Activision Blizzard’s international teams have been having a rough time keeping secrets under wraps this week, with both their Brazilian and Russian teams accidentally leaking information regarding the upcoming additions to their MOBA game Heroes of the Storm.
Following these leaks, Blizzard officially put out a trailer depicting all the upcoming content to Heroes. The new characters joining the fight will be the mage assassin Chromie and the specialist Medivh.
Also shown to be in development is the upcoming revamp to the game’s ranked system, as well as new mounts and skins. Mounts include a dragon/billy goat hybrid, mentioned first due to just how awesome a concept that is, as well as the elemental wolves, which will be awarded to players who reach a high rank in the new competitive system.
Skins will include a superhero skin for Tyrande Whisperwind entitled “Eagle Eye Tyrande” which pays homage to Marvel Comics’ character Hawkeye, as well as the much anticipated Widowmaker skin for Nova. Widowmaker fulfills the role of sniper in Blizzard’s companion title Overwatch, which is set to release late this month. Players have hotly debated as to whether or not Widowmaker would be released as a playable character in her own right, or as confirmed, as skin for the MOBA’s own resident sniper Nova.
The new heroes for the game both draw roots from the Warcraft universe. Chromie is a fan favorite bronze dragon who takes the form of a young female gnome. Her kit seems to include abilities that slow the movement of groups of enemies, as well as having large bursts of damage and cuteness.
Medivh will be an interestingly different approach to a mage than one would expect from the Guardian of Tirisfal. Instead of using his magic for huge bursts of damage, he instead has massive crowd control potential; with his abilities that both snare enemies in place, or polymorph them into helpless sheep. He also is bringing the dark portal into the Nexus, using it to help him and his allies travel from point to point on the map.
Hopefully no one lost their jobs due to this oversight in regards to an early release. It’s always such a shame to see companies protect their secrets in minor events like these. At any rate, the community is thrilled to have more to look forward to for the future of this young MOBA.
