Heroes of the Storm Map Awareness Guide

Heroes of the Storm Map Awareness Guide by khilair

Being aware of what’s going on in your match is the most important thing in any MOBA or multi-player game for that matter.

In Heroes you need to be aware of:

1) Where your team is –

This is important because you need to know if they need help. Are they pushing a certain objective? Do you have support for what you’re about to do? Is a lane empty and need someone to cover it? All of these are important to succeed at this game. You can make a big difference and have a lot more impact/survivability if you’re aware of what your team is doing.

To do this you need to be glancing at your mini-map frequently. You should know where your team is at any given time. You also need to pay attention to pings and messages they tell you. If you see “Player X calls for a retreat” spammed 5x in your chat then it’s a good idea to fall back from whatever fight you’re doing. Making use of communication (will cover later) and listening to your teammates is part of awareness. Win together or lose together.

2) What is your team doing –

Are you guys going for a YOLO (you only live once) push for the enemy palace? Are you guys splitting up to gain team xp? Do you guys need to capture some merc camps? You need to know these and more. You need to know what your team is doing and what is needed from you. It’s also important to be able to see if they aren’t where they need to be. Are they committing too much to an objective? Are they heading into a fight they can’t win? You need to know things like these and be able to re-direct your team to the correct path.

3) Where is the enemy team and what are they doing –

You need to know about your enemy just as much as your allies. Your Minion waves, mercs, certain map objectives (like tributes), fortifications and more reveal the map to you. Keep an eye on your mini map and be aware of where your enemies are and what they are doing.

Did they just send their entire team down into the mines? Are they pushing one of your forts? Are they all somewhere else and are you safe to push hard where you’re at? Keep track of things like re-spawn timers and the health of their fortifications. If only their palace is up and their team is still re-spawning then you may want to push hard for their palace.

I saw one streamer run away from the enemy team’s palace when it was at 5% health. The Yamato cannon from his Raynor’s Hyperion Ultimate hits the palace for 10% health. Had he released it it would’ve been gg right then and there. The match ended up lasting another 8 minutes. You need to be aware of things like this.