Heroes of the Storm's Amazonian Harkens Back to Diablo 2 Days

So in the midst of the exciting Overwatch event I've been finding time in between matches to relax. I relax by playing other games, and Heroes of the Storm has been my go-to moba since 2015 when it was released in early alpha. The game recently got D.Va, Genji, a Protoss probe, and an Amazonian added to the roster. Here I'd like to focus on the Amazonian.

Her name is Cassia, a perfect name for an Amazonian really. Her play-style is pretty aggro (dps) and playing her harkens back to the good ol' days of Diablo 2, when I was just a 7th grader that spent his days after school pvping outside Tristrum. I never actually played a Bowazon (archer amazon) or Javazon (javelin thrower) but I fought against them a lot. They were easily one of the strongest classes in the game. Heroes features a straight Javazon but I wish there was a skin for her where she could change into a Bowazon. Idea you can take right from me Blizzard!

Lets go over her abilities but I'm gonna keep it simple. Her q is a basic javelin throw that splits out and does electric damage. This move is her basic bread and butter for damage and it has a short cool down so you can spam it a lot. Because it doesn't cost much mana its even better. It shoots in a straight line but you have to be good at aiming and actually hit your enemies because if you miss the first javelin toss the lighting doesn't hit anything. My second game I dominated the enemy team primarily because this ability is so strong. If you never miss you'll do so much damage.

Her w is this blinding electric shock (or light) that hits in an area of effect (aoe blast). Once it hits them it blinds them, making them miss all their attacks. Super useful and defensive. This one is a little harder to hit them with because your aiming with the mouse requires more precision the q ability. But once it hits them your safe and all their attacks miss. Nice.

Her e is a charge attack that rushes the enemy and deals damage with super fast javelin attacks. It looks really cool and does really good damage. This is perfect for when your trying to engage, or running away and then trying to re-engage. However, its her most situational ability here. You can't use it all the time on enemies because it leaves you vulnerable to attacks, thus making it easier for you to get double, triple, or quadruple teamed.

She has two ultimates. One is Ball lightning which shoots out this lightning ball that damages enemies. The cooler one is Valkyrie. This ultimate ability summons a valkyrie that rushes to Cassia, pulls and stuns the first enemy hit, and knocks back all enemy heroes in the way. Its great. Perfect for engaging in team fights and also effective when you need to make a run for it.

Yeah, Cassia is pretty cool. The main aspect of her that reminds of Diablo 2 is how aggro she is. She has skills that increases her movement speed while unmounted. Its super effective! She makes me want to replay Diablo 2 to roll an Amazon. Its great to see a Diablo 2 character added to the game because right now it seems like Overwatch is getting a lot of love in Heroes of the Storm. I'm sure Blizzard will have great new ideas for new heroes.

Diablo 2 is love!

Valeera, Rogue Assassin enters the Nexus

Blizzard updated Heroes of the Storm today and released Valeera as their newest hero.

"Valeera Sanguinar, Shadow of the Uncrowned, is a melee assassin hero from the Warcraft universe. For a time, the gladiator Valeera Sanguinar served dutifully as one of Varian Wrynn's personal bodyguards. Now, her shadowy skills find her a natural fit within the secretive rogue order, the Uncrowned, in their fight against the Legion. She is a tricky assassin who can gain access to different abilities while stealthed, and builds combo points to eviscerate her opponents." (heroesofthestorm.gamepedia.com)

"Valeera Sanguinar, along with Broll Bearmantle, was a companion of Varian Wrynn. She eventually became an enforcer for the New Council of Tirisfal, and accepted the position of an advisor and bodyguard to Varian in Stormwind, with the caveat that she retain her independence. She culturally identifies as a blood elf, taking pride in her people's traditions and defending their tribulations and loyalties. However, she herself acts independently of the Thalassian government, and has formally joined neither the Horde nor the Alliance since her introduction but is fiercely loyal to Varian and his son. Valeera herself maintains that her loyalties are personal, to her friends and her ideals." (heroesofthestorm.gamepedia.com)

Ok, so now you know a lot about her. Now let's get to the nitty gritty-the skills and abilities. To keep this post short and sweet I'm only going to talk about the main skills rather than the additional talents you get as you level up.

Vanish

Cooldown: 8 seconds

Valeera vanishes from sight, becoming Stealthed and increasing her Movement Speed by 10%. For the first second, she is Unrevealable and can pass through other units.
Using Vanish grants Valeera an alternate set of Abilities that she can use while Stealthed.

