Hearthstone

[NoOther]

I keep getting messages from my friend playing World of Warcraft and it's really difficult to respond without 3 or 4 clicks that take you out of the game and stick a couple huge interface windows in front of you if you miss their text because you're in the middle of a move. The history function is not easy to open or look at. They should have just put a chat window in the bottom left corner like the do all their other games. They can make it optional or something. If I had to guess I'd say its a result of them "dumbing it down" for compatibility with mobile devices.

I think it may have more to do with the fact that its geared more towards kids and with all the onling bullying and negative community experiences in other games, they just opted out of it. But I think if that "is" the case it will end up being a mistake. It also could just be that since it is still beta they haven't included the chat portion. That has been true in the past with other games.

 

[Makeroflostsouls]

I have been playing it a bit off and on for a few weeks. I like it pretty well, good time killer. They put this out on android i'll be playing it a lot more..

 

[Ocellaris]

I have been playing it a bit off and on for a few weeks. I like it pretty well, good time killer. They put this out on android i'll be playing it a lot more..

It is coming to iPads, no Android release has been mentioned.

 

[Modred189]

Just got into the beta, and while I am not a card game fan (the last I played was Star Trek TNG back in middle school, and then it was mostly for the cards, not the game), it is a blast. The game is VERY easy to understand, and the nuances and strategies become apparent pretty quickly, but you feel the lack of cards early on. Not in a bad way though. You'll be building a deck, for example, and say to yourself, "I wish there was a card HERE with this alternative attribute, it would combo nicely with this other card." And you know it exists because of that combo potential, you just don't have it.

The pricing is weird, though. I get the pricing for the card packs, and it's pretty fair. What I somewhat question is the $2 admission to the arena. Basically, you give them $2, and you are allowed to build a deck of random cards; ALL of the cards available to the class you chose from three made available. You then can use that deck until you rack up 3 losses.
On it's face, I get that because they want you to spend your time with YOUR deck, building it and yearning for cards so you'll buy card decks. It's also sneaky because you get to see what kinds of cards are available to your favorite class before buying decks, making you realize how much is out there, and making you want to buy those decks. It's cruel actually.

But, at the same time, for $2, you really don't get anything. The rewards aren't special in any real way, other than completing achievements for in game gold or decks, and you can buy a deck for the same price as entry into the arena. So why waste the time?

As for as performance I am very happy. On my work laptop, a Yoga 11s (Core i5 3339y 1.5ghz), 4gb ram, 1366x768) it runs fine on high settings. It must also be said thatplaying on a touch screen is fantastic. This game is clearly optimized for it, and I assume will be on iOS and Android soon enough. Which also explains the odd lack of chat functionality. As far as F2P communities go, I guess this is a good idea. WHile the MW:O in game community is pretty great, the forums, plus the communities for the MOBAs are horrific. Lack of chat reins that in I guess.

Finally, for a beta, I must say that stability has yet to be an issue. No crashes in 3 days of playing and about 15-20 games.

 

[Ocellaris]

You always get a pack as an Arena reward. If you get 8 or 9 wins, you can often get enough gold for another Arena run (which will get you a other pack, and more gold, and so on).

 

[Modred189]

You always get a pack as an Arena reward. If you get 8 or 9 wins, you can often get enough gold for another Arena run (which will get you a other pack, and more gold, and so on).

Ah. I guess I just thought those were for completing the achievements.
Makes sense i guess.

Made a fun deck for my rogue with a crap ton of murlocs. Those suckers add up fast, and several have +1/+1, so a bunch of 1/2 cards become very scary very quickly.

 

[Syntaxx]

ive been having fun playing again

 

[carajean206]

I cant for some reason get over the really kiddie aspect. Maybe I have been playing MTG for so long.

I want to like the game maybe I will play a few more games this weekend. I find deck building easier when I have the physical cards I just get all flustered with them on the screen like that.

I do like this game for kids though. No social aspect so you dont have to worry what someone is saying to them while they are playing this game.

 

[NoOther]

Ah. I guess I just thought those were for completing the achievements.
Makes sense i guess.

