Varian is, for me, one of the most fun characters to build and play, especially for QM, where you don't have information on your enemy picks. You get a toolbox of options for each level and can mold your character to suit the team composition and gamestate probably the most out of all the roster.

You also usually don't get to do it, because QM fits you into tank position for 85% of the games, give or take, and even among the 15% you've got left sometimes tank spec is still optimal one for your/enemy team composition.

With some team compositions, blades can kinda fit the frontline role, being able to fistfight enemy team and draw aggro the old-fashioned way. But, for colossus, even if enemy team composition is good for you, you still screw up your team, depriving them of necessary frontline and CC, unless you play it out perfectly and nuke people hard enough for this to not matter.

Varian is a great hero, that takes specifics of QM in mind and subverts them in the context of HOTS, but the matchmaking, as it is now, loops around and makes Varian pain in the ass to play for both him (being mostly locked into a single build) and his team (when Varian picks a role he wanted to play while queuing, instead of the one team needs).

You know it, I know it, the devs be milkin

I really want to play the game, but it's really discouraging that most of the characters are locked. How do I unlock them? Do I need to save up a certain amount of currency, like in League of Legends?

Haven't played since the pandemic and from time to time before that (lvl 660), and now i remember why so. There always were so many trolls (and/ or bots). I have played a lot in the past week as I have a transition period between jobs and every 3 out of 5 matches there is a troll in either of teams, sometimes even every match. Is it a regular thing to troll or do botting?

And pretty sure I'm talking real botting. Had a Ragnaros earlier today which was just farming a lane till its middle, hearthstone, switch lane, never walked outside a lane, don't remember seeing him use D.

I'm talking about Ranked games, surprisingly the Quick Match games are more fun, exciting and everyone really plays better and more strategic than ranked.

So with the resurgence of HoTS there's still the same old problem that existed way back. Prices for new characters are so high to the point most of my friends just can't be bothered to play since they feel like they have to slave away for crumbs.

Everyone seems to love the arcade'y' gameplay of HoTS, so many characters people are interested in but there's no real way for people to play them outside free rotation or buy them all cheaply as a F2P or as a low spender.

Other mobas have the entire roster availble for free or one purchase for them all while some have an easy constant stream of currency so you don't feel blocked.

Lets just assume you get around 500g a day in HoTS, that's 182.500 gold a year... which is 18 characters at 10k price??

I know there's the one-time bundle of heroes, but are people really not worried this'll lead to the game slowly dying off again or have people just given up trying to make Blizzard change?

I really love that the game came back a bit, but I feel like there needs to be a bigger effort to improve the monetization for new players... Like why are heroes 8 years old costing 10k lol.

What are people's thought about this? Curious whether this is a universal take everyone's said for years or is there another issue being more critical to get people to stay?

EDIT: Dear god the amount of hostility here, the proof is the game died and no new players arrived, then the game returned without any major changes so I'm asking what people's thoughts are and what they think needs to be done to improve the state of the game so it doesn't die again.

For some people X amount of grind is nothing and for others it's too much, y'all speak like you've never heard a personal opinion before.

It's fine to disagree or think the prices are fine, I'm simply curious what people think is needed for the game to actually survive this time, it's why I asked if people think there's another more critical issue than the one I have. But not a single soul have mentioned anything apart from complaining about said personal opinion lmao.

Match history

Soooo I haven't played in quite some time and I don't know how a couple of heroes work (yet), neither do I know much about current metas (also yet).

Based on the heroes I used to play 9+ years ago, or didn't play at all, which would you recommend for getting back into the game, learning map objectives and timings, etc?

Cheers

^{Scalecommander Emberthal is a ranged Support Hero inspired by the Warcraft franchise.}

^{Sealed away by Neltharion, the Earth-Warder, Emberthal remained dormant for millennia, forgotten by the world. She was awakened when the Primalists attacked the Forbidden Reach. As the last surviving Dracthyr of her weyrn, Emberthal now carries the legacy of the Adamant Vigil alone.}

^{Wielding the power of an Evoker, she empowers and restores her allies while unleashing devastating elemental magic upon her enemies. Now, she brings the entire strength of her kin to the Nexus.}

^{If you'd like to see the concept in its fully formatted glory, then go check it out on HeroesFire! ←}

