Balance Patch 05-30-13

New Skins:

Golden Skin

New Voice Packs:

General:

• The STATS | PROFILE menu has undergone a major overhaul.
  
• The Settings screen has undergone a major overhaul.
  
• You may now bind two separate keys to each command under SETTINGS | BASIC KEY BINDINGS.
  
• The Audio Settings now have a "Mute" option next to each Audio category, in addition to the volume slider.
  
• Wards now show the name of the player that placed them.
  
• VGS emote sounds now play in stereo for locally-controlled players, fixing some volume-related issues.
  
• You may now invite a friend to party directly from the FRIENDS tab on the SOCIAL menu.
  
• Fixed a bug in which a friend using the Twitch.TV broadcast functionality would not show as streaming on your Friends List if you logged in after he started streaming.
  
• Small layout changes have been made to the Gods screen.
  
• Custom Matches have a new option to disable spawning of lane minions during the match (mainly useful for machinima makers). At present, this option works only on all custom game modes but joust.
  
• Three gods have had their favor cost reduced:
  

  reduced from 5500 to 1500.

  reduced from 5500 to 2500.

  reduced from 5500 to 3500.

  
  

  Spectator Changes

  
  
  
  When replaying a match, god selection in the Match Lobby is now part of the replay.
  
  

  Jungle Encounters:

  
  
  

  
  Fire Giant:

  
  
  The buff provided from the Fire Giant has been reduced:
  • Magical power reduced from 100 to 70.
  • Physical power reduced from 70 to 50.
  • Mana Regeneration reduced from 3% every 5 seconds to 1%.
  
  Flaming Boulder
  • Debuff applies to target hit by the boulder has been increased from 2 seconds to 3 seconds. (this now will have 100% coverage)
  • Debuff already reduced all healing received by 40% on the target and it now reduces the damage done by his target by 20%.
  
  

  Items:

  
  

  blink

  New Sound FX treatment.

  
  Bumba's Mask (New Jungle Starting Item)
  
  +30 Health
  PASSIVE - Gold/XP reward is increased by 25% when landing the killing blow on jungle camps. Also, you gain 10% of the max health as healing of each jungle camp monster that you kill. Upon killing the boss of each camp, you also gain 25% movement speed for 4 seconds.
  
  

  God Balance Changes

  
  

  Stealth no longer breaks Aphrodite's soulmate link. It will turn invisible if either party goes stealth.

  Flaming Spear Duration reduced from 6s for all ranks to 4/4.5/5/5.5/6s

  
  
  

  Other God Changes

  
  

  Agni's passive now has an improved UI treatment. The Incinerator skin has updated FX.

  Shackles Improvements to FX

  Feaster Bunny card fixed

  General Improvements to FX

  Spirit Ball Improved FX (circles underneath path)

  General Sobek's model has undergone visual improvements.

  General XBalanque's model has undergone visual improvements.

Yeah, that new Jungle Item is going to make Arachne and Bakasura's jungle experience much more... terrifying.

I imagine they'll be spending a large amount of time on FX work and visual improvements, so I don't expect much more productiveness out of them.

Not a bad patch. I'm going to enjoy that Artemis Voice Pack.

Arachne does not need the mask, because she always lets her broodlings take the aggro. And if it's anything like the other starter items in that it costs 750 gold, you'd be restricting yourself on what else you can start with.

Currently, my Arachne build right out of the gate usually looks like this
-Rank 1 Warrior Tabi
-Hand of the Gods
-Purification Beads
-5 Health Potions, 1 Mana Potion (if I get blue buff, 3/3 if not)

Now where exactly does HiRez expect me to fit that mask? Tabi is necessary for the movement, HotG lets me clear camps in a hurry so I don't waste too much time on the jungle creeps, and beads have to be taken any time there's CC gods (which is very often).

The mask would only work if it were cheaper than other starting items, otherwise you're giving up too much just for jungle sustain, and this isn't even meant to encourage a full-time jungler (because that's impossible due to spawn timers and players on both sides clearing)

Anyone got pictures of Xbalanque's improvement?

I wonder what the new fx r for Ares shackle I hope they r visual and sound! Because its kind of bland atm

Xbalanque improvement. It's basically higher quality retexture, namely his leopard skin having more detail (and the inside of the cloak not being a solid color).

I'm more interested in seeing Sobek's visual update, he's been in need of one for a long time.

Ugh. This mask thing.

Incinerator? What is this FX Updatess? To make it not from china?

Maybe they're finally giving him the blue fire, like so many people have been demanding?

Guy, everything is from China. Just accept it.

This mask will now make my Death Machine worth the £5.60 it cost me to get it ^_^