Early Access Patch V0.15
Early Access Patch V0.15

Early Access Patch V0.15

Patch releasing approximately 12.00 GMT, March 5th 2024.

Introduction

Welcome to the final patch of Early Access Season 3 Champions!

The mad mage Argus emerges from the depths, harnessing the full force of the Soul Storm and ready to wreak havoc on the battlefield with his devastating blend of magic and machinery!

Argus isn’t all we have for you this week however! V0.15 is sending out Season 3 with a bang, literally! 

New Explosive Flowers have sprouted up across the map, which combined with some major improvements to Jungle AI and pathfinding means the battlefield is more dangerous than ever before!

This patch also sees the introduction of Amber, a brand new currency that’s replacing our previous method of Hero Acquisition, and the implementation of an entirely rebuilt backend alongside initial improvements to matchmaking.

That’s still not all! Alongside the usual sweep of balance changes, we’ve also overhauled item descriptions to make them easier than ever to understand, along with a few more changes that we hope you’ll enjoy!

V0.15 is no small patch and we’ve got a lot to get through, so let’s jump to it!

A New Hero Appears!

Harness the Soul Storm, with Argus! 

The mad mage of Rowark is ready to show his might!

An arcane engineer hell-bent on technological progress by mechanising magic, Argus is a deadly Midlaner who dominates the battlefield with slaughterous spells..

Abilities: 

Disintegrate [Passive]:

Effect: Argus’s abilities apply a stack of Disintegration for 3s, causing subsequent instances of ability damage to deal 2 (+1.5% Magical Power) bonus magical damage. 

Each stack of Disintegration deals 40% more damage, stacking infinitely (capped at 12 against Jungle Minions).

Flux Bolt [Basic Attack]:

BAT: 1.4
Effect: Ranged basic attack dealing 54 (+60% Bonus Physical Power) physical damage.

Dread Nova [Primary]:

CD: 16/15/14/13/12
Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
Effect: Argus lobs an unstable orb of arcane energy.

Upon landing it explodes, dealing 85/110/135/160/185 (+60% Magical Power) magical damage to all targets hit and stunning them for 1.25s.

Ether Crystal [Secondary]:

CD: 14
Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
Effect: Argus summons an Ether Crystal at the target location for 2s.

The Crystal will produce a storm that deals 20/30/40/50/60 (+18% Magical Power) magical damage every 0.5s to nearby Enemies and Slow them by 40% for 0.5s. After the duration the Crystal will implode, pulling all nearby Enemies within to the centre.

Particle Shredder [Alternate]:

CD: 6/5/4/3/2
Cost: 8/11/14/17/20
Effect:
Argus fires projectiles from his Abyssal Staff for up to 3.5s. Each projectile consumes mana and deals 18/26/34/42/50 (+10% Magical Power) per blast.

At maximum rank, Particle Shredder may be fired indefinitely (provided you have the mana to spare).

Synaptic Obliterator [Ultimate]:

CD: 120/100/80
Cost: 100
Effect: After a short delay, Argus channels energy for up to 8s as he deploys his ultimate weapon and fires up to 3 powerful terrain-piercing energy beams that can travel up to 5000 units of distance.

Each beam deals 90/130/170 (+30% Magical Power) magical damage (increased by up to 2.25x based on the Target's missing health) and Slows Enemies hit by 60% for 0.5s.

New Soft Currency - Amber

Last week we announced a brand new currency coming to Predecessor. 

Amber is an earnable soft currency that replaces our existing Hero Acquisition process. You can earn Amber as season rewards, by levelling up or by completing PVP matches, and at the time of release it will only be usable for unlocking new Heroes.

Hero Price Overview:

Previous Unlock Conditions

Amber Cost (NEW)

Platinum Cost (No Change)

1 Unlock Stage

860

200

2 Unlock Stages

2,150

400

3 Unlock Stages

3,870

600

4 Unlock Stages

6,020

800

5 Unlock Stages

8,600

1,000

In addition to the above, the following will be true for brand new Heroes during their launch week.

Week 1 Amber Cost

Platinum Cost (No Change)

Newly Released Heroes*

10,320

1,000

* Note, Argus will be available at a slight discount! He’ll only cost 8,600 Amber on launch.

Unlocking Argus

If you unlocked Argus before the V0.15 update using the old XP system you'll have him fully unlocked and ready to play once the update is live.