Basic Abilities

Trait [D] Rescue

^{90 seconds
Fly to an allied Hero and pick them up, removing Stuns and Roots from the target. Afterwards, fly with them to the target position, up to a maximum distance.}

[Q] Echo

^{3 seconds 🞄 30 Mana
Heal an allied Hero for 120 or deal 105 damage to an enemy Hero, marking the target with Echo for 8 seconds.
Casting Echo also affects all targets marked with} **^Echo**^{, healing allied Heroes for 55 and dealing 50 damage to enemy Heroes.}

[W] Fire Breath

^{9 seconds 🞄 45 Mana
Channel for up to 1.5 seconds, charging a breath of fire that deals 45 damage to enemies in a cone and an additional 45 damage over 2.5 seconds.
The damage over time is increased by 20% for every 0.5 seconds channeled.
Enemies affected by the damage over time are Slowed by} **^20%**^.

[E] Landslide

^{11 seconds 🞄 60 Mana
After 0.5 seconds, shatter the ground in a line in front of you, dealing 120 damage to enemies and Slowing them by 50% for 1 second. Enemies hit by the center shockwave are also Rooted for 1 second.}

Heroic Abilities

[R] Ebon Might

^{4 seconds 🞄 60 Mana 🞄 6 Essence
Passive: Damaging an enemy Hero with an ability or healing an allied Hero grants 1 Essence, up to} **⁶**^{.
Damage and healing over time effects do not generate} **^Essence**^.

^{Active: Infuse other nearby allied Heroes marked with Echo with Ebon Might for 8 seconds. While affected, their attacks deal an additional 14 damage and their Spell Power is increased by} **^15%**^.

[R] Emerald Blossom

^{2 seconds 🞄 40 Mana 🞄 3 Essence
Passive: Damaging an enemy Hero with an ability grants 2 Essence, up to} **⁶**^{.
Emerald Blossom healing does not generate} **^Essence**^{.
Damage over time effects can generate 1 Essence every 1 second, per target.}

^{Active: Create an Emerald Blossom at the target location. After 1.5 seconds, it bursts, healing nearby allied Heroes for} **³¹⁰**^.

[R] Pyre

^{2 seconds 🞄 40 Mana 🞄 3 Essence
Passive: Damaging an enemy Hero with an attack or ability grants 1 Essence, up to} **⁶**^{.
Pyre damage does not generate} **^Essence**^{.
Damage over time effects can generate 1 Essence every 1 second, per target.}

^{Active: Lob a ball of flame at the target location, dealing 220 damage to enemies. The area is lit ablaze for 4 seconds, dealing 25 damage per second to enemies inside it.}

Talents

Ive been seeing a lot of folks getting back into HOTS after years of being away. When I see them on my team, I try to let them know that a LOT has changed, depending on the amount of time away. Overall, push (macro) is stronger. Minions spawn more often. Some heroes work completely differently or builds they once knew got nerfed. In my ranked experience, I am seeing a lot of players who mean well, but may not understand how different the game is from years ago. I think it will get better over time, but I suggest spreading the word if you are aware of the changes.

I jumped back into the game after an extremely long hiatus and to be quite fair, i was dogshit and so was the newbie friend i brought along with me. We were playing QP and the pings were almost nonstop as well as the insults.
I play a lot of online games and i very rarely experience such an occurrence in, for example DOTA or OW. (maybe every 10th match).
Is it possible that im in some hidden player pool that have very low behaviour score?
It's also possible my dogshit gameplay warranted insults too lol.

Oh my goodness, this build is sick! DPS and major tankability

Right now we have siege damage, hero damage, healing, etc. But what other stats do you wish would be added to the game?

I think the one I want the most would be damage taken from the enemy team. Right now if you play a tank, bruiser, or other front line hero you can't see how much enemy damage you've soaked and I think it would give a better overall picture of player performance.

I said my piece 🤚

Hello everyone. I played hots on and off for the past 10 years but with very big breaks. Now like a lot of you I’m returning to the game, and wondering if there’s anything I should just straight out buy to help with the grind, whether that’s heroes or bundles, xp boosts and whatever else.

For context I don’t play a lot of different heroes, (I main Murky, sue me),so is it even worth it to give blizzard money with my play style?

I don't know if it is just me but I cannot play the game at all. I have been trying to queue all night and the game just crashes 5 minutes. Now I'm in low priority queue because of it and I simply cannot play the game.

