Welcome to the August 2023 Balance Update!
Note: This balance update will go live at 2023-08-09T08:00:00Z.
How time flies! Four whole months have passed since the launch of Aether Powers, and two whole months have passed since the Big Balance Update. We have been paying extra close attention to competitive PvP metrics throughout this time.
This month, we will be tuning down one Hero (Jove) and one Aether Power (Taunt), both of which have proven to be excessively powerful in the current state of the game. We expect all of the affected Heroes to continue to be amazing competitive options, but with these adjustments, there should be more room for a wider range of Heroes and strategies to shine — particularly at the top end of play.
Jove
- Direct damage reduced: 530% → 450%
- Healing reduction effect adjusted:
- OLD: -65% decrease for any healing received for 3 turns
- NEW: -50% decrease for any boosted healing received for 3 turns
Aether Power Taunt
- Duration reduced: 4 turns → 3 turns
- Affected Heroes:
- Black Knight (Costume)
- Kara
- Krampus
- Ludwig
- Phorcys
- Queen Anne
- Queen of Hearts
- Shrubbear
- Thunderclap
And now, for this month’s round of buffs to older Heroes!
As always, we took some time to read through our players’ varied opinions here on our forums. A big thanks to everyone who chipped in with their two cents — if you haven’t made yourself heard there yet, please join in on the fun.
Of course, we also noticed and appreciated the warm responses to our July 2023 round of buffs to older Heroes. We’ll do our best to keep these coming in future balance updates!
Elradir
- Direct damage increased: 255% → 285%
- Duration of status ailment reflection effect extended: 3 turns → 4 turns
Malicna
- Direct damage increased: 260% → 290%
- Alternative 1:
- Mana generation debuff increased: 24% → 34%
- Alternative 2:
- Defense debuff increased: -16% → -24%
- Alternative 3:
- Attack debuff increased: -16% → -24%
Mica
- Defense buffs increased:
- x1 Mana Charge: +20% → +25%
- x2 Mana Charge: +40% → +50%
- Mana generation buffs increased:
- x1 Mana Charge: +15% → +24%
- x2 Mana Charge: +26% → +33%
- x3 Mana Charge: +33% → +38%
Sir Roostley
- Direct damage increased: 280% → 310%
Yang Mai
- Direct damage increased: 280% → 310%
- Chance of additional hits increased: 50% → 60%
Yunan
- Direct damage increased: 161% → 200%
- Duration of buffs increased:
- Sand damage over 3 turns increased: 339 → 399
- Duration of healing reduction increased: 2 turns → 3 turns
- Range of cleanse effect extended to all allies instead of just the caster
- OLD: Cleanses status ailments from the caster
- NEW: Cleanses status ailments from all allies
Costume Yunan
- Direct damage increased: 176% → 215%
- Sand damage over 5 turns increased: 600 → 700
Costume Bonus Buffs to Legendary Heroes
All Valhalla Realms
- OLD: +7% attack / +7% defense / +13% health / +5% mana generation
- NEW: +16% attack / +16% defense / + 28% health / +5% mana generation
Underwild Family
- OLD: +8% attack / +8% defense / +12% health / +5% mana generation
- NEW: +13% attack / +13% defense / +24% health / +5% mana generation
Challenge Festival I Families (Pirate, Guardian, Wonderland, Grimforest, Avalon)
- OLD: +8% attack / +8% defense / +12% health / +5% mana generation
- NEW: +17% attack / +17% defense / +30% health / +5% mana generation
We hope the adjustments above will help you field these particular fan favorites in a wider range of situations! If your favorite Hero missed the cut this time, please remember to let us know here on our Community Forum.
As always, we will continue to keep an eye on all Heroes affected by this update in case further adjustments become necessary. Please refer to our Hero Balancing FAQ for why we occasionally make post-release balance adjustments. If you wish to share your feedback and discuss this update with fellow players, please feel free to join the discussion HERE.
Thank you for your continued interest and support. Best of luck in the battles!