by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

The Heroes of the Storm Live Q&A just wrapped up and we got a fair bit of new information on the game, the status of the beta and what we can expect going forward. Community Manager Kevin Johnson presided over the Q&A alongside Starcraft 2 Game Director Dustin Browder and Senior Artist Phill Gonzales.

To answer the big question on everyone’s mind, there is no set date for the Heroes of the Storm beta. Browder explained that the version of the game we saw at BlizzCon was very much designed for a 20 minute experience. There’s still more work to be done on talents, social systems, et cetera. He did however emphasize that the team is very excited about the game and wants to get the beta out as soon as possible. That answer about meets expectations as, surely no one expected a hard date.

Speaking of the talent system, both Browder and Gonzales talked about what’s to come, and it’s an area that is going to be fleshed out a lot more. At present, there are a number of talents that are shared between heroes across the board. Going forward, the team will be looking to create some more hero specific talents. Talent selections will also be getting some aesthetic upgrades. An example of this is Sargent Hammer, who fights from within a Siege Tank. When in siege mode, one of the coming talents will allow his tank to float, while striking at greater distances.

When the topic of PvE objectives was brought up, Browder explained that, initially, there were two versions of the Cursed Hollow map being tested. One featured PvE objectives (the one the team ultimately went with) and the other did not, being more similar to the conventional MOBA map that circulates in other titles. The developers found that, over time, the team was far more interested in playing the version that featured PvE objectives because it was, simply put, more fun.

One question pulled from Twitter was just how friendly Heroes of the Storm would be towards individuals new to the genre. The team responded that, shorter matches and shared XP would be huge in making the game more accessible, but the biggest difference in Heroes of the Storm is that the game would not penalize you for acting on instinct. Since there’s no gold and experience is shared, there’s no situation where an individual would be penalized for stealing a kill or leaving a lane as they are in other games.

These are common issues in most MOBAs, at least at higher level play. Support characters are often berated for getting the last hits on opposing heroes, because it deprives carries and other gold intensive characters of much needed ‘farm’. Similarly, there comes a point in most matches where another lane needs help, but the idea of wandering about and depriving yourself of experience keeps you tethered to wherever you started.

The ability for new players to do what feels natural will be absolutely huge, and help tear down the somewhat steep learning curve generally associated with similar titles. Browder made a point of explaining that he does not believe that complexity and competitiveness are mutually exclusive. He posits that, despite simplifications to conventional MOBA systems, Heroes of the Storm will be more than complex enough to support whatever competitive scene the players choose to develop.

As for skins; Phill Gonzales assures us that since the Nexus allows such free range of creativity within all the realms of Blizzard and beyond, we will see lots of cool things in the future as well as some really fun dance emotes for each hero.  Arthas is said to have a very “formal” dance.

There was other information passed around, and the team made it clear that there will be more information coming in the future in the form of observable games played by the developers, as well more Q&A sessions. If you missed today’s Q&A, definitely check it out here, and watch for more analysis from the BlizzPro Heroes of the Storm team.