Heroes of the Storm (Closed Beta Begins 13 Jan)

[Olinser]

Oh sweet patch today!!

My thoughts:

General Changes

1) OK, you log in and get 10,000 gold!?!?!?!?!?! AND a Stimpack?!?!?!? BEST PATCH EVER

2) Map changes are really annoying - not because of the changes, but it is literally impossible to tell how impactful some of the changes are. 'Mercenary Initial and Scaling XP has been reworked'. WTF does that mean? Is this a buff or a nerf to the XP? Is it more early game, more late game? COME ON PEOPLE, basic information is required - same applies to the Lane Golem health changes. HOW BIG of a change is that?

3) The Sky Temple change is not a change, because building health was reduced by the same amount. I really feel like Temple damage needs an ACTUAL damage reduction.

4) On that note, health reduction on structures is kind of a meh change - I don't really feel like it's going to change much of anything, not a lot of structures are left with 10% of their health.

5) Garden of Terror - eh, I kind of feel like the Terror move speed reduction is a bad thing. I understand what they're trying to do - a late game Terror can solo any squishy champion that gets near it because they simply cannot get away. But I feel like the Terror overall is already too slow - I think they should have gone with 'gets a movement speed bonus if it hasn't taken damage for 3 seconds' that brings it to the same speed it is at now.

Hero Changes:

Sylvanas finally here. Her kit sounds good on paper, we'll have to see exactly how the numbers mesh. Initial impression is that she is better than average but not really OP. Reserve judgement for 2 weeks while people figure out how both to play her and play against her.

Jaina's new talent? It's crap. 400 mana and 15% ability power for only 5 seconds? Both of her skill talents are better than that (Water Elemental in particular blows that away), and if you weren't taking those you were taking Bolt of the Storm.

Healing ward nerf I think is positive. They do give too much burst healing - they give exactly the same amount of healing over their full duration.

Abathur I think is still just not good. Monstrosity is a poor talent, it's a lane pusher for a hero that already excels at lane pushing. Hist clone gets a small damage and ability power increase coupled with a duration reduction to only 20 seconds? WTF? Still bottom tier. I know they want to try and shoehorn all heroes into having 2 viable level 10 talents, but Monstrosity is such crap that all they've succeeded in doing is making BOTH talents crap.

Azmodan - Not noticeable to 99% of the population. To actually get +500 damage would require a CRAZY long game, and +500 damage is still OP as heck - I think it puts his level 25 Q at 900 base damage.

Diablo - Meh changes. Still the worst tank.

ETC - Hm, ok, they replace an offensive talent hardly anybody ever took with a defensive talent. Don't think it will change him, he's still good but not the best.

Falstad - Meh, not enough to change him. He's just not as good as Valla, Tychus or even Raynor right now. He needs some love.

Jaina - Hmm, this could be what Jaina needs to be competetive. An across the board damage increase (A bit under 10% damage overall it looks like), and now she can slow normally unslowable bosses, I think she's going to see a lot more play now.

Kerrigan/Lili - Transparent changes, nothing really about the champion changes

Murky - Still trash tier. They need to completely rework him.

Nazeebo - Rather large nerf to Ravenous Spirit, but I don't think it's going to change his position as top tier Specialist. Gargantuan MAY be viable now, but I still feel like Ravenous Spirit is still the stronger choice.

Raynor - Insignificant and pointless damage change.

Sgt Hammer - Bit of a health nerf, but this equates to 350 health at level 20 - not the end of the world.

Sonya - can use some activated talents while in Whirlwind, but this doesn't change the basic problem that makes her poor right now - she's a squishy tank that relies on her lifesteal to not be blown up, and her lifesteal can be shut down with a single CC. She's a mediocre melee assassin right now, not a Warrior.

Stiches - MAJOR nerf. The removal of the AOE stun on top of the rather large damage reduction and small health reduction is a massive kick in the nads for the ole fat man. He's still decent with his hook but I think he's mid-tier overall now.

