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 Historical changes can be superseded; use current definitions for a match today.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, Interface. Dates refer to the update named in the notes; a mirrored post can be published later.
Adapt lane collection to ground orbs
What changed: Half of the trooper bounty still flies out as a deniable orb; the other half now falls as a ground orb instead of being instantly given to nearby players. It lasts 18 seconds initially, gaining 2 seconds per minute up to 40 seconds after 10 minutes, and moves to a player within 18m. One player claims it and the existing sharing rules remain. Enemy orbs are visible but cannot be claimed. The flying orb’s secure/deny share falls from 50% to 40%, while starting souls rise from 400 to 600 and trooper bounty values rise by 10%. Medic troopers drop a pack instead of providing a passive healing pulse; it uses the same pickup range and duration mechanics and heals allies within 30m.
How to adapt: Test lane positioning and collection timing, including whether rotations leave the ground orb unclaimed before it expires. Treat enemy-visible orbs as information rather than income, and account for the medic pack’s 30m team-heal area when planning a pickup.
Retest neutral-camp routes
What changed: Neutral bounties rise by 10% and neutral HP by 15%. Small neutrals deal 15% more damage; medium and hard neutrals gain spirit resistance and deal 25% and 30% more damage respectively. Small-camp respawn time falls from 180 to 120 seconds. After fighting neutrals, the sprint/out-of-combat regeneration timer increases from 0.5 to 2.5 seconds.
How to adapt: Compare clear time and health lost on routes that rely on spirit damage or repeated small camps. The faster small-camp respawn may offer another visit sooner, but the notes do not establish that this outweighs tougher camps or makes every camp worth taking.
Plan for revised objective durability and slots
What changed: Guardian HP rises from 3,500 to 4,250 and Walker HP rises by 40%; side-lane Walkers now have the same HP as mid-lane Walkers. Guardians start with 75% damage resistance that decays to -50% over 10 minutes, and Walkers do so over 20 minutes. Walker stomp cooldown falls from 10 to 6 seconds and stomp damage rises; fireballs grow from 5m to 6m radius and their debuff lingers for 4 seconds and reduces bullet and spirit resistance by 10%. Base slots rise from eight to nine, while flex slots fall from four to three, with one flex slot given for each Walker killed.
How to adapt: Test objective damage at different match times, since the listed resistance changes decay over different windows. Recheck siege positioning around Walker stomps and fireballs, and plan item slots around the revised Walker-linked flex-slot rule.
Reassess damage and investment tradeoffs
What changed: All AP damage upgrades are reduced by 10%, while base gun damage and gun damage growth rise by 10%, excluding Paige; the headshot multiplier falls from 1.8x to 1.65x. At 4,800 souls spent, the investment bonuses add 20% weapon damage, 12% bonus health, or 20 spirit power to the respective category. The notes also change individual weapon items, so the general gun-damage increase does not establish that every weapon build benefits equally.
How to adapt: Test investment rewards and relevant item combinations against the revised headshot multiplier instead of assuming the former damage balance still applies. The changes support comparing weapon and spirit approaches, but do not establish one universally superior choice.
Follow the affected decisions
- Dynamo build and counter guide
- Holliday build and counter guide
- Ivy build and counter guide
- Kelvin build and counter guide
- The Doorman build and counter guide
- Yamato build and counter guide
- Cultist Sacrifice item reference
- Tesla Bullets item reference
- Capacitor item reference
- Opening Rounds item reference
- High-Velocity Rounds item reference
- Weighted Shots item reference
- Mystic Shot item reference
- Lucky Shot item reference
- Split Shot 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.