If you were part-way through unlocking him your progress will be converted into Amber along with other part-unlocked Heroes. This converted Amber will be added to your account as soon as V0.15 is live, and you can then use this currency to purchase new Heroes as you see fit!

Learn more about this important new addition and the conversion process in our recent soft currency blog post.

Store Update

Dreadlord Argus Bundle

To celebrate Argus’s eruptive entrance into Predecessor we’ve put together a very special limited-time bundle!

Dreadlord Bundle Social (1)

Purchasing the mighty Dreadlord Argus Bundle instantly unlocks the new Hero ready to play, as well as his new Dreadlord skin and a collection of sinister decorations for you to show off your might!

Bundle Contents:

  • New Hero: Argus

  • Dreadlord Argus Skin

  • Dreadlord Icon

  • Dreadlord Banner

  • Dreadlord Spray

Argus | Dreadlord

Show those airsick cloud sniffers the true meaning of power with the mighty Argus Dreadlord skin [Rare]!

Argus Dreadlord Skin Hero Art 1920x1080 (1)

Crunch | Corporate Enforcer

Call rank with glistering authority, with Crunch’s new Corporate Enforcer skin [Common]!

Crunch Corporate Enforcer Hero Art 1920x1080

TwinBlast | Double Agent

No one suspects the double cross! Keep your enemies guessing with TwinBlast’s new Double Agent skin [Rare]!

Twinblast Double Agent 1920-1080-Hero Art

Price Changes

We are also changing the price of some Heroes to ensure that new players can build out a competitive roster at an enjoyable pace. 

Hero

Previous Cost

New Cost

The Fey

3870 Amber / 600 Platinum

2150 Amber / 400 Platinum

Lt. Belica

2150 Amber / 400 Platinum

860 Amber / 200 Platinum

TwinBlast

8600 Amber / 1000 Platinum

3870 Amber / 600 Platinum

Explosive Flowers

“The Fey has been hard at work furthering the goals of the Amyyrn, spreading a new form of Explosive Flower across the realm. This dangerous and resilient flora has taken root and infested the lands, able to regrow even after being destroyed!”

Explosive Flowers have been added to the map. 

Explosive Flowers GIF

These new environmental hazards explode shortly after being damaged by a basic attack. They don’t deal any direct damage to Heroes, but anyone caught in the blast radius will be catapulted back or up into the air.

This new mechanic brings even more verticality to Predecessor, providing new and unique opportunities for Heroes to navigate their way around the map, surprising their foes in creative new ways!

  • Initial Spawn time: 4m.

  • Respawn Time: 2m 30s.

  • Spawn Locations

    • Both Red Jungles (2).

    • Both Blue Jungles (2). 

    • Duo-lane Alcove (1).

    • Solo-lane Alcove (1).

Jungle AI Improvements

We're excited to share some significant improvements we've made to the AI in the Jungle! 

Our team has been hard at work on a number of improvements, designed to make your jungling experience smoother, more strategic, and ultimately, more rewarding!

Clearer aggro, fewer frustrations

One of the biggest frustrations for Junglers, especially newer ones, was the unforgiving nature of minion aggro. Previously, minions would instantly de-aggro the moment they left their camp radius. This often led to situations where you felt punished for trying to maximise the speed of your clear times by luring them to the edge of their camp.

No more! We've implemented a new "Aggression Bar" displayed beneath the health bar of Jungle minions. This bar depletes as the minion moves further away from its camp, giving you a clear visual indicator of how much leash you have before it loses aggro. This allows for more strategic minion manipulation, opening up new possibilities for optimising your Jungle clears.

Smarter pathfinding, more outplays

We've spruced up the pathfinding of our Jungle minions. They're now better at tracking Champions and navigating the varied terrain of the Jungle, getting snagged on ledges and structures much less frequently. Better still, they can now even drop down ledges to pursue their prey, adding yet another layer of strategic depth!

Knowing when to strike

To further empower your Jungling prowess, we've added a handy QoL indicator in the Jungle Minion health bars. This indicator will let you know when your Jungle Item Active (Hunt) is strong enough to finish off a Jungle minion. Less guesswork, more strategic decision-making!

Raising the skill Cap, lowering the barrier to entry

These changes are designed to achieve a two-fold goal: 

  1. To increase the skill cap of the Jungle role by introducing new strategic possibilities.

  2. To make the Jungle more accessible to new players by providing clearer information and reducing the punishment for minor mistakes.

