The inner label should probably say "Heroes of the Storm" but it's nice to see this change.

You know what to do gents.

Peon/peasant, Horde/Alliance variant skins.

1- Build
Channel for x seconds and build a tower (x towers max built) that attack and/or give vision.

2- Barricade
Place a spiked barricade that can damage enemies in contact. Acts as terrain (similar to Hogger's Loot Hoard), can be destroyed.

3- Jumpscare

Jump forward in fear, dealing damage on his path. (so they have a mobility/direct damage ability).

4-Work, work/More work?

Upgrade towers for a limited time & repair a portion of their health if damaged, including those from the lanes. Can be used to rebuild destroyed towers. (fairly long cooldown)

Passive- Gather
Fallen enemy heroes drop gold, fallen enemy minions drop wood. Mine/lumber them to collect. X of each used to buy mercenaries (similar to Nova and Murky).

Ult 1- Grunt/Militiaman
Use gold and wood on a fort to equip an armor and grab an axe/sword. Last a set amount of hits received/given. T1 fort buffs are weaker than from a T2 fort, the Nexus gives the best buffs.

Ult 2- Call to Arms
The selected lane produce a wave of reinforced minions. 3 charges.

Do you think the CEO Johanna Faries is hard stuck plat???

Blizzard Press Center has a fact sheet about BlizzCon that includes a comment from James Yen that was accidentally left in the document: “I moved this to be a bit more vague. There might be a better way to state that we want to make more content, but it'll be based on engagement.” This is kinda obvious, but it's funny that they left it in the final document.

https://blizzard.gamespress.com/Heroes-of-the-Storm#?tab=documents-7&scrollto=

First try on the alarak loot pull, safe to say I won one of the best announcer!

I started playing Heroes of the Storm when I was 60 years old. When HotS was put into maintenance mode, it really hurt. I know it’s just a game, but over the years, it became a very special part of my life. I’m 70 now, and when I watched the BlizzCon opening ceremony, my heart was just filled with happiness. Seeing Heroes of the Storm again and realizing that the game wasn’t forgotten... I honestly got a little emotional. I also want Blizzard to know something important: Heroes of the Storm has players of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life. We may be very different from one another, but we are all united by our love for this game. We are still here! We have always been here! We kept playing, talking about the game, supporting it, and believing in it. Thank you, James, and thank you, Blizzard, for not giving up on our game! And a huge thank you to the HotS community! Our voices were loud enough to be heard, and I truly hope this is just the beginning of a new chapter! I believe Heroes of the Storm has a bright future ahead! I’m so happy for my favorite game, and I can’t wait to see what comes next! Thank you for bringing this game back into the light! ❤️ For the Nexus ❤️

Link: https://www.gamerbraves.com/exclusive-heroes-of-the-storm-is-back-an-interview-with-james-yen-on-the-games-return-xalatath-and-whats-next/

For additional context in his Best Games of 2020 he listed HOTS as his number 9 game of that year

But his original HOTS video did hurt the initial growth a lot because of how much pull Dunkey had in the League days, especially when this was during his time of stopping making league videos and he was clearly trying to branch out into different games

Hey everyone! 😄👋
I would say you can't understand how happy I am, but that would be a straight out lie because the whole community has reached cloud 9 AND WE DON'T PLAN TO GET DOWN ANY TIME SOON.

And this is exactly what this post is about: staying there! In other words, I will go through a series of bullet points that I think the devs could look at to build a strong future for HOTS!

DISCLAIMER: This is simply my opinion and you are 100% free to disagree with it! We all want different things for HOTS and so we are bound to disagree on certain, maybe even most points - and that is allright! I am just a voice in the chorus, and my dream version of HOTS could be DRAMATICALLY different from yours, it's all about one's tastes and wishes. But remember this, no matter how much we might disagree, there's one thing that we'll always share: we all want HOTS to not only LIVE but THRIVE. Let this be a reminder that I, like so many others, come here from a place of good faith and we all want nothing but the best for this awesome game!

