2026-01-16 PTR Balance Update

PTR 2026-01-16 Balance update

To start, we'd like to highlight a nice QOL update we've introduced for the Atlas and Hedgehog: Redeploy and Targeted Deployment.

With these new commands, players can now tell these deployed units to deploy at a new location in a single command. They will run the sequence of: Un-deploy, move to new location, and deploy in place. Similarly a non-deployed unit can be given the command to deploy at a location.

Vanguard

• Lancer

  • Kinetic Redirection research time reverted to 90 seconds

    • Turn Radius decreased from 0.35 to 0.2

• Scout

  • Turn Radius decreased from 0.25 to 0.1

• Medtech

  • Attack Projectile speed increased from 25 to 30

• Hedgehog

  • Hp decreased from 230 to 215 (up 15)

    • New Ability while Mobile: Targeted Deployment

      • Deploy at a target location.

    • New Ability while Deployed: Reposition

      • Mobilize, then deploy at a target location.

  • Armor Shredding Missiles can now stack up to 90 times, up from 30

• Atlas

  • New Ability while Mobile: Targeted Deployment

    • Deploy at a target location.

    • New Ability while Deployed: Reposition

      • Mobilize, then deploy at a target location.

• Evac

  • Unload period decreased from 0.5 to 0.25

    • Base speed increased from 6.5 to 7.5

    • Veterancy movement speed reward decreased from 10% to 5%

Celestial

• Argent

  • Attack Projectile speed increased from 20 to 28

• Scanner

  • Attack Projectile speed increased from 18 to 25

• Cabal

  • Cost reduced from 100/100 to 100/50

    • Debilitate reworked:

      • 10 second cooldown (up from 5)

        • Reduce attack speed and attack damage of enemy units within in a 1.5 radius of a target unit 25% for 10 seconds. (Radius increased from 0.75, and duration increased by 5)

        • Autocast is set to OFF as the default setting (was default to on)

• New Unit: Carnivex

  • Cost: 200/75 (up from 175/50)

    • New Upgrade: Chrono Shell

      • Requires Arcfortress, Guardian Nexus

      • 60 second research time.

      • Costs 100/100

      • 50% of all damage taken is deferred. Deferred damage is dealt at a maximum rate of 20 damage per second and can be fatal.

• Vector

  • Turn radius decreased from 0.3 to 0.15

    • Swing time on ground weapon increased from 0.0 to 0.1

    • Swing time on air weapon increased from 0.0 to 0.1

• New Unit: Navi

  • Radiant Mantle autocast defaults to off

• Seraphim

  • Cost increased from 100/75 to 150/75

    • Attack projectile speed increased from 15 to 22

• Animancer

  • HP decreased from 220 to 180

    • Dark Prophecy range increased from 9 to 11

    • Animus Redistribution range increased from 9 to 10

    • Attack range increased from 8 to 10

    • Attack projectile speed increased from 10 to 22

  • Animus Redistribution heal on surrounding allies increased from 10 to 15. This is technically a bugfix since it was always supposed to be 50% of damage dealt (and it deals 30 damage)

• Archangel

  • Traits:

    • Avatar (Requires Research Avatar):

      • When Archangel uses Meteor Strike, Aether Slash, or Censure, It activates Avatar for 10 seconds. This duration is refreshed each time it uses an ability. (does not stack)

        • While Avatar is active, the Archangel gains 40 armor and resilience to enemy disables (in both air and ground). It’s attack becomes ranged and deals 40 damage in a line (while still dealing 120 damage to the primary target).

          • Attacks no longer slow while in avatar form

            • This does not consume energy.

        • Arbiter’s Respite trait removed

    • Flying mode abilities:

      • Aether Slash:

        • 30 energy cost, 8 second cooldown

          • Dashes towards a target location, dealing 20 damage to enemy air units in its path and slowing them by 40% for 5 seconds.

            • If Avatar has been researched, activate it.

        • Reprieve removed

        • Avatar (ability) removed

    • Ground mode abilities:

      • New ability: Censure

        • 30 energy cost, 8 second cooldown, Autocastable (defaults to off)

          • Target an enemy unit in range, leap to that unit and stun it for 1 second.

            • If Avatar has been researched, activate it.

        • Reprieve removed

        • Avatar (ability) removed

Infernal

• Imp

  • Charge cooldown decreased from 18 to 15

• Enflamed Imp

  • Movement speed reverted to 5.5

    • Explosion damage decreased from 100 (+50 structure) to 50 (+50 heavy) (+20 more damage vs heavy from before)

• Brute

  • Turn radius decreased from 0.26 to 0.18

• Gaunt

  • Gaunt Swing Time on ground weapon decreased from 0.2 to 0.1

    • Gaunt Swing Time on air weapon decreased from 0.2 to 0.1

• Hexen

  • Skull of Shedda Rework:

    • Slows the targeted unit by 40% for 10 seconds. (up from 5)

  • Forsaken Trap Rework:

    • Renamed to Phantom Trap

    • Trap detonation turned into an autocast ability, can manually explode them

    • A Phantom spawns for every enemy unit hit by this trap

    • A unit can only spawn a Phantom this way once every 6 seconds.

    • Units hit by the trap are cursed

    • Units hit by the trap take 50 damage

  • Necrotic Hexfield renamed to Miasma

  • Attack projectile speed increaased from 18 to 25

• Weaver

  • Cost decreased from 125/175 to 100/175

    • Weaver hp decreased from 380 to 320

    • Lash range decreased from 10 to 9

• New Unit: Dominari

  • Cost: 150/200

  • Traits:

    • Chaos Mark

      • This unit’s weapon attacks and Pandemonium apply Chaos Mark to hit enemy units for 10 seconds.

        • Each time an allied unit deals damage to a target with Chaos Mark, the target takes 2 (+2 heavy) extra damage, and the allied unit heals for 2 hp.

    • Wrath of the Domina (Reworked)

      • This unit’s weapon attacks and Pandemonium deal 2x damage to enemy units with a Chaos Mark. Unlocked with Dominari Master Training

• Abilities:

  • Pandemonium (40 energy) (Reworked)

    • Unleash a wave of dark energy that travels forward in a direction originating from the caster. Enemy units caught in this wave take 25 (+25 heavy) damage and gain a Chaos Mark for 10 seconds.

      • Pandemonium wave width increased by 1, and range increased by 2, travel speed decreased.

        • Pandemonium debuff no longer deals damage after it expires.

      • Death March (40 energy, 6 range)

        • Grant targeted units 25% increased movement speed and 25% increased attack speed for 10 seconds. (changed to grant attack speed instead of attack damage)

      • Dark Oblation (2 second cooldown, 6 range)

        • No longer requires an upgrade

1. Stormgates

   • Soulforge

     • Copies now have a 120 second timed life

   • Shadowmark

     • Does not affect HQs

   • Powerstone

     • Imbue Empower now increases the target unit’s max health by 200 HP + 25% of the its original max health

Map Updates

1v1

• Avant-garde

• Bayou Caouenne

• Deepvoid Outpost

• Short Circuit

• Shock Station

2v2

• Eco-Dome

• Gaia's Grove

• Hell's Haven

• Lava Labs

• Templar's Temple

• Forge of Ashes (new)

Misc

Retextured Aeon Gate

Rotated the Creation Chamber

Fix for 'ToggleInGameUI' cheat - Added a few missing UI elements to hide properly

"Allies are under attack" Alert cooldown has been increased from 10 to 15 seconds so it is less spammy. In team games, this can basically fire every 10 seconds and it becomes background noise. This timing a tradeoff between spam and potentially missing alerts if teammates are attacked in a new spot during the cooldown period.