Heroes of the Storm II: Thread. Augmented. Logical Decision

[Gandariel]

Reddit has a *bunch* of useful guides

https://www.reddit.com/r/heroesofthe...roesofthestorm

Here under "new player resources" you can find some.

Anyways.

"laning phase".
Just make sure all lanes are covered. (except for special occasions, such as objectives).

Which lane you're on doesn't really matter, *EXCEPT* if you're a great solo-laner:

"Solo laner" heroes (Zagara, Thrall, Alarak, and some others) are the only ones who do have the recommendation to stay in one lane and remain there. In 2-lane maps they do 1-4, in 3-lane maps they stay alone in the furthest away map (Bot in Sky Temple and Blackheart's Bay, for example), and leave the others to do 3-1 or 2-2.

The point is: Only solo-laners actually have a select lane. Everyone else just goes wherever he can do best.
At higher level you start seeing rotations, which is the "best" way to play: In a 3-lane map, 1 guy stays in the solo lane, the other 4 travel as a pack between the other two, getting all the experience in both lanes and being safe and always able to dive in for a kill.

Diablo and Jaina are not solo laners. Just stay in a lane where you think you can do some good and you're not horribly outmatched (Leoric and Tychus massacre Diablo, for example).
By the way, as Diablo, you might actually wanna try ganking a bit. Diablo's pretty good at that.

Anyways.
Diablo.
E=>Q is your standard combo. Enemy comes too close? Bam, he's in the middle of your team and now he dies.
(you can use shift-click to ensure the whole combo hits)

You can use QE too, which has range, but then you have to be good at body blocking to prevent the enemy from running.

The only other use of Q is slamming someone on a wall to stun them.

hotslogs.com is a great resource for builds.

My favorite Diablo Build is:
1) Devil's Due
4) From the Shadows
7) Soul Shield (or Momentum if they have no mages)
10) Apocalypse
13) Devastating Charge
16) Domination
20) Hellgate (Lord of Terror is ok too)

Essentially, you become a beast at smashing people around.
In a narrow corridor, Q E Q (with a W and a couple basic attacks thrown in) does a *lot* of damage. If you're good at timing you can even add your R to add 2 more seconds of stun to the chain.

You're OK in lane (and you do need to farm those souls), but do try to run around and gank, since you're so good at it.

[Spore]

Laning is called soaking in this game for a reason. You just have to be vaguely close to dying minions and you get XP.

[Gandariel]

Holy cow, I get why people do drugs. Opening loot cheats felt SOOO good.

I opened 50 ish packs, then played dress up with my heroes for an hour at least.
Dang that was awesome.

As far as actual loot, I would say I'm *pretty* happy but not 100% satisfied.

Legendaries included: Nimbus cloud, Maraudin Muradin, Mystic Kingdom Arthas (the green one), Butcherlisk, Rocky blue Thrall, MECHA FRIGGIN TASSADAR, Angel Diablo (yeah, Diablo legendary skin. Just the one i wanted), and a few others I don't remember.

Cool epics included Volleyball Li Ming, Sakura Auriel (which is really pretty!), and Deputy Valla.

I spent a ridiculous amount of gold on rerolls. No, seriously.

The bad news is, I did not get any of the top 3 in my wishlist (Mecha Anub'arak, mecha Dehaka, Azmodunk).
I do have 2300 shards now, so I can buy one, but I wish I had gotten one of them in a Crate :P
I think I'll get Neon Anub'arak, because damn.

Also I got a bunch of announcers, but no legendary ones. Tried a couple, none was super exciting to me. Li Li and Hammer seem OK.

Best 100 shards purchases: blue Insectoid Zagara, Tempest Regalia Jaina, snakey egipt-y Xul. Purifier Artanis is worth it too but I got Shogun, which I like more.

:alasilly:, :aurielsilly:, and :limingangry: are clearly and objectively the best emojis.

[ChaosOS]

See, Archangel Diablo has nothing on Prime Evil. Prime Evil is probably the best skin in the game right now.

