Heroes Of The Storm 2.0 To Become More Like Overwatch

A Much Needed Change

Heroes Of The Storm has not changed much since its release on June 2nd, 2015. But this is all about change. Heroes Of The Storm 2.0 is bringing us features already found on Blizzard’s incredibly successful game Overwatch. The update is going to be a major revamp of the game with a lot of emphasis on the leveling and progression system which have become dull. This has been one of the main reasons why the game has lost so many players. The update is currently being beta tested for a full month with an expected release date early May even though not yet confirmed. Take a look at the updates and features.

Progression System And Loot Chests

Progression player level is no longer capped at level 40 or level 20 for individual heroes. Instead, the player level will now be a sum of all the hero levels combined beyond level 1. Every time one of your heroes goes up a level so does your overall player level. Every level will now provide you with a loot chest just like Overwatch does. There are different types of loot chests,  Rare, Epic, and Hero-specific. Rare and Epic loot chests are guaranteed to drop at least one item matching the chest’s rarity. Same applies for the Hero Specific loot chests guaranteeing a hero-specific item. Each loot Chest will award 4 randomized items of varying rarity: Common, Rare, Epic, or Legendary. Items awarded by the loot chests can also be rerolled using gold up to 3 times. Loot chest rewards include Legendary Skins, Announcers, Voice Lines, Banners, Sprays, Emoji Packs, Portraits, and Shards (another currency).

Player progression badges in the Profile, Score Screen, and Quest Log will display the player’s current level up to 99. Decoration will change every 25 player levels. Every 100 player levels, the level displayed in the progression badge will reset, and the badge will upgrade with even more ornate artwork. The basic portrait will no longer show the player level instead the border will upgrade every 100 levels to match the player badge. This is much like Overwatch portraits and prestige levels. I know what you are thinking..I’ll just level up a bunch of level 1 heroes to put my player level ahead. The current system allows level 1 heroes to level up multiple times after a single game but this will no longer be the case. The XP system has been updated to be significantly increased on the early levels and reduced during later hero levels. 

Revamped Player And Hero Progression Rewards

Player progression milestones will award loot chests of different rarities. Every 5 player levels a rare loot chest and every 25 player level an epic loot chest. Players will also earn rewards upon reaching the following levels:

Player level 5: 1,000 Gem
Player level 10: 7 Day Stimpack
Every 25 player levels: 150 Gems

What are gems? Gems are a new type of currently introduced in HOTS 2.0 replacing real money. Gems can be used to purchase Heroes, Bundles, Loot Chests, Stimpacks, and Featured Items.

Hero progression rewards have also been revamped to be more rewarding. The following milestones will provide the following rewards.

Hero level 5: Hero Portrait
Hero level 15: Master Hero Portrait
Every 5 Hero levels: 500 Gold
Every 10 Hero levels: Hero-specific Loot Chest

Skin Variations, Mount Variations, and Master Skins have been changed to be individual items. Players can receive these items through loot chest drops or forge them using shards previously mentioned. They are no longer unlocked through hero progression.

Other Minor Updates

Blizzard has also made additional minor updates even though the main features revolve progression and reward systems. The player profile visuals have been upgraded to provide more insight into Hero collection, Match history, Statistics, Protraits, and Progression. There will now be an in-game “expression wheel” that can be used to drop a Spray, play a Voice Line, as well as issue Dance and Taunt commands. Battlegrounds have also received a number of minor layout improvements. A new Diablo hero, Cassia a young amazon is now also playable as part of the update.

Verdict

Overall Blizzard has done a great job reviving a game that was initially fun but the lack of progression and rewards had made it dull. This was a much-needed change for those who have been capped for a while. Following the success of Overwatch, it looks like Blizzard has learned to apply the same success to another game. Heroes Of The Storm 2.0 will be addressing all of the major pain points that the game has been suffering. You can expect to see an increased amount of players looking for games. This update should provide MOBA players the motivation to play, level up and unlock loot chests.