HS needs an Endorsement system like Overwatch
I don't what is going on recently, but the past idk two weeks I have had SO MUCH BM it's getting ridiculous. I get that Blizz doesn't want a "reporting" system because salty trolls will just abuse it to spam reports on people that beat them, so in lieu of that I was think why not institute an Endorsement system like Overwatch has to encourage good sportsmanship? Blizzard's own data suggests it works very well (https://www.pcgamesn.com/overwatch/endorsement-system-success) so why not roll it out here.
It could function the exact same way: offer people the chance to endorse their opponent post-game on a few key areas - just off the top of my head maybe "Sportsmanship" i.e. no BMing, "Great Deck" i.e. encourages people to try and come up with fun/interesting decks, and "Strategist" i.e. just straight playing very well. Then like Overwatch your Endorsement level could get you gold/dust/packs on some regular interval. I really think this would cut down on a lot of the nonsense with positive reinforcement of good behaviors and generally make HS a more pleasant place to play. Since they said earlier this week they're looking at things to keep HS strong for "the next decade", handling the toxic elements of your playerbase had to be a key part of that or veteran players will get tired of it and it will be off-putting to new players alike.
Thoughts?
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I don't what is going on recently, but the past idk two weeks I have had SO MUCH BM it's getting ridiculous. I get that Blizz doesn't want a "reporting" system because salty trolls will just abuse it to spam reports on people that beat them, so in lieu of that I was think why not institute an Endorsement system like Overwatch has to encourage good sportsmanship? Blizzard's own data suggests it works very well (https://www.pcgamesn.com/overwatch/endorsement-system-success) so why not roll it out here.
It could function the exact same way: offer people the chance to endorse their opponent post-game on a few key areas - just off the top of my head maybe "Sportsmanship" i.e. no BMing, "Great Deck" i.e. encourages people to try and come up with fun/interesting decks, and "Strategist" i.e. just straight playing very well. Then like Overwatch your Endorsement level could get you gold/dust/packs on some regular interval. I really think this would cut down on a lot of the nonsense with positive reinforcement of good behaviors and generally make HS a more pleasant place to play. Since they said earlier this week they're looking at things to keep HS strong for "the next decade", handling the toxic elements of your playerbase had to be a key part of that or veteran players will get tired of it and it will be off-putting to new players alike.
Thoughts?
Why would they spend time implementing this when Squelch exists?
I understand why this system is good in a game like Overwatch, but for Hearthstone, that's honestly a bit of overkill.
The extent of player "interaction" that the game provides is extremely minimal compared to Overwatch.
If an opponent BM'ing triggers you that much, then Squelch them. If you don't like people saying stupid shit to you when you accept them as a friend after a match, then don't accept their friend request.
I personally auto squelch every single match. An endorsement system would be a new feature that I would never use. I feel there are many much more important features that need to be worked on in the game. A much simpler solution, would be finally adding an auto-squelch option.
Maybe if they did something to enhance the social interaction beyond emotes? But as is, this is not needed.
Emote spamming is not the only BM that exists though. A lot of what's been getting me is the intentionally roping (intentional meaning every turn or after they've already made their play or even when they obviously have lethal).
I guess my main point: Blizz ALREADY HAS this set up for OW - I can't imagine porting to another one of their games would take much effort.
And while maybe it isn't "necessary" for any one individual match, it can absolutely be good for the overall health of the game to encourage your player to not be juvenile asshats.
To my exact point: I've played a lot less HS the last few days then I normally do in part because I've had my fill of the BM right now. I would expect I'm neither the first nor last player to scale back/stop playing entirely after dealing with consistently toxic opponents.
I'm not opposed to an endorsement system, but I'm not sure it would be as effective as it is in OW. What specifically would i endorse someone for? Not roping? That is just basic courtesy. IMO, that is too low a bar to award medals. A great deck? Sure, but that is subjective and how do I know the player didn't net-deck? To some degree Hearthstone is rock-paper-scissors. When someone crushes me with rock when I am scissors that doesn't merit a medal. Perhaps the inverse is true, but in that situation I likely badly misplayed my deck. If there was a way for experienced players to coach new players in game (I'm talking about a built in system, not from streaming), that worth be worth rewarding, but currently the level of interaction between players in so minimal, I'm not sure an endorsement system would help.
I totally like the idea.
Endorsement system could simply be an extension of the current Emote system.
Possibly with tiers too:
T1: Great deck! Great move!
T2: Greetings, Well played.
