Free hero rotation week of Tuesday, June 30th
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Available at all levels: Raynor, Muradin, Falstad, Sonya, Tyrande
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Available at level 12: Gazlowe
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Available at level 15: Azmodan
Map pool changed; Haunted Mines removed for now
We've been saying it for weeks. And no, we don't have proof of that, you'll just have to believe us, that Haunted Mines would be the first map removed from the map pool. It was our thought that the map simply played too differently from other maps, and often wasn't fun for either side. Eventually, Haunted Mines turned into "Well, they picked Sylvannas before we could, GG."
Of course, the removal is under the guise of "We wanted people to experience the new map more often," from Blizzard, but we're not buying it, not one bit. From Blizzard:
"Starting today, the pool of Battlegrounds available in all modes, except Custom Games, will be temporarily limited to the following:
Battlefield of Eternity Sky Temple Tomb of the Spider Queen Cursed Hollow
This has been done to increase the frequency with which players encounter the new Battleground, Battlefield of Eternity.During this time, players can still select and play on any Battleground they wish using Custom Games.
All Battlegrounds, including Battlefield of Eternity, will once again be made available for play in all matchmaking game modes on Tuesday, July 7."
Our prediction is that come the 7th, Mines will not be reintroduced, or that players will be able to veto maps in their own game settings.
On our mini-map: Gamers2
Gamers2 is a team on the brink. On the brink of greatness, perhaps, or on the cusp of collapse. With the recent news of Gamers2 incoming roster changes, we decided to take a took at Gamers2 recent tournament results. Gamers2 is currently ranked 7th according to our GosuGamers world rankings, having recently defeated Szyszyryszy Gaming (Rank #51), Team Madcorps (Rank #27), and Team Kinguin (Rank #26) twice. Given this recent success, it is curious why Gamers2 would attempt to reshuffle their roster.
It seems, however, that Gamers2 inability to beat the other top teams in the Heroes of the Storm scene is the catalyst for their roster shakeup. Gamers2 has lost to Team Liquid (Rank #1), which considering their position atop our rankings is unsurprising. However, Gamers2 has also lost to Team ASH (Rank #8) an astounding three times over the course of their last seven matches. It will be interesting to see if Gamers2 is able to find the right mix of players to take the final step and defeat the best HOTS teams.
Tough Time for Tanks
The warrior class is often unheralded. It doesn't offer the thrill of the kill that the assassins offer, and the opportunities for clutch saves aren't as numerous as they are for support heroes either. It is a rare thing that someone notices a clutch peel to save a life or an intelligent initiation. However, even though they are the unsung heroes of HOTS, according to the stats at HotsLogs.com, warriors have abysmal winrates across all leagues.
Stitches has gone from first to worst after he was hit hard by the nerf hammer. Across all leagues Stitches has the lowest winrate amongst all heroes with a 37.9% winrate, which is a whole three points lower than the next lowest hero, which is also a warrior (E.T.C with a winrate of 40.9%). Also near the bottom of all heroes are Diablo, Muradin, and Chen with winrates of 42.7%, 43.5%, and 44.3% respectively.
Warriors are having a tough go of it, according to the stats at HotsLogs.com, with the exception of Anub'Arak, who sits at the top of the winrate board above all other heroes with a 59.8% winrate. As the game waddles out of infancy, and with a new balance patch hitting a lot of the tanks, it will be interesting to see if the warriors can vault up the winrate rankings.
Storm stream of the week
This week on Storm Stream of the Week we feature Mike "Nguyen" Do.
Nguyen is relatively new to the streaming game, so lets send him some GosuGamers love. We are big fans of quoting here, so ask and you shall recieve Mike:
"I've always been a fan of MOBA Games, I've been through a lot of them, but Heroes of the Storm is one I feel like I'm completely hooked on. I'm asking to be featured on Storm Stream of the week not because I want to be famous... Mostly cause I'm just lonely and tired of listening to my friends LOL. JK Much love to them incase you start quoting me."
Nguyen generally streams between 8pm-2am EST, so it's perfect for all you night owls who are burned out from a long day of losing in Hero League. He sports a 3800+ Hero League MMR. Also feel free to belittle his losses using his HotsLogs profile.
His stream can be found at http://www.twitch.tv/nguyen1229
If you'd like to be featured on Storm Stream of the Week, e-mail [email protected]
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