Heroes of the Storm is still in its Technical Alpha stage, but that hasn’t stopped Blizzard from announcing some new Heroes, new Battlegrounds maps, modes, and ranked play that will be coming to their entry into the MOBA arena.
In case you missed it, we took a look at the Heroes Technical Alpha a few weeks ago. As for as alphas go, this one is very solid (we wouldn’t expect less from Blizzard) and plays like a Beta at the very least. The game is currently in the final alpha phase, and the closed beta begins January 13th, 2015. Without further ado, here’s some of the additions coming soon to the game.
Heroes
One of the biggest draws in Heroes of the Storm, in my opinion, is the diversity – and recognizability – of the Heroes you get to play. Blizzard has announced that Thrall, Jaina, the Lost Vikings, and Sylvanas will be joining the roster as playable Heroes, each with their own unique talents. Not much more information was given on the new heroes, but I know I can’t wait to play Thrall and it’ll be interesting to see how the Lost Vikings play as a three-in-one character.
Battlegrounds
Heroes currently has three battlegrounds in the Technical Alpha, and while the game is still very fun, it will be nice to see some new maps and goals within those Battlegrounds. Blizzard is bringing three new maps to the game: the floating city called Sky Temple inspired by ancient Egypt, the first inside battleground – Tomb of the Spider Queen – will feature halls and passages chock full of spiders, and finally the first map based on a classic Blizzard game will be Diablo-themed and include both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells in one map!
Modes
MOBAs are inherently competitive, so it’s no surprise that Blizzard is adding Ranked Play in a future patch. Ranked Play will feature two leagues – Hero League, where you queue up as an individual or with a couple friends and are ranked individually, and Team League, which requires you to form a dedicated, named five player team.
In addition to Ranked Play, Draft Mode will be implemented as well. Draft Mode allows teammates and their opponents to take turns picking Heroes in real-time based on what Battleground they’ll be playing on. This allows for more strategy between teammates and should make for some more interesting matches.
Take a look at the Heroes of the Storm feature trailer from BlizzCon 2014.
And as an added treat, just to see what you’re missing, here’s footage from the Heroes of the Storm BlizzCon Brawl Match Game 1!
Are you playing the Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha? If not, are you excited to get into the Closed Beta? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook, Google+, or Twitter!
[button type=”link” link=”http://us.battle.net/heroes/en/blog/16655151/new-battlegrounds-revealed-at-blizzcon-2014-11-8-2014″ size=”btn-sm” variation=”btn-danger” target=”blank”]Source: Blizzard[/button] [button type=”link” link=”http://us.battle.net/heroes/en/blog/16643220/ranked-play-and-draft-mode-announced-at-blizzcon-2014-11-8-2014″ size=”btn-sm” variation=”btn-danger” target=”blank”]Source: Blizzard[/button] [button type=”link” link=”http://us.battle.net/heroes/en/blog/16592815/new-heroes-revealed-at-blizzcon-2014-11-7-2014″ size=”btn-sm” variation=”btn-danger” target=”blank”]Source: Blizzard[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
