Camilla is Too Strong
A woman sat in the room, staring intently at her monitor with a serious expression.
The space was quiet and still. The only sounds were the occasional hum of her voice and the soft click of a mouse wheel turning.
The woman with lustrous white hair was named Muna. Professionally, she was a streamer known as Kayak.
As always, Kayak had turned on her stream today, her face unusually grave as she studied something on screen. Her deep blue eyes—hidden from viewers—scanned the text reflected on her monitor.
- The Snowflake Festival begins!
Extensive text and various illustrations filled the description.
It was a patch note. She was currently reading the patch note that appeared whenever new changes were introduced.
"Isn't the white snow beautiful? On days like this, my feet just move on their own."
- New skin release: Snowflake Festival Camilla (Mythic) is now available starting today.
Up to this point, there were no issues. The skin release had been anticipated, and Kayak—who’d lost the movie ticket giveaway—had been eagerly waiting for its launch.
The problem lay further down.
Beneath the section detailing miscellaneous in-game adjustments mentioned during the preview meeting, the most critical part: balance changes for each hero.
- Camilla
Increasing overall power for Camilla, who has been underperforming.
Bartholomew’s Tangdui (Q) base damage 20/30/40/50/60 → 30/40/50/60/70
...
From her core Q skill to her passive and defense stats—nearly everything had been adjusted. The only notable detail? Every single change was a buff.
From Ionix’s perspective, this was a reasonable patch. Statistically, Camilla had consistently posted poor results.
But Kayak’s expression remained frozen. She frowned slightly, fixated on this section of the patch note for several minutes without speaking or moving on.
The silence stretched. Viewers who’d been chatting away began to wonder if she’d suddenly fallen into a daze.
As viewers tossed out their thoughts and guesses, Kayak finally spoke.
She’d left them hanging for far too long, overwhelmed by the shock.
Fortunately, no one seemed particularly upset. Though her channel had seen a surge in new viewers lately, the core audience remained Abyss players—people just as invested in patch notes as she was.
In that sense, this Camilla buff was major news for them too. It wasn’t a minor tweak; it looked like a significant change.
She addressed the heated debate unfolding in chat.
"First, stop fighting... Yeah. I was just thinking for a sec. My head's a mess. It's complicated. There are pros and cons. I'm including everything you guys said."
She continued, calming the overheated chat.
"The buff... This is pretty big. I'll know for sure once I play, but both in terms of damage and defense, the overall playstyle options will expand."
"That said, like someone mentioned earlier, it’s a bit uncomfortable. If they could’ve done this sooner, why wait? Releasing a skin and then buffing her right after... The intent is so transparent it’s almost unpleasant."
"But more players will definitely join. That’s a good thing. Camilla’s pick rate has been steadily rising lately, and with the new skin and buff, we’ll see even more new Camilla mains. How do I know the pick rate’s up? I check Camilla’s stats on the stats site every week."
"The conclusion is... I just hope she doesn’t get nerfed. Everything else is secondary."
She referred to the so-called Ionix-style slapdash patch—where they’d buff a hero, then strip it away and add a nerf on top.
The term came from developers nerfing heroes they’d personally struggled against, while periodically buffing their own main picks.
It was a persistent rumor among players, and a fairly credible conspiracy theory. After all, the top-tier heroes remained consistently the same.
They called them Ionix’s sons and daughters.
"Anyway, I hope Camilla becomes Ionix’s daughter this time."
"Has the patch gone live? I’ll buy the skin today, review it, and test the buff in-game. Might even tweak my build."
She launched Abyss. It felt like she hadn’t played in ages, what with all the recent chaos.
Following the patch, snowflakes fell across the login screen, fitting the Snowflake Festival theme. At the center stood Camilla, posed like a doll, her movements as graceful as a work of art. The vintage elegance left only admiration.
"The skin’s really well-designed... I keep thinking 'they should’ve done this sooner,' but past is past. What matters is the future. If they keep this up, I’ll literally die in Abyss."
She nodded in satisfaction, logged in, and immediately purchased the skin.
And with the new skin came a fresh mindset for ranked play.
Not long into the game, she sensed something was off.
"Wait, wait a second. Guys. Something’s weird?"
Viewers hadn’t noticed, but Kayak—ever meticulous with Camilla—knew immediately.
"They buffed her too much...?"
Ionix had messed up.