Hearthstone Battlegrounds

I'm happy that Hearthstone FINALLY got a new game mode. Even though it's not for me I'm happy that they've made something new to keep the community interested.

I wanted to ask the OOC community how you all felt about this game mode. Like is this what you wanted? Or would you have preferred something else.

Edit 05Nov: I’m glad I’m not the only one who isn’t satisfied with the game mode. I see some of you drawing the direct comparison to Heroes of the Storm in terms of being late to the game and it’s a very realistic critique. We all saw what happened to HotS, not saying it will happen to HS, but the Battlegrounds may go in that direction unless it gets continuous support (I don’t know if they’ve mentioned it anywhere).

I know they wanted to dive into the Autochess world, but they shouldn’t have. They should have innovated on something not seen in the digital CCG world. Hearthstone Mathematician just did an amazing video on a Two-Headed Giant mode that outlines most of the design questions for Team 5. This is a mode that would be more than welcomed in HS. 

Video: https://youtu.be/U3q4lss8mWE

Edit 07Nov: After playing several matches of Battlegrounds and sitting on the thought of the game mode itself.... it's not a new game mode, it's just a different game that utilizes Hearthstone assets. Let me elaborate on that.

Watching the Hearthstone panel for Blizzcon one of the designers explained how they came about the idea of Battlegrounds. They stated that when Autochess and the other Auto-battlers released that the team had a lot of fun playing those games and that they wanted to create one for HS. Six months later Battlegrounds was born and shown to the world.

If you notice in the previous paragraph the Dev said that THE TEAM wanted to create one. So I want everyone to think about that. I'm sure some of you all have browsed the Sub-reddit and read some of the post asking for new game modes and other posts that offer ideas for now ways to play the game (here's mine that I posted on OoC and the Sub-reddit: https://outof.cards/forums/hearthstone/hearthstone-general/1488-six-formats-hearthstone-could-easily-have). I just don't get it. Like we're here, telling the Devs what we want/would like to have/what needs improvement, and they give us something that literally nobody asked for.

Either way, Battlegrounds feels samey after a while. It's high RNG (Yogg be praised) and once you fall behind, that's it. There are key cards that if you don't find after re-rolling over and over again, you simply lose. The game "mode" is not for me. Still wanting and waiting on modes like the ones I've linked above. See y'all on ladder.

I’m kinda excited. I wasn’t expecting anything like it and after watching some of the gameplay it looks very low key to play. I’m still hoping the rewards are there though. Should be a fun way to experience the art and designs for me without needing as many of the cards.

Seems like a really low effort game to me, it uses mostly already existing content from hs, and the mechanics are over simplistic.

and it's a RNG fiesta in everything.

Every online company tries to do the same game as well.. after 5 years all the could come up with is the current mainstream trend as a game mode?

Quote From DoubleSummon

Seems like a really low effort game to me, it uses mostly already existing content from hs, and the mechanics are over simplistic.

and it's a RNG fiesta in everything.

Every online company tries to do the same game as well.. after 5 years all the could come up with is the current mainstream trend as a game mode?

Sure it is just a copy of Dota 2 Autochess in a HS game; blizzard again want to go with the trend, but were too late like they tried with Heroes of the Storm.

They're trying to jump on the auto-chess hype, but with minimum effort: over semplicistic, recycle of assets and just as a game mode for an already existing game (instead of a stand alone one). While it can be fun from time to time, auto-chess is something that if over semplified will become just pointless since strategy and complexity are key point of this genre gameplay.

I'm not too interested in this dumbed down version for HS, but I'll give it a try. I still hope that with LoR coming they'll rework how Ladders work and put some real effort in adding new things regarding the competitive aspect of HS, instead of just "side" modes.

It seems cool to me, lots of room for updates and new features! I actually like the simplistic nature of it, it’s not supposed to be an entire new game. Easy to get into, intuitive and refreshing!

The questions that remain are, how the ranking and reward system will work. I am a little afraid that this mode is closer to Tavern Brawls and Solo adventures than to normal play mode or at least arena.

