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Heroes of the Storm: Heroes, gold, skins, mounts and more
Blizzard Community Manager Vaeflare has posted an excellent and highly informative blog over on the Heroes of the Storm official site, covering various aspects of the game from the player's angle. As ever, you can see the full blog after the break, but we're going to sum up a few of the key points here: Leveling up your account will give you access to new rewards, such as game modes, additional talents, hero quests, and more There will be a Free-to-play hero rotation of five heroes per week, updated every tuesday, increased to six when you hit level seven You can also try any hero at any time before buying it in a private map "try me" mode which allows you to fight minions, forts, and generally have a go with talents and abilities. Heroes will be purchased using gold, which you can earn in-game, starting from level five, or with real money. Levels are gained from XP, which is earned by playing and achieving things in-game, winning, playing with battle.net friends, completing daily and hero quests, and later, epic hero quests. You can also buy various skins. All skins come with two further tint slots. A hero's original tint is immediately available, and each of the two additional tints can be unlocked for individual heroes through Hero Quests. Every player will start with a basic Horse mount, all mounts but that one have the same tint system as with skins Skins and mounts are not purchasable with gold earned in-game, only with real money or via other means. Hit the break for the full post.
Heroes of the Storm's newest Hero: Tychus Findlay
Blizzard's upcoming Hero Brawler, Heroes of the Storm, has revealed its newest addition via Facebook -- Starcraft II's Terran tough guy, Tychus Findlay. While, to the casual observer, this guy may look very similar to the existing hero, Jim Raynor, he's a slightly different kettle of fish. If you've played the Wings of Liberty campaign, Tychus first appears in the very early missions, you see him being released from prison in his old armor, with his cigar miraculously remaining intact. It was part of a deal in which he would assassinate Kerrigan. Not to throw too many spoilers around for people who haven't played the campaign, but Tychus is likely not to have too many friends among the other Starcraft heroes. Nonetheless, he's a prominent character in the SCII universe, and as he's renowned for saying, "Hell, it's about time..."
Heroes of the Storm previews Warcraft heroes
I don't play many games in the MOBA/DOTA genre, but despite all better judgement I'm incredibly curious about Heroes of the Storm and can't wait to try it out. Similarly, I'm pretty excited by today's preview of the Warcraft characters that will be available to play. Being a total newcomer to the style of gameplay, I expect I'll be totally destroyed when I play no matter what character I choose, but I like the variety. I'm surprised Sylvanas isn't on there. C'mon, guys, you gotta put Sylvanas in at some point -- we've got three night elves on there. Or maybe Alleria? I don't know, it just seems weird to me without a Windrunner. But I am happy to see Falstad again.
Here's 17 minutes of Heroes of the Storm gameplay
You know you want to see Blizzard's new Heroes of the Storm MOBA in action. Right? Right! Game director Dustin Browder has you covered with a new 17-minute video captured on the Dragon Shire map. Heroes of the Storm is currently in closed alpha testing, though plenty of screens and playable character info have been sighted in the wild. Click past the cut to have a look at the gameplay vid!
Heroes of the Storm enters technical alpha testing
Heroes of the Storm, the game previously known as Blizzard All-Stars, Blizzard Dota, and Blizzard Entertainment Presents A Bunch Of Guys Hitting Each Other, is technically in alpha. Wait, sorry, that's not right. It's in technical alpha. That means that it's in a phase of testing with an emphasis not on balance or gameplay but on making sure that the fundamental engine works. Testing is currently limited to a very small pool of players, but external players are being brought in to really put the game's network through its paces. Players who cannot wait to get in on the game, even with placeholder graphics and numerous bugs, should make sure that their Battle.net accounts are up to date and have opted in for the beta. Again, invitations will be extremely limited at first, although the roster of testers will expand as time goes by. If this sounds like your sort of gig, make sure you've opted in, and stay hopeful that Blizzard will grant you a coveted invitation mail.
Heroes of the Storm enters technical alpha
A post on the official site has passed on the exciting news that so many of us have been waiting for: Heroes of the Storm has entered technical alpha. What exactly does this mean? Well, it's a very small-scale initial testing phase, basically, as the game is still in its early stages. It's a chance for the developers to try out their systems and settings on a variety of different platforms and connections, on players with terrible computers that just scrape by the operating requirements. How do you get in? Contrary to popular belief, surrounding yourself with lit candles and shouting "Tech Alpha" into the mirror three times will not grant Alpha access, but it may amuse your family members. No, the only way into the Nexus is through an official email invitation from Blizzard Entertainment. Instead you'll want to head over to your Battle.net and ensure that your beta profile page is up to date, and that you're opted in to Heroes of the Storm testing. Do remember that this is the only way to get access right now, and that you should be extremely wary of any email or other communication that suggests you may be able to get access through other means.
