Core Concepts: Introduction to Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm is the MOBA that continues to defy conventions and expectations. In the Nexus, fast-paced battles are waged across various battlegrounds, each with their own unique objectives to consider. Here, your heroes have a meaningful impact on their battles through the decisions you make and the talents you choose. There’s no item shop to consider, no slow-paced games to wear down your resolve; be prepared, this is a much different kind of MOBA experience.
In the Nexus, you fight hard, fast, and will work as team to counter enemy strategies and advance against your opponent. As you consider the advice we offer in this guide, we also encourage you to download Heroes of the Storm and charge into the tutorial.
Click below for a brief overview to read more about the highlights regarding what sets Heroes of the Storm apart from other MOBAs.
HERO SELECTION AND ROLES
The Nexus has gathered many of the bravest and most heroic characters from across Blizzard’s game universes, and more still are being called to serve. Whether you favor the heroes of the Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, or Overwatch universes, you’ll find epic characters to explore and command.
Heroes in the Nexus are categorized as Warriors, Supports, Assassins, or Specialists, and you can find a detailed breakdown for each of these roles here. Despite these roles, Heroes of the Storm offers a number of Heroes who will challenge your expectations.
Abathur
Rather than interacting directly with a battle, Abathur aids his team from afar using his Symbiote ability. Players who choose Abathur will need to have a supreme map awareness to make ample use of his long-range abilities.
Cho'gall
Two players must work in harmony to command different aspects of this Warrior and Assassin duo: The Cho player controls movement and basic attacks, while Gall dishes out most of their ability damage. Both players can employ Cho and Gall’s separate abilities, but they must work in concert to take full advantage of them.
The Lost Vikings
The specialist team of the Lost Vikings are three separate Heroes commanded by a single player. The Vikings can be split up to push multiple lanes, or brought together to focus on their target. They are a challenge and a handful to master, but can be deadly in the hands of a skilled player.
Our Hero guide offers biographies for every Hero in the game, as well as specific information about their abilities, comparative damage, utility, survivability, and complexity. Familiarizing yourself with all the Heroes will be instrumental in learning how their abilities synergize, as well as what works most effectively against them.
TEAM LEVELING – RISE TOGETHER
For a team to be effective, its members will need to act as one. The leveling in Heroes of the Storm reflects this philosophy, with each player contributing to a shared pool of experience. Team experience makes it easier to make rotations without losing the lane, and ensures you’re not fighting with teammates over gold and experience. Keep in mind that gaining levels faster than the opposing team will present your team opportunities for executing power plays at crucial talent-earning levels, which you’ll be able to capitalize on together.
You will rise as one, just as you will fall as one. Work together and you will reap the benefits of your efforts. Disregard, and your team will be torn asunder. As you explore the Nexus, keep on the lookout for helpful suggestions from the community as these will be invaluable assets in your battles.
THE TALENT SYSTEM – FORGE A LIVING WEAPON
In Heroes of the Storm, every Hero has their own diverse kit of skills and abilities that you will be able to choose from as your team advances. Starting at level 1, every few levels your team earns will present you with a set of talent choices that offer new tools or enhance your existing abilities. In Heroes of the Storm, talents have replaced what you may have come to know as the ‘item shop.’ These talents allow you to react to the battleground, your team composition, or the opposing team composition. A Hero’s kit is unique to them, and offers you different strategic opportunities to employ during the battle.
Pressing the TAB key brings up a menu where you’ll be able to see which talents your team and your opponents have chosen. As you gain familiarity with the talents that are available to each of your heroes, you’ll make better and more informed decisions about how to react to the ever-evolving battle at hand.
At level 10, each member of the team will select from one of two powerful Heroic Abilities which greatly enhance your Hero’s effectiveness in the battle. When unleashed in succession with other complementary Heroic abilities that your team has chosen, these can be absolutely devastating against your opponent. Choose, but choose wisely; once your Heroic ability has been selected, the choice cannot be undone. As such, having a keen understanding of the talents and abilities for each of the Heroes is paramount to achieving success in the Nexus.
DYNAMIC BATTLEGROUNDS –
THE CHANGING FACE OF BATTLE
Heroes of the Storm features a wide range of battlegrounds, each offering unique gameplay and powerful objectives to master. Completing objectives creates advantages for your team, and are the primary points of interest and conflict on each Battleground (they’re also where team fights tend to erupt). Be warned: if you’re focusing on an objective and the enemy’s not present, it’s a good bet they soon will be.
In addition to the various objectives each Battleground offers, you’ll also be able to earn the allegiance of the Mercenaries who populate the world. To do so, you must first defeat the neutral mercenaries at their camp site, and then stand on the beacon nearby to capture them for your team. Determining the optimal time to capture a mercenary camp is crucial, and can be of great value when you need to distract the enemy team from capturing an objective. For breakdowns of the different battlegrounds and the objectives they offer, check out our Battlegrounds page.
GO FORTH WITH HONOR
We hope you’ve found this overview insightful, and more importantly, that it gets your blood pumping, engaging your insatiable hunger for victory. If you did find this helpful, then we also encourage you to check out the next installment of Core Concepts which focuses on Battleground Basics! You have a wealth of experience to acquire in Heroes of the Storm, and we know you’ll be up to the challenges ahead. May you go forth with honor, bring glory to your teams, and have a blast in the Nexus.