Tassadar - Big changes to the talent almost nobody takes. Archon still blows it out of the water.

Lost Vikings - Fiddling changes. Still decent overall, but so annoying to play most people will simply not play him.

Thrall - They killed his self-healing so much in the last patch that they have to bring it back somewhat. Some fiddling changes that increase his damage a little. Think this may bring him back to a bit better than average, but not back to his previous OP crown.

Tychus - Unchanged. Stupid renames for no reason.

Tyrande - Big rework, it's kind of tough to tell exactly where this puts her. It FEELS like a buff, and she was already pretty good in the right hands, so this may move her to top tier support.

Uther - Likewise, a big rework, but unlike Tyrande this is an UNBELIEVABLE NERF. To sum up - he can no longer stun in spirit form. Couple that with his level 20 talent for Divine Storm taking a MAJOR range nerf, and I think this drops Uther all the way from top tier to MAYBE average, probably below average. Which is very unfortunate because I just bought him

Valla - Still uncontested Queen of Assassins, but slightly easier to get ahold of. I'm not really clear how slows will work with Vault now - will they actually reduce the range of Vault, or will they just make the animation last longer? Either way doesn't really matter, she's still the best.

Zeratul - Bit of a late game burst nerf, but not the end of the world. Don't think this really affects his viability or people that will play him.

[Olinser]

Yeeeeeeeeeee boi.

I have a whole slew of questions though: which heroes are considered the best at the moment? Am I being a fool looking at Tychus as the first champion I purchase with battle-won gold? (I mean, c'mon, he has a huge mini-gun and turns into a giant robot? What's not to love!) Is Arthas any decent as a Tank? Is Azmodan any good as a champion in general? Is Tanking (HotS specifically) really just body blocking for your team and acting as some kind of initiation at the same time?

Edit: do you think they'll add Kel'Thuzad as a Hero?

With regards to which are the 'best' - that's a controversial question, hit me in game and we can discuss champions. Here's a link to Zuna's tier list (which includes a few others). I don't agree with a some of his placements (Li Li and Tychus are too low, Sonya is too high, for instance), but that gives you a general idea. http://heroesofthestorm.github.io/zuna-tierlist

Frankly right now I feel like most of the heroes are playable, and since carrying alone is impossible team comp is much more important than a single champion (with the possible exception of Valla).

Tychus is indeed very strong right now - despite his recent nerfs in the February patch there's pretty general agreement he's the 2nd best ranged assassin (behind only Valla). He's amazingly mobile and has a strong kit, you won't go wrong with a purchase there.

Arthas is... controversial. He WAS the best tank until he got a major nerf. His problem now is that he's kind of squishy and his Ghoul ultimate is too easy to kill with AOE, but he still does a lot of damage for a tank and has a strong kit with basically a permanent AOE slow around him and a root. I'd say he's a bit above average right now but kind of gets outshined by others.

I'm not sure what you're asking about Azmodan exactly - but I play him the most, he's very good in the right hands but he does take some getting used to.

Tanking is kind of different just because the warriors all play so dramatically different. Right now honestly a lot of the tanks are the initiators in a fight, and whether they are peeling for your team or trying to lock down enemy assassins really depends on the team comps. For instance - if there is a Valla on the enemy team then generally your mission in life is going to be to lock her down so she can get bursted. But if there is an Illidan on the enemy team, you HAVE to CC him off your squishies.

[TechnOkami]

Cool. Once I log back on I'll collect on my gold and get a few champs with it.

Good to know Azmodan's just fine. I'll be purchasing him, Tychus, Arthas, Falstad, and like, maybe Rhaegar and Malfurion so I can have some supports to play when the need arises.

[Olinser]

Cool. Once I log back on I'll collect on my gold and get a few champs with it.

Good to know Azmodan's just fine. I'll be purchasing him, Tychus, Arthas, Falstad, and like, maybe Rhaegar and Malfurion so I can have some supports to play when the need arises.