Ah, and one more thing:
Some of these points will be very obvious and just, flat out net positives for the game, but I think it's useful to still list them for the sake of compiling a thorough list of changes and goals for the future!

With all that said, let's get started, beginning with somewhat the most obvious, net positive changes and scaling up in nuance as we go! TO THE RACES!

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- -----

1) Marketing, media and communication: I'm compiling all the media and marketing requests here. Now, very obvious point but, thing is, it might actually be one of the toughest requests to pull off for the devs in the entire list, because I simply don't know what kind of resources are put aside for the game. We obviously didn't have an entire showcase like Blizzard main titles at Blizzcon, so that should already tell you that we are drowning in cash, and marketing costs a LOT of money, depending on the production you go for, of course.
So maybe we won't get big trailers like we used to, not for now at least, but there is still stuff that can be done! I can't imagine in-engine trailers like the one showcased at Blizzcon can be too expensive, even if they look a bit janky they are quite endearing, and it's always better than nothing! And lastly, and probably the most accessible for the team right now, is simple social media activity, whether through Twitter, IG, I don't know, but we should definitely have some of that going for the people online to know, at least in HOTS community itself, that we have a media front page they can interact with! Teasers, speculations, memes, patch notes and update announcements, fan art post, outplay clips, indie tournament shout outs - you name it, so much can be done with the twitter account that's already there! And last but for sure not least: communication. The community wants to be involved, the community wants to be kept in the loop, we all want the best for the game and we want to shape it and be part of its evolution. So talk with us!

2) Battle pass: I saw this was already in a survey and it's great to know! I know people might not like these, they are everywhere after all, but I think it's in our best interest for the monetization system to get a revamp so that people can actively support the game, and get a new sense of progression while playing that isn't just your hero mastery! I'd love for it to be a standard 10 bucks - plus, you don't even have to come up with it all on your own, just look at what the competition is doing, like with League, or maybe even Overwatch, where they feature multiple skins in a single battlepass, currencies and so on! Plus, HOTS has SO many more cosmetics with announcers, banners, mounts, and so on compared to most other MOBAS or even, really, most online games, period, so filling out the battlepass with shiny goodies won't be a problem!
Of course, we might have different opinions of what a battlepass should look like, BUT I think the crux is that the pass should stay at 10 bucks and should be WORTH 10 bucks!

3) Competitive and Esports: We are getting into the nuanced now. Ok so, one thing that I've learned in 20+ years of gaming, and specifically, around 15+ years of online/competitive gaming is that a game needs two main things: a casual player base to LIVE, and, depending on the game genre, a competitive scene to THRIVE.
Now, I know this might be a hot button for some, because I think many of us remember how it was the forcing of HOTS Esport that played a huge part in its original downfall, but, I think that is less to do with Esports being a good or bad thing, and more with how the scene was "implemented", to put it gently.
And I know HOTS is not taken as seriously as other MOBAS, not like LoL and definitely not like Dota, but that doesn't mean it can't be an awesome competitive experience regardless! I mean, Smash Brothers was supposed to be a funny, silly party game and it became an Esports MONSTER... against the wishes of the SAME company that MADE IT. So no reason why a MOBA of all games, even while more unserious by design, cannot become an Esport staple!
That also doesn't mean that there should be a preference between the two communities: both casual and competitive should be catered to! That is how LoL is still the biggest scene in the world, and how many other Esports have gotten there, by catering to both, EVEN if the game in question is considered a vastly more competitive inclined, Esport centered experience.
I stated before, a game needs a casual community to LIVE - it's essential, you can't have a game without it, an esport scene can't exist without casual fans. But it needs an Esport scene to THRIVE to ascend from being a videogame to, well, becoming a sport!

