A new patch, a new meta, and tons of time for theory crafting: patch day holds a special place in my heart. Despite being burned in the past (I'm looking at you Thrall) I'll always be the first to hop on the hype train and get excited over the newest hero. I love mage classes, and I love Flame Strike, so I'll get through with the obvious.

Kael'thas is by far the exciting part of the May 12th patch. Big burst damage and ranged DPS can find a home in almost any team composition, and Kael'thas has the added benefit of a reliable ranged stun (that can hit multiple targets). I predict Sylvanas levels of play from Kael'thas, as Verdant Sphere is the type of mechanic that's power scales with player skill. 

Notable Hero changes.

But once you look past the shiny new Bloodmage, there is a lot more to be excited about. Diablo and E.T.C have received such massive talent changes that I would consider them new heroes:

Life Leach is a new talent that allows Diablo's attacks to deal bonus damage and life steal, but Diablo's auto attack isn't what makes him a powerful hero. I can't say this new talent will be picked very often. His Shadow Charge / Over Power combo received slight nerfs to cool down, mana cost and stun duration and Diablo is also no longer unstoppable during Shadow Charge. In order to make up for this, his new talents allow the flexibility of being either a strong initiator or a potential damage dealer.

A new level 16 talent "Rampage" makes Fire Stomp grant 20% movement speed and 50% more damage to basic attacks for 2 seconds. The most important part of this talent is the movement speed, as it will make Diablo even harder to escape in a team fight.

Diablo feels like a different hero, and it may not be a good thing. The nerf to Shadow Charge, the removal of Amplified Healing, and overall tankiness nerf makes Diablo a much more punishable character.

The biggest buff is the ability to run on all fours instead of riding a horse.

Diablo Patch notes

E.T.C has also been changed significantly. Most of the talents you never chose has been removed, with the exception of the godly level 20 talent Hardened Shield that has also been removed from E.T.C. In it's place though, E.T.C has received a host of seemingly powerful level 20 talents, that, while situational, further emphasize E.T.C's strength as a big play maker.

The changes to E.T.C are too long for me to go into great detail. I will have to play the hero significantly to accurately gauge whether or not he has gotten weaker or stronger. If I had to make a statement now, I think E.T.C is still very strong. His play style hasn't changed and now Face Melt builds are more viable. One new talent in particular grants E.T.C 25% damage reduction for 4 seconds after a Power Slide, which seems too good to pass up.

E.T.C Patch notes

Muradin enjoys virtually only buffs this patch, and they all come in the form of doing more damage. Haymaker's cool down has been reduced to 40 seconds and various Thunder Clap talents have been changed to provide more attack slow for longer periods of time. These changes synergies well with a new Muradin specific talent "Give 'em the Axe!" which increases the damage by basic attacks to slow or stunned targets by a whopping 75%.

Muradin has no problem keeping a target slowed or stunned, so my self and others will have fun giving everyone the axe, whether they ask for it or not.

Muradin Patch notes

Sonya... Sonya! This has been a very good patch for you, and I couldn't be happier for it. Not only does Sonya get a cool new skin, but almost everything about her has gotten better. Unfortunately, Boon of the Ancients has been removed (a talent that reduces the cool down of Ancient Spear by 5 seconds when it hits a target) but this affect has been moved to the now almost mandatory Mystical Spear talent at level 13.

Seismic Slam does considerably more damage, Whirlwind received a huge buff in the form of a massive cool down reduction, down to only 4 seconds and the list of buffs just goes on. Check them out for your self and start learning how to Sonya. She isn't the tankiest of warrior, but when played more like a melee assassin, she is very effective. These patch changes will most assuredly see a rise on Sonya popularity.

Sonya patch notes



Gazlowe has gotten some interesting changes. Some of his abilities have gotten nerfed, but a big re-work of Deth Lazor makes the changes seem overwhelming positive. The biggest change is that it only takes 3 seconds for Deth Lazor to reach maximum power, which should improve is relatively weak team fight abilities.

The seldom picked talent "Long-Ranged turrets" talent has also gotten a sizeable buff, increasing Gazlowes turret range by 40% up from 25%. This difference is sizeable and makes pressuring towers and map objectives much easier. He has gotten some nerfs (most notably to his Turret Storage talent only allows 3 charges instead of 4), but I still think Deth Lazor improvements is enough to offset this.

Gazlowe may still have only a niche role in competitive Heroes, but these changes are in the right direction.

Gazlowe patch notes

The rumored beetle AI and quality of life improvements for Anub'arak were true, and both his Impale and Burrowing Charge abilities now come out much faster. Only time will tell if these changes will propel Anub'arak back into competitive play, but if Diablo's rise to power is any indicator of what some fluidity improves can do it a hero, than Anub'arak fans have every reason to be happy.

Anub'arak patch notes

Talent Changes

Clairvoyance

  • Now breaks units within its radius out of Stealth, rather than revealing them

Focused Attack

  • Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 50% to 75%

Follow Through

  • Bonus to Basic Attack damage increased from 25% to 40%

Healing Ward

  • Can now be struck by Area of Effect Abilities
  • Healing Wards now have 50 (+15 per level) Health

Ice Block

  • Ice Block can now be reactivated to cancel its effects early

Promote

  • Buff duration increased from 15 to 30 seconds

Big buffs to Ice Block and Promote, while the effectives of a mid-battle Healing Ward has once again been nerfed. Focused Attack and Follow Through are rarely used talents as they promote sustained damage dealers in a game that is currently all about bursting down the first hero that gets out of position. I'm not sure if this will be enough to have them see more play.

But I am almost positive that Nova's personalized version of this talent dubbed "One in the Chamber" will be picked much more often now that it's increased damage after an ability has been buffed to 80% up from 50%.

I urge you to read the patch notes for your self, as there has been many other changes that may be of personal interest. For example, the option for right clicks to "click through the mini-map" has been added, which to some players, is a really big deal. A whole slew of bugs have been fixed, and many old spells have gotten a visual polish.

I won't be worrying about visual polish for now though, as their are enemies to flame strike. Happy Patch day!

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