March 11 Patch: Astrid Gets a Complete Overhaul While Violet Becomes a Burst Monster

This update brings some of the most impactful changes we have seen in months. It does not just tweak numbers, it reshapes how a few heroes function. Here is who is rising, who is falling, and what it means for your ranked grind.

The big winners

Violet, the new burst threat

Violet was already a respectable pick. This patch turns her into a legitimate carry threat. Based on the co-creation poll, the devs gave her a burst overhaul that makes her genuinely terrifying in the early-to-mid game.

Here is what changed. Her Skill 2 now marks targets and applies a permanent 10% physical defense reduction for five seconds, which is huge for sustained fights. More importantly, marked targets take an additional 100 + 20/level physical damage on every normal attack, and that damage doubles against minions, so your wave clear and jungle farming both improve significantly.

The Skill 1 cooldown change cuts both ways. It now enters cooldown immediately rather than after an enhanced attack, but her passive refunds 0.5 seconds whenever she hits non-hero units. In practice you cycle enhanced attacks faster than before, especially during wave clear. With a 5-second base cooldown reduced by 0.2 per level, late game you are looking at near-permanent enhanced attacks if you manage the combo properly.

What this means for you: Violet goes from a decent option to a must-ban in some comps. If you are climbing, learn her now. If you are playing into her, respect the defense shred and do not group carelessly.

Astrid, a complete redesign

Astrid's overhaul is the headline of the patch, and it is substantial. They did not just buff her, they reimagined Skill 2, Fearless Charge, into an ember-management system that rewards skilled play.

The new mechanic: Astrid dashes and gains ember stacks (maximum 2) that last five seconds. Enhanced normal attacks do different things depending on your ember count. With one ember, you charge a target and transfer the ring, dealing damage and applying a slow, and you can reactivate to hit them again when they leave the ring. With two embers, your next enhanced attack becomes a powerful slash that knocks back enemies and restores your HP, with more healing if you hit a hero.

This is genuinely skill-expressive. Juggling embers between enemies, timing transfers, and deciding when to cash in the two-stack combo creates real decisions. The armor pierce buff on Skill 1, from 5% + 1/level to a flat 30 + 6/level, also means she scales better into the late game.

Her ultimate got tweaked too: charge time dropped from 1.5 to 1 second, and the invincibility frame now lasts until the ability lands rather than just during the charge. The trade-off is that life steal on true damage to heroes dropped from 100% to 50%, so you are not healing as absurdly through fights. Overall she feels more rewarding to pilot and less frustrating to play against.

What this means for you: Astrid has a much higher skill floor and ceiling. Casual players might struggle with the new rotation, but once you master the ember system she becomes incredibly potent.

Dolia and Mina, support and off-role buffs

Dolia's healing got a quiet but meaningful bump. Her Skill 2 cooldown dropped by one second, and the restoration values rose from 350 + 70/level to 400 + 80/level. As a secondary healer or an off-lane pick, she keeps your team alive more reliably now.

Mina got the buff many were waiting for. Her Skill 1 damage jumped from 125 + 40/level to 175 + 35/level, with increased AD scaling. The per-level value dropped slightly, but absolute output is higher, especially with her max-HP scaling boost. That reclaims her as a damage dealer rather than a pure support.

Arum's buff (noted as mobility and survivability increases, though details were cut off) should help her stick to targets and survive skirmishes.

The losers

Moren, reality check

Moren was overperforming after previous feel optimizations, so the devs reverted him to more balanced numbers. Movement speed dropped from 370 to 360, and his Skill 1 and ultimate both took damage hits. Still viable, but no longer the oppressive damage engine he was. Expect less of him in ranked.

Toro, support role adjustment

Toro was too universally good as a support: too tanky, too self-sufficient, too hard to kill even when isolated. His out-of-combat HP regeneration dropped from 2% to 1.4% of max health per second. It sounds small, but it means he cannot shrug off poke as aggressively, which makes him more vulnerable to sustained harassment and slower to solo-recover between fights.

What this means for the meta

The patch shifts toward skill expression and punishes teams that lean on brute-force tankiness. Violet and Astrid are your new playmakers, strong enough to dominate ranked but rewarding mechanical skill. Moren and Toro drop slightly, which opens room for alternative picks. If you are climbing, prioritize mastering Violet and Astrid; the patch rewards players who pilot them well.