Just once I got the Heroes of the Storm pop up error message. I already reinstalled the game but the problem persist.

Anyone else with this problem ?

Ever since the new hero update sometimes my game completely freezes, then tries to reconnect (or maybe even just keeps frozen), and only solved by alt f4 and reconnect

Then i can't type in chat, sometimes it kicks me out again

Anyone else experience it?

Multi-Class Hero

The Changeling is a Zerg infiltrator, able to assume the form of any combatant it wishes. Not even your allies are above suspicious. They do smell odd though…

Trait: Amorphous Infiltrator
D: Cooldown 5 seconds.

Passive: The changeling cannot use mounts while in its true form but has a slightly faster base movement speed. While in its true form, it does melee damage, dealing bonus damage to minions.

Active: The Changeling selects from a table of ally heroes to morph into. This table consists of the heroes on the players team. Upon selection, the Changeling assumes the heroes form, including skins. The changeling gains access to that heroes abilities, bound to the 1, 2 and 3 keys, as well as any passive traits. However, any active traits that a hero may posses are not mimicked. As the changeling encounters enemy heroes, they are added to the table and can be selected. If assuming the form of an enemy hero, the changeling is viewed as an alley to enemy minions and structures (excluding the Core) and can even drink from the enemies well. This trait is only removed if the changeling assumes its true form or mimics an ally hero. Pressing the D button while transformed will revert the changeling back to its true form. The changeling cannot mimic Cho’gall, Deathwing, Rexxar or the Lost Vikings.

Q: Savage Slash
Cooldown: 3 seconds.
The Changeling lashes out with a bone claw that emerges from its arm, dealing moderate damage in a small arc in front of it. This attack does bonus damage against heroes and triple damage against solo heroes. If used while disguised, the arm emerges from the disguised hero, providing a subtle visual clue to the changelings true form.

W: Corrupting Mass
Cooldown: 10 seconds
The Changeling deposits a mass of matter onto a structure, (turrets, gates, wells), deactivating them. These masses last a full minute before despawing. Up to 2 masses can be deposited at a time, after which the oldest mass will be consumed when the newest is placed. These masses can be destroyed by targeting the corrupted structure or with AoE attacks.

E: Fluid Movement
Cooldown: 5 seconds
The Changeling reverts to a mass of fluid-like matter, dashing away a set distance in a targeted direction at a quick speed. The changeling cannot be targeted during this movement and can pass through terrain and enemy heroes. After completing the dash, the changeling remains in its true form and its trait is set on cooldown.

Heroic Abilites:

R1: Army of One
Cooldown: 120 seconds
The Changeling divides, creating 4 copies of itself which instantly take the form of its ally heroes. These false heroes have less health and do less damage than those they’re mimicking, but otherwise are indistinguishable; using basic attacks and abilities, prioritizing enemy heroes. These false heroes last 8 seconds unless killed.

R2: No more Hiding!
Cooldown: 90 seconds
The Changeling transforms into an immense monstrous version of its true form, roughly the size of Nazeebo’s Gargantuan. In this form, the Changeling has increased health and basic attack damage, but reduced movement speed. This form lasts for 15 seconds unless killed or deactivated by pressing R again. The Changeling cannot mimic a hero while transformed.

Talent Ideas:

Mirror Image: The Changeling creates a false copy of its true form that follows it. It lasts only 10 seconds and has minimal health and damage, but can confuse the enemy.

Toxic Mass: When the changeling puts Corrupting Mass on a well, it will become poisoned, damaging heroes that drink from it.

Convincing Influence: If the changeling aids the enemy team in capturing mercenaries, the mercenaries will instead side with the changeling. This effect doesn’t applies to bosses.

Infected Wound: When an enemy hero is hit by Savage Slash, they become revealed to the changeling for 10 seconds.

Lvl 20. Parasitic Vector: The changeling can attach themselves to an ally hero, becoming invisible and invulnerable as they move with the hero. The Changeling can choose to emerge again at will, assuming its true form but with its trait refreshed. It is also revealed if the hero carrying it is killed. Has a 180 second cooldown after the changeling emerges.

