Developer Q&A Briefly Summarized

Q: How does Heroes of the Storm differ from your standard MOBA game?
A: Different maps, characters from all off Blizzard's games.

Q: Is there any environment stuff that increases movement speed?
A: Only Dragon Knight so far.

Q: Will we see characters from old games such as The Lost Vikings and Blackthorne?
A: Yes. "No promises though. - Dustin"

Q: Will it be new player friendly?
A: We are attempting make the game as new-player-friendly as possible.

Q: Can we expect motes like /dance /whatever?
A: Yes, it's already in the game.

Q: What do you think about people calling the game casual? Will it be competitive?
A: We will create all tools possible to make it competitive, its up to the community.

Q: Will there be a spectator client when the beta goes live?
A: Yes.

Q: How will you deal with disconnected players?
A: Once, nothing. If you disconnect too often, you will get penalised. If you disconnect, you can reconnect.

Q: With shared levels and experience points, are you worried that the team that hits level 6 first will get a huge advantage?
A: Having these breakpoints creates strategies. These breakpoints lasts for about 20 seconds. It's not a huge problem, it just creates interesting strategy. So far, it has not been a problem.

Q: Are you guys going to introduce the Blizzard map editor to Heroes of the Storm?
A: Yes we will add it, we have some issues to solve first. But yes, we will add it for sure. We are super excited for the "modders".

Q: Is Heroes of the Storm going to have a Mac client?
A: Yes.

Q: Is it going to be Free to play?
A. Yes.

Q: How does talents work? Are they different for each hero?
A: Each hero has their own talents. Some heroes have the same talent, for example a +20 attack talent. But each hero has their own talents. Talents can also change the visuals on the hero.

Q: Could you explain the shared XP and gold income?
A: Anyone near a kill will get XP for their team. As long as your team is spread out you get the maximum income of XP for the team. If the bottom lane is empty, the team does not get XP from that lane. Killing provides gold to the entire team.

Q: Will Heroes of the Storm be as exciting to play as to watch it?
A: We are trying hard to make it awesome to watch.

Q: If I pick Diablo, will I be able to look like something from Starcraft?
A: Yes, we will have a lot of different skins.

Click here for a more in-depth transcript and to discuss!

Published December 17, 2013