Heroes of the Storm

[Brinolovania]

http://us.battle.net/heroes/en/

 

Blizzard's new MOBA (or "hero brawler" according to them, but whatever). The game just officially got out of beta on Tuesday, so I figured I'd make a topic. I've played it for a bit (level 28 at the moment), and I gotta say, it's a lot of fun. It's much simpler and quicker than the other MOBAs out there, which is nice. A lot of the heroes are pretty unique, too (I almost exclusively play Murky =D).

 

So yeah, anyone else played? If you haven't, I highly recommend it.

[Cosmo.]

I wanna play it, but my computer is too slow ;-;  

 

 

 

 

 

I might use my dad's computer though <-<, he's away for work and won't notice........

I really wanna play it because my fave youtuber streamed it a month ago and it looked way too cool. I tried LoL for a while, but it was very hard to understand and the community isn't very good. Also the champions here are so cool, i looked them on the site yesterday.

 

EDIT: I will probably main Sylvanas, not only she looks cool af, she's a banshee and seems quite powerful, sooooo.........

[Aerion Brightflame]

I intend to give it a first hand try, because as a lover of the MOBA genre, I generally like to give new games a try so I can judge them properly. 

 

My issue with it from just having watched it a bit is that it just feels... Too simple. Like sure, you can call MOBA's like LoL and DOTA too complex, but MOBA as a genre is one where complexity is beneficial, because it makes the game more rewarding to attempt to master, and adds more depth. This combined with the fact where hero abilities feel really underwhelming to me... It just puts me off a little. 

 

The idea of having multiple maps that are worth playing however is a good bonus for it. And I'm sure the game will do well anyway, just on the strength of the IP. 

[Tentacruel]

My issue with it from just having watched it a bit is that it just feels... Too simple. Like sure, you can call MOBA's like LoL and DOTA too complex, but MOBA as a genre is one where complexity is beneficial, because it makes the game more rewarding to attempt to master, and adds more depth. This combined with the fact where hero abilities feel really underwhelming to me... It just puts me off a little. 

 

This basically.  MOBA's don't have to be as complicated as Dota 2, but it just feels a bit too stripped down.  (Then again I've only played one game.)

[Brinolovania]

The thing with HotS, is that while there is less individual skill required, you need to work together with your team a lot more than other MOBAs. Plus, because of the lack of a real laning phase, there's a lot more strategical stuff you can do early game. Throughout the entire game, really, it's just more focused on teamwork and strategy than on individual mechanics.

[mido9]

I intend to give it a first hand try, because as a lover of the MOBA genre, I generally like to give new games a try so I can judge them properly. 

 

My issue with it from just having watched it a bit is that it just feels... Too simple. Like sure, you can call MOBA's like LoL and DOTA too complex, but MOBA as a genre is one where complexity is beneficial, because it makes the game more rewarding to attempt to master, and adds more depth. This combined with the fact where hero abilities feel really underwhelming to me... It just puts me off a little.

Eh honestly call me crazy I'd still prefer it to league but not to dota. I mean, if i wanted strategy I'd take dota over league and if I wanted to just run around outplaying people I'd take heroes. League just doesnt feel like a really good middleground.

[Cosmo.]

I really wanna ry this, also for the no lane thing. I never understood the thing with jungling, top/bottom/mid laners, like what's the difference?!

[The Warden]

Though I 'll probably have no intention on playing this, I gotta admit some of the skins are pretty badass looking. That Betrayer Furion skin is totally jizz-worthy.

[Aerion Brightflame]

 

The thing with HotS, is that while there is less individual skill required, you need to work together with your team a lot more than other MOBAs. Plus, because of the lack of a real laning phase, there's a lot more strategical stuff you can do early game. Throughout the entire game, really, it's just more focused on teamwork and strategy than on individual mechanics.

