Hearthstone's Modes Design Lead, Matt London, has confirmed that Blizzard has begun to look at the wild format.
If you've been seeing the wild conversation over the past few years, players have overall been quite unsatisfied with the format - even some of our own staff have stopped caring about wild too. With that knowledge, yesterday, the Hearthstone team kicked off an internal "wild summit" to talk about their plans for the mode so they can bring players the best experience possible.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, with Matt stating it is unlikely we would see adjustments this week, but that they will share more information when they have it.
Quote From Matt London Hi All! Recently we've seen a lot of passionate conversation regarding the Hearthstone Wild format. Thank you for that. Today, we kicked off a "Wild Summit," a big internal discussion about the state of the format and how we can bring you the best possible experience.
Wild has a lot of moving parts. It's unlikely adjustments will happen this week, but we're committed to building a great plan for Wild and sharing more info once we do. Thanks!
Two Cents
Leave wild the way it is. Wild was always meant to be a "wild" format where anything was possible with all the old cards. Hearthstone needs a fresh ladder with a rotating pool of cards. Either use them by sets or just have a card list that is allowed there that is periodically changed. It leaves the wild part of wild for people that enjoy that and it gives everyone else something new to try and if Blizzard rotates the cards enough, it will always have a varied meta.
Bonus points if Bobby Kotick can buy a few more yachts because everyone is buying wild/new format packs.
Also, Wild has "been on the radar" for years. What is going to change this time around to actually bring forth any meaningful changes?
Comments
This i don't understand. You play only wild and you admit its broken and beyond repair. So why do you play it? How often are you even playing it? Wouldn't it be best for them to complete change the mode ? I have complete collection since NAXX of all these useless cards, I've been waiting for the day to use them in a proper format but can't because WILD players like this "everything goes" non sense
I didn't say it's beyond repair. I just have doubts this "internal wild summit" will bring about the changes required to bring the mode back to what it used to be, where all of combo, control, aggro and midrange were viable in some fashion (this was pretty much before they unnerfed Raza). But as it stands it's not unplayably broken either, there's just certain types of decks that are much more favoured to succeed (generally those that take the initiative by ending the game fast, either through aggression or an OTK). If you want to play, say, value based control, you can, but you have to accept that you're going in with a handicap, and that most of your games aren't even going to be about value, but about whether you can effectively counter the proactive opponent's gameplan.
As to why I play it, that's simple. I play it because I prefer eternal formats over rotating formats. I like being creative, having all the options to work with and I most certainly don't like the feeling of "oh, there's this new tool I can add to my toolbox, too bad I can no longer use all the other tools required to make it work". If they release new Silver Hand Paladin cards, I want to make use of them in a full on Silver Hand Paladin deck, not some bastardised version of it that uses the 6 Silver Hand cards currently in the format and fills the rest with some mediocre garbage cause Paladin doesn't have anything better to play that year. I like to play with a full theme and synergy, not a package of 6-10 cards that support my archetype while the rest of my deck feels like I'm playing Arena. If they were to completely change the mode into a rotating one, people like me would probably just quit the game, cause the idea of "here! play your favourite card game! now with fewer cards!" sounds like an outright castration of creativity.
To be honest I think the real purpose of Wild was to make players feel less bad about their cards rotating out of Standard. I don't think there was a 5-year plan for Wild, and even if there was, such a plan could use some re-evaluation after all that time.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression that the players who are not concerned with Wild balance are mostly people who don't play a lot of Wild. They might play a few games every once in a while, marvel at how broken some of the decks are and then return to Standard. But if that is the intended way of playing, Team 5 should turn Wild into a tavern brawl instead of having it as a permanent mode.
Another argument I sometimes read is that Wild is a place to play old decks. That sounds nice in theory, but in practice it's pretty rare to encounter an old deck as-is on the Wild ladder and I imagine that has a lot to do with the fact that those decks are not nearly as powerful as decks that gather synergies from all sets. If they want to give players a bit of nostalgia, a tavern brawl where everyone plays decks from a certain era would be a better format for that: players want to relive the good plays of their old favorite deck, not sit there and be slaughtered by cards and combinations that didn't exist back then.
I don't think it's possible to perfectly balance Wild, but that's not really necessary either: it's pretty rare for Standard to be perfectly balanced as well. As long as the decks that are worst to play against don't have too much of a population for too long of a time, players can deal with a bit of chaos.
The alternative to balance changes would be to replace Wild as a mode, for example by a mode with rotating sets. Personally, while I'd like to see such a mode, I'd prefer for it to exist in addition to Wild.
i want: wild as an eternal format (with all nerfs reverted) and add a legacy format (with nerfs set at the point in time when the card left standard), where all decks must have been standard legal at one time, i.e., all cards within two consecutive standard years.
that way you could try oil rogue vs. totem shaman vs. libram paladin vs. dr. boom warrior and so on. it would be a place where you could actually play your old decks.
I play wild a lot. There are several problem decks, chief among them is Quest Mage. It is non interactive and each expansion makes completing the quest easier.
