Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Catch-all

Seen some players try some fun combos this brawl. Druid doing Alexstrasza, Malygos into Faceless Malygos + Jungle Moonkin = huge Moonfire to the face.

I came to this thread looking for answers, and the answer I got was "there is a barrier to entry."

I tried to start playing a couple weeks ago, and supposedly I expect that I'm playing against people "at my level" but with only a few basic cards I'm getting stomped again and again and again by stuff I have no clue what it is or why it has such ridiculous stats.

Blizz will get no money from me for this, and as my first CCG I'm not feeling like this is a genre of games I'd want to continue if this is an indicator of how they are. Blizz gets a big thumbs down for the fact that as a new player I find this totally demoralizing and have no incentive to play much more now that I have my wow hearthstone mount.

I should have come here to read up first!

Duchess wrote:

I came to this thread looking for answers, and the answer I got was "there is a barrier to entry."

I tried to start playing a couple weeks ago, and supposedly I expect that I'm playing against people "at my level" but with only a few basic cards I'm getting stomped again and again and again by stuff I have no clue what it is or why it has such ridiculous stats.

Blizz will get no money from me for this, and as my first CCG I'm not feeling like this is a genre of games I'd want to continue if this is an indicator of how they are. Blizz gets a big thumbs down for the fact that as a new player I find this totally demoralizing and have no incentive to play much more now that I have my wow hearthstone mount.

I should have come here to read up first!

Several of my colleagues from work just got into Hearthstone, I am far from an expert but I have been able help them to learn the basics and compete on the ladder even with mostly basic cards. The going is easier once you get more cards but the big hurdle is really understanding the game mechanics. My battletag is Gorthag#1451, send me a friend request and I'd be happy to try and help!

Edit: Also if you have the time / inclination, a player named Trump put together a set of youtube videos when Hearthstone launched that discuss the basics, well worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Duchess wrote:

Edit: Also if you have the time / inclination, a player named Trump put together a set of youtube videos when Hearthstone launched that discuss the basics, well worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

I second this tip.

Sheng also gives great deck lists for basic decks and those with a few of the adventures purchased (http://hearthstoneplayers.com/contri...). This is how I started in September and could make a decent dent in the ladder. After using these you will know the mechanics and what decks you want to invest in.

The barrier isnt as high as you think.

http://www.hearthpwn.com/decks/41638...

You can build this entire completely viable deck for the cost of one (great) expansion and one wing from another, and less than 1500 dust.

At this point (approaching 2 years since release and over 2.5 years since beta began), you can't expect to pay nothing. It's free to play, not free to do well.

But you don't need to break the bank. Buy some of the adventures (Naxx is most important) and read guides. Build cheap decks like the one Tyops linked and just absorb as much knowledge as you can.

Even if you don't own the cards, you should know what they do and understand how decks are constructed. If you want help/advice, there are tons of GWJers willing to teach.

Delete double post

Duchess wrote:

I came to this thread looking for answers, and the answer I got was "there is a barrier to entry."

I tried to start playing a couple weeks ago, and supposedly I expect that I'm playing against people "at my level" but with only a few basic cards I'm getting stomped again and again and again by stuff I have no clue what it is or why it has such ridiculous stats.

Blizz will get no money from me for this, and as my first CCG I'm not feeling like this is a genre of games I'd want to continue if this is an indicator of how they are. Blizz gets a big thumbs down for the fact that as a new player I find this totally demoralizing and have no incentive to play much more now that I have my wow hearthstone mount.

I should have come here to read up first!

I haven't spent any money on the game other than the first pack. I've just come out of a 4-6 month break, and I'm using the gold I accumulate to open wings of the Solo Dungeons. After that, I'll play Arena a bit more. But I don't get very far up the ladder, and I don't expect to. Maybe in a month of so, when I've broadened my collection and knowledge a bit, I'll really try to climb a bit higher.

Not sure what you're expecting, playing with only basic cards. If a new player was winning most of their games, what would that say of the quality of the game?

I find it's also very easy to confuse losing because the other player had better cards and losing because the other player has more experience or is better at the game. The latter is probably more common, even for those that only have basic cards. If you jump into Dota 2 or League of Legends, you'd expect to spend a good while before you're competitive. Why would you think Hearthstone is any different?

Blizzard doesn't owe you anything. The game is free, and you don't have to spend a penny to be competitive. But then you will have to spend time. Most players spend both.

