Hello, our names are Murky and Brightwing. We have been playing Heroes of the Storm for almost 4 years now, which is since Beta. Now we are by no means professional players. We have good knowledge about the game, and we play accordingly. We often have bad games which have resulted in some swearing and such, so we are no saints either. We are simply the average Hots players.
We write this with great displeasure and emotion, because we love this game, and we have since the beginning. You see, often games are blank and boring. Every match in a competitive scene is the same, the characters are generic and boring. The maps are dull and poorly designed, and in many games, there is just one map to play on. When we saw that Blizzard were releasing a MOBA based upon the characters in their other games we were exited to say the least, but also saddened, because we thought it would be like the rest. But the point I am trying to make is that your game is not the same as others. At least it used to be different. The characters abilities and designs were radical and experimental. No one had done something like that before in the MOBA scene. We absolutely loved it. Murky fell in love with Murky and Abathur, for their map control and playstyle. I fell in love with Brightwing and Jaina, because they were diverse and original. It was what we always wanted from a MOBA.
We played on and off for a few years until we stopped completely. The reason for this was simple, something felt different about the game. No longer was there originality in the character designs, and it started to feel more like another famous MOBA, which I personally hate. The heroes that I am referring to are all the Overwatch heroes and others like Li Ming and Varian. The overwatch heroes were, to put it simply, forced into the game. The playstyle was more fast-pased and more button mashing. This was radical in terms of countering, because basically nothing could stop a good Genji player from destroying the entire team. Even though this might be considered original and experimental, it was in a totally different direction. Heroes of the Storm was always a bit slower than other MOBAS, but it was more ability based and everyone had a roll to fill in a tense team-fight. That was a very good thing, and now it seems to us that the game is losing that. With every rework comes more fast-pased combat and button mashing, not what we are used to.
It is worth mentioning that we may be used to having unique characters releasing, like Cho’Gall, the two-player controlled beast machine which we absolutely adored you for releasing. It was new and exciting because it gave us the hope that every new hero has the potential to be this fun. Now we feel disappointed that it is becoming more and more like other MOBAS.
Another point of interest in Heroes of the Storm was the Specialist role, and tower ammo. Quite unique in terms of gameplay, the specialists were focused on taking down a lane and letting the other teammates fight for them. It was fun, and gave the matches a bit of difficulty, because you did not just have to counter their fighters, but also their specialist with another specialist. Then the specialists disappeared and were replaced by assassins, which in our opinion is a shame. Your game is supposed to be a bit slower and each player has a very specific role to play. None of that one-shotting which is abundant in other MOBAS. It is supposed to feel different.
Lastly, I just want to plead for you to rethink what you are doing. I do not think your declining player numbers are because your game is not like the others, I think it is because you have been treating the players like money machines. Now I do not know if this is Blizzard’s fault or Activision, but it is a problem. Removing the bundle skins were a really good step in the right direction, but please do not make another League of Legends with WoW characters in it. It would be such a waste.
We also have some suggestions for characters we want to see. (It might be a bit bias, for we like the world of warcraft characters the most)
N’zoth: A global hero, kind of like Abathur but without a player model at all. Instead, the core is replaced by the tentacled god. It could have abilities which buff a certain lane, heroes or camps. A more specific talent could be a bribe on mercenaries on your teams’ side. This bribe would activate and give the camp an additional 30% attack damage.
Another talent or ability could be the manipulation of other teams. Perhaps you can once every 30 seconds ping an object which the enemy team sees, and therefore think it is their teammates who are pinging. It is characters like this which are unique and fun that we want to see more of.
Deathwing: Has a human form and has abilities based around fire and power. His ultimates could be completely cleaning a lane from enemies, kind of like Ragnaros ultimate, but clears friendly minions as well. This ability will ofc have a long cooldown. The other ultimate could be something to do with the Dragon soul.
We are not game designers, but you get the idea, we want originality and good characters from your videogames. Not B-Heroes like Maiev or Cassia. Do not save the good heroes for later, because there might not be a later. And revert to the slower and more thoughtful combat and laning, for it made the game more fun. Also removing the Overwatch heroes would help allot, especially Genji.
Hope this reaches someone who cares enough to read it.
With love and respect
Murky and Brightwing 2019
PS: If you agree or disagree with the things we are discussing, don’t attack us for our opinions. We just wanted to say something, so if the game dies, we tried to save it a little bit atleast. Hope you can respect our wish.