Tracer, balance changes, and a new hero rotation in the Nexus

This week in Heroes of the Storm we have yet another new patch as the Heroes devs attempt to bring balance to the force Nexus. This week sees changes to Kael’thas, the Butcher, Nazeebo, and Rexxar on top of a handful of bug fixes. With Rexxar on rotation this week, we’re likely to see more Rexxars in play as everyone checks out his buffs.

Players will also have their first chance to buy Tracer this week for 15,000 gold — though hang on if you bought Overwatch’s Origins or Collector’s editions, as both of those include Tracer for free, though you can’t get her until you get your game box on May 24.

So should you pick up Tracer yourself? We’ll dive into that below alongside the week’s rotation.

As to Tracer, she’s a fairly high skill cap hero, though so far everyone on the Blizzard Watch team has been enjoying her. But is she worth 15,000 gold? If you’re not sure — or you just want to bypass the crowds of everyone playing Tracer — you might wait two weeks to pick her up for 10,000 gold.

Mitch: Tracer, she is… well, she’s odd. In a good way, but still odd. She attacks on the move, so you can almost always be hitting something. If anyone ever played Tychus, it’s kind of like that only much faster. She also gets only one ultimate but it comes at the start of the game and you have to build it up (just like in Overwatch). I’d give her a quick test in the Try Mode just to get a feel for her attacking-while-moving shtick. Other than that, a very important thing to remember is where you were a few seconds ago. Thanks to Recall, you can end up hurting yourself if you’re not careful. See, it sends you back to your position a few seconds earlier — it’s the perfect “oh sh–” button…except if you panic and use it to accidentally bring yourself back right into the middle of five enemies. Don’t do that, it’s bad.

Alex: Everyone is playing Tracer, so if you want to play Tracer, prepare to wait in the queue for 20+ minutes. Which is why I have not played Tracer.

Mitch: Tracer is a lot of fun, though, and pretty true to her Overwatch character… Especially the annoying blinking part. I’d say worth the pickup if you weren’t already planning on getting Overwatch Origins Edition.

Assassins

Falstad

Nova

Unlocked at player level 15

Anna: It seems like Nova is still not a big favorite on the competitive scene even after a few rounds of buffs. This particular rotation isn’t doing a ton of favors either. The support characters tend to be her best target, but Kharazim is difficult to pin down, and even Malfurion has Moonfire to make sure she stays seen while he roots her in place. Well, at least Tassadar isn’t in the lineup? Nova players should still try to pick their battles as usual, but this week may be tougher than usual for everyone’s favorite Ghost.

Thrall

Unlocked at player level 7

Anna: Welcome to Orgrimmar. Have you come to serve the Horde? Thrall is super popular in the meta now, especially since Sundering works so well to split the enemy team for fast team fight disruption, but I’m still so Thralled out from World of Warcraft. Playing him makes me want to lie down on the floor.

Valla

Liz: Valla’s a pretty straightforward DPS character, easy for newbies to pick up — really, not unlike Raynor. But for some reason I really enjoy playing Valla and fall asleep playing Raynor. Your mileage may vary, but if you enjoy playing a Demon Hunter in Diablo 3, this has the same feel.

Specialists

Azmodan

Unlocked at player level 5

Anna:  A mention has to go out to both the Azmodunk build and that fab new skin. The Azmodunk build, centered around the level one talent Taste For Blood is a bit tricky to learn for newbies, and can be thwarted pretty easily by clueless (or malicious!) allies early on.

Zagara

Anna: A few Zagaras on the pro scene have been so bold as to break out of the Devouring Maw box and start using Nydus Network. It… has not gone all that well for those brave souls. It’s a far better talent for casual play since a rework a month or two back, so if you haven’t touched Zags in a bit, or if you’re just starting, Nydus may be worth a try for a game or two.

Support

Kharazim

Malfurion

Warriors

Chen

Mitch:  I’ll provide some insight on everyone’s favorite fuzzy guzzler, Chen! The trick to Chen is to constantly monitor the amount of brew you have and to get used to using your trait very often. I’ll be honest, it’s not a playstyle for most people but it can be really fun if done well. Don’t forget his trait adds a shield, so don’t be afraid to channel it for a bit of extra time in order to survive enemies long enough for your other cooldowns to come up. Oh, and the barrel ultimate with the speed boost enhance is hilarious. If you know nothing about Chen, still do this and charge into a team fight like a belligerent panda. It’ll be worth it.

Rexxar

Unlocked at player level 12

Anna: Rexxar just saw a couple of relatively minor buffs, but the dev team is planning a more extensive change soon. Rexxar was kind of a cool idea, but he has always lagged at the back of the pack in terms of viability. Misha micromanagement is key to playing a passable Rexxar.

This week’s freebies should be going live soon, so jump online to take advantage of them. And, as always, we’ll see you in the Nexus!