Heroes of the Storm free hero rotation and sales for October 20

Every week Heroes of the Storm has some heroes you’d usually have to pay for that you can play for free in the free hero rotation, plus a number of heroes and skins on sale in the weekly sale. It’s a great way to try out new heroes without committing to buy, as well as grabbing new heroes, skins, and mounts at bargain prices.

This week in Heroes we’ll be seeing the first appearance of Artanis, the first Warrior from the StarCraft universe. Anyone who’s pre-ordered StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void will get Artanis for free — digital pre-orders will get him automatically while physical pre-orders will need to contact customer service to unlock him. Starting next week, anyone will be able to purchase Artanis for the usual new hero price of 15,000 gold, but for this week it’s Legacy of the Void pre-orderers only.

In other Heroes news, Lt. Morales will be getting a small health buff and dropping in price to 10,000 gold. And if you’re looking to spend, it’s also your last chance to pick up a Treasure Goblin mount, so be sure to buy yours before the 27th when it will be gone for good.

In the meanwhile, this week’s free rotation gets a solid “meh” rating from Team Blizzard Watch, but we still have a poem from our resident bard, Mitch, to kick off the week:

Kerrigan will stun and leap to you.
Arthas has ghouls and dragons too.
Gazlowe grabs mercs,
Brightwing has perks,
And Stitches will slow you with poo.

Here are this week’s free heroes:

• Malfurion — check out our guide to Malfurion
• Valla — check out our guide to Valla
• Stitches
• Arthas
• Gazlowe
• Brightwing (Available after you reach player level 12)
• Kerrigan (Available after you reach player level 15)

If you need a starting point, check out our assassin guide, specialist guide, support guide, and warrior guide for quick rundowns on each hero.

If you’re in the market for new heroes or skins, here’s what’s on sale this week:

• Tassadar — Sale Price: 3.24 USD | 3.19 EUR | 2.49 GBP
• Crypt King Tassadar — Sale Price: 4.99 USD | 4.99 EUR | 3.69 GBP
• Tempest Regalia Jaina — Sale Price: 3.74 USD | 3.69 EUR | 2.70 GBP

Our team had some thoughts on this week’s free lineup:

Dan: Rexxar is off free rotation! Blessed be!

Kim: I like Malfurion the best so far in terms of playing a Support.

Alex: This is a bad week for me. I find Malfurion, Stitches, Arthas, and Gazlowe boring. I find Brightwing to be of questionable value for her role, but haven’t played her enough to know whether I’m talking out of my butt or not. Valla is a solid Assassin, and Kerrigan is fun and deadly when you figure out how to not die endlessly.

Anna: Stitches has gotten a lot better since last patch, and Kerrigan is increasingly popular in tournament play.

Alex: It feels like starting out with Kerrigan is extremely frustrating and you wonder why she’s so terrible — until something clicks and suddenly you’re all I AM THE QUEEN OF BLADES AHAHAHAHA DIE MORTALS.

Anna: She has very specific combos, and you have to make sure to not overextend if you’re pugging.

This week’s freebies and sales should go live on Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 PST / 5:30 EST — until then, we’ll see you in the Nexus!