ability index 5
change timeline 13 patches
Relentless Barrage – Minor Perk
- Refunded automatic bolts reduced from 8 to 5.
- Damage reduced from 30 to 28.
- Explosive Bolt explosion damage reduced from 80 to 75.
- Explosive bolt impact sound effects reduced.
Developer Comments: Recent changes have significantly increased Freja's damage output. We're reducing the damage of both Revdraw Crossbow and Take Aim, while also lowering the effectiveness of Relentless Barrage. Explosive Bolt's impact sound effects have also been reduced to lessen audio clutter when repeatedly hit.
- Fire Rate increased from 5 to 5.5.
- Recovery reduced from 0.5 to 0.4.
- Explosion delay reduced from 1 to 0.8 seconds.
Reducing Take Aim's explosion delay lowers the time between impact and damage, creating more consistent follow-up opportunities while reducing the bolt's disruptive potential when hit by it. The other changes are aimed at improving the flow between Take Aim and Revdraw Crossbow’s primary fire.
- Explosion Damage reduced from 80 to 40.
- Explosion causes the Stuck target to bleed for 40 damage over 2 seconds.
- Area slow increased from 45% to 75%.
- Now marks a random enemy player as a bounty.
- Eliminating the bounty target grants 15% Ultimate Charge.
- 6s cooldown between bounties.
These changes slightly increase the power of Bola Shot while slightly reducing the instant damage Freja can deal, and thus the burst overall. The Bounty Hunting mechanic introduces some interesting goals for Freja to pursue.
So Cooked
- Linger duration reduced to 2s (Down from 3s).
- Take Aim explosion base damage decreased to 75 (Down from 80).
Mighty Gust - Power
- Damage increased to 60 (Up from 40).
Peak Performance - Power
- Added "gain 20% Move Speed" while airborne.
Tracker Tags - Rare Hero Weapon Item
- Cost increased to 5000 (Up from 4000).
- Buff Duration reduced to 2s (Down from 3s).
Tourniquet - Rare Hero Survival Item
- Overhealth duration reduced to 3s (Down from 5s).
Toxin Tips - Epic Hero Survival Item
- Cost increased to 9500 (Up from 9000).
- Added 10% Attack Speed.
- Slow reduced to 20% (Down from 30%).
Freja has been difficult to balance in Stadium for most of her lifetime due to her base kit, so we're nerfing her base Take Aim damage to lower her baseline burst potential. We're also doing some small tweaks on some of her more outlier items and buffing her lower picked options.
Rising Winds – Major Perk
- No longer reduces the height gained from Updraft.
- Cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds.
- Bonus Ultimate charge increased from 25% to 33%.
Reducing Updraft’s cooldown and removing Rising Winds’ height penalty improves Freja’s mobility and positioning. Increasing Bounty Hunting’s Ultimate charge bonus rewards players for securing final blows with more frequent access to Bola Shot.
- Decreased Currency from Healing and Damage by 5%.
Volley à Deux - Power
- Spread of extra bolts increased by 66%.
Forager - Power
- Max Life Healing reduced to 4% (Down from 6%).
We're reducing the consistency of Freja's Machine Gun build by requiring her to play closer to her enemies to get full value from her powers.
- Additional bolt damage decreased from 50% reduced damage to 60% reduced damage.
Deep Pockets - Power
- Max Ammo restore reduced to 30% (Down from 40%).
Forager - Power
- Max Life Healing reduced to 6% (Down from 8%).
Machine Gun Freja builds continue to overperform so we're trimming some power off the supporting pieces.
- Freja's regular movement is 70% slower.
- Freja's cooldowns are accelerated by 300% while on the ground.
With Emre hogging all the airspace, Freja's taking a more grounded approach.
Hunter’s Instinct – Minor Perk
- Removed.
Relentless Barrage – Minor Perk
- Moved from Major to Minor.
Rising Winds – Major Perk
- Updraft gains an additional charge but has 20% reduced height.
Lille Fælde - Power
- Mini Bola damage decreased to 40% reduced (Down from 30% reduced)
So Cooked - Power
- Bola damaging zone bonus damage decreased to 20% (Down from 30%)
Volley à Deux - Power
- Bonus Shot damage decreased to 50% reduced (Down from 33% reduced)
We overshot with previous buffs to Freja, who is a hero that can feel particularly frustrating to play against due to her high burst and mobility, especially in Stadium. We're pulling back the vertical damage of her two most popular builds to help give players more of a window to react to her.
Revdraw Crossbow primary fire
- Maximum spread reduced from 2 to 1.5 degrees.
- Spread now ramps up more slowly and fans out horizontally.
Take Aim
- Impact damage increased from 30 to 35.
The primary-fire adjustments improve Freja’s baseline weapon consistency and reduce her reliance on empowered bolts. Increasing Take Aim’s damage restores an important breakpoint against 225-health targets while keeping its overall impact in check.
Revdraw Crossbow
- Damage increased from 25 to 30.
Take Aim
- Direct Hit damage reduced from 40 to 30.
- Explosion damage reduced from 90 to 80.
Quick Dash
- Distance traveled increased by 15%.
Bola Shot
- Hinder duration on the hit target increased from 1.2 to 1.4.
- Area slow increased from 25% to 45%.
Freja’s long-range kill potential primarily comes from landing two explosive bolts in quick succession. These changes shift power and breakpoints away from Take Aim and more toward her base kit, reducing distant lethality while improving her consistency elsewhere.
Volley à Deux - Power
- Spread of additional bolts reduced by 60%.
- Additional bolts fire every 3rd shot (Down from every 5th shot).
Peak Performance - Power
- Added +20% Updraft Height.
Forager - Power
- Max Life per hit increased to 8% (Up from 5%).
Windwalker Boots - Rare Ability Hero Item
- Added: "Take Aim Bolt Explosion damage reduces Updraft Cooldown by 1s".
- Removed: +20% Updraft Height.
- Added: 5% Ability Power.
- Removed: 5% Cooldown Reduction.
Aeroweave Cloak - Rare Survival Hero Item
- Added: Restore 10% Max Ammo every 1s while momentum is slowed by Take Aim.
Cyclone - Power
- Added: 25% reduced explosion damage from extra Take Aim Bolt.
These changes are aimed at adding more build variety for Freja and making her weaker options more viable choices. We're also reducing the vertical burst of her Weapon Power build, and adding an additional lever for us to have more fine tune control for further adjustments if needed.