Blizzard has announced a new change in the current meta for Heroes of the Storm. Early deaths been given notice by Blizzard and have taken steps in making sure that gamers understand the importance of keeping a team effort and leveling up as steady as possible. A snowball effect with leveling up has also been given notice by Blizzard in order to level the playing field as smoothly as possible. The changes in the Nexus will roll out by October 6th.
An official blog post from Blizzard was released last week to shed light on the changes that are about to happen. While these adjustments may be a bit frustrating or possibly difficult for some players, it seems to be an appropriate move in Blizzard's part to update and upgrade the Nexus as they see fit. Blizzard states that they are making the change based on gaming observations in the first half of playing, and that these changes should be able to help set up a team as well as give importance to keeping alive early on in a game. Blizzard identified that the large stat difference in the early stages of the game are shifting in order to mirror later levels that emphasize character abilities instead of level increase, giving apt importance to team effort early out. Simply put, level 7 versus level 9 stat difference will mirror level 17 and 19.
GameSpot offers a healthy explanation. The changes are positive, even if players may be shocked to find that the most significant and identifiable change is in the death timers early out in the game. Blizzard has released an official list of death timer increase that starts out with a hefty 6-second increase in dying at level 1, respawning from 9 seconds to the increased 15 seconds. The death timer levels out by level 10, with no change in the mid to higher levels. This is again significant in order to solidify team effort and to effectively encourage players to prevent teammates from getting killed early out. The change also serves as a preventive measure from a snowball effect in the game. Blizzard observes that teams that fall behind on leveling up find it difficult to catch up.
The change in the overall meta comes in the wake of Blizzard's additional characters taken from StarCraft characters Artanis and Lt. Morales. Polygon takes a closer look at the new medic, featuring character health regeneration, healing, character transport to safety, and throwing grenades. The new medic presents a strong contrast to an already established character like Artamis in that the new medic in Lt. Morales is a completely fresh and assertive character, leaning towards a cheeky, Brood War direction.
Blizzard's new changes will take effect soon, with additional characters and changes in the whole Nexus, lending a new, positive spin to Heroes of the Storm's overall meta.
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