Whether you’re a lapsed player or a new fan
Three years ago, then-Blizzard-president J Allen Brack (remember those weird times?)delivered what was henceforth known as the “Brack Letter,”which dropped the hammer ofHeroes of the Stormesports and essentially put the game in maintenance mode. It was a devastating blow for the community, but it persisted, and is as strong as ever. If you wanted to catch up with all theHeroes of the Storm2022 goings-on, this is the place!
Here are a few waysHeroes of the Storm(which is still free-to-play) continues to cement its legacy, and differentiate itself from a lot of the other MOBAs out there.
The CCL (esports league)
Just because Blizzard killed official esport support, it doesn’t mean that esports ever really died forHeroes of the Storm.
In short, the Heroes CCL (or Heroes Community Clash League) is now the defacto big dogHeroes of the Stormesport organization. You can find the full rundown on how and why it was createdhere.
Here’s the latest info on season 4 (and the org itself) directly from CCL leadership:
“HeroesCCL Season 4 is a 13-week long Heroes of the Storm league composed of Masters-plus players from any region. HeroesCCL is owned and operated by Wisdom Gaming Group d/b/a Heroes Hearth and not affiliated with or administrated by Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. in any way. The eight (8) Orgs from Season 3 will continue to be a part of CCL and those Orgs are selected by CCL Admin. Orgs are responsible for drafting their team, managing their rosters and paying Players their monthly stipend and prize money.”
That’s right, they’re onseason 4, which is a testament to how passionate everyone is aboutHeroesesports, from top to bottom. CCL games will kick off on Saturdays and Sundays at 2PM ET, and the regular season into the playoffs will run from May 7 through May 28, 2025 (with pre-season starting on April 8). If you’re interested, you may apply via the free agent pool here. Yes, the CCL has a free agent pool: it’s arguably more put together and better ran than a lot of officially supported/publisher-ran esports orgs.
Speaking of generalHeroesesports happenings, there was evena bigHeroes of the StormLAN tournamentrecently in Miami, Florida. If you’re looking for more; Khaldor, one of the finest commentators inHOTShistory, is still going strong,providing recaps and commentaries on their YouTube channel, just in case you wanted to chase that old esports BlizzCon finals high.
The Into the Nexus podcast
Into the Nexus is one of the longest-running Blizzard podcasts, and in my eyes, the finest.
Without missing a beat, hosts Garrett and Kyle dive into the latestHeroes of the Stormevents and patches in granular detail, and aren’t afraid to shy away from topics involving Blizzard’s current situation. If there’s a new piece ofHeroesnews happening, they’re typically talking about it first. You can find the homepage for the podcasthere(if you aren’t seeing the latest episodes on the hub,check here), and they’re supported bytheir Patreon campaign.
Kylealso has a YouTube channel that is very approachable. Speaking of YouTube!
YouTube and evergreen tutorials
For a game likeHeroes of the Storm, which has been around for along timeand has undergone so many changes and character reworks, it’s super hard to find up-to-date info.
A lot of esports/strategy sites have came and went, and although they provided fantastic information at the time; some of it is outdated, due to reworks that fundamentally altered the characters so much that they barely resemble their former selves.
Kiyeberries’ YouTube channelhas a host of videos on the recentHeroesmeta.Fan has been doing similar videosfor quite some time now.The aforementioned Grubby is also an invaluable resource, and they create general interestHeroesvideos, too.The same goes for NotParadox.
Some older videos are helpful though (like Kala’s coaching series), as they go over basic MOBA/Heroes of the Stormprinciples that are still in place today.
HOTSLogs and data trackers
Once you’re actually playing and have exhausted all your tutorial resources, it’s time to get a little more precise.That’s where HOTSLogs comes in, which provides winrate and talent data based onHeroes of the Stormreplay files. It’s just one tool in your toolkit, but looking at what currently works and what doesn’t can be very helpful when deciding which character to try out, especially at higher ranks.
Into the unknown
Who knows what Microsoft is going to do with the IP.
But in my mind, it’s ripe for a rejuvenation of the development team with more resources, a full “3.0” launch, and possibly even an engine upgrade (to alleviate technical concerns and push the game forward for the next 10 years with a higher ceiling). TheHeroesteam has created something really special over the past eight years or so (more than that if you count pre-technical-alpha development), and it deserves to live on.
In any case it’s alive right now, so take advantage of it! If you’re looking for even more resources,you can find them on the Nexus Compendium.
[Editor’s note: Originally another content creator was linked in the YouTube section, but was removed after a community heads-up. Similarly, some were added, to make the section more comprehensive.]
