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Hearthstone | Posted by | 6 years, 3 months ago
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What NEW thing do you think would benefit Hearthstone?

So I made the mistake of asking this question on Reddit and mostly got only answers that we’re halfway thought out.

This question excludes Battlegrounds Tribal inclusions, patching, and Balance changes. This is a more long term question.

We see that battlegrounds has done a good job of bringing some older players back while attracting some new players, I don’t know how long they’ll stay but it’s still a good sign that change is effect for HS.

I often make the assumption that new formats would help but I’d like to know what others have in mind.

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  • So I made the mistake of asking this question on Reddit and mostly got only answers that we’re halfway thought out.

    This question excludes Battlegrounds Tribal inclusions, patching, and Balance changes. This is a more long term question.

    We see that battlegrounds has done a good job of bringing some older players back while attracting some new players, I don’t know how long they’ll stay but it’s still a good sign that change is effect for HS.

    I often make the assumption that new formats would help but I’d like to know what others have in mind.

  • I think Blizzard has made some huge progress in the last 12 months or so. I was really worried when the Brode left, but Hearthstone is in a much better place today. Here are some examples:

    - year long story binding the expansions together

    - card buffs

    - nerfs come in way faster and actually work out

    - 1.000 wins hero portraits

    - battlegrounds

    - adding wild packs to the shop

    Not all of this worked out perfectly well, but they defintely are making progress. That said, I still think economics is an issue in Hearthstone. The dust ratio is just way too bad, especially for new players. To change this wouldn't be a flashy PR-move but a longtime improvement imho. I'm not much into it, but maybe more cosmetics could do the job if you're asking for means to recrute more players and add something flashy every other month.

  • - Achievements

    -Wild rotation. I'm glad that Wild packs are available to purchase, but it still feels like the game mode is neglected. Implementing an Arena-style set rotation wherein only certain expansions are playable would make Wild less stale. There could also be Wild-only nerfs and buffs(that only last for that certain rotation) according to what the meta the rotation would result to.

    - Mid-expansion inclusions. Controversial take especially with the level of oppression Sniplock and Evolve Shaman brought, but the mid-expansion events are refreshing and I'm curious to see how the mini-expansion launching with the Solo adventure on January is going to look like.

    1. A new Wild policy, that does not necessarily include spot nerfs. A better card AND mechanic design policy that avoids flaws (eg restricting how you reach (0) on cards, how you can Mutate insane amounts of mana, etc).
    2. Connected to #1, more and better TECH cards, even if useless for Standard, but acting as positive nerfs in Wild.
    3. Permanent Brawliseum (with one free entrance per week) acting as soft Tournament mode. Standard and Wild. To soften the grind of ladder, while keeping the challenge of competitive Constructed.
    4. Sure, as some said, Achievements.
    5. Buff the disenchant gain of common and rares to 10 and 50, respectively (to match 1/4 of their cost).
    6. Oh, and unnerf Keeper of the Grove and Ancient of Lore FFS.
    7. Buff some forgotten Basic and Classic cards. Eg, Ironforge Rifleman could easily be a 3/3 (and still be far from strong).
    • Quote From RavenSunHS
      1. A new Wild policy, that does not necessarily include spot nerfs. A better card AND mechanic design policy that avoids flaws (eg restricting how you reach (0) on cards, how you can Mutate insane amounts of mana, etc).
      2. Connected to #1, more and better TECH cards, even if useless for Standard, but acting as positive nerfs in Wild.
      3. Permanent Brawliseum (with one free entrance per week) acting as soft Tournament mode. Standard and Wild. To soften the grind of ladder, while keeping the challenge of competitive Constructed.
      4. Sure, as some said, Achievements.
      5. Buff the disenchant gain of common and rares to 10 and 50, respectively (to match 1/4 of their cost).
      6. Oh, and unnerf Keeper of the Grove and Ancient of Lore FFS.
      7. Buff some forgotten Basic and Classic cards. Eg, Ironforge Rifleman could easily be a 3/3 (and still be far from strong).

