Blizzard devs: "back when we were designing Varian, we didn't know he was going to die"

I was sick during all of BlizzCon 2016 and it felt like a clever curse from a particular cruel demon. The one weekend of the year where I never want to stop talking, my voice painfully abandons me. Horrible.

However, I had a chance to sit down with lead live designer Mathew Cooper and game designer Nathan LaMusga and it was, single-handedly, my favorite part of the trip. Despite my voice nearly giving out (the world championships screaming didn't help) I still managed to croak out my questions and coughed exactly one time.



Anyone who saw me at the event knows how much of a herculean feat that last part was.

My questions

How do you create a raid boss in Heroes?

What were the most obvious imbalances?

What's the ideal way to balance a hero?

Cho'Gall vs Ragnaros - how do these raid bosses differ in design aesthetic?

Varian is currently most notorious for being dead. How do you deal with that and a new Hero release?

How does Varian's multi-hero typing make drafting more complex?

Was Varian inspired by Kharazim, a "Multi-class lite" hero?

Is Varian a Master-of-None, Jack of all trades hero?

Varian's High Kings quest talent-- The future of quest talents?

Are you satisfied with an Apples to Apples, Oranges to Oranges talent philosophy

The overwhelming presence of Heroes like Samuro and Ragnaros-- good for the game?

Double warrior meta-- Muradin and E.T.C balance

What type of playstyles are the new maps and new battlegrounds looking to revive?



About the developers



Mathew Cooper's primary role is leading the balance team. This group is responsible for running play tests and collecting feedback from testers; the balance team uses this data to adjust different aspects of the game, ensuring a consistently fun and balanced experience for players.

Nathan LaMusga's main priority is “finding the fun” in the company’s online team brawler. It’s his job to make sure that players are having the most fun with whatever content he’s working on. Broadly, he’s responsible for gameplay, but specifically, he works on designing new Heroes. His focus is on the core kit, the fantasy, and the mechanics of the Hero, and how that Hero relates with other Heroes in the game. His process involves writing out a pitch, iterating on it, and overseeing that Hero’s implementation.

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