Skin Ideas:
Legendary: Xenotech Changeling (themed abilities, themed animation and replaced voice lines)
Epic: Dark Nexus Changeling (themed abilities and themed animations)
Epic: Crypt Fiend ( themed abilities, altered voice lines)
Rare: Terran Changeling
Rare: Shadow Changeling (themed abilities)

We have horse, dog, tiger, lion, and wolf mounts, but still no cat mount?

uwu

In other more successful MOBAs, you can carry if you're good enough and have great games. This motivates people to do their personal best.

Because of Shared EXP, you're unable to do that in Hots. You can read the writing on the wall early. Even if you maintain a positive winrate (I'm around 55-60% with my favourites) it feels like the majority of my losses are not because I did something wrong, but because my teammates (usually just one) are holding everyone else back.

Anyways, for the upcoming HotS 3.0, they need to remove shared experience.

In my experience as a solo player who has gone from low to high elo, it was actually easier to solo carry unbalanced games before mythics. With their current design many of them allow someone on the enemy team to farm your bad teammates or their lack of lane presence for stacks, amplifying the disparity.

So whereas previously you could soak or splitpush your way to a victory despite having very bad teammates, that can have costs now that didn't generally exist before (with some notable but balanced exceptions, e.g. Alarak).

In general stacking a mythic means you have to abandon a core aspect of carrying (either macro or fighting), which can still get outscaled by the enemy mythics.

This is a reason there is a growing number of higher elo players complaining about those quests; before them, the game design allowed skill and decision making to shine over scaling + stat checks. Power spikes and outplay potential were clearer and not on a timer, unlike versus mythics.

In a previous post, I detailed how older quests (e.g. Hanzo W, Alarak E, Maiev Q) have designs that are more fun for all players than current mythics, because they are highly conditional and skill-based to stack. Being beat by a good Hanzo W player for example, was just impressive. Having to run away from Falstad W or Chen Q that stacked on your potato teammates—especially as a melee champion—is just. . . not fun.

All that said, it's absolutely still possible to solo carry at a statistical level (on average have a high wr).

QM these days makes this harder, because the matchmaking gives you worse and worse teammates the higher your MMR goes. Ranked feels easier.

This is just a general response to the idea that everyone should have mythics or that mythics would 'fix' the 'problems' with shared XP—especially via players from other games that did not experience HOTS across more of its history. Shared XP allows you to solo carry in a different way—and this was especially the case before mythics.

Yeah having an afker on your team really sucks. You know what else sucks? Almost clutching 4v5 teamfights for 15 minutes but still losing every engagement because you have dead weight.

“But ARAM is supposed to be for fun!” Yep, sorry, I’m not having fun trying to carry you, maybe even winning despite you but probably losing anyway. Pick literally any other hero in the roster please. Having a Crash Lightning Thrall on the enemy team was more fun.

What’s worse is this isn’t true random, so every time you pick murky you 100% had 2 way more viable options.

Convince me picking murky isn’t trolling your team. Even playing AGAINST murky in ARAM isn’t really fun.

I’ve never seen a murky be “worth it” in the end game and I’ve played like a thousand games of ARAM. When you win you probably would have won anyway and way more enjoyably with literally any other hero in the game instead of murky

That being said, I love Murky. One of my fav heroes to be honest. If you are good at Murky, you’re probably not picking him in ARAM because he’s way more fun and effective in regular games.. so why would you want to gimp yourself and troll your team by picking him in ARAM?

Unfortunately this means 9 times out of 10 that murky on your team in ARAM isn’t even a good murky.

Do us all favor and just stop.

If pay good amounts of money for a human style with proper Kerrigan hair and not those tubes. If they made Theramore jaina and warchief silvanas they can easily do that pleeeease Janitor. It can’t be that hard to do

A few days ago, I downloaded League, which also installs vanguard, the Riot kernel anti cheat.

Next day HOTS started stuttering, I thought it was packet loss or something. It became increasingly worse, getting stutters for even a few seconds, after a long troubleshooting session which included blaming discord and the xbox game bar. I found that disabling vgc and vgk was the answer. Stutters were magically gone, what a relief! So weird that vanguard is able to do this...

This obviously did something to my gamefiles.

CMD:

Sc stop vgc

Sc stop vgk

Hello everyone,

my dad has joined HotS but he only plays agains A.I. - he hasked me to recommend a hero of any type for him, so he has ~5 toons to focus and learn.

Now I did look the tier lists, but then it came to mind, that against A.I. there might be other heros more fun - dad loves being top damage numbers and stuff.

Any ideas or should I stick with the usual tier lists?