Heroes of the Storm

Gameplay

Heroes of the Storm revolves around 5-versus-5 battles, hosted on Blizzard's online gaming service, Battle.net, with an average match duration of approximately 20 minutes. In each match, players work together as a team to achieve the ultimate victory condition: destroying the opposing team's main structure, known as the "Core", before enemy team does the same. To reach the Core, players must first break through at least one lane of defensive structures, which include "forts" and "keeps." To aid in this effort, teams can secure the assistance of mercenary camps, powerful battleground bosses, and waves of computer-controlled units called "minions." Minions periodically spawn in groups and march along designated lanes toward the enemy base, engaging any opposition along the way.

There are currently 15 battlegrounds, each with its own distinct metagame and secondary objectives Completing these objectives grants substantial advantages, often by requiring teams to contest key locations or engage in direct confrontations, ultimately increasing their ability to push through enemy defenses more effectively.

In all game modes, each player controls one of the 89 playable characters (as of March 2025), called "heroes", with each having a unique design, strengths, and weaknesses. Heroes are divided into six separate roles: tank, bruiser, ranged assassin, melee assassin, healer, and support. Players can purchase permanent access to heroes using the in-game currency, called "Gold," or through microtransactions. Additionally, there is always a free hero rotation available each week, allowing players to try out different heroes without cost.

Each individual hero comes with a set of distinctive abilities. Ability kit is generally composed of three basic abilities usable right from level 1, a passive or active trait, and a powerful "heroic ability". Upon reaching level 10, players can choose between two "heroics" which often have a devastating effect and a long cooldown. Heroics are usually the strongest tools in an arsenal that define a hero's strengths and playstyle. A hero can only gain one type of heroic per match. If a hero runs out of health points and dies, they are removed from active play until a respawn timer counts down to zero, after which they subsequently respawn at the rear of their team's base, known as the "Hall of Storms". Furthermore, the Hall of Storms allows heroes to quickly restore their health and mana over time as long as they are within the Hall. The Hall also offers protection from enemy damage and effects, and enemy players are repelled outward a slight distance in a sudden fashion upon entering an opposing team's Hall.

Game modes

Heroes of the Storm offers various game modes, allowing players to choose between battling computer-controlled heroes or competing in team-based matches against other players.

Tutorials - The tutorials are composed of three scripted 'levels' that are aimed at new players with the intent of teaching movement, use of abilities and other basic controls. The player controls Jim Raynor, who is teleported from the StarCraft universe into the Nexus, receiving instructions from Uther the Lightbringer from the Warcraft series.

Training - A reduced experience mode where a player teams up with four AI teammates against five AI opponents set at the Beginner difficulty.

Versus A.I. - Players face off against five AI opponents. Before starting the match, the player can choose to have human-controlled or AI allies. The difficulty setting of the AI can also be chosen prior to initiating a match.

Quick Match - In this mode, players select their heroes before entering the match, without knowing the battleground or the heroes they will be matched with or against. Two teams of five human-controlled heroes are pitted against each other in player-versus-player (PvP) combat on a random battleground. Players are free to queue solo or in a party, and the teams are formed based on the players' past performance and the roles of the chosen heroes to ensure a balanced match. For instance, if a player queues solo as a Support, they are unlikely to be matched with four other Support heroes, promoting a more diverse team composition. Unlike the Draft mode, where selecting a hero in coordination with teammates and considering the enemy composition is crucial, Quick Match allows players to play their preferred heroes.

Unranked Draft - Before the start of an Unranked Draft game, opposing teams engage in a "draft" phase, where they alternate selecting Heroes to form their respective compositions of five characters. As the draft progresses, both teams can observe the others' selections, along with the battleground on which the match will take place. This adds a layer of strategy, as players must carefully choose their Heroes based on the compositions of both teams, as well as their knowledge of how the different battlegrounds affect gameplay. During the draft, each team can ban up to three Heroes, preventing either team from selecting these characters for the remainder of the draft. Unranked Draft is often considered a mode that introduces players to a system similar to the ranked Storm League, but without the pressure of impacting their MMR (Matchmaking Rating). It offers a more structured and strategic experience compared to Quick Match, allowing players to practice their hero selection and team composition skills without risking changes to their ranking.

Matchmaking

Matchmaking is based on the Elo rating system with proprietary adjustments. MMR (matchmaking rating) is calculated individually for each player, and it is tracked separately for every game mode. In ranked mode matchmaker tries to place players with similar ratings together, while generally attempts to balance both teams based on each player's MMR to find and create even games.

