Why I Love Heroes of the Storm

One game has never called me back as consistently as Heroes of the Storm. Ahh yes, the very League of Legends clone destined to fail by blizzard. This article is mostly just a rant about why I like it so much.

Why not League of Legends?

I have given League of Legends a few tries but there are a few things that turn me away.

Hero Diversity

In my opinion hero diversity in Heroes of the Storm is much better. The tanks feel tanky, and the support roles are largely focused on support. When choosing a support or tank in League of Legends, it still feels like you are playing an assassin. Just an assassin who isn't as good as the true assassins. This does have an upside, it means you can still try to carry if you need to. I would be lying if I said I've never had an awful game in Hots because I was support, my team was trash, and there was nothing I could do. But this upside has the cost of the champions feeling more generic.

Map Design

The subheading for this should really team fights. By far the funnest part of Heroes of the Storm are the team fights, and the map design plays well to that strength. Objectives give you something to fight over, and there are several two lane maps. Having different maps to play on helps to keep the game from getting repetitive as well (even if there are some stinkers). League of Legends has a higher focus on the smaller engagements and winning your lane, and that just isn't as fun as a ten man brawl in my books.

As I said before though, there are some crappy maps, and the jungle is pretty basic in Heroes of the Storm. There is a lot more nuance to LoL's jungle and that is something that would be nice to see in Hots.

Talents

This is a much smaller point as I think both games have a pretty good system. But I would say that Hots talents are simpler to use, while having much more game altering affects. That is not necessarily discrediting the fact that the LoL shop has its perks. But being able to alter talents on the fly (with something more than stat boosts) is more interesting to me.

A Note on DOTA 2

Tried it once, games took to long (though I've heard they have a quick mode now). Most of my other points also apply to DOTA as well.

The Ding!

To a Hots player, the ding is worse than crack cocaine. They hear it go off and, their pupils dilate with ecstasy.

For those who don't know there are various talents in the game that give you a quest. As you progress your quest that talent becomes more powerful. And every time you hit someone with said ability, this icon appears, and a ding is sounded.

It is addictive to the point that I will sometimes take inferior talents because it is fun to try and stack them. Great social engineering on Blizzard's part.

Other Things I Just Like

• Match length is great. 20 minutes is just right.
• It's a good combo of being laid back, with some action. Other games like Starcraft 2, or Valorant are fun, but require absolute alertness or you get stomped.
• I've grinded for long enough I can play any hero I like.
• Objectives provide a clear place for team cooperation while still allowing for some nuance. Occasionally it is just better to ignore an objective.

Things That Would Make It Better

I'm not beyond recognizing the faults of my favorite game.

• No all chat! Would love to have that. Unfortunately by removing all chat, player hostility was just redirected towards teammates. I'm also not one to take things too seriously. I just like to laugh at the stuff people say.
• It is much easier for one person to bring down an entire team than for someone to carry a team.
• The reporting system is lack-luster. Of course people will always just make new accounts for free, but they should be banned sooner.
• It's too late now, but they made it to easy to get everything you wanted in the game. Great for the player, bad for making money. Would be nice to see the game a little more mainstream, even if it cost a buck or two.

Final Summary

I could of course keep writing about Heroes of the Storm, but I fear my ramblings may be devolving past the point of understanding. Perhaps in the future I will do deeper dives into maps and heroes I like (Lunara main btw). But it is sufficient to say that Hots is the game that has brought me back time and time again. Its my comfort game. Just enough action to keep me interested, without an overwhelming amount of focus or complexity to hurt my brain.

It has also been incredibly nice to be getting small patches again. For the past while the pattern has been a patch once a month. First a patch to the PTR, and then a patch to the main client the next month.