All PUGs have this same issue in any multiplayer game. Without communication and coordination they will always be a coin flip. One hero cannot carry a HotS match, however, one very skilled player can go a long way to turning around a failed PUG with even one other decent player. As you rank up you get paired with better players just like in HS.
I had never played one before either. You can just play against the A.I. and it's pretty easy to win. Also play with a friend, 50% XP boost. This goes a long way because it takes a long time to get to lvl12.
General tips I've figured out from reaching lvl12:
1- Team splits into all 3 lanes at start of game. Don't engage the other heroes or try to push into their base before the first objective starts. Just sit there and kill the little A.I. bots and slap towers around if the other team doesn't cover that lane for some reason.
2- When the objectives come up, look where your other team members are and go help them. Don't ever engage the enemy team when you're outnumbered unless you know what you're doing. If they're 2 vs 1, just run away to your teammates. While objectives are up, you have to do them.
3- When you reach level 10+, start to get into team fights more aggressively, usually it will happen while one of the 2 teams are doing something objective-related and trying to push through a lane's defenses. At this point what will often happen is one team gets 2-4 members wiped at the same time. That's when you start going for mercenary camps while they're recovering.
4- At levels 10+, you can start to take merc camps alone, preferably with 2 players. Only do this when objectives are not up, as usual, or if you're about to win.
5- At levels 15-16+, you can start to go for the boss if you have achieved an objective that requires the other team defending themselves ( like the spider queen things ). Or if you win a team fight. Just all get together and beat the boss real quick while the other team is respawning and then you win probably.
So yah that's what I've gathered from watching people play the game and from playing it myself. The general strategy doesn't seem to change very much. Where most of the skill lies is really in winning team fights and getting kills while surviving or while supporting your team members. That's really where you need to learn what your character can do and what the others can do as well so you can combo with them or avoid dangerous enemies that counter yours etc.
Takes a long time to learn all of that but if you just stick to the 5 basic points I've outlined, you should be able to win most games very easily if you play against the AI with a human team.
@thepoxbox that is indeed the basics of HotS (and most MOBAs). It is a simple formula, it falls apart though because the average player doesn't quite get such logic. The few things I will add that are critically important are:
1. Play every hero. Even if just once. If you haven't played each hero you won't know their strengths/weaknesses and how their abilities proc. Same as in HS where playing a deck helps you know how to defeat it better. You will also know what your teammates strengths/weaknesses which will make you a better player and teammate.
2. Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Even 1 on 1 or when your opponent is down to the tiniest sliver of life, know when to back off. A stealthed enemy could be right there and by overextending to get a kill you end up dead and you don't get the kill. Similarly let opponents battle down a big enemy minion/objective and take damage then swoop in and kill them off and get the objective.
3. Know the levels and where the objectives are. All the battling in the world in the lanes won't help if you aren't turning the tides by collecting more of the objectives than your opponents. The benefits are too strong and game changing to ignore them or get outclassed by the enemy.
4. Use the healing fountains smartly. Make sure you use them periodically so that they aren't always on cooldown and you aren't too low on health and have to hearthstone back.
5. If you are behind on levels, stop and force the whole team to stay together. It is your only hope of leveling up and getting back in the game. Trying to stick to 2 per lane against 2 enemies when they have you on levels is suicide and a fast track to failure. You are no longer 1:1 you are 0.5:1 at best when they have you in levels.
Yeah there is for sure an endless array of advanced tactics and tricks to learn and master in that game. The skill cap is infinitely beyond hearthstone lol.
but yah for just reaching lvl 12 all I did was play in teams against AI and we won every time, except at first where I had no frickin clue what I was doing and died like 10 times in games while roaming about randomly on the map lol. Must have pissed off the higher level players. I played so much that I reached the XP cap so I had to play against other people and still won those games. Hurray.
MOBAs require both more twitchy skill and critical thinking/strategy at the same time and there appear to be an overwhelming amount of options and things to learn but in reality once you get past the initial learning curve they can be quite fun. HotS actually does a lot to simplify this genre down to the core concepts and remove a lot of the extraneous/tedious stuff from other MOBAs. It is a fun and more causal approach. HS has been losing my interest lately with it all feeling too same-same and grindy so HotS and gaining the level 12 rank were a welcomed break. I originally planned to play just to get the cardback and now I am enjoying it more than HS. It grows on you once you figure it out and get to a higher level where you start to get paired with and play against better opponents.
All PUGs have this same issue in any multiplayer game. Without communication and coordination they will always be a coin flip. One hero cannot carry a HotS match, however, one very skilled player can go a long way to turning around a failed PUG with even one other decent player. As you rank up you get paired with better players just like in HS.