This is her passive that allows her to be very powerful. Once she goes stealth she stays invisible unless she's hit or revealed. Not only that but using vanish gives you an alternate set of abilities that you can only use while invisible. It's awesome that they added another stealth character like Nova, Zeratul, and Samuro but Valeera has a much cooler stealth than all of those characters because it gives her great abilities. 

Q

Sinister Strike

30 Mana Cooldown: 5 seconds

Dash forward, dealing damage to all enemies in a line. If Sinister Strike hits an enemy Hero, she stops dashing immediately and the cooldown is reduced to 1 second.
Awards 1 Combo Point.
Stealth: Ambush
Heavily damage an enemy.

This is her bread and butter attack that you're going to be using a lot. The dash can go a pretty decent distance and you can also use it to run away. It is also good for general attacking, killing, and gaining combo points.

Q

Ambush

20 Mana Cooldown: 1 seconds

Ambush a target, instantly dealing damage to them.
Awards 1 Combo Point.

This is her stealth Q ability. It's a great general attacking skill used for killing and gaining combo points. It does more damage than sinister strike but it doesn't do a dash attack, instead its just a close range assault. 

W

Blade Flurry

40 Mana Cooldown: 4 seconds

Deal damage in an area around Valeera.
Awards 1 Combo Point per enemy Hero hit.
Stealth: Cheap Shot
Stun and damage an enemy.

This is her small aoe attack. It will hit enemies around you but it doesn't have much range so they will have to be close to you to be effective. Its great for clearing lanes but if you're playing Valeera most likely you don't want to be clearing lanes that much. I find the stealth version of her W ability to be much more useful. 

W

Cheap Shot

30 Mana Cooldown: 1 seconds

Deal a small amount of damage to an enemy and stun them for 1.5 seconds.
Awards 1 Combo Point.

This is my favorite ability for Valeera because it stuns an enemy and does damage. With the stun you can follow up with more rogue attacks and if your team is with you you'll instantly kill them. If you use this at the right time you'll always be able to secure kills. Very useful ability. 

E

Eviscerate

25 Mana Cooldown: 1 seconds

Consume all stored Combo Points to Eviscerate an enemy, dealing increased damage per Combo Point spent. Valeera can store a maximum of 3 Combo Points.
Stealth: Garrote
Silence and damage an enemy over time.

This is a great all around attack when you have a lot of combo points stored up. Like cheap shot it will help you secure a lot of kills. I have to use it more and learn its uses better.

E

Garrote

30 Mana Cooldown: 1 seconds

Garrote an enemy, instantly dealing a small amount of damage to the target, as well as a larger amount of bonus damage over 7 seconds, and Silencing them for 2 seconds.
Awards 1 Combo Point.

This one I have to mess around with more because usually when I'm in stealth mode I go for cheap shot and ambush more so than garrote. But I do see that it is very powerful, mostly because of the silence for 2 seconds. I have to use this ability more.

Ultimates

R

Smoke Bomb

Cooldown: 60 seconds

Create a cloud of smoke. While in the smoke, Valeera is Unrevealable, can pass through other units, and gains 25 Armor, reducing damage taken by 25%. Valeera can continue to attack and use Abilities without being revealed. Lasts 5 seconds.
Using this Ability does not break Vanish.

This is my favorite ulti for Valeera, at least for now. I like the fact that it has a short cooldown and that damage is reduced, armor is gained, and you can keep attacking and using abilities without being revealed. It's also great when you're super low on health. You can pop smoke bomb, run out, and use your passive stealth to run away. So good.

R

Cloak of Shadows

Cooldown: 25 seconds

Valeera is enveloped in a Cloak of Shadows, which immediately removes all damage over time effects from her. For 1 second, she becomes Unstoppable and gains 75 Spell Armor, reducing Ability damage taken by 75%.
Using this Ability does not break Vanish.

This ulti seems great too. I've used it during my first couple games and I love the short cool down. But so far I prefer smoke bomb for most games. However, if I'm getting targeted hard and don't have a healer this does seem like a much better option. The fact that it only lasts 1 second makes me not like it as much but the fact that its on a 25 second cool down is just insanely good. 

All in all Valeera has turned out to be one of the coolest and most fun characters to play in heroes of the storm. I probably won't get bored of her until I reach level 10 on her. Then I'll go back to my usual roster of heroes. Playing her reminds me of playing my Undead Rogue in World of Warcraft (oh, those were the days), albeit a much simpler and easier play style. She's super fun! 

