I did a DOTA 2 article a couple weeks back, and a League of Legends article the other day. The MOBA series continues with Blizzard's attempt to break into this now thriving genre. Attempt being the apt word here. ๐
Not sure what MOBA to cover next honestly. Maybe Awesomenauts? To be frank, not many MNOBAs out there worth talking about. So we'll see if this 'series' continues.
But until thenโ๏ธ We need to talk about a doozy. In this edition of Through the Lens ๐, we'll be taking a look at Blizzard's attempt to enter the MOBA green from 2015: Heroes of the Storm, Roll it! ๐ฝ
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๐ถ UP TOP ๐ถ
As always MOBA games don't really have traditional soundtracks, so we get what we get folks. Pretty generic, but we don't play these games for the awe-inspiring music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18KaDtqp9io
As for my involvement in the game, I've played HotS (one of the worst acronyms, I know) on and off A LOT over the years. And have always admired the different approach Blizzard took with it. Shame it didn't resonate with audiences and ended up being a flop. ๐
Needless to say, we got a lot to get to so let's get to it already what are we waiting for I've been here all day for Christ's sake I mean come on you little -
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๐ถ PROGRESSION ๐ถ
Let's go from the top-down โฌ this time. Starting with the account progression.
Blizzard saw what Riot was doing with League and decided to copy the system wholesale. Nothing wrong with that, nothing at all. They even gave metagame levels to their heroes (similar to how DotaPlus does it for DOTA).
The same live service principles apply, a paid currency/an earned currency. Dem's the breaks take it or leave it. ๐
Heroes (this is the game's nickname if you hadn't noticed ๐ฎ) managed to make the monetization quite fun. The most fun out of the three MOBAs we've covered. Not sure what it was exactly, but choosing a spray + a mount that could be applied to any hero, just felt nice. ๐คทโโ๏ธ
The progression was definitely fun, but a bit more stingy than LoL, and waaayyyy more stingy than DOTA.
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๐ถ MAPS ๐ถ
We're going top-down remember, this is currently level 2, we still ain't at the bottom folks! //I hope this metaphor makes sense
So what made Heroes stand out from the competitors in the genre was the map design. Each map had different objectives that the teams had to achieve to get some benefit. Your win condition was still destroying the enemy team's prime structure, but how you get to that carries heavily depends on the map. ๐ค
Heroes had the amazing advantage of having all of Blizzard's IPs at their disposal. If this game released in 2010, then that fact alone would've carried it to success. ๐ฏ They not only used this for the roster of heroes but for the maps as well, creating themed maps for each of their storied franchises.
Another unique mechanic about the maps was the neutral creeps. DOTA has their neutrals drop items now, they can also be controlled in several ways. LoL gives your heroes buffs depending on which camp you slay. HotS's neutrals get out of their camp and start marching down the lanes to push alongside you. ๐ฑ
"I love this mechanic!" Me, just now.
The towers in HotS also had munition, and the base is fortified in a way. Very a unique map design all around. Really distinguished the game In the genre.
Next floor!
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๐ถ GAMEPLAY ๐ถ
HotS is (or, was, since, you know... RIP) the most team-focused MOBA out there. And frankly, it's not even close. ๐
I think this was the primary reason why the game didn't really take off, you couldn't really carry in it.
Each team has shared XP, there is no gold nor items to spend it on. Yes, there is no individuality in the game. The only choice in terms of the build is the talents that change or add spells at certain level intervals.
This complete selfless gameplay is reflected in all of the game's design. And while very interesting on paper, in practice it made people feel like they weren't doing anything. ๐ There were expressions of skill all around, but really it wasn't quite enough.
The hero spells themselves were fun, looked nice, and everything. But their impact was predicated by your team - hence it was lessened. I like this design, but I also think it could've been made in such a way to still allow some player freedom.
A quick stop to the basement before we wrap up.
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๐ถ BACKBONE ๐ถ
I am still surprised that Blizzard's IPs weren't enough to elevate this game. They did such a good job with the voice lines and staying faithful to the characters. And I think the game only lasted as long as it did because of this factor.
So, each hero in the game was either from Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, or Overwatch. They tried doing 'Nexus Champions' basically HotS original characters. But that was at the end of the game's life cycle.
Yes, I'm sure some of you already thought this, but HotS was the Smash of MOBAs. ๐ It was the only place where you could see Illidan fight Diablo. Buuuuut, as we said, the design decisions just didn't resonate with the public at large.
We're done with the floor metaphors, time to go outside! ๐
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๐ถ LEGACY ๐ถ
Apart from being the Smash of MOBAS, Heroes will be remembered as Bliizard's too-little, too-late. They spent so much time trying to get the rights to DOTA, that by the time they started working on the game, it was already too late.
As with many MOBAs that came out around this time, it just entered a market too dominated by the two giants. And sadly got gulped up.
It will always be remembered as Blizzard's failed MOBA. And for a game with as unique of a design as this one, that's kinda sad. But at the end of the day, we all each reap what we sow. ๐
Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe roll) ๐๐๐
Shout-out to the ๐PIZZA๐ gang, ๐ค gang. ๐ค
Really not sure what we'll do next, maybe Awesomenauts maybe Tribes Ascend. Eh, who cares? ๐
Have a good one yo!
๐ Follow me on my HIVE blog ๐
Hope you're having a great day. ๐
Return from Heroes of the Storm ๐ฝ Through the Lens to ะะพัะบะพ's Web3 Blog
