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[Mupod]

maybe i'll actually sit down and play this now. i've only played like 10 matches and stopped, but really want a MOBA game to play to change up what im playing.

is dota 2 better? or league? im really not sure.

as someone who played a lot of DOTA in the days before WC3 even had an expansion, I have little patience for it these days. It's not that I can't play DOTA2 effectively, it's that I feel like I won't get anywhere unless I drop every other game and only play that.

HOTS, I can jump in once every few months and queue with a friend, we'll win most of our matches despite being rusty or playing all-new heroes. It might not have extreme depth but it plays well in the ways I think are important. I don't give a shit about memorizing builds or what items I need to counter X hero build or whatever. I can pick up one of the free rotation heroes and figure them out in 2-3 matches.

Also helps that I'm a longtime Blizzard fan and being able to play as the ACTUAL characters instead of knockoffs of Warcraft 3 units is a big draw. Lots of cool Blizzard references and fanservice stuff to be found. Superficial to some, but enjoyable for me.

I will say, as I always do, that these games have no value to me in solo queue. I always play with at least one friend, I don't like the community these games attract and while HOTS is nowhere near as bad as DOTA2 in that respect, I still don't like only playing with randoms.

We don't need loot boxes in everything pls stop.



It's Blizz so.. probably. Yup in the OP you break dupes down into 'shards'. Dumb.

so you prefer not being able to earn stuff at all or

 

[kirblar]

My opinion of this change will mostly revolve around the speed of attaining gold in the new system. I've never had a problem with dividing my gold between new heroes and master skins, so I don't see an upside to the addition of gems unless gold collection is now faster. So few of the new cosmetic items seem like things I would ever buy (possibly a banner or Abathur voice pack?).

If buying a single color of a skin is a third of the current price, I'd be into that. Most premium skins I've bought, I only use one color anyway (purple pajamathur, red apothecary Morales, purple lunara), so that would save me time/money.

And I guess it will be neat to have quicker level progression for my level 10+ heroes? But I really don't play the game to see those numbers go up, so hopefully that helps for people that like that sort of thing (I'm also the type who turns off trophies/achievements whenever possible).

It doesn't look like gold gain rates are changing, but we'll know soon when the beta launches.

 

[a harpy]

Honestly, for a f2p game, this seems like a best case scenario.

You can buy all the gameplay stuff with freemium currency (gold coins.)

Cosmetics you get randomly for free, but you can spend freemium currency to re-roll and you turn dupes into a secondary currency meant specifically for buying non-gameplay stuff.

Or you can just buy the shit you want with real money.

edit: oh wait are they removing skins from purchase for real money?

well that sucks a whole lot if so.

I only ask because in the video, none of the mounts or alternate colors for the skin they showed off were purchasable for anything but shards.

 

[sibarraz]

Will they remove costumes to purchase?

 

[brian!]

I hope there are loot boxes in the sc remaster

 

[SillyEskimo]

Blizzard got me with the WoW mount cross promotion. I never really gave the game a chance prior to that. It's got that Blizzard polish all over it and my wife and I had a great time playing. They even made money off of us for some hero packs.

 

[kirblar]

Will they remove costumes to purchase?

Word is that they're still buyable with real money (now "Gems".)

 

[KiefbladeMaster]

so you prefer not being able to earn stuff at all or

Lol what are you talking about? Making gold was so easy in HotS this wasn't even necessary. I have barely paid for anything and have about 75% of the roster unlocked for free.

 

[Anoregon]

This may be the most unappealing game that Blizzard has ever made.

I dunno, Vanilla Diablo 3 is pretty hard to beat.

 

[Keasar]

Welp, better buy the heroes and skins I like before their average costs rises to roughly 4 times as much.

