14 DAY TRIAL // Since every Blizzard franchise got its own announcement at this year's Blizzcon (except Diablo) event, it goes without saying that Heroes of the Storm was at the center of one of these big reveals.
Two new characters will join Heroes of the Storm's heroes roster starting later this year: Hanzo and Alexstrasza. Obviously, if you're attending Blizzcon, you can try them out on the floor.
If you've played other Blizzard games like Overwatch and World of Warcraft, then the names of the new heroes should be pretty known to you. Hanzo is one of the most dangerous characters in Overwatch, while Alexstrasza is one of the majestic dragons present in the World of Warcraft lore (and game).
Hanzo is an Assassin type of hero with mostly ranged abilities like Storm Bow, Scatter Bow and Sonic Arrow. He's got two heroic abilities too – Dragonstrike and Dragon's Arrow.
Despite being a fierce dragon, Alexstrasza must be played like a Support character. She can heal teammates with the Gift of Life ability at the expense of her own health. Other primary abilities in Alexstrasza's arsenal include Abundance and Flame Buffet.
When it comes to heroic abilities, players can chose to either deal large amount of damage to enemies or heal an allied Hero: Cleansing Flame and Life-Binder.
Besides the two new heroes, Blizzard announced it plans to release a major Heroes of the Storm update next year. The update will bring new features and improvements like a new camera perspective, a redesigned stealth mechanic, mercenary updates, voice chat, and some early game refinements.
More importantly, Blizzard promised to add performance-based matchmaking to the game by increasing the accuracy of its matchmaking system through individual performance and contributions, which are to be taken into account after each match, rather than solely on victory or defeat.