Tactical Marine

Reduced effectiveness of Flamers

Flamers teeter too much on the brink of too powerful or, worse, too risky for their cost. These changes bring their power down a notch, so that it's only that effective if you have another way to keep them stuck in the scorching flames.

flamer Upgrade

The intention for flamers was that this ability can be used to make big plays, but not to the extent that simply running through the flame for one second can completely destroy a squad. This is due to the damage over time debuff significantly overperforming.

Damage: 

5

3.75

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Damage over time: 

20

8

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Cost: 

75 / 50 

75 / 40 

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Plasma Gun Upgrade

Cost: 

100 / 65 

100 / 55 

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BUG FIXES

• Frag Grenade: Fixed a bug where Frag Grenades would fail to throw when Tactical Marines with plasma guns were overheating

Scout Sniper

Hidden and Cover Fire doctrines changed to activated abilities

Though Scout Snipers themselves are in a good spot - their doctrine choices needed more differentiation. Hidden wasn't picked often and - although we recently buffed it - this didn't have the full impact that we were going for. This patch will convert it to an activatable ability that grants players more agency and allows it to be used defensively as well. Being compatible with Overwatch and the reworked Cover Fire, there's a lot of opportunity to make Scout Snipers quite a force.

Cover Fire is also being changed. It is now an activatable, timed ability that causes Scout Sniper shots to slow, but also reduces damage. It can be deactivated at any time if you want to switch back to full damage.

DOCTRINES

• Hidden: This has been changed to an activated ability, and now grants stealth and increases movement speed by 1.5 for 20 seconds
• Cover Fire: This has been changed to a toggled ability
• Cover Fire: While active, shots apply a slow (that does not stack with other suppression effects) for 2 seconds

Scout

Increasing cost, damage, and lowering stun duration of Blind Grenade

When playing Space Marines, strategies against Orks tend to rely on spamming Scouts for hit-and-run attacks and lengthy disables. This strategy can be very frustrating to play against and since this patch addresses the early game effectiveness of Orks - it's time to increase the cost of Scouts. For the Requisition you pay, you'll have that many fewer strikes and stun grenades to lock down your opponents. To compensate, we'll be increasing their ranged damage.

Cost: 

200 

250 

Blind Grenade

Scouts are a bit too cheap for units with a stun, so we are slightly bringing down the duration.

Stun Duration: 

3 seconds

2.5 seconds

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Heavy Bolter Devastator

Added the ability to upgrade their slow

The slowing property of Heavy Bolters is meant to be used to punish brute force tactics or snare fleeing targets, but because the slow is currently weak and there are many sources of speed to offset it, players are not really able to take advantage of it in a meaningful way. To this end, we are adding a new upgrade that can be researched to increase their slowing property.

• New upgrade option added to the Armoury: Improved Suppression (60 Requisition, 60 Power)
• When researched, Heavy Bolter Devastators' slow on-hit is increased to -2 speed

Lascannon Devastator

Changed beam intensity to be less punishing against infantry

Lascannon Devastators were a little too good, but they felt they were in a much better place after the last update. After more observation, it's clear that they are over performing against vehicles and infantry. These changes will give them a clearer focus.

• Beam intensity charges at half speed versus infantry
• Time to charge to full beam intensity increased from 8 seconds to 9 seconds

Land Speeder

Changed Lone Wolf doctrine to be easier to use

This doctrine was effective, but its conditions made it too hard to use - especially in team games where you don't have any control over where your ally goes. This change should make it much easier to use.

DOCTRINES

• Lone Wolf: No longer deactivates when close to allies; it will only deactivate when too close to your own troops
• Lone Wolf: Area of effect decreased by half

Whirlwind

Improvements to Inferno Missiles

Whirlwind Inferno Missiles are dealing a bit more damage than is warranted by their cost, but we also discovered a bug that was unintentionally condensing the damage to a tighter area. Their damage will be more consistent and their scatter properties now match that of a regular Whirlwind barrage.

