Latest Update For Heroes of the Storm Ups Hero Base Movement Speed 10%

Heroes of the Storm released its July Balance Patch, which brings the usual general changes and bug fixes. One change that is sure to attract the interest of players is that the base movement speed of heroes has been increased 10% and is now 4.84 (up from 4.4).

According to the development team, the change in movement speed has been in the works since last year. However, the team wanted to have more time to consider this change. While the increase appears to be small, it is expected to make the game have a faster feel, particularly in combat. The development team said that it is "carefully watching how this affects Heroes with lots of skillshots and will balance as needed."

The two other general changes are:

• Each Mecha Tyrael's repeatable Mission can now only be completed up to 50 times
• Gem purchasing has a new checkout interface. This streamlined system gives players access to more payment options from directly within the client

In terms of hero changes, it is interesting to see that Chen appears to have undergone some changes despite being reworked in the last update. Explaining the changes, the development team said that it took into consideration the feedback from the players that wanted "the interaction between Keg Smash and Breath of Fire to be more fluid." As a result, the delay between the two abilities has been reduced, and this should feel better to play. Chen also received a buff in some of his abilities. Overall the changes in Chen are:

• Base
  • Keg Smash [W]
    • Delay before being able to cast Breath of Fire reduced from 1.5 to 1.25 seconds
    • Duration of 10% Slow reduced from 1.5 to 1.25 seconds
    • Duration of 40% Slow increased from 1.5 to 1.75 seconds
• Abilities
  • Level 1
    • Freshest Ingredients [Trait]
      • Additional Functionality: Upon quest completion, also reduces the cooldown of Fortifying Brew by 1 second
    • Stormstout Secret Recipe [Passive]
      • Heal amount increased from 2% to 2.5%
  • Level 4
    • Withering Flames
      • Spell Power reduction increased from 30% to 40%
  • Level 10
    • Wandering Keg [R1]
      • Additional Functionality: Now also grants Chen 25 Armor for its duration
      • Cooldown reduced from 70 to 60 seconds
  • Level 13
    • Touch of Honey [W]
      • Slow amount increased from 15 to 20
  • Level 16
    • Celerity [E]
      • Armor bonus increased from 15 to 20

One piece of good news is that Greymane is getting some small buffs. Changes in his skill are:

• Base
  • Basic Attack damage increased from 140 to 148
• Abilities
  • Level 7
    • Incendiary Elixir [Q]
      • Damage bonus per stack increased from 15 to 20
  • Level 10
    • Cursed Bullet [R2]
      • Damage increased from 35% to 40%

Since the beginning, Greymane has been a powerful hero, especially when used by experienced players. This is why he has always been nerfed. The development team however "believe it’s been long enough, and so we’re giving him some small buffs to be brought back into the meta."

Another hero that underwent change is ETC, currently the warrior with the highest win rate. His popularity has experienced a spike since the last balance patch. In order to get ahead of possible issues that may arise, his Guitar Solo cooldown is now 9 seconds, an increase from the previous 8 seconds. However to balance out this nerf, The healing amount of his Guitar Hero is increased to 60%.

A full list of changes can be viewed here.