In the middle of the night, a Portuguese Heroes of the Storm Twitter account leaked the newest hero set to join the nexus next week. The often requested and short-tempered Archangel of Valor, Imperius, is slated to go live on the Public Test Realm (PTR) starting on Wednesday, according to the tweet. While his role in the nexus is currently unknown, his backstory and attitude are all too familiar to fans of the Diablo franchise. For everyone else who isn’t aware of Imperius’ storyline, here’s a little information to catch you up to speed.
Activision Blizzard announced last week that they are no longer supporting the competitive Heroes of the Storm scene but the community hasn’t. Since the press release that effectively ended the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) and Heroes of the Dorm circuits released last Thursday, numerous organizations, fans, and community members have voiced their interest in making a new tournament structure or league viable. The hashtag “#saveHotS” began appearing on different social platforms and is now acting as a rallying cry for those who do not want to see the competitive scene of one of their beloved games die altogether.
When Activision Blizzard announced on Thursday that they would no longer support competitive Heroes of the Storm at the amateur, collegiate or professional level going forward, a can of worms was opened. A decision based solely in the name of saving money and dedicating resources to more profitable ventures within the company, the backlash from the Blizzard community has been harsh, a feeling of betrayal and worry over the future of the title.
On Thursday afternoon, Blizzard Entertainment's new President, J. Allen Brack, made his first big move since the recent resignation of the long-time figurehead, Mike Morhaime. In an official statement, Brack announced that the company would no longer support the competitive Heroes of the Storm scene at the professional, collegiate or amateur level going forward.
As Christmas approaches, those who work in and follow the competitive Heroes of the Storm professional circuit called the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) are hoping Santa comes early with some much-needed information. With the 2019 professional circuit yet to be announced, amid reports that Blizzard is experiencing budget cuts, imaginations are running wild that the game many call home will be without a competitive scene come the new year. Blizzard has yet to issue a public statement regarding the future of the HGC as well as notify players behind closed doors as to whether they will have a job in the upcoming months, according to sources. Prior to this past week, the majority of the players and talent have sat back and remained patient for an update. Over the weekend, something changed.
The abomination hero, Stitches, has been a frontline pest since the earlier Heroes of the Storm days back in 2014. Hooking opponents, spreading putrid bile and consuming opponents has been his signature tricks and when the development team felt his kit needed to be reworked, they opted not to remove what made him...him. When the dust settled after being tweaked, the new Stitches will be more than a "hook bot" who, in-between his Hook's cooldown, will have more to do on the battlefield.
The Queen of the Forsaken, Sylvanas, who was introduced into Heroes of the Storm back in 2015 is next in line to receive a rework of her basic abilities and talents. Previously, the banshee relied on applying map pressure through the use of her trait which disables enemy fortifications and minions. But the development team wanted to take her kit in a different direction, one more focused on teamfighting.
With BlizzCon safely in the rearview mirror, sights are set on the 2019 Heroes Global Championship (HGC) circuit, assuming Blizzard is interested in returning it, as nothing has been announced yet publicly. To fill the lull in the action, pro players and the Heroes of the Storm community spend the offseason partaking in a fun hobby: theorycrafting, or predicting what may transpire in the upcoming months. A topic presented to a few players for the sake of this story that sparked a conversation within the community as a result was: “What battlegrounds will we play on in 2019?”
One of the top teams in the North American Heroes of the Storm scene is going to look much different come 2019. According to sources, Tempo Storm is expected to part ways with Vi "ViN" Nguyen and Mike "Glaurung" Fisk as the team looks to reload for the upcoming season.
A promising North American Heroes of the Storm roster in 2018 may play under a different sponsor in 2019, according to sources. Currently represented by Team Freedom, the roster consisting of Merek "zugrug" Kangas, Phillipe "Nazmas" Laberge, Jérôme "KilluZiioN" Tanguay, Orie "YoDa" Gue and Vincent "Lutano" Alonso is in the process of fielding information regarding a new organization to call home for the upcoming Heroes Global Championship (HGC) season.
In the upcoming month, the Heroes of the Storm team will be putting into motion their initial round of gameplay changes that were announced at BlizzCon to, in their eyes, improve the overall state of the game. While many changes will not go live until 2019, such as showing a player’s visible Match-Making Rating (MMR) and changes to the Ranked player experience, what is being released in the near future may be more impactful long-term. How team experience is received via destroying enemy fortifications will be completely re-worked to prevent one team “snowballing” another based off early game pressure, according to Blizzard.
On the 12th (KST), global esports gaming team, Gen.G hosted a media day and introduced their ‘Gen.G Seoul HQ' gaming house to the Korean press. Gen.G has been covering numerous games such as LoL
Overnight, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) stock dropped by an estimated 10 percent after their Quarter 3 earning’s report was made public. While the estimated revenue for the company was in-line with their projections of $1.66 billion for the quarter, a drop in monthly active users for the third straight quarter turned out to be a cause for concern for some.
A rematch that was six months in the making wasn't as close as some may have wanted. But for the first time in the history of the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) a back-to-back world champion was crowned.
At the Heroes of the Storm: Deep Dive panel on the second day of the BlizzCon 2018, the dev team talked about how the designers created Orphea, the newest hero in Heroes of the Storm and the first her
BlizzCon this year is also the event where J. Allen Brack announces his appointment to the new CEO of Blizzard. Beginning as the production director of World of Warcraft, Mr. Brack has been working at
Orphea, the newest hero in Heroes of the Storm, was revealed at the BlizzCon 2018. Orphea, who is the daughter of the Raven Lord, is an Assassin hero with powerful skills that enhances her basic attac
After the Heroes of the Storm development team announced broad changes coming to the game in 2019 during the Opening Ceremony, a panel held later in the afternoon at BlizzCon provided some specifics. Led by Joe Piepiora (Lead Systems Designer) and Matt Cooper (Senior Game Designer), the development team began the "What's Next" panel by first discussing the impactful changes they have made in 2018 thus far. New maps, heroes and events were the topics of conversation before the tone shifted over to what the player base can expect later this year and in 2019.
Orphea, the newest Heroes of the Storm hero, has been revealed at the BlizzCon 2018. Orphea is the very first hero in HotS that is original to the game. Here are the character portrait, artwork, scree
For the first time in Heroes of the Storm history, the development team created a hero that has no previous association with another Blizzard title. Orphea, a young mage who feuds with the Raven Lord will be entering the nexus in the near future. According to the announcement video, she will be free to all individuals who purchased the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket.