Thank You and Farewell

Hello friends,

I’ve always believed that strong communication and building trust is paramount to making the world a better place, so I wanted to have the chance to talk with all of you about a change to the team.

I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve come to the difficult decision to move on to another project. I’ve been a part of the Heroes team for a very long time now, and in order to grow as a person and a designer I believe it’s important to constantly challenge myself in new ways. I’m still going to be at Blizzard, and I’m very excited about the new challenges that I get to overcome and the awesome experiences that I’ll be able to help bring to you.

I know these kinds of things are never great to hear, however I wanted to reassure you that we did hire a replacement for my position, and that it was someone who I was able to personally vet because it was very important to both me and the team that the game had someone who we felt could do the job and do it well. They have been around since the beginning of the game’s life and are just as passionate as I am about making Heroes the best that it can be. I have total faith that they will do a good job.

Being able to work on the Heroes team was such a life-changing experience for me. I first started in QA on a team who, among many other things, got to play the very first versions of Heroes and give feedback to the developers on the many, many wacky ideas that were iterated on to make this game something special. This was the first Hero Brawler MOBA that I ever played, and once I started playing I couldn’t wait to come into work on the days where we got to playtest it. I knew we were creating something special, and I wanted so badly to be a part of it.

I still vividly remember getting the call that I got the job to be a designer on this team, and shedding tears of joy outside of one of our buildings when it happened. It was a surreal moment for me because, like so many others, I had dreamed for many, many years of being a designer at Blizzard Entertainment with low expectations of it actually happening. It was one of those things you think would be the best thing in the world – but of course life can be hard and actually achieving those crazy, long-shot dreams is rare. I’m lucky to have been given a chance to work on this great game with incredibly talented people.

Over the last couple of years I was also given the chance to oversee a lot of the content that went into the game. Being able to create and execute on my own balance philosophies for such a large IP was an incredible experience that I’m very grateful to have had. I want to say thank you to Blizzard and to the leaders on the team who had enough faith in me to take on such a monumental task. I also want to thank those who are currently or have worked on Heroes in the past. You know who you are and how special this project was and is, and I have nothing but the highest respect for you all.

I want to say thank you to those who are reading this for continuing to support us. As someone on the inside, I can tell you that the people who work on Heroes care deeply about giving you the best experience that they can. Even if we don’t always respond, I can assure you that your posts, your views, and your passion for our game do not go unnoticed. I’ve read almost every post on our forums, on Reddit, and have spent countless hours watching various streamers and live events. We’re watching and enjoying this ride just as much as you are.

I want to leave with a quote that has stuck with me that I blatantly stole from a good friend.

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” – Winnie the Pooh

I’ll see you all… In the Nexus.

~ AZJackson

128 Likes

Brushstalk to happier trails apex designer!

17 Likes

Thanks for your entire work and for all the great memories.

We wish you all the best!

4 Likes

Thank you for creating one of my favorite games of all time, I wish you the best out there and forward on! :+1:

27 Likes

Not trying to be a jerk but i guess the only time blues post on these forums is when they’re jumping ship.

Maybe the next guy will actually communicate with us and help get balance patches out more frequently.

32 Likes

Thank you for the game!
Incredible piece of work, sometimes I stop playing, and sometimes I just get back to it. It’s always fun, the heroes are cool.
Would have loved some more lore, but I think I’m not the only one on that, and probably the team feels the same way ;p

I also hope that you don’t mind all the negative comments you can see around there, but mostly, that you realize they are not that important.
People still love the game you participated in creating, and that’s why so many of us still play it to this day.

7 Likes

They are important. I don’t have anything personal against AzJackson, but he never talked with us, never engaged with us, and never let us know what is happening behind the scenes even though we were desperate for a balance patch the last two months.

Posts like this are just fishing for positivity. If you want feels from me, you have to earn it, and the silence from the blues on these forums lately has been unacceptable.

19 Likes

Well, you still play the game?

Stop altogether if you don’t like it :wink:

That’s all I’m saying.

Of course, you can be constructive. There are ways to speak, and ways to send messages. You won’t get anything by posting something along the lines of “You do nothing and we don’t like you because X”. Wouldn’t it be easier to just try to debate on the subject directly? Why must you get so rude? Do you know the inside of the team, and why they don’t make balance patches that often?

Basically, you’re acting like a kid who doesn’t have what he wants, and does not try to understand why he’s not offered that thing.

Once again, if you dislike the game so much, nothing stops you from uninstalling it. I sure am not.

5 Likes

Thank you for everything you’ve done for this game!!

Except BW nerfs. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

8 Likes

I just want to say that the balance and overall state of the game has only improved since your arrival. You will be missed but only until your replacement demonstrates that they’re half as competent as you! Wish you the best of luck and thank you for the information!

4 Likes

Indeed. So the rumors were true. Blizzard’s Classic “Team 1” was kinda disolved and there will be many changes across all the Classic Games. Recently the Game Designer of Warcraft III: Reforged left the team, now the Senior Game Designer of Heroes of the Storm left the team, I don’t know what is next but we will find out soon.

2 Likes

Good luck with your new position. The drive and passion you brought to this game was much appreciated.

9 Likes

While you’re right in general, at least Jackson used to post and engage. While literally nobody else did.

@Jackson I wish you all the best in your new position.

9 Likes

Farewell, may your new position make you happy!

We appreciate all of the work you have done for Heroes of the Storm. Hopefully whatever project you work on in the future makes you happy!

1 Like

Once a month balance patches are fine. Bigger changes per hero is what I’d want

2 Likes

Thank you so much for the time you put into the game, good luck.

With who? ROFL

A debate implies an exchange between two people. AzJackson is not going to post here again. Unless you want me to debate you?

You seem confused. I thought I was pretty direct about my intent. I don’t like how Az never communicates with us, and as a result, I don’t feel a need to send him away with hugs and best wishes.

He may have genuinely brought some good stuff to the table, and we never would have known. He’s a silent dev, like the rest of them, and for someone claiming to have such passion for a game, he sure hate’s engaging with the people who supposedly engage in his passion project.

There’s only one dev I have respect for, and that was MattVi because he actually talked with us. “I’ll pass this on to the development team, thanks!” was his catchphrase, and we loved it.

6 Likes

Maybe with someone who’s leaving and not anymore on the team, because that’s useful IDK lol :smile: :smile: :smile:

On the rest, can’t say much cause you’re right. Still, I don’t see the “why” of your previous messages. How useful do you think they are? Real question there.

You brought a lot to this game. Thank you.

https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/64082072.jpg

17 Likes

All the best AZ, but overall you’ve done a very poor job with all the freedom that we can assume you and your team had after HGC got cancelled, not having to worry about strictly catering to a small group of players. Honestly many of us would have jumped ship long time ago.

2 Likes