Patch #9: Hotfix & Balance Adjustments

Yesterday’s patch brought significant changes, and today we’re releasing a hotfix to address them.

Having analysed the initial data and your feedback following Patch 8, we’ve concluded that a number of changes have had too significant an impact on single hero mode’s gameplay — primarily affecting the Schism faction. In today’s minor patch, we’re reverting some of these changes and adjusting others in line with our vision for balance. At the same time, we are implementing improvements for Hive that were originally planned for a later date ahead of schedule.

The update also includes bug fixes (including those introduced by Patch 8 itself) and a buff to the Dungeon in the Arena.

Full patch notes are below. Good luck on the battlefield!

v. 0.80.19

• Jebus Cross: Fixed a bug from the previous update where Taverns and Mage Guilds were still being built in central area cities despite the intended changes.

• Sand Clover: Fixed a bug from the previous update where some guards were not generating.

• Exodus: Fixed a bug from the previous update where the template could still generate more dwellings of a specific tier.

• Fixed a bug from the previous update where upgraded versions of Cultists had inconsistent hiring costs.

• Fixed a bug from the previous update where the casting cost of the Death Merchant's "Ensnare Memories" ability was displayed incorrectly.

• Fixed bugs from the previous update related to the class changes for Tavi and Pauper (wrong models and Heroic Strike).

• Fixed a bug from the previous update where the number of bonus attributes for the Temple sub-skill "Strong Faith" was displayed incorrectly.

• Fixed a UI bug that occurred when exchanging items or troops between heroes if either hero had active buffs or debuffs. In multiplayer, this was also causing desyncs.

• Fixed a bug where force-closing the game via Alt+F4 during the pick-and-ban phase incorrectly assigned match results.

• Fixed a bug with army growth from temporary stacks gained through Communion of the Abyss for the Schism faction AI-opponent.

After reviewing your feedback following yesterday's patch, we are making a number of adjustments in today's hotfix.

Yesterday's changes were aimed at refreshing the gameplay, including strengthening the Schism faction's standing in Classic mode. However, as many of you noted in the comments, some of those changes had too strong an impact on Single Hero mode. In today's update, we are reverting some of those changes and making additional adjustments. These changes will have a greater impact on Single Hero mode and a lesser one on Classic mode, where Schism's position is already quite weak.

At the same time, in the previous update we did not give sufficient attention to the Hive. Its situation is broadly the inverse of Schism's — the faction performs well in Arena and Classic modes but struggles in Single Hero mode. One reason for this is the demanding nature of Hive battles, which require significant time investment to minimize losses. As a result, in that update we slightly adjusted combat timers and intended to observe how this would affect the faction's results before making further decisions. However, we see your requests for more impactful changes, so we are implementing some of the planned adjustments now.

After the update, the Summon Avatar use cases have shifted, closing off some abuse scenarios (though you will certainly find new ones), and the skill has also started performing effectively in Arena mode. Based on initial observations, the skill appears quite strong, so we are making a slight adjustment to its damage and will continue to monitor its performance. More significant changes, however, will require more data.

"Summon Avatar"

• Damage scaling from Spell Power decreased: 12–12/18–18/24–24 → 12–12/16–16/20–20.

Hero Specializations

We have slightly adjusted the starting skills of Hive heroes so that, in combination with the other changes, these heroes perform better as starter heroes — which will primarily affect their effectiveness in Single Hero mode.

Hive

• Pauper

  • Starting skill: Luck → Battlecraft

• Maelstrom

  • Starting skill: Insight → Luck

• Nor

  • Starting skill: Battlecraft → Insight

• Zoran, the Self-Founded

  • Starting skill: Nightshade Magic → Defense

• Lo

  • Starting skill: Defense → Recruitment

• Leira

  • Starting skill: Battle Magic → Nightshade Magic

• Oriax

  • Starting skill: Recruitment → Battle Magic

• Tavi

  • Bonus to the number of summoned Fire Larvae based on Hive army health: 4% + 1% per every two hero levels → 4% + 2% per every three hero levels

During the creature changes, we revisited the balance value of certain active and passive abilities, resulting in adjustments to some creatures — and related elements such as Pandora's Box counts, hiring costs, and city recruitment buildings. The main changes affect the Schism and Hive factions: the former has been slightly nerfed, while the latter has been buffed. Additionally, significant changes have been made to Hive faction laws, which should allow them to accumulate power faster in Single Hero mode matches. Also included are Pandora's Box changes for the Dungeon faction that were accidentally omitted from the previous update.

