The Hearthstone forums is a treasure trove of arguments and interesting discussions. They aren’t always productive or poignant but the forums can be a good way to see other minds at work and breaking down bits of the game. A diligent Hearthstone player, Values, has broken down how Arena wins and losses work, where wins come from, where losses go, and a simple (and possibly accidental) introduction to economics.
Values describes how only a small number of players will ever break even in the Arena (that is, recoup their entry fee). According to most, it takes approximately 7 wins to earn enough gold to reenter the Arena. 6 or fewer wins means that you’ll have to earn gold from quests, wins, or buy into the Arena with real money. Values continues and states that because Hearthstone wins and losses in the Arena come against players, someone is always winning a game and someone is always losing. There are a finite number of players in Hearthstone, even if that size is growing, and every win a player earns comes at the expense of another player.
Let that sink in. It’s an obvious statement but the implications are immense. It’s explained eloquently here, by another player by the name of Kithros.
What does this all mean? Don’t be too hard on yourself if you go 0-3, 1-3, or any unsuccessful run of games. It’s very difficult to get to 9-X, the odds aren’t in your favor on a level field and the draft hardly makes the field level. Enjoy the Arena for what it is – a random draft for fun and prizes.
IRVINE, Calif. –(BUSINESS WIRE)– Thousands of gamers are about to come to a party and celebrate all the big things (and all the small things too) . . . and maybe even fall in love with a gnome at a rock show when legendary Southern California punk rock trio Blink-182 headlines the closing concert at Blizzard Entertainment’s sold-out BlizzCon® gaming convention, taking place November 8—9 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Acclaimed worldwide for their influential and groundbreaking pop-punk sound, Blink-182 has achieved massive critical and commercial success, with over 35 million albums sold. Their third album, Enema of the State, went quintuple platinum and catapulted the band into superstardom.
Unfortunately for fans of Blink-182′s “What’s My Age Again?” video, Anaheim city ordinances strictly forbid the band from running naked through the streets around the convention center. BlizzCon attendees are kindly asked to adhere to the same policy.
“After two days of hard work watching games and playing games and talking about games, we can’t think of a better way to kick back and relax than to have your face melted by Blink-182,” said Mike Morhaime , CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment . “We’re thrilled to have such an awesome band helping us bring BlizzCon to an epic conclusion.”
“Nothing beats touring and playing in front of a live crowd,” said Tom DeLonge , Blink-182 guitarist and vocalist. “Our roots are in Southern California , so playing at BlizzCon will be like having a show in our own backyard—only with a couple thousand more orcs and elves in loincloths and bikini armor.”
BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft®, Diablo®, and StarCraft® game universes. The show will have an array of activities, including discussion panels, competitive and casual tournaments, contests, hands-on playtime with current and upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games, and more.
While tickets to the convention are no longer available, viewers at home can join the excitement by ordering a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, which offers comprehensive live coverage of both days of the event, including Blink-182′s performance, via multi-channel HD Internet stream for $39.99 USD (pricing and availability may vary by region).
DIRECTV customers in the United States can order the BlizzCon 2013 Pay Per View event, priced at $49.99 USD , which includes access to the Virtual Ticket online stream. Visit www.directv.com/blizzcon for more details.
With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available—visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply. As BlizzCon draws closer, further details about the show will be announced at www.blizzcon.com.
I gathered up all the Basic and Expert cards per class found in the Hearthstone collection book. The Basic Cards list contains the mana cost. The Expert Cards list contains the mana cost, how many arcane dust the card disenchants into, and how many arcane dust is required to Craft a specific card.
Hovering the mouse over the cards will display the card’s graphic, info and flavor text added to each card by the developers.
Anduin is in a powerful place. Before the Big One, the priest’s options for fighting were weak and clumsy. Velen had few uses, Fade was mostly useless, Greater Heal was entirely useless. But some redesign and new cards swooped in to bolster Azeroth’s priestly princeling into a powerful Hero.
