heroes Core Concepts: An Introduction to Heroes

[Stan 5,244]

Core concepts contain useful information for players that are new to the game or have previously played a different MOBA. Blizzard mentions what makes Heroes stand out among other MOBAs.

What Makes Heroes of the Storm Unique?

• It's about Heroes like Abathur (doesn't engage directly in combat), Cho'gall (two players play a single Hero) or The Lost Vikings (a player controls three units at the same time, imagine Starcraft).
• The game has a fairly large pool of battlegrounds with different objectives.
• Heroes of the Storm doesn't have an in-game shop for talents. Instead, they are designed like in a MMORPG
• You'll level up as a team and there's no individual leveling

For individual Hero guides, don't forget to visit our guide section! Struggling with the new rewards system? We've got you covered!

Blizzard (Source)

Heroes of the Storm is the MOBA that continues to defy conventions and expectations. In the Nexus, fast-paced battles are waged across various battlegrounds, each with their own unique objectives to consider. Here, your heroes have a meaningful impact on their battles through the decisions you make and the talents you choose. There’s no item shop to consider, no slow-paced games to wear down your resolve; be prepared, this is a much different kind of MOBA experience.

In the Nexus, you fight hard, fast, and will work as team to counter enemy strategies and advance against your opponent. As you consider the advice we offer in this guide, we also encourage you to download Heroes of the Storm and charge into the tutorial.

HERO SELECTION AND ROLES

The Nexus has gathered many of the bravest and most heroic characters from across Blizzard’s game universes, and more still are being called to serve. Whether you favor the heroes of the Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, or Overwatch universes, you’ll find epic characters to explore and command.

Heroes in the Nexus are categorized as Warriors, Supports, Assassins, or Specialists, and you can find a detailed breakdown for each of these roles here. Despite these roles, Heroes of the Storm offers a number of Heroes who will challenge your expectations.

Abathur

Rather than interacting directly with a battle, Abathur aids his team from afar using his Symbiote ability. Players who choose Abathur will need to have a supreme map awareness to make ample use of his long-range abilities. 

Cho'gall

Two players must work in harmony to command different aspects of this Warrior and Assassin duo: The Cho player controls movement and basic attacks, while Gall dishes out most of their ability damage. Both players can employ Cho and Gall’s separate abilities, but they must work in concert to take full advantage of them.

The Lost Vikings

The specialist team of the Lost Vikings are three separate Heroes commanded by a single player. The Vikings can be split up to push multiple lanes, or brought together to focus on their target. They are a challenge and a handful to master, but can be deadly in the hands of a skilled player.

Our Hero guide offers biographies for every Hero in the game, as well as specific information about their abilities, comparative damage, utility, survivability, and complexity. Familiarizing yourself with all the Heroes will be instrumental in learning how their abilities synergize, as well as what works most effectively against them. Keep in mind that following the launch of Heroes of the Storm 2.0 in your region and lasting until May 22, 2017, all players who log into the game during that time will automatically receive 100 Gems, which can be used to permanently unlock one (1) Mega Hero Bundle of their choosing. More details about this offer are available in our blog, here. We encourage you to check that out as that is a great way of picking up a ton of great heroes right from the start!

TEAM LEVELING – RISE TOGETHER

For a team to be effective, its members will need to act as one. The leveling in Heroes of the Storm reflects this philosophy, with each player contributing to a shared pool of experience. Team experience makes it easier to make rotations without losing the lane, and ensures you’re not fighting with teammates over gold and experience. Keep in mind that gaining levels faster than the opposing team will present your team opportunities for executing power plays at crucial talent-earning levels, which you’ll be able to capitalize on together.

You will rise as one, just as you will fall as one. Work together and you will reap the benefits of your efforts. Disregard, and your team will be torn asunder. As you explore the Nexus, keep on the lookout for helpful suggestions from the community as these will be invaluable assets in your battles.

 

THE TALENT SYSTEM – FORGE A LIVING WEAPON

In Heroes of the Storm, every Hero has their own diverse kit of skills and abilities that you will be able to choose from as your team advances. Starting at level 1, every few levels your team earns will present you with a set of talent choices that offer new tools or enhance your existing abilities. In Heroes of the Storm, talents have replaced what you may have come to know as the ‘item shop.’ These talents allow you to react to the battleground, your team composition, or the opposing team composition. A Hero’s kit is unique to them, and offers you different strategic opportunities to employ during the battle.

Pressing the TAB key brings up a menu where you’ll be able to see which talents your team and your opponents have chosen. As you gain familiarity with the talents that are available to each of your heroes, you’ll make better and more informed decisions about how to react to the ever-evolving battle at hand.

