by JR Cook - 7 years ago     show comments

Hidden within the vastness that is the Probius patch notes is a single line that points to a much larger story.

Never have so few words said so much.

Since the earliest days of Heroes of the Storm players have been lamenting the need for better Hero classifications. There are simply too many diverse and creative Heroes for them to all be adequately categorized as either Warriors, Assassin, Support or Specialist. Pick any Role and it is easy to find a Hero that you could argue is better suited to be classified as something else.

While there are still only four official Roles, changes in the Probius patch point towards a shift in how Heroes are categorized. Many of the descriptions that are displayed when hovering over a portrait on the Hero Select Screen have been changed. Not only are they more reflective of the play style for each Hero but they contain new terminology as well. Words like Bruiser, Healer, and Summoner are being used to further define each Hero. While we do not have official definitions for these terms, they are fairly self-explanatory.

Here is a list of the new terminology and which Heroes have that wording in their description:

• Assassin: Alarak, Falstad, Greymane, Illidan, Kerrigan, Lunara, Raynor, Samuro, Sylvanas, The Butcher, Tracer, Tychus, Valeera, Valla, Varian, Zeratul, Zul’jin
• Bruiser: Artanis, Chen, Dehaka, Leoric, Ragnaros, Rexxar, Sonja, Thrall, Zarya
• Healer: Auriel, Brightwing, Kharazim, Li Li, Lt. Morales, Lucio, Malfurion, Rehgar, Uther
• Mage: Gall, Chromie, Gul’dan, Jaina, Kael’thas, Li-Ming, Nazeebo, Nova
• Summoner: Azmodan, Gazlowe, Probius, Xul, Zagara
• Support: Medivh, Tassadar, Tyrande
• Tank: Anub’arak, Arthas, Diablo, ETC, Johanna, Muradin, Stitches, Tyrael, Varian

As you can see, there are some interesting classifications such as Nova as a Mage and Sylvanas as an Assassin. You may have also noticed that not every Hero is included on this list so clearly this is still a work in progress. The new and improve descriptions also further differentiate Heroes thru the use of phrases like burst damage, sustained damage, Physical Damage Assassin or specializes against Mages.

While these changes are subtle, they are beneficial to both new and experienced players alike. For new players, there is enough detail to help them understand the purpose of a Hero, but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. For experienced players, clarifying Physical Damage from Spell Damage and Physical Armor from Spell Armor will be useful information when it comes to selecting the proper Hero. One additional feature I would like to see added is to have these descriptions also show up when hovering over a Hero in the Hero Select portion of the Draft UI.

Whether you check it out now on the PTR or wait until next week when it goes live, be sure to take a few minutes to read over these new Hero descriptions for yourself.