10 Years Later, Heroes of the Storm Defies MOBA Norms in a…

On June 2, 2015, Blizzard released Heroes of the Storm, its official foray into the multiplayer online battle arena genre. Before then, the MOBA was known as Blizzard DOTA, and later Blizzard All-Stars, only becoming known by its final name in October 2013. Regardless of its title, in the 10 years since its launch, Heroes of the Storm has remained the most ambitious Blizzard crossover of all time.

In many ways, Heroes of the Storm was a prodigal project. The MOBA genre was truly established by Blizzard fans in the form of the Aeon of Strife map for StarCraft and the Defense of the Ancients map for Warcraft 3, both of which later inspired countless games, including hits like League of Legends, Smite, and even DotA 2. Blizzard’s own MOBA was an inevitability, but Heroes of the Storm changed things in a few profound ways that make it stand out in an otherwise dense genre.

ftc drops case against microsoft activision blizzard acquisition

FTC Officially Drops Case Against Microsoft Activision Blizzard Acquisition

The US Federal Trade Commission announces that it has dropped the case against Microsoft for its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Posts 5

By Pam K Ferdinand

Heroes of the Storm – A MOBA Unlike Any Other

No Items in Heroes of the Storm

One of the more subtle-but-impactful ways Heroes of the Storm differs from other MOBAs is its lack of items. In games like League of Legends, one must farm currency in order to buy items after returning to one's base. Even newer entries like Pokemon Unite use items, though their Held Items and Battle Items work differently than those in more traditional MOBAs. Heroes of the Storm instead grows character power through the selection of Talents, chosen as they level up throughout a match.

This keeps the action of Heroes of the Storm on the battlefield, without needing to frequently go back to buy items as in LoL, the only reasons characters end up at their base is to replenish health and mana, reposition, or when they die. Healing Fountains and Globes likewise help players stay in the fight longer, giving HotS matches more action than a typical MOBA.

Over a Dozen Maps With Unique Objectives

Diverse battlefields are an important part of every PvP game, and Heroes of the Storm has them in droves. With over a dozen maps, many of which have alternative versions in other Heroes of the Storm game modes like Brawl Mode, it is rare to play on the same Battleground in the same session. Many other MOBAs have multiple maps, but few have as many as HotS – and some, like League of Legends, only have a single map for each of its major game modes.

Map	Game	Objective
Blackheart's Bay	Original	Turn in coins to buy a canon barrage on the enemy base
Cursed Hollow	Original	Collect tributes to curse the enemy team's minions and base
Dragon Shire	Original	Control shrines to possess the Dragon Knight statue
Haunted Mines	Original	Collect skulls from the mines to empower the team's Grave Golem
Garden of Terror	Original	Collect seeds to summon the Garden Terror
Sky Temple	Original	Control the shrine to blast the enemy base with lasers
Tomb of the Spider Queen	Original	Turn in gems to summon Webweavers
Battlefield of Eternity	Diablo	Defeat the enemy Immortal while defending their own
Infernal Shrines	Diablo	Activate shrines and kill Skeletal Defenders to summon a Punisher
Towers of Doom	Original	Claim Altars to damage the enemy's core
Braxis Holdout	StarCraft	Capture beacons to empower the team's Zerg wave
Warhead Junction	StarCraft	Collect Nukes to launch on the enemy base
Hanamura Temple	Overwatch	Escort payloads into enemy territory to barrage the enemy base
Volskaya Foundry	Overwatch	Capture the point to summon the two-seat Triglav Protector mech
Alterac Pass	Warcraft	Free allied prisoners to call in a cavalry rush

What’s more, each of these maps has unique objectives that periodically trigger throughout the game. From laser-launching shrines and spider-summoning Webweavers to controllable Dragon Knight statues and dueling angelic and demonic Immortals, every map contains exciting twists that spur conflict and provide tide-shifting power-ups for the victor. While some fans have criticized certain objectives as being more or less fun than others, few can claim the variety makes for stale gameplay.

The Ultimate Blizzard Crossover

Of course, the most obvious strength of Heroes of the Storm is its status as a universe-spanning Blizzard crossover. Characters, maps, and mechanics from every major Blizzard game – including old titles like The Lost Vikings – appear in the game alongside original content, drawing from over 30 years of history to create a unique experience. Familiar game mechanics like mounts from World of Warcraft and Healing Fountains from Diablo make connections to these iconic games, and unique dialogue between characters who would otherwise never meet ensures Heroes of the Storm creates amazing and hilarious moments that wouldn't be possible anywhere else.

world of warcraft patch 11.1.7 greedy emissary diablo event lore

World of Warcraft Adds New Lore to Diablo Crossover Event

World of Warcraft establishes some actual lore behind the Greedy Emissary Diablo event, which returns during Patch 11.1.7, Legacy of Arathor.

Posts

By Eric Law

The Fate and Legacy of Heroes of the Storm

That said, for all its strengths, Heroes of the Storm was never able to truly compete with titans like League of Legends. It entered maintenance mode in July 2022, and though Heroes of the Storm has received periodic balance updates and bug fixes in the following years, it no longer gets any new content. The game is still playable, and has a small-but-passionate community, but it is otherwise dead in the water.

Many fans were hoping Microsoft might revive Heroes of the Storm after its acquisition of Blizzard was completed in October 2023. While the first post-maintenance mode update took place right around then, and some impressive Heroes of the Storm perks were added to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate earlier this year, there has been no other evidence of a full HotS revival. Unfortunately, the 10th anniversary would have been a great time to announce something, so unless Blizzard surprises players soon, the chance of a comeback for Heroes of the Storm seems lower than ever before.

However, there may still be hope that Heroes of the Storm’s legacy can live on in other ways. Nexon is allegedly developing a new Overwatch MOBA game for mobile devices, though little information is known about what it might entail. Several Overwatch characters appeared in Heroes of the Storm, so while this rumored mobile title would probably not include characters from IPs like Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo, it may be able to draw other inspirations from Blizzard’s original MOBA, and scratch the itch for players who yearn for new HotS content.