Rehgar gets reworked in latest Heroes of the Storm PTR update

Rehgar received a rework in the latest Heroes of the Storm PTR patch on Tuesday. The orc shaman hailing from the World of Warcraft universe now has a new trait alongside new talents and functionalities. According to Blizzard, the rework features quality-of-life changes that made typically mandatory talents become his baseline. “Just to prove that old dogs can learn new tricks, we’ve also given Rehgar a new activated trait, Purge, which allows him to micro-cleanse an ally or momentarily snare a distant enemy,” the announcement explained.

Rehgar’s baseline updates

While his basic attack damage got buffed, his attack speed was reduced. Rehgar’s Lightning Shield [W] ability now costs less mana and restores a bit when the shield hits enemies. At the baseline, Earthbind Totem [E] also received a buff. The information for Ghost Wolf, his old trait, got moved to the Z key. Meanwhile, Purge [D] is his new trait. When activated, Purge can grant a teammate Unstoppable or slow an enemy down.

• Purge [D]
  • Activate to make an ally Unstoppable for .5 seconds or slow an enemy Hero by 80%, decaying over 2 seconds. Cannot be used on Self.
  • Cooldown: 30 Seconds.

Level 1 talent changes

Stormcaller [W] got moved from level 4 to level 1 and received a new functionality that increases the radius of Lightning Shield. When the shield hits an enemy hero, it increases Rehgar’s health and mana. Grounded Totem [E] is now a level 1 talent as well. It has the additional functionality of reducing the spell power of enemies who are affected by the totem’s radius. As for Feral Heart [Z], it now gives Rehgar armor for a couple of seconds whenever he enters or exits his Ghost Wolf form. The movement speed in this form also received a bonus that fades over time. Additionally, the shaman’s Wolf Run [Z] was removed.

Level 4 talent buffs

At level 4, Rehgar now has the Earthliving Enchant [Q] talent alongside increased healing for it. Electric Charge [W], which moved from the first level, lets Lightning Shield heal for a percentage of the damage dealt to opponents. Rehgar heals more if he uses it on himself. At this level, this talent also increases the movement speed of whoever receives the shield and hits enemies with it. As for Healing Totem [E], it has more health, can scale per level and heal more health per second.

Level 7 receives Purification 

Rehgar’s level 7 talents were also reworked. Cleanse [Active] was removed. Meanwhile, Colossal Totem [E], which used to be available at level 1, no longer increases the range of Earthbind Totem. Additionally, Blood and Thunder [Z] has a reduced cooldown and the additional functionality of restoring mana through Ghost Wolf attacks. Purification [D] is a new trait talent that removes a stun, root, slow or silence. It also heals allies and refunds a significant percentage of the Purge cooldown. When Purge is used on enemies, it can deal damage to shields and reduce the amount of healing received.

• Purification [Trait D]
  • Removing a Slow, Stun, Root or Silence from an Ally heals them for 260 and refunds 50% of Purge’s cooldown.
  • Using Purge on an enemy deals up to 330 damage to shields and reduces Healing received by 40% for 3 seconds.

Level 13 talent upgrades

At level 13, Tidal Waves [Q] got a mana reduction and heroic target cooldown reduction increase. Earth Shield [W] also got buffed with its increased shield amount. Wellspring [E] is a new talent, allowing Earthbind Totem to cast a Chain Heal at a nearby ally that heals for more than usual.

• Tidal Waves [Q]
  • Heroic target cooldown reduction increased from .75 seconds to 1 second.
  • Mana cost reduction increased from 15 to 20.

• Wellspring [E]
  • Every 2 seconds, Earthbind Totem will cast an untalented Chain Heal at a nearby ally that heals for 40% of its normal value.

Level 16 functionality updates

Rising Storm [W] at level 16 no longer provides Rehgar with an untalented Lightning Shield, but the duration of the shield received an increase. Earthgrasp Totem [E] also has an additional functionality, making Earthbind Totem dish out damage when it gets placed down the first time. Moreover, Hunger of the Wolf [Z] received buffs to damage to healing.

Level 20 talents and more

At Rehgar’s maximum talent level, he no longer has Rewind [Active] and Stormshield [Active]. However, Elemental Conduit [Active] can be used to receive a Lightning Shield and grant his teammates a shield accounting for a percentage of their maximum health for a short duration. Additionally, Pit Fighter [Passive] grants Rehgar and his nearby teammates attack damage and spell power. This talent can stack and significantly reduce the cooldown of Purge. Alongside Rehgar’s rework in the PTR, there are updates to Auriel, Brightwing, Dehaka, Falstad, Imperius, Jaina, Johanna, Junkrat, Lunara, Probius, Raynor, Stukov, Tyrande and Zarya. The healing wells in every map are also now invulnerable. Much like Heroes of the Storm’s ARAM game mode, they can only be destroyed if their fort or keep gets taken down. Both forts and keeps received health increases as well. Playtesting can be done in the Heroes of the Storm PTR until Dec. 6.