Several Hearthstone community members were in attendance at the 2020 Community Summit where they get a preview of what Blizzard is cooking up for the year and beyond.
Frodan sent out a Tweet today stating he was "still in shock" after hearing what has been planned for this year. I can tell you that last year I was teased with the prospects of the best year of Hearthstone yet and looking back on it, it was indeed an amazing year for Hearthstone. With knowing how invested Frodan has been into Hearthstone since its announcement, him feeling comfortable enough to tease the community as a whole today says something big.
An announcement is coming "soon", whatever that means.
What do you want to see out of Hearthstone this year? What do you think Blizzard will do with the game?
Quote From Frodan Still in shock after hearing what's planned for @PlayHearthstone 2020. The developers remain as passionate as ever. They haven't given up on the game. Not even close. If they can execute, this will cement Hearthstone for the next decade. For new, returning, and veteran players.
When do us normals get to find out?
Pretty soon. They didn't have everything 100% prepared so obviously it's not ready for the public to see, but they gave us a rough timeline of what's happening.
I don't wanna get in trouble and promise a date on their behalf…but the closest thing will be very soon.
Kripparrian Talks Community Summit
Quote From Kripparrian We had an awesome time at the HS summit. You all should be very happy with what is coming to Hearthstone soon. Will be about 2 hours late for today's stream.
DreadsGaming Talks Community Summit
Quote From DreadsGaming Just like me, this water bottle is leakproof 🙃
Lots of cool stuff coming to @PlayHearthstone in the coming year and I can’t wait for you all to hear about it!
Tiago Taparelli of HSReplay Talks Community Summit
Quote From Tiago Taparelli I’m really impressed with what the @PlayHearthstone team presented today. Can’t go into specifics but it’s safe to say 2020 will be a great year for the game!
Thanks to Kripp for the article image.
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Comments
They really need to make Whizbang part of the classic set and give it for free to every new player.
One of the streamers that got invited (Poly, from Italy) in one of his Instagram stories said that HS is gonna improve under every point of view.
Most importantly, talking about all the changes said "Personally, I think YOU ARE NOT PREPARED". It might be just a coincidence, but I'm inclined to think that is a hint for a Legion expansion. And maybe (how cool that would be) they will include new classes such as Demon Hunter, Death knight and Monk
More coals for the hype train: https://twitter.com/OdemianHS/status/1230549437954478083
According to reddit, he's a "French influencer, under DNA".
Rough translation: "lol they already announced more changes than during the whole time since 2013"
Do you (or he) mean NDA?
DNA makes it sound like he's under forensic investigation.
Yeah, that was a typo. Thanks!
No worries - we all cake them :P
Here are my guesses as to what's coming this year:
Year of the Phoenix (symbol of rebirth and renewal)
3 New Classes (Death Knight, Monk, and Demon Hunter)
Achievements
Classic set revamp and rotations
Ways to earn cards or currency in other Blizzard games
A new class seems highly unlikely. Death Knight is almost certainly never happening, just because of the OP Death Knight cards in KotFT.
I think the team was asked if they ever wanted a new class, and they basically said it would be a complete and total balancing nightmare. They already can't balance nine classes and make them all relevant. Besides, if they want to push new mechanics, they already have nine options to stick them in.
A new class would be revolutionary. I honestly have no idea how it would be done. But if they were to add a new class they would probably add only one and see how it works. Adding 3 new classes all at once would be so chaotic and hectic.
Looks like you were spot on with only one new class. This does open the door for more in the future however, and I would not be surprised to see the DK and Monk in future expansions.
They are just gonna try to bump more cash from people. That's the changes you're gonna get, guys LUL Companies are made to make PROFIT, so they will try to make even more profit from pack sellings. More expansions, more bundles, more legendaries per set. That's how it works, guys ;-)
More $$$ for Bli$$ard.
Yes, and a good way to do that is to improve consumer satisfaction. The optimal (legal) way for a company to make money always takes what consumers want into account.
