With two quick balance updates, a few tweaks have been made to the brand new 6.87 patch.
6.87b:
* Sacrifice Cooldown increased from 44/36/28/20 to 60/50/40/30
* Sacrifice Mana restore increased from 25/40/55/70% to 30/50/70/90%
* Blade Mail cooldown increased from 13 to 18
* Jinada slow reduced from 25/27/29/31% to 18/22/26/30%
* Armlet’s armor bonus is now granted after it is fully activated
6.87c:
* Infernal Blade base damage reduced from 40 to 25/30/35/40
* Armlet armor bonus when activated reduced from 5 to 4
* Essence Aura now uses Pseudo-Random Distribution
* Wind Lace cost increased from 225 to 235
* Wind Lace is no longer available in the Side Shop
* Silver Edge now has a 300 gold recipe
* Arc Warden base damage improved by 4
* Vengeful Spirit Intelligence reduced from 15 + 1.75 to 13 + 1.5
* Super Creep gold increase over time reduced from 2 to 1.5 per upgrade cycle
* Beastmaster’s Boar Poison no longer pierces Spell Immunity
* Greevil’s Greed no longer benefits illusions
* Storm Spirit Intelligence increased from 23 + 2.6 to 24 + 3.0
* Slardar base movement speed reduced from 300 to 295
* Metamorphosis no longer increases Base Attack Time
* Conjure Image damage taken reduced from 425% to 400%
* Stifling Dagger base damage increased from 60 to 75
* AoE Bounty Gold based on level reduced from 8/7/6/4/4 to 6/5/4/3/3 per level
* Grave Chill cast range increased from 600 to 650
* Jinada slow reduced from 18/22/26/30% to 15/20/25/30%
Let’s see the most important ones:
Lich’s Sacrifice was proving to be too much for the laning stage, with the new ranged creep EXP bounty. It now works more of a mana sustain device rather than an EXP denial one.
Bounty Hunter, a Hero favoured both in pubs and competitive matches, got two nerfs in his Jinada slow, hindering his early game impact.
Doom, who was forgotten for some time after the remake, has proven time after time that his concept is simply too powerful to be ignored. Even after this nerf, I doubt his value as a pick will drop too much.
Outworld Devourer’s Essence Aura now using Pseudo-Random Distribution means his mana expenditure will now be smoother. For those who don’t know, PRD is an alternative way of determining the results of % skills. The idea is that with each attempt that it doesn’t proc, the chance is raised a bit, and when it actually procs, it returns to its original value.
To put simply, imagine a Faceless Void with his Time Lock. Chance he actually bashes is about 8% at his first hit. For each hit he doesn’t bash, he gains an extra 4% every time, until it actually procs. (Numbers were random)
Alchemist, a balanced as ever Hero, won’t be benefiting from Naga Siren farming the whole map with Radiance+Illusions shenanigans anymore.
AoE Bounty Gold, at long last, has been nerfed a bit!
Terrorblade, a Hero who hasn’t been played in a long time, has strangely enough received (mostly) a nerf, with his Metamorphosis not granting better Base Attack Time. I’m not sure what the idea behind that was, as this guy doesn’t seem overpowered at all.
Last but not least, Beastmaster’s boar slow doesn’t go through spell immunity anymore. This is a huge deal, we’re definitely going to see less Beastmasters from now on.