Yesterday, a diverse lineup from the Heroes of the Storm dev team hosted a Reddit AMA. Heroes fans were treated with design insights and answers to their burning questions, including many familiar requests involving a certain lich king and when he might visit the Nexus.

The Panel

/u/Centaurik– Kent-Erik Hagman, Lead Hero Designer

/u/BlizzTravis – Travis McGeathy, Heroes Lead Game Designer

/u/Blizz_DRobbins – Daniel Robbins, Heroes Online Software Engineer

/u/Blizz_Shyy – Jeff Shyy, Heroes Game Producer

/u/BlizzROcampo – Ray Ocampo, Heroes User Interface Designer

/u/BlizzJunho – Junho Kim, Principal Artist - Heroes UI Lead

The finished AMA created a massive thread that is a little difficult to follow, so here are the big takeaways you should know about:

On New Heroes and reworks

• Blizzard is well aware of how fervently fans are asking for Kel’Thuzad and he is on a list of “300+ heroes” they would love to include in the game one day.

• There is currently no plan to rework The Lost Vikings or Raynor.

• Alarak is being actively worked on and should receive a talent update soon. It was also heavily implied that the level 4 talent, Double Cross, is being implemented into his baseline kit.

On new UI Changes

• There is no time frame or schedule for the inclusion of a guild or clan system, but Lead Game Designer Travis McGeathy agrees it would add a lot to the social aspect of the game, which many feel is a bit lacking. McGeathy says: “It would be a big undertaking, but it’s on our list”

• Targeting allies using unit frames is something being discussed. Blizzard feels that supports would likely benefit the most from this change.

• Voice chat, an improved reconnect system, and gifting are still very high on Blizzard’s priority list. Gifting is something the team is “really interested” in adding, but certain “technical hurdles” make it difficult to implement.

Loot system and cosmetics

• The meaning of Legendary and Epic skins has changed in Heroes 2.0. Before the change, these terms weren’t about the “rarity” of a skin and more about their “cool factor”. Now, Legendary items are actually the rarest items from loot chests. Despite this, every item that can drop in a loot chest can also be crafted with Shards.

• Principal Artist for UI, Junho Kim, expressed interest in bringing unique “Overwatch style” victory poses and animations to the MVP Screen at the end of a match.  Currently, “investigation” into some “technical” issues is needed before the feature is possible to implement.

• HGC cosmetic items and different ways to support your favorite teams in-game are being actively worked on.

• A wishlist function for the collection is likely in the works.

• Travis McGeathy explained that the “content for Loot chests are rolled at the time they are first opened”, meaning that players can keep their loot chests and open them when it is most beneficial for them.

He then went on to remind Reddit that the protection mechanic only stops players from experiencing extreme cases of “bad luck”. The system “ensures you can’t go too many items before it guarantees a higher rarity drop.”

On game Balance:

• Kent-Erik Hagman, Lead Hero Designer, answered question about what Blizzard thinks a Warrior needs in order to fit a team composition and contribute to the team as a “tank”. With the disclaimer that Heroes of the storm is “constantly evolving”, he listed these 3 traits as something his design team feels a tank “needs”:

Initiate - the ability to start a team fight and catch the enemy out of position
Peel - the ability to stop an enemy hero from killing a fragile ally.
Survivability - the ability survive after taking tons of damage.

• When asked about the state of support heroes, Hagman explained that the addition to armor was a way to lessen the importance of healing in the game. His team actively discusses the “time-to-kill” in Heroes, which is essentially how long it takes for a hero to die in a team fight.

While keeping an eye on the meta, Blizzard is looking to shift support heroes into more utility-esque roles, providing them with more ways to “make plays and otherwise influence battles”

For more information on Heroes 2.0 you can visit the official Heroes 2.0 website. This website features a full schedule of upcoming reveals, including a new hero announcement on April 17th.