Heroes of the Storm’s first expansion is coming — and it adds some powerful characters, King Leoric and the Monk from Diablo.
Blizzard made the announcements tonight at the Electronic Entertainment Expo’s PC Gaming Show in Los Angeles. The multiplayer online battle arena’s first new content — Eternal Conflict is coming less than a month after its launch. It debuts two new heroes and treasure goblins, who will be on the map for a short time and leave loot for you.
MOBAs are becoming one of the most important players in online gaming. People spent $979 million in May on online games, research firm SuperData found, and games like League of Legends and Dota 2 are significant drivers of that revenue.
King Leoric presents an interesting mechanic to this free-to-play MOBA. When a foe kills him, he turns into a wraith, floating around the battlefield. He doesn’t return to his team’s base, though he can’t attack as a wraith. He can use his crowd-control abilities when in wraith form. When he returns, he comes back on the battlefield, not at the base as other heroes do.
His two powers are:
- Entomb: It creates walls that trap other heroes.
- March of the Black King: He hits foes with a giant mace, healing himself while dishing out big damage.
The Monk is the first support character from Diablo. He can choose his own trait at the beginning of a match and change his playstyle. He can be an attack-focused brawler or hang back in a support role.