Bug Fixes

• Level 7
  • Trag'Oul's Essence
    • Now displays in the Death Recap.

Updates

Talents

• Level 13
  • Rapid Harvest [W]
    • Added to the Buff Bar.

Bug Fixes

• Level 20
  • Mortal Wounds [Q]
    • Fixed an issue that caused Mortal Wounds to display floating text multiple times.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that caused Cursed Strikes to hit targets immune to area damage.
• Cursed Strikes will now reveal the effect area for 0.75 seconds.
• Backlash will now reveal the area for 0.75 seconds.
• Shackler no longer reveals the area.
• Cursed Strikes no longer reveals targets hit.

Bug Fixes

• Corpse Explosion damage is now ignored by the Call for Help.

Updates

Base

• Spectral Scythe [Q]
  • Damage reduced from 200 to 190.
• Raise Skeleton [Trait]
  • Damage done when Skeletal Warriors die reduced from 46 to 40.

Talents

• Level 4
  • Jailors [Trait]
    • Movement and Attack Speed bonuses reduced from 30% to 25%.
• Level 16
  • Weaken [W]
    • Damage reduction reduced from 40% to 35%.

Developer Comment: Xul is still a bit too powerful, so we're reducing his overall effectiveness when it comes to his base kit and to overperforming talents.

Updates

Base

• Basic Attack damage reduced from 100 to 95.
• Spectral Scythe [Q]
  • Damage reduced from 210 to 200.
• Raise Skeleton [Trait]
  • Damage done when Skeletal Warriors die reduced from 50 to 46.

Talents

• Level 4
  • Jailors [Trait]
    • Movement and Attack Speed bonuses reduced from 40% to 30%.
• Level 13
  • Echoes of Death [Q]
    • Damage from additional scythes reduced from 60% to 40%.
• Level 16
  • Decrepify [Q]
    • Slow amount reduced from 40% to 30%.

Developer Comment: Now that we have more data, we're making some more targeted nerfs to parts of Xul's kit that are overperforming. In addition to various talents, we're also slightly nerfing his base kit to simply bring his win rate down.

Updates

Base

• Health reduced from 2200 to 2080.
• Health Regeneration reduced from 4.58 to 4.33.

Developer Comment: We're happy with how Xul's rework has gone overall in improving his gameplay and talent diversity. He is, however, overperforming, so while we wait for more data, we're doing a reduction in the Health he gained to bring him more in line.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where Corpse Explosion did not link to an ability in the Death Recap.

Updates

Base

• Health increased from 2000 to 2200.
• Health Regeneration increased from 4.17 to 4.58.
• Basic Attack damage reduced from 110 to 100.
• Spectral Scythe [Q]
  • Damage reduced from 240 to 210.
  • Additional functionality: Hitting enemy Heroes spawns a Skeletal Warrior.
• Bone Prison [E]
  • Now also causes nearby Skeletons to focus their target after the target is rooted.
• Raise Skeleton [Trait]
  • Skeletal Warrior Health increased from 225 to 240.
  • Skeletal Warrior Health lost per second increased from 15 to 20.
  • Skeletal Warrior duration reduced from 15 to 12 seconds.
  • Maximum Skeletal Warriors spawned from Minions reduced from 4 to 3.
  • Skeletal Warriors now explode, dealing 50 damage to nearby enemies when they die.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Shade [Passive]
    • Bone Armor cooldown increase reduced from 20 to 10 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Reaper's Toll [Q]
    • Quest component removed.
    • Cooldown reduction reduced from 3 to 2 seconds.
    • Mana cost reduction reduced from 20 to 15.
  • Grim Scythe [W]
    • Additional functionality: Increase Xul's Basic Attack damage by 15%.
• Level 7
  • New Talent: Wall Of Bones [Trait]
    • Increase the Shield amount of Bone Armor to 35% of Xul's maximum Health, and Xul gains 20 Spell Armor for its duration.
• Level 10
  • Poison Nova [R1]
    • Damage increased from 57 to 63.
• Level 13
  • Executioner [Passive]
    • Removed.
  • Amplify Damage [E]
    • Moved from Level 16.
    • Duration increased from 1.75 to 2 seconds.
    • Additional functionality: Increase the duration of Bone Prison's Root by .25 seconds.
• Level 16
  • Corpse Explosion [Trait]
    • Removed.
  • New Talent: Decrepify [Q]
    • Enemy Heroes who are damaged by Spectral Scythe or Skeletal Warriors are Slowed by 40% for 2.5 seconds.
  • Weaken [W]
    • Moved from Level 7.
    • New functionality: Enemy Heroes who are damaged by Cursed Strikes or Skeletal Warriors deal 40% less damage for 3 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Andariel's Visage [R1]
    • No longer increases the damage of Skeletal Warriors.
    • Additional functionality: Increase the duration of Poison Nova by 50%.
  • Cold Hand of Death [R2]
    • No longer causes Skeletal Warriors to Slow enemies.
    • Additional functionality: Every 5th Spectral Scythe that hits enemy Heroes spawns a Frost Mage instead of a Skeletal Warrior at their location.
  • Kalan's Edict [Trait]
    • New functionality: Each time Skeletal Warriors deal damage, reduce the cooldown of Bone Armor and Xul's Heroic Ability by 1.5%.

