.
Patreon Mention: Patreon.com/ITN
Thanks to our Patreon producers Declan H, Shawn B, Mike R, & JM Tibbles!
Patron Thanks Doc for keeping track
- TheLazyHydra
- Lucas Willumsen
Skins and Mounts video
PTR: Until December 6th
Developer Comment: We're happy with how Healing Wells functions in our ARAM game mode, so we're giving it a try everywhere. Additionally, Forts and Keeps now have additional health as they've absorbed the health of their nearby Healing Wells.
Healing Wells
- Additional Functionality: Healing Wells are now invulnerable, and are destroyed when their nearby Fort or Keep are destroyed.
Forts
- Health increased from 12900 to 15450.
Keeps
- Health increased from 17000 to 20050.
Rework: Rehgar
Developer Comment: Its been a while since we've made any major changes to Rehgar and while his win rates are not worrisome, his identity as a flexible generalist healer has suffered as of late. With this rework, we're making a number of quality-of-life changes by baselining some of the talents that felt mandatory as well as introducing new talents to sharpen his build identities. Just to prove that old dogs can learn new tricks, we've also given Rehgar a new activated trait, Purge, which allows him to micro-cleanse an ally or momentarily snare a distant enemy.
- Attack Damage increased from 106 to 115. [+8.5%]
- Attack speed reduced from 1.25 to 1.1. [-11.9%]
Lightning Shield [W]
- Additional Functionality: Each enemy hit by Lightning Shield restores 2 Mana to Rehgar.
- Down from 4 mana as a level 4 talent
- Mana cost reduced from 60 to 50.
- Imbue an ally with lightning dealing 64 damage a second to nearby enemies. Lasts 5 seconds.
Earthbind Totem [E]
- Totem Health increased from 217 to 326. [+50.2%]
Trait
- All Ghost Wolf information has been moved to the Z key.
- (New) Purge:
- Cooldown: 30 Seconds.
- Activate to make an ally Unstoppable for .5 seconds or slow an enemy Hero by 80%, decaying over 2 seconds. Cannot be used on Self.
Level 7 - (New) Purification [Trait D]
- Removing a Slow, Stun, Root or Silence from an Ally heals them for 260 and refunds 50% of Purge’s cooldown.
- Using Purge on an enemy deals up to 330 damage to shields and reduces Healing received by 40% for 3 seconds.
Lv.1
- Moved Out: Electric Charge moved to Lv.4 / Colossal Totem moved to Lv.7
- Moved In: Stormcaller (from 4) / Grounded Totem (from 7)
Level 1 - Stormcaller [W]
- Moved from Level 4.
- New functionality: Increase Lightning Shield’s radius by 25%.
- Quest: Each time Lightning Shield hits an enemy Hero, permanently increase Rehgar’s Health by 2 and Mana by 1, to a maximum of 300 stacks.
Level 1 - Grounded Totem [E]
- Moved from Level 7.
- No longer grants additional Earthbind Totem Health.
- Additional Functionality:
- Heroes affected by Earthbind Totem also have their Spellpower reduced by 25%.
- Increases the range of Earthbind Totem by 50%.
- Previous Functionality - Increase the Health of Earthbind Totem by 100%. Enemy Heroes who are Slowed by Earthbind Totem also have their Attack Speed Slowed by 40%.
Level 1 - Feral Heart [Z]
- New Functionality:
- Entering or Exiting Ghost Wolf form grants 20 Armor for 2 seconds.
- Increase Ghost Wolf’s Movement Speed bonus to 40% for the first second, then fade to 30%.
Lv.4
- Moved Out: Stormcaller (to 4)
- Moved In: Earthliving Enchant (from 13) / Electric Charge (from 1)
Level 4 - Earthliving Enchant [Q]
- Moved from Level 13.
- Healing increased from 45 to 50.
Level 4 - Electric Charge [W]
- Moved from Level 1.
- New Functionality:
- Lightning Shield heals its bearer for 20% of the damage dealt to enemy Heroes. This healing amount is doubled for Rehgar.
- While damaging an enemy, Lightning Shield increases its bearer’s Movement Speed by 10%.
