Today, Heroes of the Storm announced some big changes to its progression system.
Heroes 2.0, launching in beta today, aims to make leveling up more interesting. Currently, each heroes’ level caps at 20 and, at later levels, their XP curve is, in game director Alan Dabiri’s words, “punishing.” Heroes 2.0 will remove the level cap and decrease the XP curve, so experience will plateau at level 12. Also, players’ levels will now reflect the sum total of each individual heroes’.
“No longer will you need to feel torn between playing your favorite heroes or continuing to earn account rewards,” a recent Heroes video explained:
Loot chests, which you’ll get every level, are also coming to Heroes, à la Overwatch. Gold, skins, sprays, banners, emojis, portraits, mount variations and heroes will be inside. A new currency called “shards” is gained when you receive duplicate items. They let players forge cosmetic items.
The currency “gems” will also “replace the direct monetary currency of the previous shop,” the new video says. “Previously, the majority of our cosmetic items had to be purchased with real money,” Dabiri explained.
It looks like the Heroes dev team learned a few things from its cousin Overwatch’s success. The experience plateau and loot chests are definitely reminiscent of Overwatch’s progression system, one that’s received tons of praise from players.