Heroes of the Storm made a surprise return at BlizzCon 2026 — and I still think it's secretly the best MOBA out there

It’s been eight years since I last played a match in Heroes of the Storm .

<![CDATA[ <article> <p>It’s been eight years since I last played a match in <em>Heroes of the Storm</em>.</p><div class="fancy-box"><div class="fancy_box-title">Under the Radar</div><div class="fancy_box_body"><p class="fancy-box__body-text">Under the Radar is our way of highlighting great games that might have passed you by. Through a regular mix of news stories and features, we'll cover great experiences that we feel haven't found the audience they deserve. Read the <a data-analytics-id="inline-link" href="https://www.techradar.com/tag/under-the-radar">full series here</a>.</p></div></div><p>For the majority of my late twenties, though, it was the MOBA my group of friends and I played night after night. Sure, everyone else was on <em>League of Legends</em> or <em>Dota 2</em> as they were deemed to be the superior games in the genre, but we enjoyed our home in Blizzard’s crossover brawler, battling away as iconic faces such as Thrall, Jim Raynor, Tracer, and Diablo himself.</p><p>I fondly remember the nights spent playing <em>HOTS,</em> and our group would regularly reminisce about the hours we spent together on the game. We’d retell the same stories of the incredible plays and frustrating losses that we would experience every session — and never tire of joking about all the times someone would overextend in mid lane. </p><p>However, in that time between my last game and now, and following Blizzard’s decision to put the game into maintenance mode in July 2022, I had fully moved on.</p><p>But suddenly, that all changed. At this year’s BlizzCon, the opening keynote presentation kicked off with a surprise that no one could have anticipated. <em>Heroes of the Storm</em> is getting a new hero: Xal’atath, the Harbinger of the Void.</p><p>Cue a flurry of messages in the group chat, a Robin Williams ‘what year is it?’ gif, and exclamations of “we’re so back.” The game’s subreddit, a near-dormant sanctuary for players still fighting away in the Nexus, exploded back to life as well. The passion and excitement were reactivated in an instant — and I felt the same too.</p><h2 id="a-surprise-return">A surprise return</h2><div class="youtube-video" data-nosnippet ><div class="video-aspect-box"><iframe data-lazy-priority="high" data-lazy-src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QwXQEtGlkc4" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div><p>Naturally, I had to reinstall the game, and over the past week I’ve dived in for a couple of hours nearly every night. I’ve amazed myself at how quickly I’ve picked it up again and how much I’ve remembered about each map, hero, and the flow of a game. It’s felt so good to be back, and it’s reminded me why I think it’s such an unsung hero in the MOBA genre.</p><p>See, <em>Heroes of the Storm</em> strips out a lot of the more, let’s say, hardcore aspects that were found in a lot of the top MOBAs of the time. </p><p>There’s no last-hitting creeps to get extra resources, no shop at which to spend gold to build your character, experience is shared team-wide to (theoretically) keep everyone on a level playing field, and there are generally fewer secondary features to think about during a match.</p><p>That led to some thinking that <em>Heroes of the Storm</em> is a ‘dumbing-down’ of the MOBA, but I’d argue that the game isn’t lacking in complexity. </p><p>One way is with the talents that are earned as you level. These allow you to build your character in a chosen way, adapting your strategy to your strengths and countering the team composition you’re facing.</p><h2 id="surprising-depth">Surprising depth</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:2560px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:60.47%;"><img id="gMueQT3ZEZjigViDBGyEab" name="Heroes_GamePress_TFu_35b_png_jpgcopy" alt="A screenshot of Diablo and Valla fighting Thrall and Rehgar in Heroes of the Storm" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/gMueQT3ZEZjigViDBGyEab-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="2560" height="1548" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Blizzard)</span></figcaption></figure><p>The main gimmick, though, is that rather than playing in a single arena over and over again, <em>HOTS</em> offers several maps that feature different main objectives. These require you to prepare and be ready for those moments when you need to defend an area, escort a payload, or gather scattered resources.</p><p>Achieving these gives you a temporary boon that works towards destroying your opponent’s home base, or Nexus. That might be a giant bone golem that lays siege to any structures in its path, or a barrage of missiles that directly attack buildings. At one point, a player could take control of a massive plant abomination to root enemies in place and smash up the other team’s defences.</p><p>These objectives add dynamism and give players a direction to move towards at regular intervals throughout a match. They also encourage more teamfighting, which I find is the most exciting and enjoyable part of any MOBA, where positioning and smart engagements are rewarded over repeatedly clicking on a creep at just the right time to build a pot of gold.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:2560px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:62.50%;"><img id="cTpKytqGbnkDz9XdzKSDkg" name="Hanzo_GameplayR1_png_jpgcopy" alt="The hero Hanzo firing his arrow ultimate across the arena at three targets in Heroes of the Storm" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cTpKytqGbnkDz9XdzKSDkg-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="2560" height="1600" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Blizzard)</span></figcaption></figure><p>While I can appreciate there’s a skill to farming creeps efficiently in the opening phases of a <em>Dota 2</em> or <em>League of Legends</em> game, I’d rather not be spending my time doing that. I’m also not a huge fan of the downtime in those games, going back to buy items and fiddling around in menus to buy a bigger sword or stock up on wards that you scatter across the map to give vision.</p><p>In comparison, <em>Heroes of the Storm</em> is a game of near-constant action, with matches that generally last a glorious 20 minutes or so. Sometimes shorter if you go on a tear, and sometimes longer if things are tight, but rarely too long that it starts to feel like a slog — especially in those painful situations where you can see the writing’s on the wall in the first 15 minutes.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:2560px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:62.50%;"><img id="kRZo36DAcW95XvzMEUPrd" name="Anduin_Q_Ability_png_jpgcopy" alt="A teamfight in Heroes of the Storm featuring Anduin, Artanis, Valeera, Illidan, and Kharazim." src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kRZo36DAcW95XvzMEUPrd-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="2560" height="1600" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Blizzard)</span></figcaption></figure><p>This is all before I’ve even dug into the roster, which is a joy for any Blizzard fans and anyone who loves to have a diverse range of fighting styles at their fingertips. </p><p>As well as its satisfying selection of tanks, assassins, brawlers, and supports to master from across <em>WarCraft</em>, <em>StarCraft</em>, <em>Diablo</em>, <em>Overwatch</em>, and more, <em>Heroes of the Storm</em> has fun experimenting with all sorts of characters.</p><p>Abathur is a classic: a creature of the Zerg who hides in the backlines, but can assimilate with other players anywhere on the map to provide support. There’s Cho’Gall: a two-headed ogre who has its movement controlled by one player and abilities controlled by another — cue chaotic attempts to work together. And there’s the Blizzard deep cut, The Lost Vikings, who challenge you to control three different characters at once, almost bringing the stress of a full RTS experience to the game.</p><p>It’s these new and fascinating ideas in its map and hero design, as well as a focus on the more thrilling aspects of a MOBA, that make me think <em>Heroes of the Storm</em> has always been such an underrated gem. </p><p>I’m hoping this new spotlight on the game not only brings back a lot of old fans like me, but also introduces it to an entirely new audience so Blizzard sees reason to release heroes and updates in the future.</p><div style="min-height: 250px;"> <div class="kwizly-quiz kwizly-O6yK1W"></div> </div> <script src="https://kwizly.com/embed/O6yK1W.js" async></script> </article> ]]>