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

Of course, no Heroes of the Storm update would be complete without some balance changes . Chromie and Tracer all saw buffs and nerfs to a few of their talents. Johanna and Zul’jin did as well, though the former’s Shield Glare had its mana cost increased, while the latter’s You Want Axe? trait was improved. Auriel, on the other hand, received buffs to her Bestow Hope trait and several of her talents that will aid her healing, damage, and survivabil

Blizzard has perfected the RTS and now they’ve laid a fantastic foundation for best Winston stadium build the FPS. Though simple on the surface, Overwatch manages to create depth thanks to its 21 character roster and 12 intricately designed maps, consistently rewarding players that master their characters, learn the maps and work as a team. Putting a competent team together and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat is one of the most satisfying experiences a multiplayer game has offered in years. It could use a campaign, a few more game modes and refinement of its RNG system, but none of that distracts from the fact that Overwatch is an superb effort that will entertain players for an ungodly amount of time.

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 the form 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

The update also squashed quite a few bugs in Blizzard’s MOBA. Beyond some pathing problems with experience globes, visual effects for rooting, and the interaction between crowd control reduction and gradual slowing effects, nearly three dozen heroes had issues resolved pertaining to their abilities and tale

With all of that gushing out of the way, I'd like to pinpoint the exact moment where I realized that Overwatch was a special experience, at least for me. While the PC audience is far more knowledgeable about team composition than its console counterparts (as a result of sheer time played), I found myself on a team where the other five players thought it would be a good idea to choose three Tracers and two Reapers. If you don't know anything about Overwatch, you should know that a balanced team consisting of offense, defense, tanks and supports is going to succeed far more often than one where every player is in one category. Considering that Tracer is the squishiest offensive hero and Reaper is an offensive character that isn't going to be able to do damage at range, I found myself at a loss. Generally when I'm attacking a central control point, I enjoy picking someone like Junkrat, whose bouncing grenades can cause absolute chaos. Unfortunately, this hero was out of the question, as my more casual teammates would not be able to succeed without a healer. It's for that very reason that I chose Mercy, who can beam health into any allies that she aims her staff at.

Speaking of new content, Blizzard will be releasing all post-launch content for free. To do this, they implemented an RNG loot system with microtransactions. Loot Boxes are earned regularly through leveling up and an infinite level cap ensures that players can continue collecting Loot Boxes forever. Unfortunately, the RNG system stumbles when it comes time to collecting the goodies. Much like a Call of Duty: Black Ops III Supply Drop, an Overwatch Loot Box contains a lot of unwanted items. Character skins, emotes and character poses are the coolest of the drops, while Sprays and Lines of Dialogue are the lamest. Players have no control over what they get and it can be frustrating to keep getting items for characters you don’t even use.

Besides the size of this update, the rate at which this Heroes of the Storm update arrived is particularly noteworthy. Since they resumed in 2022, most of these updates have had two to three months between them, and about a month between the patch's arrival on the Public Test Realm and the live release. Not only did this patch arrive faster than usual – less than two months after the last Heroes of the Storm update – but it also came the same month as it hit the PTR. While this could mean nothing, Heroes of the Storm ’s 10-year anniversary is on June 2, leading many fans to wonder if the increased attention could herald something big in store for the MOBA's big milest