We believe these improvements will make Jungling not only more enjoyable but also more rewarding for players of all skill levels. As with all things we’ll be iterating on these changes based on your feedback, so hop in game, explore the new changes, and unleash your inner Jungle master!

Item Description Improvements

Item descriptions have received an overhaul! 

In keeping with our previous improvements to Hero Ability Description, item descriptions now sport a much more digestible bullet-point format.

Item Desc

Not only does this make our item descriptions easier than ever to read and understand at a glance,but these changes have also improved our own automations, making the likelihood of mismatched and inaccurate description values from our side much, much lower!

Matchmaking and Backend Improvements

V0.15 also comes with the unveiling of our brand new, fully custom-built backend!

Ever since Predecessor was first released into Early Access, we’ve been working with a backend provider to handle all of our game services, server scaling, and of course, matchmaking.  While this was absolutely crucial for getting Predecessor out to players around the world initially, we ultimately found ourselves repeatedly running into limitations when trying to match our own specific development goals to the provider’s more generalised offerings.

In the pursuit of independence and autonomy, and with an eye towards future sustainability and development, our team has been hard at work for many months now rebuilding the entire backend of Predecessor from the ground up, giving us complete ownership and control over all of our services and backend codebase.

This was a monumental task undertaken by our engineering team, but the value it brings cannot be overstated. This change fully unlocks the flexibility to make backend changes and improvements without reliance on the approval and development pace of a third-party provider. This means faster backend development for new features, a more consistent and reliable service, and better visibility into opportunities to continuously raise our own standards for the Predecessor experience.

Most significantly for many players however, is that this also means it’s finally time for a brand new matchmaker.

The first iteration of our custom matchmaker rolls out alongside the new backend in V0.15, and it should make for a moderate step up in speed and quality when compared to the old system. Most importantly however, we'll be able to optimise and adjust what we want, when we want. 

We expect the new matchmaker to be an upgrade across the board, but we also know there may be some teething issues as we transition to this new codebase. Please reach out to us with any questions, quirks, or issues you might have encountered and we’ll work with your feedback to further improve what we hope represents a big step forwards for Predecessor.

Additionally we’ll aim to release a deeper dive into this new backend in an upcoming blog, so stay tuned!

End of Season Rewards

With Season 3 now over, you might be wondering when you’ll get those tasty rewards you worked so hard for!

We’ll begin distributing Season 3 rewards shortly after the V0.15 game update, based on your Player Level at the time of the V0.15 game update.

Check out all the good things we’ll be sending out in our dedicated Season 3 End blog post.

Account Level

As of V0.15 and the end of Early Access Season 3 we’re resetting Player Levels for the final time.

Starting March 5th, all players will be reset to Player Level 1. Levelling will begin again with rewards being immediately given out for each level. 

Rewards:

Our new currency, Amber, will be rewarded every single level with even more Amber being given every 4 levels.

On the way to level 30 there are a couple of even bigger Amber drops plus a pair of new Profile Icons and a new Spray (shown below). 

v0.15 rewards

Over the year we will be expanding the rewards available from levelling up. Changes will be retroactive too, so don’t be afraid to get stuck in!.

Controller Updates

We're always exploring new ways in which we can improve the user experience of the in-game shop. V0.15 is no different, and we're pleased to share a handful of improvements for our controller players!

  • We've added the ability to navigate through sections of the in-game shop using the D-pad.

    • For example, if you've focused the stat filters and press Right on the D-pad, your focused section will move to be the middle item section. Handy!

  • If you are moving forwards during a match when you open the shop, auto run will be temporarily enabled freeing you up to use the left stick to navigate the shop without slowing down! It'll have the exact same functionality as using the D-pad, giving you the freedom to choose how you navigate the shop.

  • When you navigate to your items section, you'll now be focused on your last purchased item by default.

Other Improvements

  • It is now possible to mute Teammate’s pings on the Scoreboard.

  • New intro music will now play upon starting a match.

  • Added support for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution

Hero Changes

Web Banner Countess

Countess is receiving some damage/mana shifts to better facilitate her Laning and Jungle clear, making her less reliant on Mana itemisation in lane and Megacosm to clear the Jungle..

General:

Base Mana increased 350 to 370.

Shadow Slip [Primary]:

Magical Power Scaling increased from 30% to 35%.

Blade Siphon [Alternate]:

Damage increased from 70/105/140/175/210 to 80/115/150/185/220.

Mana Cost changed from 50/55/60/65/70 to 60.

