Though Blizzard's multi-franchise MOBA has technically been in maintenance mode since July 2022, Heroes of the Storm suddenly received a balance patch over a year later in September 2023. Every few months since then, Heroes of the Storm has consistently rolled out new patches, with the seventh such update arriving in early December 2

With Overwatch, the charming hero shooter from Blizzard, launching this week, we want to make sure that you're as prepared as possible to help your team dominate. Overwatch's main focus is clearly on the interplay between its dynamic characters, so in order to become competent, you'll need to understand how every character works. Throughout the week, we'll be publishing guides on each of the 21 launch heroes, three at a time, with the hopes that you'll be able to recognize certain patterns on the battlefield.

If you were to rank all of Overwatch's heroes in terms of sheer quirkiness, then Lucio might wind up claiming the top spot. A support hero with potentially devastating offensive power when used properly, everyone's favorite Brazillian DJ has the potential to completely turn the tides of battle with proper positioning and ability knowledge. His main weapon, the Sonic Amplifier, has two distinct firing modes, each mapped to a specific mouse button (or trigger for those of you playing on console).

What goes into making maps that feel appropriate for all of these heroes at the same time. In terms of creating maps and creating heroes, what is the chicken and what is the egg? Which comes first, and how do you design Overwatch's maps to maintain the balance that's so critical to every moment of its Ramattra Gameplay Tips?

Rather, there’s a more pressing issue that has become increasingly more important as we enter (or instead, have already entered) a new era of video games that evolves from out its infancy as but a mere medium or a hobby…and transforms into an industry, a business. And that’s self-awareness; the notion that, perfectly fine as it is to show pride, professionalism and posterity as a creator/director/manager/whoever (be it for consumers, audiences or share-holders alike) it’s just as important to take your eye just that little bit out of the epicentre and look beyond the stained-glass windows to your splendid ivory towers. To see how the industry might be perceived-come-translated across to the community. No matter the intensity. Oh yes…there are obviously so many other matters to attend to such as…perhaps…not treating consumer bases like docile piggybanks; not deliberately miscuing information; not letting every nit-picking, social media-sappy, correctness-avid serial complainer dictate the who, what, when & why of your games.

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.

Overwatch's single most iconic character is also one of the toughest to master, as Tracer's time-bending skillset is quite unlike anything we've seen in a first-person shooter. Armed with two automatic energy pistols, she has the ability to completely empty a clip in around a second, with her reload time taking roughly the same amount of time. For this reason, accuracy is key, as her roster-low health count of 150 makes her squishy to the point where any moment spent not shooting has the potential to cause an untimely death. Luckily for those who choose Tracer, her abilities focus on a combination of speed, confusion and evasion to make her one of the most frustrating characters for newcomers to go against.

Perhaps the slowest character of the bunch, Roadhog is a tank in every sense of the term. With 600 hitpoints, Roadhog has the highest health count of any of Overwatch's heroes, and he puts that to good use with his Scrap Gun, a shotgun-like weapon with diminishing power based on range. If you choose to play as this beer-gutted savage, you're going to want to be right up in the action at all times, as one shot from point-blank range will take out pretty much any other hero. Of course, this also means that he's fairly vulnerable to snipers, as he's a massive target that can't really fight back against enemies that are out of range of his weapons and abilities.

Yesterday evening (December 1st, at the time of writing this) was the night of the annual Game Awards show, a lavish live-streamed spectacle where the best and brightest of the video games industry gathered in Los Angeles - in order to receive awards voted on by industry peers and journalists, celebrating the year in gaming. It was a good night for big-name hits like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End , the reboot of DOOM and Blizzard's mega-selling team shooter **Overwatch ** , as well as respected independent titles like That Dragon Cancer - and it was a chance for those in attendance to show off all-new trailers for upcoming tit