Tutorial Making a Good Hero

[pheonixashes]

Table of Contents:
I. What is this tutorial's purpose?
II. The Hero
III. The Abilities
IV. Balancing
V. Polishing

I. What is this tutorial's purpose?

This tutorial's main purpose is to help both pros and newbies design a well-balanced and polished hero. I have seen very few maps involving heroes as the main player-controlled unit with polished and fun heroes. This tutorial is to help map makers think of new hero ideas, to polish to the heroes, make fun and original abilities, and just to overall help save time on those long hours of contemplating a new hero.

II. The Hero

This could be the hardest or easiest part. There are six (optional seven) simple steps in making a hero:
1. The Hero's Purpose/Specialization
2. The Hero's Main Attributes
3. The Hero's Names
4. The Hero's Visual and Audio
5. The Hero's Other Stats
6. The Backstory
6/7. The Abilities
Step 6/7 I will be covering in section III, as it is perhaps the longest of the few steps.

Step 1: The Hero's Purpose/Specialization

For most start-from-scratch maps, you would want a nice, specialized, focused hero. Making a hero like "Sorceress" or "Warrior" would be too general. However, making a hero like "Tree Hugger of Leaves" or something that would be too specific. You need a hero idea with room for multiple abilities, but not to broad, so that it has lots of purposes.

So, how do you get the idea?

In an AoS, Hero (anything), or Melee Map, you want a hero that suits the side you are playing as. Of course, you don't want a Necromancer or Unholy Knight playing for the good side, so think these questions:

--What purpose do I want my hero to fulfill?--
When I say "purpose," I mean purposes like Pusher, Nuker, Supporter, Tank... all of those would fit in purpose.

Then, ask yourself:
--What creature/being would best be suited for my purpose?--
When thinking of this, think of what the literal interpretation of each role. For example, a hero that is a Tank would be a strong warrior, possibly large, while a Nuker would be a spellcaster or a strong, robust warrior. Now, a Minotaur/Tauren is very large, and thus would be suited for a tank. Meanwhile, a Night Elf or a Human would fit the role of a Nuker. These are just general guidelines, you can have a Tauren Supporter, a Night Elf tank... whatever you wish. As long as it works.

*General Guidelines*:
-Pushers are generally summoners or unit-specific killers. Think "Mass Murder."
-Supporters are generally small or otherwise weakened in power. Think "Strategist."
-Nukers are generally focused warriors/spellcasters. Think "Power."
-Tanks are generally large beings, or have a very powerful body. Think "Meat Shield."
---|-|---

So, there. You have your hero's main purpose. Now, you just need to think of a good name. It doesn't have to be very specific now, you can change that later.

Here are my sample heroes:

GOOD: A Pusher and Supporter. A natural spellcaster. Preferrably an night elf or a human. Therefore, here it is: The Druid.

EVIL: A Nuker and Tank. A powerful evil warrior. Preferrably an extra-terrestrial being. Therefore, here it is: The Daemon.

Step 2: The Hero's Main Attributes.

This is the easiest of the steps. Just select the main attribute that suits the hero most. Then, just play around with the stats.

*General Guidelines*:
-The Main Attribute is usually the highest, unless the hero is an all-out supporter.
-Nukers can be proficient in any stat.
-Tanks can be proficient in either Strength or Agility. Only Intelligence if they have some sort of mana shield.
-Supporters are usually Intelligence heroes, though their main attribute could be strength if the maker wants low damage.
-Pushers can be proficient in any stat.
---|-|---

Then, if you already have heroes made, make sure their stats are at least on-par with your new hero's stats.

*General Guidelines*:
-Most times, the starting stats add up to around 55-64, but you might want to change it depending on the other hero's stats.
-Most times, the stats per level add up to around 4.9-6.3, but you might want to change it depending on the other hero's stats.
--

Here are my sample heroes:

GOOD: Starting stats: 29 INT, 16 STR, 14 AGI.
Stats per level: 2.6 INT, 2.3 STR, 1.8 AGI.

EVIL: Starting stats: 13 INT, 27 STR, 21 AGI.
Stats per level: 1.2 INT, 3.3 STR, 1.6 AGI.

Step 3: The Hero's Names.

This, IMO, is the funnest part, other than making the abilities. Here, you get to play around with the hero's name until it's either something you like, or it fits.

