You Can Now "Buy-in" to The Heroes of The Storm Beta

[Steven Bogos]

You Can Now "Buy-in" to The Heroes of The Storm Beta

[img_inline caption="screen 7 embed" align='right' src='http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/875/875827.jpg']
If you still haven't gotten access to Heroes of the Storm's beta, you can now buy-in to it.

closed beta status [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/heroes%20of%20the%20storm?os=heroes+of+the+storm]. That said, some eager fans who have signed up have been waiting patiently for their invites, and while Blizzard has stated that it is upping the amount of invites sent out, it's also added a way for the impatient to "buy-in" to the beta.

Fans can purchase the Founder's Pack [https://us.battle.net/shop/en/product/heroes-of-the-storm-founders-pack] from the battle net store for $39.99, which as well as containing all the content from the "Battle Bundle" bundle of HoTS's in-game store, also gives the buyer instant access to the beta. For a quick recap, the Battle Bundle contains:

Three heroes: Raynor, Diablo, and Tyrande
Three Skins: Commander Raynor, Lurkablo Diablo, and Blood Elf Tyrande
One Mount: Golden Cyberwolf
2,500 in-game gold


It also costs $39.99 in the in-game store, so technically you're not "losing" anything by buying it, and the instant beta access is included as a bonus.

"In addition to offering the Founder's Pack, we're also accelerating the pace of our beta opt-in flaggings and kicking off official Beta Key giveaways and contests," said Blizzard in a press release. It added that it may suspend the sale of the Founder's Pack at any given time in order to ensure a stable testing environment for the game.

For those of you looking at these prices and thinking its a bit steep for a free game, the bad news is that Blizzard has stated that the store prices are unlikely to change [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137901-Heroes-of-the-Storm-Store-Prices-Wont-Change-Before-Launch] before the game's official launch.

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[laggyteabag]

I was excited to see this, at least until I saw the price tag. Is there really no way to buy into the beta without spending a lot on what is effectively tat? What makes it worse is that HotS now appears in the Battle.net launcher, regardless of whether or not you actually have beta access, so I was surprised to see it there, but disappointed to see that it was only an advertisement to spend £30.

EDIT: They could have at least made the pile of money a little more impressive in the promotional art. Im not asking for a pile of exactly 2500 coins, but I was just expecting something more than what looks like a pocketful of change.

 

[Jeremy Dawkins]

On the one hand, I don't really like MOBAs and should probably wait. On the other, I have been watching and waiting for months to play. I do think it's a hefty price tag for 3 heroes (I don't care about skins, they're neat but not something I need) and a cool mount, and would like a little more value than that + access now.

 

[ShakerSilver]

Paying to play a Free2Play game? LOL

Valve pulled the exact same thing with Dota 2 (for the same price even). Blizz must be taking notes on how to squeeze every last drop of money from your fanbase, which is odd considering their experience in the field.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

It's like they took to disgusting price scheme of Evolve, the shit-tastic "buy-in to the beta of a F2P game" from H1Z1, and combined it into a bundle of piss, shit, vomit, and ground up organs.

 

[Charli]

I was already in the Alpha for ages... gotta say, I'm not a fan of Moba's but I am super into Heroes of the storm.

Maining Tyrael all day.

It's like they took to disgusting price scheme of Evolve, the shit-tastic "buy-in to the beta of a F2P game" from H1Z1, and combined it into a bundle of piss, shit, vomit, and ground up organs.

...Little much?

You're free to not like the idea of something but wow insulting hard working artists a little much there.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

I was already in the Alpha for ages... gotta say, I'm not a fan of Moba's but I am super into Heroes of the storm.

Maining Tyrael all day.

It's like they took to disgusting price scheme of Evolve, the shit-tastic "buy-in to the beta of a F2P game" from H1Z1, and combined it into a bundle of piss, shit, vomit, and ground up organs.

...Little much?

You're free to not like the idea of something but wow insulting hard working artists a little much there.

I'm insulting the publishers, not artists. HotS actually looks pretty decent to me, and Evolve looks sexy, but the wankers setting these price schemes give me the shits sometimes.

Edit: And yes, I guess it was a little too far.

 

[Symbio Joe]

"Look, it is not early access. It is a "Founders Pack" you can make this happen faster!"

No Blizzard, no. It is still paying for something we used to get for free and it is called "Beta Testing".

 

[The Madman]

"Look, it is not early access. It is a "Founders Pack" you can make this happen faster!"

No Blizzard, no. It is still paying for something we used to get for free and it is called "Beta Testing".

I have zero interest in buying into this, but with that said Blizzard tend to handle the 'Beta' phase pretty differently from most devs out there so comparing it to the likes of DayZ or most early-access Beta phase games might be a misnomer. If they're releasing a game in Beta to the public it's pretty safe to assume it's already as good as most devs out there might be at launch but Blizzard just want more time for player feedback, usually for balancing reasons.

That's been the Blizzard Beta style since the days of Warcraft 3.

 

[WNxSajuukCor]

"Look, it is not early access. It is a "Founders Pack" you can make this happen faster!"