DOCTRINES

• Inferno Missiles: Initial damage reduced from 45 to 36
• Inferno Missiles: Damage over time reduced from 19.2 damage per second to 12 damage per second (per missile)
• Inferno Missiles: Missile scatter increased from 0 to 15

Chaplain Diomedes

Bug fixes for Liturgies of Battle

It turns out that Liturgies of Battle wasn't behaving as we had intended. During its casting phase it could not be cancelled, but Diomedes could still move. While it is meant to be a timed ability, we discovered a bug that would occur when he was disabled after a successful cast - which caused the ability to cancel. Instead - Diomedes will now have to stay put while casting, but the buffs will persist after its cast regardless of status effects applied afterwards. Overall, these are buffs to Diomedes, and ones we believe will be helpful quality of life improvements.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where Diomedes could move while casting Liturgies of Battle
• Fixed a bug where Diomedes' buffs would disappear after casting when he is disabled

Howling Banshee

Increased damage and reduced Power cost of Quick Strike

Howling Banshees are a tad under powered, but rather than upping their base stats at the moment, we're giving them more choices. Additionally, players really liked the idea of Banshee Rage, but in practice it was hard to secure enough kills to really benefit from this choice. This doctrine now grants a shield based on damage done, so you don't need to focus on securing kills with your Banshees.

Quick Strike

We'll be improving Quick Strike and reducing its cost.

Cost: 

75 / 50 

75 / 40 

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Damage: 

30

45

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DOCTRINES

• Banshee Rage: Instead of triggering after 6 kills, it now requires 900 damage to be dealt

Dark Reaper

Changes to Reaper Focus and Teleport Beacon

Reaper Focus wasn't a popular choice, so we've reworked it to add a conditional slow. Teleport Beacon was also underwhelming because the optimal time window to use it was too limiting. Removing the maximum duration of the beacon should improve this - as well as adding instant setup and teardown - will give players the option of using it as more than just an escape tool.

DOCTRINES

• Teleport Beacon: Beacon no longer expires after a duration
• Teleport Beacon: Reduced cast time on Beacon Deploy from 5 seconds to 3 seconds
• Teleport Beacon: Gain 3 seconds of instant setup and teardown after using Recall; no longer have to teardown if squads are already setup and the beacon is cast within range
• Reaper Focus: No longer increases line of sight while in heavy cover or stealth cover
• Reaper Focus: If Dark Reapers are within range of a Webway Gate, their ranged attacks will slow enemy units by -1

Ranger

Reduced Power cost; increased Ranger Focus damage

Awhile back, we increased the Power cost to both unlock and build Rangers as a result of the effectiveness of Ranger spam in team games. Though they are still popular in 3v3 games, they're picked less often in 1v1s. Given our intent to slightly reduce Power income in the first escalation phase, we're going to revert them to their original Power cost.

The Ranger Focus doctrine did not have a big enough impact, so we're going to add something that increases its value - a damage boost. This should have some good interaction with their other doctrines (Stealth Warp and Vigor).

Cost: 

330 / 20 

330 / 15 

DOCTRINES

• Ranger Focus: Damage increased by 25%

Wraithblade

Increased movement speed

Despite recent changes that increased their health, weapon range, and mobility - this unit is still under performing. One of their biggest obstacles is getting into melee range and reliably chasing units, so we've opted to increase their base movement speed. This will also make them faster than most infantry units when they have Fleet of Foot.

• Increased rate of Fury generation for Vengeance by 50%

DOCTRINES

• Swift Vengeance: Functionality of this doctrine has been overhauled; Swift Vengeance now causes Wraithblades to move as if they are within range of a Webway Gate when Vengeance is full, although this effect does not stack with Fleet of Foot

Wraithguard

Changes to Enhanced Battle Focus

This doctrine is close to being balanced, but it needed to drain a little bit less energy when firing and not pause your energy regeneration while active - which made it look like unintended gameplay behaviour.