I wouldn‘t blame blizz for coppying the autochess genre. HS itself is just a „coppy“ of MtG. New game ideas become popular and the big companys obviously try their Version of it. In blizzards case, the game is easy to understand and watch, probably not highly competitive (although i could see a high skill cap here aswell!) and prioritizes entertainment. If you want more balanced, skill dependent auto battlers, you got plenty of options already...

Quote From Bersak

I wouldn‘t blame blizz for coppying the autochess genre. HS itself is just a „coppy“ of MtG. New game ideas become popular and the big companys obviously try their Version of it. In blizzards case, the game is easy to understand and watch, probably not highly competitive (although i could see a high skill cap here aswell!) and prioritizes entertainment. If you want more balanced, skill dependent auto battlers, you got plenty of options already...

I'll have to disagree with you there. A chunk of Hearthstone's success is owed to the fact that Blizzard basically pioneered online card games on a larger scale than anything ever seen before and made use of the digital platform to implement mechanics that MtG would never be able to compete with (such as most RNG we get). What did we have before? Castlewars, War of Omens, Monster Master? I like all of those games, but none of them really have the dimension HS has.

As for the OP, meh... I rather like LoL's TFT, and the only reason I don't play it is because you need to install LoL to play it as well. In this case... It looks too dumbed down for my taste. It doesn't feel like autochess as much as it feels like a niche, lackluster HS gamemode. Blizzard's games are far more successful when they pioneer a genre instead of copying a successful one. This probably would have benefited from having a team and becoming it's own, more complex game instead of a HS mode.

I'd have preferred a Constructed Arena mode.

I don't mind this autochess, but Wild Ranked will stay my main mode.

And honestly i won't play Battlegrounds that often, if it doesn't yield additional rewards.

Quote From RavenSunHS

I'd have preferred a Constructed Arena mode.

I don't mind this autochess, but Wild Ranked will stay my main mode.

And honestly i won't play Battlegrounds that often, if it doesn't yield additional rewards.

You mean heroic tavern brawl? 

Quote From DoubleSummon

Quote From RavenSunHS

I'd have preferred a Constructed Arena mode.

I don't mind this autochess, but Wild Ranked will stay my main mode.

And honestly i won't play Battlegrounds that often, if it doesn't yield additional rewards.

You mean heroic tavern brawl? 

Basically, yes. Or Brawliseum. The one with 150g entrance and normal Arena rewards.

As a permanent mode, one free entrance per week.

At the end of the day, that would be the easiest way to implement something similar to a FFA tournament, valueing Constructed, but without the grind of ladder.

Positive thing is, that they try to do something new. But that's it in my opinion.

At first glance it looked like a really low effort, because practically all interface and cards - are reused.

After watching about 3-4 hours of Kripparian stream... my opinion got only worse.

Long story short - I think Battlegrounds will not have enough variety. Which means - low replayability, so probably it will not last long. It is not possible to survive without Blizzard support.

It's nice to try something new, especially before next year Standard rotation, that's it. I hate to be this negative, but that's what I feel.

We can really expect more effort from Blizzard. Personally I hoped they announce Auto Chess, but... based on Heroes of the Storm characters. They have so many nice characters there... (I play HotS casually sometimes).

In case of HS, I wait for some interesting new modes. For example I so much want to play Sealed format. I hope they can introduce new mode next year.

I'm having mix feeling on HS Battleground: On one hand, they are finally implementing a new mode - which is nice, even if it doesn't seem this exciting to me - on the other, tournament mode has yet to even surface and been on their ''to do'' list for quite some time now. I do hope it will be better than what I'm expecting it to be, that's my only wish.

I think the issue with Battlegrounds is that there aren't a lot of winning strategies. Most of it is just "Buff your minions to heck" or "get all the deathrattle/summon interactions" and most nuance comes from positioning and attack order which, depending on your opponent's setup, may not matter a whole lot. your biggest minion gets sniped by a lucky poisonous one? Your key minion gets obliteraed by the guy that targets th elowest attack minion first? That's it.

I enjoy the mechanic of combining minions into golden ones but that just ends up being confusing during the battle phase. When combat resolves, it turn into  a mess that is incredibly hard to follow and not that fun to watch either. I gotto be honest, I am already burned out on the mode from just watching streamers play it and I havn't even tried it myself... I still will but it definitely didn't get me hyped.

