I don’t really like the Armor concept in general, but I don’t mind the buffs/nerfs they have been doing along with it. The only change I am very sceptical of is the Tyrael one, giving him Spell Armor, removing Imposing Will and giving him a new bad version of Hardened Shield to counter mages.

The Johanna rework is interesting for sure; I feel that it’s her playstyle to counter auto attackers even before the patch, and this just amplifies it even more. I think i like it, but will have to play with it a bit before I can make up my mind.

I think what they're doing to Arthas is really good; we need more "main tanks" and this seems to be a step towards it. The meta for a long time has only had a few tanks that can really be the solo frontliner of a team, and I want to be able to do that with more heroes.

I'm looking forward to any tank changes Blizzard makes, if it means more tanks will be viable. Anub’arak and Arthas seem insane right now. I don't like the idea of too much flat stats for tanks, but as long as they remain somewhat versatile I think it's okay.

I personally enjoy most new patches to the game, but I think some of the changes they have made here are a bit weird. It seems like too many heroes are forced to have passive Armor, instead of "active Armor" (Muradin’s jump, Arthas’ Icebound fortitude). So while I like some of the ideas that they are trying to bring into the game, I still dislike the way it comes. For example they want a "anti-mage" 20 talent for Tyrael and Anub, but it’s just straight up worse than Hardened Shield - even if you are playing against double mage.

I like the talent reworks on Anub’arak and Arthas, but I haven’t been able to play enough to say how balanced they are. I especially like the "all-in" playstyle Anub’arak can have with auto-attacks post-13.

My thoughts on the direction depend a lot on what Blizzard’s next step is. Personally I don't mind the Armor with reduced health, but it can be unhealthy depending on what they do next. An example of this is focusing tanks into certain roles. Instead of working in the average case, they become specific counters. If it is only a small number of tanks this is fine, but if they make every tank like this I think it is a bad move. Muradin or E.T.C. do not need to be changed for example, And Tyrael arguably didn’t either. Making heroes that are already niche even more specifically suited for their niche is fine, like Arthas/Anub’arak/Johanna, but forcing it on too many heroes is not the way to go, as I said. The biggest question mark I have so far is the change of Hardened Shield to the anti-magic shield, which is horrible imo. If the hero (Anub/Tyrael) already has innate resistance versus a magic dmg, why would they need a magic damage-only shield on 20? Tyrael specifically really needs stronger 20 choices at the moment.

But what I’m I most looking forward to in competitive? Why Cho’gall, of course!

I don’t like to talk much about meta things from patch notes, just not my cup of tea. I just deal with changes. Much more “wait and see.”

This most recent patch really seemed to shake things up in terms of the viable warrior pool. Mainly it’s Arthas and Anub’arak that were the biggest changes in making them much stronger than before. Now on top of these changes, E.T.C. and Muradin didn’t get changed at all, but they still remain strong warriors. E.T.C. is always a good hero in terms of stun lock pressure, zone control and a high impact ultimate for both of his choices, and Muradin is still the tanky warrior that never seems to die after 13 if played properly, and we still see him prioritized highly by the eastern teams.

Arthas received buffs nearly all around, making him a much more appealing option as a CC, tanky frontline warrior. He has no increased mobility until perhaps 20, but he doesn’t seem to need it with his self healing of the new lower cooldown for Army of the Dead and the increased healing numbers of Death Coil. Combined with the level 7 talent, Icebound Fortitude, he can just be in the middle of the enemy team and seems to slow them all and never die.

Anub’arak has for a while now been an appealing option of tank versus immobile backliners, or mages in general with his Spell Armor. But buffs to him in the most recent patch, like the reduced cooldown of Burrow Charge and the added slow to it if you hit an enemy, along with some new talents, make him much more viable option. Anub’arak is much more threatening to immobile heroes and pushes out a lot more damage than before.

Also Varian is still RIP. MVP Black only won that game vs L5 on BoE because L5 handed it to them.