Our next Heroes of the Storm patch has just hit the Public Test Realm and will be available for playtesting. As always, if you encounter any bugs during your PTR play sessions, please stop by the PTR Bug Report forum to let us know about your experien

Blizzard wanted "Project Titan" to be unlike other superhero-themed MMOs, such as City of Heroes and Champions Online, with new elements like forcing players to alternate between superhero activities and the day-jobs of their secret identities . The project struggled, was completely rebooted, and eventually dissolved, with Blizzard concluding that the game simply wasn’t fun to play . This led to a new design philosophy for Overwatch : above all, everything has to be fun. If reviews are any indication, it seems like the game lives up that philosophy and then some, by cutting out unnecessary chores and leaving only the exciting core beh

Perhaps the biggest troll of the entire roster, Junkrat thrives on blocking off pathways and causing straight up chaos on the battlefield. His main weapon, the Frag Launcher, allows him to lob and bounce explosives that have a short detonation delay (unless they directly impact a player). Because of this, Junkrat is able to utilize cover, large walls and corners all while still being able to cause massive amounts of damage to opposing teams. If you're not constantly firing grenades and using projectiles to force players onto alternate paths, you're playing this character incorrectly. In addition to being able to manually launch grenades, his Total Mayhem perk automatically drops grenades upon player death, meaning that you can essentially play as a martyr if all else fails. Not only does Total Mayhem work as a method of frustrating other players, but it's absolutely devastating against characters who dare to get too close.

That parenthetical is important--it’s perfectly understandable to feel uncomfortable with a game asking up to $60 up front, and then asking for more in visit the next internet siteform of smaller fees. However, Overwatch isn’t a disaster like Dead Space 3 , which integrated its microtransactions into the heart of the gameplay. Instead, it limits its extras to packs of "loot boxes," which contain rewards like skins, victory poses, and spray tags that are all earnable in-game simply by playing. It doesn’t create separate player bases, it doesn’t result in a "pay to play" or "pay to win" situation, and it doesn’t detract from the fun of the game. Everyone is still on the same level, and they’re going to stay that way, becaus

It isn’t just the characters that feel unique, it’s also the maps. Overwatch ships with twelve maps, three dedicated to each of the four game modes. All twelve maps are based on real-world locations and match their settings wonderfully. Route 66 is as much a desert as the real world locale, Hanamura is a beautiful Japanese castle, and the Temple of Anubis takes players to the Giza Plateau and its mighty pyramids. These are not only aesthetically pleasing maps, but also very well designed maps.

Microsoft completed its takeover of Blizzard in October 2023 – right around when these Heroes of the Storm updates began again. While there has been no solid evidence proving a correlation between these two events, fans of the game still hope it could be some indication that Microsoft has plans to revive Heroes of the Storm . While doing so would be a popular and timely decision among the community, players shouldn’t get their hopes up unless Blizzard makes an official announcement about such a development. In the meantime, it seems like fans can take solace in the fact that Heroes of the Storm isn’t truly going away any time s

In addition to the Concussion Mine, Junkrat's Steel Trap is effective when used strategically. By placing a large bear trap on the ground, Junkrat has the ability to lock any foe who walks over it in place for a set amount of time. Not only does this make it super simple to eliminate players with the Frag Launcher, but it also is going to enable other players to get easy eliminations as well. Finally, Junkrat has one of the most devastating ultimates out of the entire roster, as his Rip-Tire can be steered into groups of enemies before it's remotely detonated. Needless to say, the keys to the Rip-Tire are pretty simple: guide it into a group of enemies (often on the objective) and ensure that Junkrat is hidden while he's controlling it.

Junkrat's abilities aren't going to do as much damage as his Frag Launcher, but they're exceptional strategic items when used properly. Not only does his Concussion Mine allow him to place a remote detonated explosive, enabling perfectly-timed kills when used patiently, but it also functions as a super-jump when used underneath Junkrat. Considering most opposing players don't expect to see Junkrat flying a story or two into the air, using the Concussion Mine as a movement device not only functions as a way to throw enemies off their game, but it also allows you to access areas that foes won't necessarily expect grenades to rain down from.