Quote From Unreal89

Positive thing is, that they try to do something new. But that's it in my opinion.

 

At first glance it looked like a really low effort, because practically all interface and cards - are reused.

After watching about 3-4 hours of Kripparian stream... my opinion got only worse.

Long story short - I think Battlegrounds will not have enough variety. Which means - low replayability, so probably it will not last long. It is not possible to survive without Blizzard support.

 

It's nice to try something new, especially before next year Standard rotation, that's it. I hate to be this negative, but that's what I feel.

We can really expect more effort from Blizzard. Personally I hoped they announce Auto Chess, but... based on Heroes of the Storm characters. They have so many nice characters there... (I play HotS casually sometimes).

 

In case of HS, I wait for some interesting new modes. For example I so much want to play Sealed format. I hope they can introduce new mode next year.

Well of course they would reuse the cards/interface. This is not a new game, it is a new game mode. Which means that you are still playing Hearthstone, and you are still playing with Hearthstone cards, but in a new way.

Arena exists as a 'sealed' format, so I am not sure why you bring that up as though it hasn't been a thing for ever. 

Quote From Horus

I'm having mix feeling on HS Battleground: On one hand, they are finally implementing a new mode - which is nice, even if it doesn't seem this exciting to me - on the other, tournament mode has yet to even surface and been on their ''to do'' list for quite some time now. I do hope it will be better than what I'm expecting it to be, that's my only wish.

Actually, Tournament mode has been off of their 'to do' list for a pretty long time now. They have officially announced that they are not going to ever do a Tournament mode, and yet there have constantly been people asking when that is going to come out. 

There is no Tournament mode. And there never will be.

Quote From KANSAS

Quote From Unreal89

Positive thing is, that they try to do something new. But that's it in my opinion.

 

At first glance it looked like a really low effort, because practically all interface and cards - are reused.

After watching about 3-4 hours of Kripparian stream... my opinion got only worse.

Long story short - I think Battlegrounds will not have enough variety. Which means - low replayability, so probably it will not last long. It is not possible to survive without Blizzard support.

 

It's nice to try something new, especially before next year Standard rotation, that's it. I hate to be this negative, but that's what I feel.

We can really expect more effort from Blizzard. Personally I hoped they announce Auto Chess, but... based on Heroes of the Storm characters. They have so many nice characters there... (I play HotS casually sometimes).

 

In case of HS, I wait for some interesting new modes. For example I so much want to play Sealed format. I hope they can introduce new mode next year.

Well of course they would reuse the cards/interface. This is not a new game, it is a new game mode. Which means that you are still playing Hearthstone, and you are still playing with Hearthstone cards, but in a new way.

Arena exists as a 'sealed' format, so I am not sure why you bring that up as though it hasn't been a thing for ever. 

Arena is not exactly 'sealed'. But both of those are so called "limited" true. Sealed emphasises more on deck costruction phase.

Anyway, I could argue that Battlegrounds is more of a Tavern Brawl mode, because it is so similar to regular Hearthstone. Then why does it need another button hidden in the menu?

This mode, I feel, would be perfectly fine as a month-long Tavern Brawl for some mid-expansion Event.

The little optimism out of this is - as they see player numbers going down, slowly but steadily - they will be pushed more and more to improve player experiences, and new game modes are good for that. That's why I think - they introduced Battlegrounds in the first place, as an easy way to introduce something new.

Unless they are incompetent or do not care about game existence :)

As much as I appreciate a new mode finally, I’m pretty livid they wasted valuable development time on building a half baked (ui is awful) version of a game someone else created. It rings home that the creativity behind Hearthstone is DEAD. To add insult to injury, this mode has 0 effect, impact, and adds 0 value to Hearthstone. We’re simply being made to be guinea pigs for an already successful game concept, that they can’t even entertain building a real UI for. Blizzard is a shell of itself

With all the creativity they’ve had in the Tavern Brawls over the years. It’s insanity they didn’t just pick a successful Brawl to tweak into a more permanent game mode. Even the basic player team ups against the computer tavern brawls, would have been a more welcome game mode than Battlegrounds...

