I found this fanart which inspired me, and I'm trying to create an effect which matches its' mood of being in an unknown place - whether by lashing out in terror, being overwhelmingly confused, or seeing shadows jump from every corner.
Which do y'all think works best?
Feedback for unsubmitted cards:
Show Spoiler
Destroyer: That isn't worth the effect, nor is there a flavor there I can see to it. Also, I think you're right about there being balance issues: a card like this will fundamentally being overpowered or underpowered, with very little space in between (if any). Perhaps you could find a different direction for the art by synergizing with Mage's elementals somehow, which are all about cards added to hand, spell damage, elemental cost reduction, tokens added to hand, and/or hero power damage. There is a lot of cost reduction in that sphere - maybe you could find enjoy turning an aspect around humorously or playing two aspects against each other.
R: I'm not a fan. For one, the effect seems too easily obtained, but also, the hero power ALWAYS costs (1) more. While balanced, the playing experience is crappy. I don't feel that I've done something special, and what I have obtained is tough to use. I'd go back to the drawing board and figure out how that cost increase can be a payment for something flashy and fun, rather than the shackles on your fun reward itself. That said, you're the only one following a hero power theme, so if it does work out, you'll be in pretty well!
Neoguli: I'm not crazy about it. Fundamentally, it's similar to R's card - by increasing the cost of your reward, while balanced, you're decreasing how fun the card is to play. If you could apply the cost reduction to another aspect, it might be more successful. An aspect that adds some flavor, perhaps - at the moment, I'm not sure why the card does what it does. Discover is a neat field to play with for this competition, so I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Doingtheobvious: I quite like this! You are increasing the cost of your reward, but the damage scaling with that makes the more expensive card feel better, not worse! And actually, I like the non-dual class version more. Fire synergy isn't really a Shaman thing. My only gripes with the card would be that it's a potion, which seems odd for Mage, and that you also ought to change the expansion symbol, because some sticklers care about that.
Based on my overall enjoyment, the gameplay, and how the story unfolds, here's my own list.
Best in my opinion is Monster Hunt from witchwood, mostly because I think the final battle with Hagatha is engaging, with some nice touches. Its one of those few ones I play more than once, its just that good to me.
Second best would be Rumble Run from Rastakhans. The storyline is as simple as it gets, but it works because its an underdog story, where you're fully in sync with the protagonist because you play as him, lose as him, and ultimately triumph as him. So the gameplay naturally ties along with the storyline, which I like.
Third would be Dalaran Heist. This one is purely because I like the theme, I like the focus on the villains, and I like the music. As far as the story in Rise of Shadows is concerned, its pretty great. A group of misfits attempts to steal an entire city and succeeded despite all odds, in a cartoony, totally non-serious fashion. No pretense, just fun.
Surprised to see Trial by felfire and Galakrond's awakening in anyone's list at all. I enjoyed these two the least.
- TbFF has, in my opinion, poor characters, poor development and is tainted by an incredibly shitty ending. Rikkar, from rumble run, is a blank character of unknown origin (the very definition of a nobody) but it works because the story is about him rising to the top. Arrana on the other hand is the sister of a known character, with a defined character and arc (Far as I know, she starts wanting to escape from her sister's shadow) but by the end we're left scratching out heads as to what has actually been accomplished here. It doesn't help that the story keeps piling on the bs that she becomes completely unrelatable. She's basically Rey from starwars; a character which experiences hardship only in theory but not in action. Its like a 10 yr old's self-insert fanfiction ideal which is sympathetic to its creator but not to anyone else.
Oh and the shitty ending? Illidan being beaten both in power and angst. By someone who literally became a demon hunter yesterday.
- GA suffered because its the supposed payoff to the events in RoS and SoU. And the payoff had two endings, and a contrivance in the storyline where everything (from conquering dalaran, to whatever happened in Uldum) its all to revive Galakrond, who loses in both endings, which is quite absurd because both Rafaam and the league of explorers have absolutely no leverage (no convenient artifact, etc.) that would allow them to win, so the question is simply: Why? Can't Rafaam just destroy the world with or without Galakrond?
The two endings bit is also there just for want of a better story, because I cannot for the life of me understand why can't they just have one linear story where we play as characters from both sides depending on who would ultimately win.
Book of Mercs is still a work in progress, but honestly if it ended in stormwind I might have just placed it on top over the rest. The Cariel-Tamsin storyline was not merely engaging, it was one of the few times I thought team5 manned up with some actual mature, consequential storylines for once instead of the goofy tones or childish storytelling. And then they ruined it for me by bringing back tamsin as a lich. But Im willing to put that aside if they end this whole story nicely and tie the Tamsin storyline down (which Im skeptical, but fine we'll see where they're going with this).
Alright, cleared up the card text and found a new name for it. I am perfectly aware this gets harder to play as you play more cards, that's the intent. To provide a challenging mini-puzzle that can offer amazing card draw if you plan accordingly.
Feedback
Neoguli
Like link said, Roame is connected to Cariel and Tamsin, unless you mean this to be another member of her family. Effect is good, balance might be not. I think it might work better as an aura, increasing their cost by 2 but making all spells you play discover other spells. A little chain effect like Instructor Fireheart or Lyra the Sunshard
doingtheobious
I like it, can be a big finisher like Mordresh Fire Eye. there might be a bit too much overlap with his effect and this.
DestroyerR
I like the concept but the balancing is way off. Enemy could easily just kill this a bunch of time just to make everything in your hand cost 10 and fuck with you, locking you out of the game. If you want an immortal minion perhaps something akin to Greybough but for spells in your hand could work. Spell costs more but resummons this maybe bigger each time.