Made a fun deck for my rogue with a crap ton of murlocs. Those suckers add up fast, and several have +1/+1, so a bunch of 1/2 cards become very scary very quickly.

You actually get more rewards the more wins you get no matter the number. So getting 3,6,9,12 the reward escalates the more wins you get. And you still get a deck of cards, so its typically a better deal than buying a deck.

 

[Modred189]

You actually get more rewards the more wins you get no matter the number. So getting 3,6,9,12 the reward escalates the more wins you get. And you still get a deck of cards, so its typically a better deal than buying a deck.

AH. I wish that was clearer. The intro to the game itself is freaking perfect, but this kind of stuff needs to be better outlined or described.

It's a fun game though. Particularly like having Deathwing in my Arena deck.

Sit on that sucker until the opponent drops a whole bunch of nice minions and then POP.

 

[NoOther]

AH. I wish that was clearer. The intro to the game itself is freaking perfect, but this kind of stuff needs to be better outlined or described.

I agree there are a number of things that need to be better described, but its still in Beta. However, the whole thing with the Arena I found out the first time I went into the Arena because it told me. Also not sure if you explored using the blue dust yet, but that helps you craft cards and you generally get blue dust as a arena award also.

 

[Modred189]

I agree there are a number of things that need to be better described, but its still in Beta. However, the whole thing with the Arena I found out the first time I went into the Arena because it told me.

Hmm. I didn't. I WAS on a shady hotspot connection at the time.
WHich raises another issue: online required for single player practice matches is super dumb. I guess I get it because of the card award system, but still. Annoying.

 

[NoOther]

Hmm. I didn't. I WAS on a shady hotspot connection at the time.
WHich raises another issue: online required for single player practice matches is super dumb. I guess I get it because of the card award system, but still. Annoying.

It is because your entire account is online. This is to prevent card duping and cheating.

 

[Modred189]

It is because your entire account is online. This is to prevent card duping and cheating.

Oh yea. ANd I get that. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
It just makes a game that is PERFECT for a train commute kind of hard to use reliably.

 

[NoOther]

Oh yea. ANd I get that. Doesn't mean I have to like it.
It just makes a game that is PERFECT for a train commute kind of hard to use reliably.

Yeah, it would be nice if they allowed an offline practice mode where you had access to all the cards and not just the ones you owned. But then you couldn't accrue achievements for it.

 

[Modred189]

Yeah, it would be nice if they allowed an offline practice mode where you had access to all the cards and not just the ones you owned. But then you couldn't accrue achievements for it.

I'd take an offline practice mode that didn't earn anything and was just a practice mode so you could hone your decks.

 

[Elios]

You actually get more rewards the more wins you get no matter the number. So getting 3,6,9,12 the reward escalates the more wins you get. And you still get a deck of cards, so its typically a better deal than buying a deck.

you can only go to 9 wins in arena

 

[NoOther]

you can only go to 9 wins in arena

Doesn't at all change what I said though, the more you win the more rewards you get, that was the point.

 

[Astral Abyss]

I'm finding that the more I play, the more I realize I don't get enough rewards to keep expanding my deck to keep pace with my level. I have to play tons of filler games with sub-optimal builds for a pittance of gold if I manage to win 3 games, but even if I suck, I get xp, so I have to move up and fight tougher people with my same crappy cards. I guess I could spend some real money (I spent $10 so far) for a chance at something worthwhile. And once you get into the high 20s in your deck level, sub-optimal won't cut it. So what am I supposed to do? I'm not going to get into the trap of spending 100's of dollars on cards only to have them obsoleted when the next expansion comes out. It's kind of depressing. Seems like a big money grab... even worse than MTG, which I played for several years.

The dust option is pretty much a joke. It's really only good for the low-end cards and even then you'll have to destroy a bunch of common cards to get enough to make 1 card you want.

This all just kind of came upon me as I was playing the other night and realized that I had stopped caring if I won or lost.