Business model

Heroes of the Storm is free-to-play, based on the freemium business model, and is supported by micropayments using three in-game currencies: "Gems", "Gold", and "Shards". Gold is in-game currency that can be earned by playing the game, completing daily, seasonal and event quests, and leveling up (Loot Chests can be acquired in the same way). Gold can be used to buy heroes, gold-only mounts, hero mastery rings, Loot Chests and Shards. Gems can be earned in-game or purchased with real money, and Shards are acquired from duplicate items from Loot Chests or purchased with Gold. Players can use either Gems or Shards to buy skins, mounts and other cosmetic elements, such as banners, sprays, announcers, voice lines, emojis, and portraits. Heroes, as the only category in Collection with a material effect on gameplay, may be purchased by either Gems or Gold.

Gem-only items in Collection are "bundles" (dynamic groups of Heroes of the Storm content), and "boosts" (formerly called "stimpacks") which increase Gold and account experience earned per match.

Development

As a part of the arcade feature for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a custom map called "Blizzard DOTA" was announced alongside several other mods for StarCraft II at BlizzCon 2010. At that time, the map was developed to showcase the modding abilities that were to be added to StarCraft II. In 2011, however, development of Blizzard DOTA was rebooted and demoed at BlizzCon 2011. In comparison to the previous iteration previewed at BlizzCon 2010, the gameplay was described as "fast" and "streamlined."

Following the announcement of Dota 2 by Valve, Rob Pardo, the executive vice president of Blizzard Entertainment, expressed concern at Valve using and trademarking a name that originated from within the Warcraft III community. Following a failed trademark injunction on the part of Riot Games, Blizzard acquired Riot's subsidiary, DotA-Allstars, LLC., the original company that represented the servicing of Defense of the Ancients. Subsequently, Blizzard filed an opposition against Valve for claiming the DotA trademark. On May 11, 2012, Blizzard and Valve announced that the dispute had been settled, with Valve retaining the commercial franchising rights to the term "Dota", while Blizzard would change the name of Blizzard DOTA to Blizzard All-Stars. Blizzard, however, will retain the right to use DOTA name non-commercially. This includes promoting DOTA-style maps made for Blizzard games by the community.

In June 2012, Dustin Browder, the director of StarCraft II, stated that Blizzard All-Stars did not have a release date, but that it would definitely be after the release of StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. In February 2013, the Activision Blizzard fourth quarter 2012 earnings report listed Blizzard All-Stars as one of the areas of continued investment for Blizzard throughout 2013. Browder commented in March 2013 that a few artists had transitioned from the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm team, to work on Blizzard All-Stars for the time being along with the few designers on the team. One challenge faced by art team, according to the senior art director Samwise Didier, was bringing in three different art styles and themes from Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo in line to make the art style for the game.

In August 2013 the game went into wider internal testing. Blizzard president Mike Morhaime described it as Blizzard's version of an "action real-time strategy" game. The Blizzard All-Stars team was expanded in May 2013, from some of the resources who were reallocated when Blizzard's Titan project was rebooted and the team downsized. On October 17, 2013, the name of the game was changed to Heroes of the Storm.

Post-release

While the game was in Alpha testing, Blizzard ran a promotion as part of the pre-order for Diablo III: Reaper of Souls which unlocked Valla as a free hero. To mark the release of Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard had crossovers implemented between Blizzard games. Players who reached account level 12 in Heroes of the Storm received the Heroes of the Storm themed card back in Hearthstone and after winning 100 play mode matches in Hearthstone received the Hearthstone Card mount in Heroes of the Storm. Players who reached account level 20 in Heroes of the Storm received a Grave Golem battle pet in World of Warcraft and after reaching level 100 in World of Warcraft received an Ironside Dire Wolf mount in Heroes of the Storm. After the Diablo hero patch, any player who purchased Diablo III was given the Diablo hero (Al'Diabolos) free for a limited time; players who reach level 12 in Heroes of the Storm will receive a unique pennant and portrait frame in Diablo III and reaching level 70 Season 4 and beyond receive Malthael's Phantom mount in Heroes of the Storm. Players who purchase the StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void deluxe or collector's editions receive a Void Seeker mount in Heroes of the Storm and purchasing any edition of Legacy of the Void unlocks the Artanis hero. Players who purchase the Origins Edition of Overwatch unlock Tracer as a free hero.

During the Nexus Challenge event (November 15, 2016 – January 4, 2017), each player who completed 15 games of Heroes of the Storm together with a friend received the Oni Genji skin, Oni Genji Portrait and Oni Genji Spray in Overwatch, and Zarya as a free hero in Heroes of the Storm. After completing 30 games with a friend, players unlocked four additional heroes (Auriel, Greymane, Kerrigan, and Li-Ming), the Orochi Hovercycle mount, and a 30-Day stimpack in Heroes of the Storm.

