Editorial: The Best Alpha Ever

Last Friday, I booted up my PC and was greeted with the familiar sight of Blizzard’s Battle.net launcher, a helpful application which gives access to all Blizzard games and even allows chat with friends across Blizzard’s four supported games; World of Warcraft, Starcraft II, Diablo III and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, when I found something incredibly interesting. An icon had appeared under the familiar Hearthstone logo, titled Heroes of the Storm. I had received no mail about being invited to participate in testing and had not anticipated to play anytime soon, especially as it is currently in alpha testing, but sure enough there it was.

When I loaded the game up I was not brought to any sort of menu, rather I was treated to a cutscene of Starcraft‘s Jim Raynor beamed through the universe, only to wind up being taught how to fight by Uther the Lightbringer. Yep, Warcraft‘s iconic paladin hero teaches the space-faring rogue Jim Raynor all about the Nexus, and pairs him up against Diablo. That is right, Diablo, Lord of Terror and namesake of his own franchise is another of Blizzard’s playable heroes. For a simple tutorial, it is surprising the amount of work Blizzard put into it, when compared with a competitor like League of Legends.

Once past the tutorial, players have free reign over what they do, though all players must play one match with others against AI to reach the appropriate level for PvP. Like League of Legends, players are given a sampling pool of six heroes each week, with the option to purchase additional heroes permanently for in-game currency or real life cash. The addition of optional skins and mounts (a unique feature to this game) are strictly pay to own, though additional skins and recolors may be earned through hero quests.

The gameplay itself is fairly simple, players must go through lanes to break down the enemy’s fortifications and destroy their palace in order to win the game. Where as League of Legends requires players to become strong enough and wait for enemies to run away in order to attack enemy fortifications, Heroes of the Storm harnesses a host of ways to aid strikes on the enemy not limited to advanced minions scattered around the map which must be killed in order to enlist them, and unique objectives presented on each map which can summon siege monsters, transform players into walking towers of destruction, or unleash a devastating salvo of cannon fire upon the enemy.

The talent system of Heroes of the Storm stands out due its sheer variety. While many characters share similar talents (Jim Raynor and Nova can both call upon the Hyperion to do a strafing run while Uther and Tyrael both have the option to damage enemies by simply standing near them), each character is highly malleable and can suit a variety of purpose. For example, my favorite hero, Uther, is a rather weak character in the early game, sitting back behind a tougher character while providing heals and the occasional stun. However once late game hits, I have the choice to play Uther as an incredibly strong healer, throwing shields and heals onto my allies, or a versatile damage dealer, able to tear through before they know what hit them.

All this operates on an easy to use interface without problem. Expected of a game, of course, but for alpha? This is astounding, amazing, and oh so gratifying to those lucky enough to get keys. The daily quests, similar to their counterparts in Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, are designed around getting others to play outside their bubble. On my first day I had to run two matches as Gazlowe, a prominent goblin from the Warcraft franchise. While normally I would never touch him, playing through two games and learning how he worked put me out of my comfort zone, and made me understand just how he worked. The same went for Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice. I never thought to play him, but by piloting him, I learned how great he complimented Uther, and now I make certain to stick to any Tyrael I come across.

To be fair, there is a frustrating factor to this game present in all MOBAs. Once a team suffers some sort of disadvantage, be it a player leaving or going AFK, or even simply falling behind in levels, there is little one can do. Stuck for up to twenty minutes, knowing one is going to face a loss at the end of the day is quite the pain. Fortunately, Heroes of the Storm’s simplicity allows for players to turn the tide of battle rather easily, as one decisive strike can tear apart enemy defenses.

I will continue to play this game for the months it takes to go into beta, and of course the subsequent months that Heroes of the Storm is in beta. We will continue to see a steady increase in heroes (Diablo‘s Azmoddan and the Butcher and Warcraft‘s Jaina Proudmoore and Varian Wrynn all have several datamined files dedicated to them, plus over twenty other characters), and certainly a refinement in gameplay. Who knows, perhaps we will even see a few items added in a League of Legends-like shop system. Either way, I will certainly be playing once Heroes of the Storm goes live, will you?

Found your way into the alpha? Following Heroes of the Storm news? Simply like MOBAs? Whatever your interest or opinion, let me know in the comments!