Developer Comment: Xul's rework has arrived! Our goal with these changes is primarily to make him feel more like a Diablo Necromancer, and to make his Skeletons a larger part of his kit outside of their pushing potential. Xul now has the ability to spawn Skeletal Warriors in combat via Spectral Scythe, and they now explode for damage when they die, giving enemy Heroes a reason to stay away from them while they mow them down. We also updated Xul's talents to embrace this fantasy, with many options to use Skeletons as a mechanism to deliver various buffs to Xul and debuffs to the enemy team. We had a blast testing him, and hope you enjoy him as much as we have!

Updates

Updates

Stats

• Health increased from 1900 to 2000
• Health Regeneration increased 3.957 to 4.168
• Basic Attack damage increased from 104 to 110

Abilities

• Raise Skeleton (Trait)
  • Skeletal Warrior Health reduced from 240 to 225
  • Skeletal Warrior damage reduced from 23 to 21
• Bone Prison (E)
  • Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds
  • Mana cost reduced from 80 to 70

Talents

• Level 7
  • Trag'Oul's Essence (Trait)
    • Mana restoration per Skeletal Warrior attack reduced from 0.5% to 0.2% of Xul's maximum Mana

Developer Comment: We like that Xul is a strong pushing Hero who has an identity as a great duo-lane soaker, but believe that his identity has been pushed too far into this role, and we would like to see him have more presence in team fights. We're making adjustments to push him in this direction by buffing his base stats and toning down his split-push potential.

Updates

Talents

• Level 4
  • Grim Scythe (Q)
    • Cooldown reduction per enemy hit increased from .75 to 1 second
  • Jailors (E)
    • Bonus Attack and Movement Speed reduced from 50 to 40%
• Level 7
  • Harvest Vitality (W)
    • Heal increased from 60 to 70%

Updates

Abilities

• Raise Skeleton (Trait)
  • Skeleton health reduced from 270 to 240
• Skeletal Mages (R)
  • Cooldown increased from 70 to 90 seconds

Talents

• Level 7
  • Trag'Oul's Essence (Trait)
    • Healing reduced from 1% to .5% per Skeleton Basic Attack
    • Mana return increased from .4% to .5% per Skeleton Basic Attack
• Level 13
  • Echoes of Death (Q)
    • Damage reduced from 70 to 60% of Spectral Scythe's damage

Bug Fixes

• Waiting 4 or more seconds to attack after activating Cursed Strikes will no longer cause the Ability's visual effects to out of sync with Xul's attack animations

Updates

Abilities

• Raise Skeleton (Trait)
  • Health reduced from 300 to 270
• Cursed Strikes (W)
  • Cooldown increased from 15 to 16 seconds

Talents

• Level 1
  • Backlash (Trait)
    • Damage reduced from 15 to 12% of enemy Heroes' maximum Health
• Level 4
  • Grim Scythe (W)
    • Cooldown reduction per attack increased from .5 to .75 seconds
    • Maximum cooldown reduction increased from 10 to 12 seconds

Updates

Abilities

• Spectral Scythe (Q)
  • Mana cost reduced from 65 to 55
• Cursed Strikes (W)
  • Mana cost reduced from 65 to 60
• Bone Prison (E)
  • Now causes all active Skeletons to fixate on the target.

