Board 8 > Is Heroes of the Storm good?

(+) Yeah! (+)

The only MOBAs I've played are the original DOTA back in the day and LoL many years ago.
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Dota is the "better" game but I have way more fun with HotS. I'm at a point in my life where I flat out don't have time for Dota, either for learning (builds/everything else you're expected to know) or actually playing the game.
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Is HotS good? No. Is it a good casual moba? Very yes. You shouldn't take it the slightest bit seriously, but it's totally a good game to just have fun with.
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It's pretty well put together. The maps are all pretty fun game modes, and a lot of heroes are pretty cool. If you are a fan of Blizzard then it can be really extra cool. Pretty easy to just start playing, though actually understanding the different maps took me awhile.

That said, it's a more spammy type game like League, and on top of that there's no personal growth in exp or items compared to other players, so every game kinda feels the same. Just run at opponents, spam spells, try to complete objectives.


It's fun to play for awhile but I really can't take it too seriously. Since there's not really a difference in experience between teams unless one side is REALLY stomping, there isn't a big difference in feeling between losing and winning. Which is good for reducing toxicity and raging I guess.... but the reason that stuff happens in other mobas is because players are just so invested in the game. I feel like HotS lost something important here
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HotS is a fun game that traditional moba players will tell you isn't good.
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I never really liked MOBAs much at all before but I enjoy it quite a bit
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ClyTheCool posted...

It's pretty well put together. The maps are all pretty fun game modes, and a lot of heroes are pretty cool. If you are a fan of Blizzard then it can be really extra cool. Pretty easy to just start playing, though actually understanding the different maps took me awhile.

That said, it's a more spammy type game like League, and on top of that there's no personal growth in exp or items compared to other players, so every game kinda feels the same. Just run at opponents, spam spells, try to complete objectives.


It's fun to play for awhile but I really can't take it too seriously. Since there's not really a difference in experience between teams unless one side is REALLY stomping, there isn't a big difference in feeling between losing and winning. Which is good for reducing toxicity and raging I guess.... but the reason that stuff happens in other mobas is because players are just so invested in the game. I feel like HotS lost something important here

Yeah, you just don't know the game well enough. I thought the same things until I really got more into the game and was able to understand and play around its intricacies more.



As someone who has played LoL for years in the past (even with you Ana), HotS basically is good in every way that LoL/DotA is bad. Shorter game lengths, multiple maps, much less toxicity. There's more variety, whereas variety in LoL was "did I get a bad teammate I'll have to deal with for 45 minutes" or "I got less CS this time lol".

HotS takes away creep farming, but still has exp farming. The game is heavily based on player interaction, and each map has specific objectives that force you to play the map in a different way than just staying in lane/rotating to others.


Pretty much what Shake said - HotS is an amazing game because it's way easier to pick up, especially for those of us who don't have the energy/time for long LoL/DotA games anymore.
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As someone who played a lot of HoTs and League.... HoTs is a lot more fun. It's more focused on teamwork rather than one person being several miles better than everyone else. I personally like it because it feels like supports can actually DO things in this game(And Annie/Zyra "support" don't count).


ClyTheCool posted...

but the reason that stuff happens in other mobas is because players are just so invested in the game. I feel like HotS lost something important here

There's investment, and then there's children who take everything too seriously. When people started raging in ARAM, that was a red flag to me.
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Also yeah, there's no hour fucking long games in HoTs because your team/the other team doesn't know how to finish.
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I played it a few months ago with some board 8 users

it was pretty fun, but I haven't really felt inclined to continue playing it
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It's a MOBA so no
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As someone who has played it since launch, yes it's a great game. Can it still be soured by bad teammates? Absolutely.

The game itself though, is mechanically perfect for a MOBA. The talent system is grea, the hero specific quests are so much fun, and the different maps lead to a really diverse Meta where different heroes shine on different maps.

Get into it. So good. Also right now theyre have a huge sweepstakes which is giving away a metric fuckton of prizes, just by getting a single win a day. So get into it now if you're on the fence.
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Oh also, saying there is little difference between teams, try drafts instead, even unranked.
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As a casual MOBA player at best, one of the things I love about Heroes is that there's like, multiple "ways to win." You can focus entirely on staying together and winning team fights, you can focus on strategic lane-ing and gaining the experience advantage, you can focus entirely on controlling the map objectives, you can focus on strategically going after the enemy forts and doing as much siege damage as possible, etc. What works best will depend on map and team comp, but the point is that it's not only about killing the other dudes as much as possible. You can play as specialist/siege characters, spend 90% of your time nowhere near enemy heroes, and still contribute a lot to helping your team win.

Also, the balance is such that comebacks are surprisingly common. Not like, SUPER common, but I'm always surprised how many games I play where the team who dominates the first five minutes ends up losing because they get sloppy and the other team rallies and improves. Even at the super casual level. Makes the game more fun when you feel like you're never really out of it.
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Dota is significantly better, but HotS is quicker and fairly easy to pick up and play. I enjoy both, but prefer Dota by a fair amount
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Yeah, you just don't know the game well enough. I thought the same things until I really got more into the game and was able to understand and play around its intricacies more.

I dunno, I've played hundreds of games. I have a pretty good feel for it - and that feel is that it's a fun casual moba with neat objectives that you can just jump in for some quick games and not take too seriously.


People DO take it seriously, cuz that's what people do... but I don't think this is the game for that. It's intentionally designed not to be that game.

Maybe I'll talk about it more in depth later.
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ClyTheCool posted...

Yeah, you just don't know the game well enough. I thought the same things until I really got more into the game and was able to understand and play around its intricacies more.

I dunno, I've played hundreds of games. I have a pretty good feel for it - and that feel is that it's a fun casual moba with neat objectives that you can just jump in for some quick games and not take too seriously.


People DO take it seriously, cuz that's what people do... but I don't think this is the game for that. It's intentionally designed not to be that game.

Maybe I'll talk about it more in depth later.

Yeah I think you're wrong there. It's absolutely designed to be a competitive, teamwork driven game. The fact that some people think they can just jump into any team composition with any hero is one of the more frustrating aspects in fact, so stop spreading your LIES!
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It's not really fun as a casual game (just play overwatch) and it's not really fun as a moba (just play dota)
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Don't play dota.

ClyTheCool posted...

Yeah, you just don't know the game well enough. I thought the same things until I really got more into the game and was able to understand and play around its intricacies more.

I dunno, I've played hundreds of games. I have a pretty good feel for it - and that feel is that it's a fun casual moba with neat objectives that you can just jump in for some quick games and not take too seriously.


People DO take it seriously, cuz that's what people do... but I don't think this is the game for that. It's intentionally designed not to be that game.

Maybe I'll talk about it more in depth later.

I'd love the hear you say more!

I think there's a problem with calling it a "casual" game. I think the better word to use would be "accessible". That's what Blizzard was going for in a design standpoint. They wanted people who played plenty of LoL and DotA to be able to pick up their game, figure it out, and run with it based on its differences. They also wanted people who are new to the genre to be able to pick it up without being overwhelmed.

The newbie system was designed in a bit of a hand-holdy way that is really good for new players to the genre, I feel.


My biggest gripe with them lately is hero design, but as far as the game itself... I feel it's more like soccer. Anyone can pick up and play, some more seriously than others.
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Leafeon13N posted...

Don't play dota.

also this
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Watching pro hots is very interesting, for the record.
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Pro HOTS is a great way to show you how noncasual this game is. I hate that word.
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I don't watch many moba streams these days, but I personally like how tournament HoTS streams aren't just 20-30 minutes of trading towers and playing super safe to the point there's like 2-3 kills within half an hour.
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