by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

2016 was an amazing year for Heroes of the Storm. While almost everyone would agree that the game is in the best place it has ever been, it is still easy to overlook just how much the game has improved over the last twelve months. The amount of content that has been added to the game is staggering. Don’t believe me? Check out this Year in Review video the Heroes team put together that highlights just some of what 2016 brought to Heroes of the Storm.

What a great reminder of how far the game has come since this time last year!

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to do a sort of “Best of” list for 2016, but with the understanding that this is by no means a definitive ranking. This is just an excuse to reminisce back over the year that was and highlight a few of my personal favorites. Feel free to create and share your own list of what you like best from 2016.

Best New Hero

Winner: Ragnaros

As someone who spent many a raid night in Molten Core, Ragnaros hits me right in the feels. In addition to the bonus points he scores for nostalgia, he is also an extremely powerful Hero who is super fun to play. Combine all of the together and it is easy to see why Rags is my pick for Best New Hero in 2016.

Honorable Mention: Xul

While Rags is my sentimental pick, the New Hero that I played the most in 2016 was actually Xul. He was a Hero that just clicked for me, and I have always enjoyed his combination of strong lane push and solid team fighting potential.

I also considered Li-Ming for this award, but the sweet Goth look of Xul’s third tint put him over the top.

Best New Skin

Winner: Queen of Ghosts Kerrigan

With so many amazing skins being released in 2016 you would think it would be tough to pick a winner, but for me this one isn’t even close. The third tint of this skin is quite possible my favorite skin in the game, especially once you hit the Ready button and see all of the electricity flowing thru it. If it wasn’t for this skin my MMR would easily be 200 points higher because I stink at Kerrigan but I can’t resist playing her from time to time thanks to this skin.

Honorable Mention: Oni Genji

Has any skin done more for the game than the Oni Genji skin? This skin isn’t even for Heroes, but it was responsible for bringing a ton of new players into the Nexus, many of whom actually discovered that they like the game and kept playing once they completed the promotion. For that reason alone you can’t talk about 2016 skins without recognizing the impact that this one had on the game. Whenever Genji is finally added to Heroes I can only hope that he comes with an Oni skin as well to bring this promotion full circle.

Best Hero Rework

Winner: Diablo

Maybe I am just a prisoner of the moment, but I am having an absolute blast playing Dibbles right now so I have to give him my vote for Best Rework of 2016. There are times where I can sense my opponent’s fear thru the screen, which seems fitting for the Lord of Terror.

Honorable Mention: Kharazim

While the idea of choosing your path at level one always sounded cool, the reality was that almost everyone took Transcendence on Kharazim prior to the rework. Fast forward to now where all three Talents have fairly even pick and win rates and Kharazim is a truly versatile Hero. Not only is the new Kharazim capable of putting up solid healing and damage numbers, but he is engaging and entertaining to play. That counts as a successful rework in my book.

Best New Mount

Winner: Cyber Ram

With a name like Alebeard, it should come as no surprise that I play a Dwarf in World of Warcraft. As such, I have been waiting and waiting for a ram to ride around on, especially when playing Muradin. While I am still holding out for a traditional ram for my Magni skin, I’m content to do all of my Maraudin’ as Muradin on the Cyber Ram in the meantime.

Honorable Mention: Eye Pad

I am a big proponent of mount/skin synergy, and the fact that the Eye Pad goes so well with my recent obsession, Gul’dan, makes it a shoe in for Honorable Mention. A creepy Hero needs a creepy mount.

I strongly considered the Orachi Hovercycle for this category because it is super cool and brought a ton of interest to the game, but really how many futuristic space bikes do we need? Judging from my mount collection the answer is clearly all of them, but moving on…

Best eSports Event

Winner: Fall Global Championship at Blizzcon

The Fall Global Championship is the crown jewel on the Heroes schedule. It is the event that all professional teams aspire to. Some have dreams of winning it all, others just want to qualify, but either way, a trip to Blizzcon is the ultimate goal.

This year’s event had both great games and great story lines. After both NA teams failed to make the playoffs, Fnatic became the hometown favorite after their shocking victory over the most dominant team in competitive Heroes history, MVP Black. While they couldn’t complete the Cinderella story with a victory over Ballistix in the Finals, they did give the standing room only crowd plenty to cheer about.

Honorable Mention: Heroes of the Dorm

Speaking of great story lines, Arizona State University’s run to the 2016 Heroes of the Dorm Championship may have received more mainstream attention than any other Heroes event, including Blizzcon. This is an event that will always have special meaning to me as the first Heroes article I ever wrote was about the original Heroes of the Dorm. Being able to cover this year’s event in person easily made it the second best event of the year after Blizzcon.

Favorite Heroes Brawl

Winner: Snow Brawl

I’m a sucker for holidays, so naturally my vote for favorite Brawl goes to the Snow Brawl. I loved the extra little touches they gave the map to give it that Winter Veil feel, and the additional Tribute spawns made it something different than a standard Cursed Hollow game. My only complaint would be the lack of post game Hero XP, which is a downside to any of the Brawls that are essentially slightly modified versions of a standard game.

Honorable Mention: Punisher Arena

This Brawl had everything. Random Heroes, Objectives to contest, and plenty of team fighting. While the concept was simple, it captured the spirit of what most people were looking for in a Brawl: a quick game with lots of action.

Hero I Wish I Would Have Played More

Winner: Ragnaros

Just because Rags was my choice for Best New Hero doesn’t mean I actually play him. While I spent quite a bit of time with him at Blizzcon, since his release I have only managed to get him to Level 6. Between getting a couple other Heroes to 10 and the fact that he is almost always banned in Hero League, I never found much time to play him. With a new Hero coming soon hopefully he will start getting thru bans and I will have an excuse to start playing him.

Honorable Mention: Zarya

Aside from that one week where she was incredibly OP, Zarya is a Hero that has largely gone under the radar for me. I do enjoy the concept of her kit though, and she seems to be in a good place right now, so I would really like to start playing her more.

As great as 2016 was it looks like things will only get better in 2017. Personally I am looking forward to the revamp to Hero and Account leveling, as well as the new and improved Heroes Global Championship circuit.

What were some of your favorite things from 2016 and what are you looking forward to in 2017?