The first step is to change the regular name. In most cases, "Mage" sounds a bit bland, correct? It seems like there are 50,000 mages in the world, and there is nothing that makes this one unique. But now, we are going to add words, change words, and otherwise mutilate the original world to produce a nice, tasty chunk of catchy names.

Ok, the first step is to change the original word. Let's take the original word. "Mage." Now, let's look up some other synonyms. Let's see...
"Magus"
"Sorcerer"
"Wizard"
"Magi"

All of these are probably equally as bland as the original one. However, let's go with the word "Magus." It sounds a bit better, no? No.

Now, we have the base word, "Magus." Now, we need to generalize the hero down. A "Mage" or "Magus" can refer to a lot, from a home magician to a leader of a cult. Now, specify the hero's element/special power.

--What makes it different from all the other mages and magi out there?--
Ok, good question. What will make your hero different from all the other heroes in your map/in other people's maps? Nothing, so far. But, say, for example, you want the hero to cast spells that have something to do with "Blades." Then, that's easy, the "Blade Magus." Simple, not hard.

But, if there are no given synonyms of the word, check what the word means, first. For example, "Druid" means a person, usually with magical powers, that deals with nature/natural things. What is a synonym for nature/natural? Arbor. What does a Druid do? Bring them to life. What is a person that brings? A Herald. There you have it. The Druid, or "Arbor Herald."

Now, we move on to Proper Names. Proper Names are usually harder, if you want multiple ones. But for most maps, you want one name. Let's generate one for the "Blade Magus," shall we?

First, take the Latin/German/Greek/French/Arabic/Chinese/etc version of the word "Blade." The Latin form of "Blade" is "Vesica." Now, change it around a bit. Change the S to an X, maybe, switch an E and an I, eliminate some letters, add some letters. Then, if you wish, add some cool suffixes. Sample suffixes are given below.

*General Guidelines*:
-Cool-sounding roots: Tus, Mus, Vis, Mar, Mal, Gus, Xin, Gres.
-Royal-sounding roots: Lot, Must, Ben, Ven, Al
-Evil-sounding roots: Ner, Is, Cis, Dris, Mal
--

Now, after mutilating the word "Vesica," we now have "Vixtus." If you want, you can add a last name, but last names are different. They usually combine a random suffix/prefix with a word (or two) interpreting what the hero does. For our "Blade Magus," the last name would most likely be "Sharpsteel." So, after slaughtering the English language a bit, we end up with "Vixtus Sharpsteel, the Blade Magus."

Here are my sample heroes:

GOOD: "Druid" into "Ferelas, the Arbor Herald."

EVIL: "Daemon" into "Styx, the Underworld Judicer."

Step 4: The Hero's Visual and Audio.

This is the quickest or the longest. You can choose a Blizzard-made model, or you can import one. There are backsides to both:

Blizzard-made:
-Most people can tell it's from Blizzard.
-There is a limited selection.

Imported:
-Most of the times, the import will take up a rather lot of space.
-The model could cause lag in the map.

Now, once you choose a model that FITS to the hero, choose the icon. If it's Blizzard-made, no problem, but if it's imported, you will most likely either need to edit the icons a bit or import the corresponding icon. Remember, make sure there is HERO GLOW!

Then, decide on the voice. If it's Blizzard-made, again, easy. However, if you are using an "incomplete" model (I.E. Medivh), you might want to add a different sound set for the model. This shouldn't be too hard.

Then, make sure the abilities' (once you make them) icons match. For example, you don't want a pink icon next to a bright green icon, that will look horrible. Try to find icons that blend nicely (I.E. All purple/black for undead heroes) with the hero and the other icons. Blizzard-made icons are fairly good at this.

If your hero will be ranged, then make sure to find a missile model that isn't too big for the hero or unfitting.

Here are my sample heroes:

GOOD: Arbor Herald: Malfurion (without stag) model, Malfurion voice, Malfurion icon. Cenarius missile model.

EVIL: Underworld Judicer: Overlord (with hero glow) model, Doom Guard voice, Overlord icon. No missile model.

Step 5: The Hero's Other Stats

By "Other Stats," I mean stats like base armor, damage sides per die, movement speed, stuff like that. For now, just tie them in with the main hero, don't give a tank 350 movement speed, or a supporter 5 base armor, just set it so that it fits the hero.

Here are my sample heroes:

GOOD: Arbor Herald:
Base Armor -1,
Damage Die 2,
Sides per die 4,
320 movement speed,
32 pathing,
Scaling value 1.10,
500 range.

