“Heroes of the Storm” was Blizzard’s answer to “Dota” when Valve took the game away from them, and it’s been coming along quite nicely so far. There are lots of positive responses to the title from many sides of the community, and people are generally very fond of the changes that Blizzard have introduced to the classic formula. Some were still hoping that the studio will be able to take over “Dota” as their own project, but in the end Valve were quicker and knew how to act when they hired the game’s developer.
One of the most recent announcements for “Heroes of the Storm” is the addition of several new characters from another franchise by Blizzard, the famous “Diablo”. More specifically, the Necromancer from “Diablo 2” and the Wizard from “Diablo 3” are going to join the roster of heroes in the arena game, and they will both offer a unique twist on the classic gameplay, using their own special skills to turn the tide of the battle in their own favor.
The Necromancer has been designed as a character for precise assassinations, or on the other hand he could be useful in assisting larger pushes. This is more or less in line with what we saw from him in the original game, and it looks like Blizzard are preserving the general attitude of the hero. On the other hand, the Wizard has been claimed to be one of the most challenging heroes to play properly, and it will be interesting to see how fans are going to feel about him and what the responses are going to be.
And while some may believe that this move was carefully calculated to coincide with the new season of “Diablo 3” that’s starting soon, that actually doesn’t seem to be the case, as the new heroes were added to “Heroes of the Storm”’ as a separate move. It’s worth noting that both characters have been present in community discussions for quite some time now and it’s not exactly a fresh idea to add them, especially the Necromancer. On the other hand, while some people were also requesting the addition of the Wizard, that wasn’t so commonly seen, especially with the style that Blizzard eventually implemented the character in.
Reports indicate that the Wizard in “Heroes of the Storm” is going to be very easy to pick up and learn his basic gameplay, but he will be very challenging to master properly at the same time, and players will have to put a lot of effort into getting a grip on their gameplay with him. We expect that there will be an influx of guides and tutorials for playing the character properly soon, as it looks like the kind of character that can attract the attention of more creative players, especially those who like to push the limits of the game. The title does attract such players quite effectively in general anyway.
Some fans have also been a bit worried about the aesthetics of the game and how they could change with the addition of a character that’s exclusive to “Diablo 2”. “Heroes of the Storm” has a very different art style and direction than the older RPG by Blizzard, and the visuals of the two games don’t really blend that well, so it was questionable if the Necromancer would actually look good in the online arena game. But from what we’ve been able to tell, there should be no concerns with that.