Now, the discussion about whether whatever is coming is optimal can be saved for later, but for now there is reason for people to build up a little hope/hype.
Yeah man i hope Blizz really take every lessons from past years and then implement it the 'right' way. We all know HS need to Evolve.
Mutate would be ok.
auto squelch :) - a new decade without silly emotes
So let's take Frodan's word and reason on the fact that the changes they're about to implement are massive and will guarantee HS success in the following decade.
Let's start going for exclusion:
* UI Improvements; they might happen, but in no way they will have an impact on player retention/acquisition, as HS has arguably some of the best UI in online card games to date
* New keywords; while new keywords and mechanics are cool, by themselves they will never be able to make a game survive longer. Discover didn't make HS last 10 years longer, and it still is the most praised mechanic of the game. Let's not forget that whatever keyword a new expansion can throw at us, it will move out of the standard format in 2 years;
* New cosmetics and cosmetic economy; this by itself has absolutely no impact on the longevity of a game, unless the game is incredibly f2player friendly - which it isn't, and it only got worse;
* New game modes; interesting possiblilty, however only one game mode doesn't guarantee the game survival for another decade. However, more than one... Here we enter the realm of "it may actually be the thing". Adding an Arena mode that actually works more like Draft or Limited from MtG, that allows the player to draft cards, build a deck from the pool of drafted cards, and keep all the cards for themselves. A mode such as this would really let HS make a big jump;
* Revamped economy system: another big possibility, HS sore spot has always been how the economy - especially the Dust based one - is incredibly unfair and punishing towards the players. This year has been especially egregious under this point of view; 4 expansions - yes, Galakrond's Awakening is an expansion just like Naxxramas was, so 4 expansions - and a devastating power creep made it so that grinding becomes less and less rewarding. However, is a revamp in the economy system something that could make you say "they will cement HS for another decade for all players"? I have my doubts - and knowing Activision Blizzard, I doubt they will want to earn less money;
All in all, when Frodan says "if they can execute", means that it will be something complex. I'm hopeful, but honestly, I'll keep my expectations low.
No one thing can make the game relevant for 10 years. I mean, think of how many “things” were necessary to make the game relevant for just a few years. 10 years is a LONG time in gaming.
If we’re going to assume that “10 years” is not just hyperbole, then they must be talking about a new mindset or strategy. It remains to be seen whether that mindset applies to esports, the F2P model, the fundamental game, or something else.
(For example, you pointed out that “Discover” did not make them relevant on its own. But Discover came out of their design approach that mixed strategy, randomness, and mechanics that depend on digital cards. THAT made them relevant for the first few years of the game’s existence.)
My money is on the 10 years thing being hype. But if you want to make guesses, think about more fundamental things than a single new mechanic or feature.
The thing Hearthstone needs the most to maintain longevity is modes/formats. A lot of 'em. The base of the game is solid, but those are just the tools. Formats and modes are what dictates the rules in which these tools can be used. MtG, though far from perfect, has this down pat. They have so many formats you have to be someone who actively dislikes the game if you can't find a format that appeals to you. HS is very limited in this respect. It has three formats in total if we disregard BGs and Tavern Brawl and is only really actively supporting one of them. That has to change. Give us more ways to use our cards and pay attention to the state of these formats with more frequent balancing and updates and HS can keep going for decades.
Revamping the basic/classic set would be great for the game. Revise some of the older and more stale strategies and inject them with new life.
Little changes like:
The treants summoned by Force of Nature to have taunt again. But not charge.
Innervate to give +1 mana the first time played and then +2 the second time played.
(I only play Druid so have no other class examples to hand but let this be an sampl of the quirks that I mean)
I'm pretty sure that something which is coming really soon will be new hero portraits for cash. I can't remember having no purchasable heros in the shop for such a long time before.
My personal dream would be to (additionally!) make all the past ones available, but I won't get my hopes up. (I would be happy if that happened, but I support the argument that it would be morally wrong to do so because of protecting the cash money obtained exclusiveness of time-limited offers.)