Overwatch's Genji Comes to Heroes Of The Storm

Heroes Of The Storm is finally receiving Overwatch's most bad-ass shuriken throwing, katana wielding ninja that we all know and love. Genji was added to the list of heroes in Blizzards MOBA, Heroes Of The Storm yesterday, along with the map, Hanamura. This isn't that surprising since Blizzard has already added 3 other Overwatch heroes to the MOBA's roster. Tracer, Zarya and Lucio are among the list, and Genji had now joined the party.

As you could imagine, Genji is classified as an assassin in Heroes Of The Storm, which is pretty much the same role he plays in Overwatch. Along with a large amount of mobility, he can dish out large amounts of burst damage, but can't afford to take very much himself. It seems that Blizzard has done their best to stay as authentic as possible regarding Genji's abilities and playstyle, and they pretty much hit the nail on the head excluding one unique ability. This transition of Overwatch characters into Heroes Of The Storm definitely attempts to shed some light on Blizzard's less popular title, and I think it does just that. In the past, Blizzard even gave Overwatch players incentive to sink time into Heroes Of The Storm by offering the exclusive "Oni" skin for Genji.

Whatever their reasoning, it's definitely a cool way to get players of both games to recognize the other when they may have not otherwise. Whether you're a fan of Overwatch or not, you can't complain about new and free content. Genji is available to play in beta form today, and he will be released into the live version of the game along with Hanamura as past of their Heroes Of The Storm 2.0 Update. Check out the full description of Genji's abilities in Heroes Of The Storm below:

• Shuriken (Basic): Throws three shuriken in a spread pattern to deal damage. Three charges of this move can be stored, and its cooldown restores all three charges.
• Deflect (Basic): For 1.25 seconds, Genji blocks damage and automatically fires back Kunai, dealing damage to the closest enemy.
• Swift Strike (Basic): A forward dash that deals damage to enemies in the area of effect. The cooldown and mana cost of this ability is automatically replenished if an enemy hero dies within two seconds of being hit by this attack.
• Dragonblade (Heroic): For eight seconds, Genji unleashes his sword, just like his Ultimate in Overwatch. In conjunction with Swift Strike, he can lunge forward to deal damage in a large arc. Swift Strike's replenish condition still applies.
• X-Strike (Heroic): Unique to Heroes of the Storm, Genji slashes his target twice to deal damage. After 1.25 seconds, an area of effect deals additional damage.