Level 4 - Healing Totem [E/Active]
- Healing Totem health increased from 50 to 175.
- Healing Totem health now scales at .04% per Level.
- Healing Totem healing increased from 2 to 3% maximum Health/second.
- Healing Totem duration reduced from 10 to 7 seconds.
Lv.7
- Moved Out: Grounded Totem (to 1)
- Moved In: Colossal Totem (from 1)
- Deleted: Cleanse
Level 7 - Cleanse [Active]
Level 7 - Colossal Totem [E]
- Moved from Level 1.
- No longer increases Earthbind Totem Range.
Level 7 - Blood and Thunder [Z]
- Cooldown reduction reduced from 2 to 1.5 seconds.
- Additional Functionality: Ghost Wolf attacks restore 5% of Rehgar’s maximum Mana.
Level 13 - Tidal Waves [Q]
- Heroic target cooldown reduction increased from .75 seconds to 1 second.
- Mana cost reduction increased from 15 to 20.
Level 13 - Earth Shield [W]
- Shield amount increased from 12 to 14% maximum health.
Level 13 - (New) Wellspring [E]
- Every 2 seconds, Earthbind Totem will cast an untalented Chain Heal at a nearby ally that heals for 40% of its normal value.
Level 16 - Rising Storm [W]
- No longer grants Rehgar an untalented Lightning Shield.
- Increase the duration of Lightning Shield by 3 seconds.
- Previous Functionality: Rising Storm - Casting Lightning Shield on an ally also casts an untalented version on Rehgar. Every time Lighting Shield damages an enemy Hero, increase the damage of both Lightning Shields damage by 10%. Stacks up to 15 times.
Level 16 - Earthgrasp Totem [E]
- Additional Functionality: Earthbind Totem deals 145 damage when first placed.
- When Earthbind Totem is first cast, it slows nearby enemies by 90% for 1 second.
Level 16 - Hunger of the Wolf [Z]
- Damage and healing increased to 6%.
Level 20 - Rewind [Active]
Level 20 - Stormshield [Active]
- Removed.
- one of the more-picked 20s
- Farseer’s Blessing is nearly tied for most-picked.
Level 20 - Elemental Conduit [Active]
- Activate to gain Lightning Shield and grant all nearby allied Heroes a Shield for 10% of their maximum Health for 5 seconds.
- Each time this Lightning Shield hits an enemy Hero, grant nearby allies a Shield equal to 1.5% of their maximum Health.
- 70 Second cooldown.
Level 20 - Pit Fighter [Passive]
- Gain 10% Attack damage and 5 Spell Power for yourself and each nearby ally Hero, stacking up to 5 times. At 2 or more stacks, Purge’s cooldown refreshes 50% faster.
Lite Rework: Probius
Developer Comment: Probius has always had high requirements for successfully utilizing his abilities. The theme of this update is to turn those requirements into benefits, making Probius more approachable while still rewarding mastery. While the baseline changes to Warp Rift and Photon Cannon affect the identity of these abilities, we hope long-time Probius players are still able to punish enemy Heroes that underestimate our favorite Probe.
Warp Rift [W]
- Duration reduced from 9 to 3 seconds.
- Additional Functionality: Warp Rifts explode on expiration.
- Open an unstable Warp Rift at a location that takes 1.25 seconds to arm, which then slows nearby enemies by 25% lasting 9 seconds.
- Armed Warp Rifts explode when hit by Disruption Pulse, dealing 261 damage to nearby enemies.
- Stores up to 2 charges.
Photon Cannon [E]
- Attack period reduced from 1 to 1.4.
- Additional Functionality:
- No longer requires Pylons to be placed or be activated.
- While in a Pylon's Power Field, gain 40% attack speed over 4 seconds and reveal nearby enemies.
- Now prefers to acquire Heroic enemies.
- Warp in a Photon Cannon that deals 105 damage per second. Lasts for 13 seconds.
- Must be placed within a Pylon's Power Field. Deactivates if it doesn't have a Pylon powering it.
Level 1 - Echo Pulse [Q]
- Increased returning Disruption Pulse damage from 75% to 100%.
Level 1 - Gather Minerals [E]
- Removed Functionality: Quest reward no longer reveals nearby enemies.
