Heroes of the Storm Beta FAQ

Heroes of the Storm Beta FAQ by FlintlockFreedom

I’ve assembled the answers (with official sources wherever possible) to a lot of the common questions we get in this sub below. Please let me know if I’ve missed one and I’ll edit it into the post.

How do I get in?
Head to the Heroes of the Storm website and click the big orange BETA SIGN UP button and then follow the instructions there.

Does owning blizzard games / a certain computer setup help?
There have been multiple polls on this subreddit looking for a correlation but nothing official has been stated.

Are There Keys?
No, your account is flagged for access by Blizzard, no key is needed or available. Please read the support article here for more information.

When do invites go out?
This post in the forums is the only official information we have about invite waves:

Invites are sent out on a regular basis, but not on a precise cadence. Just opt-in, and then hang in there, because we’re inviting new players to test out the Nexus all the time!

The game showed up in my launcher but I didn’t get an email, what’s going on?
If someone else who uses the computer has access and has installed the game, it will show up in your launcher but you will be unable to play. If you are able to launch the game then you’ve got access! Sometimes (often) the emails take a while to show up after access has been granted. If nobody with access to the game uses your computer and the icon shows up, but you get an error message stating you aren’t allowed to launch the game then reset your battle.net account password and you should be allowed to play.

When is open beta?
They haven’t stated, but Closed Beta starts January 13th

What heroes are confirmed to be coming?
From Blizzcon 2014: Thrall, Jaina, Lost Vikings, and Sylvannas. There are data files in the game client and teasers in videos for other heroes, but no official announcement has been made.

When are the heroes announced at blizzcon coming?
The info about when the new heroes are coming is from “Interview with Chris Saigaty 2” from Day 1 of Blizzcon, you can watch it if you have the virtual ticket. Starts around 5 minutes:

Interviewer: “Can you tell us what’s actually included in closed beta on January 13th?”

Chris Saigaty: “Yeah, so right before we get to January 13th we have what is called, internally were calling the Heroes 7 Patch. Jaina will come online there, and then there’s some, a lot of balance changes, some other minor tweaks that are happening in that, that is some content. And then in January, January 13th, comes ranked play, Thrall drops then, and so does Sky Temple.”

Will there be themed maps?
Absolutely! We saw three new maps at Blizzcon 2014, one of which is Diablo themed.

Will Overwatch heroes be in the game?
During Blizzcon 2014 it was stated that while they would like to add heroes from Overwatch, they will not do so until after the Overwatch game itself has released.

Does reaching player level 20 give me invites to give out / automatically invite my friends list?
Not quite. Read the full news post here for complete details but the gist of the level 20 account is this:

If a player reaches level 20 in Heroes of the Storm before November 18, 2014, they are entered into a raffle and the winners of the raffle will have access made available to all people who were on their friends list before October 16, 2014.

Will there be a wipe before beta / release?
From the news post when the alpha access was restored:

Also, there are no more planned wipes, so any XP and gold you earn from this point on will remain in your account for good.

Is there a refund on a bundle if I own a hero?
Not currently. Earlier in the alpha they had stated on the forums that it was something they were investigating but it has yet to be implemented. (Again, I can’t find the original post for this but if anybody can I’ll edit it in)

Are there competitive teams?
Absolutely. There are teams in every region which currently compete in ongoing tournaments to see who is the best team in the alpha. Keep an eye out for posts mentioning Kings of the Storm, Kings of the Nexus, ESV Championship Series, Heroes Pro League, Champions of New Maelstrom, and ESL in the subreddit for more information about those specific tournaments.

Will there be ranked matchmaking?
Yes! It was announced at Blizzcon 2014 and should be available in a future patch.

With Ranked Play, you’ll be able to compete in two separate queues: Hero League and Team League. In Hero League, you can queue up as a solo player, or in a party of any size, and you’ll be given an individual ranking. Team League, however, requires a five player team, will allow you to create a dedicated, named team, and offers a separate ranking for each of your teams. In either league, winning games will help you soar to new heights in your attempts to ascend from Rank 50 to the coveted Rank 1.

Is there a mount that is only available in the alpha / beta?
Yes. From an official news post:

The Wonder Billie mount is only available to players who make a real money purchase during the Alpha and Beta phases of testing.

Is there any reward for leveling past 15?
There are no gold rewards past level 15 at the moment. At Blizzcon 2014 it was announced that the two ranked modes Hero League and Team League would require an account level of 30 and 40, respectively.

What’s wrong with the reconnect system?
The reconnect system is based on the SC2 system, which is less efficient than the system in place in other MOBAs. Blizzard knows this and it’s on their list of things to work on.

Are players in the Alpha going to lose access when the game switches to Beta?
Blizzard has confirmed that players in the alpha will keep access when the beta begins.

Can I re-roll or delete quests?
As of this moment there is no way to do either. A quest is yours until you complete it in either Versus or Co-op mode.

Can I switch regions to play with friends in the EU/US/KR?
The latest information is from a blizzard post:

Currently the region lock is determined by what site you used to create the account (ie: us.battle.net creates a US account, eu.battle.net creates EU, kr.battle.net creates a Koreas account, etc.). While players are currently limited to their home region, we plan on making further announcements about Global Play at later stages of testing. Keep an eye on the Community News Blog!

How do I exit replays?
Press F10 when in a replay to bring up the menu which will then let you exit.