Quote From Horus

I'm having mix feeling on HS Battleground: On one hand, they are finally implementing a new mode - which is nice, even if it doesn't seem this exciting to me - on the other, tournament mode has yet to even surface and been on their ''to do'' list for quite some time now. I do hope it will be better than what I'm expecting it to be, that's my only wish.

They canned Tournament mode for reasons they’ll never really disclose (they gave a lazy excuse). Battlegrounds only took them 6 months to develop and to be honest, we should expect more modes in the next few (1-2) year. Not right away but not fucking five years later.

Other modes are not going to happen at this point. Hearthstone is dead in the water, at least to Blizzard, and this half baked attempt at an autochess competitor is an attempt to inject more people back into Hearthstone. They simply will not develop other game modes unless it earns them more money, but they cannot see that player happiness = more money + more players.

The Battlegrounds is an attempt at finding new players and bringing back old players, and it will not work in the financial way they want. People who do end up enjoying battlegrounds likely will spend little to no money on Hearthstone, because it’s not even tied to your collection. This is simply Blizzards way of saying “sorry we tried” as HS dies.

Wow so much negativity on a fucking side mode, Jesus...

Anyways, I am quite interested in the mode and will be happy to play it when it comes out. Of course, it will never replace standard, but I can see myself hopping on once in a while to have some fun without needing to deal with the cancers of the meta, similar to the Singleplayer content.

For some FREE content, I think it’s good enough. It has enough distinctness to be different from regular Hearthstone that I feel it could be a fun alternative from time to time.

Quote From PopeNeia

Wow so much negativity on a fucking side mode, Jesus... 

The resources and time spent to implement a side mode could have been probably used to make some more important and interesting change on Ladders (less grind) or to implement something like a soft tournament mode (like Brawliseum) or a whole new format (with mixed and changing sets). Those things, and many others, have been asked since forever by the community an instead of putting some effort into them they've just given us something that seems more of a permanent Brawl than a card game.

That's why many are pretty disappointed by this announcement: we want a better HS experience, not another game.

Hate that this is our new game mode. 

We needed something new badly and lo behold blizz desperately trying to stay relevant by copying the auto battlers that have more or less gone out of fashion already. 

Imagine we got pac man added as a game mode would you be happy?

Why didn't they release a multiplayer adventure. 

Love that pac man idea! I want a nice murloc pac-man happily eating away those nasty Desert Hares while shooting fireballs at nearby lackeys.

Quote From Lightspoon

Quote From PopeNeia

Wow so much negativity on a fucking side mode, Jesus... 

The resources and time spent to implement a side mode could have been probably used to make some more important and interesting change on Ladders (less grind) or to implement something like a soft tournament mode (like Brawliseum) or a whole new format (with mixed and changing sets). Those things, and many others, have been asked since forever by the community an instead of putting some effort into them they've just given us something that seems more of a permanent Brawl than a card game.

That's why many are pretty disappointed by this announcement: we want a better HS experience, not another game.

Well, that seems more reasonable now. Those complaints are pretty valid. Especially the one on the ranked grind.

Did you notice, that a 1place grants you 1/3 of 10 gold... :D

Quote From kramerofboandls

Did you notice, that a 1place grants you 1/3 of 10 gold... :D

 

 

Honestly, if they gave anymore gold than that they would have to include an entrance fee

Quote From kramerofboandls

Did you notice, that a 1place grants you 1/3 of 10 gold... :D

 

 

Actually I got the crown rewards at 4th and 3rd places but not at 6th place - and the main screen shows "number of times you've come in 1st" AND "Number of times in top 4." So it looks like all you need to do for the 1/3rd 10g is come in 4th or better. 

Granted 3 games is a small sample size, but honestly it's a fun little mode that I will definitely play to break up the "normal" games. ESPECIALLY in times like now where the meta is so oppressive (only 25 days left until Shamanstone ends!)

Never played An auto chess styled game mode before, but i'm currently addicted to HS battlegrounds. It is quite RNG based, but i'm personally a big fan of RNG so in don't mind at all.

Im Just happy wins & top 4s count towards the 3 wins for 10 gold stuff. It is i.m.o. a fun side mode that is a Nice distraction from playing standart against evolved shaman number 1 billion.