Heroes of the Storm skins, mounts and more
Our friends over at Adriacraft have been extremely busy datamining Blizzard's upcoming Hero Brawler Heroes of the Storm. As a result, we have a huge dump of information from them, including skins, mounts, Hero lore, and more. Digging through giant posts like these can be something of a daunting task, especially with the strings. The extensive pictures of heroes and skins are fantastic, I am a particular fan of the "Lurkablo"-Diablo and the "Diablo Kaijo" skins, and their flavor text: "The government of Neo-Tristram grew overconfident as their experiments yielded more and more nuclear energy. They thought the power of the atom was under their control. They were wrong." But why are we interested in the strings, the lines of code at the top? Well, they indicate that Heroes of the Storm is going the same way as Hearthstone, by working off a dual-currency system. The currency that allows you to buy skins, mounts and more could be your local currency, as suggested by the Select Currency, Tax and Real Money purchase strings. We can also see that heroes are sometimes free-to-play, and that you will get a reward for beta-testing the store. Not only that, but the various access unlocks suggest a secret shop!
The Soapbox: My hypersexualization conundrum
Every now and then here at Massively, we receive an email that isn't super nice. I know this may come as a shock to many of you -- the internet is, after all, a place of tolerance and constructive debate -- but sometimes the Massively inbox is no place any sane person would want to be. One reader recently took the opportunity to offer some choice thoughts on Massively staffers. And amidst the jumble of insults and generalizations, the reader levied the ever-powerful "hypocrisy" charge at us for claiming to care about hypersexualized designs of female characters in MMOs while simultaneously playing as those very hypersexualized characters. How could we possibly purport to care about the presentation of women in games if we're all running around in chainmail bikinis? Generally speaking, I prefer to not have my habits and behavior challenged via ad hominem attacks and false comparisons. But I have to admit that this one particular charge piqued my curiosity. Why is it that the majority of my characters are female? Am I, as a person who looks down on hypersexualized designs in games, committing an act of hypocrisy every time I create a female character? Let's sort it out. And before we begin, remember that the Soapbox, like most of our editorials, is just one person's opinion and doesn't represent the thoughts of Massively as a whole.
Heroes of the Storm client screenshots and character list leaked
Blizzard's upcoming universe mash-up MOBA, Heroes of the Storm, has sprung a bit of a leak as screenshots of the game client's login screen and option menus have hit the internet along with a list of the game's playable characters. Massively's sister site WoW Insider reports that many of the playable heroes on the list have been public knowledge for some time now, but there are still a few new contenders, including Warcraft's Muradin Bronzebeard and Zeratul, Tychus, and Sgt. Hammer of Starcraft fame. And while the leaked screenshots aren't particularly interesting since they only display your standard array of PC game options, WoW Insider notes that the more exciting implication behind the screenshots is that the game's beta may be coming soon, though it's worth noting that the screenshots are watermarked as alpha. We'll just have to wait and see about that, but if you need a quick Heroes of the Storm fix, you can check out the full character list, complete with stats and descriptions, at the link below.
Heroes of the Storm client leaked, screenshots, hints of beta
WoW Insider first noted these Heroes of the Storm leaks on Adriacraft yesterday, where the title screens were posted showing the various options and the like. This morning, a hero list also appeared, where there were several additional heroes added from the list we already had following BlizzCon. The screenshots reveal pretty much what we were expecting, no huge surprises there. We're seeing all the standard configuration options, and the social screen shows ignore lists and block lists in the config section rather than an in-game social one. While the hero abilities are mostly what we had seen already, given that 18 of these characters were playable at BlizzCon, there are five new ones since November. Sgt. Hammer, Tychus, Zeratul, and Muradin are all new, and E.T.C. was not playable at BlizzCon although we knew a lot about him as he was discussed at great length during the panels. The most exciting part of these leaks is the implication that Heroes beta may well be coming soon! Edited to add: Heroes Community Manage Cloaken posted on Reddit to clarify that the images are legitimate, and no surprise to the team. He also adds a warning about phishing -- be vigilant! You can check out what we saw at BlizzCon and subsequent Q&As as well as my review of the game, and the gallery below!
