Tracer is getting nerfed in the next Heroes of the Storm patch

Tracer’s been out and about in Heroes of the Storm for quite a while now, or at least, she has been for those who pre-ordered Overwatch. Everyone else had to wait a bit, and only got the ability to purchase the speedster last week sometime.

For the most part, I think she fits into the Nexus quite well. Tracer brings some pretty unique skills and mechanics to the MOBA table, and quite frankly, she looks like a lot of fun to play. I say looks because I haven’t quite been able to save up the 15,000 gold required to purchase her. My life is so hard and BRB grinding more quests I need that juking in my life!

Anyways, like I was saying, I think Tracer fits into Heroes of the Storm nicely. Personally, I don’t think she’s in dire need of any changes.

What do I know though? I don’t have the stats Blizzard do, and according to their numbers, Tracer is just a little bit overpowered at the moment. As a result she’s getting nerfed in an upcoming Heroes of the Storm patch:

Tracer is performing just a little too well on all fronts. While we are excited to bring her to the Nexus, we understand that in the right hands, she can be an absolute terror to the enemy team. We’re lowering her Health, Basic Attack damage, and increasing Recall’s cooldown to make her less universally powerful. We’re going to be giving back some of that Basic Attack damage on her Level 16 Talent tier to further separate Sleight of Hand from the other options, which should help the choice between more Pulse Bomb charges vs. stronger Basic Attacks feel like a more meaningful decision. We also saw an opportunity to help improve her Talent pick rates, so we’re making minor adjustments to Pulse Strike and Slipstream.

Oh dear, the cavalry’s being nerfed! Here’s exactly what is being changed…

• Health decreased from 1270 (+4% per level) to 1206 (+4% per level).
• Health Regeneration decreased from 5.25 (+4% per level) to approximately 5.02 (+4% per level) Health per second.
• Basic Attack damage reduced from 29 (+4% per level) to 27 (+4% per level).
• Focus Fire (Talent)
  • Final shot damage bonus increased from 30% to 35% of the total magazine’s damage.
• Locked and Loaded (Talent)
  • Damage bonus increased from 35% to 40%.
• Melee (W)
  • Pulse Strike (Talent)
    • Pulse Bomb charge bonus increased from 15% to 20%.
• Recall (E)
  • Cooldown increased from 24 to 26 seconds.
  • Slipstream (Talent)
    • Cooldown reduction decreased from 4 to 2 seconds.

Those changes don’t seem to be too drastic. There’s just a couple of nerfs here and there, along with a minor buff or two. Tracer really must have been performing super well though to get this sort of attention. She’s the only character receiving changes in this patch!

What do you think of her? Is she too overpowered? Are you glad that she’s getting some slight tweaks?

Last Updated: May 3, 2016