I want to preface this with explaining that I was just as skeptical as you were when my friend asked me if I was interested in playing Heroes of the Storm with him. As a veteran league of legends player who has played for many years on and off since Leona was released as a new champion, the first time I tried HotS when it was first released in alpha I found it – lacking.

But since coming back to the game in later February and having over 400 more games under my belt I found this game in a different state than when I originally left it. So I want to dispel some of the myths about this game for people who may have the same first impression that I did. But after playing this game for an extended period of time and studying the deeper levels of the game that aren’t apparent to the typical MOBA player, I can definitely say this game has is so much more involved than it’s reputation given from outside players.

But Renray, Heroes doesn’t even have items!!!

You’re right, it doesn’t. At first glance this takes away a major part of a typical MOBA. You aren’t saving up gold to buy amazing items that boost the power of your hero.

However what Blizzard has done is counter this with Talents. Every 3 levels your team gets a new set of talents to choose from which further improve and evolve the abilities of your basic abilities.

This is very similar to items builds. There are several different talent choices much like in League of Legends there are different item builds. A quick silver sash isn’t always going to be useful against a team who doesn’t have any CC on their team, much like how certain talents can be picked differently based on the scenario you find yourself in.

This gives hero levels and experience such a high priority in HotS which leads me to my next points.

HotS is so Casual! You don’t even have to last hit!!!

While it is true that something like last hitting is taken out of the equation in the game that is Heroes of the Storm, it is replaced with even more important micro play which effects the overall benefit of your personal contribution to the team, and your teams power as a whole.

In a game like league of legends, a lot of your power spikes come from things like buying big ticket items and finishing off your builds. For example: Two caitlyn’s laning against each other. One does a good job of last hitting while the other does not. When they go to Shop, one of the caitlyn’s were able to afford an Infinity Edge, while the other was only able to get a B.F Sword. Now you wouldn’t try to fight a caitlyn who has a better item than you right? Same goes for Heroes.

In HotS last hitting is replaced with the idea of team level. Much like the caitlyn with a B.F Sword wouldn’t pick a fight she wouldn’t win, in Heroes you wouldn’t want to pick a fight with a team who has a talent up on you. This means that something called “soaking” is very important in HotS.

Instead of tediously making sure you’re getting gold from each minion, in this game it’s all about making sure you are soaking the experience from all the lanes in order to get a level advantage on the enemy team. While this seems easy in concept, throw in Mercenary Camps, Map Objectives, and Team Fights and suddenly is becomes a lot more easier to let minion experience to fall through the cracks.

The concept of soaking is so important that there are even heroes completely dedicated to doing just that, such as The Lost Vikings allowing you to soak multiple lanes while Map Objectives are taking place.

Different Battlegrounds

Unlike League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm has multiple different styles of Maps called Battleground that are all part of the competitiveness of the game. There isn’t one dragon, one baron, and they aren’t always in the same place. Between gathering resources like Seeds on Garden of Terror, to holding important Objectives like Temples of Sky Temple, there is many different styles of play and priorities to have in mind based on Battleground that you are on.

Not all heroes choices are good on every type of map, nor is every type of talent build useful. You constantly have to adapt and learn based on what is important at the time depending on the objective of the game. You have to understand the goals and tricks for each Battleground and know how what your hero brings to each occasion. This adds so much depth to the game that I don’t think people give Blizzard credit for.

Closing Thoughts

These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the complexities of HotS, but I chose these specifically to give commentary to those who may have similar opinions I originally did.

While I’m not saying either game is better than the other, as I enjoy both games very much, I wanted to dispel some of the common opinions or rumors that people may have about this game.

If you were like me, and wrote off Heroes without giving it a true chance, I highly recommend that you dive back into the game, and all the many improvements Blizzard has made in the recent months (with much more to come) so that you can experience for yourself just how involved this game is.

If you think you’re good at MOBAs and feel that other choices are getting a little stale, I recommend giving this game a shot. I feel you’ll find yourself in a completely different world that is both enjoyable, and feeds the competitive side I know you have. ❤