[Spore]

See, Archangel Diablo has nothing on Prime Evil. Prime Evil is probably the best skin in the game right now.

WRONG! Kaiju Diablo is the best skin. Everyone knows it.

[Gandariel]

I feel like Mecha-X skins are the best in the game.

The difference between mecha Dehaka and regular is so stunning.

Also, Prime Evil > Lurkablo > Archangel > Kaiju > Regular Diablo

[Keltest]

WRONG! Kaiju Diablo is the best skin. Everyone knows it.

Maraudin Muradin would spit on that claim if he wasn't wearing his helmet. Best skin 2017.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

But if you open loot boxes first your bundle will be worth less...

You don't get anything from heroes you already have, right?

You get shards depending on the rarity of the duplicate. I think it's 1/4 of the worth.

I think what Gandariel was noting was that if you open loot boxes first, you don't get any compensation for heroes when you pick up the mega-bundle. On the other hand, if you get the mega-bundle and then open duplicate heroes in your chests, you get shards for the duplicates.

Are there any set lanes heroes tend to lean toward like in LoL? Or can anyone work anywhere?

The others have pretty much covered how things work. Just in case you're interested, here's a little theory behind why things are set up the way they are. I tend to find that knowing the "why" often helps me remember the "how". It's very possible that you know a significant amount of the LoL side, but I'll reiterate it just as a recap and to contrast.

In LoL, XP and gold are limited resources, as you know, especially gold. This presents a problem for a team: there's only three lanes, but there's five players. What do you do with the two extra players? This is why gold gets fed directly to a minimal number of players on the team: your carry, your midlaner, and your toplaner. Now, since XP is also split, you still want to minimize the number of players in a lane, even if they aren't getting last hits. However, if your opponents outnumber you in a lane, you're going to potentially get killed and/or outpushed, giving the other team a significant gold/xp lead.

The 2-2-1 rotation provides an easy solution to this: at most, you'll only be outnumbered 3 to 2 in a lane (unless three players jump onto your solo laner--but they're building for sustainability since they're not your carry), and the support in that lane can keep your damage-dealer safely alive. If they try to 4-on-2 a lane, they're now leaving at least one lane exposed against your team, which means they lose a significant amount of income. Even worse, if they put 3 or 4 champs into a lane, they're splitting the XP from that lane heavily, adding even more to the resource deficit. 2-2-1 is the most stable way for things to play out.

So, what changes in HotS to shift the lane dynamic? Two big things: team XP and mounts.

With Team XP, you no longer have to worry about how your XP is being split; the only problem you need to worry about is whether you have an allied hero in a lane when the wave of enemy minions dies. So, right off the bat, this makes things like 1-3-1 splits very viable and desirable.

But, in my opinion, mounts are the real game-changer. A 25% out-of-combat movement boost, coupled with the relatively small size of most maps compared to Summoner's Rift, means that it's a lot easier to hop from one lane to another. Even on Cursed Hollow, you can mount up and move between the mid lane and a side lane in a matter of seconds. What does this mean? One, it's easier to support a teammate who's under heavy pressure from the enemy team. Two, since minion waves spawn every 30 seconds, it's entirely possible for a four-man squad to rotate between two lanes and get full XP from both. What you tend to see in pro play is one lane that's used as the "solo lane" (one player anchoring it against the enemy, not really pushing it too hard, but trying to harass the other solo laner) and two lanes with four-man rotation squads. Feels a lot like basketball, really.

In lieu of that, you still see some sort of dynamic in less-than-pro play where the solo laner grabs their lane, then everyone else just sorta floats between the other lanes.

The things you need to be a successful solo laner are some combination of the following: consistent damage (good), safe damage (better), and sustain (best). Thrall, Alarak, and Chen are (as far as I know) the most prominent solo laners. Zagara is also sometimes used as a solo laner, but she's fallen out of favor a touch. She's not the hyper lane bully she used to be, but she's still good. You really shouldn't have your support solo-laning (since you want their heals where the skirmishes are happening).

