by JR Cook - 8 years ago     show comments

Last week, we received some long awaited balance changes. While this was a relatively minor set of changes, it did bring to an end one of the largest gaps we have seen between balance fixes. We were told to expect more frequent updates, and that seems to be holding true as another round of balance changes was released this week. The PTR also went online this week, and it includes a major set of changes that we can expect to see added to the live game in the very near future.

With these changes in mind, I thought it would be interesting to look at which Heroes moved up in the last week, and which Heroes moved down. We will look at Quick Match and Hero League separately, in case there are any differences. The data used comes from HOTSLogs, which is a website you may recognize from previous articles.

Who’s Hot (Quick Match)

Lunara has made the biggest jump since last week’s balance changes, increasing her win rate by 8.1%. Even with this major jump, her overall win rate is still only 47.5%, which just shows how bad things were for Lunara before these changes. She is moving in the right direction though, and this trend should continue when the PTR patch goes live. That patch will include improvements to her basic attacks, which is the primary complaint most players have about her.

Brightwing is our next Hero on the rise. She is up 7.6% which brings her up to an overall win rate of 52.7%. This one is a bit of a surprise to me, as the changes didn’t address Brightwing’s healing, which seemed to be her primary weakness. Brightwing has always had great map presence, and now she has better damage and wave clear to go along with it. It will be interesting to see how she fares going forward.

Malfurion is next, and he is a Support who did get a buff to his healing. He is up 3.4% this week, and comes in right at 50% overall. The developers were hoping that the changes would lead to more players taking Twilight Dream instead of Tranquility, which I have actually noticed in my games. The PTR patch includes a buff to Innervate, so expect to see more Malfurion players, not less.

Greymane is the last Hero on this list, and he is the only one who wasn’t the recipient of a buff. In the interest of space I was originally only going to list three Heroes, but when I saw Greymane was 4th I knew I had to include my furry little friend. Greymane’s win rate has been steadily improving since he was released, and last week was no different. He was up 2.5%, for an overall win rate of 48.2%. Greymane did receive some improvements in this week’s changes, so maybe he can crack 50% next week.

Who’s Not (Quick Match)

Tyrande was the Hero that most players pointed to when they said balance changes were necessary. Last week we got them, and Tyrande’s numbers were down as a result. She dropped 5.4%, but she is still at 50.9% overall. I thought the changes to her were quite measured, so this is by no means the end of Tyrande. In fact, she may need more nerfs as her trait is still extremely powerful. I think her drop has more to do with perception than anything else. I could see starting to climb back up again once people realize she is still quite strong.

Raynor went from being a noob Hero, to first pick material so you knew changes were inevitable for him. As a result of these changes, Raynor dropped 3.3%. That still leaves him with a 53.5% win rate, so Raynor will continue to be a fixture in the meta.

Leoric is next on the list, dropping 1.9%. He didn’t receive any changes in the balance patch, so I chalk this up to the natural ebb and flow of things. His overall win rate is still 51.1%.

Who’s Hot (Hero League)

Lunara tops this list as well, gaining 6.6% in HL. Much like QM, her numbers were quite low before, so this still only brings her up to 44.9%. While she still has room to improve, at least players won’t instantly start complaining anytime someone tries to pick Lunara.

Brightwing is up 5.9% to 50.2% overall. Like I mentioned earlier, I was surprised to see Brightwing make such a jump in QM, and I wondered if it would translate thru to HL as well. Apparently there is something there, because she is moving up across the board.

Greymane didn’t need my charity after all, because he officially made the top three in HL. He gained 5.1% last week for an overall win rate of 45.5%. Much like Lunara, he still isn’t a top tier pick, but he is at least a viable choice now.

Who’s Not (Hero League)

Tyrande looks like she is also making the biggest drop in HL as well. She lost 4.8%, but she still sports a healthy 53% overall win rate. Everything I said about Tyrande in QM applies here as well. She is still very good.

Raynor is also second on this list, so it is like deja vu all over again. He dropped 2.7% which puts him at an overall win rate of 52.9%. He is still the second most popular Hero in HL, and third place isn’t even close.

Rexxar is the last Hero on this list, which is wierd because I didn’t even know people played him in Hero League. Calm down Rexxar fans! I know he may not be a popular pick, but he has his niche. He is down .9% and 49.7% overall, so much like Leoric this is nothing more than standard deviation.

Keep in mind, this is by no means a list of which Heroes are good or which Heroes are bad. I just like to look at how the numbers move based on balance changes and player perception. It is also natural for the Heroes who are on the highest and the lowest ends of the spectrum to be the ones who see the most change. That is why I also included the overall win rates, as a way to give a more accurate perspective of the Heroes overall performance. GLHF!