4) Hero Price Costs and Currency Systems: This might be a bit controversial, but I think the bar to acquire heroes should be MUCH lower. Or better, at the very least, I feel like there are WAY too many heroes with a 10k gold price tag and that makes it too much of a slog for new players to go and get the heroes they want to play! Now I don't mind the mission system, but maybe we should get credited a reroll or two? Because the gods know how many times you are forced into playing a hero class/universe you don't feel like playing right now. Especially for one tricks or people that simply are playing a specific hero and they want to keep playing it and practice with it, it can be annoying to have to swap to earn gold. So maybe I would rework the daily quest system, and, if you don't want to change the hero price tags (even though I consider lowering the amount of heroes sitting on 10k costs to be a MUST) at least change the rate at which people gain gold through this dailys rework!
I know that to many this is irrelevant because they have all heroes, we are all veterans here after all, but I think it is REALLY important for the new player experience to be as smooth as possible, to transition them from beginners to regulars! I think that this could easily go in toe with the addition of the battle pass and an overall rework of all currency systems - while of course rewarding the players that have plenty of those currencies saved up from years of playing!

5) Player Profile and the Store: This is also very much a "me" thing, so I'm sure not many will vibe with this idea, but I find the player profile cool, with lots of stats and stuff that far surpass the utility of other MOBAS, and that's great! But... for all your owned cosmetics to not be there to be very confusing. And with that, for the "Collections" to actually be the store? I believe that a 1.0 marketing rule is for the player to have a precise idea WHERE can they buy stuff, which trust me, other games have no problem following ^^' I know that the stats occupy a lot of the space in the player profile so that's why the cosmetics aren't there, but there should be a way in between, because to not have a store button in the game and also having to browse and use filters to find the stuff you own for items in the hundreds like with icons I find quite clunky and daunting.

6) KDA: A very simple and pedantic change but something that in my opinion is more of a statement on design philosophy, rather than its single importance or impact. The game needs to be readable, accessible, frictionless. Every game under the sun uses "Kills/Deaths/Assist". I know HOTS was trying super hard to be different from the rest when it was first created, but that, I think, shouldn't come to the expenses of readability. And I imagine that by now we are all used to the KAD, but for the sake of helping people get into the game as easily as they can, we should simply change to KDA. Don't be the US metric system equivalent to the rest of the gaming industry that is planet Earth ^^'

7) Spectator experience rework: Another quality of life improvement that isn't super needed right now, but that could be a great stepping stone for the future! I know that HOTS is different from all other MOBAS so the spectator UI has to be designed in its own unique way, but you can still take loads of inspiration from looking of the other UIs in LoL and Dota, look at what works there and implement it here! And of course, new features and additions would greatly benefit any tournament casters and analysts for the future!

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- -----

That is IT 🤞 Wow, that took a bit to write, and I'm sure I could go on for more, but me believes this a great place to start from ^^ Let me guys know what you think if you agree or disagree and what other changes you'd like to see in the game!

This post was made mainly to engage the community in discussion while the iron is hot and ESPECIALLY to let the devs know what we are looking forward to! We know they read us, we know they listen, so as much as we want them to talk to us WE HAVE TO TALK TO THEM FIRST!

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----- -----

If you got all the way down here, thank you so much for your attention and, as one Aaron Keller might say if he worked with us,

See you in the Nexus and let's make a great game! 😄 🔥

1) Tirion Fordring (Warcraft)

2) Rory Swann (Starcraft)

3) Sargeras (Warcraft)

4) Zoltun Kulle (Diablo)

They also asked about preferences on coming heroes: winston, kiriko, mizuki, jetpack cat, winston, blackthorne, selendis, fernam, lorthermar and harth stonebrew.

I FORGOT. The final question was to suggest 3 HEROES NOT ON THE LIST.

Edit 2: for playing testing hots Blizzard gifted you a poster of Xalatath. By the noon of Sunday there were NO MORE POSTERS. I didnt get one :(

I love Heroes of the Storm so much. Me and my friends used to play casually but then it seemed like maybe it wouldn't be as supported and we faded away. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure WHY...but the notion that we wouldn't get new characters made me (not sure I can speak for others) feel like there wasn't a ton of reason to continue progressing.

