This feels like a big nerf for Northstar

I know there’s not a ton of us out there but I’m one of the few big fans of Northstar. (Proud owner of 7*r3 Sig 110)

This rebalance feels like a straight nerf of a character that was already in a really niche spot. In terms of champs built for Everest fights he lags behind Kate in damage and speed, lacks the utility or Kate and Aegon, and doesn’t provide any of the sustain that Wong provides. All of this is fine, he doesn’t have to be a top tier character for me to love him.

But this balance update capping his Momentum from 10 to 6 means his Sp1 slow goes from a max duration of 30 seconds to 22 seconds and the physical resistance passive on his signature ability goes from a max of 26 seconds to 18 seconds, cutting down his already near non-existent utility.

It just sucks that a champ who’s already very much in the middle of the pack gets slapped even further down the line, whereas a champ like Arcade who’s basically one node away from being a nightmare defender is getting what sounds like a pretty significant buff to his defensive prowess.

I’d be happy to hear if I’m missing something. Thanks.

Comments

Bendy

Its more a buff as they are making his ramp faster will have to see how it affects anything but it should all stay the same

Kabam (Osaurus) Rex

"...we’ve decided to REBALANCE Northstar around a max of 6 Momentum. The goal is for his CEILING TO BE AROUND THE SAME place because we are happy with where he performs once he gets there, but EASIER AND QUICKER to hit said ceiling within a fight."

EdisonLaw

Will he be viable for shorter fights besides story?

Wolf911

It sounds like a decent buff to me will have to see after we get our hands on the buffed version

Just that we won’t be able to stun lock opponents

Going from 10 to just 6 will make his ramp so much faster

Like build 2.5 bars activate speed burst throw sp2 and still be at more that 1 bar of power so sp1 can be thrown immediately

This will get us to 3 momentum which will be half the ramp for buffed version

Then a couple more sp1s for pauses which will get him to 5 momentum

By this time the speed burst will expire and we will have enough pauses to repeat the cycle from the start

robotsandteddybears

So unless I’m missing something, his momentum will be gained in the exact same manner. So he’s not really reaching his ceiling any quicker, while his damage remains the same (which I never disputed) his utility ceiling has been lowered as I articulated in my post. And looking back over it I neglected to mention that his chance to gain prowess will be lowered by an effective 16% now that his momentum is capped at 6.

I suppose I’ll wait for the actual patch notes but I stand by my words for now.

Bendy

No hes saying everything be staying same but he be reaching his max quicker since only needs to go to 6

robotsandteddybears

I mean you can do that now and it’s the exact same experience. His stun is whatever, I don’t really care that it’s getting removed. It’s the momentum cap that affects all his other abilities.

robotsandteddybears

Fair enough, if they’re buffing the numbers then I’m completely in the wrong. I’ll take that L all day. I have no doubt they’re working hard on it so I understand the final numbers not being ironed out.

Wolf911

We have to wait for the patch notes but I think they will increase the chance to gain prowess also the duration reduction of the speed burst cool down will be adjusted according to the new momentum cap

robotsandteddybears

Yea that’s fair. I’ll be sure to take the L if I’m wrong.

RockSlyde

It's very likely they're doing to Northstar what they did to Shuri, where they reduce the ramp time by reducing their maximum momentum / shock count and proportionately increasing the rest of their kit. Shuri's max shock count was cut in half, but her shock damage was doubled, so you reach max ramp faster with the same effective damage. I'd expect the current bonuses to be multiplied by 1.67x once his max momentum is 6 so that the slow duration and everything else is equivalent (or better)

ThePredator1001

Any chance his prowess can get changed into passives instead of buffs? The prowess buffs can be shut down by nodes and mystic defenders. It’s a small change but it would make him more versatile.

PT_99

Well ofc Kabam just don't have ability to buff attacker without scuffing him first.

Too scared

But is that right? A defender who's already annoying is getting a buff?

Never change kabam 🤣

PT_99

Because only reason Kabam is "buffing" northstar is because he was able to do this thing which Kabam hates very much.

Harryatomix

1.67x is an awkward thing to do to a chal kit. They should just round the things. His prowess gain should increase to 2 per momentum and his slow and physical resistance duration should increase to +4 per momentum.

EdisonLaw

Ah so it’s gonna be like shuri then

Bendy

Yeah basically and look how she turned out awesome as hell

Wicket329

Yeah, dude, that’s a bad thing and Kabam is right to address it. If you have a champ who can do that, then future Everest content has to be built to circumvent it. That means things like widespread stun immunity, which completely tanks a ton of other champions’ kits that would have otherwise been useful.

I say this as somebody who has an r2 Northstar and am now more likely to r3 him with this rebalance announced.