Where are they now? Top tier heroes from a year ago

It's been about a year since Heroes had the biggest debut of competitive play at BlizzCon 2014, and those of us watching were thrilled to see our favorite new game be played by eSports veterans and new competitors alike. It was an exciting time where Greg "IdrA" Fields was considered the best Tychus player in NA, Chen was a brand new hero that half of the community demanded to be nerfed, and Nova had burst damage on such an insane scale that current Heroes players will simply never understand.

And while those days were fun in a wild-west-alpha-stage kind of way, a lot has changed in the past year. Let's take a look at some of the top tier heroes of old and see where they are now:

Tychus

Then: Tychus had it all back in the day. He somehow was the tankiest ranged assassin in the game while also doing the most damage with hands down the best wave clear in the game, thanks to the talent Melting Point. Odin used to grant a "second health bar" meaning once the Odin was destroyed Tychus popped back out with whatever HP he had going in. Combine this with Stone Skin and First Aid and Tychus had to essentially be killed 2.5 times for it to really count. Suck it down, indeed.

Now: Tychus still does damage and for a while saw play as a counter to Illidan, however the removal of Odin's tankiness and a nerf to Melting Point leaves Tychus in a more middle place now. His inability to out poke and survive the burst and CC of Kael'Thas and Jaina leave Tychus wishing for the good 'ol days.

Verdict: I miss my cigar.

Tyrael

Then: Tyrael single handedly defined an entire style of play thanks to the power of is incredible dive heroic, Judgement. In the early days where the nuances of a team fight weren't totally understood, the most obvious strategy was to Judgement one hero followed by everyone killing them. This combined with the amazing talent Cast Aside (R.I.P- you will be missed) and his innate mobility in a meta where few reliable CC's existed made Tyrael a undeniable top tier hero.

Now: Tyrael has changed a lot, but has still managed to remain relevant. Korea has always been partial to Tyrael (even through the nerfs) but recently the rest of the world has discovered his strength in a double warrior composition. His AoE shielding capability is a natural counter to scary Kael'Thas chain bombs and even Santification has seen some uses.

Verdict: Oldie, but a goodie.

Falstad

Then: Falstad was the undisputed king of AoE burst damage. In a world void of Jaina's and Kael'thas (and Gathering Power still in it's unnerfed state) Falstad's Shock and Awe (now known as Hinterlands Blast) dished out scary levels of damage. His ability to be anywhere on the map took advantage of teams that didn't quite have their rotations ironed out, allowing Falstad to soak freely all day and come to a fight when it mattered.

Now: Falstad was given a new Heroic in Mighty Gust (my personal favorite heroic in the game) and some teams have managed to use it to devastating effect. While he no longer has insane burst damage due to the Gathering Power nerf, Falstad still retains all of his niche utlity on certain maps. His fragility becomes an issue in a world of high damage warriors, but Mighty Gust gives him something no other hero has at the moment- the guaranteed ability to disengage.

Verdict: Used to soar, now just glides.

Stitches

Then: There was once a time where Stitches truly was the Terror of Darkshire. He topped damage charts. He was incredibly tanky. Hook was on a low cool down. He had an AoE mini-stun. Yes, that's right an AoE mini-stun on an 8 second cool down. Stitches was so good that his presence on a team defined their entire playstyle; wait for a hook and kill someone with devour. This was a seriously valid strategy and Stitches enjoyed top tier sunlight for a long, long time.

Now: Every king's reign must end one day, and Stitches is long past his prime. While he was just buffed recently, Stitches is still a shadow of his former power level. Increased cool down on hook really hurts the heroes competitive effectiveness and without the DPS output of old stitches, why would you really choose him over a Leoric or Johanna?

Verdict: Stitches wants to play but no one will let him.

Abathur

Then: Imagine a world where Ultimate Evolution granted no XP when killed and gave Abathur access to the cloned hero's Heroic. Double Mosh Pits. Double Ravenous Spirits. Double Archons- it was a crazy time to be alive and playing Heroes. When he wasn't totally decimating team fights, Abathur was aggressively soaking lanes, and destroying teams that didn't quite understand how to punish him. There was a reason Tempo Storm used to be called Symbiote Gaming.