      1: With the amount of cards in HS it's going to be impossible at some point to prevent every broken combo. My thing is, that since Big Priest existed for so long, I'm wondering what their internal policy for Wild id.

      2: Platebreaker kind of does this but yeah, Wild specific tech cards here and there would be nice.

      3: I don't have a problem with a permanent Brawliseum, but what's going to happen to Arena? Or do you think Arena will not be affected?

      4: LONG term, frequently updated, and trackable achievements.

      5: Yeah Dust economy needs an overhaul.

      6: Unnerf every Wild card. Yes, all of them.

      7: I don't see why not.

      • Quote From griffior
        Quote From RavenSunHS
        1. A new Wild policy, that does not necessarily include spot nerfs. A better card AND mechanic design policy that avoids flaws (eg restricting how you reach (0) on cards, how you can Mutate insane amounts of mana, etc).
        2. Connected to #1, more and better TECH cards, even if useless for Standard, but acting as positive nerfs in Wild.
        3. Permanent Brawliseum (with one free entrance per week) acting as soft Tournament mode. Standard and Wild. To soften the grind of ladder, while keeping the challenge of competitive Constructed.
        4. Sure, as some said, Achievements.
        5. Buff the disenchant gain of common and rares to 10 and 50, respectively (to match 1/4 of their cost).
        6. Oh, and unnerf Keeper of the Grove and Ancient of Lore FFS.
        7. Buff some forgotten Basic and Classic cards. Eg, Ironforge Rifleman could easily be a 3/3 (and still be far from strong).

        1: With the amount of cards in HS it's going to be impossible at some point to prevent every broken combo.

        This is false. It's impossible to prevent brokenness ONLY IF if you do NOT have a design policy, ofc.

        But if they did, broken combos would be allowed only in late turns, say 9+, where they belong, while any swings before that would always be counterable with a series of different plays.

        eg. no cards except end-of-turn effects can discount OTHER cards below (1). 
        Such a policy would imply that Emperor Thaurissan (end-of-turn) and Kabal Crystal Runner (self-discount) would stay untouched, but Ancient Mysteries, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Galvanizer should discount to no less than (1).

        They currently have no policy at all, because Standard saves them from having any, and because they think that any design policy is a design restriction (which is also false ofc, as proven by the suggestion above).

        Like, where's the restriction in changing "draw a Secret and discount it to (0)" into "draw a Secret and discount it to (1)"? The second card is still OP despite the restriction, but it's not broken anymore. That's the only difference, and it's definitely not a design restriction, since the effect (draw and discount) is exactly the same.

  • It’s brought up every now and then, but a rework of the basic and classic sets would probably do a lot for the long term health of the game, both for wild and standard. Having either some rotating set like a lot of other games do, where the base set has a cards chosen from all expansions and changes yearly. This would help out both with fixing the yearly problems some classes get, along with making sure Wild doesn’t get bloated with each class always getting more of specific types of cards (Priest board clears being a good example).

    Having more events as always would be good as well, potentially some more community based ones could be interesting, like having tavern brawls where everyone involved gets rewards at certain thresholds (so like a total of 10,000 damage dealt to the boss, things like that), or seeing how quickly the community can play however many of a certain type of card. Even something like a clash of the tribes type thing, where two tribes are chosen, and if you have a certain amount of that tribe in a deck, then wins with that deck count towards a running total for the week. Whichever tribe gets more wins gets the bigger prize. Things like this would encourage the community to come together more to work together on stuff, drawing people in to keep playing.

    In the end, a game lives and dies on how many people play it, if more people play the game, then the game will likely last much longer

  • Long term, HS needs an update of its crafting system. It just does.

    Achievements are also definitely a thing that would help the game a lot. Blizzard is already tracking all kinds of stats for your account and you can request them via ticket on battlenet so i have no clue why are they still not a thing.

    But i guess they finally put up card and card back gallery on their official site, something so basic you would think it should have been there from the start, but no... so maybe in few more years, we might even get achievements. 