DOCTRINES

• Enhanced Battle Focus: Energy drain reduced from 60 per shot to 50 per shot and no longer drains 2 energy per second while active

Vyper

Increased health and shields

Vypers are hard to amass and can be easily countered, so we're increasing their health and shields by 20% so they perform better in smaller numbers. We noticed that the Vyper's missile launcher rotation was a bit slow, which wasn't playing well with its quick turn speed.

The Temporal Mine doctrine will now function exactly the same if there is an enemy nearby, but planting the mine itself will not only be faster but the mine will also activate quicker. We've also tweaked the timing on the Temporal Stun doctrine to make the stun activate as soon as the slow field triggers. These changes make the Vyper feel a lot more responsive - given how fragile they can be if you're not careful. Finally, the Vyper Haste doctrine gives them more defensive utility, which is something that it had previously lacked.

DOCTRINES

• Temporal Mine: Casting time is now instant
• Temporal Mine: Activation time is now instant
• Temporal Mine: Increased activation radius by 60%
• Temporal Stun: Stun duration decreased from 3 seconds to 2 seconds
• Temporal Stun: The stun now occurs when the bomb first explodes
• Vyper Haste: When attacked, gain 50% movement speed for 5 seconds and reduce damage received by 50%
• Vyper Haste: Can only trigger once every 20 seconds
• Vyper Haste: No longer grants a burst of speed when shields are destroyed

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where Temporal Mines couldn't be targeted in the fog of war

Falcon

Changes to Falcon Haste

The out of combat speed bonus wasn't impactful enough, so we've added an activated speed boost that will give Falcons more utility in combat.

DOCTRINES

• Falcon Haste: Changed to an activated ability that increases movement speed by 3 for 10 seconds

Ranger Ronahn

Increased rate of fire

In our experience newer players find Ronahn very hard to deal with, but he is quite easy to counter after you've faced him a few times. In order to be more competitive, we feel that he needs to have a more active playstyle, so we want to increase his rate of fire and the rate at which he gains charges of Long Shot.

Long Shot

• Time to generate a charge outside of stealth cover lowered from 85 seconds to 60 seconds
• Time to generate a charge inside of stealth cover lowered from 57 seconds to 40 seconds

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where Ronahn had to setup his rifle again after Snapfire had expired

Wraithlord

Increased damage

We're increasing the Wraithlord's damage versus single targets to make him more of a threat and increasing Ethereal Wall's duration to improve his resilience.

Glaive Charge

While Glaive Charge can tear through infantry, it wasn't particularly effective versus heavily armoured targets.

Damage: 

200

500

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Damage Type: 

True

Armour Piercing

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Speed: 

8

10

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Ethereal Wall

Duration: 

8 seconds

12 seconds

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Boy

Changes to Thump from Da Sky

Thump from Da Sky has a weird history. It actually used to produce scrap and kill the Orks, which resulted in super fast teching. This was part of the reason it had a global cooldown. We've removed the global cooldown and reworked its damage, such that it functions much more like the Waaagh! shout in that it's great at faking out your opponents.

DOCTRINES

• Thump from Da Sky: Boyz now pick a nearby target position and channel, gaining a charge every 1.25 seconds up to a maximum of 3 seconds. At the end of the ability, if the unit is not killed or disrupted, it will deal 20 damage in a 6m radius and knock back enemies.
• Thump from Da Sky: Channel time reduced from 4.25 seconds to 3.875 seconds
• Thump from Da Sky: Reduced knockback distance by 63%
• Thump from Da Sky: Removed global cooldown
• Thump from Da Sky: Can now be interrupted during channeling

Loota

Changes to Magnetz

Trying to use Magnetz at less than max range often yielded little benefit due to having to setup your weapon again. As a result, we've implemented a change that should make this doctrine more useful for both offense and defense.