Magical Power Scaling decreased from 65% to 60%.

Web Banner Greystone

Greystone could gain additional Passive stacks under certain conditions. This bug has now been resolved.

Stoicism [Passive]:

[Bugfix] No longer gains 2x stacks under certain conditions.

Web Banner Iggy&Scorch

Since the reduction of their Health and the associated Megacosm changes we made in previous patches, Iggy’s Flame Turrets are feeling a little underwhelming in the damage department. They’re receiving a scaling increase to better reward Iggy should he keep them alive and play in their proximity.

Flame Turret [Primary]:

Damage Magical Power Scaling increased from 16% to 18%. 

Web Banner Kwang

Kwang’s general durability has failed to hit the mark, with him feeling like an immovable object in the early stages of a lane but lacking the durability to stick in a fight in the late game. Alongside some general quality of life changes and stat-tuning, we’re now offering Kwang’s Light of the Heavens ability some bonus Health Scaling on the Shield to ensure it remains relevant as a match progresses, even when he opts for damage-heavy or tankier builds.

General:

Base Health Regeneration decreased from 1.6 to 1.4.

Base Armor decreased from 32 to 30.

Base Mana decreased from 375 to 355.

Mana Growth increased from 40 to 44.

Surge of the Heavens [Secondary]:

Knockup Height decreased by 20%.

Stun Duration decreased from 0.75s to 0.65s.

Light of the Heavens [Alternate]: 

Shield decreased from 70/105/140/175/210 to 70/95/120/145/170.

Shield Magical Power Scaling increased from 45% to 50%.

Added 8% Bonus Health Scaling to Shield.

[Bugfix] Sword in-world true damage now correctly applies Item effects such as Megacosm.

Fury of the Heavens [Alternate]: 

[Bugfix] Now correctly deals damage through walls.

Web Banner Morigesh

Some quick Mana adjustments for Morigesh should help limit her ability to bully in the Offlane. Alongside this we’ve also tuned the gravity of her Hive ability further, making it feel more natural to throw at various angles. Take note though - Hive’s max range is roughly the same!

General:

Base Mana decreased from 395 to 355.

Mana Growth increased from 38 to 42.

Hive [Primary]:

Projectile Gravity decreased by 15%.

Projectile Speed decreased by 5%. 

Web Banner Narbash

Another shift away from Level Scaling and towards Magical Power for everyone’s favourite Orc, better suiting a Support profile that tends to gain less overall Experience while also opening up opportunities for different Skill orders, while also ensuring that he has to invest in Magical Power over tankier options if he wants to put out maximum healing.

General:

Armor Growth decreased from 4.2 to 4.

Song Of My People [Secondary]:

Magical Power Scaling increased from 8% to 9%.

Healing per Rhythm Stack decreased from 0.2/0.25/0.3/0.35/0.4 to 0.2/0.225/0.25/0.275/0.3.

Web Banner Phase

Phase’s Link ability had an issue where swapping between Allies too quickly would cause the cast to fail, severely impacting her ability to play out fights as she intends. This issue has now been resolved.

Telekinetic Link [Alternate]:

[Bugfix] No longer fails to cast when swapping between Allies.

Web Banner Rampage

The previous round of balance adjustments to Rampage have effectively allowed him to reclaim his title as King of the Jungle. While we’re happy to see him make a reappearance as a staple Jungler, he can feel a tad too kingly. As a result, we’re pulling back on some Ultimate durability and uptime, and shaving off some of the new damage he was granted.

Rumble [Secondary]:

Total Physical Power Scaling decreased from 90% to 85%.

Behemoth [Ultimate]:

Temporary Health decreased from 300/450/600 to 250/350/450.

Cooldown increased from 120/105/90 to 130/110/90

Web Banner Revenant

Revenant has fallen out of favour lately, partly as a result of his vulnerability in the early stages of a match which often makes it difficult to effectively snowball. We’re granting him some further baseline durability and Mana to give him a stronger overall presence, at the cost however of some baseline Health - just to ensure that magical damage dealers can remain a meaningful threat to him in his lane.

General:

Health Decreased from 635 to 620.

Base Physical Armor increased from 24 to 28.

Mana increased from 300 to 320.