    Staff

  • Well, if we are looking at short term more flashy changes then I would say more events. Adding more events would keep the game interesting in between expansions and will keep players interested. I personally am very skeptical about the new adventure this set, I really hope It is not like the other adventures with a 700 gold and 5 wings. If they keep up with this then we will have 6 sets a year and that is just too expensive. I would like more events like doom in the tomb or any event with a new brawl or free stuff. If they do end up having an adventure every 4 months in between expansions then they should also make the adventures cheaper and also make the expansions smaller/cheaper.

    If we want a less flashy, more long term change then I would say that a change to the dusting/crafting system is long overdue. Simple changing commons to give you 10 dust would be so huge, and consistent with the 1/4 ratio (although I wouldn't mind changing that ratio to something better, like 1/3). That, or make packs cheaper, or make the chance of getting a legendary/epic/golden card higher. I think just some small changes to the amount of gold/dust/cards you get could go a long way. We have already made some progress with the quests getting better. I remember when we had 40 gold quests, and then they upgraded to 50, and now 60 gold quests are way easier to complete and more common. But it isn't enough to just get more gold, getting more dust or getting better cards from packs would also be a very good change.

    And if we want something that is both flashy and an okay long term change then achievements seem like a good idea. We already kind of have achievements, but you cannot see them in-game and there is only like seven of them. If we had more achievements and better incentive to get them then it would keep players interested in the game and it would give competitive players a reason to continue grinding after reaching legend rank.

    Friendly

  • Hot take: Achievements are a terrible idea. They wouldn't bring any new players in, and while they'd provide a short-term happiness boost they would lead to a subsequent drop in playrate because having all the achievements gives a perception of 'completion' which subconsciously discourages people from playing. And I say that despite the fact that I personally would like them a lot.

    Frankly the things that would most improve this game are all external to the game and should be being provided by third-parties already. Comprehensive resources developed and maintained by noted professionals (entirely for their name-drop) to explain how game design works, how balance works, and how to judge the relative strengths of cards, would be a great improvement. Primarily because it would stop people complaining about things that don't need to be complained about, and stop them massively overhyping cards like Embiggen :P

    • Quote From Bystekhilcar

      Hot take: Achievements are a terrible idea. They wouldn't bring any new players in, and while they'd provide a short-term happiness boost they would lead to a subsequent drop in playrate because having all the achievements gives a perception of 'completion' which subconsciously discourages people from playing. And I say that despite the fact that I personally would like them a lot.

      Frankly the things that would most improve this game are all external to the game and should be being provided by third-parties already. Comprehensive resources developed and maintained by noted professionals (entirely for their name-drop) to explain how game design works, how balance works, and how to judge the relative strengths of cards, would be a great improvement. Primarily because it would stop people complaining about things that don't need to be complained about, and stop them massively overhyping cards like Embiggen :P

      You can easilly tie some reward system with achievememts and it would serve both current players and new ones. 

      Staff
    • Quote From Bystekhilcar

      Hot take: Achievements are a terrible idea. They wouldn't bring any new players in, and while they'd provide a short-term happiness boost they would lead to a subsequent drop in playrate because having all the achievements gives a perception of 'completion' which subconsciously discourages people from playing. And I say that despite the fact that I personally would like them a lot.

      Frankly the things that would most improve this game are all external to the game and should be being provided by third-parties already. Comprehensive resources developed and maintained by noted professionals (entirely for their name-drop) to explain how game design works, how balance works, and how to judge the relative strengths of cards, would be a great improvement. Primarily because it would stop people complaining about things that don't need to be complained about, and stop them massively overhyping cards like Embiggen :P

      Achievements are a fantastic idea if they are done right. They wouldn't bring new players in but it might keep new players longer. Make the achievements long term. Hearthstone has been going on 6 years in 2020 and some people are still working towards 500/1000 wins per class.

      That's community hype though and you really can't stop it. Brian Kibler has a been a proponent for wanting the Classic & Basic sets rotated to Wild, what him and all his fans fail to realize is that it absolutely fucks over F2Players.

