14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard confirms some of the planned changes coming in the next Heroes of the Storm patch, including modifications for the Healing Ward common talent, but also for characters like Diablo, ETC, Lost Vikings, or Abathur, designed to encourage varied play styles.
Heroes of the Storm is currently getting ready to debut as an open beta multiplayer online battle arena experience later this month, as well as for its final version that's set to debut in early June.
Blizzard has shared quite a few teaser statements in recent weeks concerning its future plans for Heroes of the Storm, talking about new characters, battlegrounds, or balance changes.
Actual planned modifications get confirmed by Blizzard
Now, the studio backs up those statements with actual future plans, confirming a few big modifications that are coming to Heroes of the Storm with the next major update.
First up, the common Healing Ward talent that's shared by quite a few characters is getting a few tweaks to decrease its huge usefulness. It won't take 2 auto-attacks to destroy it, as instead it has a scaling health value that can be affected by area-of-effect abilities. It will also have a higher targeting priority, so expect it to be destroyed a bit more easily.
Other changes are coming to actual heroes, such as Diablo, whose Storm Shield gets replaced with a new Storm power called Lord of Terror. This ability brings an area-of-effect life steal that can hit multiple heroes and increases teamfight potential for the villain.
ETC is also getting a new Storm power called Death Metal that, upon death, pops a ghost of ETC that unleashes an uninterruptible Mosh Pit for a brief period of time, even if you didn't select that Heroic Ability when reaching level 10.
Other heroes are also getting tweaks
Abathur is also getting a few tweaks to discourage players from backdooring their opponents, as Bombard Strain Locust no longer outranges turrets and have less health. Bigger Stab damage is also coming, but only by a small margin.
Anub'arak's beetles have a smart AI when it comes to choosing targets, while a few pre-cast delays have been reduced.
The Lost Vikings Longboat will stun the Vikings when destroyed, while Play Again gives a full heal to all live Vikings, in addition to current advantages.
Meanwhile, Blizzard confirms that a few controversial heroes, like Illidan, Chen, or Sylvanas won't get any tweaks, as they're quite balanced according to internal data.
As of yet, however, it's unclear just when the new patch for Heroes of the Storm is going to make its debut.