Blizzard has done a great job adding a massive roster of characters to their hit MOBA Heroes of the Storm, but there are several characters that have been seemingly overlooked by the gaming giant. With several new heroes revealed at Gamescom, there are some Blizzard All-Stars that are feeling a bit like they have been left out of the loop. In this list we'll look at some characters who are just dying to enter the fray - literally for some!
While they may not be the most famous characters, they are characters that will spark some fond memories in long-time fans of Blizzard games. So without further ado, let's begin!
Jake Badlands - Rock n' Roll Racing
Before Blizzard Entertainment got its signature name, it was Silicon & Synapse - a game company founded by freshly graduated University of California students: Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce. While Blizzard has already released one of its old Silicon & Synapse trios - The Lost Vikings - they have completely looked over one of their classics: Rock n' Roll Racing's Jake Badlands.
Hailing from the distant planet of Xeno Prime, Jake Badlands raced against evil aliens while dodging laser fire in an attempt to win interstellar gold! His game also featured rock n' roll hits like Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" and Deep Purple's "Highway Star". If that isn't enough to sell this character, his car was equipped with twin laser cannons, rockets, and a jet booster!
How he would play as a character in Heroes of the Storm is beyond me, but it would be great to see Blizzard acknowledge another of its old SNES hits.
Kyle "Blackthorne" Vlaros - Blackthorne
Speaking of the SNES, Blizzard's first game under the name of Blizzard Entertainment was a strange game known as Blackthorne.
Kyle Vlaros isn't your average gun-totting, 'roid junkie mercenary. He's a gun-totting, 'roid junkie mercenary from the planet Tull who is out for orc blood on his journey to reclaim his rightful throne from the evil king Sarlac. That's right...even before Starcraft and Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment was mixing guns and medieval warriors as if they belonged together.
Kyle "Blackthorne" Vlaros was meant to be in Heroes of the Storm. His shotgun works perfectly as an auto-attack, while hover bombs could be used to stun and damage enemies. Other items like the levitator could help close the distance between him and enemy heroes, or the wasp-bomb could be used to attack from across the map. These skills would make him viable as either an Assassin or Specialist role.
Fenix - Starcraft: Brood War
A Protoss warrior from the original Starcraft game, Fenix is the first Protoss hero we encounter during the campaign mode. He is also a character with the third longest screen time, appearing in just about every single campaign after Episode III: The Fall, which focuses on the Protoss race. As a Zealot, Fenix was responsible for the defense of Aiur against the Zerg onslaught. However, after he was wounded in battle he was placed in a Dragoon Exoskeleton as a means of continuing his duty to his homeworld.
In Heroes of the Storm, Fenix would likely take the form of a Dragoon, seeing as Artanis already appears to be acting as a Zealot. As for his role, Fenix could take on the honor of being the game's first warrior-class hero with a ranged attack. His skills would be tricky to figure out, but maybe he could do something different by being a character with only passive buffs? It would certainly make sense lore-wise, and he would make a great hero for new players - just like he did for Starcraft players almost 18 years ago...
Grom Hellscream - Warcraft
Grom was designed for Heroes of the Storm, and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he made an appearance sooner rather than later. In Warcraft III, Grom's first ability was Wind Walk, which allowed him to become invisible and move faster until he attacked. Mirror Image, on the other hand, allowed Grom to summon 3 illusions that did no damage, but it also allowed him to dispel any negative buffs on him. Grom's passive skill, Critical Strike, also granted him a 15% chance to do up to 4 times his base damage.
By far, Grom's most interesting skill is Bladestorm. His ultimate (or Heroic Ability for Heroes of the Storm's sake) made him completely invulnerable to magic while dealing great amounts of damage to enemies near him as he spun around in a tornado.
Since Grom recently returned to us in Warlords of Draenor, I think it would only make sense to add him to the Heroes of the Storm roster sometime in the near future.
Lord Archimonde - Warcraft
Archimonde was the big-bad-guy at the end of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos' campaign. In that game, Archimonde was responsible not only for ruling over the Scourge and the Burning Legion, but also for single-handedly destroying the city of Dalaran. In the final mission of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, players had to stop this powerhouse from reaching the World Tree. However, Archimonde would not make this an easy feat. Despite the Orcs, Night Elves, and Humans working together to stop him, Archimonde simply walked right through each of their bases, killing anyone in his way.
In Heroes of the Storm, Archimonde would undoubtedly act as a warrior-class hero, with a touch of specialist antics. Dark Portal could be used to summon demons in the same fashion as Azmodan. Finger of Death would be his high-damage single-target spell, and he would also have a passive bash in his arsenal.
Rain of Chaos would act as his heroic ability, summoning multiple infernals that would come crashing down for initial splash damage before running about and destroying enemy forces. That, or maybe he could make a sand castle like he did in Warcraft III before smashing it and watching an enemy building collapse.
And there you have it! Admittedly, Blizzard's recognizable roster is getting rather small without reaching into some seriously underground or forgotten heroes. While there are some notable runner-ups, like Warcraft's Lady Vashji or Diablo's Amazon or Necromancer, it's tough to come up with characters that aren't just random NPCs from World of Warcraft. If these 5 heroes aren't what Blizzard has in store, then I guess we'll just have to wait and be pleasantly surprised.
What about you, readers? What heroes would you like to see in Heroes of the Storm? What skills, abilities, or passives do you think they would have? Leave your ideas in the comments section below!
Published: Aug 9, 2015 04:27 am