Level 7 - Particle Accelerator [Q]
- New Functionality:
- After hitting 4 Heroes with Disruption Pulse, the next Warp Rift detonated by Disruption Pulse fires 4 pulses for 71 damage.
- Reduce Disruption Pulse's cooldown by .5 seconds.
Level 7 - Rift Shock [W]
- New Functionality: Exploding a Warp Rift within 1 second of its arming deals 90 damage over 3 seconds.
Level 10 - Pylon Overcharge [R1]
- Duration reduced from 10 to 8 seconds.
- Changed Functionality: Can only target enemy Heroes.
- Additionality Functionality: Pylons are Invulnerable for the duration.
- Previous Functionality: Increase the size of Pylon power fields and allow them to attack enemies within it for 96 damage per second. Lasts 10 seconds.
Level 20 - Shoot 'Em Up [Q]
- New Functionality:
- Disruption Pulse deals 2.5% of enemy Heroes maximum health as damage.
- Reduce Disruption Pulse's cooldown by .5 seconds.
1% pickrate this week
Support
Auriel
Developer Comment: Auriel’s Q talents have fallen off in both popularity and win rates, so we’re baking in the Swift Sweep talent functionality to help the abilities’ overall efficacy. We’re also bumping up some other talents that aren’t performing well. Similar to Zarya, Auriel’s power dynamics can change dramatically with even small number tweaks, so we’re keeping these changes relatively light this time around.
Sacred Sweep [Q]
- Cast speed increased by 50%.
- Cast finish time increased from 0 to .0625 seconds.
Level 1 - Swift Sweep [Q]
- Removed.
- Leaving 3 level 1 talents
Level 4 - Heavy Burden [E]
- Additional Functionality: Increase Detainment Strike’s Stun duration by .25 seconds.
- Detainment Strike Slows enemy Heroes for 20% for 2.50 seconds. Slow and duration doubled on enemies it Stuns.
Level 16 - Will of Heaven [D]
- Additional Functionality: Increase Auriel’s Basic Attack damage by 10%.
- Allies with Bestow Hope gain 20% Attack Speed.
Level 16 - Wrath of Heaven [D]
- Additional Functionality: Enemy Heroes hit by the center area of Sacred Sweep or the terrain collision of Detainment Strike have their Spell Armor reduced by 10 for 3 seconds.
- Allies with Bestow Hope gain 10% Spell Power.
Brightwing
Developer Comment: Brightwing remains strong at all levels of play, and is also terrorizing her foes at higher levels. While this is a substantial nerf to Invisible Friends on paper, we feel Brightwing still has compelling reasons to take the talent.
Level 1 - Hyper Shift [Z]
- Maximum Health healing bonus decreased from 8% to 6%.
- LAME
Level 4 - Magic Spit [Passive]
- Cooldown reduction reduced from 6 to 4 seconds.
- LAME
Level 20 - Invisible Friends [R1]
- Duration reduced from infinite to 9 seconds.
- Heal increased from 20 to 25.
Stukov
Developer Comment: Stukov’s level 1 talents have seen an influx of strength over the last couple months, and everything has a cost.
- Health reduced from 1850 to 1835.
- Health regeneration reduced from 3.85 to 3.82.
Bio-Kill Switch [Q]
- Healing reduced from 450 to 435.
Dehaka
Developer Comment: Dehaka has been collecting essence very successfully after his last update increased his attack speed, so we’re reining him in a smidge.
- Health reduced from 2434 to 2385.
- Health regeneration reduced from 5.07 to 4.97.
Basic Attack
- Damage reduced from 100 to 95.
Level 4 - Lurker Strain [E]
- Burrow cooldown reduction reduced from 6 to 3 seconds.
Level 7 - Feeding Frenzy [Q]
- Cooldown reduction reduced from 1.75 to 1.5 seconds.
Falstad
Developer Comment: Falstad has landed quite well after his recent tuning, and we think a mild buff to Dishonorable Discharge causes all his talent builds to pass with flying colors.
Tailwind [Trait]
- Cooldown reduced from 6 to 5 seconds.
