Datamined Balance Changes for 22.2 - Sorcerer's Apprentice - Rapid Fire - Rogue Changes & More!
After some sites jumped the gun, here are the Balance changes as datamined from an upcoming Patch, before Blizzard reveals them in the Patchnotes scheduled for tomorrow. Notable is that The Rapid Fire change for Hunter is not just a cost increase but also a Damage increase and that on top of all the nerfs, there is a buff to Rokara, the hero, going from 5 armor to 10 armor.
Quote from HearthPwn[EX1_608] [Sorcerer's Apprentice] [MODIFIED] COST: 2 => 4
[DAL_373] [Rapid Fire] [MODIFIED] COST: 1 => 2 (note: not just the cost was increased, damage too, from 1 to 2)
[DAL_373ts] [Rapid Fire] [MODIFIED] COST: 1 => 2 (note: not just the cost was increased, damage too, from 1 to 2)
[BT_002] [Incanter's Flow] [MODIFIED] COST: 3 => 4
[DMF_512] [Cloak of Shadows] [MODIFIED] COST: 3 => 4
[SW_028t] [Create a Distraction] [MODIFIED] QUEST_PROGRESS_TOTAL: 2 => 3
[AV_202] [Rokara, the Valorous] [MODIFIED] ARMOR: 5 => 10
[AV_203] [Shadowcrafter Scabbs] [MODIFIED] COST: 7 => 8
[AV_298] [Wildpaw Gnoll] [MODIFIED] COST: 5 => 6
[AV_298] [Wildpaw Gnoll] [MODIFIED] ATK: 4 => 3
Mage Changes
Hunter Changes
Of note, not just the Cost was increased, so was the Damage, from 1 to 2.
The druid minion cost 2 more mana, has less stats and it discounts by PLAYING other spells by PAYING their cost. Gnoll goes to 0-1 mana by afk turn 1-2. Next time look for a better example. Although in my opinion the problem wasnt the cost as much as the stats, making it a 3-4 would be fine imo
No, I think they did mean Yeti. People tend to call it that because in ye olden days of Hearthstone, Chillwind Yeti was a 4/5 card for 4 mana, that was actually a decent play on curve for its power level.
So having those stats on a minion that can be played in turn 0, with rush, just makes it....well, a Yeti with rush, basically.
What? No, it changes a lot. 10 Armor is not a trivial amount when you're also getting a weapon baked into that. Armor is one of the most impactful things you can add to a card like Rokara to help it be playable. Considering that rotations are about to happen, it sounds like a reasonable change in preparation for the new standard meta.
Okay the Rapid Fire change is actually pretty good. I like this rework
Also GOOD RIDDANCE APPRENTICE! YOU WILL NOT BE MISSED!
well if you want to see more control warrior 5 armor will not leave a dent.
change the weapon to 3/2 permanent. and after you kill a minion with it throw it the opponent. and hero power gives 3 armor on use and 3 more if you honorable kill a minion
Damn.
They really don't ever want rogue to have a good deck.
Doubt it, Rogue will always find ways to come back in the competitive scene.... watch out for new emerging Tempo/Miracle/Thief Rogue utilizing maybe the Pirates combo and/or Garrote spells....
I think the key thing is the "Feels Bad, man" factor. A lot what Rogue does that is good, but doesn't have oppressive win rates are tempo decks - that stuff is left alone. Any combo/OTK/Solitaire Rogue stuff that gets good win rates are almost entirely made up of that uninteractive "Feels Bad, man" gameplay. Blizz just won't allow it.
Now, Microsoft on the other hand....
I think they do want rogue to have a good deck but they just don't want every damn legend player playing that good deck. They want other classes to have good decks. The ultimate goal is to have at least one good deck for every class but that balance is god mode and will never happen.
I wish new Edwin were on that list. It should not fucking get buffs after being shadow stepped. It becomes and absurd amount of burst damage for 0 mana with hero power and Mr. Smite. Should never be a 2 card combo that deals 30 face damage in a deck that goes into fatigue by turn 10
I'm not 100% sure if that's a bug or a feature
You are describing something pretty damned niche there. I mean, really, turn 10 in Standard? I looked at my HSReplay history for a Thief Rogue deck, and 2 of the last 14 games went past turn 8. You may be concerned about the wrong things here.
Feature devs said it's intended
Looks like I'am a happy Paly and Warlock now. Getting rid of Rogue makes me have Faith in Hearthstone again.
also that sweet 4100 Dust. <3
Sadly the nerf does very little to rogue. Scabbs is still a massive tempo play on turn 8, and the change to gnoll doesn't do much. It's the amount of burst damage the deck has between the +2 spell damage, and edwin/mr smite combo plus whatever discovered burn they have from wand thiefs.
And where's my Tickatus nerf?
Where and when have you seen Tickatus last time?
Tick rotates anyways, so does Libram Paly and a bunch of other stuff that doesn't need to get subjected to Nerfs now so close before Rotation.
In his nightmares when sleeping. It haunts him. He was severely traumatized by the exactly 10 days Tickatus was a problem for.
Most significant is the hunter nerf.