Alpha/Beta sign up: Click me! Genre: MOBA/ARTS Release date: TBA (currently in alpha) Price: Free to play (LoL model) CGI trailer: Click me!
I've had alpha access for awhile now but I only started playing it this week due to my friend getting an invite and I have to say I absolutely love it, it's just a total blast to play. The biggest difference between this game and Dota 2/LoL is there are no items and no shops, at first I thought this would be a bad thing but after playing the game I actually prefer it. There is also no last hitting and XP/kills are shared team wide, this puts the focus on team work instead of individuals which once again I like. Plus I haven't read "OMG KS" ever in this game, so that's a bonus! Another major difference is the fact there's multiple maps with different objectives, think old school AV in WoW, you have to collect items to summon the game changing boss, each map has you doing slightly different objectives and it keeps the games fresh. The focus of HotS is very much on these objectives and team fighting, with lanning not being that important at all, as long as someone is in each lane the whole team will get XP from the creeps. The game is using the League of Legends model whereas it's free to play but not all heroes are unlocked, instead there's a free to play rotation that changes weekly. You earn gold in-game which can be used to buy skins or heroes, you can also opt to spend real money to speed up unlocking these items. Currently the gold gain is very low, to the point where it'll take around 3 weeks of casual(ish) play to unlock a hero after the first one, your first hero will unlock very fast as you're gaining XP rewards for levelling up until level 15 which is when it stops, they plan to add more levelling rewards at a later time. You can also earn extra gold by doing daily quests, and levelling each hero to level 5. For an alpha the game runs, sounds and looks great, it's really quite impressive. There's obviously work to be done but it's very playable right now.
Been opted in since day one but still no access. Hoping to try this because I'm not a fan of the other MOBAs. Blizzard games usually work for me, though
For me it's like a cross between a traditional MOBA and WoW battlegrounds. I'd say the skill cap is lower than both Dota 2 and LoL, but it's more fun IMO. I also like how the average game time is around 20 - 25 minutes, so you can jump on and have a game or two without burning a couple of hours.
A new wave of invites went out today, check Battle.net / the launcher to see if you were invited, apparently people didn't get the email yet but their accounts are activated.
They've shown off some incredible stuff at Blizzcon this year, the future is very bright for this game. Album with lots of artwork, screenshots etc of new heroes and battlegrounds: Click me New features trailer: Click me eSports trailer: Click me Full match on the new battleground: Click me Closed beta will start on January 13th. Leavers/AFKers will be matched with other "like minded" players, much like how it is in Dota 2 which is HUGE.
Unlucky guys, it's closed beta in January though so fingers crossed you'll get in then, I'm assuming they'll massively up the numbers. The game is absolutely great though, it's my favourite MOBA and it's just a lot of fun to play. The fact it's this good in alpha gives me hope for the future.
I've been watching a few twitch streams here and there. The game looks really good for being an Alpha build. I really can't wait to get my hands on this.
Closed beta starting on the 13th Jan 15, a LOT of people will be getting in, let's hope we all do and get to try this.
Are the new maps meant to be out at the same time? I haven't been keeping up with the updates. The flower power map is seriously boring over time but the others are decent.