💠Introduction

What’s up, folks? Welcome to the Patch Preview for Patch 2.8.2. Patch 2.8.2 will be released on Thursday, April 17. The upcoming patch contains mostly optimizations and immortal buffs. Let’s take a look at what the patch entails, the winners and losers of this patch as well as how the changes might influence the meta. 

💠Table of Contents

• Buffs
• Tower of Knowledge Optimizations
• Quality of Life Optimizations
• Summary

💠Buffs

Ever since Yi Sun-Shin and Charles compositions for non-Chaos teams and Wukong and Anubis compositions became meta, Athena was mostly phased out. Now with so many players using Emperor Qin in their setups, Athena could use some love to counter his Wound effect. Currently, Athena’s regeneration rate is 52.4 at max level which lets her cast her ultimate about once every 12 seconds. Patch 2.8.2 is bringing her initial regeneration rate from 44 to 53 which would bring her maximum regeneration rate closer to 61 per second. That would bring her casts to about once every 10 to 11 seconds. The difference is almost negligible. In comparison, Qin generates energy three times as fast as Athena does. While the buff allows her to cast slightly faster, I still don’t believe she will be a viable counter to Wound effects and the upgrade is mostly placebo. She will need more love if she wants to be better at countering Wound.

Winners: Qin and Khan

Losers: Athena

Another Chaos immortal is getting better preferential treatment. Loki’s Realm of Lies is getting a damage buff. Its damage will go from 229.5% + 31.5% per level to 255% + 35% per level. That will bring his damage from 450% to 500% at max level. Additionally, the effect of his Exclusive Artifact is changing to give Realm of Lies 30% increased damage. Loki should easily replace Himiko as a meta pick even if mages in general were nerfed and Master’s Aegis exists now. Loki also has higher energy regeneration than Himiko which means Infinite Firepower benefits him more.

Winners: Loki

Losers: Himiko

Similarly, Manco Cápac's artifact is getting the same treatment. The effect is changing from increasing Dodge Rate by 25% while casting Sun Flare to dealing 30% more damage. In a meta where physical damage dealers are becoming more prominent, Manco should fare far better than he used to. Dodge wasn’t very effective in the late-game so it was basically not impactful. I believe he can be a decent replacement for Alexander, but his specialization will be too expensive to level. Those who can afford him probably already have Chaos immortals who can do his job better and the buff won’t matter for those who can’t afford him.

Winners: Manco

Wind Dragon is getting a small but significant buff. His second skill, Stormy Breath, currently gives three random allied wind troops a 60% chance to recover HP when landing normal attacks. Patch 2.8.2 will remove the Wind element qualifier and give any three troops the effect, making him more effective for Alexander in mixed Earth marches. Mixed marches are already in a good spot, this will make them even better for free-to-play players.

Winners: Alexander

💠Tower of Knowledge Optimizations

Ever feel like there are too many skills in the Tower of Knowledge and finding skills is sometimes difficult? Patch 2.8.2 is revamping the Tower of Knowledge interface to move skills into different categories that are more organized and easier to navigate. The interface will also show which immortal has the skill equipped. Additionally, several skills have lower level requirements to unlock. Weakening Curse is moving from level 51 to 50, Blade Vortex is shifting from level 50 to 39, Spell Disintegrator is moving from level 47 to 38, and Storm Eye is going from level 44 to 37. These lower levels are better for newer and younger players who can access multiple strong skills earlier.

Winners: New players

💠Quality of Life Optimizations

One of the best optimizations in this patch is the ability for players to claim rewards from the Wishing Fountain with one tap. This currently feels like an everyday chore so this change will make it feel better to do. 

Winners: Everyone

💠Summary

Patch 2.8.2 is a patch focused mostly on buffs sprinkled with optimizations. Athena received a minor buff while Loki and Manco got significantly better buffs. Tower of Knowledge will be more user-friendly and easier to access at lower levels. The Wishing Fountain will be easier to claim rewards and resources from.

Are you looking forward to the patch and optimizations? Let me know in the comments below! 

💠References

Version 2.8.1

💠Related Links

Infinity Kingdom Official Website

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