No Blizzard, no. It is still paying for something we used to get for free and it is called "Beta Testing".

I have zero interest in buying into this, but with that said Blizzard tend to handle the 'Beta' phase pretty differently from most devs out there so comparing it to the likes of DayZ or most early-access Beta phase games might be a misnomer. If they're releasing a game in Beta to the public it's pretty safe to assume it's already as good as most devs out there might be at launch but Blizzard just want more time for player feedback, usually for balancing reasons.

That's been the Blizzard Beta style since the days of Warcraft 3.

Agreed. Most devs would've released the Alpha that was put out a year ago as gold, but there are HUGE differences between January 2014 and 2015 and it's still considered Beta. I don't mind supporting a dev that knows how to develop a working, fun game with regular updates. Just because it's "F2P" doesn't mean these people don't get paid to develop it.

 

[blackdwarf]

HAHA, This is a ridiculous value for what you are getting. 3 Champs with skins, a bit more gold to buy one of the cheapest heroes of 2K gold, of which you now have already 3 and a exclusive mount. and the game itself is still incredibly flawed. It is an enjoyable game, but with games like LOL and DOTA, why bother with this one. the gold gain in game is still broken and Blizzard is showing no sings to fix that even though the community is banging on about it. Then there is the the dumb stuff like talent gating, which just makes the game frustrating.

 

[Las7]

This is a terrible idea, can't believe that Blizzard thinks people will jump ship with this "value" proposition.

 

[RejjeN]

This is a terrible idea, can't believe that Blizzard thinks people will jump ship with this "value" proposition.

People are stupid, of course they will ¬_¬

Heroes of Newerth was like 30 dollars or so at launch, and that included ALL heroes until they went "f2p" a few years(?) later, at which point they became timed exclusives. And they are offering a "value" pack of a massive THREE heroes... for 40 dollars... YAY! No thank you.

 

[zumbledum]

Been in the alpha now beta for a while, the pricing is something that comes under constant fire on the forums, the price on heroes is on the high end for sure. Free to play is a damn stupid phrase though , its not made out of charity and the whining does take on an entitle over the top note.

fun game best moba imo , but it does have a serious problem atm , the match making is clearly set to make games asap rather than to balance them and because you pick heroes before going in (which i like because it stops the im going ADC and solo top or afk!" wankery) but the net result is if you are playing solo expect to get thrown under the pubstompers buss as your team of assassins get ripped apart by the muradin / valla/tychus +2 supports meta picked teams

 

[Las7]

This is a terrible idea, can't believe that Blizzard thinks people will jump ship with this "value" proposition.

People are stupid, of course they will ¬_¬

Heroes of Newerth was like 30 dollars or so at launch, and that included ALL heroes until they went "f2p" a few years(?) later, at which point they became timed exclusives. And they are offering a "value" pack of a massive THREE heroes... for 40 dollars... YAY! No thank you.

That was a different time, right now you need to give away the game to get people interested in another MOBA, if you want those Dota/LOL players that is.

 

[Lil_Rimmy]

All I can honestly think of when seeing this is why the hell not just wait? Seriously, I'm in the beta and it's a fucking awesome game, but for a price like that when it's going to be free soon is a bit crazy. I'm not someone who usually freaks at high prices on games or games that charge money but when you know for certain it's going to be released free very soon, why bother?

Anyway, game is fun, can't wait to see the influx of people using these skins. $50 bet that those skins will receive some kind of nickname or grouping, or at least people will question if you bought in if you use those skins. Riot Girl Tristana, ho!

 

[Paragon Fury]

People seem to be forgetting several things:

1: This doesn't make the game "Pay-to-play". This is saying "Hey, if you want early access before you get an invite or the game fully releases, here you go." Its a way to shut up people constantly whining for a Beta Key and early access. The game is still totally, 100% F2P - this bundle is just for impatient people.

2: The skins are actually a decent deal. Literally every single buy-able skin in Heroes of the Storm is easily worth a 975 or 1350 skin in LoL; new particles, textures and in many cases new lines/VOs. And buying a Hero in Heroes of the Storm automatically gets you two free 540/750 level skins which you unlock by leveling that Hero up.

3: This is a way for Blizzard to deliver a huge blow to Gold Sellers/Account Spammers/Account Stealers. By offering a legitimate service with a bunch of bonuses, Blizzard basically crashes the market for these illicit services; giving their fans a good option for getting what they want while also increasing the security of their customer's accounts.

 

[Zhit]

Who else is old enough to remember when you didn't have to pay to test/play alpha and beta level releases of games. Why do companies even bother with a golden release anymore? Well, that was quickly typed. A quick look back at titles over the last year and the majority of the big names were pushed out the door in beta state. So I guess we all paying to play beta games now--whether the developer tells us upfront or not...

 

[Zydrate]

I might do it. But my brother plays the beta and he says the 2500 gold isn't a lot to work with.
There's also the fact that I'm not interested in any of the three heroes, except maybe Diablo and only if the D3 model is available.