Along with HoN 2.0 a new item was introduced, Spellshards. The item is an offensive caster item which serves as a good alternative or complement to Staff of the Master, buffing more damage and reducing the cooldown of nukes even further.
Here are what some of the pro players had to say about the item:
[EG] chu
“Spellshards are viable, especially on certain heros. I love the fact that spellshards are a viable item on certain heroes that rely on nukes, most of which quickly lose its effectiveness as the game progresses into mid-late game. However, after the item goes through some tweaks, it will see a lot more use.”
[EG] FujiApples
“Spellshards seems like a fun aggression-oriented item that shows its true potential in team fights where there are a lot of AoE spells being cast. Additionally the reduced cooldowns can be the single grain of rice that tips the scale in your team's favor; However, because spellshards provides little to no survivability it promotes a playstyle that heavily leans on positioning to stay alive while unleashing your high damage AoE nukes.”
[EG] YoDa
“The release of Spell Shards has greatly increased the late game viability of heroes who are based on spell damage. Heroes like Thunderbringer, Bombardier, and The Chipper who generally like to make Staff of the Master now have an extra item they can build to increase their spell damage output. I don't think the item will greatly affect the balance of the game (no heroes that were previously not viable are now viable), but it is now a choice for those heroes.”
[SK] Fogged
“Spellshards won't be making that huge of an influence, although it is a good item, the cost for maxed out is 4700 which is almost the equivalent of box 3, sheep and is the same as a nullstone. I don't believe it will have a LARGE affect but, maybe just more aggressive strategies or gameplay with it.”
[SK] Bdiz
“Spellshards are an item that will be amazing on Thunderbringer, because it works with his passive and is essentially a "double buff" to his damage, however on most other heroes I feel that Sheepstick will be a better item. It is still a really fun item for heroes in Casual Mode when you're doing a Global strategy though! (Thunderbringer + Bombardier with Refresher, Staff of the Master and Spell shards are really fun!)”
So what are you waiting for? With heroes like Bombardier and Pebbles being at their prime in the current metagame, grab one with spellshards and nuke nuke nuke!
Here are what some of the pro players had to say about the item:
[EG] chu
“Spellshards are viable, especially on certain heros. I love the fact that spellshards are a viable item on certain heroes that rely on nukes, most of which quickly lose its effectiveness as the game progresses into mid-late game. However, after the item goes through some tweaks, it will see a lot more use.”
[EG] FujiApples
“Spellshards seems like a fun aggression-oriented item that shows its true potential in team fights where there are a lot of AoE spells being cast. Additionally the reduced cooldowns can be the single grain of rice that tips the scale in your team's favor; However, because spellshards provides little to no survivability it promotes a playstyle that heavily leans on positioning to stay alive while unleashing your high damage AoE nukes.”
[EG] YoDa
“The release of Spell Shards has greatly increased the late game viability of heroes who are based on spell damage. Heroes like Thunderbringer, Bombardier, and The Chipper who generally like to make Staff of the Master now have an extra item they can build to increase their spell damage output. I don't think the item will greatly affect the balance of the game (no heroes that were previously not viable are now viable), but it is now a choice for those heroes.”
[SK] Fogged
“Spellshards won't be making that huge of an influence, although it is a good item, the cost for maxed out is 4700 which is almost the equivalent of box 3, sheep and is the same as a nullstone. I don't believe it will have a LARGE affect but, maybe just more aggressive strategies or gameplay with it.”
[SK] Bdiz
“Spellshards are an item that will be amazing on Thunderbringer, because it works with his passive and is essentially a "double buff" to his damage, however on most other heroes I feel that Sheepstick will be a better item. It is still a really fun item for heroes in Casual Mode when you're doing a Global strategy though! (Thunderbringer + Bombardier with Refresher, Staff of the Master and Spell shards are really fun!)”
So what are you waiting for? With heroes like Bombardier and Pebbles being at their prime in the current metagame, grab one with spellshards and nuke nuke nuke!
