It’s only been a few weeks since Heroes of the Storm last saw a dramatic overhaul of its ranked game modes, but the game is about to undergo yet another major change.
Blizzard previously shifted five person groups from the game’s main ranked queue, Hero League, to a separate Team League. Now parties with three or more players will be removed from ranked play all together.
After the game’s next update, Hero League will only be open to players playing alone or with just one friend. Blizzard’s announcement made no mention of five person groups in Team League, and it’s unknown if these will remain.
In announcing the change, Blizzard cited varying skill levels between large parties and poor communication as major factors in the decision.
“Party members will discuss strategy with each other,” Blizzard wrote, “but don’t end up communicating the game plan to their fifth teammate. On the other end of the spectrum, solo players may disagree with the party’s decisions, or show unwillingness to help the team.”
While many have welcomed the change, others have expressed concern that this leaves players who want to play with multiple friends restricted to casual game modes. Game modes like quick match currently do not allow for a draft mode to be used unless playing in a custom game with 10 invited players.
