Hello and welcome to Patch 3.14! In this patch we’re adjusting game balance, adding new skins for Vraxx and Nix, and more. Enjoy the patch, and we’ll see you in Ranked!

Mallhalla

• Wasteland Vraxx – “Where he goes, none follow. Bonus: Hood and visor react to Vraxx’s actions!”
• Eliminator Nix – “There is nowhere to hide, now or in the future.”  

 

Brawl of the Week – 2v2 Strikeout!

• Choose three of your favorite Legends and head into battle.
• Each time you lose a stock you’ll switch to your next Legend.
• Queue solo or with a friend
• 2v2 Mapset
• Friendly Fire OFF

 

Maps

• Upon further review and player feedback, the camera bounds for Twilight Grove and the Small Twilight Grove test map have been reverted to their previous dimensions.

 

Animation

• Updated Rocket Lance and Blaster animations to use reactive parts of Legend Skins more consistently.

 

Balance

This week’s balance updates are targeted at revaluing most attacks that reverse player’s relative positions. The value of positional advantage has proven to be increasingly effective, so most of these attacks have received adjustments to their other rewards on hit. They remain useful options for building damage and turning the flow of battle in your favor, but are now less effective at securing knockouts by themselves. For kits that had a greater emphasis on these attacks, power has been shifted to other areas.

 

Hammer

The Hammer kit can be very threatening offstage, as its Recovery attack has a moderate amount of force that sends targets above the user straight downwards. We have significantly reduced the scaling of force on the Recovery attack, and have shifted that power to bolster the Hammer’s on-stage presence in the form of better priority on the Neutral Light.

• Hammer Neutral Light: Slightly increased vertical threat.
• Hammer Recovery: Decrease Force from 45 Fixed/33 Variable to 45 Fixed/29 Variable.

 

Spear

As a long range weapon with strong control options that can keep attackers at bay, the Spear kit can rotate a bit too quickly between missed attacks on the ground. We have slightly increased the risk on the Side Light to allow more reliable gaps for counterplay. In exchange, we have increased the base stun of the Recovery attack, as striking undamaged opponents with this attack could shift advantage too greatly in favor of the target.

• Spear Side Light: Increased Time to Hit from 10 to 11; Increased Recover Time on miss from 1 Fixed/10 Variable to 3 Fixed/10 Variable.
• Spear Recovery: Increased base Stun from 19 to 21.

 

Katars

We have increased the consistency for the Katars Down Air ground collision, as one of the kit’s main approach options and potential reset attacks. The decrease in force leaves targets closer to the user, even at high damage, resulting in more reliable connection to followup strings and greater threat of dodge reads. The damage has also been increased on the ground collision to provide more appropriate rewards against opponents who are adept at escaping strings.

• Katars Down Air: Increased Damage of final hit on ground collision from 4 to 6; Decreased Force from 25 Fixed/5 Variable to 21 Fixed/4 Variable.

 

Gauntlets

In revaluing attacks that provide a significant positional advantage, the Gauntlets Neutral Air has received a decrease in force scaling, as it could send opponents who were caught in its grasp too far down off-stage. This decrease gives targets a better chance at recovering back to the stage, not only by requiring more damage to score knockouts, but also by affording targets an earlier opportunity to get above and past the Gauntlets user.

• Gauntlets Neutral Air: Decreased Force from 50 Fixed/25 Variable to 47 Fixed/22 Variable.

 

Scythe

The Scythe kit contains several attacks that swap the user and targets relative locations. The prominent offstage options of reverse Neutral Air and reverse Down Air have received decreases in force similar to other options that grant significant positional advantage. The Scythe Recovery has also been adjusted for a more horizontal knockback, with each of these changes affording targets more reasonable opportunities for recovery and ability to contest a Scythe user after such interactions offstage. In exchange, we have decreased the risk on one of the Scythe’s primary neutral tools and grounded anti-air, the Neutral Light, to be closer in line with those of other weapons.

• Scythe Neutral Light: Decreased Recover Time on miss from 3 Fixed/23 Variable to 3 Fixed/20 Variable.
• Scythe Neutral Air: Decreased Force for the backwards version from 34 Fixed/39 Variable to 34 Fixed/35 Variable.
• Scythe Down Air: Decreased Force for the backwards version from 52 Fixed/30 Variable to 52 Fixed/27 Variable.
• Scythe Recovery: Angle of knockback has been raised to be more horizontal.

 

Signatures

We have adjusted the force on Signatures that significantly provide positional advantage by swapping player’s relative locations, primarily those that can be used to easily reverse edgeguard scenarios or when cornered near the edge of a platform. Several of these have had power shifted into other areas of their kit in compensation if the adjustment to their reward was found to offset the Legend’s total power too greatly.

• Mordex Down Scythe: Decrease Force of the backwards version from 60 Fixed/47 Variable to 57 Fixed/43 Variable.
• Mordex Neutral Scythe: Increased Damage from 23 to 25.
• Bodvar Down Hammer: Decreases Force from 70 Fixed/63 Variable to 70 Fixed/58 Variable.
• Bodvar Neutral Sword: Increased Damage from 22 to 25.
• Diana Down Bow: Decreased Force from 85 Fixed/45 Variable to 80 Fixed/42 Variable; Increased Damage from 21 to 24.
• Diana Down Blasters: Decrease Force from 70 Fixed/48 Variable to 70 Fixed/43 Variable.
• Teros Neutral Hammer: Decrease Force from 69 Fixed/46 Variable to 65 Fixed/42 Variable.
• Teros Side Axe: Decreased Minimum Charge Time from 11 to 9.
• Lucien Side Blasters: Decreased Force from 55 Fixed/56 Variable to 55 Fixed/51 Variable.

 

New Legend Rotation

This week’s new Legend Rotation features Caspian, Cassidy, Ember, Mirage, Sidra, and Ulgrim.

 

Bug Fixes

• Hammer Ground Pound: Fixed a bug that caused slightly larger threat area when held for longer than 40 frames. (Credit: Dobrein)
• Katars Down Air: Fixed a case where the target could be dropped before the ground collision hit. (Credit: Antipop)