EVIL: Underworld Judicer:
Base Armor 0,
Damage Die 2,
Siders per die 6,
300 movement speed,
36 pathing,
Scaling value 1.30,
128 range.

This section will be explained more in the "Balancing" section.

Step 6: The Backstory

This step is optional. You don't have to include a backstory, but it makes the hero seem a bit more complete. Plus, it can help form some of his abilities. Most hero's backstories tell of either how he came to be, or why he joined the side he is on. They don't have to be complicated, just a nice, original backstory will do. However, there are a bit of things to avoid:

*General Guidelines*
-Don't make the hero too tragic unless he's emo or dark.
-Don't make him seem like a god, too. Give him some faults if you have space.
-Usually, people decide to go for a faction because:
They were raised to fight for the faction.
The other faction did something to piss them off.
For Evil: They were corrupted into fighting for them.
For Good: They were counciled by a friend or a mentor.
-Don't, by any means, give a backstory that makes the hero seem suckish. People won't play them.
---|-|---

Here are my sample heroes:

GOOD: The Arbor Herald grew up with an affinity to nature, and by the time he came of age, he was given the power to control nature by a god. However, the Scourge soon wreaked havoc across the lands, forcing him to join with the Alliance, or die.

EVIL: Brought into this world by an unknown warlock, the Underworld Judicer is the equivilent of a holy judge. He finds the Alliance weak and unworthy, and has thus joined with the Scourge to gather more souls for his ruling.

----------

Ok, so there's the first part... It's my first tutorial, so if you must flame me, please tell me why.

Tell me what I need to improve on, how useful this is, anything. And, of course, please rate this.
Don't kill me.

 

[pheonixashes]

Making a Good Hero Pt. 2

III. The Abilities

Now, this is the fun part. However, it could take a long time. In case anybody didn't know, abilities are simply powers the hero has, usually at the cost of mana. Now, there are multiple different types of abilities, all of which make up a hero.

*General Guidelines*
-A hero usually has three or four normal abilities.
-A hero usually has an ultimate.
-A hero may have an innate ability.
---|-|---

Now, let's start with the normal abilities. Normal abilities are simply just average skills, not too strong, not too weak. They usually can vary for a variety of things, and generally cost about 10%-40% of the hero's mana per cast, depending on the cooldown and ability itself.

Normal abilities can be anything. The most common four types are Single Cast, Activateable, Channeling, and Passives.

*General Guidelines*
-Tanks usually have one or more passive abilities.
-Mages and Supporters do not usually have a passive ability.
-Do not, under any circumstances, give a hero more than three passive abilities.
-Do not, under any circumstances, give a hero a long channeling ability for a normal ability.
---|-|---

Activateable abilities are usually cast on the hero themselves, or allies recieve a constant benefit. Activateable abilities usually drain mana, though if the Activateable Ability has a negative effect, it usually doesn't.

Single Cast abilities can include Area of Effect abilities, along with line attacks (Like Shockwave), chain spells (Like Healing Wave), target abilities (Like Death Coil), no target abilities (Like War Stomp), summons (like Water Elemental), and self-cast abilities (Like Wind Walk). You first need to think up an effect for the Single Cast ability that your hero would probably take time to learn. For people to lazy to make their own abilities, that means no Charm on a Blademaster, no Bladestorm on a Paladin, stuff like that.

*General Guidelines*
-Line Attacks should mainly deal damage or have some effect. They usually do not do anything for allies.
-Chain Spells can be supportive or offensive, but they usually reduce in power per unit targeted.
-Target Abilities should be fairly powerful, but they always should have some effect. A damage-only nuke is next to useless.
-No Target Abilities should usually target enemies. They should also either be AoE, or launch a projectile in the direction the hero is facing.
-Self-Cast Abilities should give the hero some powerful buff, or increase their power. They should never be indefinite.
---|-|---

Now, on to the ultimate ability. Ultimate abilities are usually powerful spells or abilities, generally with a 60 second or more cooldown. Ultimates are usually Channeling, Self-Cast, or attack a large area. Very rarely are they passives, and they are almost never Line or Chain attacks.

