Patch date: . Guide reviewed 2026-11-03. Historical changes can be superseded; use current definitions for a match today.
How this guide was prepared: AI-assisted analysis with a separate source-check pass against archived official notes. Practical decisions are reasoned suggestions, not player-tested results or measured win-rate evidence. A small hotfix receives a short guide rather than a reconstructed full build.
Original update sources
Recorded topics: Heroes, Items, Gameplay, Fixes. Dates refer to the update named in the notes; a mirrored post can be published later.
Recheck Mid Lane and Mid Boss geometry
What changed: The Arch Monument and rope entrances to Mid Boss were removed. Barrels and kiosk low cover were removed, the bridge was replaced with a larger one, a stairway entrance was added, veil areas were moved to fit the bridge and connect to Mid Boss, and wall cover was extended toward the bridge. Mid Boss gained sewer theming, a connection from rope shafts to its upper area, higher rope-shaft entrances, sloped mounds beside the pit stairs, and adjusted underground breakables.
How to adapt: Walk the changed approaches and check sightlines before repeating old Mid Boss rotations; the notes establish new geometry but do not identify the safest or fastest route.
Recalculate objective and lane rewards
What changed: Guardian and Walker total bounty is split with nearby players, including players who damaged the objective within 20 seconds: nearby players get 40%, and the rest is split evenly among all six players, including those nearby. Hero kills and destroyed objectives award souls directly instead of spawning orbs. Trooper base bounty fell from 132 to 120 while bounty growth per minute rose from 1 to 1.5. Hero-kill bounty rose from 250–1800 to 300–2000 over 40 rather than 45 minutes.
How to adapt: Include the nearby-player share and the six-player remainder when estimating objective rewards. Compare trooper income at specific game times: the lower base bounty and higher growth rate point in opposite directions, so the notes alone do not establish an overall income advantage.
Adjust Urn and Walker expectations
What changed: Urn holding time before taking damage fell from 90 to 45 seconds, and the damage is 1% of maximum health per second. Its wait for a nearby player to pick it up fell from 20 to 12 seconds; its autorun return-to-home time, regardless of nearby players, fell from 75 to 45 seconds. Walkers gained 10% HP, lost spirit resistance from 40% to 30%, and take 60 rather than 80 DPS from troopers. Flex Slots now require three Guardians or three Walkers instead of two.
How to adapt: Plan around the shorter Urn holding and pickup windows, while keeping the pickup wait distinct from the 45-second autorun timer. Reassess Walker pressure in context: its HP, spirit resistance, and trooper damage changes differ, so the notes do not establish which effect dominates.
Note progression and global gameplay changes
What changed: Boons were cleaned up so every level gives one stat bonus and one AP/Unlock; ability and item power was rebalanced to remain the same overall. Total AP fell from 32 to 29, while stat levels rose from 20 to 32 and were rescaled to remain the same overall. Soul Orb auto-claim radius fell from 40m to 35m, headshot multiplier from 1.9x to 1.8x, and Rejuvenator drop duration from 9 to 8 seconds. Opening Rounds no longer works against objectives. Bullet and Spirit Resilience bonus-resistance health thresholds fell from 35% to 30%.
How to adapt: Check the changed boon level rewards and AP total when planning progression, and recheck orb pickup spacing or headshot expectations rather than assuming the previous values still apply.
Check changed hero values and ability levels
What changed: Calico’s base health fell from 700 to 650, health growth fell 13%, Leaping Slash’s melee multiplier fell from 1.6 to 1.3, and Return to Shadows T3 amp fell from +30% to +24%. Ava no longer automatically breaks boxes; the melee hotkey triggers a pounce to break them. Kelvin’s Arctic Beam cooldown rose from 24 to 25 seconds; T1 cooldown reduction changed from -7.5 to -7 seconds, and T3 range fell from 13m to 10m. Lady Geist’s base bullet damage fell from 26 to 23, Life Drain self-slow rose from 25% to 40%, and Soul Exchange range fell from 7m to 6m. Viscous’s Goo Ball hitbox increased and damage fell from 140 to 120; Splatter damage is now 100%, 50%, 50% for its first, second, and third hits. Warden’s Last Stand no longer gets reduced cooldown when interrupted; DPS fell from 90 to 80, T2 DPS bonus changed from +60 to +50, and spirit scaling rose from 1.4 to 1.6.
How to adapt: Recheck the affected ability’s range, damage, cooldown, or upgrade level before relying on old breakpoints; for Calico, test the melee-hotkey box pounce. For Wraith, test Project Mind near geometry and compare Card Trick at the relevant upgrade level, since its damage and scaling changed in opposite directions.
Retest item changes in their stated contexts
What changed: Rescue Beam cooldown rose from 30 to 60 seconds. Radiant Regeneration regen fell from 5 HP to 4; healing on ability cast fell from 100 to 70 and now scales with Boons (1.5). Extra Regen and Healing Booster regen each fell from 3.5 to 3. Enchanter’s Emblem spirit resistance fell from 18% to 15%, Fortitude’s damage-taken cooldown rose from 12 to 14 seconds, and Superior Cooldown reduction fell from 25% to 24%. Tankbuster only goes on cooldown when it affects players, not when an ability hits a trooper.
How to adapt: Test each item in the context named by its change: do not assume Opening Rounds affects objectives, and check whether Tankbuster is triggered by players rather than troopers. Re-evaluate healing and cooldown expectations using the changed values, including Radiant Regeneration’s Boon scaling.
Follow the affected decisions
- Calico build and counter guide
- Kelvin build and counter guide
- Lady Geist build and counter guide
- Viscous build and counter guide
- Warden build and counter guide
- Wraith build and counter guide
- Opening Rounds item reference
- Tankbuster item reference
- Rescue Beam item reference
- Radiant Regeneration item reference
Verify your match build · How current recommendations are checked
Earlier and later records
Archive coverage currently ends 2026-10-30; sources last successfully checked 2026-11-01. A source check does not establish a post-patch win rate.