Now you're thinking like a rogue.

Zul'jin has entered the Nexus

So a new patch hit Heroes of the Storm the other day. It's brings a new champion to the Nexus-Zul'jin from Warcraft 2 and World of Warcraft! I was super excited when I heard he was coming to Heroes but I didn't expect his playstyle to be so fun, rewarding, and technical for a ranged dps character. First his backstory...

"Zul'jin is a warlord of the Amani forest trolls and has been chieftain of the Amani tribe since before the Second War. Zul'jin and the Amani tribe were allied with the orcish Horde for the duration of the Second War, but Zul'jin himself was captured near its end by the Alliance. Upon gaining his freedom he went into hiding to rebuild his army and plan an attack on the remnants of the high elves, now known as blood elves, only to find them allied with the Horde.

A fierce forest troll of the Amani tribe, Zul'jin's ability as a warrior and leader meant he was able to do what no other troll had done since the Troll Wars: unite the warring tribes of Zul'Aman under a single leader. He was infamous for his daring raids on the outskirts of Quel'Thalas at a time when trolls had been completely beaten into obscurity by the high elves. Some claimed he planned to unite all trolls, but his plans were quickly put on hold by the events of the Second War." (heroesofthestorm.gamepedia)

Now lets go over his abilities. I won't go over all his talents because that's where the player is suppose to improvise given the battle, situational awareness, and team/enemy composition.

D

Berserker

Activate to increase Basic Attack damage by 25% but consume 2% maximum Health per attack.
Passive: Zul'jin attacks 1% faster for every 1% of maximum Health missing.

This is passive, he's a berserker. It increases attack damage by a ton but it consumes your health per attack. But at the same time Zul'jin attacks faster for the health he's missing. This is what makes him so great. While he's losing health he's becoming stronger and attacking faster. I've been able to kill a lot of heroes before they kill me because of this great passive skill. If you've ever played World of Warcraft this is a passive skill that all trolls have, they're straight up berserkers!

Q

Grievous Throw

50 Mana Cooldown: 8 seconds

Zul'jin throws an axe forward, dealing 130 damage to the first 2 enemies hit and marking them for 8 seconds. Marked enemies take 50% bonus damage from Zul'jin's next 3 Basic Attacks against them.

This is his bread and butter basic attack. It's got a short cool down and it marks enemies, making them take bonus damage. Not bad for a regular q button ability.

W

Twin Cleave

60 Mana Cooldown: 8 seconds

Throw 2 axes in a large, circular arc, dealing 116 damage and slowing affected enemies by 15% per axe for 2 seconds.

This skill is so good. I've been seeing most Zul'jins rely on this skill heavily and get the talents that make it a lot better. Honestly I don't go for those talents because I prefer the more passive berserker builds that I do but I can see that this ability is amazing if utilized correctly. Basically the circular arc is positioned anywhere you want within a small area and you can hit anything in that area. Great aoe axe attack. You'll hit things with this every time once you get used to the arc. You'll be killing people as they're trying to run away often with this skill.

E

Regeneration

75 Mana Cooldown: 15 seconds

Zul'jin channels to regenerate 25% of his maximum Health over 4 seconds. Moving while channeling or taking damage will interrupt this effect.

This is one of my favorite things about this dude. He can regenerate without need for a support or healer. I've been getting the talent that increases the healing and makes it so that you don't have to channel-meaning I can get increased health regeneration as well as move around and get healed still. Kind of reminds me of Gul'dan in a way how these two ranged dps characters can regenerate health back very quickly. When you channel and gain health the game plays some tribal troll music that sounds like it came straight outta Africa. Nice touch Blizzard.

R

Taz'dingo

50 Mana Cooldown: 60 seconds

Zul'jin is Unkillable for the next 4 seconds, and cannot be reduced to less than 1 Health. Taz'dingo!

This is my favorite ultimate for him because 'cmon, who doesn't want to die for 4 seconds? That's godlike man. This skill has saved me from death so many times. Just gotta wait and pop it at just the right moment and you can escape a lot of deaths.

R

Guillotine

70 Mana Cooldown: 45 seconds

Zul'jin launches a massive axe into the air that drops on the targeted area, dealing 210 damage plus bonus damage the lower his Health is.

