Dear DrmDestryr,
This week sucks. So many free-to-play Illidans. I just want to go hide and not get back on until next week.
-GigglM8
Dear GigglM8,
While a shared sentiment across the community, don’t forget this happens every week. Be it Nova, Li Li or Chen, vitriol spews forth like clockwork. Don’t buy into it. If you find yourself with the hero of the week, don’t get mad, get glad!
Play with Them
Since you’ve been playing longer and undoubtedly have leet skillz this nub can never know, be their guardian. They will dive at the wrong time, hit the wrong buttons and otherwise make a mess of things. Be around to give them as much support as possible. Always call them out for little mistakes. Dance around their corpse when they die for the 13th time. Ping a random location on the map to see if you can’t get them ambushed.
Support Them
They need a confidence boost. Sure, they may have gotten up to level 5 in coop, but QM is a very different animal leading to very different situations and, until that learning curve is breached, they need to know everyone has their back. Always, always yell at them, even if they somehow manage to bring in top xp. If they do something wrong, insults are the only response. If they ask you to back down, mock them and try to get the rest of the team in on it. Nothing hardens one’s fledgling skin like good ol’ verbal abuse.
Teach Them
Chances are high you’re already level 10 with the free-to-play of the week. This means it is solely up to you to rattle off the intricacies of the character you know so well. Keep on their talent build, decrying their choices as the worst possible. Find consolation with your other teammates that if only you had chosen that hero, you’d be winning. If for some reason they don’t respond, message them privately after the game to remind them how much better you are.
-DrmDestryr
Dear DrmDestryr,
On Terror and Dragon, I’m usually up against an evenly matched team but they find a way to pull ahead. What am I doing wrong?
-YzierWhar
Dear YzierWhar,
The difference is in the Dragon and the Terror. Even if you manage to snag one, it means nothing if the person piloting it has no idea what they’re doing. Do yourself a favor and build custom games to practice the button work for both.
Dragon Knight
The Dragon is a tank. He’s got boatloads of armor and can take a beating unlike anything else in the game. This means you use him to take down towers. Maybe kick an opponent if they’re really annoying, but your job is to run into the fray and bust down as many towers as is possible. Use the breath to kill minions and create a ‘no standing’ zone. If you’re really fancy, wait for your team and push together. Even more fancy, head to the lane where there are fewer enemies defending. The longer you stay alive, the more damage you do.
ProTip: Don’t ever take it to stop a merc push. That’s for your team to deal with. If you don’t use the dragon to take down forts, you’re wasting him.
Garden Terror
The Terror is an assassin. It has a sheep, a sprint and an extended timer. This means it is adaptable to different situations. Often, two Terrors at the same time means a battle to the death. Sometimes taking the time to help your team kill opponents is the perfect way to buy you more time to push their keeps. The rule of thumb is that if you are the only Terror spawned, push their towers, moving up and down the line using sprint. If the other Terror is up, hunt it down with your team and lay your seeds in its corpse before stomping toward their walls.
ProTip: Don’t ever use it to stop a merc push. Again, this is for your team to do. If your Terror isn’t saving your base from destruction or pushing into the enemy’s, you’re wasting it.
One last tip for both of these is to never jitterbug, unsure of where to go or what to do. Get in and immediately start your rampage. You need to do as much damage as is dragonly or terrorly possible within the time constraints you have. More damage means a bigger lead.
-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. Want to hang out? Check out the ITN PreShow with DrmDestryr! streamed weekly starting at 6 PM Eastern on Thursdays at twitch.tv/amovetv.