Level 1 - Dishonorable Discharge [W]
- Lightning Rod damage bonus per stack increased from .75% to 1%, maximum bonus remains 75%.
Imperius
Developer Comment: Celestial Charge needling enemies a bit more will help Imperius out, especially when taking Impaling Light. We’re happy with the gameplay of the Solarian’s Fire build, but we’d rather Imperius continue onward rather than go out in a Blaze of Glory.
Celestial Charge [Q]
- Final damage increased from 70 to 80.
Level 7 - Blaze of Glory [W]
- Damage increased from 185 to 205.
- Changed Functionality: Blaze of Glory deals additional damage with Valorous Brand marks, but no longer consumes them.
- Previous Functionality - Solarion's Fire leaves a line of scorched earth along its center, exploding after 2 seconds and dealing 185 damage. This explosion benefits from and consumers Valorous Brand marks.
Jaina
Developer Comment: In games where Jaina’s team falls behind, we think it’s harder than it should be to unlock Improved Ice Block, especially when Jaina is focused on clearing enemy Minion waves (THANK YOU). This should even that out, as well as provide a boon for Jaina players that blast away their opponents. Blizzard and Cone of Cold talents are competing nicely, so we thought we’d provide some quality of life to a Frostbolt talent.
Improved Ice Block [1]
- Damage to unlock reduced from 15,000 to 12,000.
- I was bad at this.
Level 1 - Winter’s Reach [Q]
- Additional Functionality: Increase the missile speed of Frostbolt by 30%.
- Increase the range of Frostbolt by 30%
Johanna
Developer Comment: Competing against strong Shield Glare talents, Divine Fortress’ Physical Armor wasn’t super appealing. We hope this change provides a comparable option for dealing with Physical damage while feeling and playing differently. While we’re here, we continue to drag part of Hold Your Ground’s benefit baseline in our endless journey to make the tier more competitive. Other than that, we have mild buffs for weak talents, and a whisper of a nerf to Heaven’s Fury.
Iron Skin [D]
- Cooldown reduced from 25 to 22 seconds.
Level 1 - Divine Fortress [Passive]
- Physical Armor per Basic Attack increased from 8 to 10.
- Duration increased from 2.5 to 4 seconds.
- Changed Functionality: Basic Attacks against any target grants Physical Armor.
- Previous Functionality - Basic Attacks against enemy Heroes grant 8 Physical Armor for 2.5 seconds, stacking up to 40.
Level 1 - Zealous Glare [E]
- Additional Functionality: Shield Glare deals 125% additional damage.
- Gain a second charge of Shield Glare.
Level 4 - Hold Your Ground [D]
- Cooldown reduction reduced from 5 to 2 seconds.
Level 7 - Sins Exposed [Q]
- Duration increased from 2 to 3 seconds.
Level 7 - Steed Charge [Active]
- Bonus Iron Skin duration increased from 1 to 2 seconds.
Level 13 - Roar [Q]
- Passive Punish damage bonus increased from 25% to 50%.
Level 20 - Heaven’s Fury [R1]
- Damage reduced from 75 to 68.
- Healing reduced from 75 to 68.
Junkrat
Developer Comment: Junkrat has caused more than enough mayhem for now – we believe that Big As was making Steel Traps an issue too frequently when combined with Gotta Trap ‘Em All! We think the decision between traps that demand a Hero’s intervention versus many traps is still interesting, but we’ll be keeping an eye on him.
Level 7 - Big As [E]
Level 20 - Puckish Scamp [R2]
- Additional Functionality: Reduce both Heroic cooldowns by 20 seconds.
- Junkrat also gains the Ability Rip-Tire. Each time he uses his Heroic it swaps to the alternate ability. Each Heroic has its own separate cooldown.
Lunara
Developer Comment: Lunara has hopped a little higher than we expected, so we’re diluting her poison.
Nature’s Toxin [Trait]
- Damage dealt reduced from 36 to 33.
Level 7 - Choking Pollen [Q]
- Damage bonus against enemies with 3 stacks of Nature's Toxin decreased from 200% to 175%.
Raynor
Developer Comment: Jimmy was never one to quit a fight.