*General Guidelines*
-The Ultimate should be extremely powerful. You know this.
-The Ultimate should have a fairly long cooldown.
-The Ultimate, if it is passive, provide an excellent bonus to the hero. Ultimates should not be auras.
---|-|---

Now, the optional part. The innate ability. Usually, it's fairly weak, but the main point of the innate ability is to:

*General Guidelines*
-The Innate Ability is usually superfluous, but provides an extra ability to use at the lower levels.
-At higher levels, the innate ability becomes weak and can only provide minor support or damage.
-The Innate Ability usually just helps convey the hero, or to help balance the hero out with the other heroes.
-If you give an innate ability to one hero, you should give all heroes innate abilities.
-An innate ability can be used in conjunction with the other's heroes abilities.
---|-|---

Now, you must come up with the abilities. There really isn't any magic formula to come up with abilities, but here are some questions you must ask yourself:

--What is my hero based on?--
This is the main question you must ask yourself for coming up with every ability. What type of spells will the hero have? Water-based ones? Holy-based ones? Rage-based ones?

--What is my hero's purpose?--
Next, you must decide what type of abilities the hero has. If the hero is a tank, you usually want a couple of passives mixed in with the hero, and so on. This will help determine what effects you want the hero to have.

Now, once you have that down, it's time to create the abilities.

Here are my sample heroes: (Without Innate Abilities)

GOOD: Ferelas, the Arbor Herald

Terradar Seeds: Ferelas' mastery over the natural world is second to none. Ferelas reaches into his pocket for some Terradar Seeds, which latch on to an enemy, immobolizing it for a couple seconds. Furthermore, the seeds split in two and jump to nearby enemies, immobolizing them as well.

Level 1: Immobolizes for 2 seconds, can jump a maximum of 2 times per original seed (7 units maximum).
Level 2: Immobolizes for 3 seconds, can jump a maximum of 2 times per original seed (7 units maximum).
Level 3: Immobolizes for 4 seconds, can jump a maximum of 3 times per original seed (13 units maximum).
Level 4: Immobolizes for 5 seconds, can jump a maximum of 3 times per original seed (13 units maximum).

Tranquil Thoughts: Ferelas' calmness spreads out to his fellow allies, increasing their mana pool.

Level 1: Increases mana pool by 10%.
Level 2: Increases mana pool by 15%.
Level 3: Increases mana pool by 20%.
Level 4: Increases mana pool by 25%.

Wall of Vines: Ferelas creates a large vine wall at the target location, which entangles enemies as they go near it.

Level 1: Entangles each enemy for 2.1 seconds, dealing 1.2 damage per tenth of a second.
Level 2: Entangles each enemy for 2.4 seconds, dealing 1.5 damage per tenth of a second.
Level 3: Entangles each enemy for 2.7 seconds, dealing 1.8 damage per tenth of a second.
Level 4: Entangles each enemy for 3 seconds, dealing 2.1 damage per tenth of a second.

World's Guardian: Ferelas' power grows to his extreme, invoking the blessing of the natural world. Channeling. Ferelas entangles every enemy entering or in an 600 AoE radius, dealing initial damage and damage per second. Units who are entangled also recieve a 50% decrease in armor and movement speed for the next 20 seconds. Entangling lasts 3 seconds. Lasts 20 seconds.

Level 1: Deals 90 initial damage and 15 damage per second.
Level 2: Deals 120 initial damage and 20 damage per second.

EVIL: Styx, the Underworld Judicer

Tenfold Punishment: Styx's sadism has reached its peak; he does not care how much an enemy suffers. Styx marks the target unit with a buff for a couple seconds. When the buff wears off, Styx will teleport to the target unit's location and deal the damage it was dealt during the time the buff was active on the unit.

Level 1: Buff lasts 2 seconds.
Level 2: Buff lasts 4 seconds.
Level 3: Buff lasts 6 seconds.
Level 4: Buff lasts 8 seconds.

Hand of Wickedness: Styx is so strong he can toss a being with relative ease. Every time Styx attacks, he has a small chance to grab a target unit next to him and fling the unit 300 units away from where Styx is facing. The target unit is flung so forcefully that he takes 50 damage in the process.

Level 1: Has a .5% chance to fling a unit.
Level 2: Has a 1% chance to fling a unit.
Level 3: Has a 1.5% chance to fling a unit.
Level 4: Has a 2% chance to fling a unit.

Death Stomp: Styx stomps the ground, dealing damage and knocking back all units in a 250 AoE Radius.

Level 1: Deals 40 damage and knocks back affected units 50 units.
Level 2: Deals 60 damage and knocks back affected units 75 units.
Level 3: Deals 80 damage and knocks back affected units 100 units.
Level 4: Deals 100 damage and knocks back affected units 125 units.

