Wrath Of Heroes: Welcome To The Hall

A diverse roster of playable characters forms the distinguished backbone of any MOBA, perhaps even more so in BioWare Mythic’s PvP slaughterfest, Wrath of Heroes. The current gallery of oddball fantasy fighters is a far cry from the legion that will hopefully await players when the game eventually crawls out of beta, though it hasn’t stopped fans from selecting their favourites and developing intricate playstyles for each hero.

Unlike other, more traditional MOBAs such as Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends, the character system in Wrath of Heroes isn’t quite as restrictive. Instead of being forced to adopt one particular hero and play as them throughout the duration of the match, in WoH players can switch freely between the characters they have prepared for combat between spawns.

There are no confusing skill trees to wrap your head around or in-match levelling; preparation is resigned to pre-game menus, though still offers plenty of depth and capacity for customisation. Wrath of Heroes may not be quite as complex as its DOTA-style contemporaries, but it packs a heavier punch where PvP is concerned.

[drop]Finding a hero that suits your strengths is no easy task. It’s true that, with only five primary abilities each, there’s not a great deal to take on board when flicking through the character roster, at least not at face value. Passives, debuffs and a myriad of other elements and effects ultimately determine the prowess of a hero and their designated role in combat, but it doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Luckily, we’re doing most of the legwork for you green-horned Hammerers out there by opening the gates to the Hall of Heroes, a regular feature that will impart everything you need to know about the game’s stable of brazen battlers.

Though there will be plenty of focus on individual characters, Hall of Heroes isn’t going to be a venue for number-crunching or speculative spreadsheets. Each hero to step into the spotlight will be judged on their pros and cons, whilst we provide tips on how to make the most of their abilities as painlessly as possible.

However, before we get things started, there are a number of concepts worth taking note of. If you’ve yet to try your hand at Wrath of Heroes, then browsing through our upcoming features isn’t going to be an effective pursuit. A practical understanding of the game is essential, even if it’s just limited to getting your ass kicked around Black Fire Pass.

When reviewing each hero we’ll be looking for three main features: their active abilities, passives, and Masteries (as well as additional info). When in-game you will always have five active abilities assigned to the numbered slots at the bottom centre of the screen.

Some abilities will only be capable of dishing out base damage, though many come attached with a certain effect. For instance, Volrik’s Terrifying Embrace deals damage whilst also pulling individual targets towards him whereas Aessa’s Elite Bodyguard deals no damage at all, instead absorbing the damage taken by allies for a sustained period.

Passive abilities are pre-set though can be just as important. Depending on the personality and lore surrounding your chosen hero determines bonus traits. Olwyn’s backstory highlights her encounters with a Skaven horde, claiming the lives of her fellow Dwarven Ironbreakers. This is reflected in one of her passive abilities, granting her a damage bonus to any Skaven characters on the field.

More dynamic are the racial passives, often rewarding teams which are composed of two or more heroes from the same faction. Both Glowgob and Bax gain a stat increase for each greenskin team member present.

Finally we have Masteries, perk-like attachments that are unlocked by developing skill trees for each of the game’s characters. They may not seem like much of a big deal at first, but they ultimately separate the men from the boys. Three can be slotted into a single load-out and come in a variety of forms, including stat buffs (critical hit chance/snare duration) to kill/point streak “Perks” and even alternate abilities.

As they are mainly available to heroes who have been paid for (via gold or premium gems), Masteries toss up one of the biggest issues regarding Mythic’s F2P model for the game. Chances are, a team of heroes using Masteries will always have the upper hand on a team who aren’t. Thanks to a number of recent updates, free players do have access to Masteries, though the system is still tuned more towards those with money or experience. Wooden chests occasionally appear on daily/victory gold spins though are completely random, not to mention the fact that WoH’s trio of free heroes rotates on a weekly basis.

Keep an eye out for our first Hall of Heroes entry in the coming weeks. If you have yet to enlist in BioWare’s manic MOBA, you can download the game here for free.