Love it or hate it, Hero League is a constant source of discussion these days. We’ve had issues with placements this season, requests for features, complaints that the mode is in its worst state ever, and everything in between. Ranked play in MOBAs creates a challenging discussion because the experience changes radically depending on where you sit in the ranked standings. Bronze players are not experiencing the same game, or the same specific frustrations of a Masters level player. As a result, it’s tough to really identify where complaints become true problems, and the correct direction that changes should take.

To that end, I want to discuss Hero League from a more specific angle, in order provide the proper context for these desired changes. Essentially, I want to discuss Hero League as an extension of professional play, and how that focus will improve the experience for everyone.

The Place for Tryhards

Heroes of the Storm has a number of great game modes for screwing around, trying out new things, and playing with your friends. When you queue up for Hero League, you are agreeing to a social contract that you will be trying your best to win. Obviously there are people who will ignore that--the internet is filled with monsters who feed on chaos--but this is the understanding through which Hero League should be designed. This is the place where people go when they want the most optimized experience possible. Where they go to test their skills and to chart their growth as a player. If we accept this as the foundational philosophy of ranked play, it makes sense to make the majority of your decisions regarding ranked play based on the upper echelon--Grandmaster, and beyond that the Open Division and HGC pro play.

Essentially, all of this is to say that the features you see in this list are tailored specifically towards improving the game at the higher levels, because that’s where everyone is aiming in ranked play. This list is also focused on things that would improve the stream viewing experience, and interest in the pro scene, as I believe that there is a direct correlation between interest in ranked play and interest in watching esports. So, with that as the lens through which we view it, let’s talk features!!



1. Third Ban

I’ve already written my diatribe on the subject, but like hero swaps we are well past the time where this should already be in the game. It cannot leave the general community’s conversation. I don’t want to hear any more arguments about “there aren’t enough supports or tanks”. That idea has been debunked by multiple top players. We have enough heroes, the game needs it, get the thing done already.

Obviously there are lots of other things that could help improve the Hero League experience, so feel free to share your own list below. To me, these are the keys that could help the aspects of Heroes I enjoy the most--watching top level play. The more the game encourages people to care about high level play, the more the game will grow, and the better the esports will become.

2. Swaps in Draft

This has been talked to death, but it’s actually insane that it isn’t in the game already. This should have been one of the first things implemented after Hero League launched. Again, draft and compositional synergy is so important in Heroes, but not having swaps forces players into a “me first” mentality if they have a limited hero pool. In my opinion there should be a stickied Reddit thread and tweets at Blizzard every day until this is implemented.

The arguments against it are silly to me. People are going to find a way to troll in any system, its the same nonsense with voice chat. If something has the potential to improve the game for people who want a good experience, we shouldn’t give up on those features just because some people will abuse them. More games will be improved than ruined by swaps, and it will re-emphasize the importance of working together in the draft. Plus, if it did somehow ruin the game, they can remove it! We should at least try it for the overwhelming potential good.

3. MMR Decay

Again, we’re focused on higher levels of ranked play with these features, and this is a big one. If you’re a Masters level player and you take three months off from the game, you probably aren’t a Masters level player anymore. You have no concept of the meta, how new heros function, and your mechanics will be rusty. At any level of play and in every mode your MMR should decay if you are inactive, because your skills and knowledge are degrading if you don’t keep up with the game. The primary desire for every ranked player is to have an MMR that accurately reflects skill. Having no decay system actively works against that desire.

4. Bring Back Duo Queue

Prepare to be triggered, friends. This is, in my opinion, one of the worst changes ever made to Heroes. More than any other MOBA, Heroes is designed around synergy and coordination, both in-game and during the draft. Why does the ranked mode present the game as an isolated experience?

This would also be an awesome change for the pro scene. There’s no way for pro/Open Division players to build synergy with their teammates in a competitive environment outside of scrims (except for the few days each year where that secret ladder happens). It would be awesome if teams could pair off throughout the week to work on their communication and synergy in Master-GM level games. Not only that, it would make streams so much more entertaining. Some of the best content I’ve watched lately comes when BBJ is hanging out with one of the other HHE boys, as they do viewer games or something. If that was happening in ranked, we’d get to see more of how they actually communicate in official matches, and get more entertainment value out of their interactions with each other.

The detractors to this argue that people will just get carried to the top of the ladder and end up ruining the game, or that it’s unfair for duos to be able to climb to the top of the GM standings. Frankly, I don’t care even a little bit whether that’s true or not. Regardless, the good outweighs the bad. The game is designed to be played with friends, so go make one and climb together.

5. Live Spectator Mode

This was one of my favorite features as a League of Legends analyst. I’m guessing this one has some pretty strong technical limitations, but it’s such a wonderful feature that I’d love to see it become a priority. Riot even took it a step further and had a “featured match” section where you could spectate live ranked matches at the highest level. Speaking to high level play, it’s such a useful feature for coaches and analysts at the amateur level, especially when you’re scouting players for tryouts.

Even at lower levels, there are just so many ways a spectator mode is useful. You can check in and see how your friend’s game is going, give you something to do while you’re waiting for them before you queue together. High level players could spectate a match if they want to take a break from playing but still want to provide a quality, educational stream. Overall, spectator mode keeps more people in the game, which is the core of what both the community and the developers want.



If you haven't yet, make sure to check out this week's episode of Entry Level Esports , where I explore how most esports organizations are losing money, and then just sort of rant at the end. It's pretty neat!