Free hero rotation week of Tuesday, July 21st
Available at all levels: Raynor, Muradin, Arthas, Uther, Nazeebo
Available at level 12: Jaina
Available at level 15: Kerrigan
Time to talk tanks
The warrior class, or tanks, often don't get the credit they deserve. They are like the little brothers of Heroes of the Storm, getting hit a lot and getting no attention. We decided to take a look at what tanks are doing the best across leagues with help from the data from HotsLogs.com.
Across all leagues, Johanna's crusade marches on, as she tops the list of tanks and comes in at the third highest overall winrate with 54.9%. Anub'Arak continues to be strong as he rates as the 2nd best tank and 9th overall hero with a winrate of 51.8%. Stitches and E.T.C. are holding down the bottom of the winrate board (above only Tassadar) with rates of 43.4% and 42.1% respectively. The fact that these two bruisers were once kings of the warrior castle and now find themselves eating out of dumpsters only highlights the ever shifting HOTS Meta, and the influence of development patches.
In Bronze Leagues Johanna and Anub'Arak remain the top two warriors with winrates of 48.9% and 46.7%. Chen brings up the bronze bottom with a winrate of 38.0%. Thirty eight, no wonder he drinks. In Master Leagues, Johanna continues to be cast in divine light, as she is again the top tank, and fourth overall hero, with a winrate of 61.2%. However, we are starting to see the "bruiser tank" meta develop, and this is evident in Master League winrates, as the next two tanks are Arthas and Tyreal, with winrates of 60.8% and 58.7% each. The versatility Arthas and Tyreal provides allows them to fit in nearly any composition, and the winrates reflect as such. As the meta shifts, if will be interesting to see how these new roles are defined.
Poll: Is glitching cheating?
With talk of MVP Black using the Zeratul Shadow Assault Glitch during the IEM Shenzhen tournament, we decided to touch the third rail and ask: Is glitching cheating? Some will argue it is in the game, thus allowed, some will say it is a gray area, but morally wrong. What do you think?
On our mini-map: MVP Black
Team MVP Black, currently ranked #8 in our GosuGamers Global Rankings exploded into the international scene with a meta-busting win of the IEM Shenzhen Heroes of the Storm Championships. In one of our first looks at the truly international nature of HOTS, we saw the Koreans redefine the meta and smash Virtus.Pro (Rank #10) with a three-warrior build. On their way to the finals in IEM they also defeated Team Brave Heart (Rank #13). The final two victories to win IEM Shenzhen extend MVP Black's current winning streak to eight matches.
However, not all which glitters is gold, as MVP has struggled with teams inside the Asian scene. Two strong marks against them are 0-3 losses to both Team eStar (Rank #5), and Team Snake (Rank #3). MVP Black will have to prove they can dominate their own scene first, but this international affair was definitely a step in the right direction. Also of note, is the community chatter about MVP Black intentionally using a Zeratul glitch during their matches, which even drew speculation from caster Kaelaris. IEM Officials say they will investigate the matches. So while MVP Black seems to be riding high on busting out a new meta and absoultely dominating with it, the team is not without it's flaws, and perhaps, glitches.
Storm stream of the week
Senior eSports writer and Heroes of the Storm section lead, Nick "Dorazion" D'Orazio, watches heroes streams pretty much all day. So, the next logical step was to start to stream him self. He also started a youtube channel where he uploads notable stream moments and 6-10 minute strategy videos highlight certain talents or techniques when playing specific heroes. It's a nice break from always writing about the game to actually play it.What is your favorite hero/class?
Gazlowe is my favorite hero by far; I know he's bad but at the same time, he's not. After that, it goes Falstad, Nova and soon to be Leoric. I enjoy playing assassins or high impact specialists because I essentially only solo que. The best way I can have some semblance of control in my Rank 1 Hero League games is by picking off stray heroes, or choosing heroes with strong counter intiations.
What do you feel is overpowered and/or underpowered in the game.
Jaina and Zeratul are a little too strong right now, and I know that from personal experience. When I really want to try hard, choosing either of these heroes in solo que gives an unprecendented feeling of impact over the game- especially with Zeratul. Not only can I make solo kills, but I can save my team from poor initiations and make positive initiations all with the same heroic, Void Prison.
The most underpowered heroes in the game are Thrall, Diablo, and Chen. Being a melee hero is an inherent disadvantage, and as a result, the heros abilities have to rise against that disadvantage and make it worth it. Currently, Thrall is just a weak Butcher, Diablo is just a weak Muradin, and Chen is a worse Anub'arak. There isn't any incentive to play these heroes.
In one or two sentences describe your stream.
I try hard, but never at the cost of fun. I think different talent exploration and hero picks are vital to becoming a well rounded player with an complete sense of game knowledge. Also, my cat climbs on my keyboard a lot mid game.
If you'd like to be featured on Storm Stream of the Week, e-mail [email protected] with a little bit about your stream, what your favorite hero or class is, what you think is underpowered, and a picture representing your stream.
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