Heroes of the Storm



Heroes of the Storm, often shortened to Heroes or HotS (even though "HotS" can also refer to a StarCraft II expansion), is a Blizzard Entertainment "hero brawler" game which was initially inspired by the Defense of the Ancients custom map for Warcraft III. The game features characters from across the Warcraft, StarCraft, The Lost Vikings, Diablo and Overwatch franchises, who are seized by an unknown force and brought together in a mysterious location known as the Nexus to do battle.

On December 13, 2018, Blizzard decided to pull some developers to other projects and announce that the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm will not return in 2019.

Gameplay
Heroes of the Storm is a team-based competitive game in which each player controls a powerful hero with unique abilities, and works with his or her team to invade and destroy the enemy team's base. However, it has a number of features which set it apart from other DOTA-style games. Experience is shared between all players on a team (so there is no benefit to last-hitting). There are no purchasable items (but characters can be customized by learning talents as they level up). All skills are unlocked at the beginning of a match. Games are intended to last for about 20 minutes each, and each map has unique objectives.

Heroes
89 hero characters that are playable are:
 * 2 Original heroes: ,
 * 1 Blizzard Classic franchise hero: The Lost Vikings
 * 18 Diablo franchise heroes: Auriel, Azmodan, Cassia, Deckard, Diablo, Imperius, Johanna, Kharazim, Leoric, Li-Ming, Malthael, Mephisto, Nazeebo, Sonya, The Butcher, Tyrael, Valla, Xul
 * 9 Overwatch franchise heroes: Ana, D.Va, Genji, Hanzo, Junkrat, Lúcio, Mei, Tracer, Zarya
 * 17 StarCraft franchise heroes: Abathur, Alarak, Artanis, Blaze, Dehaka, Fenix, Kerrigan, Lt. Morales, Nova, Probius, Raynor, Sgt. Hammer, Stukov, Tassadar, Tychus, Zagara, Zeratul
 * 43 Warcraft franchise heroes: Alexstrasza, Anduin, Anub'arak, Arthas, Brightwing, Chen, Cho'gall (in-game as 2 heroes Cho and Gall), Chromie, Deathwing, E.T.C., Falstad, Garrosh, Gazlowe, Greymane, Gul'dan, Hogger, Illidan, Jaina, Kael'thas, Kel'Thuzad, Li Li, Lunara, Maiev, Mal'Ganis, Malfurion, Medivh, Muradin, Murky, Ragnaros, Rehgar, Rexxar, Samuro, Stitches, Sylvanas, Thrall, Tyrande, Uther, Valeera, Varian, Whitemane, Yrel, Zul'jin

One of the game's features is the ability to purchase or earn skins for each hero, with each skin often available in different color schemes alongside the 'traditional' colors. Some skins represent characters from the past, a different timeline, or even a parallel universe such as:
 * The Stormrage twins had their roles switched and Tyrande became a Warden.
 * A version of Tyrande who is a blood elf descendant of her namesake, Tyrande Windrunner.
 * Thrall embraced the power of the Aspect of Earth, becoming consumed by living rock and permanently changed.
 * Uther survived his last battle with Arthas and later lead the Alliance forces in Northrend during WotLK.
 * Uther was Arthur Light, humble lumberjack from British Columbia.
 * In a world made from confections, Muradin was king of Kandy Mountain.
 * A version of Rexxar from the StarCraft universe who is a mutated human called military ursine-handler Cpl. Rex Arkk.
 * A version of Jaina that is a Dreadlord.

A model for Gelbin Mekkatorque has been shown been shown at past BlizzCons but he isn't currently in-game. Other characters Blizzard have considered from the Warcraft universe include Aggra, Azshara, Brann, Cenarius, Dagg'um Ty'gor, Dr. Boom, Gallywix, Grom, Harth, Kil'jaeden, Moira, Varimathras, Vashj, Velen, and Vol'jin.

Battlegrounds
Battlegrounds or maps are the battlefields upon which the heroes do battle and matches are fought. Each battleground has a different layout as well as unique features that set it apart from the others.

14 battlegrounds that are currently playable are:
 * 8 battlegrounds unique to Heroes of the Storm: Blackheart's Bay, Cursed Hollow, Dragon Shire, Garden of Terror, Haunted Mines, Sky Temple, Tomb of the Spider Queen, Towers of Doom.
 * 2 Diablo franchise battlegrounds: Battlefield of Eternity, Infernal Shrines.
 * 2 Overwatch franchise battlegrounds: Hanamura Temple, Volskaya Foundry.
 * 2 Starcraft franchise battlegrounds: Braxis Holdout, Warhead Junction.
 * 1 Warcraft franchise battleground: Alterac Pass.

Notes and trivia

 * The original name - Blizzard DOTA - was at the heart of a legal battle between Valve, who wanted to trademark "DOTA" for their own use, and Blizzard, who wanted to prevent the trademark so that it could be freely used by the gaming community. Ultimately, they decided that DOTA could be freely used non-commercially, while Valve retained exclusive rights to its commercial usage. As a result, Blizzard DOTA was renamed Blizzard All-Stars. Rob Pardo commented that the new title "ultimately better reflects the design of our game." On October 17, 2013, the game was renamed yet again to Heroes of the Storm.
 * Blizzard does not use the terms "ARTS" or "MOBA", feeling that the game is more accurately described as a "hero brawler".
 * Carbot Animations drawn characters in Heroes of the Storm as collectable portraits and sprays.