Cortyn has a lot of fun in Heroes of the Storm. At least when you don’t have to play it!
My relationship with Heroes of the Storm is conflicted. I actually love the game. I like the idea of battling with the famous Blizzard heroes. I enjoy thinking about builds beforehand or coming up with cool ideas for devastating ultimate combinations in the team.
I love to mess around in the 30 seconds before the actual match begins, doing “pseudo-RP” and imagining what the different heroes would say to each other if they met.
But then begins what is becoming less and less fun: The actual match, which too often ends in disaster.
It’s not the losing itself that I find unenjoyable. Even in other MOBAs, like SMITE, losing is part of the game. But it didn’t bother me when I lost.
It’s the way and the frequency with which you lose in Heroes of the Storm.
In my circle of friends, we are all not “pro” players of Heroes of the Storm, but we clearly play the game casually. Therefore, “Quick Match” is also our game option – this way everyone can play the hero they want and there are no disputes during the draft.
Is there actually matchmaking?
What we keep asking ourselves: Is there even decent matchmaking for “Quick Match”?
The only constant seems to be: “If Team A has a healer, then Team B gets a healer too.” I can’t explain how matches occur where 4 assassins with a specialist have to face a team with two tanks and the all-purpose Varian (who should be removed from the game!).
Often there are combinations where 4 or even 5 “soft” heroes have to face a balanced team. It doesn’t feel fair and does not bring any fun.
Being run over or running over others
The second disturbing point is the balance of player strength. Sure, in every game, it occasionally happens that you are completely overwhelmed by the opposing team and have no chance. But in Heroes of the Storm, this seems to be the case in about 4 out of 5 matches.
Often we are so overwhelmed by the opposing team that one wishes for a “give up” button after 5 minutes. Alternatively, one is the “overwhelming” side and simply rolls over the opponents. Both feel bad. Both are not a fun, enjoyable gaming experience.
If anyone thinks, “Oh, Cortyn is surely exaggerating,” they are mistaken. Here’s a screenshot from the match history of a friend that is quite representative:
1 win in 12 matches. And that one win also happened in the weekly “Brawl”, a mode where chance largely decides victory and defeat.
This happens repeatedly. Often, two or three matches are enough for us to not only think “That’s enough for today” but also “What a waste of time.” And that’s a shame for a game that could be so much fun on paper.
And so I come to my conclusion: Heroes of the Storm is just more fun as long as you don’t play it. Once you start again, you get extremely frustrated very quickly.
Not even really cool heroes like Mephisto, Mal’Ganis or my beloved Whitemane help …