[GolemsVoice]

I think I'll buy all the Superhero skins for heroes, I really like them. My highlights include Azmodunk and Infested Tychus, as well as a few mounts.

Also, Sakura Auriel has a really, really creepy "face"

[Thialfi]

I just installed the game last night and went through the tutorial. My son and I are interested in doing the 4 weeks of 5 matches with a friend to get the loot for Overwatch.

I saw a checkbox for looking for a party, but I really didn't see a whole lot of chat going on. What's the best way to find someone who will friend you so you can grind out the quests?

I don't know how I feel about the game quite yet, since I just did the tutorial. It is really cool getting all these characters from Blizzard lore though.

[Keltest]

I just installed the game last night and went through the tutorial. My son and I are interested in doing the 4 weeks of 5 matches with a friend to get the loot for Overwatch.

I saw a checkbox for looking for a party, but I really didn't see a whole lot of chat going on. What's the best way to find someone who will friend you so you can grind out the quests?

I don't know how I feel about the game quite yet, since I just did the tutorial. It is really cool getting all these characters from Blizzard lore though.

Honestly, just play some AI games. If the people don't actively offend you, invite one or more of them to a party, ask to friend them for the quest, boom youre set. The heroes community tends to be pretty generous about that stuff, and playing games and being outgoing is a good way to find people to play with.

[Ashen Lilies]

-snip-

In LoL, XP and gold are limited resources, as you know, especially gold. This presents a problem for a team: there's only three lanes, but there's five players. What do you do with the two extra players? This is why gold gets fed directly to a minimal number of players on the team: your carry, your midlaner, and your toplaner. Now, since XP is also split, you still want to minimize the number of players in a lane, even if they aren't getting last hits. However, if your opponents outnumber you in a lane, you're going to potentially get killed and/or outpushed, giving the other team a significant gold/xp lead.

The 2-2-1 rotation provides an easy solution to this: at most, you'll only be outnumbered 3 to 2 in a lane (unless three players jump onto your solo laner--but they're building for sustainability since they're not your carry), and the support in that lane can keep your damage-dealer safely alive. If they try to 4-on-2 a lane, they're now leaving at least one lane exposed against your team, which means they lose a significant amount of income. Even worse, if they put 3 or 4 champs into a lane, they're splitting the XP from that lane heavily, adding even more to the resource deficit. 2-2-1 is the most stable way for things to play out.

-snip-

You forgot about jungle camps, which are the fourth stable source of gold and XP.

The current most stable laning meta in League of Legends is 1-1-2-J, not 2-2-1.

1-3-1 and 4-1 setups become more prevalent later on in the game, generally after outer towers (forts) have fallen making the map more open.



Personally, I got an Arcanist Jaina skin which was nice, but most of the good skins I noticed were largely for heroes I don't play.

I'll have to search through my haul to see what heroes I could be persuaded to start playing more of.

[Dgrin]

Here you can find some more useful guides, which are not, to my knowledge, on the sidebar (yet).
Also I am ready to help new players but I have to note that I am playing on EU server. If you're there, feel free to add me (Dgrin#2162) and play some games together.

[Gandariel]

You forgot about jungle camps, which are the fourth stable source of gold and XP.

The current most stable laning meta in League of Legends is 1-1-2-J, not 2-2-1.

1-3-1 and 4-1 setups become more prevalent later on in the game, generally after outer towers (forts) have fallen making the map more open.

I'll be lurking in the LoL thread until someone talks about Heroes and makes a mistake so i can jump in and correct them :P


Anyways, been trying out my new skins.
Mecha Tassadar is a dream come true. pressing Z makes me so happy. And his voice! He even has custom voice lines!

Maraudin' Muradin's Q is probably the best singular ability animation in the game

Butcherlisk is pretty OK, but i'm a *terrible* butcher.

Sakura Auriel is sooo nice.

