Heroes of the Storm, a highly-regarded MOBA, commemorates its decade-long existence. Upon revisiting the game, I found myself woefully inept, prompting one of my teammates to mockingly label me an NPC.
Celebrate Heroes of the Storm's 10th Anniversary With a Bang!
Hey there, gamers! Heroes of the Storm, the beloved MOBA from Blizzard, is back and better than ever. To mark the game's 10th anniversary, they've pulled out all the stops! From now until June 15, all heroes are available for free, and there's a new skin, plus a few cool bonuses to boot. You better believe it's been half a decade since HotS debuted a new hero, and three years since Blizzard put it in maintenance mode. But don't you worry— this baby's still as lively as a two-year-old on a sugar rush!
Let's face it, HotS never turned out to be the LoL/Dota 2 competitor that Blizzard had hoped for. But it's been a fantastic game from day one, and the only MOBA I've ever truly adored. There's just something about that Blizzard magic, and HotS is swimming in it! Whether it's the perfect match length, the thrilling team battles, or even the basic mob-fighting mechanics— it all feels exciting and fresh.
I've been a HotS addict for years, taking a break at some point, but the anniversary celebration has me craving another fix. So I re-downloaded the 35GB behemoth and was blown away by the sheer number of heroes the game now has: an impressive 90 in total, drawn from across all of Blizzard's universes.
One of my favorite heroes is The Lost Vikings. I may not have been a master with them, but they work in a similar manner to the rock-paper-scissors mechanics of the original platformers. Each viking has a unique ability: Baleog the Fierce inflicts damage, Erik the Swift blessed us with his ranged attacks, and Olaf tanks the crowds. The twist? You can control them as a team or send them separately across the battlefield for various tasks.
Naturally, none of the vikings are as powerful as a solo hero, but they're a unique addition to the HotS roster, and many other heroes share this distinctiveness. I wasn't exactly ready to wrangle three characters again on my return, so I opted for Diablo's Valla, a ranged assassin.
Valla's a blast to play, and I used to main her— but it's a straightforward playstyle: stay near the action, pepper enemies with crossbow shots, use your special shots occasionally, and flit away from danger when needed. You can also use her ability to chase down enemy heroes. What could go wrong, right?
Well, I forgot how squishy Valla was and found myself giving away an early kill after getting ambushed. But that's no big deal in HotS compared to some of its competitors, and the game continued apace. I wasn't setting the world on fire, but I was landing my abilities, joining team fights, and pushing gates effectively.
Before long, I was back on autopilot. "I've still got it," I thought as I sniped down two enemy heroes attempting to escape a team fight, claiming both. "Why did I ever stop playing this?" I pondered as another set of towers tumbled: we had a clear path to their Nexus. But then things took a turn for the worse.
My team focused on the top lane, where we'd broken through, and began pulverizing the last defenses. However, the enemy team had breached our bottom lane after killing our defending hero and were doing the same. I could see they were headed towards our Nexus. I healed back at base and frantically pinged my teammates, but they didn't seem to notice. My teammate who'd been killed still had a 30-second cooldown. I held my ground, peppering the enemy team and delaying their advance, but it was a losing battle. I continued to ping, but it was too little, too late. My team retreated, and our Nexus succumbed to their attacks.
"Valla," read the chat from one of my teammates. "You're basically an NPC." Inhale that premium air— that's the authentic MOBA experience right there.
Who knows? I might give it another go tonight. HotS still fills a niche that no other MOBA does, even though it's officially in maintenance mode. Blizzard continues to issue regular patches to keep things ticking over, and the game still pulls in players, with both my matches last night having wait times of less than a minute.
Heroes of the Storm may lack some of the genre's more granular complexities, like last-hitting, but almost every time it delivers a concentrated burst of the good stuff that makes these games so captivating: teamwork, objectives, huge fights, and epic momentum shifts.
Oh, and there's one more reason to revisit HotS town for lapsed players. This anniversary patch introduced new changes to the main menu and startup music, evoking sweet nostalgia. Someone at Blizzard really does still care about this game, even if it's just the janitor.
Rich Stanton wants to remind you that, even after 15 years in the industry, he's still got that passion for games. Beginning his career at Edge magazine and eventually working for a wide array of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice, he's put in the work to become a respected games journalist. Rich was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, and is the author of A Brief History of Video Games, a comprehensive history of the medium.
- The anniversary celebration for Heroes of the Storm has Rich Stanton, a seasoned games journalist, craving another round of entertainment, as he re-downloads the game and finds himself drawn back into its lively fights.
- The Lost Vikings, with their unique rock-paper-scissors mechanics, are one of the many distinct heroes that make Heroes of the Storm stand out in the MOBA genre, even as it faces competition from League of Legends and Dota 2.
- The anniversary event offers several bonuses, including new skins, free access to all heroes, and Blizzard's continuous support through regular patches, making Heroes of the Storm a game worth fighting for, even if it's officially in maintenance mode.
