Report: Heroes of The Storm to Use LoL's Free Champion Model

[Steven Bogos]

Report: Heroes of The Storm to Use LoL's Free Champion Model

The report suggests that Blizzard's Heroes of The Storm MOBA, will have a rotating suite of free champions, akin to League of Legends.

GNN News [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129491-Watch-Blizzard-Devs-Play-Two-Full-Rounds-of-Heroes-of-the-Storm], claims it will be the later.

Diablo III's new game director Josh Mosquiera has been doing some press events in Korea as of late, and while, predictably, most of the talk has been surrounding Diablo III's upcoming expansion: Reaper of Souls, he has been letting some Heroes of The Storm information slip.

According to Blizzpro [http://heroesofthestorm.blizzpro.com/2014/02/20/rumor-heroes-pay-model-league-legends/]'s translation of the GNN story, Mosquiera claimed that HoTS was indeed going with the rotating champion model, and that players who pre-ordered Reaper of Souls would get the Demon Hunter champion unlocked for free.

Blizzpro notes that this may simply be a translation error, but the fact that he specifically mentions that Reaper of Souls pre-order customers will get the champion unlocked, suggests that other champions will be "locked" at some point.

We've reached out to Blizzard for confirmation on the story.

What do you guys think? Would you rather Blizzard use LoL or DoTA's model? I'm not too fussed about it using the LoL model - so long as, like in LoL, there is a way to permanently unlock champions using the free in-game currency.

Source: Blizzpro [http://gnn.gamer.com.tw/1/93241.html]

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[dyre]

I haven't played DOTA2, but it seems pretty objective to say that having all champions unlocked is better than having a rotating fraction of champions unlocked.

That said, LoL's system seems like a better way to generate revenue without being too annoying to the player. It's also a decent way to expose new players to different champions instead of simply getting comfortable with one or two.

 

[DasDestroyer]

Heroes of The Storm MBOA

predicatbly

The fact that you don't need to play a ton of games or pay to unlock heroes is one of the reasons I play Dota 2, not LoL.

 

[Redryhno]

On paper, I always thought DOTA2's system of everything unlocked at the start was SOOOO much better than LoL's rotational in-game payment model, but, in practice, I've found I enjoy League's system much more since while they do have payments, Dota is much more complex to begin with, as well as having around a hundred characters open at the start, it's very daunting finding one that you'll actually be able to play, much less do well with, and even now, after playing on and off for around a year or two, I can only say confidently that Bounty Hunter fits me, and even he's gotten incredibly boring to play.

Meanwhile League has a selection of champions every week, ranging in difficulty and annoyance, as well as being able to earn in-game currency to buy them with. So while it is a grind to not pay actual money on things in the game, there's a better sense of accomplishment and attachment to what you do end up paying for, and again, the only things you are forced to pay money for are cosmetics

 

[JaceArveduin]

On paper, I always thought DOTA2's system of everything unlocked at the start was SOOOO much better than LoL's rotational in-game payment model, but, in practice, I've found I enjoy League's system much more since while they do have payments, Dota is much more complex to begin with, as well as having around a hundred characters open at the start, it's very daunting finding one that you'll actually be able to play, much less do well with, and even now, after playing on and off for around a year or two, I can only say confidently that Bounty Hunter fits me, and even he's gotten incredibly boring to play.

Meanwhile League has a selection of champions every week, ranging in difficulty and annoyance, as well as being able to earn in-game currency to buy them with. So while it is a grind to not pay actual money on things in the game, there's a better sense of accomplishment and attachment to what you do end up paying for, and again, the only things you are forced to pay money for are cosmetics

Honestly, back when it started, League's wasn't so bad, mostly because the price tiers were pretty well spread even. Currently it's top-heavy with the 6300 IP champs (though they have been reducing the prices for older champs) and there's just so damned many of them that I actually feel sorry for any new player that tries to unlock them all. Hell, I've got over 4000 games played and still haven't unlocked them all, though that's probably due to me buying runes to use in troll-builds...

