A new Hero entering the Nexus is a big deal, and Team Liquid has helped fuel the fire for the Rexxar conversation.
Talking to Fury, Grubby, Dunktrain, and Iakona, you can get a few different takes on Rexxar from the pros. Although the general opinion seems to be the same in terms of his power, and better control over Misha would be nice.
Fury, from Murloc Geniuses, specifically talked about microing Misha. “I would like to have more commands and such to control Misha much smoother such as sending her off to scout a nearby brush and if she goes too far from Rexxar she will retreat until she engages an enemy.”
Fury hasn’t warmed up the most to Rexxar, though, mentioning how he plays in team fights and the sometimes awkward positioning Rexxar finds himself in. “In team fights it feels a bit odd when you set her to attack command, sometimes I find her very far away from the target I am trying to hunt down.
Last thing is I feel Misha’s auto attack damage is very low and the beast wrath ultimate doesn’t feel as strong as it should, specially when it only buffs Misha.”
Grubby starts off by saying that “It’s difficult to accurately predict what Rexxar’s impact in the metagame will be, because he seems to have over 15 bugs affecting him currently. I don’t know which of these will be partially intended features, and which of them will be changed.” He went on to mention how Rexxar’s playstyle will appeal to those who like pets, and it doesn’t fit the mold of most Heroes in the Nexus.
Grubby also talked about the build diversity in Rexxar, “There is a build diversity in Rexxar which is only limited by Rexxar’s own vulnerability – I think this is on purpose. A tanky or extremely escapable Rexxar would be too powerful.” as well as how the inability to control Misha separately (similar to The Lost Vikings) may be to keep Rexxar from becoming too powerful.
Dunktrain, Captain of Cloud9’s Heroes of the Storm team, didn’t have as much to say when it came to Rexxar. But he did point out the chunkiness of controlling Rexxar and Misha. “I think he plays well, but has some clunkiness issues that can make him a bit frustrating. When Rexxar, and specifically Misha, are behaving as expected it is very fun, and really hits the thematic elements of a pet character.”
Dunktrain also went on to mention that “Rexxar is un-impactful and feels weak relative to Misha, which makes it feel like Rexxar is the secondary character instead of the pet. That is a little bit frustrating, and I’d like the power to be a little more skewed in Rexxar’s favor. […] While the current system, bugs excluded, is rather elegant for allowing even novice players to access the character, it should not require workarounds like waypointing for experienced players to control Misha as they prefer.”
Finally, Iakona, the main support of COGnitiveGaming, shared some of his thoughts on the new Ranged Warrior. Although he only has a few things to say, they are targeted more towards a supports point of view. (Which, really, that makes sense) Iakona starts out by mentioning that Rexxar is a bit more weak compared to Misha, the AI is clunky, etc. These were all mentioned by the other players, and instead what is notable is the last paragraph.
“From a Support perspective, generally I don’t have to focus on healing Misha because Rexxar’s ability Mend Pet is on such a short CD. The one thing to watch out for though is that Misha counts as a hero, so for clicking priority you will need to watch out to not divine shield her or what not. She probably also takes priority with jug of 1,000 cups so supports just need to take extra caution when they want to try to use their spells and Misha’s around”
So, support players, are you careful around Misha? How has Rexxar effected the Meta overall for Heroes of the Storm? Let us know in the comments below.