Fucking hate RNG boxes, I rather buy just the single skin I want for a character I play for 9.99 Euros (preferably cheaper) instead of having to spend around 40 Euros to maybe get that fucking skin I want while having to sift through a lot of trash sprays, emojis, voice lines, many for characters I never touch and do not want but still get 5-6 duplicates of. And no, you NEVER get that "shard" currency in enough amount out of those loot boxes then to get the skin you want.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

My spending on the game has dropped considerable Probius was the first hero I bought with money again since before Ragnaros. Not the biggest fan of loot boxes but it appears popular demand nowadays.

This may be the most unappealing game that Blizzard has ever made.

Mists of Pandaria.

 

[Mupod]

Lol what are you talking about? Making gold was so easy in HotS this wasn't even necessary. I have barely paid for anything and have about 75% of the roster unlocked for free.

And you can unlock skins now too, instead of being paid only. How is that bad?

 

[Xater]

Considering how expensive everything was in HOTS this might end up being an improvement. Now at least you can just get lucky when you level up. The option to directly buy stuff is also still there which is good.

I wonder how much shit I will get when my experience gets transferred over to the new system...

 

[KiefbladeMaster]

And you can unlock skins now too, instead of being paid only. How is that bad?

Because they also contain a lot of useless junk, a la sprays in Overwatch. That stuff is tired and really doesn't work in a MOBA. Those free skins will also be few and far between for sure, hence all of the filler items to pad it out as much as possible. Just think it was largely unnecessary, not that it's inherently 'bad'.

 

[Mupod]

Welp, better buy the heroes and skins I like before their average costs rises to roughly 4 times as much.

Fucking hate RNG boxes, I rather buy just the single skin I want for a character I play for 9.99 Euros (preferably cheaper) instead of having to spend around 40 Euros to maybe get that fucking skin I want. And no, you NEVER get that "shard" currency in enough amount out of those loot boxes then to get the skin you want.

is a cost increase actually happening? Because I have heaps of gold. I bought Ragnaros and some of my favorites like Anub'arak on a whim during the WoW mount event and I still have tons.

also the OP even SAYS that they aren't removing the ability to individually buy skins etc. So...huh?

 

[Seiru]

Because they also contain a lot of useless junk, a la sprays in Overwatch. That stuff is tired and really doesn't work in a MOBA. Those free skins will also be few and far between for sure, hence all of the filler items to pad it out as much as possible. Just think it was largely unnecessary.

I'm actually looking forward to sprays/banners/announcers/lines/emoji. We don't even have those things in HotS right now, they're all being added to the game with this update.

Anyways, as somebody who plays HotS almost every day...I like this. This is very good.

 

[Zackat]

At work. Will watch later. Hopefully they don't bungle it.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

This also better include esports stuff eventually I want to rep a Dignitas banner.

 

[Dreavus]

Yes, you get credited with "Shards" (the equivalent of Gold in OW or Dust in HS) for dupes.

They also let you reroll boxes w/ gold, which is kinda hilarious.

Apparently you can still buy them outright.

That's good news, but doesn't this kind of undermine the lootbox system? In Overwatch you specifically can't buy skins with paid currency, it's ONLY from lootbox duplicates. That pisses a lot of people off but it undeniably sells quite a few lootboxes, especially during limited events.

I guess my question is why would anyone buy lootboxes if they could just buy the cosmetic they want outright? I've only purchased a single skin (that was on sale) so I guess it's good that I can have the chance at the paid ones for free. I'm still failing to see a reason for buying more though, other than a gambling-esqe "have a chance at a rare item for cheaper than the cost of buying said rare item outright".

EDIT: Perhaps I shouldn't be asking too many questions about this change since it seems better than the previous model overall.

 

[Syf]

If they're keeping the old way and just adding chances to loot the stuff for free instead, seems like a good addition to me.

 

[PeterOliver]

Well this got me to reinstall Battle.Net, I mean... "Blizzard App" so it is working on me. I loved HOTS but just got burnt out on keyboard/mouse gaming but this is drawing me back in. Curious to see how many loot boxes and other stuff I'll have. I played a ton of this in 2015 and the first half of 2016.

edit:

Well neat, Blizzard has added quite a few quality of life features to their account services. They gave me a free account name change and they've added both Xbox and Playstation account connecting, which I am hoping might mean my friends from those services who also have Blizzard accounts will start showing up in my friends list.

