Heroes of the Storm is an upcoming multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and OS X. The game utilizes a combination of heroes from Blizzard’s Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft and other franchises and is set in the “Nexus.” The game uses both free-to-play and freemium models and is supported by micropayments, which can be used to purchase visual alterations for the characters in the game. Blizzard does not call the game a “multiplayer online battle arena” or an “action real-time strategy” because they feel it is something different with a broader playstyle; they refer to it as a “Hero Brawler”.
The game entered closed beta on January 13, 2015. As of February 2015, over 9 million players had signed up for eligibility to be invited to the beta testing.
Heroes of the Storm is a game that revolves around online 5-versus-5 matches, operated through Blizzard’s online gaming service Battle.net. Players can choose from three game modes, which include playing with/against computer-controlled heroes or other players. When players first start the game, they may only play heroes provided by the hero rotation, a methodically selected list that changes every week, but by using gold, an in-game source of wealth, or through microtransactions, they can gain permanent access to a hero. Of the currently released maps, 5 of the 6 have the standard 3 main lanes where players can fight, while the exception, named Haunted Mines, has 2 main lanes but a separate objective-based area. Killing enemy/neutral units and the opposing side’s heroes grants experience points, which is shared with the entire team. When a certain experience threshold is reached for a team, each hero on that team level up, acquiring slightly amplified statuses and gaining a talent point upon reaching levels 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 20. Talent points allow players to customize their hero’s abilities and generally result in large increase in power, especially for levels 10 and 20. This leveling system emphasizes the importance of teamwork, since a player’s action can affect the whole team. Players can also mount different creatures, such as horses or unicorns, to increase their movement speed and players will automatically unmount when dealing/receiving damage or using an ability. Minions at neutral camps can be defeated to gain mercenaries that fight for you. Each map has a different side-objective that will help either team deal significant damage to the other.