Fallen Seraph: Styx, one of the greatest warriors of the Underworld, was once an angel, banished to the Underworld. However, Styx still retains some of his divine judgement, and thus brings chaos to all mortals. Styx releases his stored energy, summoning a powerful ward where he stands. The ward attacks all nearby enemy units, and causes all enemies in an 800 AoE radius to constantly lose armor and damage, at 1% per second. Styx absorbs the lost armor and damage, and adds it to his own for 10 seconds after the ward disappears. Ward lasts 30 seconds.

Level 1: Ward does 25-37 damage.
Level 2: Ward does 33-46 damage.

Now that you see my heroes, lets analyze them. Both have a fairly powerful ultimate, which is the first step to a good hero. However, one is channeling and the other is summoning. Tanks usually don't have a channeling spell.

Next, the normal abilities. Each one has two active and a passive ability, but the Arbor Herald's passive is mainly affecting allies, while the Underworld Judicer is mainly affecting enemies and himself.

*General Guidelines*
--There really is no real guidelines for creating abilities, just let your imagination run wild.
--However, Tanks should not be supportive.
--Heavy Intelligence heroes should not be melee unless their second-best attribute is strength.
--Heavy Agility heroes usually do not have auras.
--Heavy Strength heroes should only have one or two long-range nukes.
--Average heroes should combine the good and bad points of the above three types of heroes.
---|-|---

In the end, there really isn't much to creating abilities, just a lot of thought and some minor precautions. It's balancing abilities that you'll have to watch out for.

 

[pheonixashes]

Making a Good Hero Pt. 3

IV. Balancing

This is the shortest section because all my heroes above are quite balanced.

Ok, this is the most time-consuming part. It requires quite a lot of thinking and logic. Look back at the "Other Stats" section of section II. These will help balance out your hero.

Just follow these simple guidelines:
NOTE: Here are the base stats for every hero:
Movment Speed: 300
Base Armor: -2
Pathing: 32
Base HP/MP: 100 each
Range: Varies
Attack Speed: Varies

These guidelines are based off of these base stats, with a simple give-and-take format.

*General Guidelines* (These will work Vise Versa)
-For every 10 points of movement speed added, add about .1-.4 AGI from the "AGI Per Level" stat, but take the point from either STR or INT.
-For every 20 points of movement speed added, add 1-2AGI from the "Starting AGI" stat, but take the points from either STR or INT.
-For every point of base armor, subtract either .2-.4 AGI or STR from their respective "Per Level" stat, and eliminate 1 of either STR or AGI, depending on the hero's primary stat. You want to subtract the stat that the hero gains damage on.
-For every 8 points of pathing, add .1-.2 of STR per level.
-For every 50 extra range, add about 1-2 AGI, but eliminate 1-3 STR or INT.
-For every 25 points of base HP, eliminate .1-.2 STR per level.
-For every 15 points of base MP, eliminate .1-.3 INT per level.
-For every extra damage die, eliminate 1-2 of the primary starting stat, and .05-.1 of the primary stat per level.
-For every extra sides per die, eliminate .05-.1 of the primary stat per level.
-Unless the hero is a supreme tank or an all-out supporter, keep the main stats at above 10-14.
-Unless the hero is a supreme tank or an all-out supporter, keep the stats per level above .90. This is the absolute minimum.
---|-|---

In general, if you add some, take some. This first process is called Alpha Balancing, just because the power of the abilities hasn't been factored in yet. My sample heroes have already been balanced.

Next is Beta Balancing, which factors in the abilities that the heroes have. This is mainly based off of instinct, but there are a few guidelines to making the abilities balanced with the heroes.

*General Guidelines*
-If an ability deals more or is generally more useful than another ability the hero has, make it cost more mana, or give it a longer cooldown.
-If the damage an ability deals cannot be nerfed due to hero issues, nerf the hero itself. If a Mountain King deals a strong Storm Bolt, reduce its INT or AGI so it can't use it as much or survive as long.
-Passive Abilities are the hardest to balance. These abilities usually involve percentages, so it's fairly annoying. The best way to do it here is to compare the Passive ability with another Passive ability, then average those two out.
-Ultimates usually require no balance, and usually recieve balancing when there is another hero to compare it with.
-To balance an Ultimate, identify all the effects of the ultimate, and rate all of them on a scale of 1 to 10 for various situations. Then, compare it with another hero's ultimate. Nerf specific effects, like damage or bonuses, to help the heroes stay in check.
---|-|---

However, these general guidelines aren't usually enough to fully balance the hero. Now comes the third (out of four) step to balancing: Gamma Balancing.