 

[Nirolak]

Will they remove costumes to purchase?

You can still buy items directly to my understanding.

 

[Aranjah]

Was afraid that they'd ditch straight-up buying skins/heroes.

At least they didn't do that, thank goodness.

Agreed. The day they take away my ability to buy skins, mounts, etc, outright is the day I stop spending money on the game. I don't do gacha. The idea of spending money on a chance to maybe get the thing I want is repulsive to me.

---
I wonder if "HotS 2.0" will add back the option to disable saving replays. I play almost exclusively against bots, I don't need replays of those. And yet there is no way to disable them.

And because I'm in a nit-picky mood because a lot of this rubbed me the wrong way, I have to ask: Why "gems" as the premium currency? Why not pick any of the other materials/currencies from the several IPs that are in the game rather than picking one that evokes "generic cash-grab shovelware game currency"?

 

[Neptonic]

Blizzard continues to makes shit tons of money, more news at 10.

 

[Bootsy]

Honestly, for a f2p game, this seems like a best case scenario.

You can buy all the gameplay stuff with freemium currency (gold coins.)

...

The best case scenario is to provide all the heroes (gameplay stuff) for free ala Dota. Until they do that I won't touch the game.

 

[Proven]

I'm hyped. My playtime has dropped off a cliff thanks to Overwatch and only ever really perks back up when an Overwatch hero is going to be added. I never thought I'd be hyped as much for something like this, but after seeing it in Overwatch it's really cool to see Blizzard getting to unleash their art team. And unlike in Overwatch I feel like sprays will actually get seen and are a better BM than B-stepping, but I can see myself using it for team morale.

 

[scoobs]

Looks very cool. I love this game.

Join us in the community thread!

I love the changes they're making, but I probably love the Diablo 2 Amazon the most!

 

[Lombax]

I have been playing since beta. About 2 months ago I fell out of the game hard. Happy to see they are making much needed changes [seriously fuck level 9 to 10 on a hero], and I'll be heading back into the nexus!

 

[hampig]

This seems like a 100% improvement over the old system. You can still purchase things directly if you want, but now you have the chance of getting any of the items in game for free, and you will get more stuff more often.

It went from a grind to get anything with option of paying to a grind with more frequent free items, with the option of paying.

Can't believe people are complaining about this. It's absolutely a positive change overall.

Edit: Also I love that leveling up is easier and limitless now. I want to show off how much of my time I've thrown away on this damn game.

 

[a harpy]

The best case scenario is to provide all the heroes (gameplay stuff) for free ala Dota. Until they do that I won't touch the game.

You're right. This is second best.

What's dumb is that if they made every hero free, I doubt it would decrease earnings.

 

[scoobs]

Yep, and they convert to shards. It's the worst part of Overwatch and I'm not thrilled it's coming here.

Locking skins you could just buy before behind loot boxes is also a big problem for me.

I don't know, some of this sounds great but some of it really bums me out.

You can still buy skins. They're just making it so you have a chance to get them for free now. It's a win-win.

 

[hampig]

You're right. This is second best.

What's dumb is that if they made every hero free, I doubt it would decrease earnings.

At this point I wish they would cut the price of heroes way down at the very least. I already have most of them, but I think it makes sense now that the heroes aren't going to be the big draw for money.

 

[Icebergslim]

Can you still only control characters with the mouse as opposed to wasd. I really needed official controller support added or allow a change in movement options.

The steam controller would work great for this game if they made that one change.

 

[EndersAres]

I used to play this game everyday for at least 6 hours until they took out duo q from hero league. Probably dumped $400+ into it. I never really understood why they have multiple q's for ranked. Went from my favorite game to uninstalled. I will check out the new stuff but I have no interest in playing it anymore beyond that unless I can play with my friend. They have made so many weird decisions with this game.

