Heroes of the Storm Changes Have Came!

Yesterday’s Alpha wipe erased more that just personal progress. It also was a defeat for gamers interested in the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre who have some mobility or anxiety issues. One thing I was excited to see in this Heroes of the Storm change was the quest system. This new setup is similar to that of Hearthstone. Quests net you extra experience allowing you to level up and earn gold. The gold allows you to buy heroes, so you can play your favorite hero any time you’d like. The part that was a huge victory was that these quests could be completed in Practice or Cooperative Mode. Yesterday’s patch removed this option. Now quests can only be completed in Versus Mode.

Why Does Game Type Matter?

If you are a regular MOBA fan you already know the competitive mindset Player versus Player (PvP) environments can feed. A stellar example is found in the League of Legends community. New players are quickly berated if their performance is less than perfect. Accidental deaths are labeled as “feeding the other team” and followed by crude comments about your mother. This can be stressful to anyone, but especially for anyone with social anxiety issues. When posting my First Look videos and streaming, this was quickly brought to my attention. It was something I never really realized was such a profound struggle at times. There were multiple people commenting about how now with Practice Mode being rewarded equally to Versus they could enjoy a MOBA and feel like they were accomplishing goals. With Heroes of the Storm changes, some players who wouldn’t play before because of the social aspect were looking forward to Heroes for this reason.

Is Versus Mode That Great?

Versus mode also brings with it aggressive game play. In a game where fast movement and repetitive mouse play can mean life or death, players who are unable to make agile movement can find themselves at a disadvantage. Pressing keys and mouse buttons simultaneously can allow fast casting of abilities and better performance. However, not everyone can play in this style. Mouse-only gamers have a choice: click your ability or click to run. The delay between attacking and movement can cause your hero to either stay in lane a bit too long and face death, or retreat early and miss damaging enemy players. Both choices often lead to negativity from competitive teammates.

What About Cooperative & Practice Modes?

Cooperative and Practice modes are different. In cooperative, while you are still playing with teammates, who at times can be temperamental, it happens far less often. Artificial Intelligence (AI) are also a lot less aggressive, so slower movements aren’t penalized as often. Having more time to react to incoming enemies and knowing they won’t bypass minions to stealth attack let’s mouse-only gamers focus more on attacking and less on retreating. In Practice mode, the game play is even less stressful. No one is there to point out your deaths. No one ever insults you or your mother for mistakes.  The game can be paused in this mode which was amazing for those of us who may need a break because of fatigue from repetitive clicking.

You Can Still Get Some Experience. Who cares?

You do still get experience from playing in Practice and Cooperative mode. Although, since these Heroes of the Storm changes the experience has a daily cap. Versus mode has no cap, plus it has bonus experience points from completing quests. Players who play Versus mode will be gaining levels at a much faster and unlimited rate. With leveling comes gold and gold buys you heroes. So should players be forced into PvP in hopes of unlocking heroes they want quicker? In my opinion, no.

PvP “Paradise”

MOBA’s lean toward competitive players, as they should. The competitiveness is focused on that Versus experience. You bested another person, not an AI. You fought bravely and prevailed! This is the thrill of PvP. The problem emerges when that competitive nature turns toxic. If you love a game and want to avoid that aggressiveness, I don’t think you should be penalized. If you need to use the game mode where you can pause and rest you’re hand, you shouldn’t be penalized.

Experience for All!

I agree Versus mode should be worth more experience per match. It is more stressful and difficult than the other modes after all. I also think AI in Practice mode shouldn’t be able to win matches without help from the player. Heroes of the Storm changes were needed to avoid the away from keyboard experience grind. However, quests were made to help boost experience. They give the player a goal to achieve. Players who don’t care for the stress of aggressive gameplay should be given that sense of satisfaction by being able to complete these tasks in their preferred mode.

*Grabs Torch & Pitchfork* It’s an Outrageous Change! Who Do I Rage to?

You don’t rage. Remember this is an alpha of Heroes of the Storm changes come and go. Blizzard is still shaping how Heroes of the Storm will be at launch. You can leave constructive feedback on this forum if this change to questing concerns you. Hopefully a solution can be found that allows those of us who love MOBA game types, but need a less aggressive/competitive form of play. This will allow us to get back in there and feel the accomplishment of completing our given objectives along with not feeling penalized for avoiding the PvP experience. While this change was a minor annoyance to some, it is more concerning to others. But don’t take my word for it, check out the links below to learn more. If you’d like to read more disability headlines then find more on our Opinion & News columns!