I had never played one before either.
You can just play against the A.I. and it's pretty easy to win. Also play with a friend, 50% XP boost. This goes a long way because it takes a long time to get to lvl12.
General tips I've figured out from reaching lvl12:
1- Team splits into all 3 lanes at start of game. Don't engage the other heroes or try to push into their base before the first objective starts. Just sit there and kill the little A.I. bots and slap towers around if the other team doesn't cover that lane for some reason.
2- When the objectives come up, look where your other team members are and go help them. Don't ever engage the enemy team when you're outnumbered unless you know what you're doing. If they're 2 vs 1, just run away to your teammates. While objectives are up, you have to do them.
3- When you reach level 10+, start to get into team fights more aggressively, usually it will happen while one of the 2 teams are doing something objective-related and trying to push through a lane's defenses. At this point what will often happen is one team gets 2-4 members wiped at the same time. That's when you start going for mercenary camps while they're recovering.
4- At levels 10+, you can start to take merc camps alone, preferably with 2 players. Only do this when objectives are not up, as usual, or if you're about to win.
5- At levels 15-16+, you can start to go for the boss if you have achieved an objective that requires the other team defending themselves ( like the spider queen things ). Or if you win a team fight. Just all get together and beat the boss real quick while the other team is respawning and then you win probably.
So yah that's what I've gathered from watching people play the game and from playing it myself. The general strategy doesn't seem to change very much. Where most of the skill lies is really in winning team fights and getting kills while surviving or while supporting your team members. That's really where you need to learn what your character can do and what the others can do as well so you can combo with them or avoid dangerous enemies that counter yours etc.
Takes a long time to learn all of that but if you just stick to the 5 basic points I've outlined, you should be able to win most games very easily if you play against the AI with a human team.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - Sneak Review! http://www.thepoxbox.com/challenges.php?id=batmanvsuperman
@thepoxbox that is indeed the basics of HotS (and most MOBAs). It is a simple formula, it falls apart though because the average player doesn't quite get such logic. The few things I will add that are critically important are:
1. Play every hero. Even if just once. If you haven't played each hero you won't know their strengths/weaknesses and how their abilities proc. Same as in HS where playing a deck helps you know how to defeat it better. You will also know what your teammates strengths/weaknesses which will make you a better player and teammate.
2. Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Even 1 on 1 or when your opponent is down to the tiniest sliver of life, know when to back off. A stealthed enemy could be right there and by overextending to get a kill you end up dead and you don't get the kill. Similarly let opponents battle down a big enemy minion/objective and take damage then swoop in and kill them off and get the objective.
3. Know the levels and where the objectives are. All the battling in the world in the lanes won't help if you aren't turning the tides by collecting more of the objectives than your opponents. The benefits are too strong and game changing to ignore them or get outclassed by the enemy.
4. Use the healing fountains smartly. Make sure you use them periodically so that they aren't always on cooldown and you aren't too low on health and have to hearthstone back.
5. If you are behind on levels, stop and force the whole team to stay together. It is your only hope of leveling up and getting back in the game. Trying to stick to 2 per lane against 2 enemies when they have you on levels is suicide and a fast track to failure. You are no longer 1:1 you are 0.5:1 at best when they have you in levels.
Yeah there is for sure an endless array of advanced tactics and tricks to learn and master in that game. The skill cap is infinitely beyond hearthstone lol.
but yah for just reaching lvl 12 all I did was play in teams against AI and we won every time, except at first where I had no frickin clue what I was doing and died like 10 times in games while roaming about randomly on the map lol. Must have pissed off the higher level players.
I played so much that I reached the XP cap so I had to play against other people and still won those games. Hurray.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - Sneak Review! http://www.thepoxbox.com/challenges.php?id=batmanvsuperman
MOBAs require both more twitchy skill and critical thinking/strategy at the same time and there appear to be an overwhelming amount of options and things to learn but in reality once you get past the initial learning curve they can be quite fun. HotS actually does a lot to simplify this genre down to the core concepts and remove a lot of the extraneous/tedious stuff from other MOBAs. It is a fun and more causal approach. HS has been losing my interest lately with it all feeling too same-same and grindy so HotS and gaining the level 12 rank were a welcomed break. I originally planned to play just to get the cardback and now I am enjoying it more than HS. It grows on you once you figure it out and get to a higher level where you start to get paired with and play against better opponents.
I hit level 12 the other day, and still have yet to receive the card back. Could it have something to do with the recent patch?
When I die, I want to go peacefully and in my sleep like my Grandpa. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car.