Though Blizzard’s multi-franchise MOBA has technically been in maintenance mode since July 2022, Heroes of the Storm suddenly received a balance patch over a year later in September 2023. Every few months since then, Heroes of the Storm has consistently rolled out new patches, with the seventh such update arriving in early December 2
Take Soldier 76, for example. On the surface, he is the most recognizable of the bunch. To be honest, he looks like he was plucked from any semi-futuristic shooter, but his inclusion and design is an important one. Overwatch is a game that awards team and skill-based play, and Soldier 76 serves the important role of acclimating less experienced players into the game. His moveset is simple, with an ultimate ability that essentially allows you to hold down a trigger and rack up kills without aiming, and he also has a healing item, which helps to minimize the importance of avoiding enemy fire. He also has the benefit of handling like a traditional first person shooter, which is bound to resonate with fans of the genre. There’s also Widowmaker, a fan favorite who wields a powerful sniper rifle. While her moveset and weapons require more skill to successfully use, her character design harkens to the femme fatale types that are instantly recognizable, which makes it easier for newcomers to discern what her purpose is within the game.
Mei’s first core ability, Cryo-Freeze, encases her in a chunk of ice, both protecting her from further damage and healing any missing health over time. It’s imperative that any Mei players keep this ability ready to go for whenever she is close to death, as it can essentially become a ‘Get out of jail free’ card during particularly brutal battles. Her second ability, Ice Wall, is one of the most iconic Hero Ability Swap abilities in Overwatch, and you’ve almost certainly come across it dozens of times during your time on the battlefield. This ability allows Mei to place a massive wall of ice (pretty self-explanatory) onto the battlefield, which impedes enemy progress and can save a great deal of lives. If you find yourself capturing an objective and want to give your team a bit of extra breathing room, this is a sensational battle-forcing ability. Finally, her ultimate, Blizzard, is a large area-of-effect ability that functions similarly to the primary firing method on the Endothermic Blaster, only in a much larger circular area. Not only does this do damage over time, but it can freeze enemies entirely, making it really simple for your teammates to come in and finish off the job.
Aside from Tracer, Reaper seems to be a favorite for more casual players (AKA you’ll sometimes see full teams comprised of the two). Despite his relatively low barrier of entry, this hero-hunting mercenary also boasts a pretty high skill ceiling. Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns are absolutely devastating from short range, though they dramatically lose effectiveness as encounter distance increases. For this reason, you’re going to always want to try and attack him from mid-to-long range. What’s more, Reaper generates a collectible health orb whenever he kills a foe, meaning that he can go on some absolutely devastating runs if opposing players get too close.
When you’re new to Overwatch, Bastion is the absolute bane of your existence. Inexperienced players far and wide complain that he’s overpowered, but thanks to Overwatch’s mechanic of enabling in-match hero swaps, savvy players can get some really simple kills off of everyone’s favorite bird-loving robot.
With Overwatch, the charming hero shooter from Blizzard, launching this week, we want to make sure that you’re as prepared as possible to help your team dominate. Overwatch’s main focus is clearly on the interplay between its dynamic characters, so in order to become competent, you’ll need to understand how every character works. Throughout the week, we’ll be publishing guides on each of the 21 launch heroes, three at a time, with the hopes that you’ll be able to recognize certain patterns on the battlefield.
Lucio’s abilities take a little bit of getting used to, but they turn him into potentially the best support hero if used wisely. It’s important to note that Lucio emits an aura around him constantly, with its effect varying based on his use of his Crossfade ability. By pressing the corresponding ability key, Lucio will swap his aura frequency to either buff ally speed or health; of course, Lucio also gains this buff himself. The wisest players will use his speed buff on allies who are struggling in battle, or those who need to get back into the action after an untimely death. His other main ability, Amp it Up, allows him to increase both the range and strength of his aura, meaning that you can either heal a significant portion of your team in an instant, or make everyone on your squad incredibly quick. Finally, Lucio’s ultimate ability, Sound Barrier, gives a massive, but temporary, increase in hitpoints to both himself and everyone in the surrounding area. Timing your use of all of these skills can take an average team and make it outstanding, but those who simply spam these abilities will find themselves either dead or completely ineffective.