Heroes of Overstorm: The Nexus doesn't need all the heroes

Like it or not, Overwatch was the main event for Heroes of the Storm in 2017. They were 6 heroes from Overwatch that were added on Heroes of the Storm during 2017, plus 2 maps from the same universe. Some people think that Blizzard is overlooking more iconic heroes like Mephisto or Deathwing for the new and flashy Overwatch heroes and to be honest they are not entirely wrong. Overwatch keeps rising in popularity among the rest of the company's games. To be precise, Heroes of the Storm got a lot of attention just because the developers lured Overwatch players for cosmetics. That doesn't mean that HotS is not a good game. It's just that it's not as popular as Overwatch. And that's a fact. Does that mean that Heroes of the Storm should swarm its roster with Overwatch heroes? I truly believe that not all of them can make it and I will explain my reasoning.

  The first thing that bothers me is that the majority of the heroes added from Overwatch were also some of the most popular in their game of origin. I am talking about D.Va, Junkrat, Genji and Hanzo. That doesn't mean that Ana or Lucio don't have a devoted fan base but truth be told the aforementioned heroes are far more popular. That's a very reasonable way to decide who's gonna make the jump to HotS but that's not always the best thing to do. Most of us remember the time of Genji's release. The game was overpowered by mobility creep and the main offenders were the roster of Overwatch. Mainly Genji and Tracer and then Lucio and D.Va were extremely mobile and hard to be dealt with. And that was something that the developers should think beforehand. The same heroes are also (or more) mobile in Overwatch but in their game, there are also heroes that can deal with them. That wasn't the case with Heroes of the Storm. It would make sense that Winston, Mei or McCree (some of their counters) would have been great candidates to appear in Heroes of the Storm sometime around the release of Genji. That way, the developers would have added heroes from Overwatch that would also make sense in gameplay-wise.

   Can all Overwatch heroes join the Nexus? I don't think so. Some of them just don't seem to work well in the top down camera of a MOBA. Think of Hanzo and what a difference there is between the usage of Scatter Arrow in Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm. Not being able to throw the ability on the ground as he can do in the enviroment of a FPS, it makes a huge difference between the two versions of the ability. How can Pharah work in Heroes of the Storm? Being in the air is the main advantage she has in Overwatch but how can this translate in a MOBA? Would she retain the same feel in her gameplay? One of the heroes that I have fallen in love in the past days is McCree and to be honest I would love to have him in Heroes of the Storm. His kit is easy to implement. Ammo based auto attacks, Fan the Hammer as his first ability, Combat Roll, Flashbang and Deadeye as one of his Ultimates. And I'm pretty sure that people can think an amazing second ultimate for him. The thing is, should he join the Nexus?

In my opinion probably not. First of all, his kit is too generic, a burst, a stun and a small dash isn't something that we haven't seen already in some form in HotS. Deadeye would be an amazing addition in Heroes of the Storm with some tweaks to make it fair in a MOBA. The problem is, he wouldn't be the same hero in both games. There's a beauty in hitting his shots in Overwatch and it's truly amazing when those shots are also headshots. But to do that, it needs good aim, consistently good aim, and playing McCree has a beautiful rhythm nailing each shot while firing. And that's what I love about the hero. That rythm, that feel, I believe that's hard to replicate in Heroes of the Storm.

  On the other hand, some other heroes would be amazing additions to Heroes of the Storm. Winston and Reinhardt are both two heroes that look perfect for a MOBA and would also add a new mechanic to the game, with their barriers that block projectiles. Also, some of the newest heroes would be great in the Nexus and I'm talking about Doomfist and Moira. Both heroes rely most on their abilities than just aim that seems to be a key characteristic for them to succeed in the MOBA genre.
  Finally there are also some heroes from OW that they seem to overlap with some of the roster of HotS. A lot of people have argued about Roadhog and Stiches and I firmly believe that the game needs another hook ability user. I'm talking about the obvious stuff like Mercy and Lt. Morales/Auriel or Torbjorn and Gazlowe. That doesn't mean that those heroes can't be part of the Nexus. Probius also has turrets but he plays completly different than Gazlowe. The thing is that what should be translated from one game to the other is not just the entirety of their abilities, but the feel that the have in their gameplay.

  Eventualy, the constant releases of Overwatch heroes in Heroes of the Storm will slow down. There is a smaller number of possible heroes in comparison to the other Blizzard universes. The developers should be smart so they will make the best out of what they can as to do justice to that roster. After all, love them or hate them, Overwatch heroes are one of the best creations Blizzard has done on the past couple of years. I say we should cherish every last bit of that great content.