But there might be a bit of a problem with him now. The priest has, perhaps, the best removals in the game. Holy Nova doesn’t hit as hard as Flamestike but it does heal your minions. Shadow Words Pain and Death are leagues better than Corruption or Naturalize. There are a host of powerful 4 attack minions, Ysera and the Auctioneer for example, but those can still be countered by silences or even a +1 buff from your end. That leaves the priest with Mind Control. Yes, the controlled minion has summoning sickness. Yes, it costs 8 mana, putting it behind Flamestrike by 1 turn and it’s twice the cost of Polymorph. Despite the high cost and delay in its effect, Mind Control is devastating. It’s at minimum a 2 card counter: you steal a card from a player, and force them to deal with the threat.
The Masters of Hearthstone’s mechanics aren’t unaware of Mind Control’s potency and the priest’s recent empowerment. In a post by Takralus, the community rep said:
We are talking about the issue here and looking at the power of Mind Control at different skill levels and in different modes so we can make any adjustments that may be needed. We’re still deliberating the right course of action, but we have heard you guys and we understand your concerns.
I’ve got some ideas for how to bring Mind Control under control.
Make the cost 10. A longer delay that allows you to rush the priest a little faster. This is the least elegant option, I think.
Limit the targets. Maybe only 6 attack, or undamaged units.
The Mind Controlled target is weakened – a penalty to attack and health or is automatically silenced, since Anduin seems to enjoy that mechanic anyway.
The Mind Control effect can be silenced and the creature returns to its original owner.
Obviously, Mind Control is being examined by Blizzard’s team and they’re testing and watching it closely. Keep submitting suggestions to them and posting comments on the Hearthstone forums. The priest may have been over corrected but that’s how design works: a tweak this way, a twist that way, and eventually things are balanced out.
I don’t like Garrosh Hellscream very much. Not many people do. The raid on Orgrimmar was met by nearly frothing fans, anxious to break into the city and cut down the wayward Warchief. The Warcraft community wasn’t divided over wanting to see Garrosh dead, it was divided over who should get to kill him. He had a few moments of courage and honor, ably leading the Warsong Offensive into Northrend and teaching players what it means To Be Horde. his legacy, however, is marred by his arrogance, racism, and stubbornness. His orders resulted in the destruction of Theramore and war, his lack of respect of the other Horde races resulted in a rebellion, and his defeat didn’t come with honor: Garrosh is alive, shackled, and imprisoned. An orc’s life should end on his feet, fighting, not as a prisoner in a distant jail. For all of his mistakes, Garrosh’s father Grom had a good heart and redeemed himself in a single, noble act of sacrifice. If Garrosh was ever capable of such an act, the time has long passed.
His personality, legacy, and reputation make it odd for him to be the Warrior hero in Hearthstone. He’s a villain. “But so is Gul’dan!” you cry. Not necessarily. Gul’dan may have consorted with demons and darkness but he’s also the de facto founder of the Horde. Gul’dan invaded Azeroth, razed Stormwind, and essentially ushered in Orgrim Doomhammer. His legacy is complicated, and ultimately terrible, but it had profound effects on everyone, both good and bad.
But who could replace Garrosh?
Durotan.
He’s dead, but so are Uther and Gul’dan. He’s Thrall’s dad, a skilled warrior, a former Chieftan of the Frostwolves, he refused to drink Mannoroth’s Blood, and attempted to free the orcs from the demonic blood. He’s a hero, honorable, courageous, and known throughout the Horde as a champion. It’s too late to make the swap but I’d rather have Durotan as my Hero than the condescending Garrosh.
Which brings up another Hero I’d like to see jettisoned: Anduin.
Why is Anduin here? He’s becoming a talented priest but he’s hardly an earth shaker like the giants around him. Is he really representative of the priests of Azeroth? He’s had some effect in Mists of Pandaria with the Bell but he’s still young and has much to do to prove himself. Given his accomplishments, most player priests have the same exalted status of Anduin, or higher.
And replacing him seems obvious to me: Tyrande. It’s strange she’s not a Hero, or even in the game. She was the box art for World of Warcraft’s launch, an important figure in Warcraft III, she’s connected to both Illidan and Malfurion, and she’s a priestess of Elune. Anduin could have easily been a neutral legendary, what with his desire for diplomacy and pacifist nature, while Tyrande used the power of Elune to defeat her enemies. Her presence would have also upped the count of female Heroes by 50%, something I don’t think anyone would complain about.
But it’s too late for this. Maybe they’ll make appearances as in a Hero pack expansion or as legendaries? For now, though, I have to feel a little churlish whenever Garrosh says “Heh, Greetings.”