Probably going to spend my dust and buy Mecha Anub'arak. Not super happy about it, since i'm paying Legendary level for an (old) Epic Skin, but Anub doesn't have any other good skin, and that one is super cool.
Same goes for Dehaka, really. No good skins, but the mecha one is awesome. I think i like Mecha dehaka more than Mecha Anub, but i play much more Anub than Dehaka...

[Ashen Lilies]

I'll be lurking in the LoL thread until someone talks about Heroes and makes a mistake so i can jump in and correct them :P

It's totally worth it.

I play both games, I just only lurk here because I play it less than the other one. It's fast and fun and scratches my MOBA itch when I want to, but so far I've found it less strategically compelling to watch and play due to the strength and cadence of the objectives.

*waves*

I did end up spending my 1000 free gems on the Sakura Auriel pack. It's a very nice skin. The red one in particular goes very nicely with the red version of the bike you get from the first week event rewards.

[Gandariel]

I only opened the base one (pink), but they're all nice.
I also got the pink heart-shaped mount, so that was pretty obvious combo :P


Other news: ETC is now my favorite announcer pack. At some point we lost a fort and he said "WOO! ... Oh, wait, it's our fort? Never mind then"

I play both games, I just only lurk here because I play it less than the other one. It's fast and fun and scratches my MOBA itch when I want to, but so far I've found it less strategically compelling to watch and play due to the strength and cadence of the objectives.

The cadence of the objectives is what makes the game not devolve into super long laning phases, though. I certainly appreciate it for the constantly changing gameplay.
As far as watching.. I'm not the biggest fan either, though i find League even more boring to watch. 20 minute lane duels can certainly be fun to play, but I find watching them very tedious)

Another thought: Loot chest gem prices look *extremely* high.
1000 gems for 12 chests feels so little!
I'm probably holding on to mine until they sell a skin I want, and then just buy that.

[Togath]

So got the new Genji skin... nowI just need to wait a few days for the next set of quests.
The game is kind of fun, might keep playing. So far Diablo and fiery evil bloodelf mage dude from the Sunwell seem enjoyable to play. But I haven't tried many others yet. I did get the "sleepover" three vikings skin. Maybe I'll try them out next.

[Ashen Lilies]

Spoiler: discussion

Show

20 minute laning phases are definitely a thing that happen, but I feel are frequently overstated. The jungler's movement is a constant source of moving pressure in the map, mid laners and supports roam frequently, and even top laners (most similar to the 'solo' lane position) will use their Teleport spell to venture out of their island. Average game time has gone down rather significantly over the game's lifespan due to various balance changes but also the playerbase just getting better - games closer to 30 minutes long are the norm, so 20 minutes of laning while common 3-4 years ago, would nowadays be considered an exceptional snoozefest. 20 minute laning phases aren't a consequence of lack of objectives, they're a consequence of poor play.

On more subjective matters: for better or worse, I appreciate that the pace of any given game of League is set by the players, not the game. Teams like Fnatic are known for their aggressive "break lanes early and then form a roaming ganksquad" style that relies on picks and snowballing to win, TSM frequently plays a more controlled style that nevertheless relies on their impeccable teamfight synergy to outperform and punish teams that rush in haphazardly to try and break their pressure. The odd 70 minute ultra-passive frustration marathons between two teams that are too scared/incompetent to actually win definitely suck, but taken as a whole I still prefer it to having the game literally shepherd you from conflict point to conflict point.

Having now finally looked through my haul, as it turns out, the Will of the Loot Boxes is apparently that I should become an Illidan player.

[Gandariel]

So got the new Genji skin... nowI just need to wait a few days for the next set of quests.
The game is kind of fun, might keep playing. So far Diablo and fiery evil bloodelf mage dude from the Sunwell seem enjoyable to play. But I haven't tried many others yet. I did get the "sleepover" three vikings skin. Maybe I'll try them out next.

SE LAMA! SHAMALORI!