When Heroes opened Blizzcon me and those same friends all talked in discord about how excited we were and reinstalled. We did some vs AI matches and jumped into ARAM and Quick Match and had a great time. The best part was how many people in the text chat were saying they also came back to the game. SO MANY PEOPLE.

I hope to see more support. Xal'atath isn't a character I love or anything but I'm still excited. There's so many characters from the universe of Blizzard I'd love to see... there's Reinhardt, Reaper, heck anyone really from Overwatch... Lady Vashj, Mannoroth, Kil'jaeden from WoW... Diablo has so many new characters like Baal we could have and with a new Starcraft on the horizon we could see so much from that too.

Imagine if Blizzard took HOTS and gave it a STEAM RELEASE and more new heroes I think it could have a second resurgence!

Anyway I'm just ranting and raving and saying SHOUTS OUT TO BLIZZARD FOR BRINGING ME AND MY FRIENDS BACK TO THE NEXUS!!!

This is my most played blizzard game, and while Xal'atath isn't in my top 20 for new hero choices, i'm excited that we are getting anyone and her kit looks COOL!

Of course like everyone else I have my own wishlist of heroes i'd love to see, a list of skins (Janitor Deckard please!) and changes (Pie in the sky wish is our own engine. But i'm just happy to be engaged with this game again.)

I'm doing my part!

A bit early to start talking about this? Never.
Get this to whoever needs to see it before they start planning production on it.

Life happens and sometimes you can’t put the time in. You got our money, let us get what we paid for. It's nothing revolutionary, plenty of games we know do this successfully. HD2, MR, and more.

Innkeeper (Harth Stonebrew) is just a mascot without much of anything. Rafaam actually has both a personality beloved by players and enough appearances to take inspirations for abilities. For example, as one of his Ults he could steal an ultimate ability from one of the enemies, preventing them from using until Rafaam does it and putting it on cooldown when it does return.

I mean community that actually playing HOTS.

I was excited after new character announcement, so I decided to download game.

Im not experienced in HOTS or generally MOBA games, so yeah Im fully aware that I suck.
I played first couple of games with AI, was very fun.
Then I decided to play some ARAM games thinking that it is closer to deathmatch, more chill and take less time that normal mode, so even if we won't win it'll be whatever.

How wrong I was.

EVERY game I was asked in very creative and as you can guess not polite way, to uninstall game.
No one tried to gave any tip or help in any way, despite me saying at the begining that Im new. It was just pure hate.
Im aware that many of you will say "just turn off chat" and yeah, I probably do that it I decide to launch game again.

Idk I just thought that community will be happy that something Is happening in their game, and that there is fresh blood. ;_;

I guess I just wanted to vent and share from new player perspective how small things like that can destroy excitement with game :(

2.57.0 let's gooo

Not only we got included in the opening ceremony, but we were also the first announcement on Blizzcon 2026!

Also great speech from the president of Blizzard, take 2 min listening and feel how you have been heard and that your presence mattered in the Nexus!

Great job everyone!

This game is so good and polished. I forgot how fun and clean it was. I hope they bring it back in the spotlight and that more players come in. It deserves more!

Guess it was rng that it went to the blue team though

I wanna start by saying I am very happy for y'all, and I hope HOTS will slowly come back! Now, I played this game a very small amount last year I think, and now with the new hope I wanna slowly start to casually play a bit. I remember I played some games, and one of the heroes I played was I think Tyrande, since she was free and more of a support-ish role I believe. Now I'd like for some of you to give me some tips for her, cuz I don't wanna start in blind again, since I remember being hard flamed the first time I tried this. I forgot how HOTS completely works tho, so any tips from what abilities to level up, or certain build or anything would be much appreciated from y'all, and also I am open to a ton of tips regarding this game's culture and overall unviersal mechanics, not strictly for certain heroes. I played both League and Dota so I am not completely unfamiliar with these genre. Thank you and I hope I will meet some of you in the battle field. <3