Level 1 - Ace In The Hole [Passive]
- Damage bonus increased from 10% to 12%.
Level 7 - Heavy Slugs [Q]
- Duration bonus increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds.
Level 20 - Cavalry's Arrived [R1]
- Mark duration increased from 2.5 to 6 seconds.
Level 20 - Dusk Wing [R2]
- Armor reduction increased from 2.5 to 3.
- Maximum Armor reduction increased from 25 to 30.
Tyrande
Developer Comment: Ranger causing Sentinel to hit two Heroes has become the dominant style for playing Tyrande, so we’re reducing the power of Harsh Moonlight and Empower and raising up her weaker talents.
Level 1 - Lunar Blaze [E] Pretty horrible winrate
- Maximum bonus increased from 100% to 150%.
Level 1 - Trueshot Aura [Active]
- Allied Attack Damage bonus increased from 30% to 40%.
Level 4 - Mark of Mending [D]
- Range increased from 6 to 8.5.
- Changed Functionality: Now looks to heal allies near the attacked target, rather than near Tyrande.
Level 13 - Harsh Moonlight [W] Most picked highest winrate by far
- Duration reduced from 4 to 3 seconds.
Level 16 - Empower [W] Most picked highest winrate by far
- Damage decreased from 7% to 6% to target’s maximum health.
Level 20 - Eyes of the Huntress [R1] Already does fine
- Healing bonus increased from 50% to 75%.
Level 20 - Celestial Wrath [R2] Pretty horrible winrate
- Slow increased from 40% to 60%.
Zarya
Developer Comment: The last round of Zarya changes didn’t blow her overall power out of proportion, so we’re touching up a few more underperforming talents.
Level 1 - Together We Are Strong [E]
- Changed Functionality: Talent effects now last 3 seconds, instead of for the duration of the Shield.
Level 7 - Deep Burn [Q]
- Energy gains increased from 1 to 2.
Bug Fixes
General
- Resolved issues when the attacker is Blinded or the enemy is Evading with:
- Uther's Hammer of the Lightbringer
- Valeera's Slice and Dice and Rupture
- Varian's Heroic Strike
- Whitemane's Saintly Greatstaff and Scarlet Wrath
- Zeratul's Master Warp-Blade, Psionic Strength, Shadow Hunter, and Unwavering Pressure
- Zul'jin's Grievous Throw , Eye of Zul'jin, and Let the Killing Begin
Lunara
- Accelerated Contamination can no longer grant CDR from dead Heroes.
Valla
- Corrected Death Dealer damage bonus.
Varian
- Corrected Varian’s Physical Damage against Shielded Heroes with Shattering Throw and Twin Blades.
Whitemane
- Radiance no longer reduces Whitemane’s Armor.
Xul
- Corpse Explosion damage is now ignored by the Call for Help.
Yrel
- Bubble Hearth's cast is now interrupted by Stuns.
Zagara
- Devouring Maw now more consistently displays captured Heroes.
- Corrected Medusa Blades’ damage to Monsters.
Zeratul
- Shroud of Adun now contributes to Zeratul’s Self-Healing scoreboard stat.
- Shadow Stride now contributes to Zeratul’s Self-Healing scoreboard stat.
Zul’jin
- Amani Rage can now have its cooldown announced to your team.
- Ensnare can now have its cooldown announced to your team.
Balance Summation
Rework
Buff
- Auriel
- Falstad
- Imperius
- Jaina
- Johanna
- Raynor
- Zarya
Nerf
- Brightwing
- Dehaka
- Junkrat
- Lunara
- Stukov
Power Redistribute
Outro
Patreon Shout Out
ITN is supported by our badass Patrons. You can become an ITN Patron by going to Patreon.com/itn.
Thanks to our Patreon producers Declan H, Shawn B, Mike R, & JM Tibbles!
ITN shirt at shirts.amove.tv.
Catch the live show Thursday at 3pm Eastern / 12pm Pacific on Twitch.tv/Amovetv.
Follow the show on Twitter @ITNcast and ITNpodcast.reddit.com.
Thanks to Gorath for our intro music and briangriffithmusic.com (@briangriffith) for our outro..
Personal Stuff
Garrett
Kyle