Any deck that has infinite turns (even 2 turns in a row feels like a lot in a Wild format) - should not be allowed in reasonably-healthy meta. Like never-ever.
I can see such things available in Tavern Brawls, sure. Because that's where the craziest and most broken things happen :)
play ashen elemental, slots into most decks easy and shits on ice block. no need to ruin a deck with a high skill cap that a ton of people love playing just because people refuse to tech against it.
High skill cap, for a quest that can be completed by turn 5? I think not.
yeah, if you're lucky and good at the list.
Edit by linkblade91: Needlessly crude remarks - if you want to counter someone's reply that's fine...but don't be a dick about it.
Lucky and good at the list was a requirement when it was in standard, but when it got to Wild it was easier. Every expansion since has made it easier with twin spells, coin generators, and others spell creating cards. If someone cant finish the quest by turn 5 they are likely very very very bad at hearthstone or a complete noob playing less than a month. The way you defend it likely means its your favorite deck. Try something that isnt an automatic win.
Tech cards are a solution for tournaments and ladders with a really low variety of decks, but not a solution in general. Say that 20% of opponents runs Ice Block, then teching against it will make your deck slightly worse in 80% of games.
yeah, but if your deck is especially struggling against one specific list that is especially prevalent then you run the tech card and immediately are better against that list. theres so many ppl out there running ashen elemental and posting legend results, its extremely effective since in most cases where your opponent doesnt get lucky and go off stupid early you'll be able to draw the game out to ice block and win off ashen.
also, thank you for not wording your response like a huge asshole! normally whenever i make the mistake of replying to or posting literally anything on this site 20 different people pop out to dislike my post and tell me why im stupid and wrong.
Personally, I’ve wanted a “Limited” format for a while! Whether it’s Wild but with some bans, or more preferably a format with rotating sets from Wild and Standard sets (that could also have a few bans), a Wild-like format with a more limited card pool would be much easier for the team to balance down the line without having to disrupt what Wild is supposed to be. That way the players who like crazy busted decks can play Wild, and players who like playing with old cards, but want a more varied meta can find it in the limited format.
Maybe unrelated but I would like to see Wild Arena, where every card can be picked with equal chance. Your comment reminded me of current Arena system but in constructed, which is why I wanted to tell my thoughts.
That’s basically an idea I’ve had before for the third format. Use the same card pool as Arena! But honestly, would be better if they went and had a different card pool for a new constructed set. Take like 9 sets, and Adventure or two, maybe Core, and filter out things that are too strong in the format with the available card pool. Even better if by rule they commonly ban cost reduction and ways to cheat out big things! Imagine a format that requires thinking and good trades to win! They should honestly just replace Classic with something like this
I vaguely remember there was a Dean Q&A before he left where he hinted that Team 5 were looking at changing the classic format into a rotating sets format which I've been asking for since they created the Tavern Brawl Blocks. See https://outof.cards/hearthstone/tavern-brawls/117-brawl-block-gods-gadgetzan-gurubashi
I really enjoy deckbuilding and that part of HS is basically non-existent now due to deck codes and the meta getting solved so quickly in Standard. If there was a rotating sets format that changed between 3 - 5 sets at random every month, it would create new smaller metas and we get to use mid-power level cards again that just collect dust in wild.
As for wild itself... it's sad that Team 5 has just left it to get so bad. I pity the players who play the mode but it will keep morphing into a monster with every new set added to the game.
My opinion is: Change wild into the ultimate "legacy mode" and unnerf everything (even Warsong Commander) and just let it run rampant then change classic to a rotating sets mode that has more rules/limitations to create a more healthy meta.
Exactly the same thoughts! Obviously there might be a few things in Wild/Legacy that need to be kept in check, but I say only in extreme circumstances. Everything else, let it run wild!
Then in a Limited style format, rotate things in and out, ban problematic/polarizing cards if needed, etc. Bans would be only for if a single card pushes a class/archetype to a far higher power level than everyone else.
Hell, I’d even go so far as to say remove a lot of the gross mana cheating stuff so players in the mode have to think, make good trades, and play a more “old school” style of the game!
what is wrong with Wild? There are several Tier 1 decks (2 shaman decks, pirate rogue, big priest, unholy DK , Secret mage ...) but none of them is clearly the best. What do they expect to fix?
I don't think what you said is wrong. If you are a player who wants to hit the leaderboard, you don't want to meet the control card group every day and fall into the cycle of up and down.If you really like to play your entertainment deck, you can go to the bottom of the wild legend or the leisure mode. I don't think there is anything to change. Not everyone has time to go up and down. We are not big anchors.We also need to learn to make money. If we just enter the legend, it will take half a month. I really think playing this game is more tiring than going to work.
Note that all of the decks you mention are aggro decks, except Big Priest, which is terrible to play against unless you are playing aggro yourself or a very quick combo deck. If you want to play something else, you're in for a hard time.
You can't really play a deck without mana cheats anymore if you want to win games. For the weekly ladder quest, I turn to Evenlock: while not a meta deck, it does do a lot of mana cheating, which is necessary to keep up with people summoning a board for hardly any mana (play one pirate, get two for free!).