Heroes of the Storm "expansion" - so what does that mean, really?

One of the most anticipated battlegrounds so far, The Battlefields of Eternity, hit the live servers after a week long stint on the Public Test Realm (PTR).  On June 30, the map's release kicked off what's being touted as Heroes of the Storm's first expansion, The Eternal Conflict, with new heroes, and new skins centered around the Diablo Franchise.

This sounds absolutely epic.  However, if there's something about it that doesn't quite make sense, don't worry.  You're not alone.  What's likely bothering you is that question in the back of your mind:  How do you make an expansion for a free to play game, anyway?

New heroes for Hearthstone - or class skins - are they worth it?

It comes down to the same thing in the end, but doesn't the first one sound way more epic?  Blizzard apparently thought so too, as I have yet to find anywhere in the Blizzard press release referring to the "fresh face" for each class as new skins.  I'm sure it didn't hurt their decision that it's far easier to pitch a 10 dollar price tag for a new hero than it is for what essentially amounts to a shiny new portrait.  So far new representatives for the Warrior (Magni Bronzebeard), Hunter (Alleria Windrunner) and Mage (Medivh) classes have been unveiled.  

The Heroes of the Storm join the Eternal Conflict in Diablo event

It's common knowledge that for a lot of people, the number seven holds special significance - from the simple concept of "lucky sevens" to the regular usage in fantasy stories as particularly magical quantity.  Whatever your thoughts on the superstition however, it looks like the sevens have struck again - or someone at Blizzard subscribes to the belief.  After seven maps centered around the new Nexus setting, Blizzard has decided the time is right to start drawing on its existing universes for battleground inspiration, starting with Diablo.  Ready to pick a side in the Eternal Conflict?    

Heroes of the Storm Open Beta - transitioning from other MOBAs

So it's been about 10 days since Blizzard opened the Nexus to all with the start of the Heroes of the Storm Open Beta on May 19.  Though the game's official launch is this Tuesday, June 2, for all intents and purposes, it can be considered released.  Anyone who was excited for it yet never received an alpha or beta invite is unlikely to have held off another two weeks for the "beta" label to be removed.  After all the quality assessment that's been done over last year, there's unlikely to be much difference between the version we're playing now and the one after June 2.

The massive influx of new players can be felt within the course of a single match.  It feels like the Technical Alpha all over again, with every team having a few members fresh from League, Smite and the like, still learning the ropes of concepts that differentiate Heroes from the rest.  It's true that until recently new players were being added weekly but those were in gradual measured quantities as opposed to the exponential growth the player base has undergone in the last couple weeks.  While I welcome our new arrivals to the Nexus, I figured now would be a good time to talk about a few of the ways you're not in DOTA anymore....

Chen Stormstout - assassin tank?

So that title probably sounds inane but I cannot think of a better way to describe my experience playing the Legendary Brewmaster's incarnation in Heroes of the Storm.  The most famous panda in Warcraft can just as easily take hits for the team and disrupt enemy positioning as he can burst down priority back line targets and chase down fleeing survivors.  The result is the line between assassin and tank blurring to a point it should not be able to without the aid of beer goggles.

Hearthstone: Crafting versus card packs for beginners

Blackwing Lair was released today, and with it the new cards to be unlocked from defeating bosses and completing class challenges.  Playing through it got me thinking about the two primary ways of getting new cards in Hearthstone - purchasing packs and crafting.  Writing this, that does seem a bit of a weak connection but it's totally what happened.  I'm sure we've all had the dilemma of deciding whether to craft that card you want right away or waiting to see if it pops up in the next batch of card packs (I suspect a lot of us have been on a pack buying spree too, but that's another story).  Both arcane dust and in-game gold take a while to build up and crafting one card or purchasing one pack makes a pretty major dent.  So which one's better?  The answer may surprise you.

Gul'dan - how the warlock we all love to hate has cast a spell over the Warcraft fanbase

With the latest developments of Warlords of Draenor, Gul'dan has returned to the Warcraft universe as a major villain and for his first primary role in World of Warcraft.  Though I don't play WoW, I follow the story and after watching the cinematic from Patch 6.1 when he assumes control of the Iron Horde, I found myself really excited to see where Blizzard takes the plot surrounding one of my favorite villains.

But this begs the question: why is he so intriguing?  While important for lore reasons - being the one who set the orcs on their path to demonic corruption and invasion of Azeroth, etc. - as a character the first orcish warlock has very little depth.  His desires power simply for power's sake and will sacrifice anything and anyone to get it.  He's a textbook sociopath with exactly zero redeeming or even vaguely sympathetic aspects.

Despite all this, Gul'dan is widely considered one of the best villains in the franchise - why?  What makes the Betrayer of the Orcs such a compelling villain?

Come into my parlor said the spider to the hero - thoughts on Tomb of the Spider Queen

As many League of Legends players will tell you, when any online game has several maps or modes available, queue times will naturally be longer or shorter as maps fall in and out of favor with the player-base.  Anyone looking for a good game on Twisted Treeline or Dominion can attest to that (self included).  Eventually, even those who like the less popular maps will give up because it simply takes too damn long to find a game.  Blizzard got around this by taking out the element of choice and making each game take place on a random battleground.  While this approach presumably allows Heroes of the Storm to have a great deal more maps and game modes than its competition, it brings its own set of limitations.

Heroes of the Dorm - or Blizzard Hunger Games

Maybe no one's going to die, but for the final contestants the prize may well be your life.  And what will participating cost all the rest who don't even get close?

Thoughts on Overwatch and what it means for MOBAs

I'm sure the title has you confused - Overwatch, while certainly taking some MOBA aspects, is still very much a first person shooter.  Or is it?  Up until recently, I had spared little thought for Blizzard's upcoming shooter, having been obsessively following the development of their other project, Heroes of the Storm.  Thanks to a Founders' Pack, I'm now in the Heroes beta, and the tunnel vision seems to have cleared somewhat.  So when Blizzard announced this past weekend at PAX East that the Overwatch beta was slated for Fall 2015, it seemed like a good time to take a look at their first new franchise in 17 years.