 

[Geisterkarle]

I think the DotA system is better.
Well yes (@redryhno), it's more "complex", if every Hero is available, but even if you have to "struggle" to find a hero or "position" in the game that suits you, you can work with that then. In LoL it's like "ok, I found a hero that works for me ... oh damn, I can't pick it anymore ..." and you have to start new (or buy it ...).
One DotA-Pro-Player in particular came into the scene and was "hailed" for knowing only one Hero. While this sounds stupid, but in the start - and because he crushed nearly everything, if he got it - this hero was first-ban every time, a team played against him! That opened a spot for the rest of the team! Also he could work on other heroes; now he is one of the best accomplished players out there! Maybe he would have bought this hero, if it wasn't available, but that maybe we wouldn't see him now!

Also you say the bad word: "grind". I don't want to grind in a game! I grind games, when I'm so hooked with it, that I want to accomplish more than the average gamer. But I don't want to start out on that! That is no fun for me!

So if HotS is doing the same as LoL I'm disappointed ... Can't we make a deal? I will pay the normal price for the game (40-50 bucks) and I get the whole game and all heroes!? I have less problems with that, then paying nothing for the game ... if I don't really get a game but just parts of it!

 

[VladG]

Normally I'd say Dota2 has the better f2p model, but for a MOBA game a gradual unlock and reveal of champions helps with the difficulty curve. Also, unlike other games, MOBAS don't require you to have all the unlocks to be competitive.

In the end, as long as you can't buy power and champions are properly balanced and the unlocks happen at a reasonable pace, I'd have no problem with either system.

 

[mindfaQ]

Good thing shitty Blizzard did not make Dota 2. It is important that everyone has access to the same hero pool if people wanna compete on even terms against each other. But I guess this game is concepted more towards silly fun than actual competition, so the model probably does not hurt it too much.

On paper, I always thought DOTA2's system of everything unlocked at the start was SOOOO much better than LoL's rotational in-game payment model, but, in practice, I've found I enjoy League's system much more since while they do have payments, Dota is much more complex to begin with, as well as having around a hundred characters open at the start, it's very daunting finding one that you'll actually be able to play, much less do well with, and even now, after playing on and off for around a year or two, I can only say confidently that Bounty Hunter fits me, and even he's gotten incredibly boring to play.

Dota 2 also has a mode where only some easy/medium difficult heroes are available, if you are overwhelmed.

 

[Geisterkarle]

Also, unlike other games, MOBAS don't require you to have all the unlocks to be competitive.

Say what? Then this MOBA is broken!

I just checked the hero list of DotA2 and tried to remember the pro-level-games of around the last 1-2 months (I watch a lot of those) and which heroes were never picked.
I came down to this list:

Strenght:
Omniknight, Huskar, Legion Commander, Earth Spirit, Phoenix, Spirit Breaker
6/40

Agility:
Drow Ranger, Phantom Lancer (damn, he was played a lot, but not lately), Troll Warlord, Blood Seeker, Phantom Assassin, Broodmother, Meepo, Terrorblade
8/34

Intelligence:
Ogre Magi, Skywrath Mage, Necrophos
3/37

I admit a few things:
1. some are really rare and I can remember only 1 time or so that they were played
2. some of the "missing" heroes are not even allowed in pro-play yet (Terrorblade i.e.)
3. could be that I'm wrong with 2-3 heroes

but to say that you only need a "few" of the heroes to be competitive is just plain wrong. If there is really few variations maybe these heroes are just broken and there needs some balance changes!

 

[VladG]

Also, unlike other games, MOBAS don't require you to have all the unlocks to be competitive.

Say what? Then this MOBA is broken!

I just checked the hero list of DotA2 and tried to remember the pro-level-games of around the last 1-2 months (I watch a lot of those) and which heroes were never picked.
I came down to this list:

Strenght:
Omniknight, Huskar, Legion Commander, Earth Spirit, Phoenix, Spirit Breaker
6/40

Agility:
Drow Ranger, Phantom Lancer (damn, he was played a lot, but not lately), Troll Warlord, Blood Seeker, Phantom Assassin, Broodmother, Meepo, Terrorblade
8/34

Intelligence:
Ogre Magi, Skywrath Mage, Necrophos
3/37

I admit a few things:
1. some are really rare and I can remember only 1 time or so that they were played
2. some of the "missing" heroes are not even allowed in pro-play yet (Terrorblade i.e.)
3. could be that I'm wrong with 2-3 heroes

but to say that you only need a "few" of the heroes to be competitive is just plain wrong. If there is really few variations maybe these heroes are just broken and there needs some balance changes!