Gamma Balancing is simply testing out the hero in-game, and seeing where it excels, and where it fails.

A hero should excel in either the same or less ways than it fails for it to be fully balanced. If a hero only fails at casting spells, but can mob enemies and kill heroes, it will become unbalanced. This point becomes the hardest out of all the steps, as it requires lateral thinking and sometimes requires you to nerf or change abilities.

*General Guidelines*
-Test the hero out in single player first, see how it stands up to the computer. If it can easily kill/be killed by the computer, nerf or power up some of the hero's spells or stats.
-Then, test the hero online, so other players control enemy heroes. This way, you can see if the hero is on-par with the regular heroes. Again, if it owns/fails, nerf or power up some of the hero's spells or stats.
---|-|---
However, once you feel the hero is truly balanced... it probably isn't. Now comes Delta Balancing.

Delta Balancing is the final stage in balancing a hero. However, it is not the last time you will balance the certain hero.

Delta Balancing involves seeing how a hero does in certain circumstances during the map, i.e. how well it survives, how it works with the items/units in the map, and overall how well it is used by multiple players. A hero can be friendly to beginners, friendly to experts, or both. It's the creator's job to determine that. Secondly, Delta Balancing involves watching multiple replays of the hero in combat, by different players, over and over again, to see it's true flaws.

*General Guidelines*
-Delta Balancing includes:
-Finding the hero's glitches/imbalances with multiple different players.
-Realizing what the hero is good at and what the hero isn't.
-If a counter is made, how well it stands up to its counter.
-Listening carefully to feedback and determining whether the hero should be changed or not.
---|-|---

In short, this is pretty much all you need to know about balancing; but remember, this is not the end to balancing. If you make more heroes, you'll probably need to balance those heroes as well, along with any minor changes to the hero.


V. Polishing

This is the shortest "real" section; for good reason. Polishing simply involves making the hero look good. If it is a custom model, it might include modifying the model slightly, changing the hero's name a bit, and the most important part: Tooltips.

Yes, you actually have to give at least a minor amount of time for the tooltips.

Now, you have a choice: Golden and White Tooltips, or different? The Golden and White Tooltips, AKA Blizzard standard tooltips are the easiest and quickest to make. However, the multi-colored tooltips look good.

*General Guidelines*
-To make good, multi-color tooltips, you first have to determine what colors you wish to use. IMO, I choose the colors that are best suited to the hero, though a general Gold, Blue, and white tooltip scheme can help.
-Don't just include what the ability does. More on this below.
---|-|---

If you notice, abilities usually have just the name and the description. Isn't that a bit bland?
If you wish, you may want to include these extra options (as a list):
-Mana Cost
-Cooldown
-Type of Ability (See below)
-Targets Allowed
-History of Ability in relation to the Hero
-A Quote, said by the hero or another, that fits to the ability.
---|-|---

The "Type of Ability" part usually comes in a couple words, usually three or more. To determine what type of ability it is, a simple format is needed:

1st Word: What type of target is it? If it's an AoE radius, its "Area of Effect." If it has no target, its "Instant Cast." If it has a target, then "Single Target."
2nd Word: Is it offensive, defensive, supportive, or utility? This is mainly up to how you use the ability. If you use the ability mainly for defense, then its "Defensive," and so on.
3rd Word: What does it do? If it creates a wall, then its a "Wall." If it does a specific effect, like knockback, then its "Knockback." If its a nuke, aura, or anything else, just call it what it is, a "Nuke" or an "Aura."


So, here are some 2 sample tooltips (from my heroes):

GOOD:
Wall of Vines:
-Mana Cost: 135.
-Cooldown: 35 seconds.
-Type of Ability: Area of Effect Defensive Wall
-Targets: Ground
-Ferelas creates a large vine wall at the target location, which entangles enemies as they go near it.

Level 1: Entangles each enemy for 2.1 seconds, dealing 1.2 damage per tenth of a second.
Level 2: Entangles each enemy for 2.4 seconds, dealing 1.5 damage per tenth of a second.
Level 3: Entangles each enemy for 2.7 seconds, dealing 1.8 damage per tenth of a second.
Level 4: Entangles each enemy for 3 seconds, dealing 2.1 damage per tenth of a second.