Riot allegedly patents Spectator Mode camera element
According to a Reddit thread today, Riot, creator of League of Legends, has had a patent approved for what the poster describes as the "self-moving camera" within their spectator mode. The patent documents spell out the specific thing Riot is claiming patent on, describing a spectator mode that has an element described as follows: ...the spectator server is further configured to calculate an interest value associated with each avatar and direct the user's view to the avatar having the highest interest value. The online multiuser game system of claim 1, wherein the spectator server is further configured to monitor data affecting the interest values and shift the view to another avatar if it gains the highest interest value. You can read the full text of the claim on the online document. Based on the Reddit thread, and reading the documents, it seems that this claim is very specific, dealing with a camera which the game automatically moves to whichever character has the most interesting action going on. According to the second part of the claim, it will also monitor data on what is the most interesting, and shift its view accordingly. The impact of this patent on other games, particularly Blizzard games, is open for discussion. Should Blizzard wish to introduce a self-moving camera with a background AI that monitors the "interest levels" of the actions of specific avatars, then it seems that might be a problem. That is, of course, if the patent withstands further scrutiny and any cases brought against it.
The Soapbox: Stop ganking, you ganking gankers
For me, player vs. player interaction is a necessary component of any online game. The urge to engage with skilled human opponents is the reason I spent countless hours defending flags in World of Warcraft and likely the main motivating factor in my slide away from traditional MMOs and toward MOBAs like Dota 2 and Blizzard Entertainment's upcoming Heroes of the Storm. Simply put, I like a good fight. I especially like a good fight when it occurs unscripted and out in the wilds of the world. If you catch me unaware while I'm grinding out one of TERA's BAMs or plucking gold from an ore vein in Aion, I'll be more than happy to cross swords (or trade frostbolts) with you. Winning or losing isn't important to me; the constant threat of attack heightens my enjoyment of and connection to the game's universe. Unfortunately, open world PvP doesn't attract exclusively those people interested in fair fights. And in the games that make it possible, a certain small segment of players is working hard to ruin everyone else's good time. I speak, of course, of gankers.
Blizzard looking to expand microtransactions?
An article over at Gamespot has recently brought to attention the fact that Blizzard is seeking both a manager and a director for a new unit within the company: "Microtransaction Strategy". For those of you paying attention to ongoing trends in the video game industry, this in particular might pique your interest. As we all well know, 2013 was a landmark year in terms of new titles for Blizzard with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and their announced MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. Both of these games are going to be free-to-play, which means that they'll be relying on microtransactions to generate cash flow. With World of Warcraft being one of the few remaining MMOs that still charges a monthly subscription fee, I think it's fair to say that Blizzard hasn't been at the forefront of microtransaction-driven financing, despite the existence (and success) of WoW's purchasable pets, mounts, and transmog gear. However, the establishment of both the Microtransaction Strategy team and job openings therein point to some development along that front. It will be interesting to see what other types of microtransaction offers become available in Blizzard games in the future.
Heroes of the Storm Developer Q&A highlights
Yesterday, Senior Community Development Manager Kevin Johnson sat down with Game Director Dustin Browder and Senior 3D artist Phil Gonzales to answer the community's questions on Blizzard's upcoming Hero Brawler. They covered several key topics, and provided some nuggets of new information. If you'd like to watch the interview in full, you can check out the video on WoW Insider. But let's go through and summarize the key points they covered. This isn't in the order it happened in the video, because it seemed more logical to categorize it by topic. Overall Design and Philosophy It is going to be free-to-play! Beta is not ready yet, they're working to get it out as soon as they can. There isn't an exact date yet. Internal testing is ongoing. One of the biggest defining qualities for Heroes is the importance of the different maps. This is something that separates it from other MOBAs, you'll want to take different heroes and different strategies and so on. Also, there's heroes with extensive lore behind them, that's a hugely important element, and they aren't afraid to challenge any aspect of the design to make it fun.
Heroes of the Storm Live Q&A with the developers
Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's upcoming hero brawler, is hosting a live Q&A session with the developers today at 11am Pacific. You can watch the stream right here, and we'll embed the VoD when it's available, to catch up on all the latest Heroes issues and developer responses. Joining the livestream today are Dustin Browder, Game Director; Phil Gonzales, Senior 3D Artist; and Kevin Johnson, Senior Manager, Community Development. These guys are primed to answer all your burning Heroes questions, so don't hold back! You can check out the questions submitted, as well as sending in your own to @BlizzHeroes, via the #HeroesQA hashtag. What would you like to know? And if you can't watch the livestream you can check out all WoW Insider's Heroes of the Storm information while you wait for the VoD.