This skill is a bit tricky to use. I've landed it and hit people with it a couple times. It deals massive damage but the thing is that its hard to actually hit them when they are spacing you out well. More of an ability I would get if we had a secure tank and healer in the game. Otherwise, I'll probably be going taz'dingo all the time mon.

This new hero was a fresh surprise to the game, which has gotten a little stale. The winter update for the game was only okay and Ragnaros seemed super op when he came out. I think he's stabilized now. With the addition of Zul'jin the game has gotten a new sparkle to it. He plays like a strong ranged dps but has technical aspects like that of a support and/or specialist. You gotta know when to back out and regenerate, when to commit to team fights when your health is low (b/c you have increased dps and attack speed with lower health), and when to pull back. He's quite technical for a dps and I would say he's not for beginners. However, that's not to say that you have to be a pro to understand how he works. Get online and try him out.

I gotta get back to the Nexus mon!

Heroes of the Storm vs League of Legends

I enjoyed the video game death-battle so much in the last post that I thought I would do it again, this time focusing on mobas (massive online battle arena games). If you didn't know mobas are team based games with 5 players testing their skills against another team of 5. League of Legends (LoL) is one of the most famous mobas and games of all time having 67 million playing every month, 27 million playing every day, and over 7.5 million playing at the same time during each day’s peak play time. That's a lot of people! It's also one of the biggest esports (pro gaming) games. Riot games sure have a winner on their hands. Heroes of the Storm (HoTs) is a relatively new moba made by Blizzard that also has a role in esports. Here I'll tell you a bit about the similarities, differences, and what I consider to be the better game.

First, the similarities. Both games are mobas that feature 5v5 team battles. The object of the game is to destroy the towers in the lanes (mid, left, right) and get to the core. Once you destroy the core your team wins. It's as simple as that for the most part. These games feature champions or heroes that all have unique abilities and play styles. Once you reach a certain level you get your ultimate ability-which is your trumpcard that's used for killing blows.

In addition, both games are featured in the esports scene. LoL is one of the biggest esports and has been for a while. Although HoTs is sort of dying the game still has somewhat of a strong esports following and major tournaments.

Also, both games are free! You can download either of these games free through Riot or Blizzard at no charge. However, both games feature in game cash transactions to buy heroes and skins. I've spent some money on HoTs but haven't delved into LoL enough to want to buy new champions. That's where the similarities end.

The main difference is that LoL features items and HoTs doesn't. You can buy items in LoL in-game from the shop to boost and aim your character is whatever direction you want in terms of stats. The other main difference is that in HoTs levels are shared by the team-meaning that experience you get for killing creeps (non-player minions in the lanes) or players are shared by your entire team. In LoL your experience is your own. This means that if one player gets fed (kills a lot) they can dominate entire teams by out-leveling their opponents. A team can out-level another team in HoTs but in LoL I've seen games where one hero is so much higher than enemy players, its a whole different ball game.

I'm a HoTs veteran that's been playing since technical alpha so I'm very fond of the game. I'm proud to have been apart of the technical alpha. That was one of the first betas that I entered into and actually got into. And you know from reading my posts that I'm a poster boy for Blizzard. Let's put it this way: HoTs is better as a casual game and LoL is better as a competitive game. Let me explain.

Even though Blizzard has been trying its hardest to make HoTs competitive I feel the game is too simple and too cluttered visually to be one of the biggest esports. In addition, even though Blizzard makes great games their games tend to be one giant clusterfuck if you know what I mean. Take a look at Overwatch. The gun is taking up the whole screen and there's so much happening visually that it can be overwhelming at first.

LoL, on the other hand seems to make much more sense when I watch pro game-play from tournaments. LoL has a much cleaner visual style that makes it better to view for esports as well as play-ability.

Even though HoTs has a competitive ranked mode I don't think too highly of it. Too often you get placed with players who give up in the middle of matches or who do their own thing instead of playing as a team-making you drop rank hardcore. I'm sure this happens in LoL too but I feel that LoL has a much better competitive ranked mode.

Anyways, HoTs is better as a casual game because it features all the cool heroes from Blizzard's game roster and they all have unique cool abilities. The fact that you don't have to worry about knowing what all these items do makes the game inviting to beginners. I've tried many mobas but I didn't truly understand how to play these kinds of games until I played HoTs. The game is super fun. Although there are technical things like knowing what skills to choose at certain times, these things can be learned as you play. LoL, I feel requires more practice games to truly understand what's going on. Nothing wrong with that. It just takes more time to understand.

