Heroes of the Storm

ZProtoss

Golden Squire
395
15
Pyros just posting here to let you know you're completely wrong on the subject of MMR. A pretty robust MMR system has been in the game for awhile now. Confirmed both by the Blizzard QA vod recently, and anyone with eyes when looking at queue times of top players versus non top players.
 

Mures

Blackwing Lair Raider
4,014
511
Yeah, I know some kind of mmr system is in place because in that new group window sometimes players will have a star by their name that says this person is around your skill level.
 

ZProtoss

Golden Squire
395
15
Yeah, I know some kind of mmr system is in place because in that new group window sometimes players will have a star by their name that says this person is around your skill level.
That, and I'm pretty sure I have the longest solo queue times NA. It's no exaggeration when I say that my average solo queue time is over 10+ minutes at this point (no matter what hero I play). Which judging by other streamers is anything but the norm at the moment.
 

Bosch_sl

shitlord
28
0
Heroes Of The Storm Beta Keys Will Be Sold By Blizzard

Heroes Of The Storm Beta Keys Will Be Sold By Blizzard

Blizzard is trying a new approach with Heroes of the Storm's beta test. They're going to allow players to purchase guaranteed access to the test.

The Battle.net Launcher for the alpha version of Heroes of the Storm mentions a "Heroes Founder's Pack." This digital purchase lets you "ride into the Beta Test on a wolf made of solid gold." Presumably the wolf is some exclusive mount also included with the Founder's Pack.

Founder's Packs aren't a new phenomenon. Other companies such as Sony Online Entertainment are quite fond of them. SOE sold three Founder's Packs for EverQuest Next Landmark that included alpha and beta access along with exclusive items.

This will be the first time that Blizzard offers this sort of deal, though. As HeroesNexus notes, they did offer Mists of Pandaria beta access along with the World of Warcraft Annual Pass. However, the beta wasn't the main product being sold. The Annual Pass gave a 12-month subscription to WoW and a free copy of Diablo 3; the beta key was just a side benefit.

At the same time, it's not surprising to see Blizzard selling beta access. They've developed a taste for microtransactions in recent years. WoW players can buy in-game items like mounts and helmets for real-world money. Blizzard even sells instant boosts to level 90 for that game.

Heroes of the Storm itself has plenty of microtransactions as well. The game is free-to-play with optional cash purchases. There's a rotating set of free heroes but players can spend cash to permanently unlock certain characters. Cosmetic items like skins and mounts can also be bought for cash.

HoTS is a free-to-play MOBA title, in the vein of Dota 2 or League of Legends. Two teams of five players meet on the battlefield and try to destroy each other's base. Players choose from a selection of characters culled from Diablo, StarCraft and Warcraft games.

The alpha test for Heroes of the Storm began in March. This test is limited to a small number of testers. Most players will have to wait until the beta for a chance to get some hands-on time. If the thought of buying the beta key repels you, you can also opt into the beta through the settings of your Battle.net account. This method, while free, doesn't guarantee access though.

One important caveat for today's news is that Blizzard hasn't officially announced the Founder's Pack. It's possible that they'll scrap the idea or only use it in select territories. Still, the fact that the Founder's Pack information made its way to the Launcher makes it seem like a sure thing.
 

Xexx

Vyemm Raider
7,447
1,652
Its optional and only for the impatient, so who really cares? Unless its giving people a pay to win method it doesnt mean much.
 

Mures

Blackwing Lair Raider
4,014
511
Its far better than the bullshit key giveaways, I would have gladly paid for early access to hearthstone rather than competing with bots for keys.
 

Ao-

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
<WoW Guild Officer>
7,879
507
How is it weak? Do you also bitch about alpha access games on Steam?
This feels like a cash grab, hence my response. It's ActiBlizzard, and they don't need the money for development costs (I don't know though, maybe shit has slid so far out of whack there that they do). It's a F2P MOBA game (right, I got those acronyms correct?) so they're in essence getting a "box sale". I guess looking at it as "you're paying for the gold wolf mount" instead make it's less a cash grab than paying for early-beta access to a free game.
 

Pyros

<Silver Donator>
11,064
2,265
You're probably paying for blizzard bucks to buy shit with, and the pack also gives you a mount and access. Note that this isn't news though, was posted last week, it's not official either, but they did make the webpages on various of their websites(just not linked, but people find them anyway).
 

Abefroman

Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
12,588
11,904
Love that more companies are doing this now. For someone who hardly gets into betas of games I want to play this is nice.
 

Oblio

Utah
<Gold Donor>
11,300
24,239
Call me a fool then because I will probably buy this, assuming it is not some ridiculous price.

Above $50 not sure if I will buy it.
Below $50 I probably will buy it.
Below $35 ... SOLD!
 

TecKnoe

Molten Core Raider
3,182
51
This feels like a cash grab, hence my response. It's ActiBlizzard, and they don't need the money for development costs (I don't know though, maybe shit has slid so far out of whack there that they do). It's a F2P MOBA game (right, I got those acronyms correct?) so they're in essence getting a "box sale". I guess looking at it as "you're paying for the gold wolf mount" instead make it's less a cash grab than paying for early-beta access to a free game.
if you buy all the heros individually, its like 3 box sales Wakandans greedy.
 

Crone

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
9,709
3,211
So in terms of a learning curve, how do you guys think this game compares to Dota2 or the other MOBAs? I did enjoy Dota2, but I can never, and will never have the time to get great at it, and so I was stuck in the pleb league with screaming Brazillians.
frown.png
So I lasted for a bit, playing with friends that were all better than me, and I'd just bring them down, so it just wasn't fun.

I knew how to team play, I knew the roll of support, and knew the goals of a team in a team fight, and when to push, when not too, etc. I knew all the "concepts" I just wasn't very good at execution.

Is that going to be any easier in this game?
 

Tenks

Bronze Knight of the Realm
14,163
606
So in terms of a learning curve, how do you guys think this game compares to Dota2 or the other MOBAs? I did enjoy Dota2, but I can never, and will never have the time to get great at it, and so I was stuck in the pleb league with screaming Brazillians.
frown.png
So I lasted for a bit, playing with friends that were all better than me, and I'd just bring them down, so it just wasn't fun.

I knew how to team play, I knew the roll of support, and knew the goals of a team in a team fight, and when to push, when not too, etc. I knew all the "concepts" I just wasn't very good at execution.

Is that going to be any easier in this game?
It is more a learning hill