Heroes of the Storm game director apologizes for insensitive remarks regarding sexualized character designs
It's not often that you can feel uncomfortable pauses via text, but a recent interview about Heroes of the Storm managed exactly that. When asked about the character design of the upcoming game's female characters, game director Dustin Browder responded with: "We're not running for President. We're not sending a message. No one should look to our game for that." This went over about as well as you would expect, especially in the wake of World of Warcraft's next expansion's story getting billed as a "boy's trip" (and being portrayed as such in promotional materials). Browder has issued an apology for his statement, claiming that the topic is a serious one and that Blizzard is sensitive about how it portrays its characters. No part of the apology actually addresses the issue in any more detail, although Browder does insist that the team wants everyone to have a character to identify with and enjoy. Whether or not this will result in more discussion of this serious topic or any changes to character designs remains to be seen.
Heroes of the Storm director apologizes for response to interview
Dustin Browder is the game director for Blizzard's upcoming MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. The game features heroes, heroines and plenty more from Blizzard franchises, and it's Browder's job to oversee and, as his title might suggest, direct its development. When Rock, Paper, Shotgun interviewed Browder and specifically addressed the artistic direction of many female MOBA characters, Browder gave a response he is now apologizing for on the Heroes of the Storm website. "I responded poorly to a statement the interviewer made about over-sexualized character designs in games, and I want to apologize for that," Browder wrote. "This is a serious topic and I don't want anyone to think that I, or anyone else at Blizzard, is insensitive about how we portray our characters." Browder went on to state that he wants every player to find a character they can identify with, and thanked RPS for their feedback. The topic of sexualization in video games has been particularly prevalent as games continue to gain mainstream attention. Sometimes it results in a distressing moment with a mermaid. Sometimes it results in an apology.
Why Heroes of the Storm is the MOBA for me
First and foremost, if that trailer from CarBot didn't even crack a smile, you have a heart of stone. This trailer, or tribute as CarBot calls it, was shown at BlizzCon to introduce gamers to Blizzard's newest offering: Heroes of the Storm. Anyone who's been keeping an eye on my Twitter will know that I was almost as excited about Heroes of the Storm as I was about Warlords of Draenor, so I took the earliest opportunity to go and play it. And then two subsequent opportunities to go back and play it again. I've played a fair bit of League of Legends, and more recently quite a bit of SMITE, and I enjoy both games, and the MOBA genre as a whole. Blizzard is, I should mention, apparently keen to get away from calling this a MOBA, and move towards the idea of a "Hero Brawler". There are several important differences between the mechanics of Heroes compared to League, particularly, which I really think are fantastic shifts away from a bloated system. Talents over Item Shop Now I will not pretend for a second that I am a pro League of Legends player. Heck, I'm probably not even a good one. I got into LoL very late, very late indeed, and there are a couple of elements that have stood in my way as a newer player. The item shop is definitely one of those elements. Even since the introduction of the Shopping List system, and with the Recommended Items list, it's confusing when you're just getting started. Working out what you need and knowing what's good are second nature to a seasoned player, but tricky to a beginner.
BlizzCon 2013 in photographs
BlizzCon might be over, but pictures last forever, or at least until something happens to our data center. Don't get any ideas. Hey, where are you going with that tornado?! Enjoy our view of the con! Massively's on the ground in Anaheim during the weekend of November 8th, bringing you all the best news from BlizzCon 2013. Whether you're anticipating World of Warcraft's and Diablo III's next expansions or reveals from Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, we aim to have it covered!
BlizzCon 2013: First Look at Heroes of the Storm
The first day of BlizzCon 2013 brought us a healthy taste of what to expect from Heroes of the Storm -- or "BlizzCon, the Game," as several folks at Blizzard are apparently referring to it. A crazy, wacky mash-up of virtually every major Blizzard game currently in existence, Heroes will be a real-time, team-based, multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game in which groups of players must combine strategy with mastery of their characters to win matches on a diverse range of battlegrounds. In an hourlong panel discussion, Game Director Dustin Browder, Production Director Chris Sigaty, Senior Art Director Sam Didier and Lead Software Engineer Alan Dabiri guided us through the main aspects of the game, introduced many of the heroes we'll be playing -- which include Arthas of WoW, Kerrigan of Starcraft and Diablo of ... well, you know -- and even provided play-by-play announcing while showing us a couple of sample battleground gameplay videos. The second day of BlizzCon will feature a panel with nitty-gritty details on the game. In the meantime, flip through these 150+ moments from the overview panel to get a sense for what Heroes is all about! (You can also get a glimpse of the kind of damage that an Elite Tauren Chieftan can deal, and see what Uther Lightbringer would look like if he accidentally got locked in a Starcraft character's dressing room.)
