EDIT: 2022-02-10, 12:35 UTC: this balance update will go live at 2023-02-16, 13:00 UTC.
Note: this balance update will go live at 2023-02-13, 09:00 UTC.
Welcome to the February 2023 Balance Update!
Generally, we start off these announcements by gently tooting our own horn about how our previous balance update really hit the mark. But today, we must report with heavy hearts that our (perhaps overly) cautious nerfs to Miriam & Midnight and Costume Guardian Panther in the December 2022 Balance Update were ultimately insufficient.
As many of our players have mentioned, those two behemoths have been dominating higher levels of play for quite a while now. We truly hoped that our small nerfs in December, plus the introduction of some newer Heroes, would be enough to loosen their iron grip on the meta. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case — and it was clear that those two Heroes’ oppressive reign would continue unless some kind of balance adjustment was made. As such, we have no choice but to tune them down a bit further for the strategic health of the game.
We believe these adjustments will open up room for many other great Heroes to shine, and we’re really excited to see what kinds of tactical trends emerge in the coming weeks!
Miriam & Midnight
- Blue Kitten Minion health recovery per turn: 15% → 22%
- Blue Kitten Minion inherits from the caster:
- HP: 40% → 30%
- Attack: 20% → 30%
- Attack boost: +45% and a further 20% increase for each incoming hit → +50%
- Boosted health portion of the Special Skill removed
Costume Guardian Panther
- Direct damage: 280% → 285%
- Elemental defense against Dark reduction: -54% → -34%
Brave Musketeers adjustments
Over the past month, we’ve also taken some time to reassess the Alliance Quest: Brave Musketeers event as a whole. The list of changes we’re making is pretty long — but we believe these tweaks will make the quest stages more fun to play through, and the Musketeer Heroes more fun to play with!
Alliance Quest stage balance
- Removed Absolute Resolve (stage property)
- Reduced enemies’ stats for most stages
- Reduced the following enemies’ Special Skill damage:
- Town Crier, Duelist Assassin, Duelist Thug, Boar
- Boss enemies now use the Musketeers Family Bonus
Musketeer Family Bonus
- Cover damage reduction effect
- Damage taken in ally’s stead: 90%/80%/70% → 60%/50%/40%
- Cover duration
- 6 turns → 3 turns
Aramis
- Special Skill adjustment
- Additional effect: Caster gets +30% defense for 3 turns
- Stats adjustment
- Attack: 869 → 873
- Defense: 774 → 780
- Health: 1388 → 1402
Athos
- Special Skill adjustment
- Additional effect: Caster regenerates 306 HP over 2 turns
- Stats adjustment
- Attack: 842 → 846
- Defense: 725 → 729
- Health: 1553 → 1565
D’Artagnan
- Special Skill adjustment
- Direct damage: 500% → 470%
- Spreading Burn damage (over 3 turns): 849 → 1023
- Additional effect: Caster regenerates 459 HP over 3 turns
- Stats adjustment
- Defense: 797 → 801
- Health: 1433 → 1446
Queen Anne
- Special Skill adjustment
- Additional effect: Caster regenerates 918 HP over 6 turns
- Stats adjustment
- Attack: 706 → 708
- Defense: 887 → 889
- Health: 1573 → 1580
Porthos
- Special Skill adjustment
- Direct damage: 355% → 380%
- Additional effect: Caster regenerates 918 HP over 6 turns
- Stats adjustment
- Attack: 817 → 819
Villiers
- Special Skill adjustment
- Additional effect: Caster regenerates 324 HP over 4 turns
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 December 2022 round of buffs. We’ll do our best to keep these coming in future balance updates!
Grazul
- Health recovery for allies: 15% → 22%
Captain of Diamonds
- Damage dealt to target: 260% → 275%
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.
Reminder: the February 2023 Balance Update will go live at 2023-02-16T13:00:00Z.
Thank you for your continued interest and support. Best of luck in the battles!