Web Banner Riktor

Riktor’s ability to dominate the Duo lane and execute a target with a single well-timed Hook has led to him feeling oppressive in the role. To help combat this, we’re decreasing his early damage output to make a single hook less likely to result in a kill. Alongside this, we’re also targeting some additional Scaling buffs and Mana shifts to help Riktor perform better in the Offlane should he acquire a Gold and Experience advantage, while better rewarding him for dipping into Magical itemisation over a pure-Tank loadout.

General:

Base Mana decreased from 320 to 300.

Base Mana Regen decreased from 1.6 to 1.3.

Shock Therapy [Primary]:

Damage changed from 65/100/135/170/205 to 60/100/140/180/220.

Magical Power Scaling increased from 50% to 55%.

Electrocute [Secondary]:

Bonus Health Scaling increased from 7% to 8%.

[Bugfix] Now correctly deals 90/140/190/240/290 damage instead of 110/155/190/235/280.

[Bugfix] Will no longer go on cooldown if immediately interrupted at the start of its cast animation.

[Bugfix] Can no longer be cast twice at the end of the ability’s duration.

Riplash [Alternate]:

Damage decreased from 50/80/110/140/170 to 40/70/100/130/160.

Mana Cost decreased from 120 to 100.

Skewer [Ultimate]:

Damage per instance decreased from 125/175/225 to 110/165/220.

Magical Power Scaling increased from 50% to 60%.

Web Banner Serath

Serath is receiving a handful of changes aimed at allowing her to perform better in the Offlane. A few Mana economy improvements as well as a stronger Level 16 spike with her Ultimate should better facilitate her as a late-game threat. In return Serath’s ability to reset her Cooldowns with a Takedown is taking a small hit to give her opponents a greater window to react before she chain-kills her foes.

General:

Mana Regen increased from 0.8 to 1.3.

Fallen Grace [Passive]:

Cooldown Refund decreased from 75% to 70%.

Chastise [Alternate]:

Damage changed from 80/125/170/215/260 to 85/125/165/205/245

Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 75% to 85%.

Heresy [Ultimate]:

Cooldown increased from 90 to 110/95/80.

Bonus Attack Speed increased from 20/30/40 to 20/35/50.

Web Banner Sparrow

Sparrow is receiving some general buffs that lean towards Quality of Life adjustments, such as her Heightened Senses Cooldown now starting when the ability ends, no longer punishing her should she not maintain maximum uptime. Likewise her Ultimate is gaining some additional Movement Speed at the cost of some damage, better allowing her to kite or chase down her foes and thereby granting her some additional autonomy.

Bow Shot [Basic Attack]:

Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 80% to 85%.

Heightened Senses [Secondary]:

Attack Speed increased from 30%/35%/40%/45%/50% to 35%/40%/45%/50%/55%.

Cooldown now occurs when the Buff ends.

Cooldown decreased from 20/19/18/17/16 to 12/11/10/9/8.

Mana Cost changed from 40/45/50/55/60 to 50.

Inner Fire [Ultimate]: 

Movement Speed increased from 5% to 8%. 

Bonus Physical Power decreased from 10/25/40 to 10/20/30.

Cooldown increased from 100/90/80 to 110/95/80.

Side Arrow Damage Percent increased from 50%/60%/70% to 50%/65%/80%.

Web Banner Wraith

Wraith is receiving another round of adjustments, further shifting him away from his reliance on Experience and Levels, instead pushing him further towards Gold Scalings as a Carry. Likewise, Wraith’s early damage and safety in lane has taken a hit, meaning he has to work harder to secure a lead and rely more on his basic attacks and clever positioning to build pressure throughout a match and stay safe.

Bang! [Basic Attack]

Bonus Physical Power Scaling increased from 80% to 85%.

Peekaboo! [Primary] 

Damage decreased from 60/85/110/135/160 to 40/60/80/100/120.

Bonus Physical Power Scaling decreased from 70% to 60%.

Mark Max Health damage changed from 5/6.25/7.5/8.75/10% to 8%.

Mark Magical Power Scaling increased from 2.5% to 3%.

Slow changed from 35% to 28%/31%/34%/37%/40%.

Surprise, Surprise! [Secondary] 

Percent Physical Penetration changed from 8%/10%/12%/14%/16% to 6%/9%/12%/15%/18%.

Movement Speed decreased from 25% to 20%.

Knock, Knock! [Alternative] 

Scaling changed from 85% Total Physical Power to 120% Bonus physical Power

Magical Power Scaling increased from 65% to 75%.

Damage changed from 50/75/100/125/150 to 95/120/145/170/195.