Well... you actually won't get it all at once. I also misread the first part of it - the 3750 is for leveling a Hero to level 20 (previous max was 10). But hey, lot of fresh gold up for grabs now for all heroes you own.

The other 10,000 gold is spread out as rewards for every 5 profile levels starting at 20. So for a level 40 such as myself, I log in and get it in one lump sum of 10k. If you aren't past 20 yet, you actually won't get the gold until you level up.

On another note, is anybody actually interested in doing a 5 man team? Possibly starting this weekend?

[TechnOkami]

If I'm there on like Mumble I might join in. Check the other ppl on Mumble (GitP League of Legends Server), there's bound to be people there who would want to.

[Aragehaor]

I'd be interested, but generally speaking when one gets a five stack going they want competent players


I've been playing the game a reasonable amount the last two-three days - primarily as Sonya and Uther, though today (since they arent free anymore) I've been playing a small amount of Arthas. (And Illidan, because i decided to buy Illidan because i like Illidan, silly reason - i know.)

Sonya and Uther are both a lot of fun, though Sonya can be a bit squishy - still, i found* that so long as you land her spear your pretty well off to get a kill(though i agree that she definitely should be classified as an assassin rather then a warrior at the moment.)

Uther is just relentless healing, stunning and general fun.(Even when your dead.)

Arthas seems reasonably solid to me, decent abilities - though i haven't tried him in a 'real' game yet since i want to unlock all his traits first. (which i personally dislike having to do, as the AI aren't challenging at all to fight against, but eh.)

I haven't played Illidan in a real game either yet, but hes been great fun - highly mobile abilities, two extremely fun ults. - just great.

In short, though I'm having a blast with the game so far, aside from having to play several games with a hero before unlocking all of their abilities,(i suppose i 'could' queue for a real game without them but then i wouldn't have all the options. )

Still, its pretty fun.


*Though given that i just started playing i'm pretty sure that my success with Sonya could at least partly be due to playing against other low level players.

[Olinser]

I'd be interested, but generally speaking when one gets a five stack going they want competent players


I've been playing the game a reasonable amount the last two-three days - primarily as Sonya and Uther, though today (since they arent free anymore) I've been playing a small amount of Arthas. (And Illidan, because i decided to buy Illidan because i like Illidan, silly reason - i know.)

Sonya and Uther are both a lot of fun, though Sonya can be a bit squishy - still, i found* that so long as you land her spear your pretty well off to get a kill(though i agree that she definitely should be classified as an assassin rather then a warrior at the moment.)

Uther is just relentless healing, stunning and general fun.(Even when your dead.)

Arthas seems reasonably solid to me, decent abilities - though i haven't tried him in a 'real' game yet since i want to unlock all his traits first. (which i personally dislike having to do, as the AI aren't challenging at all to fight against, but eh.)

I haven't played Illidan in a real game either yet, but hes been great fun - highly mobile abilities, two extremely fun ults. - just great.

In short, though I'm having a blast with the game so far, aside from having to play several games with a hero before unlocking all of their abilities,(i suppose i 'could' queue for a real game without them but then i wouldn't have all the options. )

Still, its pretty fun.


*Though given that i just started playing i'm pretty sure that my success with Sonya could at least partly be due to playing against other low level players.

Illidan is very strong right now, but his success or failure in teamfights directly depends on making initiations that your team can follow. A bad Illidan dives alone and gets blown up - a good Illidan on a good team is nearly unstoppable because you can't keep him from killing squishies while the rest of his team is railing you.

Sonya's problem is that her kit is essentially built around her Whirlwind giving her a large amount of health back, and it ends with a single CC and has a rather long cooldown. Against a team that actually CCs her out of Whirlwind she becomes a very squishy melee with not great damage. Now don't get me wrong - if you can work the lanes so she's against somebody with no CC then she's amazing because she has no mana and can constantly crush waves with her Whirlwind and is literally impossible to pressure out of lane - it's kill or she heals to full on the next wave if you are laning against her without a CC. She's just very weak in teamfights - Blizzard really needs to decide if they want her to be a damage dealer or a tank and commit to one direction.