  • Some things that will improve HS experience overall may be (random order):

    • in-game Tournament mode, like Brawliseum;
    • in-game statistics and deck tracker;
    • a new format that will place itself between Wild and Standard, using a mix of old and new sets;
    • a complete rework of Ladder, making it less grinding and more interesting to play;
    • a better economy (that has been teased when new currencies has been data mined);
    • reworked Basic set for all Classes, fixing some very old design flaws;
    • a real Casual mode that has no reward of any kind, so that people there can go just to mess around and it will not be flooded by meta decks;
    • achievements rewarding cosmetics (old card backs, potraits and whatever they may come up with);
    • more attention on Arena's balance.

    I don't really take into consideration Battleground or any completly new game mode because in the end HS is a card game, not a platform where I can find some watered down version of other totally indipendent games.

    • Quote From Lightspoon

      Some things that will improve HS experience overall may be (random order):

      • in-game Tournament mode, like Brawliseum;
      • in-game statistics and deck tracker;
      • a new format that will place itself between Wild and Standard, using a mix of old and new sets;
      • a complete rework of Ladder, making it less grinding and more interesting to play;
      • a better economy (that has been teased when new currencies has been data mined);
      • reworked Basic set for all Classes, fixing some very old design flaws;
      • a real Casual mode that has no reward of any kind, so that people there can go just to mess around and it will not be flooded by meta decks;
      • achievements rewarding cosmetics (old card backs, potraits and whatever they may come up with);
      • more attention on Arena's balance.

      I don't really take into consideration Battleground or any completly new game mode because in the end HS is a card game, not a platform where I can find some watered down version of other totally indipendent games.

      Can you give me your definition of Tournament mode? Everyone says they want it but each player has their own idea of what it would be, and I think that's the reason Blizzard canned it.

      Ladder is Grindy because that's how it's designed, they can make it easier sure but that just dilutes the Legend ranks. What they need is a Grand MAster mode where only people who have their shit together climb to the top.

      Unfortunately I think the new currencies are China only.

      Battlegrounds was something HS didn't need but got anyway, for some weird reason.

  • Reworking the whole economy, game is dying and sucks in this state, I rarely play anymore due to them not learning

  • I liked the mid-expansions events, because im an f2p player and doom in the tomb was really fun.

    I also agree with everyone thinking that the crafting system should be remaked.

    I think they should add something like what WotC did, secret lair. They should add once a month a special pack to the shop, purchased with gold, that lasts for a week. In the pack they will include some (maybe golden) cards, like a pack of murlocs, or a class pack. If they do this they should also make gold purchasable with real money.

  • Some kind of dust rework would be good. Hell, even the dust reward after quests during events (i think last time was around 2018's midsummer event) was a big difference.

  • Cross overs with other card games 

  • An in between mode for wild and standard. That way ex standard players and/or anti-combo players can stop trying to nerf my fun decks and ruin the only eternal mode that HS has. Every physical card game has a mode where anything can go, if you warp wild into something it is not then HS has no mode where anything can go.

  • First, they should spend more time worrying about balance before adding anything new.

    In that vein, however, some sweeping changes in the name of balance would be most welcome and would seem like new additions.

    They should completely overhaul some of the classes (including evergreen cards, class-identity keywords, and hero powers) so that they are not constantly becoming problematic.

  • I've always thought they should add a "Time Travel" mode. 

    A new form of standard where you actually have a chance to play decks of the past in the meta they were originally played in.

    Each month the mode will rotate to a new "meta"

    Ex:

    • January - Knights of the Frozen Throne - Only sets that were available in Standard during KoFT can be used
    • February - The Boomsday Project - Only sets that were available in Standard during BP can be used
    • etc etc

     Maybe have special rewards for the mode that give out packs from that meta to help newer players develop their wild sets, which could help improve the health of wild if more people have a larger collection to work with. 

     

  • 1. A new team mode (2v2,3v3)

     

    2. A total rework of the economy system

     

    3. Basic/Classic sets need a complete rework. 

     

    4. A real casual mode

     

    5. A rework of the heropowers

     

    6. An easier way to create your own tournaments. 

  • Its a long shot, but one thing I'd like to see is an expansion of the tavern brawl, so it has multiple play modes with its own ladder to boot. Heres a few ideas;

    - We all know the classic set is kinda busted, but with so many expansion per year theres enough material here to create a play mode where all the classic sets are banned. This will allow newer players to manage some deck instead of starting with this massive disadvantage in legendaries

    - Similar to the one class only tournament, all decks must come with some sideboards. While we're on it, why not allow banning one card from the deck of your opponent, to be replaced with one card from the sideboard.