Talents

• Level 1
  • Shackler (Active)
    • Added functionality:
      • Basic Attacking a Hero that is slowed, rooted, or stunned reduces the cooldown of Bone Armor by 2 seconds.
• Level 4
  • Reaper's Toll (Q)
    • New functionality:
      • !Quest: Hit enemy Heroes with Spectral Scythe.
      • !Reward: After hitting 20 Heroes, reduce the cooldown by 3 seconds.
  • Jailors (Trait)
    • New functionality:
      • Cause 2 Skeletons to spawn when you cast Bone Prison. These do not count toward the maximum limit of Skeletons you can own.
      • !Quest: Spawn Skeletal Warriors.
      • !Reward: After spawning 80 Skeletons, when Skeletal Warriors fixate on an enemy from Bone Prison they gain 50% Movement and Attack Speed.
  • (New) Grim Scythe (W)
    • Every time Cursed Strikes damages enemies, reduce its cooldown by .5 seconds, up to 10 seconds.
• Level 7
  • Trag'Oul's Essence (Trait)
    • Moved from level 4 to level 7
    • Redesigned:
      • Skeleton Basic Attacks restore 1% Health and .4% Mana.
  • Harvest Vitality (W)
    • Redesigned:
    • Cursed Strikes heals Xul for 60% of the damage it deals to Heroes.
  • Weaken (W)
    • Now also increases the duration of Cursed Strikes Attack Speed slow from 2 to 3 seconds.
  • Rathma's Blessing (Trait)
    • Removed
• Level 13
  • Decrepify (Q)
    • Removed
  • Giant's Curse (W)
    • Removed
  • (New) Echoes of Death (Q)
    • After an additional 1.5 seconds, 2 more Spectral Scythes appear next to the first and travel back to Xul dealing 75% damage.
  • (New) Rapid Harvest (W)
    • When Xul damages an enemy with Cursed Strikes, he gains 5% Attack Speed for 3 seconds, up to 75%.
  • Executioner (Passive)
    • Moved from 16 to 13.
• Level 16
  • Skeleton Mastery (Trait)
    • Removed
  • Corpse Exposion (Trait)
    • Moved from level 13 to level 16
  • Bone Spear (Active)
    • Moved from level 20 to level 16
    • Cooldown increased from 10 to 12 seconds.
• Level 20
  • Call of the Grave (R)
    • Removed
  • (New) Andariel's Visage (R)
    • Xul is healed for 50% of the damage done by Poison Nova. Skeleton Warriors become Poison Skeletons, dealing 50% increased damage.
  • Raised Mage (R)
    • Renamed to Cold Hand of Death
    • New functionality:
      • No longer causes Skeletal Mages to spawn from dead Heroes.
      • Now causes Skeletal Warriors to become Frost Skeletons, causing their Basic Attacks to slow enemies by 30%.
  • (New) Kalan's Edict (Trait)
    • Every time a Skeleton deals Basic Attack damage, reduce Xul's Heroic cooldown by 1%.

• (!) indicates a Questing Talent.
• Italic text indicates a NEW Talent.
• Underlined text indicates a MOVED Talent.

Bug Fixes

• Will no longer appear offset on the Ranked Play screen.

Updates

Abilities

• Skeletal Mages (R)
  • Is now cast using vector targeting (Click+Drag)

Bug Fixes

• Skeletal Warriors will no longer attack Murky's Pufferfish if it is in their path.