Arthas - There's nothing WRONG with Arthas, but his problem is that he's a bit squishy and he lacks hard CC (his peel is an AOE slow and a root), and once they took away the ungodly sustain on his Ghoul ult he's just outshined by the much heavier CC tanks that are also much tankier like Muradin, ETC or Stitches. He's definitely still playable at high levels, he just kind of doesn't do anything particularly outstanding.

Uther, unfortunately, has taken a massive nerf today, and now you can't stun or deal damage after death - ONLY heal. RIP top tier Uther

[Olinser]

I just started a pretty informal 5s team, pretty much anybody is welcome if you want to play around in the hero league, just message me in-game.

And of course you get to be part of the greatness that is The Big Dig Club.

[Mutant Sheep]

Going to throw myself in at the list here, Fourhand#1640. Got the game a week ago, it has ruined my life. Made it to player level 26, how far does it go?

Daily quest today is play 8 games. Thank goodness they gave it to me on a weekend.

[Olinser]

Going to throw myself in at the list here, Fourhand#1640. Got the game a week ago, it has ruined my life. Made it to player level 26, how far does it go?

Daily quest today is play 8 games. Thank goodness they gave it to me on a weekend.

Added you to the list.

Current max player level is 40.

Also - you can hold up to 3 daily quests at a time, so you don't actually have to complete them the same day you receive them.

[Grytorm]

Just started playing a few days ago. Bought Malfurion because he seems fun, but two questions. Is it worth getting the mana regen ability on him at level 1, how good is he overall?

[ChaosOS]

Conjurer's pursuit is the best level 1 talent on most characters who can pick it, it adds up to a LOT of extra mana regeneration. He's quite good in my opinion, his weakness is burst but he outputs a LOT of healing over the course of a fight (ALWAYS pick tranquility by the way)

[Olinser]

Conjurer's pursuit is the best level 1 talent on most characters who can pick it, it adds up to a LOT of extra mana regeneration. He's quite good in my opinion, his weakness is burst but he outputs a LOT of healing over the course of a fight (ALWAYS pick tranquility by the way)

Let's not go that far, now. Tranquility is a good ult, but Twilight Dream is a fantastic ult as well. A 3 second AOE silence is absolutely AMAZING in a lot of comps.

When choosing between them, you basically have to look at the enemy team comp and your comp, and how damage is being dealt. If the enemy team has a lot of spread out damage and not a lot of pick potential, then definitely Tranquility.

However, if they're running a burst assassin comp, then Tranquility isn't going to keep their target alive, but Twilight Dream might (or at least let you turn 1 death into a decisively won teamfight). Twilight Dream is especially good at countering other healers like LiLi or allowing you to burst a Tassadar/Valla/Tychus before they can escape.

Rule of thumb is to look at how long fights are lasting pre-10. If fights are over in just a couple seconds with multiple deaths, you probably want Twilight Dream. If they are long and drawn out, then Tranquility.


Regarding the level 1 Mana Talent, honestly, the only 2 heroes I take it almost every time on are Malfurion and LiLi, mainly because they do run into mana problems and they just don't have very good level 1 alternative talents anyway (once in a while you may want the Healing Brew range increase on LiLi, but I'd say probably 80%+ of the time you want mana regen).

It should NEVER be taken on Nova and probably never on Falstad (though I don't play Falstad, but never seen a good one take it).

The others it really depends because they do have extremely good alternative level 1 talents, which make me lean towards not taking it. Uther's 'basic attack reduces Hammer of Justice (his stun) cooldown' is usually just too good to pass up, Jaina will usually want either the Frostbolt range increase or the increased Chill slow, and Tassadar has Psi Storm range increase (or his refund mana on Psi hit can actually be more efficient than the mana talent if you couple it with his 'Psi Storm a 2nd time for free' talent).