We have some news for the Brazilian fans who visit the Blizzard booth at the Brazil Game Show 2013. Throughout the five-day event, Blizzard will giveaway 10,000 keys to access the Hearthstone : Heroes of Warcraft closed beta.
The distribution will be made for those who test the game at the Brasil Game Show stations and through various activities – such as contests from the beginning to the end of each day to those who visit the Blizzard booth.
There will be several Diablo III console stations for the attendees, and of course, Hearthstone stations.
Not attending the Brasil Game Show? You might be able to join Hearthstone beta through yout Battle.net account opt-in option. Register now: http://www.PlayHearthstone.com. From time to time new keys are distributed to the Brazilian players enrolled in the official Hearthstone website.
Since the wipe I’ve been trying to create a strong Constructed deck to complete quests and generally just muck about in Hearthstone’s often surprising Constructed mode. When I acquired my gold I decided not to invest in the Arena but instead purchase packs and bolster my meager card collection. I knew that any legendaries I received would dictate the decks I constructed, at least at first. Before the wipe I had The Black Knight and Cenarius. My Malfurion deck was fairly strong but slow and built around ramping quickly in the early game. I was sad to lose the Black Knight; he’s limited but the Battlecry can be devastating against Ironbark Protectors, Sunwalkers, and the heavy taunts that slow down an onslaught.
So I opened my new packs and got two legendaries to replace the two I lost: Edwin VanCleef and Grommash Hellscream. No general legendaries but two of the better ones. I assembled a warrior deck as quick as I could and started playing. After a handful of games getting crushed I reworked it into a theme around Battle Rage and Enrage effects.
It’s not the most novel deck but it works well – I’m 14-2 with it, and the losses were close. It’s quick but the real power rests in its blitz potential. A few charge minions, Cruel Taskmasters, and Inner Rages and suddenly the creatures aren’t only charging, they’re devastating. Combined with the warrior’s weapons, control is somewhat maintained. Establishing an army of minions isn’t the focus – drop one or two creatures, let them be ignored, then punish the following turn.
My sideboard is simple. If I’m concerned the deck is weak or feeling anxious about the late game I use Frothing Berserker and Spiteful Smith is great for bumping up the weapons equipped. If you don’t have a Grom, swapping in either of those or an extra Arathi Weaponsmith would be good moves. Combined with Spiteful Smith and an Arcanite Reaper, Bloodsail Raider is another sneaky power play. Warsong Commander lets her hit right out of the gate, too.
It’s a fun deck and it allows for ample card draw. Give it a whirl and tell me what you think.
Blizzard deployed a new patch build for Hearthstone beta which addresses a few bug fixes. Warriors get a minor balance tweak decreasing the cost of “Battle Rage” and only counts friendly characters when the card is played.
Today is patch day! This patch contains several quality of life improvements, as well as additional bug fixes. We’ve also tuned one card during this patch, Battle Rage, as noted below. Read on to check out the full patch notes.
Warrior
Battle Rage now costs 2 (down from 3) and now only counts friendly characters.
Temporarily increased the amount of dust that you get from disenchanting Battle Rage such that it is equal to the amount of dust that it would have originally cost to craft Battle Rage.
Bug Fixes
General
Matchmaking music can now be adjusted with the volume slider.
Fixed a bug where renaming a deck prevented players from editing the deck.
Fixed a bug where players could not create or edit a deck on the accounts first attempt.
Credits can now be viewed in enGB clients.
Fixed an issue where using the spacebar to rapidly open packs made it so you couldn’t view all your cards.
Unlocking Advanced Collections in crafting mode will no longer cause players to become stuck in crafting mode.
Opened chat windows no longer overlap challenges from friends.
Credits roll properly when viewed in any mode.
Cards
Playing Druid of the Claw while Snipe is active no longer causes the client to halt.
Thank you for continuing to provide feedback through our forums during the closed beta testing phase of Hearthstone! Have a bug to report or feedback to share with us? You can find a link to our forums here.
If you haven’t already, you can opt-in to the Hearthstone closed beta here! — source
The British daily newspaper has a solid write up of Hearthstone. It doesn’t describe much beta-players and close watchers won’t already know but it’s a good read regardless. The author, Rich Stanton, has some good quotes from Eric Dodds and Jason Chaynes about Hearthstone’s simple game mechanics as compared to other CCGs and the difficulties of playing those games online.