 

[FordFanboy]

I'm finding that the more I play, the more I realize I don't get enough rewards to keep expanding my deck to keep pace with my level. I have to play tons of filler games with sub-optimal builds for a pittance of gold if I manage to win 3 games, but even if I suck, I get xp, so I have to move up and fight tougher people with my same crappy cards. I guess I could spend some real money (I spent $10 so far) for a chance at something worthwhile. And once you get into the high 20s in your deck level, sub-optimal won't cut it. So what am I supposed to do? I'm not going to get into the trap of spending 100's of dollars on cards only to have them obsoleted when the next expansion comes out. It's kind of depressing. Seems like a big money grab... even worse than MTG, which I played for several years.

The dust option is pretty much a joke. It's really only good for the low-end cards and even then you'll have to destroy a bunch of common cards to get enough to make 1 card you want.

This all just kind of came upon me as I was playing the other night and realized that I had stopped caring if I won or lost.

You are probably noticing a kind of gradient that was carefully planned and implemented in the game to set a hook on a player. The fact is Blizz is out to create its next money tree (especially after the relative failure of Diablo 3's RMAH money-tree setup), and as games like Magic have shown, this is a good route for them. Take all the inherent addictive natures of a card game, make it more accessible and easy, polish it up a bit, slap their main franchise on it... sit back and watch the fools blow hundreds on the game to build perfect decks that you will render obsolete in an expansion or patch, like you said. Then the cycle restarts. Similar trends in MMOs, and the thing is there are plenty of people that recognize that they're being manipulated into cash sheep but still think its worth it anyway.

 

[Ocellaris]

Fun as it is now, I think Blizzard will eventually blow this by releasing content (game modes, new cards, tournament support) too slowly.

 

[Astral Abyss]

You are probably noticing a kind of gradient that was carefully planned and implemented in the game to set a hook on a player. The fact is Blizz is out to create its next money tree (especially after the relative failure of Diablo 3's RMAH money-tree setup), and as games like Magic have shown, this is a good route for them. Take all the inherent addictive natures of a card game, make it more accessible and easy, polish it up a bit, slap their main franchise on it... sit back and watch the fools blow hundreds on the game to build perfect decks that you will render obsolete in an expansion or patch, like you said. Then the cycle restarts. Similar trends in MMOs, and the thing is there are plenty of people that recognize that they're being manipulated into cash sheep but still think its worth it anyway.

Yes, I believe everything you stated is correct. It just saddens me because they made it so obvious. They could have make the cards easy to obtain and make their money on tournaments and special cards (foil upgrades, animations, champion skins, voice-overs etc), bling stuff, you know, like League of Legends does. They would still make a ton of money. I'd actually be more inclined to spend money on tournaments or challenges if they offered them, using a deck I built. But not with the current system. The Hearthstone draft mode "Arena" is the worst draft mode I have ever seen. It doesn't make me even feel like I'm able to get the most out of my random cards like I did in a MTG draft.

 

[Breeze]

On the off.. off chance that someone would have a key not in use keep me in mind, been trying to score one for some time now.

 

[NoOther]

Yes, I believe everything you stated is correct. It just saddens me because they made it so obvious. They could have make the cards easy to obtain and make their money on tournaments and special cards (foil upgrades, animations, champion skins, voice-overs etc), bling stuff, you know, like League of Legends does. They would still make a ton of money. I'd actually be more inclined to spend money on tournaments or challenges if they offered them, using a deck I built. But not with the current system. The Hearthstone draft mode "Arena" is the worst draft mode I have ever seen. It doesn't make me even feel like I'm able to get the most out of my random cards like I did in a MTG draft.

Its the same as every other card game out there. But they also made it interesting with the Arena and you are guaranteed a prize with the Arena. I like the way they did Arena, its like sealed deck with a little more choice. So I think that is pretty good. I don't see anything wrong with the system they have. Play for fun for cheap, beat up ppl with ultra expensive decks with your free one and party one.