I'm not talking about pro play, I'm talking about the 99.9% of players who aren't pros. No, you do NOT need to have everything unlocked to be competitive (and that means being able to play unhindered at whatever level you are). I am in the top 10-15% of LoL players. I sit on ~11k IP, which I could use to buy one of the many champions I do not own. Yet I have no intention of doing so, because I barely play half of the ones that I do own, and more importantly, I do not NEED any of the ones I don't own.

There are plenty of people who reach much higher levels of play using 1-2 champions ONLY. In fact, even in Dota2, someone mentioned above a pro player that initially played only ONE hero.

Even you, yourself noted that quite a few heroes are never played even in competitive scenes.

I stand by my statement: You do NOT need 100% unlocks to be competitive in a MOBA. The game is NOT broken when that is the case.

 

[black_knight1337]

But I guess this game is concepted more towards silly fun than actual competition, so the model probably does not hurt it too much.

Erm, you do realise that LoL is consistently the most viewed game on Twitch (beating out Dota 2 by over 50k). It's also got not only the highest paying (millions), but most widely viewed competitive scene currently (tens of millions). No reason why the competitive scene won't be strong for HotS if Blizzard do a good job of it (track record says they will).

OT: The f2p model they use doesn't really bother me provided all gameplay elements are unlockable without paying. Definitely going to at least be giving this a shot because it is a Blizzard game after all and we all know how much quality they put into their titles.

 

[gibboss28]

Well thats a shame, oh well. hopefully they'll give the option to buy all the characters like Smite did.

 

[Smertnik]

If they do decide to go along with rotating rosters then I probably just won't bother with the game. Having the majority of characters locked away makes matches way too boring.

 

[VladG]

No reason why the competitive scene won't be strong for HotS if Blizzard do a good job of it (track record says they will).

I'm afraid Blizzard's track record is very bad when it comes to the competitive scene for their games. Starcraft's WCS was a fiasco, mostly because of very bad management and planning. That's not to say the game itself will be bad.

But as far as e-sports are concerned... I wouldn't hope for much.

 

[mindfaQ]

Erm, you do realise that LoL is consistently the most viewed game on Twitch (beating out Dota 2 by over 50k). It's also got not only the highest paying (millions), but most widely viewed competitive scene currently (tens of millions). No reason why the competitive scene won't be strong for HotS if Blizzard do a good job of it (track record says they will).

Does not change the fact that this model only hurts customers and the competitive side of the game. Not that it matters much in LoL as champions are interchangeable and gameplay/tactics/strategy are generic, so if you know a few champions you know them all. That just goes hand in hand with LoL's avoid burden of knowledge design.

 

[Geisterkarle]

I'm not talking about pro play, I'm talking about the 99.9% of players who aren't pros. No, you do NOT need to have everything unlocked to be competitive (and that means being able to play unhindered at whatever level you are).

Ok, we seem to have a different interpretation of what "competitive" means! For me, it IS pro-play!
Sure, if you play "for fun" you also want to win, but if I understand this correctly (I don't play LoL, I don't want to get eye cancer...):

Honestly, back when it started, League's wasn't so bad, mostly because the price tiers were pretty well spread even. Currently it's top-heavy with the 6300 IP champs

... there are heroes, that are more expensive than others and this is because they are ... better/stronger than others!? So correct my interpretation, but this means, that something is broken! Also if you start and want to get into (my) competitive play, you can't until you have all the important heroes (bought or grinded). But, ok, if you only need a hand full, because the others are just bad ...

Even you, yourself noted that quite a few heroes are never played even in competitive scenes.

Yes, but it sounds to me, that there is a much greater variety of heroes that are pro-level material in DotA2 than in LoL! And this is sad!

 

[Karavision]

A world where LoL is not the easiest Moba on the market is a scary one to think about. I still remember how WoW changed everyone's expectations of the Genre and while TCGs are safe, I can see this game causing the others to adopt more causal features if it pulls a significant share of the market.

I really hope LoL and Dota 2 don't end up like Star Wars Galaxies and EQ2. Getting gutted to attract the new kids. Can only hope they pull a FFXI.

Basing this off of the twitch vids that I have seen of the game, btw.

 

[Ne1butme]

When did this game go from a SC2 mod to a full standalone release?

 

[Rack]

Obviously DOTAs system is infinitely preferable, but this is Blizzard, it was always going to be pay to win.