League definitely wins this death-battle based on the fact that its player numbers don't lie. I've only played a few games but I'd be down to play more in the future. Its one of those games that seems daunting at first but once you get into the flow of it its quite natural-like Heroes. I still enjoy Heroes though and I hope that Blizzard continues to throw out updates and give us more cool heroes. I'm down for some more Starcraft heroes that's for sure. I did a video about why I like HoTs that can be viewed here. Mobas are still cool kids!

Gul'dan added to heroes of the storm roster

Blizzard unleashed a new hero to the Nexus! Gul'dan from Warcraft. Gul'dan is classified as an assassin. He's the first orcish warlock as well as the founder of the Horde. Abandoning the ways of Shamanism and betraying demon-lord Kil'Jaeden as well as his people, he is directly responsible for the orcs' fall to demonic enslavement as well as the Horde's invasion of Azeroth. If you want to see how truly badass this guy is just watch the Warcraft movie. He's the perfect villain in that flick.

Now onto his primary abilities.

Fel Flame

Release a wave of flame, dealing massive damage to enemies. This is his primary way of dealing damage. It's a great move and does moderate damage. Perfect for sniping low health enemies as well as to throw out.

Drain Life

Drain the life from an enemy over 3 seconds, dealing heavy damage each second and healing Gul'dan for a large amount of Health. If you saw the Warcraft movie Gul'dan uses this ability during the entire duration. It's what defined his powers in the movie. It's quite a flashy move.

Corruption
Call forth 3 bursts of shadow energy, dealing massive damage over 6 seconds. Corruption can stack up to 3 times on an enemy. I actually have to work on using this one more effectively because the 3 bursts of energy have to positioned right in order for them to all hit enemies. This skill will take a bit to get used to. For now I use it primarily for lane clearing minions. 

And for his heroic or ultimate abilities. 

Horrify

After a short delay, deal heavy damage and cast Fear on enemy Heroes in the area for 2 seconds. I haven't used this too often because I love Rain of Destruction to death but I do think it's cool that he has an option to fear enemies. Fear makes enemies run away in what seems like random directions. Reminds me of my World of Warcraft playing days doing pvp (player vs player combat) and running into priests, only to keep getting feared.

Rain of Destruction

Summon a rain of meteors in an area for 7 seconds. Each meteor deals heavy damage in a small area. This is my favorite thing about Gul'dan. Its a flashy move and you can't move while the meteors are being summoned so you better make sure you're safe and protected. It deals massive damage in a large radius.

His trait is Life Tap. He doesn't restore mana passively. Instead, you can activate Life Tap to restore 25% mana at the cost of life. This can be good and bad depending on the map and situation. It's what makes Gul'dan Gul'dan in this game. It takes a while to get used to losing life for mana but once you understand the mechanics you realize how much of a powerhouse this character is. Almost like a Li-Ming or Kal'theas that can gain mana. It's great.

Final thoughts

He's basically perfect right out from the start. At least in my opinion. He does everything a warlock-y warlock should do and his Rain of Destruction ultimate looks so cool! Although he can't move when he's summoning the meteors to rain death its still a great ultimate. Check out this team wipe I got earlier today using it here. Not only that but it can be used to take out towers and even a Nexus effectively. Check this out here. That Nexus went down quick. 

He's awesome. He's my favorite character in the game right now and its getting me back into playing Heroes more often. They also buffed Medivh, making him more viable for Quick Match and Ranked. It's great to see great content like this come out for a free to play game. The best part is that I didn't use real money to buy this character. Instead, I used in game gold. It cost me 15,000 gold but that can easily be made again by continuing to play daily. Check this new hero out. He's quite the spell casting powerhouse.

YouTube video

My first YouTube video is finally done! Let me know what you think. Check it out here.

Overwatch replacing League of Legends?

I saw an interesting video about how Overwatch might be replacing League of Legends for some people. This has been coming up a lot on forums, posts, and even in game. The answer is yes. For some people. The Korean pc bangs are usually full of people playing League but that has changed. Now they're all playing Overwatch. The way pc bangs work is that people pay a small amount and they get to play any games they want on high powered computer machines. There's definitely a shift that's happening. Something about Overwatch draws a lot of League players into it. Why is that?

