Who is the best Heroes of the Storm player in the world? KR EDITION, Chinese results and more!
Posted: 19 Dec 2016 03:57 PM PST
Thanks for those who participated in the chinese poll! Not much participated but that is understandable considering we do not know much about the China scene. I have decided to add the former players of Tempest (with the exception of HongCono) to the poll because I am not sure whether they're on a team or not.
And now the top 5 chinese players:
Here is the Korean Poll:
https://goo.gl/forms/Gs0LYi8LR5euBP5H3
I've also decided to make it top 10 KR players because Korea OP.
Link to EU results:
https://www.reddit.com/r/heroesofthestorm/comments/5ijn90/who_is_the_best_player_in_china_eu_results_and/
Analysis coming soon in the comments.
submitted by /u/theshortone520 And now the top 5 chinese players:
| Rank | Player | Total Points | First Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | eStar XingC | 660 | 31 |
| 2 | Zero Gemini | 512 | 19 |
| 3 | Zero Six | 380 | 8 |
| 4 | eStar Tiger | 300 | 3 |
| 5 | Zero MelodyC | 244 | 6 |
https://goo.gl/forms/Gs0LYi8LR5euBP5H3
I've also decided to make it top 10 KR players because Korea OP.
Link to EU results:
https://www.reddit.com/r/heroesofthestorm/comments/5ijn90/who_is_the_best_player_in_china_eu_results_and/
Analysis coming soon in the comments.
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Heroes of the Storm Balance Update — December 20, 2016
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 09:46 AM PST
 | submitted by /u/vambaqe [link] [comments] |
It's time we get E.T.C. a Power Armor skin.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 07:48 AM PST
 | submitted by /u/Bortasz [link] [comments] |
Heroes of the Storm on Twitter - Join us Tomorrow for more !
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 09:30 AM PST
 | submitted by /u/janru [link] [comments] |
Malf's iceblock should encase him in a bunch of roots instead of ice and BW's iceblock should make him semi-invisible like WC3 Phase shift
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 07:37 AM PST
Malf's iceblock should encase him in a bunch of roots instead of ice and BW's iceblock should make him semi-invisible like WC3 Phase shift
EDIT _ WE ALL KNOW BW IS A SHE _ MISTAKES WERE MADE
submitted by /u/AnatlusNayr EDIT _ WE ALL KNOW BW IS A SHE _ MISTAKES WERE MADE
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It's time to admit the players aren't the problem : Lava Wave is.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 01:20 AM PST
I'll start this long explanation by stating those facts : Sulfuras Smash has 52.2% winrate, and Lava Wave has 65% winrate currently, according to hotslogs. That's the biggest ult difference right before Thrall's Sundering (45%) vs Earthquake (56%).
While it is common to admit that the players are the problem when it comes to lava wave thanks to the prometheus school of run away (tm), there is a far, far bigger problem that is not seen with lava wave.
Not to mention "dodging" is hard when you combo it with Earthquake, Horrify, Emerald Wind, or Mighty Gust.
I propose that Lava Wave's cooldown is changed to be from 150 to 180 seconds of cooldown. It is WAY too easy to use and abuse right now.
The upgrade should also be changed in consequence to being a straight up CD reduction without the second charge. Having a lava wave on top of a lava wave is prettttty broken when it comes to denial.
TL;DR : Lava Wave needs a nerf because it's an amazing defending tool, attacking tool, splitpushing tool, and killing tool. While it is supposed to fulfill those objectives as it is Lava, the cooldown is just way too easy to abuse, hence why it should be nerfed there.
submitted by /u/Nintales While it is common to admit that the players are the problem when it comes to lava wave thanks to the prometheus school of run away (tm), there is a far, far bigger problem that is not seen with lava wave.
Lava Wave Denies All The Minion Waves
Why is that important? It gives Ragnaros' team the advantage over the lane that is waved. If there's a huge objective incoming (like a 2/3 vs 2/3 trib on cursed), or some big pushing in a lane (punisher going bot), and that the rag waves a catapult vs catapult lane, he's straight up giving his team a huge advantage because the enemy team won't be able to clear the lane unless they have global mobility, who will have to wait until the lava wave is gone.Lava Wave Destroys Heroes And Therefore Denies Pushing
Lava Wave deals a fuckton of damage to heroes standing, moving backwards, or moving sidewards. The only way to dodge it is to not be there at all. That means Lava Wave is super strong at denying strong pushes. Imagine a Sylvanas wanting to help the webweavers on Tomb. She'll have a hard time helping the one in the lane Ragnaros waved, and if she already commited... Well, that's not gonna be pretty.Not to mention "dodging" is hard when you combo it with Earthquake, Horrify, Emerald Wind, or Mighty Gust.
Lava Wave Denies The Whole Lane's Area Whenever It Is There And Therefore Annihilates Any Kind Of Defense
Since Lava Wave destroys heroes and wrecks minions, it is by far the best zoning tool in the entire game. Going into the lava wave is dying. That means that a Lava Wave puts you out of the zone the whole time it is there, and with its travelling speed, it can be the time for the enemy team to Apocalypse you and kill you. The zoning is part of lava wave's problem, as it can split teams around, giving Ragnaros instant advantage. It is therefore incredible to support pushing, especially on Shrines with a John Cena running around.Simply Put : Lava Wave's Cooldown Is The Issue As Destroying Is What Lava Is Supposed To Do.
I'll say that Lava Wave as it is fulfills its objective, thematically. It's a massive lava burst that completely shreds everything in its way. However, it is too easy to use. 100 sec, and then 90x2 of CD is just ludicrous compared to the value it gives. Just look at Hinterland Blast and you know something is wrong.I propose that Lava Wave's cooldown is changed to be from 150 to 180 seconds of cooldown. It is WAY too easy to use and abuse right now.
The upgrade should also be changed in consequence to being a straight up CD reduction without the second charge. Having a lava wave on top of a lava wave is prettttty broken when it comes to denial.
TL;DR : Lava Wave needs a nerf because it's an amazing defending tool, attacking tool, splitpushing tool, and killing tool. While it is supposed to fulfill those objectives as it is Lava, the cooldown is just way too easy to abuse, hence why it should be nerfed there.
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Quick Appreciation for McIntyre and Srey
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 06:04 AM PST
Now I'm not one that particularly likes "appreciation posts" but in this case I thought I would make an exception.
Dreadnaught recantly did an AMA that got a lot of attention on reddit and one of the talking points was that he plans to resume providing content on his youtube channel because the community and he both feel that quality content provided by HoTS pro's is fairly hard to come by.
I feel that both Srey and McIntyre have consistently been providing us with steady content including Srey's "How good is (X)? and map guides and McIntyre's Hero build Guides + Gameplay as well as Replay Analysis on youtube - they both also do Patch note reviews and Tier lists and weather or not you agree with what they are saying or not I feel they definitely deserve some recognition and support for their time, effort and passion for this game.
Any Pro/high level players actively providing content for our community is amazing!
if you have the time and interest hop over to their channels and twitch and support their effort with a like and/or subscription
McIntyre's youtube
Srey's youtube
Dreadnaught's AMA
p.s. - also a big thanks to ALL other Pros/casters/High level players/content providers - keep up the good work. the community and fellow players really appreciate it!
submitted by /u/Erdeseb Dreadnaught recantly did an AMA that got a lot of attention on reddit and one of the talking points was that he plans to resume providing content on his youtube channel because the community and he both feel that quality content provided by HoTS pro's is fairly hard to come by.
I feel that both Srey and McIntyre have consistently been providing us with steady content including Srey's "How good is (X)? and map guides and McIntyre's Hero build Guides + Gameplay as well as Replay Analysis on youtube - they both also do Patch note reviews and Tier lists and weather or not you agree with what they are saying or not I feel they definitely deserve some recognition and support for their time, effort and passion for this game.
Any Pro/high level players actively providing content for our community is amazing!
if you have the time and interest hop over to their channels and twitch and support their effort with a like and/or subscription
McIntyre's youtube
Srey's youtube
Dreadnaught's AMA
p.s. - also a big thanks to ALL other Pros/casters/High level players/content providers - keep up the good work. the community and fellow players really appreciate it!
[link] [comments]
Cris silenced on stream after asking people to report him. Nice report system.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 06:34 AM PST
 | submitted by /u/antiviruz [link] [comments] |
Shout out to Blizz from a poor Uni student
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 04:15 AM PST
Being constantly broke sucks, and I just want to give props to Blizzard for creating a fun game that most importantly isn't pay to win! I never enjoyed mobas before Hots, but Blizzard have once again got me hooked and saved me hours of boredom. Also a HUGE thank you to those of you who make purchases and keep the game alive. Much love.
submitted by /u/-Tenko- [link] [comments]
Current Design Direction Opinion: More Teamfight Dynamic
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 08:23 AM PST
Hello everyone, just wanted to share my opinion on the recent changes (that isn't "dodge Lava Wave" or "don't go in the mines!") and what it might mean for the future of the game.
What I think starts off this trend was Blizzard's open discussion about Vulnerable/Resistant changes and the proposed changes to Warriors/Supports. To jog your memory, it was the cleanup of the Vulnerable/Resistant status (now additive, instead of only highest value), and the suggestion to give Warriors base resistant and implement future changes to Supports as well (away from healing.
Whats very clear is that Blizzard is taking a big interest in what I like to call "Secondary Buffs/Debuffs". These include:
So why do they matter? The answer to this can be found by, again, looking at the past (my favorite!). At the end of 2015 and up to early this year, we had a very dominant meta that was generally criticized by the playerbase: the Stunlock meta. You hit stun after stun and simply blow someone up before the enemy team can react. People didn't like it because it made heroes without stuns very weak, and those that had stuns dominated the game (Oh Tyrande). Next up we had a big teamfight meta that centered around big damage, resets somewhere in there, big heals, and lightning fast reflexes. This meta, while extremely exciting to watch, again left so many heroes in the dust because they simply were outshined by other more popular choices.
Things get a little mushy from here, but I feel there was a bit of a hybrid meta, with the global/hyper-carry meta. With mount speed nerfs and stun nerfs, ganking and rotations became much weaker, meaning splitpushnig and global presence both could lay their cards on the table. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Global presence can generaly trump splitpushing, and the objective-base nature of Heroes, splitpushing gave way for global presence (sorry Gazlowe, still love you.) There was also the hyper-carry meta, with assassins becoming more like Sgt. Hammer in the sense they didn't play as "all-rounders" but rather a "big cannon surrounded by a wall of teammates". Valla, Tychus, Hammer, Illidan, Greymane (to some degree, but still struggles) and even Zarya filled in the center role, while the rest of the team either enabled the hero or goalkeepered the other strategies (e.g. Globals preventing splitpushing, CC preventing dives). This strategy is still very strong even now.
In my opinion, Blizzard wants to make Heroes of the Storm a game where there are multiple ways to win the video game. Being mechanically better in teamfights should not be the only reason to win a game. Thats why they nerfed mount speed to encourage macroplay to win games (lane management, camp timings, waveclear etc.). But the teamfight equation still seems to be the same: Health - Damage + Healing -> bigger side wins. Valla is so strong not because she can solo carry fights, but because when allowed to do damage, her output is simply unrivaled by any other hero. Since sustained dps generally have better damage output, burst heroes like Jaina and Kael struggle to find limelight. This also goes with Supports too: who has the most healing output? Uther is very strong against stunlocks, but with low healing output, he simply cannot keep the team alive. When the two teams clash head on, Valla is more valuable than Jaina for dealing more damage, and Malfurion is better than Uther for healing more as well.
Obviously, it isn't this simple and one-dimensional. Positioning, peeling, micro, reaction time and much more are all important. But all of these are "mechanical" dynamics. The mechanically better play will win most cases. This game is about mechanical skills, but it should not be ONLY about mechanical skill.
Recently, terms we hear often in the Heroes scene/community are "punish", "prioritize", and "outplay". Players realize that to win you don't only need bigger numbers and faster reflexes, but better shotcalling, teamplay, weakness identification, and target prioritization. Back in the old days it was easy to prioritize who you hit first: the hero that got stunlocked and you counter it with a big fat "NO" sign in the form of invulnerability, cleanse, huge healing etc. The "Secondary Status Buffs/Debuffs" add WAY more dynamic into this equation, without making it so easy and obvious. Here's some examples:
And that also may explain the idea to nerf healing on supports. We don't want them to solely play the role of "anti damage", split only really into "anti-burst" and "anti-sustained". Supports need to affect the game dynamic in more ways than just "mitigate damage" or "replenish health". We have seen this very thoroughly since Auriel's release. Here are some examples:
submitted by /u/DonaldMorden What I think starts off this trend was Blizzard's open discussion about Vulnerable/Resistant changes and the proposed changes to Warriors/Supports. To jog your memory, it was the cleanup of the Vulnerable/Resistant status (now additive, instead of only highest value), and the suggestion to give Warriors base resistant and implement future changes to Supports as well (away from healing.
Whats very clear is that Blizzard is taking a big interest in what I like to call "Secondary Buffs/Debuffs". These include:
- Vulnerable/Resistant
- Mortal (low healing)
- Movement Speed/Slow (to some degree)
- Stealth/Unrevealable/Vision
- Block/Ability Reduction
- Damage Reduction/Ability Damage reduction
- Ability Power/Basic Attack Buff
- Attack Speed Slow/Increase
- Isolated
So why do they matter? The answer to this can be found by, again, looking at the past (my favorite!). At the end of 2015 and up to early this year, we had a very dominant meta that was generally criticized by the playerbase: the Stunlock meta. You hit stun after stun and simply blow someone up before the enemy team can react. People didn't like it because it made heroes without stuns very weak, and those that had stuns dominated the game (Oh Tyrande). Next up we had a big teamfight meta that centered around big damage, resets somewhere in there, big heals, and lightning fast reflexes. This meta, while extremely exciting to watch, again left so many heroes in the dust because they simply were outshined by other more popular choices.
Things get a little mushy from here, but I feel there was a bit of a hybrid meta, with the global/hyper-carry meta. With mount speed nerfs and stun nerfs, ganking and rotations became much weaker, meaning splitpushnig and global presence both could lay their cards on the table. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Global presence can generaly trump splitpushing, and the objective-base nature of Heroes, splitpushing gave way for global presence (sorry Gazlowe, still love you.) There was also the hyper-carry meta, with assassins becoming more like Sgt. Hammer in the sense they didn't play as "all-rounders" but rather a "big cannon surrounded by a wall of teammates". Valla, Tychus, Hammer, Illidan, Greymane (to some degree, but still struggles) and even Zarya filled in the center role, while the rest of the team either enabled the hero or goalkeepered the other strategies (e.g. Globals preventing splitpushing, CC preventing dives). This strategy is still very strong even now.
In my opinion, Blizzard wants to make Heroes of the Storm a game where there are multiple ways to win the video game. Being mechanically better in teamfights should not be the only reason to win a game. Thats why they nerfed mount speed to encourage macroplay to win games (lane management, camp timings, waveclear etc.). But the teamfight equation still seems to be the same: Health - Damage + Healing -> bigger side wins. Valla is so strong not because she can solo carry fights, but because when allowed to do damage, her output is simply unrivaled by any other hero. Since sustained dps generally have better damage output, burst heroes like Jaina and Kael struggle to find limelight. This also goes with Supports too: who has the most healing output? Uther is very strong against stunlocks, but with low healing output, he simply cannot keep the team alive. When the two teams clash head on, Valla is more valuable than Jaina for dealing more damage, and Malfurion is better than Uther for healing more as well.
Obviously, it isn't this simple and one-dimensional. Positioning, peeling, micro, reaction time and much more are all important. But all of these are "mechanical" dynamics. The mechanically better play will win most cases. This game is about mechanical skills, but it should not be ONLY about mechanical skill.
Recently, terms we hear often in the Heroes scene/community are "punish", "prioritize", and "outplay". Players realize that to win you don't only need bigger numbers and faster reflexes, but better shotcalling, teamplay, weakness identification, and target prioritization. Back in the old days it was easy to prioritize who you hit first: the hero that got stunlocked and you counter it with a big fat "NO" sign in the form of invulnerability, cleanse, huge healing etc. The "Secondary Status Buffs/Debuffs" add WAY more dynamic into this equation, without making it so easy and obvious. Here's some examples:
- That warrior only has half health, but has a 50% resistant on them.
- Dehaka just got Vulnerable on his W, so we shouldn't clump up.
- Kharazim is out of position, but since he can get block charges, I shouldn't focus my damage onto him as Samuro
- While Zeratul is a threat, the fact that Chen can reduce ability damage means I should prioritize peeling him off Jaina
- I have Ancestral, but Xul still hasn't used his Mortal Wound Q. Team don't engage.
- I can Hunters Mark to make a target Vulnerable, but should I use it on Diablo since hes confidently diving in relying on his Q resistant, or should I use it on the enemy Brightwing to deter her from moving forward and helping Diablo so we can kill him?
And that also may explain the idea to nerf healing on supports. We don't want them to solely play the role of "anti damage", split only really into "anti-burst" and "anti-sustained". Supports need to affect the game dynamic in more ways than just "mitigate damage" or "replenish health". We have seen this very thoroughly since Auriel's release. Here are some examples:
- Auriel has the unique role of amplifying team synergy into healing numbers, meaning she works very well with the hyper carry meta.
- Rehgar now fulfills for of a "damage amplification" role, rather than Ancestral bot
- Brightwing specializes in the global presence department
- Malfurion not only has good CC, but also has the unique ability to restore mana and reduce cooldowns
- Morales is the only support with a precision displacement that isn't only "get away from me"
- Kharazim is the only support with % damage, which ignores resistant, meaning he can be picked against high-resistant comps (I think?)
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Fear the walking trees or how treant is more powerful than you'll ever know.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 04:37 AM PST
When browsing through Hotslogs, as one is prone to do when searching for the next-level strategies you need to dominate in Hero League, I might have stumbled upon the most overpowered creature in HotS. The treant. The Vengeful Roots talent description reads:
Now I can hear your objection that of course treant is going to have this high a win rate because it stomps through Bronze Level players and they can't do anything to prevent it. While true, treant is as powerful against Master League players. In the last month Vengeful Root's has a 62.5% win rate against Master players over 995 games while the more popular, and inferior, Elune's Grace only has a win rate of 54.9%.
Clearly there is a small group of master players that are keeping this secret to themselves while they rack up the wins. Who are they? Do they have any connections to Blizzard? Why don't their opponents react to getting killed by the treant over and over again? I don't know if we'll ever get the answers.
I hope I don't get in trouble for bringing this information to light but people have the right to know.
The treant - his bite is worse than his bark.
submitted by /u/Duerfian Entangling Roots also spawns a Treant that does 67 (+4% per level) damage per second and lasts 10 seconds.Looks innocent enough but the last month players who pick Vengeful Roots have won 57.4% of HL games. Players who pick the other, clearly inferior, talents have won 52.1% (Elune's Grace), 51.6% (Versatile). In fact no other Malfurion talent from level 1 to 13 have even close to the win percentage of Vengeful Roots. Only at level 16 do we see a single talent (Lunar Shower) with a higher win rate and we all know by then the game is basically over so it doesn't really matter.
Now I can hear your objection that of course treant is going to have this high a win rate because it stomps through Bronze Level players and they can't do anything to prevent it. While true, treant is as powerful against Master League players. In the last month Vengeful Root's has a 62.5% win rate against Master players over 995 games while the more popular, and inferior, Elune's Grace only has a win rate of 54.9%.
Clearly there is a small group of master players that are keeping this secret to themselves while they rack up the wins. Who are they? Do they have any connections to Blizzard? Why don't their opponents react to getting killed by the treant over and over again? I don't know if we'll ever get the answers.
I hope I don't get in trouble for bringing this information to light but people have the right to know.
The treant - his bite is worse than his bark.
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Chromie Winter Veil Skin 2017
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 09:23 AM PST
Elf with a Santa hat and holiday garb.
Abilities:
partial idea credit: Janny96
submitted by /u/followATEVA Abilities:
- Sand Blast > Snowball
- Dragon's Breath > Snow Avalanche
- Time Trap > Snow Globe
- Slowing Sands > Snowstorm
- Temporal Loop > Holiday Clock that counts down to "midnight"
partial idea credit: Janny96
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At least put a "reconnect" button on the "You were dropped!" screen.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 08:00 AM PST
I understand networking is hard and some issues are user - side. But is there any reason why I have to quit the game to rejoin? And being threatened by the quit screen?
submitted by /u/Sithrak [link] [comments]
At least "Snowbally" maps favor the WINNING team. Haunted Mines does nothing for the team that actually played well and got the skulls
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 02:37 AM PST
Winning fights? Got camp timings before going in? Juke city dodges followed by wombo combo for 4man team wipes in the mines? Nope sorry enemy team Ragnaros still pushing keep outside.
submitted by /u/MercCamp [link] [comments]
I like that there's no more duos in HL, but...
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 05:23 AM PST
The queue times for Duo in TL is insane. I just want to play with my buddy and we get this queue: http://imgur.com/a/JhNPp. The game turned out to be a 13 minute 48 seconds or 828 seconds, which means that the queue was over 1,5 times as long as the game which is just rediculous.
Don't get me wrong, I really like the fact that I don't see tracer tassadar every other game in HL, but playing with my friend is just as frustrating if not more now.
submitted by /u/Sakheteu Don't get me wrong, I really like the fact that I don't see tracer tassadar every other game in HL, but playing with my friend is just as frustrating if not more now.
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Voidwalker Ragnoros
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 07:31 AM PST
Someone please do a fan art for this, I think it woulda been cooler than 'Lil Ragnoros.
submitted by /u/vittraaa [link] [comments]
Lava Wave CD increased by 20 seconds
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 09:36 AM PST
not sure what other changes happened in the patch just now, but let the rejoicing begin
i am glad they got this out before the christmas holidays, thanks blizzard
submitted by /u/Venicide1492 i am glad they got this out before the christmas holidays, thanks blizzard
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Bad matchmaking in TL (GM point of view)
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 04:51 AM PST
http://imgur.com/37L8YEy (we're all GM player, we just didn't play yet)
It was around 2 AM (CET), we waited for more than 20 minutes to find this game. Needless to say, we won the game easily.
Our opinions are differents, some think that's it's fun to stomp and blizzard can't do anything against it anyway (they are probably right on this point)
But in my own opinion, this isn't good at all. If it was only once every 30 games that could be ok (still bad but acceptable). But 80% of the time, we play against random plats and lower.
TL becomes boring, it's just farming noob team again and again, with a 10+ minute queue and 10- minute games.
I don't know if blizzard can actually do something... Lower gained points ? We already gain around 100 points instead of 270, if we remove personal adjustment, we are actually "winning" only 30 points per game. Basically nothing.
Increase queue time ? But we are already waiting a few dozen of minutes. Increasing the time would make us leave TL and make us scrim even more.
So, making TL great is probably an hopeless goal.
If you have any question or interesting comment I'd love to answer it ^
(sry i'm not english)
submitted by /u/Fourmizzz0 It was around 2 AM (CET), we waited for more than 20 minutes to find this game. Needless to say, we won the game easily.
Our opinions are differents, some think that's it's fun to stomp and blizzard can't do anything against it anyway (they are probably right on this point)
But in my own opinion, this isn't good at all. If it was only once every 30 games that could be ok (still bad but acceptable). But 80% of the time, we play against random plats and lower.
TL becomes boring, it's just farming noob team again and again, with a 10+ minute queue and 10- minute games.
I don't know if blizzard can actually do something... Lower gained points ? We already gain around 100 points instead of 270, if we remove personal adjustment, we are actually "winning" only 30 points per game. Basically nothing.
Increase queue time ? But we are already waiting a few dozen of minutes. Increasing the time would make us leave TL and make us scrim even more.
So, making TL great is probably an hopeless goal.
If you have any question or interesting comment I'd love to answer it ^
(sry i'm not english)
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Video Teaser for HOTS Official Page Facebook Livestream
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 09:35 AM PST
 | submitted by /u/killaor12 [link] [comments] |
Why Artanis isn't a tank, and why you should stop trying to solo tank with him.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 09:39 AM PST
I've noticed a significant rise in the number of Artanis (Artanises? Artani?) lately, and I do think the changes to Artanis kit are interesting. I still think he is a fundamentally flawed hero for anything but low levels of play, but he has his moments. I say this ahead of time to set the scene, you may disagree with me about how good Artanis is, but whether or not you do, it shouldn't change one fact: Artanis isn't a tank.
Now, let's define terms before we go any further. It should be very clear that warrior =/= tank in the context I'm defining terms. Blizzard has defined the warrior class, and that class includes a wide variety of playstyles. I don't think anyone here would reasonably call Sonya or Zarya tanks (at least I hope note). Sonya is primarily a damage dealer with large self sustain and wave clear, and Zarya is almost a ranged carry at the warrior position who specializes in counter engage. But neither is a tank, and very few, I believe, would contest that.
So what is a tank? A tank can serve several jobs. Not all tanks have to do all of them, but most of these should be covered:
* Managing the fight
* Protecting allies
* Enabling allies to secure kills
* Initiation
These are just some of the things tanks can do. They don't necessarily do all of them. For example, Johanna is fantastic at protecting allies, as all three abilities in her base kit can secure an ally escape, and 2 of them can easily secure kills. Punish can slow down a diver so the backline can retreat to safety. Condemn can physically pull enemies off of allies, and is a great zoning tool that makes squishy divers like Greymane and Illidan think twice before going in. Shield Glare is a great tool to disable auto attackers long enough to let a low HP hero get away. Ironskin allows Jo to prevent CC so she can continue to manage the fight as long as possible. She is amazing at protecting allies. However, generally, her initiation is weaker than other tanks unless you're willing to give up Blessed Shield early in the fight or take Falling Sword.
Lets look at one decidedly not tank:
Sonya has great initiation. Ancient spear is fantastic tool to engage off of as it has great damage, is a gap closer, has a brief stun, and put Sonya usually right in the enemy where she wants to be to get the most out of her self sustain. However, Sonya's initiation is also the closest thing she has to a peel. This is Sonya's problem. Her stun ability is needed offensively, and cannot be saved for defensive use. The only way she can protect allies is by dealing damage to the enemy team and body blocking. However, a key part of her kit, Whirlwind, actually prevents her from body blocking. Sonya can take an incredible amount of damage, especially post level 20, where she is almost unkillable without significant CC or killing her support. But this doesn't make her a tank.
Zarya can absolutely enable allies and protect them briefly. However, Zarya has poor initiation (unless the enemy team is bad enough to not dodge her ultimate, it will almost never hit anyone if fired as a solo initiation), and outside of her shields cannot peel for allies. Her only CC of any kind is in her ultimate. This means while her shield is down, she is helpless to prevent backline dives, CC Trains, etc. And her shield has a relatively low uptime. Few would argue solo warrior Zarya is a good idea (no offense DTS).
Now I know what you're thinking: "The reason Sonya isn't a tank but Artanis is because she can't take damage like Artanis." At this point, I want to point out two things. First, Sonya has insane self sustain. I would take her self sustain over Artanis in almost every situation. Second, I don't have "Take a lot of damage" on the list above, and there's a good reason for it. Azmodan can take a ton of damage. In fact, Azmodan's HP pool is larger than every tank except for Cho'Gall, Taunt form Varian, Muradin with Avatar, and Diablo with a large number of souls. Azmodan can even self sustain off laser build and Sin for Sin. So why is he never confused for a tank? 1) Because he's a specialist, and 2) Because he does none of the other 4 things I listed. This demonstrates that being able to take damage isn't enough to be a tank. Now, you have to be able to take some (see Anub'arak), but look at the most popular tanks in the meta:
These 3 are far and away the most common "main tanks" in the game, and there's good reason. Now, this isn't to say you MUST have a tank, but it's generally a good idea.
Now consider Artanis. Artanis can take a ton of damage. Cool. (See Azmodan). Let's see what else he can do.
Initation: great initiation with Phase Prism
Managing the fight: He can pull someone off the backline to the front with Phase Prism.
Enabling allies: He can finish, but doesn't do much to enable his allies to get someone low. Other than Phase Prism.
Protecting allies: Artanis has one blind on a 60 second cooldown. That and Phase Prism.
This is, in many ways, exactly the reason Sonya can't tank. The things tanks can do that involve peeling, managing, etc. all share the same cooldown. Phase Prism has a 16 second cooldown (longer than Ancient Spear, though it's better than Ancient spear at management), which usually means you'll have it up once per fight, twice if it's a sustainy fight. Yet in this one cooldown, to be a tank, you'll need it to:
Being able to take damage is useless if you can't force the enemy to direct that damage at you. Being a tank isn't just standing in front and eating damage while your DPS goes to town. It's about managing the fight to get the first kill before the enemy team, or to win space around objectives/secure structure takedowns, and about securing a disengage when the fight is going badly. Artanis can sometimes do the former, he can never do the latter.
submitted by /u/DBSmiley Now, let's define terms before we go any further. It should be very clear that warrior =/= tank in the context I'm defining terms. Blizzard has defined the warrior class, and that class includes a wide variety of playstyles. I don't think anyone here would reasonably call Sonya or Zarya tanks (at least I hope note). Sonya is primarily a damage dealer with large self sustain and wave clear, and Zarya is almost a ranged carry at the warrior position who specializes in counter engage. But neither is a tank, and very few, I believe, would contest that.
So what is a tank? A tank can serve several jobs. Not all tanks have to do all of them, but most of these should be covered:
* Managing the fight
* Protecting allies
* Enabling allies to secure kills
* Initiation
These are just some of the things tanks can do. They don't necessarily do all of them. For example, Johanna is fantastic at protecting allies, as all three abilities in her base kit can secure an ally escape, and 2 of them can easily secure kills. Punish can slow down a diver so the backline can retreat to safety. Condemn can physically pull enemies off of allies, and is a great zoning tool that makes squishy divers like Greymane and Illidan think twice before going in. Shield Glare is a great tool to disable auto attackers long enough to let a low HP hero get away. Ironskin allows Jo to prevent CC so she can continue to manage the fight as long as possible. She is amazing at protecting allies. However, generally, her initiation is weaker than other tanks unless you're willing to give up Blessed Shield early in the fight or take Falling Sword.
Lets look at one decidedly not tank:
Sonya has great initiation. Ancient spear is fantastic tool to engage off of as it has great damage, is a gap closer, has a brief stun, and put Sonya usually right in the enemy where she wants to be to get the most out of her self sustain. However, Sonya's initiation is also the closest thing she has to a peel. This is Sonya's problem. Her stun ability is needed offensively, and cannot be saved for defensive use. The only way she can protect allies is by dealing damage to the enemy team and body blocking. However, a key part of her kit, Whirlwind, actually prevents her from body blocking. Sonya can take an incredible amount of damage, especially post level 20, where she is almost unkillable without significant CC or killing her support. But this doesn't make her a tank.
Zarya can absolutely enable allies and protect them briefly. However, Zarya has poor initiation (unless the enemy team is bad enough to not dodge her ultimate, it will almost never hit anyone if fired as a solo initiation), and outside of her shields cannot peel for allies. Her only CC of any kind is in her ultimate. This means while her shield is down, she is helpless to prevent backline dives, CC Trains, etc. And her shield has a relatively low uptime. Few would argue solo warrior Zarya is a good idea (no offense DTS).
Now I know what you're thinking: "The reason Sonya isn't a tank but Artanis is because she can't take damage like Artanis." At this point, I want to point out two things. First, Sonya has insane self sustain. I would take her self sustain over Artanis in almost every situation. Second, I don't have "Take a lot of damage" on the list above, and there's a good reason for it. Azmodan can take a ton of damage. In fact, Azmodan's HP pool is larger than every tank except for Cho'Gall, Taunt form Varian, Muradin with Avatar, and Diablo with a large number of souls. Azmodan can even self sustain off laser build and Sin for Sin. So why is he never confused for a tank? 1) Because he's a specialist, and 2) Because he does none of the other 4 things I listed. This demonstrates that being able to take damage isn't enough to be a tank. Now, you have to be able to take some (see Anub'arak), but look at the most popular tanks in the meta:
- Johanna - can peel, can secure kills, can protect allies, limited engagement as described above.
- Muradin - Slows off W can protect allies and enable chase. Q can initiate or peel. Both have very low cooldowns. E allows Muradin to remain in the fight managing it as long as possible before leaving. Second wind allows Muradin to reenter the fight or assist his team on the retreat.
- ETC - Among the best engage in the game. Has fantastic peel with Face Melt, as well as seperation to enable kills. Can stay in the fight with rockstar, and prog rock helps enable his team in the fight. Further Mic Check gives him crazy uptime on Face Melt.
These 3 are far and away the most common "main tanks" in the game, and there's good reason. Now, this isn't to say you MUST have a tank, but it's generally a good idea.
Now consider Artanis. Artanis can take a ton of damage. Cool. (See Azmodan). Let's see what else he can do.
Initation: great initiation with Phase Prism
Managing the fight: He can pull someone off the backline to the front with Phase Prism.
Enabling allies: He can finish, but doesn't do much to enable his allies to get someone low. Other than Phase Prism.
Protecting allies: Artanis has one blind on a 60 second cooldown. That and Phase Prism.
This is, in many ways, exactly the reason Sonya can't tank. The things tanks can do that involve peeling, managing, etc. all share the same cooldown. Phase Prism has a 16 second cooldown (longer than Ancient Spear, though it's better than Ancient spear at management), which usually means you'll have it up once per fight, twice if it's a sustainy fight. Yet in this one cooldown, to be a tank, you'll need it to:
- Initiate
- Protect
- Enable
- Manage
Being able to take damage is useless if you can't force the enemy to direct that damage at you. Being a tank isn't just standing in front and eating damage while your DPS goes to town. It's about managing the fight to get the first kill before the enemy team, or to win space around objectives/secure structure takedowns, and about securing a disengage when the fight is going badly. Artanis can sometimes do the former, he can never do the latter.
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With the addition of multi-class heroes, maybe we can get a REAL druid?
Posted: 19 Dec 2016 03:29 PM PST
I know we have Malfurion already, and he is technically the first ever druid, but I feel I'm not the only one who feels he doesn't quite encompass the fantasy of a druid. I know it's resto, but still, I want cat form :D
Personally, I am hoping for Hamuul Runetotem or Zen'tabra. Would add a much needed tauren or troll, and would be a great opportunity for a true druid where you can choose talents for bear, cat, and maybe boomkin/treant. Maybe even a flight form talent.
submitted by /u/-BlueOSO- Personally, I am hoping for Hamuul Runetotem or Zen'tabra. Would add a much needed tauren or troll, and would be a great opportunity for a true druid where you can choose talents for bear, cat, and maybe boomkin/treant. Maybe even a flight form talent.
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Shadow Nerf to meteor build on Rag
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 10:21 AM PST
With the new balance update released today they changed the Living Meteor talent on Tier 1, Shifting Meteor from "Hit 50 Heroes to be able to re-direct meteor" to "Hit 75 Heroes", which unfortunately is not reflected on the patch notes.
Just found out in a game, where I was going over the 50 stacks, before taking a second to re-read the talent. Which to my surprise said 75 instead of 50.
Edit: Looks the´ve added the missing info post release of the balance update, I just was "TOO SOON". Thanks for pointing it out
submitted by /u/AncalagontheBlack30 Just found out in a game, where I was going over the 50 stacks, before taking a second to re-read the talent. Which to my surprise said 75 instead of 50.
Edit: Looks the´ve added the missing info post release of the balance update, I just was "TOO SOON". Thanks for pointing it out
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More Phase Prism Pron
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 07:57 AM PST
http://giphy.com/gifs/FvMXMCZxgnwgU
Got to love the Artanis, Phase Prism (E), change. This is still not half as good as the front page Black Hearts Bay swap from earlier this week.
submitted by /u/JV1002 Got to love the Artanis, Phase Prism (E), change. This is still not half as good as the front page Black Hearts Bay swap from earlier this week.
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Grubby's way to deal with Samuro balance
Posted: 19 Dec 2016 03:48 PM PST
 | submitted by /u/KaniniLisk [link] [comments] |
Keep getting lags suddenly, have to quit game to reconnect. Internet is perfectly fine. Can't reconnect. It keep reconnecting and disconnecting. Have to wait out game to start a new game.
Posted: 20 Dec 2016 01:25 AM PST
anybody having the similar problems? I have been having the same problem since Varian patch
submitted by /u/phineasherb [link] [comments]
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