I do however hope their going tot make more modes, such as a 2v2 mode or something. A Tournament mode sounds good too! (If only to make ladder a bit less crowded with tier 1 netdecks)

Mobile went live, downloaded and won my first Battlegrounds match.

Played demons.  Had one of the 1/1s that grow as you play demons.  2 Malganis’.  Very interesting and fun mode.

Quote From Deliguy

Other modes are not going to happen at this point. Hearthstone is dead in the water, at least to Blizzard, and this half baked attempt at an autochess competitor is an attempt to inject more people back into Hearthstone. They simply will not develop other game modes unless it earns them more money, but they cannot see that player happiness = more money + more players.

The Battlegrounds is an attempt at finding new players and bringing back old players, and it will not work in the financial way they want. People who do end up enjoying battlegrounds likely will spend little to no money on Hearthstone, because it’s not even tied to your collection. This is simply Blizzards way of saying “sorry we tried” as HS dies.

*In a thread about a new game mode*

"They will simply not develop other game modes."

Okay, bud. Good talk.

Quote From Deliguy

They simply will not develop other game modes unless it earns them more money, but they cannot see that player happiness = more money + more players.

Firstly, Battlegrounds is free. No packs or collection are needed to play.

Secondly, more players + more money ≠ player happiness. More modes + more communication + more events + more ways to play = player happiness = more players = more money potential for Blizzard.

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):

1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)

2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?

3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)

4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.

Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

Quote From melheor

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):

1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)

2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?

3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)

4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.

Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

These complaints are identical in most/all auto-chess games.

Also, this is still in beta. It just needs to be a good starting point. Not a perfectly polished, Intricately balanced version of it.

Quote From melheor

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

While I would definitely enjoy a Co-Op mode (or 2v2 mode), it's funny to see so many people asking about it considering every time there's a co-op brawl, 700 people take to the boards to complain about the "brainlet they got paired up with who made them lose." Let's be honest: many players bitter, obtuse asshats who would not or could not cooperate effectively and/or wouldn't trust their partner to play well. Don't believe me? Go read the thread where people are bitching that other players are going to get Tyrande for "nothing" which "diminishes her value" - which is exactly what happened when they re-gave out the Ragnaros card back. I mean, how many years have we seen players ask for an auto-squelch feature because god forbid anyone use the emotes for fun or just to say 'Hello' and 'Well Played' unironically. 

I think there's a very real concern that having the players cooperate to win would be asking too much and people would quickly abandon the mode since it's "RNG" on steroids (i.e. the RNG of being paired with a good player) and you've got a player base that would just bitch about the MMR or their matching with "casuals."

Quote From RandomGuy

Quote From melheor

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):

1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)

2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?

3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)

4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.

Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

These complaints are identical in most/all auto-chess games.

Also, this is still in beta. It just needs to be a good starting point. Not a perfectly polished, Intricately balanced version of it.

This is my guess as well - I expect it will be like Arena where the card sets get added to/rotated every so often to keep it fresh. If not, then yeah everything in the main post was 100% correct about going hard into one of those 4 tribes being the only chance for success so the mode would get super stale pretty quickly without something.

Quote From melheor

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):

1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)

2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?

3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)

4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.

Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

There is definitely a concern of the longevity of the mode. I'm sure they'll swap out minions within those tribes (mechs for mechs) and eventually tribes for tribes (murlocs for dragons). This does *potentially* give opportunities to introduce new tribes (such as treants) with different interactions, but we'll see.

Quote From RandomGuy

Quote From Deliguy

Other modes are not going to happen at this point. Hearthstone is dead in the water, at least to Blizzard, and this half baked attempt at an autochess competitor is an attempt to inject more people back into Hearthstone. They simply will not develop other game modes unless it earns them more money, but they cannot see that player happiness = more money + more players.

The Battlegrounds is an attempt at finding new players and bringing back old players, and it will not work in the financial way they want. People who do end up enjoying battlegrounds likely will spend little to no money on Hearthstone, because it’s not even tied to your collection. This is simply Blizzards way of saying “sorry we tried” as HS dies.

*In a thread about a new game mode*

"They will simply not develop other game modes."

Okay, bud. Good talk.