Overwatch is completely different from League but there are similarities. One is a top down moba where you fight in lanes as heroes with creeps and the other is a first person team-based shooter. However, both games are team focused and both games feature heroes with unique abilities. Sometimes people say Overwatch is kind of like a moba because of all the unique abilities and how all the heroes have their own special weapons and play-styles. In addition, both games are strong in the eSports scene. Overwatch is quickly becoming a massive eSport.

This does make sense. People don't want more games like League and that has been proven. Just like how people don't want more games like World of Warcraft. People are moving from League to Overwatch because its different. In addition, people are unhappy about some of the recent changes in League.

Also, the game time limits are way different. In League you're comitted to staying there for at least thirty minutes. In Overwatch you can finish a game in five minutes if your team is really good. Because of this factor alone that could determine more people playing Overwatch because they can get in a quick couple games then go do something else.

Lastly, League is super old. People move on and they want the new, exciting thing. Overwatch won't reach the same player base numbers of League of Legends because League is free to play and Overwatch is a $40 game. That will exclude a lot of people who play games for free and never spend any money. But the news from Korean pc bangs numbers, anecdotal evidence from people talking, and the fact that former League players are now Overwatch players is something that doesn't go unnoticed. Overwatch is now the largest Blizzard subreddit and its quickly surpassing other gaming subreddits. In addition, people are hungry for Overwatch the game and content. The game has truly captured the current gaming zeitgeist. It will be interesting to see how far the game will go in the future.

Source: Force Gaming YT channel

Overwatch later today

     So Overwatch goes live today at 4 pm in California. I'm not sure when it'll be available in other states or countries but thankfully I don't have to worry about that. This game has been overhyped af but I've jumped on the bandwagon. I really dug the heck out of the gameplay ever since I played the beta at my friends house. He was listed as a family member at Blizzard and somehow got into the beta while I never got beta access until the open beta, which was available to everyone back on May 5-9th. It was a great beta experience especially when I was able to play it on my own computer. For some reason when I played it at my friends house I wasn't quite at my best but when I participated in the open beta I was a beast at the game, especially w/ Pharah, this cool rocket launcher Indian girl. I remember I was getting honorable mentions at the end of every match w/ her. I know who I will be maining.
     Anyways, despite the fact that Overwatch has been over-hyped you should still get this game or at least try it at your friends house. The game is only $40 on PC and $60 for Ps4 and Xbone. It's $60 on PC if you want some cool skins, portraits for Starcraft II, and Tracer in Heroes of the Storm. I already have Tracer in Heroes and I don't need Starcraft portraits really. They're cool cosmetics but it doesn't really matter to me so I just pre purchased the base game for $40. I'm so looking forward to this game.
    However, if there's one thing I've come to know about Blizzard is that they usually have a lot of server wide problems when their games launch. This happens to a lot in gaming and its usually fixed a few hours later or if its really bad more like a week or two. We will have to wait and see. I'll keep you guys posted on Overwatch and what its like. At some point I'll write up a review about it. I'm off work the next two days so I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this Overwatch launch experience.

Time to go be a hero. Something I would never do in real life. Haha.

Heroes of the Storm Session

     Today I met up with a real life gamer friend of mine. We also play a lot online on battlenet. The main game we play together is Heroes of the Storm. This guy is so good, it's incredible. He's so good that when its just me and him on a team together in a pug we will pretty much guarantee win every game. We played a ton of games today over at his place and I think we only lost one game during the entire session. He plays on a desktop PC hooked up to a big flat screen. I was playing on his MacBook Pro, which handles gaming surprisingly well. So well in fact that there was very little lag, just the occasional lag spike here and there but very rare. It was awesome. It's a nice different playing environment for me playing computer games on a couch as apposed to sitting in a chair. I got to finish up all my quests and get gold. You need gold in Heroes in order to purchase heroes, otherwise you have to buy them with real money, which I don't frown upon, but I try not to do that like at all, ever. There were some good matches, that's for sure. I want to start a Heroes of the Storm team with my friend and play local tournaments and stuff. I think we would destroy people in Heroes. We're both pretty skilled players. I'm not as good as he is technically, but I'm a great well rounded team player. I focus more on healing but I can play pretty much any of the characters if I want to. I do pretty much play all the characters anyways, just to complete the quests. A quest could be something like 3 games with an assassin or a specialist for 300 gold or play 8 games for 800 gold. That kind of stuff. It's fun getting the gold because you're getting something for your efforts and putting time into the game. So yeah, Heroes of the Storm is super fun! Download the game if you haven't tried it yet. Its free to play and isn't pay to win like some other mobas. You won't regret it.

