by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

Heroes of the Storm is supposed to be a hero brawler that defies genre conventions. That’s been Blizzard’s go-to line since the game was announced in its most recent iteration. While Abathur certainly has done so, most of the other heroes feel like necessary staples built into the foundation so that the game can work. No matter how far off course you want to travel, you need certain archetypes. You need heavies than can stun. You need late game heroes that can put out crippling DPS. You need heroes that can deliver crushing burst damage.

Murky represents the second real conceptual test for the Heroes of the Storm team. Can you create a hero that centers around being easy to kill, and still make him useful and engaging for the players? The answer is, at this point at least, sort of. There’s no denying that Murky can be useful. His Puffer Fish ability allows him to put out a lot of pressure on structures, and from a safe distance. It’s not uncommon to see Murky hiding in the bushes, tossing out a fish whenever it’s off cooldown. In teamfights, he’s less of a factor unless his heroic abilities are available, but that’s to be expected. A hero that can essentially ignore death simply cannot be a powerhouse. It wouldn’t make sense.

Murky sort of rides a horse.

Is Murky engaging? That’s a harder question to answer. I bought Murky on the first evening he was available and played about five games as him. I then played another six or seven over the next couple of days. There’s no denying he’s a hilarious hero. The voice acting and visuals are spot on. He doesn’t ride mounts. He hangs on for dear life from them. His voice is very much what you’d expect it to be. He says all the things a bloodthirsty murloc should say. So, you know, sounds.

Mechanically, he’s honestly frustrating to deal with. Backdooring is a point of major contention in MOBAs. Some believe whatever works, works, while others find it to be a poor sport’s tactic. Murky specializes in it. He is designed to die, respawn five seconds later and go right back to lobbing explosive fish at structures while you’re busy dealing with the rest of the team. The end result is often your team winning an engagement, or simply breaking even, while Murky lords over the ashes of one of your forts. It is maddening. In pre-made groups, it makes you want to flip tables in rage because communication is far better, making Murky’s skillset more problematic.

PUFFER FISH Y U DO DIS?

My immediate thought after a few games was, ‘well, there’s a reason this sort of hero doesn’t exist, and maybe challenging conventions comes with drawbacks’. I then joined a game as Brightwing and went against a Murky. My experience playing as him had taught me that the best way to keep him in check was to actively police him, preferably with a super mobile hero. Brightwing just happens to be that. While not a conventional damage cannon, she still shreds Murky because he’s not designed for a solo engagement. Brightwing also has the powerful ability to jump around the map. Needless to say, I destroyed Murky, while still being able to support my team when it mattered. We ended up winning, largely because Murky was a non-factor, making the game an effective 4v5.

Fending off Murky is going to require a different way of thinking, just as playing him does. You can’t just utilize the same tactics you would approach other heroes with. You’ll likely lose if you do, and probably find yourself cursing his functionality. I personally think the character works, and is essentially the first hard line the game’s taken in the direction of, ‘this is the game we’re making, it’s going to be radically different’ because it openly challenges the notion of backdooring being problematic. Backdooring is going to exist in Heroes of the Storm, and you’re going to either deal with it, or lose. There’s not much in-between. Early previews of Zagara suggest that she’ll also bring some backdooring to the table. Specialist might just be the sort of archetype that churns out these difficult to deal with, mechanically irritating heroes.

There’s certainly an argument to be had as to whether or not this play style is compelling, but it does in the strictest sense work, and while Murky might be annoying to play against, I really enjoy playing as him because he’s so different from anything else I’m used to.