Dodds also mentions that the kinect feedback for Hearthstone was very important. “…when we started working on the online game we wanted to keep the soul of [physical cards] which is why we made the box, and the cards in the way they sway as you’re moving them through the environment, and the buttons that feel and respond like physical buttons.”
Staton also comments on the paradoxical fun of the Arena. He, like many, enjoys the Arena the most but finds the gold flow too slow for regular runs. Blizzard is walking a tight rope to find the proper balance between earning money from Hearthstone and opening up all the play modes easily.
The other major highlights? There’s one more patch coming before the game is launched, which is still slated for this year. The beta-less shouldn’t fret too terribly – everyday brings the game’s official launch closer and closer.
As someone who has played Hearthstone beta quite a lot, I can tell you right off the bat it is not so easy to get 1600 Arcane Dust the old-fashion way.
Old-Fashion Way
As you win games, you obtain gold either by winning three games (10 gold reward) or by completing quests (usually 40-60 gold). With the 100 gold you can buy individual card packs; or with 150 gold you can buy a pass to the Arena Mode gameplay; and if you already have some card duplicates the Crafting Mode button will pop an Arcane Dust Jar to alert you there are duplicate cards that need to be disenchanted.
In Arena, you get rewarded Arcane Dust, gold and cards, so it is recommended to play Arena Mode to collect as much Arcane Dust as possible.
Better Arcane Dust for your Buck
I did never play a TCG/CCG game ever, and don’t know the rules. I’ll mention it as often as I am able. When I first started playing Hearthstone a few months ago, I went with buying single packs of cards for 100 gold each. The results weren’t so great, but I did get a few nice cards.
After the character wipe patch, I have focused my gold spending on Arena-mode gameplay to get my new cards. Alright, an Arena Mode costs 150 gold, and you might not win many games; but this is the way to go to get better cards, and to collect your way to the 1600 Arcane Dust you need to craft the uber card you want. So this is a time investment that will eventually pay off.
Just a few minutes ago, I played Arena Mode two times. Won only 2 games each run. On my third Arena Mode run I won 4 times.
In this attempt, I got one rare, one epic and ta-da! … one Legendary golden card: King Mukla.
King Mukla costs 3 mana to play in a match and he has 5 damage and 5 health. His Battlecry is to give your opponent two bananas. However, the opponent can use each banana to add +1/1 to a selected minion. I don’t like King Mukla much. So I disenchanted it to obtain Arcane Dust toward the card I do want to craft.
When you obtain a Legendary Card that doesn’t have much appeal to you, go to the Crafting Mode browse through the card book and locate the Legendary Card. Right-click it and the Disenchant UI pops up. Click the Disenchant button and you will get 400 Arcane Dust for a Legendary Card. A rare Golden Legendary card provides 1600 Arcane Dust. According to Colorhammer and Eswift in the comments it is extremely rare to find a Golden Legendary card, so you might have to disenchant about 4 Legendary Cards to obtain 1600 Arcane Dust (400 Arcane Dust x 4 Legendary cards). Thanks for the correction.
In my case, I entered Crafting Mode again, clicked the (7+ mana) icon at the bottom to locate Ragnaros, the Firelord. Personally, I like this card a lot. It was used against me so many times, I tested its effectiveness.
It requires 8 mana. Usually by this eighth round most Hex/Sheep/Kill Command/Assassinate (etc.) have been used. If you are lucky, this card will put your opponent in serious trouble. The card itself can’t melee attack. However, at the end of your turn it will hurl an 8-damage fireball at a random enemy minion or at the enemy hero.
If the opponent throws a silence on your Ragnaros, the “Can’t Attack” rule is dismissed. In that eventuality, Ragnaros can melee attack and still kick some booty.
If you aren’t into buying cards for real money, then I recommend spending your gold efficiently in running the Arena Mode. Increase your chances to acquire Legendary cards this way, or other rarity cards and amass those 1600 Arcane Dust. It’s your best shot at crafting your desired card.
If you haven’t seen how Crafting and Disenchanting works, check out my recent article to view the UI screenshots.