[Grytorm]

I just tried Nazeebo. He's pretty fun although I don't know what the best thing to do with him really is because it was a stomp. And I saw an amusing bug. I died with the Gargantuan out after level 20. He didn't despawn and when I respaqned I cast it again. Sadly alll he did was be a ward near there base.

[Olinser]

I just tried Nazeebo. He's pretty fun although I don't know what the best thing to do with him really is because it was a stomp. And I saw an amusing bug. I died with the Gargantuan out after level 20. He didn't despawn and when I respaqned I cast it again. Sadly alll he did was be a ward near there base.

Nazeebo, even after his big ult nerf in the recent patch, is still strong. However, he is a bit pidgeonholed due to several of his talents being just plain better than the other choices in most games (Death Ritual, Gidbinn), except in niche games where you really need a Mule. Gargantuan is at least useable now, although they put a major nerf on Ravenous Spirit to try and force people to take it.

In my opinion, whenever you see any level of a talent tree that has a single talent taken over 75% of the time with a higher win rate than any other talent at that level (especially with regards to ultimates), you need to work on the champion. Sadly, Blizzard's go-to response seems to be to nerf the good talent rather than fixing the filler 'hey you have 4 options but 3 of them are taken by less than 10% of the population' talents.

[Gaelbert]

I got into the beta and played for a little while today. Really enjoyed it, and I'm not a huge fan of MOBAs in general. I didn't try anything beyond the tutorial and 5-6 practice matches but I definitely think I'll be playing more in the future.

My ID is SamHouston#1563 and I'd love to play with any of y'all. I also have a 15 slot mumble server myself that I could fit 5 more people in if they were willing.

I'm looking to pick up Lost Vikings as my first hero purchase, I loved both of those games to pieces and the main reason I wanted into the beta was so I could play them. I do like winning though and from what I've read, Lost Vikings aren't the most optimal hero so we'll see I don't know how to read. Anyone know of a basic beginners guide? I've scouted around and couldn't tell what was useful/relevant.

[Olinser]

I got into the beta and played for a little while today. Really enjoyed it, and I'm not a huge fan of MOBAs in general. I didn't try anything beyond the tutorial and 5-6 practice matches but I definitely think I'll be playing more in the future.

My ID is SamHouston#1563 and I'd love to play with any of y'all. I also have a 15 slot mumble server myself that I could fit 5 more people in if they were willing.

I'm looking to pick up Lost Vikings as my first hero purchase, I loved both of those games to pieces and the main reason I wanted into the beta was so I could play them. I do like winning though and from what I've read, Lost Vikings aren't the most optimal hero so we'll see I don't know how to read. Anyone know of a basic beginners guide? I've scouted around and couldn't tell what was useful/relevant.

Added you in to the list.

Lost Vikings are a very good hero, but I would HIGHLY suggest NOT starting out with them, simply because they are currently arguably the single most difficult and complex hero to play well, and undebatably in the top 3, not exactly the kind of thing you want to start out with.

For a beginners guide a couple people have told me that http://2p.com/24330359_2/Heroes-of-t...S-by-Aaron.htm is a decent guide that explains all of the basics of the game but doesn't really go into the strategy or nitty-gritty details of individual heroes.

For heroes the only thing you can really do to learn them is play them - every week you should play any free rotation hero that you haven't used yet to level 5, both to unlock their talents and to get the free 500 gold. It only takes 600k experience to get to level 5 on a hero - 5-10 games depending on length and whether you do Co-Op or Quick Match, less if you have a Stimpack or are grouped with a Friend for the XP bonus (if you play all Co-Op games alone it can take 10-12 games, but if you play quick matches grouped with a friend with a stimpack active you can get to level 5 in as few as 2 games). Those games should give you at least a decent grasp of a hero's capabilities and give you an idea of your playstyle and who you like and don't like to play.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Lost Vikings are definitely the hero I bought with an intent to practice heavily in Co-op first.

