The banhammer is in full swing for Heroes of the Storm as Blizzard grows tired of players exploiting the system, much like they did in World of Warcraft's battlegrounds. This is a major step forward to giving the game a proper community. Community itself is built on the backs of rules, something to keep the community healthy and to trim the excess fat off. Too much trimming and the community is too lean, not enough activity, as people are fearful of the rules. Too little and the community grows fat with bloat. Trolls, griefers, and exploiters all join the ranks. When this goes too far, we get even simple community members exploiting the system by AFKing in the games.

I don't personally see any issue with this and support Blizzard's efforts to clean up the game and make it a bit more tolerable to hop into a game and have someone who is being toxic removed. It's been an issue since the old DotA days when you couldn't rejoin a game, but with all the tools available in most MOBAs and online games to rejoin where you left off, there isn't any excuse for taking off from a game more than a few times.

Going forward we will be banning Heroes game accounts for players who have been found to be repeatedly AFKing, leaving games, or determined to be toxic in Heroes of the Storm, and as we do with all Blizzard games, we will continue to monitor the game and take action as needed.

I mean, seriously, how often does an emergency come up that you have to jet from the computer after knowing you have a set specific amount of time to enjoy your game? Not often! That's for sure. I mean we all know a MOBA game is going to last something similar to 20 to 40 mintues, so you'd have to know to have that much time free when you head out to play.

Some may feel banning to be too severe and I do hope that Blizzard issues the standard warnings / probations / etc. and this isn't just some witch hunt (which I'm sure it's not). If it does become one, trust Ten Ton Hammer to keep you in the know.

We're aware that some players are choosing to repeatedly leave or go AFK in games rather than actively participate in Battlegrounds, and this certainly isn't the spirit of gameplay that we want to encourage in Heroes. Access to the Technical Alpha of Heroes of the Storm is a privilege, and especially with so many players eager to access the Nexus and test their mettle on the field of battle, it's unfortunate that some players in the Alpha have resorted to underhanded tactics for personal gain.

Going forward we will be banning Heroes game accounts for players who have been found to be repeatedly AFKing, leaving games, or determined to be toxic in Heroes of the Storm, and as we do with all Blizzard games, we will continue to monitor the game and take action as needed.

As we've said before, playing Heroes of the Storm legitimately means participating in Battlegrounds and being kind and constructive to your fellow players. We're still discussing what further tools we would like to implement in order to deal with players who seek to undermine the spirit of camaraderie and gameplay, and we'll be sure to update you when we have more information to share.

For those of you already in the Technical Alpha, we thank you for your continued feedback and passion for Heroes of the Storm, and for those of you not yet in the Alpha, we're continuing to invite more players into the Nexus on a regular basis, so we hope to see you soon!

Source: Blizzard