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　　I missed two questions because the fine folks in the CBSi office were acting like wild animals and causing a ruckus behind me; I'm sorry. I omitted another because it was an inside joke from the BlizzCon test matches and wasn't relevant to the game on the whole.

　　I'll fill in what's missing when the VOD goes live.

The Question and Answer Session

　　He has a fair point there -- while Dota and League of Legends do have separate maps, they're either for seasonal, fun events, or neglected largely by the community.

　　After a small back and forth about the art direction, Cloaken asked the question on everyone's mind: when is the beta? Browder parried the question like a true veteran and answered in a fashion that does justice to Blizzard's methodology

　　Then the trio began taking questions from Twitter.

　　Question: How does Heroes differ from other games in the genre?

　　Paraphrased Browder: From a gameplay perspective, it comes down to our maps and maps design. We're looking to create a lot of variation. They're also looking to create unique user experiences through the heroes they're giving you. Some of these heroes have twenty years of lore behind them.

　　Browder also noted that he's looking to create shorter games. He mentioned, specifically, getting in two or three games over lunch.

　　@BlizzHeroes There will be some environment elements n the maps that increase heroes movement or abilities? #HeroesQA pic.twitter.com/b2IyauuHXW

　　— pypHeroes (@pypHeroes) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: I missed a large portion of the answer for the reason I cited above. The short answer was yes. When the VOD is online I'll go back and punch this through.

　　Will you add older game heroes to the game? (I'd love to play with the Vikings) #HeroesQA

　　— Captain Mmouse (@CaptainMmouse) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: They have a list of heroes about a half-mile long, and they're working on it. Expect to see stuff from Lost Vikings in the game.

　　@BlizzHeroes #HeroesQA Games like this have a reputation for being hostile to newbies. What are you planning for the new player experience?

　　— Lester Pätäri (@FractalPlankton) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: The first line of defense is game design, and one of the failsafes in place is shorter game design. If you're losing you're losing for less time. Browder also cited shared experience and the fact that there is no kill stealing (no last hitting). He notes that it's a team game so you guys should be a unit in your goals.

　　He wants it to be okay to "do the obvious things." He doesn't want you to be chastized for killing heroes or focusing on killing waves of creeps. He thinks that the ability to focus on different things will stave off the flames.

　　#HeroesQA Can we expect emotes such as /taunt or /dance?

　　— Tanner Alvarez (@DjToke) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: Yes.

　　@BlizzHeroes #HeroesQA What do you think about the people saying your game is "casual"?Will this game have a competitive scene?

　　— Calli. (@necrossx32) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: Will it be an esport? That's up to the players. We'll provide them with the tools like replays and spectator modes. Browder thinks it's already competitive based on what they've found in the feedback.

　　At one point in time they doubled back on the point that it is a short game and if you just want to have fun you can. Browder quickly steered it back

　　@BlizzHeroes #HeroesQA Will there be a spectator client when the beta goes live for those wanting to host events?

　　— Jared Eggleston (@iSZoia) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: A lot of the features in StarCraft, like the ability to observe, will be available in Heroes of the Storm at launch.

　　#HeroesQA how will you deal with disconnected players?

　　— Jesús Villalobos (@JesusEnInternet) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: If you disconnect you can get back in to the game. If you leave a game you get nothing from the game. If you continuously leave games you'll be penalized.

　　@BlizzHeroes #HeroesQA With shared lvls and exp, are you worried that the team who hits lvl 6 & get their ultimates 1st has a big advantage?

　　— Sam Nguyen (@TheSamNguyen) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: They're not worried about it, but it certainly happens. They think that these breaking points creates strategies and forces decisions to be made. They noted thirty seconds of advantages. They don't think asymmetrical play is a bad thing, necessarily.

　　So far they don't think it's been a problem.

　　#HeroesQA are you guys going to introduce the blizzard map editor to the moba genre, the ideas/ things people can do would be huge for games

　　— blur (@Blur_lol) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: They don't know when they'd do it, but they would like to do it.

　　@BlizzHeroes Is Heroes of the Storm going to have a Mac Client? Also is it going to be free to play? #HeroesQA.

　　— Mihai Zgubea (@mzgubea) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: Yes.

　　@BlizzHeroes Could you explain the shared experience (and gold?) income with your team? #HeroesQA

　　— Joey Mosterd (@joeymosterd) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: There is no gold. As long as anyone is near a kill, whether it be minions or players, the entire team gets experience. This encourages, at least in the early game, for everyone to spread out.

　　This allows for heroes like Abathur to exist. He doesn't even go into lane. Browder also thinks this encourages more team work and lane swapping, because you're still getting experience. You don't fall behind with movement or transfers.

　　.@BlizzHeroes Are you guys taking steps to make Heroes as exciting to watch as it is to play? #HeroesQA

　　— Taffer (@Taffingabout) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: Blizzard's goal is to make it a great play experience, and from there they'll work backwards and make it a great viewing experience. With StarCraft the case was the exact opposite.

　　@BlizzHeroes #HeroesQA Let's say I pick a Diablo Champion, Will I be able to wear the Starcraft Suit? :)

　　— クリストファー (@DaddyChriiis) December 17, 2013

　　Paraphrased Browder: They think the universes crossing over is a lot of fun for the player. They cited things like Nova wearing an amazon skin or Stiches, a pudge clone, with an infernal skin.

　　Image Credit: Blizzard