DOCTRINES

• Magnetz: Decreased the cooldown from 60 seconds to 40 seconds
• Magnetz: For 10 seconds, Lootas are under the effect of Magnetik Boost - which allows them to instantly setup and teardown

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where Lootas would often try to run back to their original position after using Magnetik Boost

Tankbusta

Changes to Bomb Squigs

The squig bomb demanded too much micro to counter relative to its ease of use. It will now be auto-targetable, but given a lower attack priority so that it's easier to screen for them.

Bomb Squigs

• Can now be auto-targeted by enemy units
• Squigs have lower attack priority than other units

Deffkopta

Increased health and damage

Deffkoptas in great numbers, or when built from scrap, can be quite effective for the investment - however, they aren't great when standing on their own. Given that skimmer units already have a powerful counter, we feel they'll still be kept in check despite these changes.

DOCTRINES

• Warning Grot: Now deals 300 Armour Piercing damage

Killa Kan

Changes to Long Range Rokkits

Killa Kans are built more often than any other Ork vehicle, especially in higher skill brackets. The problem largely lies with the combination of Long Range Rokkits and upgraded Killa Kans.

We're making a change that retains the functionality of Long Range Rokkits, but requires the player to sacrifice their burst potential for the super long range poke that it provides. If players want to decrease their downtime, they'll have to sacrifice a doctrine slot to use the Rokkit refill doctrine and aggressive Pile o' Gunz placement. Additionally, we are slightly reducing the maximum burst damage of upgraded Killa Kans.

• Decreased the max number of rokkit charges after looting from 6 to 5

DOCTRINES

• Long Range Rokkits: Now requires a minimum of 3 rokkits to trigger
• Long Range Rokkits: Triggering the ability costs 3 rokkits
• Long Range Rokkits: Recharge time lowered from 30 seconds to 25 seconds
• Long Range Rokkits: Provides vision as they're traveling

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where Long Range Rokkits would sometimes deal damage to allies

Big Trakk

Changes to Smoke Shells

Players aren't finding enough value in the stealth cover that this doctrine grants. It's a lot more useful now that it also reduces incoming damage.

DOCTRINES

• Smoke Shells: Grants 35% damage reduction to allied units in the Smoke Shells

Deff Dread

Changes to Bigga Scrap Shield

This ability didn't appear to be working correctly and it has now been fixed. To give it more impact, we're going to add a heal over time component.

DOCTRINES

• Bigga Scrap Shield: Increased cooldown from 45 seconds to 60 seconds
• Bigga Scrap Shield: Now heals up to 1000 health over 10 seconds

BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where Bigga Scrap Shield did not always block ranged damage

Weirdboy Zappnoggin

Increased cooldown on Scrap Blast

Even after a hefty round of nerfs, the Weirdboy is still a dominant pick. We agree that his Scrap Blast, given how good it can be, should be on a longer cooldown.

Scrap Blast

Cooldown: 

20 seconds

30 seconds

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Kommando

Increased health and speed bonus from Sneaky

We recognize that Da Kommando struggles when he has been caught behind enemy lines, so we're going to increase his health and slightly buff his speed boost.

Sneaky

Speed bonus: 

2

3

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BUG FIXES

• Fixed a bug where his shotgun would not knock enemies back if he had attacked from stealth, then used Sneaky to re-stealth
• Fixed a bug where Stun Trap would not stun units that jump into its radius

Mad Dread

New ability added, changes to passives

For a 7-point Elite, the Mad Dread provides good utility with Tunnel, but doesn't have enough presence when he arrives. We're giving him a new ability that should offer more mobility, crowd control, and damage against high value targets. As an added bonus, it can help him reach a full Fury bar if Rampage has triggered, restoring his health.

Loot (Passive)

Healing: 

300

475

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Rampage (Passive)

Healing: 

1375

1575

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Shields: 

1250

1750

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Mad Breaka'

• New ability added
• Enables the Mad Dread to charge forward in a line, dealing damage and knocking back enemies
• Colliding with a vehicle or super unit immobilizes and damages them for a 10-second period