The Queue: Heroing up a storm

Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Alex Ziebart will be your host today.

I got into the Heroes of the Storm technical alpha over the weekend. As you might expect, I spent most of the weekend playing it. I dig it.

Dana asked:

I am between subs at the moment. I earned the Hearthstone Steed the other night. Do I have to resub by a certain time to claim it before I loose it or will it just be waiting until I resub later? Thanks!

You don't have to log in immediately. It will show up in your inbox the first time you log in after resubbing. If it isn't there for some reason, you can probably file a support ticket and have it given to you.

@JeffLaBowski asked:

Will you be doing anything festive for St. Patrick's Day? I have been consuming Irish beer the last couple days. Slàinte!

I'm doing the whole corned beef thing, but nothing beyond that. I'm not much of a St. Patrick's Day guy! In fact, I don't do most holidays. I won't give anyone a hard time for celebrating things, I'm just not the celebrating type myself. I'm doing corned beef mostly because at this time of year, I can buy it for $1.99/pound. Around here, it's hard to find any meat besides chicken or pork chops at that price, so I'll stock up.

Seriously, poor quality ground beef is usually $2.99 at the cheapest unless I run all over town bargain hunting. $1.99/pound for corned beef is fantastic.

KennethMaxBrooks asked:

Is Yu'lon a real dragon or are the Celestials something else? Could Yu'lon take a humanoid form if she wanted to?

Yu'lon isn't a dragon in the way you typically think of them in World of Warcraft. She has the form of a dragon, but isn't like Deathwing or Ysera or any of them. She's a spirit. And yes, she can take a humanoid form. We see her as a pandaren child in a quest in Jade Forest.

Krypto051 asked:

I have a question about the boost. What If I buy the exp, but don't want to spend the boost right now. How long is it available? Or does it even have a deadline to use?

The boost, as far as we've seen, does not have an expiration. It stays on your character select screen until you decide to use it.

ScottLeyes asked:

Do you think it's a good or bad idea to try out another MOBA before HotS becomes available? Would it be an opportunity to learn, or a festering cesspool that makes one despise and hate all things?

You could try to do that, but most MOBAs have a very high barrier to entry, I think. If you only want to play Heroes of the Storm, picking up Heroes as your first will be easier for you than playing Dota or League of Legends to prepare for it. Heroes is a much simpler game that has eliminated the most confusing elements, like the item shop. There are no items in Heroes, whereas in some other MOBAs, the item shop determines your character's overall build.

I picked up Heroes of the Storm without much trouble. Most of my MOBA knowledge is as an outsider -- reading what others have written about those games, rather than playing them firsthand. I don't think anyone will have any trouble playing Heroes first. Especially since there are practice and co-op modes, ample opportunity to learn what you're doing before you attempt PVP.

Just to clear confusion ...

In the vein of that previous question, the issue of items and gold in Heroes was brought up yesterday. For the sake of clarity: items do not exist in Heroes of the Storm and gold doesn't exist as an in-match mechanic. You can accrue gold by completing daily quests and you can spend that gold to purchase new heroes, mounts, and skins, but nothing in a match itself.

What might be causing confusion for those watching streams is the map called Blackheart's Bay. In Blackheart's Bay, your team collects dubloons through various methods and give them to Blackheart himself. After you've paid him enough, his ship will turn its cannons on the opposing team's fortifications. You get dubloons from killing mercenaries/pirates on the map or breaking open a treasure chest. You do not get dubloons from killing other players unless they've picked them up from a pirate/chest and haven't yet given them to Blackheart.

Have questions about the World of Warcraft? The WoW Insider crew is here with The Queue, our daily Q&A column. Leave your questions in the comments, and we'll do our best to answer 'em!