Pandora's Boxes

The number of creatures players can receive from Pandora's Boxes has been adjusted. Values are given for standard/upgraded versions in "before → after" format:

• Necropolis:

  • Tier 4, Graverobber: 30/21 → 31/21.

• Hive:

  • Tier 3, Hornet: 30/22 → 28/20.

  • Tier 4, Scorpion: 29/20 → 32/22.

  • Tier 7, Hive Queen: 7/4 → 8/5.

• Dungeon:

  • Tier 1, Troglodyte: 60/45 → 50/35.

  • Tier 2, Infiltrator: 35/25 → 40/30.

  • Tier 3, Onyx Dancer: 34/24 → 34/25.

  • Tier 4, Minotaur: 20/14 → 23/16.

  • Tier 5, Medusa: 21/15 → 23/16.

  • Tier 6, Hydra: 11/7 → 12/8.

Necropolis

• Tier 7:

  • Vampire Lord:

    • Defense: 26 → 27.

  • Vampire Scholar:

    • Attack: 25 → 26.

• Buildings:

  • Construction of "Bone Exchange I" (Tier-4 dwelling) is now 250 Gold cheaper.

  • Construction of "Bone Exchange II" (Tier-4 dwelling) is now 500 Gold cheaper.

Grove

• Tier 1:

  • Faun:

    • Damage: 3–4 → 3–5.

  • Faun Archer:

    • Damage: 3–4 → 3–5.

  • Faun Warrior:

    • Damage: 4–5 → 4–6.

• Buildings:

  • Construction of "Shroomwood Shack I" (Tier-5 dwelling) is now 500 Gold cheaper.

Schism

• Tier 1:

  • Ra'Shoth:

    • Initiative: 5 → 4.

  • Stinging Ra'Shoth:

    • Initiative: 5 → 4.

  • Ferocious Ra'Shoth:

    • Initiative: 6 → 5.

• Tier 2:

  • Cultist:

    • Speed: 4 → 3.

    • "Glance of the Abyss" ability effect power: 15 + 3 × Stack Size → 8 + 2 × Stack Size.

  • Binder:

    • Attack: 6 → 5.

    • Speed: 6 → 5.

    • "Glance of the Abyss" ability effect power: 15 + 3 × Stack Size → 8 + 2 × Stack Size.

  • Votary:

    • Speed: 5 → 4.

• Tier 6:

  • Abyssal Overseer:

    • Attack: 24 → 26.

    • Defense: 26 → 28.

    • Initiative: 12 → 10.

• Tier 7:

  • Abyssal Envoy:

    • Initiative: 9 → 8.

  • Abyssal Overseer:

    • Initiative: 10 → 9.

  • Abyssal Executor:

    • Initiative: 11 → 10.

• Buildings:

  • Construction of "Cultist Spire I" and "Cultist Spire II" (Tier-2 dwelling) is now 250 Gold cheaper.

• "Involuntary Summons" once again requires "Mage Guild III" to be built.

• "The World is Ours" law Tier reverted to pre-update value: 3 → 5.

Hive

• Tier 1: Base weekly growth in all cities increased: 21 → 22. All hero starting armies adjusted accordingly.

  • Parasite:

    • Damage: 2–3 → 2–4.

    • Speed: 3 → 4.

  • Warden Parasite:

    • Damage: 2–3 → 2–4.

    • Speed: 4 → 5.

  • Ravager Parasite:

    • Damage: 2–3 → 2–4.

    • Speed: 5 → 6.

• Tier 2: Base weekly growth in all cities increased: 13 → 14. All hero starting armies adjusted accordingly.

  • Locust:

    • Damage: 3–4 → 3–5.

  • Overgrown Locust:

    • Damage: 3–4 → 3–5.