How I got into Mobas

     Thought I'd do a post about how I got into mobas (multi-player online battle arena games) and tell you a little about why there's such a buzz around these kinds of games. Okay, so mobas are basically top down games where you control one hero unit that levels up like an RPG character and has multiple skills and/or abilities. In some mobas you can buy items to enhance the stats of your toon (character). Mobas are basically the most popular PC games. Why? Because all of them are free to play. But that doesn't mean that people don't use real money on them. They all have in game money shops that you can use to buy heroes, items, and skins. The two biggest mobas are League of Legends and Dota 2. I tried both of those games and also some other ones like Strife, Heroes of Newerth, and a DC Superhero one as well but none of those stuck with me for some reason. For one thing in LoL and Dota I didn't like how long the matches lasted. Sometimes I would be in a game for 45 minutes, only for one player on the enemy time to get fed (get a lot more xp and level up higher than us, by getting tons of kills) and just completely annihilate us. Also, I didn't like how there were all these extra things you had to know about, like which items to get with certain heroes and so on. Don't get me wrong. League and Dota are great games, especially Dota because it has great graphics. But they just don't move at a fast pace and I get tired of sitting in the same match after an hour has gone by. It wasn't until a certain game came out in beta access that I became a true moba player.
     Enter Heroes of the Storm. Online it says the closed beta came out in 2015 but it seems like I've been playing it much longer than that, like 2014 or something. Basically Heroes of the Storm is amazing. It's been one of the constants in my life, just like washing up, eating, and going to work. Heroes is the first beta that I ever participated in and it was the best. The game has only gotten better with more maps and more heroes. Its easy to see why Heroes is such a good game and why I prefer it over League and Dota.
     For one thing, Heroes matches only last around 20-25 minutes. If things are a little too even you might possibly go to a 30 minute game but those are the rare games. Experience (xp, what gives your toons the ability to level up) is shared by the whole team collectively. So when you kill an enemy player you're getting experience for the whole team to level up, not just your own. This is a rare exception because in LoL and Dota you have to earn kills and get xp on your own. Also, there are no items in this game, just pure skill and characters from Blizzard's diverse gaming universe-from Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo, and even some earlier Blizzard titles like Lost Vikings. Heroes feels like more of a team game than other 'serious' mobas. In this game you only solo lane until level 10. When you hit level 10 you get your ultimate ability and have to move around the map as a death-ball with your team, otherwise you will get picked off and die. Like I said Heroes has been a constant in my life ever since early 2015.
     I usually start every day off by getting up and getting ready for the day. Then I immediately play Heroes for a couple matches, usually enough to complete the quests in the game. These quests earn you in game gold that you can use to buy more heroes. You can also use real money but I've only used real money to buy hero skins (different costumes for your heroes, they have some bad-ass ones). Its hard for me to say that Heroes is my favorite game because I feel like I have so many other games that I'm playing that I like equally as much, like for instance, Smash 4. But Heroes is definitely my most played game. Every match is fresh, exciting, and anything can happen. I have to improvise all the time and decide what to do on my own as well as collectively as a team. I play with friends when they are online but usually I'm left to my own devices playing pugs (pick up groups), basically just playing with whatever players that are online. I use the in-game chat to come up with strategies and stuff so we can work as a team and not get ganked (ambushed) while moving around the map. It's good clean fun! The community sometimes isn't the best in Heroes of the Storm but I've come to expect that in a lot of PC online games. I have like 800 games played so far. I know that doesn't sound a lot but it is a lot because it just came out in 2015. I consider myself a veteran playing from the early days of beta access. I've come to play certain characters and classes exceptionally well.
     I focus on playing support most of the time. That means I'm usually playing a healer class making sure my team doesn't die. I usually main the medic from Starcraft Broodwar, Lt. Morales in most games. And when I'm not healing as her I'm healing as Uther, a paladin from Warcraft III. Morales is great because she's the best 'pure' healer in the game but she's glass-cannon (goes down like a wet paper nap, weak) and doesn't do much damage. Uther, on the underhand can take a hit or two but his healing has more cooldowns. The cool thing about Uther is that he has a stun that I use to get a lot of kills. Stuns are very OP (over-powered) in this game. If you stun an enemy player when you're whole team is there to attack them they are definitely dead.
     When I'm not healing I sometimes play tanks (characters that are meant to take hits and absorb damage). My favorite tanks are Johanna and Leouric. Johanna is a great tank. I think she's the best tank for beginners because all her abilities just work perfectly for new players. Leouric is a bit tougher to play but his defense is really good. He has some ok abilities but I feel like you have to get to know how to play him a bit before he becomes op.
     And to a less extent I play assassins and specialists. I started off playing Heroes as a Nova main, like pretty much every other player. Nova is just a super easy character to pick up when you first start playing the game because she's a sniper that can cloak and run and hide. But when you get to ranked matches you learn that she's a lot tougher to play at the higher levels of the game. And when I need to play specialists for a quest I almost always play Sylvannas. Not only is she a cute Undead Night Elf girl from Warcraft III she absolutely wrecks forts (towers, enemy structures to get to their core, the thing that you have to destroy to win the game). She's also not bad in team fights, having a cool ultimate called Wailing Arrow, that silences (stops them from using any abilities for a few seconds). It's very helpful at critical moments!
     Heroes of the Storm has gotten a lot of attention since it came out. The best thing about it is that it's free to play! Just like League and Dota. And just like LoL and Dota there are tournaments and stuff. Its not as big as like the 2 million dollar Dota or League prize winnings. But maybe one day it will be. I can see the game changing a lot over the next few years, putting in new and more interesting characters with different mechanics. If you have a computer and play PC games you should definitely download this game. You will not regret it. This game got me to really understand mobas and see them in a new way. They are actually good!