Item Changes

Web Banner Items Eviscerator

The previous nerf to Eviscerator’s Cooldown was too aggressive and left it having too little uptime overall. To remedy this we’re bringing its Cooldown back down to a happier middleground.

  • Cooldown decreased from 90s to 60s.

Web Banner Items Iceskorn Talons

Iceskorn’s low Cooldown allows it to be used liberally, be that traversing the map or even pushing a wave. Time for a small increase!

  • Cooldown increased from 40s to 45s.

Web Banner Items Alchemical Rod

A. Rod takes slightly too long to stack up and come online, so we’re bringing into step with Soul Chalice, now gaining stacks at a 20% increased rate. 

  • Font Mana per Stack increased from 4 to 5.

  • Font Kills Required decreased from 100 to 80.

Web Banner Items Soul Chalice

Contrary to Rod, Soul Chalice provides too much raw power when sat on and provides Carries and Assassins alike too much strength relative to its cost. As such, its Mana to Power conversion is seeing a reduction to allow other items a better chance at competing.

  • Potent Font Mana to Physical Power Conversion decreased from 2.5% to 2%.

Web Banner Items Imperator

More Crit Damage, less raw Power. Better suited for those Carries looking for big Crits! 

  • Physical Power decreased from 60 to 55.

  • Precision Critical Strike damage increased from 15% to 20%.

Web Banner Items Onixian Quiver

Quiver, despite being a valid option - especially against larger targets such as a Rampage where Multishot can shotgun its entire spread at mid-range - can sometimes feel underwhelming in more conventional use-cases. To help bump up its relevance and increase the satisfaction of hitting multiple enemies from afar or shotgunning a single target, it’s receiving a slight bump in damage. 

  • Multishot damage increased from 13-39% to 15-45%.

Web Banner Items Vanquisher

Vanquisher has existed as a staple item for many Carries due to its incredible statline, sometimes even being poached by Heroes such as a Murdock where its efficacy should generally be questionable. It’s time it saw a reduction in its Physical Physical Penetration to reduce its potency as a one-item power spike. 

  • Physical Penetration decreased from 12 to 10.

Web Banner Items Dread

Dread can act as too strong of a direct counter to Magical Assassins due to its upfront mitigation, leaving it difficult to play around for the likes of Kwang & Countess. To help alleviate this, we’re shifting some of its Magical protection from its Sinister Shield Passive to raw Magical Armor, better functioning as a generic Magical defense option for Assassins, but less of a direct counter.

  • Magical Armor increased from 30 to 35.

  • Scourge Bonus Physical Power decreased from 20 to 15.

  • Sinister Shield Damage Reduction decreased from 25% to 20%.

Web Banner Items Echelon Cloak

Some additional Attack Speed for the Cloak to make it a juicier pickup for those looking to linger in the shadows.

  • Attack Speed increased from 15% to 20%.

Web Banner Items Infernum

Infernum is gaining some Physical Penetration to give it better cross-synergy with other Assassin Items, as well as those Assassins with Flat Penetration Scalings in their Kits, in exchange for less raw stats elsewhere.

  • Physical Power decreased from 50 to 40.

  • Ability Haste decreased from 20 to 15.

  • 6 Physical Penetration added.

  • Recipe: Temporal Ripper swapped to Honed Kris.

Web Banner Items mindrazor

A small increase in Physical Power to offset the decrease in Potent Font’s Mana to Power conversion, better incentivising completion of the item rather than sitting on a Soul Chalice for too long.

  • Physical Power increased from 40 to 45.

  • Potent Font Mana to Physical Power Conversion decreased from 2.5% to 2%.

Web Banner Items Painweaver

Physical Penetration in lump sums can risk contributing to an overly fast Time To Kill, and similarly to Vanquisher, Painweaver is seeing a shift away from raw power as a result. In return, we’re pushing its additional movement speed back to a healthier middleground, better defining it as a mobility option for Heroes that seek it. 

  • Splice Physical Penetration per stack decreased from 3 to 2.

  • Splice Movement Speed per stack increased from 2% to 2.5%.

Web Banner Items The Perforator

As with Infernum, Perf’ is also receiving some flat Physical Penetration to better synergise with Assassins that want the stat for scaling purposes, better differentiating it from Demolisher. Once again though, this comes with the trade off of raw efficacy across its other stats.

  • Physical Power decreased from 45 to 40

  • 6 Physical Penetration added.

