Heroes of Newerth unlocks all heroes for free

S2 may be feeling pressure from Valve

Chris KempJuly 22, 2012

Heroes of Newerth, one of those free-to-play MOBA games, has introduced a major change in its most recent patch – all heroes in the pool are now free for everyone. Before heroes had to be unlocked with gold that could be purchased or earned, but now that gold will just go to aesthetic options such as skins and announcer packs.

S2 staff member Konran explained the reason for the change: “We agree with the community that HoN is best played with a full hero pool available to all players and that both the new and the longtime, dedicated players alike can benefit from the change. We want players to have the freedom to invite their friends and to recommend heroes based on playstyle and not a free hero pool.”

“Players will no longer be limited by which heroes they can afford, so when a line-up calls for a certain hero, you can answer the call and focus on what’s important in each game of HoN.”

Let’s cut to the chase here – it’s unlikely the reason given by S2 is sincere. DOTA 2, currently in beta, have given free access to all heroes since day 1 and have said this will continue to be their policy upon release. This puts a lot of pressure on the other free-to-play MOBA games to follow suit, and it seems like S2 have caved. This means the other big player, League of Legends, may soon be forced to do the same.

Konran provides more reasoning for the change of heart. “This change is equally important in our mission to revitalize the myriad of game modes in HoN. HoN offers so many other fun twists, options, and strategies outside of All Pick that any passionate fan can attest to. We recognize this and don’t want players to be turned away from these modes due to restriction. With all heroes and game modes, players will have the complete HoN experience at their disposal.”

Ultimately this is good news for MOBA players, who may still find a way to complain about getting things for free.