[BLOG] Blizzcon 2013: Blizzard reveal details of upcoming MOBA, now called Heroes Of The Storm

[CrimsonShade]

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We've known that Blizzard has been working on its own MOBA for a while, though the name has changed several times between each discussion. Originally announced as Blizzard DOTA - causing much of a stir with players of the Warcraft 3 mod of the same name - it was later given the code-name "Blizzard All-Stars". Now it's officially known as Heroes Of The Storm.

Now, before we go on, let me take some time to criticise Blizzard's naming policy. It's quite obvious to me people will start abbreviating the new name for Blizzard's new MOBA; however, HOTS is already used to refer to another Blizzard game, the Starcraft II expansion fully titled "StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm" - and sometimes, by extension, StarCraft II itself. So should we call the new game "Heroes" for short? But then, what about Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft? It starts to feel like Blizzard don't want people to call their games anything OTHER than their full, long titles...

Anyway, Heroes Of The Storm will feature characters from all three of Blizzard's main franchises - characters so far revealed have been Starcraft's Kerrigan and Jim Ranyor; Illidan and The Lich King from the Warcraft series; and the titular Diablo of the games of the same name - in team-on-team battles to destroy an opposing base while protecting your own. But if that sounds too much like your standard MOBA game (if actually there IS such a thing as a "standard" MOBA since the term has been applied to a number of completely different games), it's Blizzard's attempts to switch up the genre that make this one stand out.

For a start, unlike most similar games, you will not be buying items and accruing currency to get more over the course of the game. Instead, gold chests will periodically spawn on the map to collect or steal (depending on which side of the map you're on), which can then be used to purchase powerful map-specific upgrades. Items themselves have been replaced by unlockable character-specific skill choices, allowing you to customise the skills offered by your characters beyond the typical four initial choices and keeping you always in the thick of the action. As for those map-specific upgrades, one map sees a character able to transform into a powerful dragon; while another sees a ghostly pirate fire cannons at your enemy's base to deal huge damage.

Blizzard's main goal with Heroes Of The Storm is seemingly to speed up the time taken to play full MOBA matches, but still keep all the action. The previously mentioned maps shown off so far are small in comparison to genre tradition; and with mounts available to increase the speed at which players can move, crossing the map is likely to be a very quick process even in the most demanding battles. Slowing players down however are the use of gates, which must be destroyed before certain parts of a map can be accessed; bringing a new level of crowd control beyond towers and lanes. Forts will be nearby, too, to enable health and mana regeneration.

Heroes Of The Storm will be free-to-play with microtransactions, but it's not clear if that means purchasing heroes to play as or just skins and mounts.

You can sign up to the Heroes Of The Storm beta now, or do so through your Battle.net account page.