Kael Thas is cool. Not easy in terms of positioning, and he lives and dies by your ability to mash all his button in a teamfight or 1v1.
D+E Q W is usual combo on 1v1 or small engagements. In teamfights it depends, as the situation sometimes requires you to use your trait on each of your skills (E for engage or follow up, W for poke, Q for zoning or follow up).

Vikings are pretty hard. Due to how the XP system works, you only need to be close to the lane to gain XP. So, you could put 3 Vikings in 3 lanes, and allow the rest of your team to push one they choose or roam in search of kills. The problem, of course, is keeping all 3 Vikings alive through ganks and attacks.
After level 10 you might want to start grouping them up, as your team can't keep 4v5ing the objectives

Spoiler: discussion

Show

20 minute laning phases are definitely a thing that happen, but I feel are frequently overstated. The jungler's movement is a constant source of moving pressure in the map, mid laners and supports roam frequently, and even top laners (most similar to the 'solo' lane position) will use their Teleport spell to venture out of their island. Average game time has gone down rather significantly over the game's lifespan due to various balance changes but also the playerbase just getting better - games closer to 30 minutes long are the norm, so 20 minutes of laning while common 3-4 years ago, would nowadays be considered an exceptional snoozefest. 20 minute laning phases aren't a consequence of lack of objectives, they're a consequence of poor play.

On more subjective matters: for better or worse, I appreciate that the pace of any given game of League is set by the players, not the game. Teams like Fnatic are known for their aggressive "break lanes early and then form a roaming ganksquad" style that relies on picks and snowballing to win, TSM frequently plays a more controlled style that nevertheless relies on their impeccable teamfight synergy to outperform and punish teams that rush in haphazardly to try and break their pressure. The odd 70 minute ultra-passive frustration marathons between two teams that are too scared/incompetent to actually win definitely suck, but taken as a whole I still prefer it to having the game literally shepherd you from conflict point to conflict point.

Having now finally looked through my haul, as it turns out, the Will of the Loot Boxes is apparently that I should become an Illidan player.

Huh, nice. Didn't really know, thanks for educating me on the matter.

Question: how do you feel about Dragon Shire?
It's my favorite map, and probably the least shepherd-y, since the three points are literally on the lanes.
Also, there's always a lot of fighting, counterplay, rotations. Sometimes noone gets the first Dragon until after level 10, it feels really great to have this super prolonged teamfight all over the map.

[Spore]

Having now finally looked through my haul, as it turns out, the Will of the Loot Boxes is apparently that I should become an Illidan player.

Illidan either wins HARD or gets hard countered. Blind effects make him unplayable. Crowd Control shuts him down. If Illidan is unchecked he is incredibly dangerous, as is Sylvanas. Sadly there are so many checks for these heroes that they don't see the light of day - at least in quick match.

In Hero League (or Unranked) you can counterpick or pick Illidan last so people cannot counterpick and shut you down.

[Keltest]

Illidan either wins HARD or gets hard countered. Blind effects make him unplayable. Crowd Control shuts him down. If Illidan is unchecked he is incredibly dangerous, as is Sylvanas. Sadly there are so many checks for these heroes that they don't see the light of day - at least in quick match.

In Hero League (or Unranked) you can counterpick or pick Illidan last so people cannot counterpick and shut you down.

Remember to shout YOU ARE NOT PREPARED whenever you engage someone. Illidan is amazing at punishing overextending.

[Gandariel]

Illidan either wins HARD or gets hard countered. Blind effects make him unplayable. Crowd Control shuts him down. If Illidan is unchecked he is incredibly dangerous, as is Sylvanas. Sadly there are so many checks for these heroes that they don't see the light of day - at least in quick match.

In Hero League (or Unranked) you can counterpick or pick Illidan last so people cannot counterpick and shut you down.

Fun Illidan Video:

Two American pros travel to Korea and get taught why the law is "always first ban Illidan"

https://youtu.be/QqIt7SkIr48

[Gandariel]

Illidan either wins HARD or gets hard countered. Blind effects make him unplayable. Crowd Control shuts him down. If Illidan is unchecked he is incredibly dangerous, as is Sylvanas. Sadly there are so many checks for these heroes that they don't see the light of day - at least in quick match.