During the For Azeroth! event (February 14, 2017 – March 14, 2017, then extended for March 17, 2017 – March 26, 2017), each player who completed 15 games of Heroes of the Storm together with a friend while playing as a Warcraft character, received a Flames of Judgement Charger mount and a 10-day stimpack to use in-game. They also received a Primal Flamesaber mount for World of Warcraft.

During the Nexus Challenge 2.0 event (April 24, 2017 – May 22, 2017), all players could choose to permanently unlock 1 of 4 Mega Bundles; Assassin, Flex, Support & Specialist, and Tanks & Bruisers. For each of the 4 weeks of the event, players who completed 5 matches with a friend could unlock various Overwatch-themed rewards for the players' Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch accounts.

2026 revival

Blizzard announced at the September 2026 Blizzcon that they were reviving development of Heroes of the Storm, introducing its first new hero, Xal’atath, from World of Warcraft: Midnight.

Setting and plot

Heroes of the Storm takes place in the Nexus, a strange limbo of clashing universes which collide from across space, time, and dimensions. The Nexus exists in the center of a trans-dimensional cosmic storm and is connected to other universes. The storm of the Nexus, which has incomprehensible amounts of energy, can rip worlds and universes in and out of existence, and it can also pull worlds into stability. Some of the central realms in the Nexus, such as Raven Court, King's Crest, and Luxoria, are examples of these points of stability. Every Realm within the Nexus has one stone called "Singularity", and only the one who achieves it through conquest can become the Realm Lord. A singularity stone grants to its possessor an almost demigod-like status, but not immortality. Many powerful warriors have been sucked into the Nexus, including combatants from Azeroth, Sanctuary, and the Koprulu sector. New combatants are constantly arriving, some of them are chosen after they died in their original reality. A hero called Qhira, came into the Nexus after her world Iresia and its singularity stone were destroyed, holding only a singularity shard from Iresia, and calling it the "mother crystal".

Numerous worlds exist within the multiverse of the Nexus which are referred to as "realms". While many of these worlds are nexus-generated, some are mirrored versions of those found within Blizzard's franchises, but they can contain alternate universe versions of various heroes, indicated by hero skins in the game.

Music

Heroes of the Storm's playlist combines an original soundtrack with soundtracks from Blizzard's other franchises. The original soundtrack for Heroes of the Storm was composed by Blizzard Entertainment's composers, Glenn Stafford, and Jason Hayes. Other music in the game is present as background music, or represents specific universes with connections to the various Heroes within Heroes of the Storm. Also present within the game's playlist are soundtracks from Starcraft, such as Terran and Zerg Theme; various soundtracks from World of Warcraft, such as Obsidian Sanctum from Wrath of the Lich King, and The Wandering Isle from Mists of Pandaria; soundtracks from Diablo, such as Jungle from Diablo II (Act III), and Reaper of Souls from Diablo III; as well as soundtracks from Overwatch, such as Overture and Hanamura theme; and Smugglers Cove from The Lost Vikings 2.

The Battle Begins by Glenn Stafford is the main theme of Heroes of the Storm.

Reception

Heroes of the Storm received generally favorable reviews upon release. Metacritic calculated an average score of 86 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on 57 reviews.

GameSpot awarded it 9 out of 10, summarizing "A fantastic casual-competitive game that offers untold hours of enjoyment." Positive reviews praised its objective-based gameplay and greater accessibility than its competitors, with Destructoid's Chris Carter giving it a 9.5 out of 10 and calling it "A hallmark of excellence." In a review for PC Gamer, Chris Thursten focused on the game's accessibility, giving it a score of 84 out of 100 and concluding "The most any studio has done to open up a complex genre to a new audience. Inviting, entertaining, and deceptively deep."

The Escapist's CJ Miozzi stated that while its improved accessibility would make it interesting to players normally not interested in the genre, it could be less attractive to experienced players. Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, he summarized that "At the very least, it's a game that all gamers should try." Polygon's Arthur Gies approved of the title's accessibility but expressed worry that "sometimes something [felt] lost along the way," scoring it at 7.5 out of 10.

On release, IGN's Mitch Dyer gave the game a mixed review and concluded, "Heroes of the Storm is a flawed, varied MOBA with terrific team fighting and poor objectives," awarding it a 6.5 out of 10. This review prompted an initially negative reaction from the game's community that turned the score into an internet meme, eventually being recognized by Blizzard themselves in a humorous promotional video for an update to the game. IGN's re-review by Ian Nowakowski awarded it 8 out of 10 in March 2018, saying the game "packs a ton of variety and excellent characters. Some of this MOBA's modes work better than others, but it's a safe bet that it'll deliver a fun match."

During the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Heroes of the Storm with "Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year". The game was nominated for "Choice Video Game" at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards.