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Heroes of the Storm – Beginner’s Guide

This beginner’s guide to Heroes of the Storm is for those who want to understand the key mechanics, objectives, and gameplay. Specific hero builds, tactics and maps are described in our detailed guides.

Blizzard defines the Heroes of the Storm genre as Hero Brawler, but it is very close to MOBA, so we assume that the reader has no experience in this genre. The closest analogues of Heroes of the Storm are League of Legends and DOTA2. If you have played these games before, some sections of the guide may seem useless to you, but it should be noted that Heroes of the Storm differs in some respects from its counterparts.

For a beginner, the mechanics of MOBA may seem overly complicated, but such games are deservedly popular. They have a certain depth that you have to discover, and it’s a lot of fun! The main problem with MOBA games is the high barriers to entry, but our guide will help you smooth out the rough edges. Let’s start with the basics.

What is the Purpose of the Game?

The goal of every match in Heroes of the Storm is to destroy the enemy Nexus. The Nexus is the team’s base that looks like a large building emitting lightning. The first team to destroy the enemy Nexus is considered the winner. It’s simple, isn’t it?

Five heroes, including yours, appear at their base along with the warriors and head along paths called lines to the enemy base, where opponents (heroes and warriors) appear. The lines and enemies will be described below, but for now let’s talk more about the warriors.

Heroes and Experience Points

Heroes are small creatures who fight by your side. Experience is a key concept because it is required to level up the character. By accumulating experience, heroes become stronger and can use talents of a higher level.

How do I get experience? You can:

Stay close to enemy warriors when they die;
Capture mercenary camps and kill bosses;
Destroy enemy towers and forts;
Kill enemy heroes.

If you are in a lane and see an enemy creature die, notice the purple text indicating how much experience you gained. In Heroes of the Storm, experience is accumulated by the team as a whole, i.e. the experience gained by all players is cumulative. You will get the bulk of the experience by standing in the lanes and killing enemy soldiers.

Up-Grading

As the level of the team increases, you gain access to new, stronger talents for heroes, as well as increase their basic characteristics (amount of health and attack power). Talents unlock at levels 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 20. After level 20, pumping will continue, but you will not receive new talents. Some talents are unique, while others are available to two or more heroes. At level 10, you can choose a heroic ability (the so-called “ult”), which significantly increases the potential of the character. Usually, the first team to reach level 10 tends to initiate a team battle in which they have significant advantages. General advice on talent selection is difficult to give because talents of different heroes differ significantly, besides, many of them are purely situational.

Nevertheless, the best are:

Talents that increase attack speed or health regeneration;
Talents to match your playstyle;
Talents that will be useful to you on a specific map or in a specific team;
Suppose you play as a fighter, and among your allies there is only one support hero – Tyrande (far from the best healer). In this case, talents that increase the amount of health or increase the speed of regeneration will come in handy. This way you can absorb more damage and live longer in team fights.

If you’re unsure of which talent to choose, follow these tips. To get started, try playing co-op against the AI. Here you will not have to compete with other players, and you can experience the build without fear of letting your team down. In addition, there are various talent calculators (for example, on HeroesFire or HeroesNexus) that allow you to evaluate the build as a whole. Talking about talents can be endless, so we recommend that you experiment and find the right option empirically.

Map Objectives

Map objectives are an important part of the game. In fact, knowing the goals and the best ways to achieve them is the key to victory. Here’s the quick info you’ll need:

Cursed Hollow: During a match, gifts appear at random locations that appear on the map as blue-green skulls. Collect the gift by right clicking on it. The team that has collected three gifts will curse the opponents. Under the influence of the curse, the health level of warriors drops to 1 unit, and the towers are deprived of the opportunity to attack.

Dragon Shire: Capture the shrines at the top and bottom of the map as early as possible. Wait for the progress bar to fill up and then activate the Dragon Knight statue in the center of the map by right-clicking on it. The dragon knight effectively destroys towers, so it should be used exclusively for punching lines. Use fire breath to damage multiple targets (heroes and warriors) at the same time, and then switch back to buildings.

Garden of Horrors: Once night falls, collect seeds by killing creatures and bosses at the top or bottom of the map. Once your team has collected 100 seeds, one of the players will be able to summon the Horror of the Gardens. Use Horror to turn opponents into harmless creatures and disable enemy buildings. The Garden Horror moves faster than the Dragon Knight, so you can move between lanes using Overgrowth and let your allies finish off buildings, or focus on one lane trying to get as far as possible.

Blackheart’s Cove: Collect coins by capturing mercenary camps, slaying skeletons and opening treasure chests. Bribe Blackheart’s ghost pirate to fire his ship against enemy buildings. This is a unique map, on which it is more profitable to collect coins than to participate in skirmishes.

Phantom Mines: When the mines open, quickly go inside and collect as many skulls as possible by killing skeletons. After that, you can summon the golem. Teams are advised to enter the mines in full force, because most likely they will have to fight each other for skulls.

Heavenly Temple: Capture temples from their territory. Don’t let the guards and enemy heroes destroy your towers. There is a large and difficult boss mercenary at the bottom of the map. To fight with him, wait for the right moment (for example, when your team gains full control over the map or opponents die and wait for the resurrection at the base).

Winning Tips

While there is no one-size-fits-all guide to winning any match, we have a few general tips for beginners.

Each lane must have at least one hero until the team reaches level 5. You shouldn’t try to capture the lookout tower, but if the whole team decided to use the opposite tactics, follow your allies, especially if you are playing a support hero.
Closer to level 5, targets will appear on the map, and the whole team should focus on them. On some maps, to achieve the goal, all players will need to gather at one point (for example, to seize a gift in the Cursed Hollow). On other maps, players have to stay dispersed (for example, to capture several objects in the Heavenly Temple). At the same time, one should not completely forget about allies. Success in Heroes of the Storm depends a lot on teamwork.
If you are not busy completing goals, stand on one of the lines or go to capture mercenary camps. Remember that mercenaries are best at pushing through lines, but if you don’t give them the support they need, the enemy team will quickly take out their newfound allies.
Heroic abilities unlock at level 10. This is the right moment to group up and begin to accomplish objectives together, capture mercenary camps and push the lines with their help. Move in a group until the very end of the match.

Team Fights

Team fights are fun! This is where the ability to negotiate with allies and act together will come in handy. However, in most cases, teamfighting at low levels is a futile endeavor. If you see an enemy, this does not mean that you should immediately attack him. Again, there is no single algorithm that prescribes exactly how to act in a given situation. We can only give general advice to help you make the right decision.

The Right Moment to Attack:

The enemy is having difficulty reaching the goal, while your team has the advantage.
Enemy is trying to capture the mercenary camp, and you can compete with him (usually comes down to numerical superiority).
The enemy is trying to push through your line, and you can save the situation. By maintaining the integrity of the towers, you will benefit your team.
Enemy has captured a strategically important point, and you can drive him out of this position. Towards the end of the game, the resurrection timers increase significantly, and the death of an enemy hero can dramatically change the balance. You will bring maximum benefit to your team by eliminating one or more enemy heroes from the field before proceeding with the objectives.

Inappropriate Moment to Attack:

The enemy just caught your eye. Most maps have a limited field of view. It is possible that the target is simply trying to lure you into a trap or distract you from performing important tasks.
You want to capture the observation tower. On most maps (with the exception of the Sky Temple), lookout towers do not play a special role. Of course, it is beneficial to have a tower at your disposal, but it is definitely not worth risking your life for it.
The enemy has already reached level 10, and you have not.
Consider the following example. You are playing on the Cursed Hollow map. The enemy team has just reached level 10 and is heading towards the boon to capture it, and your team recently reached level 9. This is a disgusting moment for a team fight. With proper coordination, a lagging team can prevent the enemy from seizing the gift, but if you are not confident in your abilities, it is better not to risk it. If you are unable to delay the enemy team, consider an alternative strategy. Is there a mercenary camp somewhere nearby? You will be able to attract additional allies to your side and go to the lane, gaining the missing experience and the opportunity to fight on an equal footing. If you enter the battle headlong, you face certain death, but if you choose a workaround, you will have mercenaries able to break through to the enemy base, as well as a chance to level the score.
Before an important target appears on the map. Of course, it all depends on the specific situation, but in most cases, before the target appears, you will need a full supply of health and mana. For example, if you die before the appearance of the gift or the opening of the mine, your allies will have to cope with their tasks four together. When trying to accomplish important goals, proceed with the utmost care and always communicate your intentions to other team members.

Conclusion

We hope you managed to navigate the flow of new information. Bookmark this page so that you can re-read the sections you want to read if necessary. Don’t be afraid to experiment and don’t take mistakes too personally!