With the release of Heroes of the Storm 2.0, Blizzard has introduced a new map that was adapted from Overwatch — Hanamura. It’s a two-lane Battlegrounds map that utilizes mercenaries and objectives to gain victory. Each team will have a payload to defend, and thus use it to destroy the enemy’s core.
Hanamura is quite a challenging map — and since you can’t attack the cores directly, a new kind of approach is required. This guide will help you take advantage of the most important strategic points of the map, and choose the best heroes for effective assaults.
How to Escort Payload in Hanamura
Payloads usually spawn on each team’s side locations, and they have specific paths to follow. You must escort your payload until it reaches its destination, and the more heroes that escort the payload the faster it’ll move.
If three allied heroes manage to stay close to the payload, it will move really, really fast — and this will provide a massive advantage over the enemy team. As soon as it reaches the platform, the payload will make one shot at the enemy’s core, and then it will retrieve itself. But don’t worry, the next one will spawn just a couple of minutes later.
Each core has 7 HP, so you need to make seven shots in total. But getting the payloads to shoot the cores as quickly as possible is not your only way to win in this Battleground. We’ll talk a bit more about other tactics you can use later in this guide.
There are a few tricks that you need to be aware of…
First, each team can escort up to two payloads at the same time, so try to take advantage of this mechanic.
Second, try to destroy enemy forts on the opposite sides of the map. Each destroyed fort will add extra shot to your payload — so instead of shooting just once, it will be able to do two shots in a row.
Lastly, as soon as you’re done delivering your payload, you can try and prevent the enemy team from delivering theirs. Just go at them and provoke a fight in order to prevent their payload from moving any further.
The Mercenaries and the Mega Enforcer
There are three new mercenary camps on the Hanamura map, and the big boss that stands in the very center. If your team captures one of the merc camps, instead of attacking the enemies they will grant you special power-ups:
- Dragon Spirits: Seek out enemy heroes for 5 sec.
- Turret: Grants a turret that can be set on your payload for protection.
- Healing Pulse: Restores health and mana of your team for 15 sec.
The big boss of the battleground is the Mega Enforcer that spawns every five minutes after the match starts. The only real danger that you should be aware of when approaching the merc boss is his purple AOE attack that can really mess you up.
But other than that it shouldn’t be too hard. And if you defeat him, he will produce one point of damage to your enemy’s core. So it is another cool tactics that you can use to win the match-up.
Best Heroes for the Hanamura Map
Genji
Genji, the new hero from Overwatch, will be extremely effective on this map. He is very mobile and has tons of abilities that are based on speed of movement. He can quickly get to the payload by using his Pathfinder talent, or swiftly get rid of the enemy heroes with the help of Swift Strike and Dragon Blade abilities.
Global Heroes
Another set of heroes that would be the number one choice for Hanamura are Global Heroes — Falstad, Brightwing, or Abathur. All of them can quickly teleport through the map, which will allow them to gain better control of their own payload, and check on the enemy’s payloads as well.
The Lost Vikings
As for supporting heroes, it would probably be a good idea to involve The Lost Vikings. They can take a good care of the payload’s pathway and clear off the unwanted guests that may create obstacles on your way.
Rexxar
If you’re looking for one effective hero to play with, then consider Rexxar. He is literally the only hero in HotS that can make the payload move twice as fast with the help of his companions, such as Misha and Spirit.
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Hanamura can definitely get a bit chaotic at times, but there are many points of return involved in it as well. So after some practice it should be easier for you to get your first wins on it.
Have you had the chance to try out the new map? Have you enjoyed the experience? Share your thoughts on Hanamura in the comments section.
