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Hello everyone, I’m Gaming Xiaodi.

This time, I want to talk about an item: Glacial Storm. Known among players as "Ice Heart," there was once a saying that "everything can be Ice Heart," highlighting its incredible versatility. Streamer Zhang Daxian also had a catchphrase: "Once Ice Heart comes out, the game is over." All of this shows how glorious Glacial Storm once was. Sadly, nowadays, very few heroes still use this item. So, what exactly happened?

Getting to Know Glacial Storm

To discuss the reasons, we need to understand the item. Glacial Storm costs 2040 gold, with base stats of 20% cooldown reduction, 600 max HP, and 240 physical defense. Its passive effect triggers when taking a single instance of damage exceeding 10% of max HP, reflecting up to 260 magic damage while reducing attack speed by 15% and movement speed by up to 30% within range for 2 seconds, with a 2-second cooldown. These details are crucial, especially the passive, as it’s the focus of our discussion.

Why It Has Faded from Use

The biggest issue lies in this passive, which I believe urgently needs a rework. First, the reflected magic damage isn’t instant but has a slight delay, making it avoidable not only with dashes but even with slightly faster movement. Compared to Omni Preparation, the difference is night and day.

Second, the passive has a prerequisite: it requires taking over 10% max HP in one hit. This makes it very hard to trigger against multi-hit damage. Currently, due to various reasons have led to the popularity of lifesteal-based builds for marksmen, which feature high-frequency, low-damage attacks. For example, a crit build might deal 2000 damage in one hit, easily triggering Glacial Storm’s passive easily, but a lifesteal build might deal 200 damage 10 times. Even though the total damage is still 2000, the threshold isn’t met, leaving the passive untriggering the passive. This is arguably the most prominent pain point today.

Another problem is the replaceability of its base stats. After all, what players value most about Glacial Storm isn’t HP or physical defense because there are better options. For HP, Tyrant’s Resilience is the clear choice, while Omni Preparation offers better physical defense. The key stat is actually the 20% cooldown reduction, which was highly sought after was highly prized since few defensive items offered it.

However, the developers later introduced items like Dawnlight and Frost Shock, which also provide some cooldown reduction. While they don’t match the 20% value, combined with runes, it’s generally sufficient. After all, cooldown reduction isn’t always a mandatory stat. The difference between 0% and 20% is significant, but between 10% and 20%, it’s much smaller. Moreover, these items have more reliable passives, becoming superior alternatives. So, after weighing the options, players naturally chose to replace Glacial Storm.

So, do you think Glacial Storm is in urgent need of adjustment? Feel free to share your thoughts~

That’s all for now. If you found this enjoyable, consider giving, and if you have more to say, ask, or watch, leave your mark in the comments, I’ll read them all~

No game unknown game, no unknown tale; I’m Xiaodi, let’s chat freely!

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