First impressions of Smite

 Smite is a third person action moba (massive online battle arena) that is free to play! It's got a super competitive scene and is made by Hi-Rez Studios, which also made the games Tribes:Ascend and Global Agenda. The heroes that you play in this game are all various gods, from various cultures, from Egypt, Rome, Greece, etc. My favorite character so far is Freya, the Valkyrie. The picture above is Freya as on the deviant art website. Anyways, I'm only at level 3 in the game so far so I don't have the main game modes unlocked right now. The main game mode is 5v5 with lanes. Basically to win you destroy the enemy team's towers, kill their phoenix, and destroy their titan to win. But I won't unlock that mode until I reach level 5 :( So anyways, I played all these other game modes.
     The first one I played was Arena, where you just straight up fight and battle to the death for the most kills. I just played with other people against the computer for all these modes so it was pretty easy and fun. The most important thing about Smite for me, is that you get your ultimate ability at level 5, which is pretty fast and amazing, considering that in all other mobas you don't get your "ult" until level 10. So Arena is just a battle royale to see who gets the most kills. Pretty fun. No towers to destroy or anything like that.
    The next game mode I tried out was random one lane battle. Basically you spawn as a random god and your fighting only in one lane. I can't remember for sure but I believe this mode was with 5v5 heroes. Every hero is fighting in that one lane trying to destroy the enemy team's tower, kill their phoenix, and destroy their titan to win the game. It's basically a super hectic fight fest and the chaser is that you can't go back to base to heal up, you have to stay out in the battlefield until you die, then you spawn back to base and can buy items and stuff. This mode was very fun, and the first time I played the god Freya, the Valkyrie, she's a great character. She's a blonde with armor and a sword. Basically her first ability gives her stronger melee attack. Her second ability gives her attack a long range magic attack. Her third ability throws up enemies in the air. And her ultimate flies her in the air and has her throwing magic projectiles at her enemies. Pretty sick! So yeah it was fun playing her in this mode.
     The last game mode I tried out was 3v3 lane match. Basically the regular game mode except with only three people instead of five. There was outside areas outside of the lane where you could get power up auras and stuff by defeating monsters in the jungle (area outside of lanes where you can get power ups).
     Basically, my first impression is that this game is amazing. I can't wait to unlock the regular game mode. The graphics are great, the actual playing of the game is good, and the characters are all pretty cool and unique. This would be one of my later mobas that I've played and I would have to say that this one is one of the best. I would put it on the same level as Heroes of the Storm in terms of fun and playability. The thing with mobas that I don't really like is the fact that there's no real story or lore, there's just tons of characters battling with it. With these gods, there should be lore and stuff because not everyone has read Norse mythology or whatever other things they have in the game. So some of these gods I have no idea who they really are without lore of some kind. Anyway, I've found a new game to play online other than Heroes of the Storm. By the way, HoTs comes out June 2nd, then everyone will be playing it. Smite is a super tight game and I'm glad I finally got around to downloading it.