The November Balance Update for Empires & Puzzles is now live, bringing buffs, small tweaks, and a few underwhelming changes across several hero families. Let’s go through everything that changed — from the new Magic Carpet passive to Winter Family updates, and which heroes benefit most.
1. Magic Carpet Family – Major Passive Rework
The Magic Carpet family received the biggest change this month. Their special family effects have been replaced with new transformation-based passives, giving them a stronger and more flexible edge in combat.
New Passive Skills
- Transform Ailments (All Allies):
Each time a Magic Carpet hero casts their special skill, all status ailments affecting attack, defense, and mana generation on allies are converted into undispellable buffs.
Example: A -34% defense ailment becomes a +34% defense buff instead. - Transform Buffs (All Enemies):
Each time the hero casts their skill, all buffs affecting attack, defense, and mana generation on enemies are transformed into matching undispellable ailments.
This means positive buffs on your opponents flip into harmful debuffs.
This rework affects every hero in the Magic Carpet family, not just the ones who originally had that effect. It’s one of the most impactful passive updates in recent months.
2. Legendary Hero Buffs
Several legendary heroes received targeted improvements to their special skills:
- Alyssa:
Now cleanses two status ailments from all allies. However, it’s not a “safe cleanse,” meaning some effects like Moth Dust (which triggers sleep when cleansed) can still backfire. - Zaza:
Special skill now bypasses defensive buffs, improving her overall damage reliability. - Lando:
Gains a safe cleanse on his special, removing all status ailments without triggering negative effects. - Lily:
Now regenerates 90 health over five turns (self-heal over time). - Bart:
His attack now reduces max health of the target and nearby enemies by 500 points. This reduction is more effective against targets with boosted health, though unfortunately it applies after his damage, which slightly limits its value.
3. Epic Hero Buff
- Pip:
The Delta Burn damage from his skill now heals the caster. He absorbs 20% of the burn damage dealt as health, turning him into a more sustainable offensive unit.
4. Institute & Forsaken Families – Eldrich Pact Update
The Eldrich Pact passive can now activate even when the caster defeats themselves — for example:
- When they attack into a counterattack and die.
- When they self-inflict damage (via confusion or insanity effects).
This makes self-destruction triggers more dynamic, though the exact mechanics may vary depending on timing and damage type.
5. Super Elemental Family (Costume Buffs)
All Super Elemental heroes with costumes have received subtle but useful buffs.
| Hero | Buff Details |
|---|---|
| Ignazio (Fire) | Attack buff is now undispellable and lasts 2 turns longer for Fire allies (+55% attack for 4 turns). |
| Roz (Fire) | Now deals extra damage against Ice enemies. |
| Griffith (Holy) | Allies are now immune to new negative mana effects for 5 turns. |
| Zangar (Dark) | Heals caster by 30% of the damage dealt. |
| Dachshun (Fire) | Adds a new effect: the caster and all Fire allies gain +30% attack for 4 turns. |
These adjustments enhance their identity as strong elemental team anchors.
6. Winter Family – Minor and Disappointing Buff
Players had high hopes for the Winter Family costumes, but this update barely moves the needle.
Old Bonus:
- +35% Attack & Defense
- +35% Health
- +5% Mana Generation
New Bonus:
- +37% Attack & Defense
- +38% Health
- +5% Mana Generation
New Passive Added:
- Frost on Minion Hit:
Each hit from minions owned by the hero now inflicts frost damage over 4 turns.
While the frost damage sounds interesting, it’s expected to be minor given it’s tied to minion attacks. The stat increase itself is minimal and widely considered underwhelming.
7. Mahayota Family – Stat Increases
This small family, currently consisting of Beimma and Chitrangada, received stat boosts to bring them in line with upcoming Mahayota heroes.
Beimma:
- Attack: 1289 → 1328
- Defense: 1196 → 1236
- Health: 2158 → 2261
Chitrangada:
- Attack: 1186 → 1250
- Defense: 1289 → 1332
- Health: 2230 → 2263
A straightforward numerical buff in preparation for future Mahayota units.
8. Construct Family – Glaciva Buff
Only Glaciva got changes within the Construct family:
- Defense Reduction: -20% → -25%
- Frost Damage: 456 → 513 damage over 3 turns
A solid buff for a damage-over-time hero.
9. Merkheim Realm – Braggi Buff
- Frostfall Strike Damage:
Increased from 2200 to 2500 max damage, strengthening Braggi’s burst potential.
10. Old Heroes of the Month – Power Bumps
A series of older HOTMs received base damage increases to keep them relevant:
| Hero | Old Damage | New Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Toth Amoon | 310% → 340% | |
| Toth Amoon (Costume) | 330% → 360% | |
| Zimkitha (Zima) | 185% → 215% | |
| Zimkitha (Costume) | 210%–390% → 240%–420% | |
| Glenda | 300% → 330% | |
| Balbar | 320% → 350% | |
| Nema | 250% → 280% | |
| Mene (Mean) | 280% → 310% |
Small but meaningful tweaks that help these older heroes stay competitive in current metas.
11. Known Issue – Missing Descriptions
A known issue affects some Magic Carpet heroes in non-English translations — their new passive descriptions are missing. However, this is purely a text issue; the effects still function as intended.
It’s recommended to test them in raids before using them in Alliance Wars to confirm behavior.
This November balance update doesn’t bring any meta-breaking changes, but it significantly improves the Magic Carpet family and keeps older heroes relevant. The Winter Family, unfortunately, got one of the weakest buffs in recent memory — a missed opportunity for such a beloved seasonal group.
From a meta standpoint, no single hero currently dominates the top tier, which means wars and raids continue to see diverse tanks and setups across alliances.