 

HotS forces team-work as it were. Other MOBA's encourage it. Or at least DOTA does when you reach a certain level of play games a won more on co-ordination, team-work and execution than on individual mechanical skill. 

 

 

Eh honestly call me crazy I'd still prefer it to league but not to dota. I mean, if i wanted strategy I'd take dota over league and if I wanted to just run around outplaying people I'd take heroes. League just doesnt feel like a really good middleground.

 

LoL I consider to be the introduction to traditional MOBA's, with such things as farming and conventional laning. 

 

But I do agree, it's not a very good middle-ground, because it's complex without being hugely in-depth strategically. Or at least not as much as it should be given how old it is. 

[mido9]

Though I 'll probably have no intention on playing this, I gotta admit some of the skins are pretty badass looking. That Betrayer Furion skin is totally jizz-worthy.

Meanwhile

 

[Tentacruel]

I changed my mind there's a Taruen with an electric guitar 10/10

[EHN.]

really wanna ry this, also for the no lane thing. I never understood the thing with jungling, top/bottom/mid laners, like what's the difference?!

 

If you're confused about why some characters (champions, heros etc. depending on the game) and some roles are played in certain lanes, it's basically just tradition. Professional players started using the set-ups when they first started playing and so now it's just a generally accepted fact (for LoL at least, can't speak for DOTA as I've only touched it a couple times).

 

 

I've only played a couple games of HoTS and they were a while back, but basically as people have already said it feels a bit too simple. 

 

About the middle-ground thing, it may not have as much strategy as other MOBAs such as DOTA but LoL certainly does not lack it, contrary to popular belief. 

[Aerion Brightflame]

I really wanna ry this, also for the no lane thing. I never understood the thing with jungling, top/bottom/mid laners, like what's the difference?!

 

It's different depending on the MOBA. 

 

In LoL it's as EHN said, a result of tradition (With the exception of jungling, which is due to trying to get the maximum gold efficiency from the map), and heroes generally get assigned there on behalf of there in game role. 

 

In DOTA, the lanes actually are different because the map is asymetrical. Each side has a long lane where the lane for the corresponding side is a short lane (Literally I mean, the lane for one side is longer than it is for the other), whilst the mid-lane is the same length for both sides. 

 

Since the short lane usually has a single hero from your side against multiple enemy ones (Since the long lane has the jungle, thus ways for supports to farm, and generally gives the carry safe farm as a result), you only usually get heroes on that lane who can survive being 1v2 or even 1v3. 

 

Whilst the midlane gives solo exp and gold, and thus is given to strong solo laner, or heroes who benefit from both. 

 

It's complicated, but essentially the lanes in DOTA matter because they are actually different to be in. 

 

 

About the middle-ground thing, it may not have as much strategy as other MOBAs such as DOTA but LoL certainly does not lack it, contrary to popular belief. 

 

I don't think LoL lacks it, but it has a lot less than it should given how long it's been out. You'd have thought Riot would try and impliment more than fixing the game around static laning set-up. 

 

But that's an arguement for a different thread. 

[EHN.]

Yeah I certainly agree. Some things just still feel really basic and outdated when considering the amount of time they have had. It seems like Riot's priority is on aesthetics (skins etc.) and making more champions rather than adding more to the game, but if you think about it there isn't really that much they can add.

 

The game plays how they intended, and it being a MOBA in the first place already places limits on what can and can't be done. A large chunk I guess is down to the players. There certainly are more things that can be added to make the game more interesting, but at the same time it compensates for this with other things (all the various events, modes etc.). Not saying I prefer events to gameplay features but they are certainly a nice thing to spice things up when the game gets stale. 

[Brinolovania]

I guess, the one thing I want to add here, is this: While HotS may well take less skill than other mobas, it's still a lot of fun to play. It's also not true that there's NO skill involved in the game. Plus, it's easy to learn, games are fast (20 minutes max), and some of the heroes are really cool. So even though it IS simpler, it's still worth playing, even if only as a casual game.