In Hero League (or Unranked) you can counterpick or pick Illidan last so people cannot counterpick and shut you down.

Fun Illidan Video:

Two American pros travel to Korea and get taught why the law is "always first ban Illidan"

https://youtu.be/QqIt7SkIr48

[Ashen Lilies]

Question: how do you feel about Dragon Shire?
It's my favorite map, and probably the least shepherd-y, since the three points are literally on the lanes.
Also, there's always a lot of fighting, counterplay, rotations. Sometimes noone gets the first Dragon until after level 10, it feels really great to have this super prolonged teamfight all over the map.

Dragon Shire is actually my least favorite map. (Pretend Haunted Mines doesn't exist because that is objectively the worst map)

idk, I just find it a chore to play, because you kind of have to be winning everywhere at once to get the objective and the constant fighting with little downtime is stressful.

For me, I think the Heroes map that most closely matches the strategic feel of Summoner's Rift is Cursed Hollow, because it gives you the most freedom to play across the map and make tradeoffs on objectives. Since you need three relics to trigger a curse, it can be worth it to trade it away for something else - you need to focus on the objective eventually, but you can give up, say, first or second relic in order to stack up in a lane and make a good push on a fort, the way on Rift teams will often swap towers on opposite sides of the map (especially teams like Fnatic, who would prefer the more open map to to set up ganks in to necessarily needing to keep all their towers) or trade Dragon for tower or something (killing Drakes in League give your team a minor permanent buff that stacks, so much like relics, giving away one for a tower push is quite safe, but allowing your enemy to accumulate multiple stacking buffs from repeated Drake kills is eventually quite dangerous - but not if you kill so many towers that you actually just win before the buff stacking becomes an issue).

Even Baron Nashor, which is an objective roughly equivalent in strength to the third relic (killing it gives your heroes a temporary buff that massively empowers nearby minions, allowing you to push and break towers more easily), can sometimes be traded away for an inhibitor (keep) if you're confident enough that you can limit the amount of damage they'll do with the Hand of Baron buff well enough to make your fully breaking a lane worth it.

Warhead Junction is almost similar, but I think the map is TOO BIG and the nukes aren't as dynamic as the relics, making it feel like just a less interesting version of Cursed Hollow.

My favorite maps to play in HotS specifically though are probably Braxis Holdout, Infernal Shrines, and Battlefield of Eternity. I really didn't like Towers of Doom at first, but it's slowly grown on me.

[Keltest]

Dragon Shire is actually my least favorite map. (Pretend Haunted Mines doesn't exist because that is objectively the worst map)

idk, I just find it a chore to play, because you kind of have to be winning everywhere at once to get the objective and the constant fighting with little downtime is stressful.

For me, I think the Heroes map that most closely matches the strategic feel of Summoner's Rift is Cursed Hollow, because it gives you the most freedom to play across the map and make tradeoffs on objectives. Since you need three relics to trigger a curse, it can be worth it to trade it away for something else - you need to focus on the objective eventually, but you can give up, say, first or second relic in order to stack up in a lane and make a good push on a fort, the way on Rift teams will often swap towers on opposite sides of the map (especially teams like Fnatic, who would prefer the more open map to to set up ganks in to necessarily needing to keep all their towers) or trade Dragon for tower or something (killing Drakes in League give your team a minor permanent buff that stacks, so much like relics, giving away one for a tower push is quite safe, but allowing your enemy to accumulate multiple stacking buffs from repeated Drake kills is eventually quite dangerous - but not if you kill so many towers that you actually just win before the buff stacking becomes an issue).

