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First Impressions: Heroes of the Storm Alpha
11 years ago
General
So, had a bit of a surprise when I logged into my Battle.net app today. Heroes of the Storm's Alpha version was waiting for me there!
Only got to play one hero so far, I did the tutorial bit as Jim Raynor of Starcraft fame, but for an alpha this game already seems rather fancy with fully voiced characters, an intro movie, and some good combat. The UI is still kinda messy by Blizzard's standards, but the game itself is surprisingly well done for so early.
I won't claim that I have a ton of experience with the MOBA genre. I've played a bit in League of Legends as Warwick (big surprise I know) and I've taken a couple casual glances at Dawn of the Ancients, but thats about it.
Still, being a longtime Blizzard fan, its neat to see Jim, Uther the Lightbringer, Nova, the Demon Hunter, and others all teaming up in one big beat 'em up. Blizz got their own point-and-click Smash Brothers going.
I can certainly say I'm gonna enjoy this one, might be what finally gets me big into the MOBA genre.
Again, I'm not going to put much here, I'm still a newb when it comes to MOBAs, but if anyone wants to try it out here's the homepage where you can sign up for the beta.
http://www.heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/game
UPDATE:
So I played a bit more and got the chance to try out a couple characters. Here's what I thought:
James Raynor
Ironically enough he was the reason I got on battle.net today in the first place. I wanted to play some more Starcraft 2. Jim is an assassin type, he fights using a Space Marine machine gun and has some support abilities too.
His main special is called Penetrating Shot, which shoots a high caliber round through a group of enemies, knocking some back as well.
Ever the rebel leader, Jim can also inspire nearby allies, giving them a boost to attack speed for a short time.
He has a couple passive abilities, though I didn't get a good look at them with Diablo breathing down my neck, but his big finishing attack is to call in his flagship, the Hyperion, to do a bombing run against whatever is in-front of him. Nice little siegebreaker... or siegemaker.
Malfurion Stormrage
Bet Lunar will like this one, for his antlers if nothing else.
Malfurion is a spellcaster/healer type. He's got some offensive abilities, but his main role is supporting other players with healing spells and magical buffs.
His main spell is Renew, a heal over time that targets a single ally and, well, heals them.
Next he can cast Moonfire, which does magical damage in a small target area. Turns out you can upgrade this stuff as the game goes on. I got it buffed to Fullmoonfire which does more damage and has a wider area of effect.
After that he can cast Entangling Roots, which holds enemy heroes in place. I also got it buffed, the one I got gives it the ability to summon a treant when cast.
Last one... I forget the name, but it seemed kinda clunky to use. Stuns and damages enemies in an area around Malfurion... but eh, its still Alpha.
Only got to play one hero so far, I did the tutorial bit as Jim Raynor of Starcraft fame, but for an alpha this game already seems rather fancy with fully voiced characters, an intro movie, and some good combat. The UI is still kinda messy by Blizzard's standards, but the game itself is surprisingly well done for so early.
I won't claim that I have a ton of experience with the MOBA genre. I've played a bit in League of Legends as Warwick (big surprise I know) and I've taken a couple casual glances at Dawn of the Ancients, but thats about it.
Still, being a longtime Blizzard fan, its neat to see Jim, Uther the Lightbringer, Nova, the Demon Hunter, and others all teaming up in one big beat 'em up. Blizz got their own point-and-click Smash Brothers going.
I can certainly say I'm gonna enjoy this one, might be what finally gets me big into the MOBA genre.
Again, I'm not going to put much here, I'm still a newb when it comes to MOBAs, but if anyone wants to try it out here's the homepage where you can sign up for the beta.
http://www.heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/game
UPDATE:
So I played a bit more and got the chance to try out a couple characters. Here's what I thought:
James Raynor
Ironically enough he was the reason I got on battle.net today in the first place. I wanted to play some more Starcraft 2. Jim is an assassin type, he fights using a Space Marine machine gun and has some support abilities too.
His main special is called Penetrating Shot, which shoots a high caliber round through a group of enemies, knocking some back as well.
Ever the rebel leader, Jim can also inspire nearby allies, giving them a boost to attack speed for a short time.
He has a couple passive abilities, though I didn't get a good look at them with Diablo breathing down my neck, but his big finishing attack is to call in his flagship, the Hyperion, to do a bombing run against whatever is in-front of him. Nice little siegebreaker... or siegemaker.
Malfurion Stormrage
Bet Lunar will like this one, for his antlers if nothing else.
Malfurion is a spellcaster/healer type. He's got some offensive abilities, but his main role is supporting other players with healing spells and magical buffs.
His main spell is Renew, a heal over time that targets a single ally and, well, heals them.
Next he can cast Moonfire, which does magical damage in a small target area. Turns out you can upgrade this stuff as the game goes on. I got it buffed to Fullmoonfire which does more damage and has a wider area of effect.
After that he can cast Entangling Roots, which holds enemy heroes in place. I also got it buffed, the one I got gives it the ability to summon a treant when cast.
Last one... I forget the name, but it seemed kinda clunky to use. Stuns and damages enemies in an area around Malfurion... but eh, its still Alpha.
