Murky, Abathur, Cho gall, The Lost Vikings, Rexxar, and Sgt. Hammer. These are the heroes I would describe as having a fun and interesting playstyle. Murky is a hero that is not punished for dying over and over, deviating from the normal idea that dying is bad. Abathur does all his work through other heroes. He attaches himself to his allies and is reliant on them to impact the game. Cho’Gall is a tank and a damage dealer in one. Playing these heroes requires strong coordination and also requires the team to fill the gaps created by having two heroes in the same place all the time. The Lost Vikings are the experience kings. They get to be in all three lanes at once creating experience advantages for their team. Rexxar is a ranged attacker and a melee attacker in one. He requires strong micro-management ability in order to maximize his potential. Sgt. Hammer is a stationary auto attacker that requires excellent positioning and team coordination. So I rattled off a list of heroes with mechanics that are quite different from the usual. My questions about these heroes are more of questions for the future. Should every hero be made with competitive viability in mind? Is there a place for non-competitive, crazy or different heroes?

Should Every Hero Created be Made to be Competitive?

Everyone wants their favorite hero to be really strong. They want to be able to dominate the opponents in the way that they find the most appealing. Many of the heroes listed above have been extremely strong at various times and have had their time to shine at the top of the metagame. Should all of these heroes be competitively viable? Of course, we all want every hero to feel strong in its own way and we want to feel like we are impacting the game on every hero, but sometimes loading up a quick match and running around on Murky just feels amazing. So my answer to this question is kind of. Every hero should be made with the intention of being competitively viable, but if this gets in the way of creating a fun new playstyle it should not. Medivh is a good example of a deviation from the normal specialist role. He is a utility specialist that excels in protecting his team. As shown by his win percentages for the majority of the people on ranked ladder this hero is not competitively viable. In the right hands he can be amazing, but for the vast majority of players, it is better not to pick him in a ranked environment. However, Medivh is a blast to play and the only reason I did not include him in the list at the top is because I feel that eventually great Medivh players will start becoming commonplace and the hero will be fun and competitively viable.

Is there a Place for Non-Competitive, Fun or Crazy Hero Concepts?

My answer for this is yes. The main goal of playing a video game should always be having fun and these heroes open up new possibilities on how to play the game which is always exciting. I do believe that heroes can have a crazy playstyle that is unlike anything else. I do not think the solution to the problem is to make every hero with the goal of being extremely strong in the metagame. If a new hero comes out and it is not strong in ranked it is not the end of the world for me. I know that balancing heroes is an extremely difficult job. It is a long process that requires a ton of experimenting and testing. I would rather see a fun playstyle that requires me to play in a way that has not been done before than play another Raynor where all I do is right click and walk away from enemies. I do think there is a place in the game for Raynor. He is great for new players that are just learning the game, and he is great against strong frontlines, but he is not that interactive and does not require much strategic thinking or decision making. Generally, if you are auto attacking something you are doing your job. I like to be challenged to look at the game in a different way. I like to be challenged to make tough decisions, like whether or not to symbiote my team while they are skirmishing or to continue a split push that I have built up. These decisions and playstyles are what keep the game interesting, not right clicking on heroes and trying to kite enough to stay alive.

Conclusion

Crazy, different playstyles are healthy for the game. They offer an opportunity to deviate from the typical game that we are used to playing. Heroes like Abathur, Murky, and The Lost Vikings do not need to necessarily be made with the goal of competitive balance. They have been strong in the meta and have been rewarding for those who decide to master them, but I would rather see the playstyle be a part of the game than not because it is hard to make it viable for competitive play. As much as many people would disagree, there are heroes that are good for playing for fun and for blowing off steam. A perfect example from another game is Teemo. He is rarely a top pick in the meta, but is a blast to play! My statement to Blizzard about this subject is to not become a slave to meta and competitive viability. Please keep looking to be creative in hero design. Challenge the player base to play in a new way that they never thought was possible in a MOBA. You may receive flak for it in the short run, but once those heroes become a staple of the game it will be extremely rewarding. So what are your thoughts? Do you disagree with the statements I have made? Are there any characters from Blizzard lore that you think could be developed into one of these interesting play styles? Whatever your thoughts on the subject, I want to hear them, but most of all I want to see you giving these heroes a try. Even if you feel you just need to hop into quick match and try them out, please do. They are extremely fun, and you will not regret it.

-Caleb “PanDuhChuu” Jones

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