  • Ability Haste decreased from 25 to 20.

  • Puncture Armor Penetration decreased from 30% to 28%.

Web Banner Items Basilisk

In the spirit of further mitigating some of the Ability Haste creep present in the item system, Basilisk is also seeing a nerf to the Haste it offers. The Item already stands as a staple for many Bruisers and has served as a must-buy for many, so providing a lower statline will better help other items and builds to better compete for the slot. 

  • Ability Haste decreased from 20 to 15.

Web Banner Items Berserker-s Axe

Axe’s Blitz damage is shifting from Bonus Health Scaling to Maximum Health, better allowing it to scale more naturally throughout a match for a variety of users, especially in cases where items without health may be bought alongside it. 

  • Blitz Damage decreased from 50 to 40.

  • Blitz Scaling changed from 7% Bonus Health to 3% Max Health.

Web Banner Items Bonesaw
  • [Bugfix] Fixed a bug where Colossal Sunder’s on-hit damage was not being reduced correctly by Hero on-hit modifiers.

Web Banner Items Draconum

Despite its general strength, Draconum struggles to find its spot in many builds compared to other damage or Tank options. Increasing the Healing effect of Surge will provide greater synergy for Heroes with inherent healing such as a Rampage and Khaimera, while also providing clearer use-cases for the types of Heroes that should consider throwing it into their builds. 

  • Surge Healing per Stack increased from 2% to 2.5%.

  • Flow Healing on Takedown Scaling increased from 100% to 120%.

Web Banner Items Mutilator

Mutilator’s ability to serve as an anti-Tank option tends to fall short when compared to the strength of opposing Tank options such as a Fireblossom and Tainted Guard. An increase in Ability damage has been granted to allow ability-based Bruisers to keep pace with Tanks without the need of a Basilisk.

  • Mutilate Ability Max Health Damage increased from 2% to 3%.

Web Banner Items Overlord

Some additional Physical Power and AoE damage has been granted to Overlord at the cost of some durability, better allowing aggressive farmers to out-pace their opponents. 

  • Physical Power increased from 25 to 30.

  • Health Decreased from 450 to 400.

  • Colossal Cleave Max Health Scaling increased from 2% to 2.5%.

Web Banner Items Tainted Blade

More damage, less bulk. A statline more befitting of an aggressive anti-healing option. 

  • Physical Power increased from 40 to 45.

  • Health decreased from 300 to 275.

Web Banner Items Azure-Core

Same as Alchemical Rod - more stacks per Mana!

  • Font Mana per stack increased from 4 to 5.

  • Font Kills Required for Completion decreased from 100 to 80.

Web Banner Items Magnify

While Magnify struggles to find many appropriate users among the current roster, granting it some additional Magical Power will allow it to feel slightly more enticing to the Kwangs and Shinbis of the world. 

  • Magical Power increased from 60 to 65.

Web Banner Items Megacosm

Megacosm, much like Basilisk for Fighters, has been a staple for many Mages. Reducing its ability Haste satisfies both goals of reducing ability Haste creep among items while also promoting other build options. 

  • Cost decreased from 3200 to 3100.

  • Magical Power increased from 70 to 75.

  • Ability Haste decreased from 20 to 15.

Web Banner Items oathkeeper

Oathkeeper possessing 25 ability Haste made it too strong of a standalone Haste stick when combined with its already strong damage-profile. Once again we’re shifting its profile further towards burst, to overall promote less Haste in any given build.

  • Magical Power increased from 70 to 75.

  • Ability Haste decreased from 25 to 20.

Web Banner Items Wraith Leggings

The movement speed granted by Wraith Leggings allows Mages too much mobility and freedom to kite within a fight. Once again it’s seeing a reduction on the mobility front to ensure Mages must continue to think carefully about their positioning.

  • Spectre Movement Speed decreased from 80 to 60.

Web Banner Items Requiem

Requiem struggles to keep up in statline compared to other Enchanter items and is being granted some additional Magical Power to make the upgrade from Hallowed Braid even more lucrative. 

  • Magical Power increased from 20 to 25. 

Web Banner Windcaller

Windcaller is another option that struggles to compete with the likes of Wellspring. A bump in Magical Power is once again being offered to allow Enchanters to scale up their healing and damage effects in a competitive manner.

  • Magical Power increased from 35 to 40.