[Gaelbert]

Added you in to the list.

Lost Vikings are a very good hero, but I would HIGHLY suggest NOT starting out with them, simply because they are currently arguably the single most difficult and complex hero to play well, and undebatably in the top 3, not exactly the kind of thing you want to start out with.

You're probably right. I do like heroes with a lot of micro involved, but I think I'll give it a week or two of free hero rotations before deciding what I want to pick up. Really been enjoying Tyrande, landing those skill shots is so satisfying.

I've been playing a ton since I got my stimpack at level 10 and have been trying to make the most of it. I'll probably go through and add everyone here. If anyone's up for playing with Quick Matches with me while I learn the ropes that'd be pretty cool.

[Grytorm]

I should get my number on the list I guess. Grytorm#1777.

Also friending the people on the list I guess.

[Brance_a_Lot]

Draken, Gaelbert and I played today, didn't do so well but I had fun.

Who do you think I should buy next? Murky or Zagara or someone else like that, My favorite character so far has been Sgt. Hammer.

[TechnOkami]

Draken, Gaelbert and I played today, didn't do so well but I had fun.

Who do you think I should buy next? Murky or Zagara or someone else like that, My favorite character so far has been Sgt. Hammer.

I would recommend trying a hero in a normal game beforehand, but if you enjoy playing with them and can play well with them, you should get them.

[Olinser]

Draken, Gaelbert and I played today, didn't do so well but I had fun.

Who do you think I should buy next? Murky or Zagara or someone else like that, My favorite character so far has been Sgt. Hammer.

From those 2 I would recommend Zagara by a wide margin, first because quite frankly, Murky is still not in a good place right now, and you will receive a lot of hate from a lot of the playerbase that consider playing Murky to be effectively trolling.

Second, and probably more importantly, if your favorite character is Sgt Hammer then I think you will like Zagara a heck of a lot more because they actually play somewhat similarly and have similar roles - both Sgt Hammer and Zagara excel at lane pushing and damage from a distance and can do a lot of damage to buildings without minions. The major difference is that Hammer's ult is direct damage, while Zagara's usual ult is a long range CC that is one of the best in the game with a proper team. Just like Zeratul's Void Prison, her Maw ult opens up some absolutely unbelievable skill combos.

Most obviously - ETC, Diablo, or Jaina, if their skills are timed properly, can instantly lock down everybody hit by Zagara's ult the instant they come out of her CC, and then you can wipe them out. I watched one pro match that was literally ended by a single Zagara ult - she hit 3 at once, and just before it ended ETC started up Mosh Pit on the location. Needless to say, the game was over.

[Olinser]

I should get my number on the list I guess. Grytorm#1777.

Also friending the people on the list I guess.

Added you to the list.

It's funny that your Battlenet hashtag has 777 in it. You should totally go play lotto right now

[Gandariel]

Blizzard be damned. I fired up the game after a long hiatus, I get a free 7-day StImpack. I played a bit today (6ish games), enough to agree with everyone that Gazlowe is absolute crap, and Tychus is really fun.

Aaand now I can't play for a few days, which means that the stimpack is mostly wasted.

Counting time:
My total gold is 28k now

My current plan is of buying:
Valla, ETC, Muradin(?), Tychus, Tassadar, Illidan.
Hammer, Nazeebo, Zagara, ???(Maybe Uther? Zeratul? Malfurion? I like Falstad too)

A rapid count tells me that I need more or less 20k gold. Considering quests, the heroes I still need to being to 5, some level-up gold I'm really not that far away from getting it.

Neat!
(Would be neater if I hadnt wasted the stimpack too :P )

[Malistrae]

Blizzard be damned. I fired up the game after a long hiatus, I get a free 7-day StImpack. I played a bit today (6ish games), enough to agree with everyone that Gazlowe is absolute crap, and Tychus is really fun.