Soo, speaking of barrier to entry:

Blizzard introduces set rotations

  • The card pool will limited to recent card sets with basic and classic cards always being included.
  • They're going to re-evaluate some cards in the basic and classic sets. This includes class cards.
  • Arena, Solo play, and Adventures will not be touched. This only effects Friendly Challenges, Ranked, and Casual.
  • The current way we're playing Hearthstone is now going to be called "Wild".
  • Separate ranks for Wild and Standard will be a thing!
  • More deck slots! If you've unlocked all 9 Heroes, you'll get 9 more deck slots. A total of 18!
  • Formats not currently not in Standard will no longer be available for purchase in the shop. Cards from them, including adventures, can be created with Arcane Dust.
  • Additional Naxxramas wings will be still available to those who have purchased at least the first wing.
  • The Year of the Kraken is a thematic way to refer to the first year of Standard format play. Next year, when the first new Expansion of the year is released, a new Hearthstone year will begin, Standard format will be updated, and a different mythical beast will symbolize the year!
  • Card which summon other cards will only summon cards that are eligible for the format you are playing.

Really, I think it's a good move overall for Hearthstone, even if it's unpopular for a little while.

Looks like they're going the MTG route which is awesome.

Called it.

Tyops wrote:

Realistically though, I expect that eventually Blizzard will split ladders. One ladder will likely be equivalent to MTG's standard (last few sets) and the other will be "vintage" (all the sets). Would be nice to see Blizz innovate a bit, but that formula has sustained MTG for 20 years. It's effective.

I'm confused, does this reduce the barrier to entry? or raise it?

gamerparent wrote:

I'm confused, does this reduce the barrier to entry? or raise it?

Significantly reduces.

I think it reduces it for playing Standard. No need to pick up a whole backlogged catolouge of cards just to be realistically competitive. You'll only have to pick up the current round of cards for the season to be on the same level as even the earliest beta players.

It will make it a little harder for people playing Wild, since it'll be harder to earn those older cards because you'll only be able to get them via dust.

bnpederson wrote:

Soo, speaking of barrier to entry:

Blizzard introduces set rotations

  • The card pool will limited to recent card sets with basic and classic cards always being included.
  • They're going to re-evaluate some cards in the basic and classic sets. This includes class cards.
  • Arena, Solo play, and Adventures will not be touched. This only effects Friendly Challenges, Ranked, and Casual.
  • The current way we're playing Hearthstone is now going to be called "Wild".
  • Separate ranks for Wild and Standard will be a thing!
  • More deck slots! If you've unlocked all 9 Heroes, you'll get 9 more deck slots. A total of 18!
  • Formats not currently not in Standard will no longer be available for purchase in the shop. Cards from them, including adventures, can be created with Arcane Dust.
  • Additional Naxxramas wings will be still available to those who have purchased at least the first wing.
  • The Year of the Kraken is a thematic way to refer to the first year of Standard format play. Next year, when the first new Expansion of the year is released, a new Hearthstone year will begin, Standard format will be updated, and a different mythical beast will symbolize the year!
  • Card which summon other cards will only summon cards that are eligible for the format you are playing.

This cannot come soon enough! No more Dr Boom, piloted shredder, loatheb, mad scientist, muster, shielded minibot, crackle etc. This will change the game in HUGE ways!

Via: http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/2/1088...

Brode pointed to classes like the druid as a key example of what the team hopes to change.

"Some classes have too many cards that are just too high power level," he said. "It makes it very hard to make new cards for classes like druid, because they have so many really good cards in Basic and Classic. We have to do some nerfs to make sure we can still see a different druid deck as a new set comes out."

That sounds like Savage Roar is possibly going to be nerfed or removed from Basic/Classic.

Duchess wrote:

I came to this thread looking for answers, and the answer I got was "there is a barrier to entry."

I tried to start playing a couple weeks ago, and supposedly I expect that I'm playing against people "at my level" but with only a few basic cards I'm getting stomped again and again and again by stuff I have no clue what it is or why it has such ridiculous stats.

Blizz will get no money from me for this, and as my first CCG I'm not feeling like this is a genre of games I'd want to continue if this is an indicator of how they are. Blizz gets a big thumbs down for the fact that as a new player I find this totally demoralizing and have no incentive to play much more now that I have my wow hearthstone mount.

I should have come here to read up first!

I am a free to play account since September of last year. Here are some tips:
1. Stay out of Casual Play. This has no ranking system and you will always loose to better cards.
2. Complete quests in Ranked play. At least here you are against other people that cannot climb the ladder. I usually hover around rank 17-20 due to card limitations.
3. Complete quests for gold and stick to Arena. This way people cant make a P2Win deck without you having equal opportunity at adding powerful cards you don't own. Even cards you don't have can be options in Arena. You get at least the entry fee back in goodies (decks and dust) if you get a couple wins.

4. Use a guide or site to help you build arena decks until you know which one's are good. Don't expect amazing arena results until you understand the basics of trading (or just get lucky in card selection). Trumps basic teachings on youtube is a good spot to learn how to trade your guys effectively. You want to kill their guys without loosing your own, unless you are killing a 4 mana card with a 2 mana card.