    - No epics & legendaries allowed. Again, this is for all the newbies out there (wish this was in place when I first joined). And it forces team5 to rethink their rarity settings

    Most of this has already been done in tavern brawl before, but it has always been a weekly event. Why not make some a permanent feature. If nothing else, it will at least make some filler cards more valuable.

    Friendly

  • - Season Pass with unlockables (Cards and Cosmetics)

    - More Cosmetics as alternative Artworks and Borders

    - Dual Class Mode and Cards

    - Seasonal cards from Wild each month (Doom in the tomb like)

  • 1. Add Shudderwock to the classic set

    2. More game modes, even if they aren't for ranked.  I would like a best of 3 mode with a sideboard like magic.  I think a real sideboard (not that specialist shit) could be fun.  I don't think you would even want it ranked because a lot of tech cards are way too swingy in hearthstone as apposed to magic but it would still be cool.  You could steal other stuff like pauper.  In fact, i'd love to see a hearthstone version of commander, lol.  

    3. More cosmetic rewards perhaps through a new currency.  Seeing the new currency things they're adding to the chinese version of the game to bypass gambling laws made me think what if there was like a token you got from reaching legend each month (or perhaps two tokens for legend, one for rank 5, something like that) and you can use them to buy some old and new cosmetic stuff like cardbacks.  You could add some new cardbacks and have the old ones cost like 2-3 tokens so you really have to grind to get them.  Maybe some new emotes.  Stuff like that which you can monetize but also hopefully get just from playing the game.  I would also love some alternate card art.  Maybe not for every card but for a lot of the iconic cards like Leeroy, Edwin, Shudderwock, etc.

    4. Balance and support for wild.  I think as long as hearthstone sticks around, wild has a real chance of becoming a lot more played than it is now.  If you make it a good playing experience while also allow people to play all the stuff from different eras of hearthstone, there is a lot of potential there.  Every time a new group of sets rotate, a lot of memories of decks and synergies rotate with it and people will want to nostalgia it.  

     

     

     

    A lot of people say brawliseumm but I don't think that's a good idea.  It would just split the playerbase from ladder and make ladder completely irrelevant unless they made the gold return so low you can't go infinite, which defeats a lot of the fun of a permanent brawliseum.  

    • Quote From duppie

      1. Add Shudderwock to the classic set

      2. More game modes, even if they aren't for ranked.  I would like a best of 3 mode with a sideboard like magic.  I think a real sideboard (not that specialist shit) could be fun.  I don't think you would even want it ranked because a lot of tech cards are way too swingy in hearthstone as apposed to magic but it would still be cool.  You could steal other stuff like pauper.  In fact, i'd love to see a hearthstone version of commander, lol.  

      3. More cosmetic rewards perhaps through a new currency.  Seeing the new currency things they're adding to the chinese version of the game to bypass gambling laws made me think what if there was like a token you got from reaching legend each month (or perhaps two tokens for legend, one for rank 5, something like that) and you can use them to buy some old and new cosmetic stuff like cardbacks.  You could add some new cardbacks and have the old ones cost like 2-3 tokens so you really have to grind to get them.  Maybe some new emotes.  Stuff like that which you can monetize but also hopefully get just from playing the game.  I would also love some alternate card art.  Maybe not for every card but for a lot of the iconic cards like Leeroy, Edwin, Shudderwock, etc.

      4. Balance and support for wild.  I think as long as hearthstone sticks around, wild has a real chance of becoming a lot more played than it is now.  If you make it a good playing experience while also allow people to play all the stuff from different eras of hearthstone, there is a lot of potential there.  Every time a new group of sets rotate, a lot of memories of decks and synergies rotate with it and people will want to nostalgia it.  