 

[Satarel]

Yes, I believe everything you stated is correct. It just saddens me because they made it so obvious. They could have make the cards easy to obtain and make their money on tournaments and special cards (foil upgrades, animations, champion skins, voice-overs etc), bling stuff, you know, like League of Legends does. They would still make a ton of money. I'd actually be more inclined to spend money on tournaments or challenges if they offered them, using a deck I built. But not with the current system. The Hearthstone draft mode "Arena" is the worst draft mode I have ever seen. It doesn't make me even feel like I'm able to get the most out of my random cards like I did in a MTG draft.

My feelings exactly.

 

[Ocellaris]

Yes, I believe everything you stated is correct. It just saddens me because they made it so obvious. They could have make the cards easy to obtain and make their money on tournaments and special cards (foil upgrades, animations, champion skins, voice-overs etc), bling stuff, you know, like League of Legends does. They would still make a ton of money. I'd actually be more inclined to spend money on tournaments or challenges if they offered them, using a deck I built. But not with the current system. The Hearthstone draft mode "Arena" is the worst draft mode I have ever seen. It doesn't make me even feel like I'm able to get the most out of my random cards like I did in a MTG draft.

Blizzard is bad at tournaments and non subscription based monetization though. They are going to stick with selling people packs of wishes. I suspect they are going to have other types of packs available as well, it only makes sense to sell "Gold Packs" and other packs with different contents.

Hell they haven't even fixed a number of game affecting bugs I. hearthstone and the UI is an inconsistent mess, who knows how long it would take them to add new packs

 

[big_aug]

Blizzard is bad at tournaments and non subscription based monetization though. They are going to stick with selling people packs of wishes. I suspect they are going to have other types of packs available as well, it only makes sense to sell "Gold Packs" and other packs with different contents.

Hell they haven't even fixed a number of game affecting bugs I. hearthstone and the UI is an inconsistent mess, who knows how long it would take them to add new packs

Game seemed pretty polished to me. I've only played a couple classes to lvl 10 though.

 

[Elios]

i have and no issues moving up in level using only basic cards
just saying
and there are videos of people making to diamond in ranked play using ONLY free cards

 

[Godmachine]

I still can't settle well with the idea of investing into digital cards. Blizzard burned me with the D3 RMAH mess , I'm not sure they understand the digital market well enough yet.

I can't wait to at least try the game though.

 

[NoOther]

I still can't settle well with the idea of investing into digital cards. Blizzard burned me with the D3 RMAH mess , I'm not sure they understand the digital market well enough yet.

I can't wait to at least try the game though.

Except you don't have to buy any at all. At least not right now, not sure if they will have a price to entry or subscription or making it f2p once it goes live.

 

[Elios]

the game is going to be free to play
and is worth throwing some money at in the long run

 

[Astral Abyss]

Blizzard is bad at tournaments and non subscription based monetization though. They are going to stick with selling people packs of wishes. I suspect they are going to have other types of packs available as well, it only makes sense to sell "Gold Packs" and other packs with different contents.

Hell they haven't even fixed a number of game affecting bugs I. hearthstone and the UI is an inconsistent mess, who knows how long it would take them to add new packs

I expect to see new sets of cards come out as soon as the bell curve of sales trends downward, after the game is released to the general public of course. There really is no other option once people have all the cards they want, since Blizzard has no other source of revenue in their current model. There won't be much incentive to pay for Arena at that point since the main prize is the packs of cards. Blizzard is going to need to come up with some type of reward system, perks, or monetary rewards... something... to keep people paying.

I don't see why I would want to invest money in the game at this point.

 

[Astral Abyss]

the game is going to be free to play
and is worth throwing some money at in the long run

It's only free to play if you like losing... a lot...

Or you have endless time to get your pittance of gold getting 3 wins = 10g, or trying to hobble together a deck for the daily quest win for 40g. Then you can take your hard-earned gold and buy 1 pack of 5 cards for 100g or play Arena for 150g. If you figure, on average, you'll probably get 50% win rate, unless you're really good, and a game length of 10-15 minutes each, you're looking at an average of 1-1.5 hours per 10g and 10-15 hours per 100g. That's a lot of time for 1 pack of cards that probably won't even have anything you want in it.