Updates

Abilities

• Raise Skeleton (Trait)
  • Skeleton damage reduced from 30 to 23

Talents

Level 1

• Shade (Active)
  • Shade version of Bone Armor's cooldown increased from 40 to 50 seconds
• Shackler (Active)
  • Slow amount increased from 30 to 35%

Level 7

• Rathma's Blessing (Trait)
  • Healing reduced from 66 to 55

Level 16

• Flowing Wounds (Q)
  • Cooldown reduction increased from 4 to 5 seconds

Level 20

• Bone Spear (Active)
  • Damage reduced from 260 to 230

Developer Comment: Xul has been a strong pick for a while now, and gotten better with the increased power of Minions. We think that someone with the consistent effectiveness he has should also be a little bit weaker overall, since you don't need to worry about what the team compositions look like. We're aiming to nerf a few of his stronger Talents, and reduce his pushing potential by weakening Skeletons.

Updates

Talents

• Level 20
  • Mortal Wound (Active)
    • This Talent's effect will now only reduce Healing received by the target while the Mortal Wound effect is active. Healing effects that continue after the Mortal Wounds effect ends will no longer be reduced
    • Will no longer reduce Healing received by Healing Wells or reduce the duration of Heal over Time effects

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that made Xul uncontrollable if Sylvanas and Xul cast Mind Control and Bone Prison on each other

Updates

• Bone Prison (E)
  • Root duration reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds.
  • Amplify Damage (Talent)
    • Vulnerability duration reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds.

Developer Comment:

Updates

• Cursed Strikes (W)
  • Attack Speed slow now only affects Heroes and Summons

Bug Fixes

• Xul's Skeletal Mages now properly prioritize Heroes, Dragon Knights, and Garden Terrors over enemy Minions.

Updates

• Basic Attack damage reduced from 115 (+4% per level) to 104 (+4% per level)
• Raise Skeleton (Trait)
  • Skeleton Mastery (Talent)
    • Damage bonus reduced from 100% to 50%
  • Corpse Explosion (Talent)
    • Damage reduced from 65 (+4% per level) to 55 (+4% per level)
• Spectral Scythe (Q)
  • Damage reduced from 300 (+4% per level) to 240 (+4% per level).
  • Mana cost increased from 45 to 60
• Cursed Strikes (W)
  • Attack Speed slow amount reduced from 50% to 40%

Developer Comment: Xul deals way too much damage for the amount of utility he has in his kit, and his pushing Talents are vastly outperforming their competitors. He also has the highest win-rate currently and it's still climbing, so we needed to be pretty heavy-handed with these nerfs.

Bug Fixes

• Xul's Spectral Scythe will no longer disappear prematurely if Bone Armor expires while the Scythe is airborne.
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause Xul's Skeletal Mages to persist longer than the Ability's intended duration.

Releases

Xul, Cryptic Necromancer, has been added to the Nexus and is now available for play! Read on for a brief overview of his Abilities.

Trait

• Raise Skeleton
  • When a nearby enemy Minion dies, it becomes a Skeletal Warrior for 15 seconds. Up to 4 Skeletal Warriors can be active at once.

Basic Abilities

• Bone Armor (1)
  • Activate to gain a Shield equal to 25% of your maximum Health for 3 seconds.
• Spectral Scythe (Q)
  • Summon a scythe at target location that travels toward you after a 1 second delay, damaging enemies in its path.
• Cursed Strikes (W)
  • Once activated, your Basic Attacks over the next 4 seconds deal damage in a wide arc and reduce the Attack Speed of enemies hit by 50% for 2 seconds.
• Bone Prison (E)
  • After a 2 second delay, root target enemy in place for 2 seconds.

Heroic Abilities

• Poison Nova (R)
  • After a short delay, release poisonous missiles that deal massive poison damage over 10 seconds to all enemies hit.
• Skeletal Mages (R)
  • Summon 4 Skeletal Mages in a line that attack nearby enemies and slow them by 30% for 2 seconds. Lasts up to 15 seconds.