Overwatch’s popular loot system is coming to another Blizzard game.
Today, the publisher announced Heroes of the Storm 2.0, an update coming to its PC multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) on April 25. This will change the way players unlock cosmetic items, adopting a system similar to Blizzard’s Overwatch. That team-based shooter has become a big hit for Blizzard since launching last year, and now the developer is hoping that putting some of its ideas into Heroes of the Storm can give the free-to-play MOBA a shot in the arm.
MOBAs are some of the most popular games in the competitive gaming scene, especially hits like League of Legends and Dota 2. Blizzard does not release player numbers for Heroes of the Storm, but it’s unlikely its matching those juggernauts.
In 2.0, players will now earn loot chests every time they level up their account, which they can do by playing games and earning experience points with each hero. Loot chests give out random cosmetic rewards, like skins. The update is adding new cosmetics, including banners, sprays, and voice lines, that you can also unlock from loot chests. If you get an item you already have, you’ll get shards instead. You can use this currency to buy specific cosmetics.
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So, yeah, this is basically Overwatch’s progression system. Before, you earned new skins in Heroes of the Storm by reaching milestone levels for each character. You’ll still get rewards for hitting those milestones, but those will now be loot chests that guarantee at least one item for the corresponding hero. Loot chests at certain milestones will also guarantee more rare cosmetics.
Heroes of the Storm is getting another new in-game currency, gems. You buy them with real money (although they’ll occasionally be a reward for leveling up) and spend them on more loot chests, new heroes, or anything else you can buy inside the game. Gold, which you earn from playing the game, will remain as an in-game currency that you can also use to buy new heroes.