"Feel Nature's Wrath..." -Cenarius


EVIL:
Death Stomp:
-Mana Cost: 95.
-Cooldown: 17 seconds.
-Type of Ability: Area of Effect Offensive Knockback
-Targets: None
-Styx, now so powerful, can simply stomp the floor and clear a path for himself.
-Styx stomps the ground, dealing damage and knocking back all units in a 250AoE Radius.

Level 1: Deals 40 damage and knocks back affected units 50 units.
Level 2: Deals 60 damage and knocks back affected units 75 units.
Level 3: Deals 80 damage and knocks back affected units 100 units.
Level 4: Deals 100 damage and knocks back affected units 125 units.

And there you have it. For more information on coloring tooltips, check out one of the multiple Color Tutorials...

Next comes the hotkeys. Hotkeys are very important when it comes to fast-paced battles, as it saves time. For maximum effeciency, use hotkeys that are reachable by one hand and confortable. Try placing your fingers on the "D" "R" "T" "H" keys. This is one of the easiest combinations to pull off.

And... that's pretty much it. Repeat this process 10-50 times, make the heroes, implement them in your map, protect the map, polish it, and you've made a pretty good map, heroes-wise.

And on that note, this tutorial has officially ended.

 

[IKilledKEnny]

This is a very nice tutorial, I liked the way you orginized it a lot.

Just notice though; there are many sentences that are seperated for to 2 lines. Like:

I'm came home
at 3:00 AM

 

[pheonixashes]

Yeah, I realized that. TXT does that for some reason. I'll fix them up.

EDIT:
Added Part III.

 

[Aqua Dragon]

Nice tutorial. Especially your first one. It makes alot of sense and gives good examples of it. I can't wait till balancing comes, that way I can make one of my games better

 

[pheonixashes]

It'll come soon, I'm writing it right now.

EDIT: Ok, finally finished. Total time spent on the tutorial: 5 hours.

Anyway, I'm probably going to do Balancing a TD or Balancing a Fifth Race next...

Don't flame me. Much.

 

[IKilledKEnny]

I like the other parts too as well. Just don't have so much italic hurts the eye a little.

 

[Tinki3]

The whole tutorial is quite good.

But, I suppose it wouldn't really be too usefull for people that have been using the WE for 3 or more yrs.

It'll be excellent for less experienced WE users though (probably what you didn't want to hear).

Maybe I'm wrong, but its an opinion none the less.

8.5/10

+rep

 

[Foresector]

Really good.
9/10 from me
I enjoyed reading your way of balancing, don't think I've ever thought of that kind of method before.
1 very minor thing to consider is the whole "Highest attribute=Main attribute" thing. Seeing as some heros could be designed to be really fast and attack fast, whilst retaining a rather lower attack base eg. Naix from DoTa

 

[pheonixashes]

Thanks for all the comments.
The tutorial is mainly intended for people lacking ideas, or people who need help balancing, so yeah, no pros.

I dun think I said Highest Attribute = Primary Stat, though... Where did you see it? As I said before, it's just guidelines, you make the map however you wish.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it. Yeah... still you balance them out later on, the more Attack Speed, the less damage. There's still a lot of formatting to come later on.

 

[master maste]

good tutorial +rep
liked the name making part

 

[pheonixashes]

Bumpish?

And by the way, if you voted "Meh" or lower, can you please explain why?

 

[Geelottaja]

This tutorial was quite good, it's easy to read, well organized, informative and helpful. Some of the facts you've written are common sense, but some people tend to forget them, so it's a good thing you mentioned them.

 

[Asehujiko]

protect the map

How the hell is that supposed to influence the quality of the heroes?

 

[Omni]

Sweet but one thing:
Overlord with hero glow
How can you add the hero glow?
moddeling?(if modeling awnser NO )

Edit: hey i just made the "Its awesome" go to 50% wee

 

[pheonixashes]

Yeah, you have to import a hero glow model and attach it to the hero.

And to Asehujiko:
It doesn't, it just helps prevent your work from being stolen.

 

[Asehujiko]

WEU has an option to add heroglow to models

 

[pheonixashes]

Bumpity bump.

Comment/Vote people...

 

[pheonixashes]

Sigh... bump.

Doesn't anyone have any comments/concerns?