Merged. Thanks, Kerridoc!
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The problem of Guardian Owl
Guardian Owlās main problem is rooted in irony. He is obviously designed as a defensive hero, but his skills, however great in the challenge event, does not transfer to actual player game-play.
His skills are conflicting, simply due to the fact that:
- his mana speed is very slow
- he gets an attack buff for each dead ally
This creates a serious problem regarding the position and placement of Guardian Owl in a defence team.
A playerās natural instinct is to use the Owl as a tank, in the middle of defence. Thatās mainly due to the fact that his mana speed is the slowest in the game - so he needs to get hit as often as possible, else chances are good that his special skills will never activate, and his usefulness becomes extremely limited.
His lack of mana speed conflicts head-on with his second skill, namely that his special attack boost depends on the number of dead allies. As all players know too well, it is extremely rare to have any other hero die before the center hero dies (in a defence team). So the attack boost is also almost never activated too. Thatās why players naturally place other heroes, like Alberich or Mother North, on the sides or flank positions in a defence team, because their skills also depend on dead allies.
These issues boil down to the core of the problem - Guardian Owlās skills look good on paper (or screen) - but since they are seldom activated (too slow), or almost never gets activated in the intended context (dead allies), he becomes of extremely limited use.
Of course, his current skills work well in the Guardian of Teltoc challenge event - because there he appears in the center, behind the other bosses - so he has more time to fill his mana and chances are good that at least one of his allies will die before he does. But thatās exactly the opposite of his possible placement when used by players in-game!
Buff suggestions?
Iām honestly not 100% sure, but I have some ideasā¦ A giant step in the right direction would be to change his mana speed to slow or even average (!). Changing the mana speed to average would be a superb buff, and I am convinced the Owl will start showing up everywhere in defence teams again - albeit not necessarily in the centre position - because he would then have a much better chance to take advantage of dead allies!
Increasing his mana speed would have to come at a price - the obvious statistic to be reduced in return would probably be the power of his attack. Even considering this, keep in mind that a rival holy hero, Justice, has a higher base attack than Guardian Owl (240% vs 235%) and a higher mana speed (slow vs very slow). Yet Justice is much more balanced and much more useful overall.
Personally, I would be happy to see:
- his mana speed increased (maybe by a lot!)
- his basic attack power even decreased (to balance the mana speed increase)
- His 60% per dead ally attack boost remaining the same (for the added wildcard advantage)
Making these potential changes will have the following advantages:
- More defence team positioning placement options for Guardian Owl.
- He might actually become usable as an attack hero, even if heās primarily designed for defence.
- He will force attacking players to play more strategically, based on his placement and role in a defence team.
Side-notes
The wonderful changes made to the challenge events lately, as well as the introduction of some new heroes, has brought my attention back to Guardian Own. As an example, just look at Black Knight - a fantastic defensive hero, but quite versatile, despite his niche set of skills.
I have seen and read most topics about Guardian Owl, but the most significant topics focus on adding new or different features or skills, instead of simply applying a possible buff or re-balance of his existing skills.
A little more background (TLDR;)
Guardian Owl was my first legendary hero. Naturally, I was so excited to get him. Unfortunately, when I started to try and apply him to the game, I realised that he is not very useful in his current state, so heās sitting on the bench. Itās a pity so see all that excellent artwork and interesting ideas go to waste due to missed potential.
Merged, thanks! 
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Beta Update
Beta has opened, with balance changes to Guardian Owl and other Heroes.
Please transition discussion to this thread:
=> š§Ŗ Early Information on General Hero Balance Updates [Part of The Beta Beat v30]
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