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Article: Hearthstone
- Thread starter Zandera Sommers
- Start date
Manon Lumen
Aes Sedai
Zandera, nice article! I'm an avid player of Hearthstone, have been around since Beta and have won over 400 battles now 
If you consider the fact a 50/50 win rate is quite high already, I've played quite a few cards xD. It's an addictive as hell game and I just can't get enough of it. One thing I do have to point out - there *is* a way to add a player you recently battled against to your friend list: when you open the friend list (button to the bottom left) right after the game is finished or during the game, you can add your most recent opponent (you can add real life friends by adding their name+# manually).
Building decks becomes a lot more interesting when you start to keep stats, I use hearthstats.net, where you can also find decks created by other users, and you can sort them on popularity and winning %, etc.
Also, I can always advice playing Arena to get your packs, as you'll *always* get a pack, even if you never win. If you win 1-2 times, you'll get 40-50 gold, which means you get a pack (worth 100 gold) and that other gold, so you get back what you've payed to get into Arena, anyway (150). When you get better at playing Arena (read about it on the web, there are strategies and tactics you can practice) you'll win more often and the prizes will get a lot better.
Furthermore, in the Play mode, there is Casual and Ranked play. Casual is just basic PvP, but Ranked raises the stakes, there you have to beat others to progress your rank - it's really hard, too. You get special card backs when you reach level 20 in a "season" (which lasts for a month). By getting to rank 1, you also get a special card back.
I agree it has a learning curve, imo it makes it a lot more interesting than most card games. There are loads of strategies and tactics you can try out, lots of card combinations and deck types you can make. Some people may get bored with it exactly because of that learning curve, but for me that's what makes it fun. It's challenging and it really makes you have to think.
Thanks for your review!
If you consider the fact a 50/50 win rate is quite high already, I've played quite a few cards xD. It's an addictive as hell game and I just can't get enough of it. One thing I do have to point out - there *is* a way to add a player you recently battled against to your friend list: when you open the friend list (button to the bottom left) right after the game is finished or during the game, you can add your most recent opponent (you can add real life friends by adding their name+# manually). Building decks becomes a lot more interesting when you start to keep stats, I use hearthstats.net, where you can also find decks created by other users, and you can sort them on popularity and winning %, etc.
Also, I can always advice playing Arena to get your packs, as you'll *always* get a pack, even if you never win. If you win 1-2 times, you'll get 40-50 gold, which means you get a pack (worth 100 gold) and that other gold, so you get back what you've payed to get into Arena, anyway (150). When you get better at playing Arena (read about it on the web, there are strategies and tactics you can practice) you'll win more often and the prizes will get a lot better.
Furthermore, in the Play mode, there is Casual and Ranked play. Casual is just basic PvP, but Ranked raises the stakes, there you have to beat others to progress your rank - it's really hard, too. You get special card backs when you reach level 20 in a "season" (which lasts for a month). By getting to rank 1, you also get a special card back.
I agree it has a learning curve, imo it makes it a lot more interesting than most card games. There are loads of strategies and tactics you can try out, lots of card combinations and deck types you can make. Some people may get bored with it exactly because of that learning curve, but for me that's what makes it fun. It's challenging and it really makes you have to think.
Thanks for your review!
- Thread starter
- #3
What an awesome comment! Thank you for all the info, Cealestis Sedai! <3 I wrote this article early last month and have learned 1 or 2 things you pointed out since then. I did get a heads up you can add friends, though I have yet to do so in-game. I did *not* know that about Arena mode--I fortunately had not done a run where I didn't win a game (and honestly didn't notice the extra gold won.) Thank you for telling me. I did learn that each season of ranked is a calendar month, and that getting to a certain rank within that time (I think?) allows you to win card-back colors and designs so that's a nice incentive to keep playing. Do you know how often new cards are released? I've only seen 2 new cards so far, and they didn't seem all that interesting. :/
Again thank you for commenting, yay! <3
I did learn that each season of ranked is a calendar month, and that getting to a certain rank within that time (I think?) allows you to win card-back colors and designs so that's a nice incentive to keep playing. Do you know how often new cards are released? I've only seen 2 new cards so far, and they didn't seem all that interesting. :/ Again thank you for commenting, yay! <3
I love a lot of things about Hearthstone, and I dislike a few things about it.
As someone who played Magic avidly in high school and college, Hearthstone strikes me as a very, very simple/stripped-down version of Magic. So it gives a bit of that fix for me, but I actually find that I want more complexity. And because it's so close to Magic, I can't help but constantly be comparing the two.
The design of the game itself is nearly flawless. The user interface is incredibly fun and intuitive. They do an excellent job of starting you off very simple in training, and then stepping it up bit by bit. The game design is very well-balanced in general, especially for a game so young. I absolutely love the fact that the chat interface is pretty much nonexistent -- that prevents a lot of the trolling that you see in other games. And though I haven't used it yet, I really like the fireside gatherings that encourage you to physically get together with friends (or strangers at events) and play. That was always one aspect of Magic that I really loved. I also really like the "quest" aspects -- that is a genius way to get players coming back every day. Hearthstone is the sort of game that has to have a certain critical mass of players to work.
If Magic Online were to emulate Hearthstone's slick interface and free-to-play nature, I'd be all over it. But as it is, I'm having fun exploring Hearthstone instead.
As someone who played Magic avidly in high school and college, Hearthstone strikes me as a very, very simple/stripped-down version of Magic. So it gives a bit of that fix for me, but I actually find that I want more complexity. And because it's so close to Magic, I can't help but constantly be comparing the two.
The design of the game itself is nearly flawless. The user interface is incredibly fun and intuitive. They do an excellent job of starting you off very simple in training, and then stepping it up bit by bit. The game design is very well-balanced in general, especially for a game so young. I absolutely love the fact that the chat interface is pretty much nonexistent -- that prevents a lot of the trolling that you see in other games. And though I haven't used it yet, I really like the fireside gatherings that encourage you to physically get together with friends (or strangers at events) and play. That was always one aspect of Magic that I really loved. I also really like the "quest" aspects -- that is a genius way to get players coming back every day. Hearthstone is the sort of game that has to have a certain critical mass of players to work.
If Magic Online were to emulate Hearthstone's slick interface and free-to-play nature, I'd be all over it. But as it is, I'm having fun exploring Hearthstone instead.
- Thread starter
- #5
I've never heard of the "fireside gatherings," Myk.
Thanks for your comment! I also agree with the quests. I feel like it's a big part of the game.
Thanks for your comment! I also agree with the quests. I feel like it's a big part of the game.