Even Baron Nashor, which is an objective roughly equivalent in strength to the third relic (killing it gives your heroes a temporary buff that massively empowers nearby minions, allowing you to push and break towers more easily), can sometimes be traded away for an inhibitor (keep) if you're confident enough that you can limit the amount of damage they'll do with the Hand of Baron buff well enough to make your fully breaking a lane worth it.

Warhead Junction is almost similar, but I think the map is TOO BIG and the nukes aren't as dynamic as the relics, making it feel like just a less interesting version of Cursed Hollow.

My favorite maps to play in HotS specifically though are probably Braxis Holdout, Infernal Shrines, and Battlefield of Eternity. I really didn't like Towers of Doom at first, but it's slowly grown on me.

I like Dragon Shire for that reason myself. Theres almost no time in the game where you cant be doing something productive, and the map mechanic means that getting a good teamfight can completely turn the game around in the late game, so you cant just snowball your way to victory the way you can on, like, Blackheart's Bay.

[Thialfi]

Wow! I played enough to get the first week's quest done and I still don't know what to think. I've only played with Tyrande since she was the one I picked out of my 3 opening choices. It's weird to level up and gain powers every game and I really don't know what to choose. So far the only thing I've learned is to never get in front of your minions and stay the heck away from direct confrontation with other heroes, oh, and starfall is awesome. I picked the assassin bundle simply because it had the most heroes that I recognized and liked. I also got Sonya from a loot box, so that made the tanks a less attractive choice.

It's very different from any game I've played. It would probably be more fun if I knew what was going on and what I should do.

[Ashen Lilies]

My personal rating of maps I enjoy playing goes along the lines of


Awesome tier: Infernal Shrines, Battlefield of Eternity, Braxis Holdout

Fun tier: Towers of Doom, Tomb of the Spider Queen, Cursed Hollow

'Meh' tier: Sky Temple, Blackheart's Bay, Warhead Junction

**** tier: Haunted Mines, Garden of Terror, Dragon Shire

??? tier: Hanamura (you just got released, sorry)

[Keltest]

Wow! I played enough to get the first week's quest done and I still don't know what to think. I've only played with Tyrande since she was the one I picked out of my 3 opening choices. It's weird to level up and gain powers every game and I really don't know what to choose. So far the only thing I've learned is to never get in front of your minions and stay the heck away from direct confrontation with other heroes, oh, and starfall is awesome. I picked the assassin bundle simply because it had the most heroes that I recognized and liked. I also got Sonya from a loot box, so that made the tanks a less attractive choice.

It's very different from any game I've played. It would probably be more fun if I knew what was going on and what I should do.

For the most part, talent picks are actually pretty free form. Pick something that you want to do really well, and then pick the talents that make that thing better. Tyrande has a lot of poke damage and some healing, so pick talents that improve your ability to deal damage from a safe distance and/or talents that boost your healing abilities.

I haven't played her for a while, but I think right now the talents buffing her owls have the best performance.

[Spore]

That being said some talent choices give awesome synergies. Similarly some talents are mandatory so inform yourself beforehand.

[Gandariel]

Yeah, really in some cases certain talents are just too good to pass up.

Tyrande is a weird first hero, as she's *super* frail, is labeled as a support but arguably has pretty subpar healing, and overall she's just not that easy to use. W and E are both non-easy skillshots.

My personal suggestion of great "first time" heroes are Falstad and Muradin.

Falstad: E is a great "get out of jail free" card, especially with the level 4 talent.
You can focus more on auto attacks or Q (W to a lesser extent).
Z is a great way to never miss an objective (oh, everyone is pinging me to go here? Poof!) AND to heal up if needed ('I took too much damage in lane and fountain is on CD? Poof, B then Z and you're back in action).
He can be played fairly safely (Q build) or more aggressively (AA build) if you feel like trying.
Two strong ults, one dealing a bunch of damage, and one to let your team run away from a losing fight)

Muradin: free heal, so you don't have to B often.
E is a great escape too.
Reverberation(lvl4) +Avatar (lvl10)+ Healing Static(lvl13) make you into a super resilient tank, but you can try more aggressive options if you want.