Way to take the exact words you want and really push the “take it out of context” boundaries. ROF

Quote From griffior

Quote From Deliguy

They simply will not develop other game modes unless it earns them more money, but they cannot see that player happiness = more money + more players.

Firstly, Battlegrounds is free. No packs or collection are needed to play.

 

Secondly, more players + more money ≠ player happiness. More modes + more communication + more events + more ways to play = player happiness = more players = more money potential for Blizzard.l

You didn’t even quote me correctly, so I know you didn’t read my post lol

Quote From Deliguy

Quote From griffior

Quote From Deliguy

They simply will not develop other game modes unless it earns them more money, but they cannot see that player happiness = more money + more players.

Firstly, Battlegrounds is free. No packs or collection are needed to play.

 

Secondly, more players + more money ≠ player happiness. More modes + more communication + more events + more ways to play = player happiness = more players = more money potential for Blizzard.l

You didn’t even quote me correctly, so I know you didn’t read my post lol

I did, and I re-read it to make sure I had it right, and I still stand by it.

I agree with your point but your little equation was too short sighted that I had to add to it.

Also edited the main post again for the last time and I'm sure we'll agree on what I have to say there as well.

Quote From melheor

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):

1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)

2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?

3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)

4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.

Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

I disagree slightly. Due to RNG in re-rolls, going all in on a specific tribe is risky. When it works (which it usually does for at least 1/8 players), it is hard to beat, which is why you usually see one of the strategies you mentioned in the finals of the round. But more often, you can't roll the pieces you need and then it fails hard. The best strategy for always having a decent (top-four) finish is to mix tribes and strategically use buffs and selling minions to create a solid board. That strategy is pretty fun, because its always a little different and requires many tough choices.

I have noticed one disturbing trend though---which is that my finishing position, no matter what strategy I use, is usually wholly dependent on how many Nightmare Amalgams I'm offered in the game. If I get offered 1 or none, I'm almost always finishing at the bottom. If I get offered 4-5, I almost always finish at the top. I've started tracking (will post results after 50 runs or so) but so far after tracking for 10 runs its worked out exactly as I thought: More amalgams always equals better finish.

If that ends up true, it reduces the mode to rolling for 1 card, which is pretty terrible design.

Quote From YJHS2000

Quote From melheor

I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:

Quote From melheor

So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):

1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)

2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?

3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)

4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.

Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.

In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.

I disagree slightly. Due to RNG in re-rolls, going all in on a specific tribe is risky. When it works (which it usually does for at least 1/8 players), it is hard to beat, which is why you usually see one of the strategies you mentioned in the finals of the round. But more often, you can't roll the pieces you need and then it fails hard. The best strategy for always having a decent (top-four) finish is to mix tribes and strategically use buffs and selling minions to create a solid board. That strategy is pretty fun, because its always a little different and requires many tough choices.

I have noticed one disturbing trend though---which is that my finishing position, no matter what strategy I use, is usually wholly dependent on how many Nightmare Amalgams I'm offered in the game. If I get offered 1 or none, I'm almost always finishing at the bottom. If I get offered 4-5, I almost always finish at the top. I've started tracking (will post results after 50 runs or so) but so far after tracking for 10 runs its worked out exactly as I thought: More amalgams always equals better finish.

If that ends up true, it reduces the mode to rolling for 1 card, which is pretty terrible design.

In my anecdotal experience of around 30 games, sure Amalgam is a strong card, but I RARELY go after it since almost always go full Beast Spawn (Pack Leader/Momma Bear, Hyena, and Infested Wolf/Rat Pack) and I've come in top 4 in 23 games, claimed 1st place in 7.

I think it's a "win plus" rather than a "win more." If you've got a weaker field then it can definitely help carry the load (especially with poison) but it isn't going to win the the game solo or really even help that much if you can put together a strong Beast or Mech Spawn set without it.

Nightmare Amalgam is definitely a problem. It is way too good as a jack of all trades. In the endgame, unless it hits another poisonous minion (so Demons will always auto lose), it is a giant wall of stats with taunt, divine shield and poisonous that straight up destroys everything. I have no idea what they were thinking by putting this minion in the game.