       

       

       

      A lot of people say brawliseumm but I don't think that's a good idea.  It would just split the playerbase from ladder and make ladder completely irrelevant unless they made the gold return so low you can't go infinite, which defeats a lot of the fun of a permanent brawliseum.  

      1. Please don't make shudderwock classic. That is a horrible idea and he would be HoFed very quickly.

      3. I don't want more cosmetics or more currencies in Hearthstone. The lack of such things is what makes Hearthstone stand out from other games. Things like pets, guildes, gems, an endless amount of cosmetics seem like staples in any online game, and frankly I don't like a lot of them for that exact reason. It just feels like copying what other popular games have, or simply a way to make more money.

      Friendly
      • Quote From KANSAS
         

        1. Please don't make shudderwock classic. That is a horrible idea and he would be HoFed very quickly.

        3. I don't want more cosmetics or more currencies in Hearthstone. The lack of such things is what makes Hearthstone stand out from other games. Things like pets, guildes, gems, an endless amount of cosmetics seem like staples in any online game, and frankly I don't like a lot of them for that exact reason. It just feels like copying what other popular games have, or simply a way to make more money.

         

        I should say that when I mentioned another currency I didn't mean in the "gem" format where it's just a cash sink thing.  I meant more like something you can earn in game that's only used to buy in game stuff.  That way you don't feel split between buying packs or the cosmetics with your gold if you don't have a full playset, but it could give more incentive to play some more ranked.  I also agree that the whole plethora of cosmetics is too much, I was just thinking some new/old cardbacks and card arts.  

    • Quote From duppie

      1. Add Shudderwock to the classic set

      Why, just why? Its a broken card that should consider itself lucky it doesn't get nuked to oblivion.

      Friendly
      • Quote From dapperdog
        Quote From duppie

        1. Add Shudderwock to the classic set

        Why, just why? Its a broken card that should consider itself lucky it doesn't get nuked to oblivion.

        it's the best card ever printed, in every category.   The bullet point was a joke but I sure wouldn't complain.

        • Quote From duppie
          Quote From dapperdog
          Quote From duppie

          1. Add Shudderwock to the classic set

          Why, just why? Its a broken card that should consider itself lucky it doesn't get nuked to oblivion.

          it's the best card ever printed, in every category.   The bullet point was a joke but I sure wouldn't complain.

          And for that reason it should not be in classic. Its way more powerful than most other legendaries in hearthstone history, let alone in classic. Its already creating problems for team5 in terms of card design. Its not getting calls for nerfs now because its rotating this April, but its not very far from the chopping block mind you.

          Friendly
          • Quote From dapperdog
            Quote From duppie
            Quote From dapperdog
            Quote From duppie

            1. Add Shudderwock to the classic set

            Why, just why? Its a broken card that should consider itself lucky it doesn't get nuked to oblivion.

            it's the best card ever printed, in every category.   The bullet point was a joke but I sure wouldn't complain.

            And for that reason it should not be in classic. Its way more powerful than most other legendaries in hearthstone history, let alone in classic. Its already creating problems for team5 in terms of card design. Its not getting calls for nerfs now because its rotating this April, but its not very far from the chopping block mind you.

            as I said, it was a joke

            but shudderwock has never needed a nerf.  It's only been in two tier 1 decks and the one that needed a nerf had little to do with shudderwock (gala shaman). 

             

            • Well, it certainly fits as a joke. I guess I misunderstood your kind intentions ;)

              But jokes aside, I think the only reason why shudderwock has not been nerfed is because its both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. It really depends on the battlecries being played rather than the card itself. And I can't really think of a way to nerf it without completely destroying the card. In Galakrond shaman though, its at a quite oppressive level of power but as I said, I can't really think of a way to reduce its power level without completely destroying it. Wouldn't be surprising that team5's method of dealing with this is just to sweep it under the rug and wait for it to rotate from standard.

              Friendly

  • - auto squelch

    - more cosmetics like hero power animations and entrances!

    - mini expansions

    - change dust system cz its so unfair even for players that spend money

     

    • Quote From HolyWater

      - auto squelch

      I took a hiatus from HS before KotFT and returned after tombs of terror dropped. I was surprised this wasn't implemented yet.