Now: Abathur has always been a very powerful hero. Many pro players have said that Abathur will always have a place in a competitive environment simply due to his ability to soak XP so effectively. While his power level absolutely spiked back when Ultimate Evolution allowed Heroics to be used (double Tychus Odin is as obnoxiously good as it sounds), Abathur has enjoyed a steady stream of buffs, changes, and new tools throughout his life span. The new(ish) talent Adrenal Overlord created an entire new style of team composition and with every warrior released Abathur get's a little bit stronger.

Verdict: Evolve. Adapt. Continue relevancy.

Arthas

Then: You know what Sonya is doing to the current meta? Just kinda of killing everything and dishing out massive amounts of damage? That was what Arthas used to do and he was damn good at it. He was one of the tankiest heroes in the game who had access to pre-nerfed Envenom at level 4. This meant he was also the most powerful ganking hero in the game and could steamroll games before they even started. Arthas was never a bad pick and that is a good place to be. 

Now: The story of Arthas is one of redemption. Left to die after being sentenced to "death by a thousand nerfs", Arthas just got weaker and weaker by tiny amounts every patch. However, like Tyrael, Korean and Chinese teams never wavered in their loyalty to Arthas, eventually popularizing the double warrior strategy that is presently powerful. Arthas rewards aggressive teams and there is never a shortage of those.

Verdict: There must always be a Lich King (though he can take a break for a while)

Tassadar

Then: When Heroes used to be a dive centric game, Tassadar filled a very important role in neutralizing the enemies succesful engagement. Oracle provided vision in a way no other hero could and, when Nova is a real threat, it just gets better. Tasssadar's true strength, however, was in his his versatility. Teams hadn't really mastered any specific team compositions and the hero pool was much smaller. Tassadar was the ideal "I don't know what to pick" option because he did everything very well.  He had pre-nerfed healing ward, vision, and his damage output was far greater than it is today. Combined with old Abathur, Tassadar's Twilight Archon at level 20 was simply unstoppable.

Now: Tassadar has changed a lot since then, but we have just recently seen him spike in popularity due to the buffs to his shielding capabilities. While the high damage days of Archon are over, it allows Force Wall to be a viable pick which can an effective counter to warrior based strategies. Tassadar isn't the "easy safe pick" that he once was, but many would say that he is the strongest he has ever been.

Verdict: Power overwhelming

Valla 

Then: Raynor was the tutorial hero, but Valla was the true beginners training ground. Given for free to anyone who owned Diablo 3, Valla was the most picked and played hero for a huge part of the game's life span. Valla simply had no weaknesses. With access to Battle Momentum, Valla could wave clear, siege, and provide insane AoE DPS with the ability to spam multi-shot freely. Her mobility options were first rate and both heroics were powerful enough for equal consideration- a trait rare in the Alpha days. 

Now: Valla has fallen victim to the incredible power-creep taking place with some of the new heroes. Jaina simply outclasses her in every function, with Kael'Thas just one buff away from threatening the same. Valla is fighting to survive in these complex times, as Raynor does higher auto attack damage and the mage type heroes doing more AoE damage. She is still one of the most balanced, solid heroes in the game but no where near her past levels of popularity

Verdict: The path leads elsewhere

Uther
The golden child. The mainstay. The "I'm-not-going-anywhere-so-get-used-to-me" hero that will always be top tier unless otherwise changed. Back in the day, Uther was known for his incredibly powerful Divine Storm, as well as his passive to use all of his abilities while in his post-death spirit form. Burst healing will always be good and Uther does that extremely well. Uther is still one of the only supports in the game with a true, unavoidable hard stun and that alone places Uther on a whole different level.

Now: Uther has never, ever, been a weak hero and after getting massive buffs some patches ago, his top tier fate has been effectively sealed. While Divine Storm was nerfed, the buffs to Divine Shield has propelled the heroic to it's rightful place as the best support ability in the game. The Storm talent Redemption is somehow MORE powerful than Resurgance of the Storm (the universal talent so powerful it was removed from the game) and Benediction allows for the option to double stun, double burst heal, or double AoE heal on a 45 second cool down. Uther is unreal.

Verdict: Well met. Justice demands retribution. Well played.

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