Aaand now I can't play for a few days, which means that the stimpack is mostly wasted.

Counting time:
My total gold is 28k now

My current plan is of buying:
Valla, ETC, Muradin(?), Tychus, Tassadar, Illidan.
Hammer, Nazeebo, Zagara, ???(Maybe Uther? Zeratul? Malfurion? I like Falstad too)

A rapid count tells me that I need more or less 20k gold. Considering quests, the heroes I still need to being to 5, some level-up gold I'm really not that far away from getting it.

Neat!
(Would be neater if I hadnt wasted the stimpack too :P )

Gazlowe is very bad, but it is possible to make him semi-viable by ignoring his W completely and focusing on talents that improve his E (and Q). He can set up devastating combos with his second heroic (Q+Q+E+R+E, etc.), but it requires very good timing and specific talents. With certain talents, he is also a very fast merc cleaner. But he certainly needs a few buffs and a rework of his W.

[Gandariel]

Yeah, I've found myself never really using the W.

And his auto attack, frankly. He's so weak in hand-to-hand, and he has low hp and no escape skills.

[Malistrae]

Yeah, I've found myself never really using the W.

And his auto attack, frankly. He's so weak in hand-to-hand, and he has low hp and no escape skills.

I consider this the go-to guide for Gazlowe: http://www.heroesfire.com/hots/guide...dly-gazlowe-84
The key is completely focusing on setting up massive burst-damage with your Xplodium Charge, while turrets provide continous DPS. This will make clearing out merc camps and more static teamfights a cakewalk. However, as you have noted, Gazlowe has little escape skills, low hp and is heavily reliant upon preparation (setting up turrets and timing E). A Gazlowe player needs good foresight and timing to be successful. He is also very easy to build in an underoptimized way (since he has a few must-pick talents, and the rest are pretty crappy).
Nevertheless, an optimized Gazlowe in certain team comps is a useful addition to the team, and very dangerous. And against unattentive opponents, he is an absolute beast. I originally sucked hard with him, but in my first match after reading the guide above, I actually managed to win a 1v4 fight. Granted, I was very lucky, and my opponents were pretty dumb. Also, Gazlowe's ability to apply pressure with his ultra-fast merc clearing (Extra TNT + Kwik Release Charge is a godly combination for this) can be very annoying for the opposing team.

[Olinser]

Gazlowe's problem is that he is an incredibly weak hero in 1v1s, and he's almost worthless in teamfights before level 10. He's a hero built around dedication to pushing a lane, but the problem is pushing a lane will simply cannot win the game in its current state (any game in which Gazlowe won a game by pushing a lane another hero would have won in the same spot). He can't really solo a lane because he loses to almost every single other hero in a 1v1 - so all a Gazlowe split pushing gets you is a 4v4 for a short time while the other hero kills Gazlowe, then its a 4v5 against you.

Then his second problem is that outside his ult and Xplodium charge he is close to worthless in a teamfight. Turrets die just too easily and don't do enough damage, and his W just doesn't do enough damage for how long it takes to charge.

He CAN set up some very good combos with other heroes - after a Zeratul or Zagara ult as long as you time it properly you have a guaranteed Xplodium charge stun, and his gravity ult can set up some very good combos with other heroes ults (Gazlowe + ETC is a pretty sick combo), but other heroes can set up equally sick combos while still having either significantly more damage or more CC to contribute.

Why would you take a Gazlowe when you can take Sgt Hammer, Zagara, or Azmodan, who all push lanes much harder, take structures faster, AND have much more contribution to teamfights?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Starting to learn the Vikings by playing them against bots. As expected, my biggest problem is not switching fast enough to stay on top of all of them. That said, I have consistently wound up being a fantastic XP farm for my team. I expect this is a massive advantage of the Vikings, since I can have all of them off killing minions in their own lanes, then bring them together for the midgame and endgame to combo them up.

It's also nice to be able to solo camps.