Blizzard's free-to-play MOBA Heroes of the Storm is filled with characters from across all of Blizzard's various game franchises. So far, Tracer is the only Overwatch character to make the cut, but that will soon be changing when Zarya arrives in the Nexus in the next update for the game.
As revealed by Blizzard during Gamescom, Zarya from Overwatch and Alarak from Starcraft will be the game's two newest heroes added in the upcoming "Machines of War" update. For those who have played Zarya in Overwatch, you should have a good understanding of her capabilities in Heroes of the Storm.
Her Q ability is particle grenade, just like her secondary fire in Blizzard's competitive shooter. She has the ability to shield both herself and her allies from damage, and one of her ultimates, Graviton Surge, pulls enemy into a target location. Unlike in Overwatch, Zarya has a second ultimate ability in Heroes of the Storm that pushes enemies out of a target location, perfect for denying the enemy team an objective or for a quick escape.
The two new heroes are just the beginning of the update. Joining Zarya and Alarak are also a number of new skins for a variety of heroes, like Rexxar, Butcher and Kerrigan. The theme of the update is Starcraft, so Rexxar (and his bear) can be seen sporting power armor in a new skin while the Butcher transforms into a terrifying new form of Zerg. Kerrigan, originally from Starcraft, takes on a new form with her Queen of Ghosts skin. A new mount is also being added in the form of the Ghost Speeder, matching Kerrigan's new look.
Two new Starcraft-themed maps are also being added to the game. One map, Braxis Holdout, is a two-lane map that has players filling a holding cell of Zerg minions in order to perform a deadly Zerg rush to help destroy the enemy base. The other, Warhead Junction, is a three-lane map in which players collect warheads that can be used against the enemy team to deadly effect. You can learn more about the two maps in the video below.
No word yet on when exactly the update is arriving, but expect it to be soon. The news comes just as Blizzard has revealed a new map coming to Overwatch, along with massive changes to the game's competitive mode. You can read more about that here.
