14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard believes that its new Sky Temple battleground in Heroes of the Storm offers a balanced experience to players of the online game, as while a team can miss out on the activating temples, they can still take over mercenary camps or push other lanes to stay in the fight.
Heroes of the Storm differentiates itself from other multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) experiences in recent years through its variety in terms of maps, as different battlegrounds are present and offer not just more varied layouts but also vastly different objectives on the map.
The latest battleground to join the rotation is Sky Temple, in which two teams fight it out across three lanes for dominance, just like in most MOBAs. On the new map, however, there's also an additional objective in the form of three temples that can activate at a certain period, and once conquered by a team, can start attacking the buildings of the other team.
Losing teams can mount comebacks
However, conquering and maintaining control of these objectives doesn't guarantee a win, as players on the losing side can still perform different actions in order to stay in the fight.
Blizzard explains on its website that the temples themselves can be retaken rather easily as the NPC guardians attack the team in control, so comebacks can take place.
"We believe we offered a strong amount of counter-play in Sky Temple," Blizzard explains. "For example, when a temple is activated by a team, the opposing team can always compete and take it back. The Temple Guardians can help their cause due to their prioritization of attacking the team who currently owns the capture point."
Other objectives can also be won
Besides the temples, the studio also emphasizes the importance of other elements on the map, from mercenary camps to the boss creature, which can be captured and used to restore equilibrium if you lose a temple brawl.
"There are other options, to help mount a comeback, if your team would prefer not to take a straight on fight at a captured Temple. Sky Temple has multiple temples to secure, mercenary camps to push different lanes, and even a boss mercenary that can provide some great pushing power. We’ve aimed to provide the losing team with a number of options to regain momentum. Of course, we’re always listening to feedback and we can tune Sky Temple if it’s needed," the studio adds.
As such, if they feel that some situations may be a bit unbalanced, players can always submit their feedback to Blizzard, as Heroes of the Storm is still in a closed beta stage and changes can be made rather easily.