As much as people want to say that you can win with the common cards, you'll be lucky to see 1/3 of the common class cards after opening 20-30 packs, let alone the dozens of neutral commons. Worse yet is the joke that is disenchanting. Supposedly you can disenchant extra cards and cards you don't want to make them into cards you do want. The problem is that common cards disenchant to 5 dust and cost 20 to make. Rares disenchant to 20 dust and it's 100 to make one. Epic cards cost 400 dust and legendary cards cost 1600 dust. It's basically a 1 to 4 ratio. You'd have to be crazy to disenchant an epic or legendary card since they're so hard to find in the packs, especially for the pittance you get for disenchanting them. Since you can't trade or buy individual cards, you could open 500 packs and never see a legendary card, or a 2nd epic card of the same type.

 

[Modred189]

Not to mention that when you open a pack , you get 5 cards. There are what, 9 classes plus un-classed cards? There's just not a great chance that you'll get a card for your class, and while the un-classed cards are ok, there seems to be a bias for them, since every pack I've opened has at least one unclassed card.

So what you end up doing is playing ALL nine classes not because you like them, but because you want to make sure that if you open a deck, the cards will have a better chance at being at all useful.

ew

I think I'll play until I hit the wall where I get past playing against other F2Pers and into those spending mountains of cash.

 

[Elios]

It's only free to play if you like losing... a lot...

Or you have endless time to get your pittance of gold getting 3 wins = 10g, or trying to hobble together a deck for the daily quest win for 40g. Then you can take your hard-earned gold and buy 1 pack of 5 cards for 100g or play Arena for 150g. If you figure, on average, you'll probably get 50% win rate, unless you're really good, and a game length of 10-15 minutes each, you're looking at an average of 1-1.5 hours per 10g and 10-15 hours per 100g. That's a lot of time for 1 pack of cards that probably won't even have anything you want in it.

As much as people want to say that you can win with the common cards, you'll be lucky to see 1/3 of the common class cards after opening 20-30 packs, let alone the dozens of neutral commons. Worse yet is the joke that is disenchanting. Supposedly you can disenchant extra cards and cards you don't want to make them into cards you do want. The problem is that common cards disenchant to 5 dust and cost 20 to make. Rares disenchant to 20 dust and it's 100 to make one. Epic cards cost 400 dust and legendary cards cost 1600 dust. It's basically a 1 to 4 ratio. You'd have to be crazy to disenchant an epic or legendary card since they're so hard to find in the packs, especially for the pittance you get for disenchanting them. Since you can't trade or buy individual cards, you could open 500 packs and never see a legendary card, or a 2nd epic card of the same type.

again i have not had issues wining with the stock decks even
most of it come down to card draw RNG
and how well you build your deck
and you get 40gold a day from 'quests'
so every 3 days or so you can do an area FOR FREE
if your losing a lot your bad

 

[Astral Abyss]

again i have not had issues wining with the stock decks even
most of it come down to card draw RNG
and how well you build your deck
and you get 40gold a day from 'quests'
so every 3 days or so you can do an area FOR FREE
if your losing a lot your bad

What do I do on the other 2 days?

 

[Elios]

What do I do on the other 2 days?

play ranked
or unranked
work on your decks

even when i played Magic pretty hard core i didnt play EVERY day

and again check out youtube you can get diamond level ranked with ONLY free cards

 

[Maplehamwich]

Not sure if it's been said or not, but no progress wipes anymore. I didn't realise that, and I've been putting it to the side, as I didn't want to waste my time. Now I'm playing a lot haha. Need to make up for lost time!

http://i.imgur.com/m609EPO.png

 

[FordFanboy]

On the off.. off chance that someone would have a key not in use keep me in mind, been trying to score one for some time now.

How about the off to the 50th power chance? No one is going to give some random on a forum their key for free. Try adding money to your statement or just checking eBay.

 

[Ocellaris]

I stopped playing until they fix some of the annoying bugs. Not interested in paying cash to keep doing Arena with a buggy beta game.