 

[UserDoesNotExist]

also the OP even SAYS that they aren't removing the ability to individually buy skins etc. So...huh?

Give it time. They *will* be special-edition lootbox-only season costumes. And eventually, there will be p2w options.

People who operate gambling businesses are not your friends. By selling lootboxes, Blizzard has already proven that they don't give two shits about making money off predatory practices targetting children and the mentally ill. They *will* bend the curve over time.

 

[xk0sm0sx]

Man isn't Amazon more associated with Multishot or Homing Arrow, and what's that ball lightning attack.

 

[shiftplusone]

So should I spend my gold first or wait until the new system kicks in and take advantage?

I don't think this will make me play more frequently because the game itself is kinda boring but it'll get me back for a bit

 

[Twookie]

Man isn't Amazon more associated with Multishot or Homing Arrow, and what's that ball lightning attack.

Multishot and Homing arrow is sorta Valla's schtick so I fully understand them not doing the same thing again

 

[Pooya]

One thing of note is that you can spend gold to reroll your box.

That's pretty good considering boxes have pre set quality. You can reroll your duplicate legendary.

 

[i HeaR MusiC]

Why are people trying to spin this as a bad thing?

One of my biggest issues with this game was the slow progression and lack of reasons to progress.

 

[Niceguydan8]

At this point I wish they would cut the price of heroes way down at the very least. I already have most of them, but I think it makes sense now that the heroes aren't going to be the big draw for money.

I have been reading that the hero prices overall seem to be lower. Maybe not "way down," but lower

 

[Alur]

You can still buy items directly to my understanding.

Skins are sort of purchasable now so long as they are included in a bundle. That means most every new skin will be purchasable directly, but you can't purchase the old ones directly unless they get thrown into a bundle later.

From the site (http://us.battle.net/heroes/en/heroes20/progression/#cashing-in):

New Currency: Gems

Get them: You can use real money to purchase Gems in the Gem Shop. You'll also receive free Gems at regular intervals just by reaching certain account level milestones.

Spend them on: Loot Chests, Heroes, Stimpacks, and featured items (such as Bundles).

 

[Cels]

The best case scenario is to provide all the heroes (gameplay stuff) for free ala Dota. Until they do that I won't touch the game.

exactly

any other business model are inferior for the player, although i'm sure they can work well for companies' bottom line

 

[Lucifon]

Because they also contain a lot of useless junk, a la sprays in Overwatch. That stuff is tired and really doesn't work in a MOBA. Those free skins will also be few and far between for sure, hence all of the filler items to pad it out as much as possible. Just think it was largely unnecessary, not that it's inherently 'bad'.

But right now you can't earn those things for free whatsoever...

 

[Calm Killer]

Just finished getting all heroes yesterday. The Gold Grind was long but fun. Now they announce this and I wonder how it will affect someone like me that has all heroes. Glad I can actually level past Account level 40. I welcome these changes.

 

[zoukka]

Any changes to the progression are welcome.

 

[scoobs]

I used to play this game everyday for at least 6 hours until they took out duo q from hero league. Probably dumped $400+ into it. I never really understood why they have multiple q's for ranked. Went from my favorite game to uninstalled. I will check out the new stuff but I have no interest in playing it anymore beyond that unless I can play with my friend. They have made so many weird decisions with this game.

You can play team league, unranked draft, brawls, and quick match with your friend.

 

[Mechazawa]

That's fantastic since they still let you buy the skins directly.

Doubly fantastic because this'll otherwise get me cosmetics I likely wouldn't have bought. Only cosmetic I've bought over the years was Space Marine Murky.

 

[Acerac]

Neat. I might give this game another shot til the ridiculously toxic player base drives me off again.

If I grouped with GAF I probably wouldn't have those issues.

 

[Delstius]

This is great, I'll come back to see how the game has evolved.