Quote From PopeNeia

Nightmare Amalgam is definitely a problem. It is way too good as a jack of all trades. In the endgame, unless it hits another poisonous minion (so Demons will always auto lose), it is a giant wall of stats with taunt, divine shield and poisonous that straight up destroys everything. I have no idea what they were thinking by putting this minion in the game.

Presumably the idea behind Amalgam was that it'd make it easier to combine more than one tribe into an effective build. Most of these autochess type games have multi-tribe units or some sort of jack-of-all-trades (or both) to allow for more modular builds. That said the result is a minion that is good in *any* lineup rather than a minion that rewards hybrid builds.

I think it's pretty stupid of Blizzard that they made access to battlegrounds dependent on pre-purchasing the new set. I for one still haven't forgiven them for the mess they made around the Blitzchung incident, so I'm not going to be giving them money anytime soon. What could have been a cool new feature to rope me back in, an olive branch to all the disgruntled HS players, is instead a reminder of all the bad blood between us. Wile E Coyote could probably take a few pointers from Blizzard on unnecessary self-sabotage.

Quote From Pezman

I've seen several people say that there is a limited pool of minions that all players share during a round, but I can't see anywhere where Blizzard expressly stated this. Does anyone know if this is the case or not? Would totally change your recruiting strategy to know this, since getting triples is so valuable.

According the the HS wiki the pool is shared (https://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Battlegrounds#Tavern_Phase), and considering that's the way it works in other games of this type, that's no big surprise. What that means is that there can be value in for example monopolising a tribe that no other player is drafting, early levelling to snatch up high-tier minions before others do or early rerolling to combine popular low-tier minions.

Quote From ArngrimUndying

....

In my anecdotal experience of around 30 games, sure Amalgam is a strong card, but I RARELY go after it since almost always go full Beast Spawn (Pack Leader/Momma Bear, Hyena, and Infested Wolf/Rat Pack) and I've come in top 4 in 23 games, claimed 1st place in 7.

I think it's a "win plus" rather than a "win more." If you've got a weaker field then it can definitely help carry the load (especially with poison) but it isn't going to win the the game solo or really even help that much if you can put together a strong Beast or Mech Spawn set without it.

To me the main issue is that poison is a bit OP, since a single poison minion can bring down anything. I think the designers realized that, which is why there are only two poison cards in the game: (1) Maexxna (which does not see a ton of play because it is not easily buff-able) and (2) Toxfin, which only works on murlocs. I like the idea of only giving murlocs the option to grant any board member poison, but with Nightmare Amalgam, you can get a crazy buffed poison minion in any strategy. Amalgam is also the only card capable of receiving dragon buffs, which get more value from Zoobot and Menagerie Magician, and it can be used with magnetic cards. In my opinion, Amalgams are just too good and should be offered some other way apart from RNG, like maybe as a reward for leveling up or doing well early, or something else.

I know there are a ton of times when I get a triple and would rather have an amalgam than any of the three next-level cards I'm offered. Maybe always make Amalgam one of the three choices for a triple bonus and let player choose if they want it

Quote From PopeNeia

Nightmare Amalgam is definitely a problem. It is way too good as a jack of all trades. In the endgame, unless it hits another poisonous minion (so Demons will always auto lose), it is a giant wall of stats with taunt, divine shield and poisonous that straight up destroys everything. I have no idea what they were thinking by putting this minion in the game.

Amalgam is exactly the type of thing the game needs. It's just in the wrong tier right now.

Also, poison is exactly what it needs to be. It is super common to get minions with 50+ health. Indeed, that's the whole point. You need checks in the form of Poison.

I wish the heroes had their own emotes like in the proper HS game.

I just wanna greet my opponents with "HEY PAL! TRADE PRINCE GALLYWIX HERE!" 

You spoke my mind, basically.

Amalgam would be fair as a tier 3 or 4 unit as it lessens their ability to get out of control too quickly. But right now? They are disgusting. 30+ health with divine shield? Yeah... good luck ever killing that without a lucky poisonous hit. And thats just the wall you have to get through, not even counting their other stuff. And, you can get 2 of them on the board at once. Ridiculous. It basically comes down to whose Amalgam is bigger, which is... frustrating to say the least since there is so much RNG involved already.