Dear DrmDestryr,
Group fights always confuse me. I never know who to target. What do you do?
-NotATank
Dear NotATank,
I think we’ve all been there. Too many times you’ll be set up with a group of strangers with few ways to communicate who to kill. Either way, team fights can be extremely confusing matters.
First and foremost, if you are not the tank, it is your job to attain the kills. Having said this, I have seen some incredible tanks that hold kill records, but these are outliers. Most tanks to not output enough damage to hold their own. Instead, they have a lot of health and are meant to hold the attention of the enemy while the rest of the team whittles down enemy health.
Always keep an eye on your tank and wait for opportunities. Inevitably, when your tank retreats a bit, some greedy opponent will pull too far outside of the safety of their team, leaving them vulnerable. Another thing to pay attention to is health bars. Know what each opponent is at and really grab on to those with rapidly decreasing health bars. This will either kill them or force them into a hasty retreat, turning the fight into a 5 on 4 in your favor.
Another tactic is to focus on one hero. If you go with this tactic, use it as more of a way to shave down the troops in the front line. The faster you can get opponents to retreat, the faster the odds will be in your favor.
Just don’t get cocky, chase the retreating heroes and get yourself killed.
-DrmDestryr
DrmDestryr,
What are these artifacts I keep hearing about?
-Gizmo3456
Dear Gizmo3456,
Artifacts are a slot system that unlocks when you earn enough experience to hit Player Level 15. These slots can be filled with items that enhance the heroes and can be purchased with gold.
In short, it’s a way to customize your character with actual upgrades that affect your in-game stats. Unsurprisingly, people who are lucky enough to have the Alpha have absolutely gone apesh*t. Whether it’s because they don’t like change in any form, or they don’t realize that an Alpha is there to test out ideas such as this is anyone’s guess.
It’s different from other MOBAs because these artifacts are not purchased in game at all. They are strictly dealt with in the menu screen. Personally, I think this is a smart move as it employs character upgrades without forcing newer players to make decisions they know nothing about.
In the end, this is a feature that may not make it to Beta or actual release, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It’s a cool idea and I’m glad they’re testing it out in Alpha instead of post-release.
-DrmDestryr
Ask DrmDestryr is your weekly Q&A/advice column for Heroes of the Storm. Have a question for DrmDestryr? E-mail her your mental musings at drmdestryr@gmail.com or send happy twoughts her way @DrmDestryr.