Patch 2.1 - Balance Notes

-- Balance Notes --

Lance:

We've been hearing concerns for a while that lance has become too strong. While lance winrates are still fairly normal for the average player, they've definitely become dominant at high ranks, and their winrates at all ranks are continuing to increase. On top of that, playing against the lance felt frustrating for many players, so it was time to give lance a second look. The primary goal with these changes is to lessen the effectiveness and ease of use of some combos that have made lance too effective. The risk/reward of Side Light and Side Air felt too strong when compared to combos on other weapons, and both have been toned down, especially when using the Side Air as a grounded approach tool. Recovery as a combo finisher has a great deal of Force for how reliable it is. We've kept Side Light into Neutral Air a true combo, but made Side Light into Recovery escapable with good timing. Finally, Lance Side Light only gets its second swing on hit similar to the Sword Down Light. To balance out these reductions, we've given small buffs to Down Air and Down Light.

• Lance Neutral Light: Rehitboxed to better match animation.

• AdjustedLance Air DownRehitboxed to better match animation. Slightly decreased Recovery times. Movement is angled more downward.
• AdjustedLance Side LightRehitboxed to better match animation; Upward swing only occurs on hit; Slightly increased Time to Hit; Increased Recover Time on miss; Decreased distance traveled on miss. Slightly decreased Stun time.
• AdjustedLance Down LightIncreased Damage.
• AdjustedLance Air SideRehitboxed to better match animation; Increased Cooldown Time; Increased Recover Time; If the move lands on the ground it will travel a shorter distance, have decreased Stun Time, and longer Recover Time on miss.
• AdjustedLance RecoveryRehitboxed to better match animation. Increased Time to Hit.

Spear

Spear issues have a tendency to be underreported or dismissed because they're so widely used. Frustration with the Spear's ground pound in particular comes up on occasion, but is typically countered by pointing out how little protection the hurtbox has from underneath. While this is true, it's a much faster move than most ground pounds, and has a great deal more threat. We've given more opportunity to react to and punish it (and to a lesser extent, the Spear's Recovery).

• AdjustedSpear Ground PoundDecreased Hitbox height; Increased Time To Hit; Slightly increased Recover Time.
• AdjustedSpear RecoveryIncreased Recover Time.

Katar

There was a sense from the community that we would be hitting katars almost as hard as the lance this patch, focusing primarily on the recover times of their air game. The thing is, currently Katar winrates don't seem to be especially high, and their recover times aren't much lower than comparable powers. However, Katar cooldowns are very low, especially for those who enjoy flying through the air assisted by Neutral Airs. We’ve adjusted some of their air cooldowns to discourage this type of play and open them up to punishing just a little bit more.

• AdjustedKatar Neutral AirIncreased Cooldown Time.
• AdjustedKatar Side AirIncreased Cooldown Time.

Blasters

Blasters are doing a little worse than desired at the moment, and the reductions on the Side Air several patches ago have made Blasters overly reliant on the Down Air. We're slightly improving the speed of the Side Air to make the air options more uniformly viable, but are being careful to avoid returning it to its