Blizzard Entertainment have announced that their upcoming free-to-play MOBA will be released on 2nd June, this follows an open beta period which will begin 20th May.
The online team brawler will bring together iconic characters from the developers other franchises including Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft. There will be a variety of gameplay modes on offer. However, the only modes revealed so far include Co-operative, a mode in which players team up against computer controlled enemies, and Quick Match, which will be an accessible way to jump straight into a battle against other players.
“With its focus on team play and fast-paced fun, Heroes of the Storm is a fresh take on a very popular genre,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve built Heroes of the Storm in a way that makes it accessible to new players, but also challenging enough for veterans who really want to put their skills to the test. We can’t wait to see what Heroes brings to the co-op and competitive scenes once the Nexus opens up to everyone.”
There will be over 30 playable characters when the game launches as well as 7 dynamic Battlegrounds, each with their own unique challenges. Players will be able to customise the look of their characters with the variety of skins that will be available, as well as choose from a variety of mounts which will get you across the map more quickly.
Source: Press Release
Jim Hargreaves
Great MOBA, whether your a newcomer or veteran. Cuts out a lot of the finicky elements to focus on gameplay.
MrYd
Will it have the same (real or perceived) problem all the others have of everyone playing being a massive tosser? They all seem to have a bit of a reputation for being somewhat unfriendly.
Ace-Michie
Ive been playing since it came into beta and have to admit, like all blizzard games, it is excellent. A lot of the ‘build up bits’ in other mobas such as laning and farming have been entirely trimmed away, dropping you straight into the action when the game starts. This is a good thing, because not only does it make the game more fast paced and enjoyable, but it also cuts away 40 minute time consuming games. I have played every hero in the game for a good while and can safely say they all have their own unique play style, which make them enjoyable to play. However that been said, there are some balance issues, where some heroes (e.g. Anub’arak, Abathaur, Nova to name a few) are a lot weaker than others, to the point that a good player can only have an average performance when playing that hero to the best of their ability.
Blizzard’s normal attitude in the majority of their games is to put quality content out but at a slow pace. In a moba however this won’t, work. Balance issues can have a huge impact on the game and in my opinion Blizzard need to be taking action sooner instead of at their normal pace, or the game and its community will suffer in return. The only other major problem that I can point out with this game is the matchmaking system. New players will often be matched against veterans, which is very frustrating and can often result in lost games from the start. The same problem occurs in Hero League (ranked mode), where new players can be put on the same team as rank 1 players. Once Blizzard addresses these issues, the game will be able to reach its full potential, and games can be decided based purely on skill, instead of winning because the other team was full of new players.
As for the community, I would say that a lot of the people are friendly on there. Like every moba, there are people who whine and flame, but there isn’t a ton of them. In league of legends for example, nearly every game I played had at least one person who would rage at everyone. This problem still exists in HOTS, but there are far less of these people around.
Its an absolutely amazing game though and in addition to my playstation gaming, I always make time to play a few games every day. If anyone has any questions or queries about the game please let me know and I’ll do my best to answer them. I have played nearly every day since January so I have a good amount of knowledge about the game.
Lastly I have 4 Beta keys that Blizzard has given me for playing the game! If anyone wants access to the game early, let me know and I’ll hook you up.