Trump is a good Youtuber to watch. He takes a class and makes a new Free Account and levels that class to legendary. It shows you how to go from Free Account to legendary account in 2-3 months without spending a dime.

skylarhawk wrote:

Really, I think it's a good move overall for Hearthstone, even if it's unpopular for a little while.

Whoah! Although I can't wrap my head around the ramifications of this yet, I'm so glad to see them keeping the game from stagnating and trying new things.

Also this is useful:

Release the Kraken!
Standard format will arrive this spring! When the momentous moment arrives, you’ll be able to build Standard decks using the following sets:

Basic
Classic
Blackrock Mountain
The Grand Tournament
The League of Explorers
The Spring 2016 Expansion

Curse of Naxxramas and Goblins vs Gnomes will not be part of Standard. When we release the first new Expansion each year, every set that wasn’t released in the same year or the year prior will cycle out and no longer be part of the Standard format.

GoldenDog wrote:

1. Stay out of Casual Play. This has no ranking system and you will always loose to better cards.

I found the exact opposite of this to be true. Casual tries to match you with people with similar W:L records (and keeps you in a completely pool from experienced players when you first start the game). Ranked, especially at the start of each month, can be brutal. I have every non-Legendary card I want and because I usually make it to rank 15-12 each month I get dropped back down to rank 21-18 at the beginning of each month. This process makes the first few ranks after 20, a complete crapshoot as far as the deck/skill of your opponents goes.

Here are some details on how Hearthstone does matchmaking: http://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Mat...

I'm very excited for Standard format. So many cards I'm sick of will finally be leaving. Plus with the dusting of Naxx and GvG I will be able to build the few classic legendaries that I lack for Control Warrior.

chaosmos wrote:
skylarhawk wrote:

Really, I think it's a good move overall for Hearthstone, even if it's unpopular for a little while.

Whoah! Although I can't wrap my head around the ramifications of this yet, I'm so glad to see them keeping the game from stagnating and trying new things.

I'm not saying anyone here is against it. But I feel like whenever there is change online, there's resistance. I was just saying that I think it's good long term choice regardless of the reaction of the Hearthstone community as a whole.

skylarhawk wrote:
chaosmos wrote:
skylarhawk wrote:

Really, I think it's a good move overall for Hearthstone, even if it's unpopular for a little while.

Whoah! Although I can't wrap my head around the ramifications of this yet, I'm so glad to see them keeping the game from stagnating and trying new things.

I'm not saying anyone here is against it. But I feel like whenever there is change online, there's resistance. I was just saying that I think it's good long term choice regardless of the reaction of the Hearthstone community as a whole.

Sorry, it wasn't meant to be a "Woah!" at your statement - just at the overall announcement. I totally agree with you and am definitely going to steer clear of the Hearthstone Reddit and official forums for a few months!

Tailsnake wrote:
GoldenDog wrote:

1. Stay out of Casual Play. This has no ranking system and you will always loose to better cards.

I found the exact opposite of this to be true. Casual tries to match you with people with similar W:L records (and keeps you in a completely pool from experienced players when you first start the game).

You're right about the first start to casual play. It does match you to other beginners until you reach a certain level. I had forgotten that bit. After I started beating up the casual players though the game acted as if I was the bobby fischer of hearthstone. I plotted all my w/l between casual and ranked and found I was winning 2/3 ranked and 1/5 casual. That was up until I made level 16 ranked with basic cards. Then I got Dr. Boomed back to rank 18. I find it most effective to use rank to complete quests and not try to actually gain rank. Then I am questing against bad players (outside of the first few days of the season) even if they have good cards.

I think I'm a fan of every part of this new plan. I've been holding off on crafting and buying packs for months waiting on a set rotation announcement. Now I can cross Vol'jin, Sneed's, and Mal'Ganis off my wish list.

I just need to be patient with my dust a little longer until I see the changes to Basic and Classic sets.

The big decision is whether to blow up my GvG collection this spring or keep it around for some "Wild" action every now and then.

Two more tidbits from the announcement I found interesting:

- Can I still craft or disenchant cards that aren’t part of Standard format?

Yes, you can craft or disenchant all of these cards—including cards from Adventures which previously could not be disenchanted or crafted—for their normal Arcane Dust value. This excludes Basic cards, which can never be crafted or disenchanted.

Note that you can also craft and disenchant cards from Standard format Adventures, as long as you’ve already earned them by completing the necessary challenges.

This seems to imply I'll be able to dust the cards from Naxx, which is worth at least one new legendary.

Will Tavern Brawls use formats?

Tavern Brawls have different rules each week, so some Brawls will be in Wild format, while others could be in Standard format, but they’ll all be crazy fun!

And another reason to hold onto old cards after they rotate out. Decisions, decisions...

I think its a little sad that they won't sell the older Adventures any more - I know you can craft the cards, but to lock new players out of experiencing the boss fights and class challenges from those Adventures seems a bit harsh.