Raynor reigns in the heroes rotation while we wait for Chromie

Last week we found out that Chromie and Medivh would be coming to Heroes of the Storm, but unfortunately this week’s rotation is bereft of both. Chromie will be hitting the scene next week, on May 17 — and we’ve already gotten a hero preview for her — while Medivh will be arriving on June 14, just after his movie debut. We also have a major patch on the PTR that includes not only Chromie but also major reworks for classic heroes Arthas and Anub’arak.

However, none of that’s live this week, which leaves us with a pretty standard hero lineup this week in the Nexus. Let’s check it out.

This week, Mitch seems to have become an Abathur symbiote. Or at least that’s the only thing that makes sense with his responses to this week’s rotation, starting with “New heroes, unlocked. Examinations needed. Can improve.”

Assassins

Kael’thas

Anna: Kael’thas is having a bit of a moment just now, after a series of buffs brought him back into line. His level 16 power spike is still scary, but not as much as it once was. No, instead, his damage was buffed a bit across the board so he’s always ungodly powerful. That’s… much better?

Mitch Abathur: Hero Kael’thas. Humanoid with perplexing structure. Silky hair. Possible distraction. Long nails. Possibly for combat use. Smooth skin. Combat benefit unknown. Further assessment required.

Lunara

Unlocked at player level 12

Anna: I’ve been enjoying a bit of Lunara play recently. I’ve been picking her deliberately because my worst habit in Heroes is getting thirsty for those kills and overextending. Most ranged heroes need to stay toward the back, but I’ve found that Lunara is particularly unforgiving. Lunara’s role, especially in team fights, is mostly to stay alive and stack that poison, so it’s very important I don’t bite it early on. It’s been a learning process, but I am learning it, so that’s fun. Not really for my team, but hey.

Raynor

Anna: Raynor is getting a bit of a buff as it is on PTR, so expect the he-hey mans to continue. Seasoned Marksman is now a “quest” talent which, when completed, grants an active ability, so hopefully he’s a little less boring with an extra button to press.

Mitch Abathur: Hero Raynor, organism: humanoid. Simple combat protocols. Weak outer structure. Backup life support: beneficial. Assessment: non-optimal combatant.

Specialists

Abathur

Unlocked at player level 15

Anna: Abathur is a favorite of mine, but his playstyle is very different from most other heroes. Perhaps it’s expected with a core StarCraft hero, but he has a very high APM (Actions Per Minute) demand. Playing Abathur means your mouse will always be on the move, constantly hopping around the entire battlefield from lane to lane with your “hat.” I definitely recommend trying him out in AI first, but just know that when you make the leap to QMs or especially Ranked, your human opponents will be far more ruthless about hunting down your squishy slug body than your bot opponents. Be careful about sitting in one spot too long!

Xul

Mitch Abathur: Hero Xul. Examination, inconclusive. Organism demonstrates no vital signs. Must find humanoid parts to improve. Heart most important? Possibly brain. Will also find Courage. Assessment: can make strong.

Support

Rehgar

Mitch Abathur: Hero Rehgar, organism: “Orc.” Strong shields. Strong restorative magic. Perplexing. Lupine transformative DNA strands detected. Assessment: powerful ally. Modify combat protocols as needed.

Tyrande

Unlocked at player level 7

Anna: Tyrande can use talents to be a passable healer, but she’s far better when another support has her back. Regardless of your personal playstyle and opinion of her, because she does have that ability to sort of swing from one role to the other, bet on your sole support pug Tyrande jumping straight into a DPS build while your opponent has Uther. While you’re in MMR hell. Uphill. In the snow. Both ways.

Mitch Abathur: Hero Tyrande. Species unknown. Age… incorrect. Must re-examine. Weapon strong, can stun. Detecting signs of Strigiformes. Flight capable, long range capacity. Can improve. Assessment:strong.

Warriors

Anub’arak

Unlocked at player level 5

Anna: Anub’arak is about to receive an overhaul, so don’t get too fussy about playing him if you’re not super experienced with him. My personal path of least resistance with his current iteration is to just choose talents which buff his beetles and let them do all the work.

Johanna

Muradin

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!