At level 10, each member of the team will select from one of two powerful Heroic Abilities which greatly enhance your Hero’s effectiveness in the battle. When unleashed in succession with other complementary Heroic abilities that your team has chosen, these can be absolutely devastating against your opponent. Choose, but choose wisely; once your Heroic ability has been selected, the choice cannot be undone. As such, having a keen understanding of the talents and abilities for each of the Heroes is paramount to achieving success in the Nexus.

DYNAMIC BATTLEGROUNDS – THE CHANGING FACE OF BATTLE

Heroes of the Storm features a wide range of battlegrounds, each offering unique gameplay and powerful objectives to master. Completing objectives creates advantages for your team, and are the primary points of interest and conflict on each Battleground (they’re also where team fights tend to erupt). Be warned: if you’re focusing on an objective and the enemy’s not present, it’s a good bet they soon will be.

In addition to the various objectives each Battleground offers, you’ll also be able to earn the allegiance of the Mercenaries who populate the world. To do so, you must first defeat the neutral mercenaries at their camp site, and then stand on the beacon nearby to capture them for your team. Determining the optimal time to capture a mercenary camp is crucial, and can be of great value when you need to distract the enemy team from capturing an objective. For breakdowns of the different battlegrounds and the objectives they offer, check out our Battlegrounds page.

GO FORTH WITH HONOR

We hope you’ve found this overview insightful, and more importantly, that it gets your blood pumping, engaging your insatiable hunger for victory. You have a wealth of experience to acquire in Heroes of the Storm, and we know you’ll be up to the challenges ahead. May you go forth with honor, bring glory to your teams, and have a blast in the Nexus.

[Valhalen 1,484]

Blizzard is really selling their fish well. I think this is a great thing to show people that HotS is different from the likes of LoL and DotA. I honestly think it's a much better game given how it keeps the concept simple to teach new players how to play, but at the same time it is filled with layers of complexity that rewards more experienced players.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Valhalen

[KingMe 289]

"GO TO THE SHAME CORNER!" That had me rolling. lol

[Kurosu 58]

3 hours ago, Valhalen said:

Blizzard is really selling their fish well. I think this is a great thing to show people that HotS is different from the likes of LoL and DotA. I honestly think it's a much better game given how it keeps the concept simple to teach new players how to play, but at the same time it is filled with layers of complexity that rewards more experienced players.

Unfortunately in most people's heads different = bad.I know people that claim hots sucks just because it doesnt have gold and items like the other moba's.Once people get used to something they cant see further.

Thats also why LoL is the biggest moba atm,its simple and easy,giving acess to everyone,but I gladly give up  on "first spot" because we all know what that turns the community into

[Caldyrvan 377]

The Vid about player attitude made a bit sad.

There are young people and those tend to be impulsive which is normal (biologically I mean) that's ok they are still evolving. For the more adult players, like Kurosu said about players used to play other MOBAs, people are used to be bad, good or something in between. Through my experience (online and real life) there are only a few ppl who listen to such words about attitude and even fewer who take it to their hearts.

Sorry if I sound a bit too pessimistic and I think it's good to make this vid and to try to make ppl better. I really appreciate good behavior, makes the game more fun for all players :)

Edited May 2, 2017 by Caldyrvan

[Skyewalker 20]

22 minutes ago, Caldyrvan said:

The Vid about player attitude made a bit sad.

 Through my experience (online and real life) there are only a few ppl who listen to such words about attitude and even fewer who take it to their hearts.

Sorry if I sound a bit too pessimistic and I think it's good to make this vid and to try to make ppl better. I really appreciate good behavior, makes the game more fun for all players :)

You are absolutely right. People who are comfortably and anonymously playing a videogame are not interested in some other guys' anonymous tips or helpful comments (most of the time anyways). You might even get some weird flame back!

classic example:

me/average helpful guy: "hey Jaina, try to play a bit safe in your lane when you don't see the enemies on the map."
Jaina: "stfu 0 kills shit waveclear l2p"
me: "... But I'm playing ETC..."

Sure, there are exceptions, like when you're a new, enthousiastic player who is learning his stuff. I got more than a few tips myself. But bottom line: NOT being salty is way more important. Be neutral, take a gamble next game if you think your teammates are really scr*wing you over.

[Valks 2,377]

On 5/2/2017 at 9:07 AM, Skyewalker said:

You are absolutely right. People who are comfortably and anonymously playing a videogame are not interested in some other guys' anonymous tips or helpful comments (most of the time anyways). You might even get some weird flame back!

Unfortunately, I think it's also impossible to judge at a first glance how the rest of someone's night has gone. You could be the most patient person in the world, but if you spend a night playing with people that intentionally feed every game, you're probably a bit more likely to lash out at someone eventually!