  • Harvester Locust:

    • Damage: 4–4 → 4–5.

• Tier 3:

  • Hornet:

    • Damage: 4–7 → 4–9.

  • Chanter:

    • Damage: 4–7 → 4–9.

  • Stinger:

    • Damage: 4–7 → 4–9.

• Tier 4:

  • Scorpion:

    • Attack: 11 → 12.

    • Defense: 11 → 12.

  • Volcanic Scorpion:

    • Attack: 11 → 12.

  • Spelaean Scorpion:

    • Defense: 11 → 12.

    • Damage: 11–14 → 12–14.

• Tier 6:

  • Health restored by the "Corpse Eater" passive ability: 65 → 120.

• Tier 7:

  • Hive Queen:

    • Initiative: 7 → 8.

• Buildings:

  • Construction of "Neglected Housing I" (Tier 1 dwelling) is now 500 gold more expensive.

  • Construction of "Neglected Housing II" (Tier 1 dwelling) is now 1250 gold more expensive and no longer requires Crystals to build.

  • Construction of "Carrion Lair I" (Tier 2 dwelling) is now 500 gold more expensive.

  • Construction of "Carrion Lair II" (Tier 2 dwelling) is now 1750 gold more expensive and no longer requires Crystals to build.

  • Construction of "Paper Nest I" and "Paper Nest II" (Tier 3 dwelling) is now 250 gold more expensive.

  • Construction of "Chitinous Ziggurat I" and "Chitinous Ziggurat II" (Tier 4 dwelling) is now 250 gold cheaper.

  • Construction of "Tower of Love I" and "Tower of Love II" (Tier 7 dwelling) is now 2500 gold cheaper.

  • Construction of "Tower of Love II" (Tier 7 dwelling) now requires 5 Wood and Ore.

• "Hidden Desires" law Tier increased: 1 → 2.

• "Focus Reserves" law Tier decreased: 2 → 1.

• "Natural Selection" law Tier decreased: 4 → 3.

• "Evolve, Adapt, Overcome" law Tier increased: 4 → 5.

• "Prosper and Flourish" law Tier decreased: 5 → 4.

Day Magic

• "Riposte." Can now be cast on Magical creatures.

Due to the creature balance changes, minor adjustments have also been made in Arena mode. Additionally, the Dungeon faction was underperforming in Arena mode, and to strengthen it we are slightly increasing its army sizes.

The number of creatures offered to players has been changed (values shown for standard/upgraded versions in "before → after" format):

Necropolis

• Tier 4. Graverobber: 64/44 → 68/46.

Grove

• Tier 5. Whisper Whisperer… nah, kidding, Herbomancer: 35/24 → 37/24.

Schism

• Tier 1. Ra'Shoth: 215/165 → 220/165.

• Tier 2. Cultist: 100/75 → 110/85.

Hive

• Tier 1. Parasite: 180/140 → 165/125.

• Tier 2. Locust: 110/85 → 105/80.

• Tier 3. Hornet: 70/50 → 65/45.

• Tier 4. Scorpion: 58/40 → 60/42.

Dungeon

• Tier 1. Troglodyte: 285/220 → 295/230.

• Tier 2. Infiltrator: 135/100 → 140/105.

• Tier 4. Minotaur: 50/34 → 52/36.

• Tier 5. Medusa: 45/30 → 47/31.

• Tier 6. Hydra: 21/13 → 22/14.

• Tier 7. Cave Dragon: 9/5 → 10/6.

Your reviews help us understand what matters most to you. We read every single one, so please keep them coming — they really do make a difference.

New to the series or a returning veteran? We have an Official Community Wiki for you to master the art of war! Thanks to active community members, it has detailed breakdowns of unit stats, spell tiers, and other detailed data for those who wish to dig deeper. You, our community, are the gift that keeps on giving!

Stay informed and share your victories with the community! Follow us on Discord, Steam and Facebook for the latest patch notes, community discussions and chit chat with our team! We would also like to take this opportunity to give a shoutout to the unofficial community subreddit, where you’re also welcome to share your thoughts!

With love,

???? Unfrozen Team