All emotes, Endorsement or not, usable only once per game. And you can only Endorse once per game (so you have to choose).
They could even design the system so that it provides points only if an Endorsement gets reciprocated by another Endorsement of the same tier.
Either way, the concept is cool, much better than useless emotes or squelch.
Endorsing works in Overwatch because it's a team game - you recognise teammates who were positive to you, who made great plays, who took control and lead you to victory. They've helped you, helped make your experience a positive one, so you acknowledge that with an endorsement.
In a game like Hearthstone, why would I ever endorse anyone? What is my incentive? My opponent not being shitty to me isn't worthy of praise. Them making a good play could just get a 'Wow' or a 'Well Played'. Maybe they made that deck I hated all on their own, or that deck I loved was a netdeck, how should I know?
So then you assume you give endorsing an incentive. Maybe you can only gain endorsements yourself if you're giving them out somewhat regularly. Maybe players only gain a bonus if both of them endorse each other. You now have the opposite problem; why would I ever not endorse someone? Not endorsing would become a sign of bad manners, because you're going out of your way to deny not only your opponent a benefit, but also yourself.
I don't think it works in a 1v1 game. Like, I'd be fine with it existing, but I'd either never use it, because there'd be no incentive; or I'd always use it, because why would I give up my free rewards?
Welcome to the site!
There should just be an option to turn emotes off.
And they need two more:
As a F2P'er, some games I drop my minions, empty my hand, and press end turn. I have no taunts, no cards in hand and my opponent has lethal. They take so long to kill me. I just wanted to play 1 more battlecry and complete the game to count towards today's quest. I won't get either if I concede.
Interesting idea that I wouldn't be against.
However, I don't think it would discourage as much BMing as you'd hope. Some players honestly might just have a bad day IRL and in their minds wants to vent that frustration through BMing on a video game. Would such a player really care that for that day or week they wouldn't get a little extra gold, dust, or whatever the incentive was?
How about the players that play fairly casually (in this case being defined as not a whole lot of hours per week) and again don't care a whole lot about the incentives, but just want a kick out of some BMing?
If their roping gets to you, just concede and move on.
You do not know what the person on the other side of the board is dealing with. I mostly play on my phone, and I also have a 3 year old son. Do you have any idea how many times I have accidentally roped someone? Just because someone is roping you, doesn't mean it's intentional or meant to be BM. Since you cannot see the person, and can only interact with them through emotes, how their actions are interpreted is up to you.
I personally run into a possible intentional roper only once or twice a month. If I'm impatient, I'll concede and move on. Otherwise, I'll find something else to distract myself and treat them the exact same way they are treating me.
Beyond emotes and "roping", there is not any real social interaction in the game that would make an endorsement system effective. Both emotes and roping are completely up to interpretation. If some stranger taking the full time that the game allows to take a turn really triggers you that much, I think you should be looking internally at yourself and how you view other people's actions instead of calling for an endorsement system that won't do anything to fix the problem.
I used to get really triggered by BM and roping too. I can honestly say my life has improved since I took a hard look at myself and realized how stupid it was for me to get triggered by a person hitting an emote or taking the entirety of their turn to make a play.
+1 to Auto-squelch
In a game, where your communication is just through Emotes you want a Report-System? Not worth it and easy abuseable. Just mute the guy and you are fine.
I would only agree with you, if HS would get a chat to communicate with his enemy, but that's unlikely.
As have been mentioned, there's no need for an endorsement system since its not a team game at heart. It wouldn't matter to me if I won/lost to someone who racked up 100 endorsements vs one that has -100. Unless there's a consequence to having more endorsement to less, there's just no reason to want one other than conceit.
On the subject of BMs, the game needs:
- Auto squelch (don't see why this is a difficult implementation)
- take a page from runeterra or BG, just remove the spoken emotes in favor of images. I think getting a thumbs up image from an overconfident face hunter at 10hp is a lot less BM than hearing "thanks" for the umpteen time
Don't think the worst of the lot, rope trolls, are quite prevalent for measures to be taken against them. The last I had this was about 10 months ago, and all I did was just surf the net while he persist with this idiocy in his world where it is no doubt just a very funny joke.
Both Mythgard and Gwent (and probably others) have the option to give a "thumbs up" at the end of the game. If both players give the the thumbs up, you both get a little something in return. If one of them doesn't, neither gets anything. The idea is that, if you're a jerk to your opponent, you loose on bonus.
It will be still triggering, because you will see it, when your opponent spams it, when hes ahead. It wouldn't change much, because then people would cry for autosquelch images.