Web Banner Items Elafrost

Elafrost struggles to offer enough upfront damage to justify its purchase as a first-buy. To further incentive it as an earlier buy over the likes of Fireblossom and Tainted Guard, we’re increasing the base damage of Frostblade at the expense of some Scaling, making it a more noticeable damage-spike when bought early. 

  • Armor increased from 30 to 35.

  • Frostblade damage increased from 25 to 40.

  • Frostblade Bonus Health Scaling decreased from 3.5% to 2.5%.

Web Banner Items Tainted Guard

Tainted Guard offers too much bang for its buck and is receiving a Gold cost price hike to further increase the investment required to access its potent effects. 

  • Cost increased from 2850 to 2950.

Bug Fixes 

  • Fixed a bug where Riktor’s Riplash would still fire when Stunned mid-cast animation.

  • Fixed a bug where Steel could fall through the floor when using Shield Slam in some parts of the map.

  • Fixed a bug allowing Feng Mao to execute Towers with his Earth Shatter.

  • Fixed a bug where respawned Inhibitors could play a targeting sound when damaging Enemy Heroes in their vicinity.

  • Fixed a bug where Iggy’s “Catch Me If You Can” emote would not display a description in menus.

  • Fixed a bug where Iggy’s Molotov would not play its Oil Impact VFX.

  • Fixed a bug where Kira’s Mercy description would not mention it benefitting from Lifesteal effects.

  • Fixed a bug where Heroes could get stuck on a wall by the Red Jungle Orb stairs.

  • Fixed a bug where Kwang’s Passive was titled incorrectly in-game.

  • Fixed a bug where Serath’s Burn effects could not be Cleansed.

  • Fixed a bug where Kwang could fall through some parts of the map when teleporting using his Fury of the Heavens ability.

  • Fixed a bug where Greystone would not revive correctly with Fenix.

  • Fixed a bug where Spell Shields could block Vanquisher’s Execute effect.

  • Fixed a bug where Gadget’s Sticky Mine would not attach to Kwang if he dashed into it.

  • Fixed a bug where Drongo’s Old Rusty could pass through enemy Towers.

  • Fixed a bug where Orb Prime could spawn twice after Mini Prime is slain.

  • Fixed a bug where Riktor could spin during his Skewer.

  • Fixed a bug where Greystone’s model would change incorrectly when going Camouflage. 

  • Fixed a bug where The Fey’s wings would freeze when going Camouflage.

  • Fixed a bug that caused Riktor’s chains to extend from his model when going Camouflage.

  • Fixed a bug where Lt. Belica’s Void Drone could be placed on unintended high-ground.

  • Fixed a bug where controller type was not correctly detected for button prompts.

  • Fixed a bug where TwinBlast’s Vortex Grenades would play their explosion VFX twice.

  • Fixed a bug where Hero Banners would not correctly show on the Friends List.

  • Fixed a bug where ability level-up text would disappear when levelling up more than once at a time.

  • Fixed a bug where Social Notifications would sometimes display the incorrect background.

  • Fixed a bug where free-Hero Rotation icons would not show in draft when the Hero is already owned.

  • Fixed a bug where the Settings Menu could show the incorrect background.

  • Fixed a bug where minions could reappear in Replay Mode after being killed.

  • Fixed a bug where Greystone’s Stone Forged Soul would not scale correctly with size-enlarging effects.

  • Fixed a bug where switching between Hero Skins in the Menus could lag the game client.

  • Fixed a bug where Hero names would flicker when navigating the Heroes Menu.

  • Fixed a bug where unsupported icons such as emojis in player names would display incorrectly.

  • Fixed a bug where Hero Class filters were ordered differently between Menus and Draft.

  • Fixed a bug where Feng Mao could recast Earth Shatter for free if revived.

Known Issues

  • Cosmetics need to be re-equipped.

  • Special characters in names won't show up.

  • Amber has not been credited to player accounts yet - we'll be doing this in the next few hours and will update this post once it's done.

  • There's a visual bug that can make the matchmaking timer look like it has incorrectly reset.

  • Friend Replays are currently disabled. You can still use the Replay ID to share your best moments or watch a live match.

  • Reconnecting to ongoing matches is not functioning as expected. If you leave a match, you may not be able to reconnect until this issue is fixed.

  • Sounds may not be playing correctly. A temporary fix is to adjust any sound setting in the settings menu.

That's everything this time Champions, what do you think?

Let us know your feedback over on our Discord server or the Predecessor Subreddit.

Until next time!

Kari
Community @ Omeda Studios