BloodmeFist
Love how this ties with the flavor of the new priest hero. Balance wise, i think it's fine. 2 mana but for only 1 spell school doesn't arise any big problems in my head. Yeah you could do some Bless/Divine Spirit thing, but aMind Blast/Vivid Nightmare/Prophet Velen is also possible so both schools are busted kinda. For 4 mana you can just drop 2 elementals making this the same thing, just slightly easier. Seems alright.
linkblade91
I don't think it's right to have something unplayable unless you have 2 very specific cards.
Wailor
Flavor is spot on (haha!). I think perhaps making the next card you play cost more by the excess damage is better. Cause then you're forced to deal with the drawback right away. Making whole hand cost more is too much and conflicting with the quest we got in that xpansion.
That effect could be crazy for generating value, if your hand is full of spells, so I'm wondering if the cost-increase needs to be higher, like a 2. Not sure without being able to test it; maybe it's okay. Being Neutral means everyone has a chance to abuse it, though, so in the interest of hedging one's chances nerfing it in advance might be the right call *shrugs*
Also, I personally would not name them "(X) Roame", just because we already have an established Roame family and there's no need to add to it IMO.
You don't need the first "by", Cost should be capitalized in this instance, and I think you mean for it to say "every Fire spell you cast this game". Beyond those minor errors, you should be good to go :)
The card is strong, but:
A. It's a Legendary so it's harder to access;
B. It has no spell school so it's harder to tutor or directly synergize with it; and
C. Work has to go into building it up, like Mordresh Fire Eye but minus the pass/fail aspect (since you can use the Potion early if you want to). I think most people would end up using it early, to deal with Aggro boards and the like.
It is good to hear your wise words, ⚓. I apologize if I offended anyone. I feel sometimes when I simply convey my feelings on threads it seems like everyone jumps me down.
The meta sucks imo but if you guys are enjoying it I'm genuinely happy for you. I can admit I've had a lot of fun when by total luck I run into another burgle enthusiast and we reveal ourselves on turn 2 or 3 and madness insues. To be fair that has been fun : D
You're a stronger man or woman than me. I play because I still believe like an idiot this game can pull it together. Mostly out of habit ofc. Even Arena is awful now with all these boring honorable swill cards and other boring junk.
Hopefully they will turn it around in the next rotation and you'll find a reason to come back. Enjoy the other video games until then!
Please don't bring back reborn, it was a pain to play against.
Reborn is just a weaker version of "Deathrattle: Resummon a copy of this minion"
That's like saying it's hard to play around Cairne Bloodhoof. Except reborn is strictly weaker than that particular effect since the minion only comes back with 1 health. Reborn was a fantastic mechanic because it allowed the development team to essentially create a deathrattle type minion, with multiple deathrattles without the player being confused.
Take Khartut Defender. It was an excellent designed card that allowed life gain through two different ways, The deathrattle, and the taunt. However a card like that is still strong at 5 mana. By putting it to 6 mana, and giving it reborn, they were able to balance it's cost effectiveness with it's tempo in the game at turn 6 or higher.
It would have been weird if it said "Deathrattle: Restore 3 health to your hero. Deathrattle: Resummon this with 1 health".
Reborn triggers after deathrattles meaning the minions are reborn after Defile or similar clears so I wouldn't necessarily call it weaker than deathrattle. I was referring to that aspect of it as annoying, not that it's hard to play around. It was just part of the meta I didn't particularly enjoy, I guess.
yeah , i think do achievements without the cards is the fun part , usually i try hard it when i start saving gold for next exp.
I done the Wing Commander Ichman becouse Resizing Pouch looking for limited 9 mana pool is good , in a deck with poison beasts and some simple beasts , but before doing the combo i keep Serpentbloom in hand .
I am quitting HS as of today (already deleted the app) after playing the game since Goblins vs Gnomes.
Ever since Stormwind wild has not been enjoyable and this new expansion has not fixed it. I might come back to the game if they ever do address wild’s issues but it has been almost 5 months and nothing has been done.
Thanks to everyone who supported any of the decks I posted over the years.
That a deck like EzrealKennen even reached 55% with it's extreme playrate is VERY wrong.
If you watched some LoR gameplay in the lower ranks you saw how poorly the deck get's played by a good amount of players and that it lost 10% winrate should be because those "suboptimal" players no longer will win games with the deck.
Once these players switch to easier decks I see the deck's winrate recover. Will it be over 50%?
I can't say and hard decks like ez kennen tend to stay below 50% winrate because casuals don't succeed with it.
But I think this is once again an overreaction caused by players not knowing about nerfs, not being familiar with the deck and the deck obviously being weaker than before.
Still i have a strong believe that ionia will be back on the menue soon
That's sad to hear. I don't know whether you had a chance to revisit Duels recently, but they've been making some long overdue improvements. Still ways to go, just in a better shape than things used to be. And yes, Mercs still do very much feel like beta.
Late-ish reply as I've been away from "civilization" until yesterday, so much to catch up with. And I very much appreciate all the kind words!
I do like to think everyone has their own strengths (somebody give me at least a half of Flux's speed rating!). I know that I can sometimes get caught up in all the details, so it can be as much a boon as a curse in its own way. There is always so much to keep an eye on, and then everything feels important enough to warrant a mention. ;)
FWIW I still see them in my shop, but these bundles took a while to appear for everyone when they launched on Tuesday. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a temporary error and you'll see them again with a relog.
We didn't immediately post about them because I wasn't sure how they were being handled out. We stopped posting about tailored bundles with the previous wave of them since there's too many of them and its just too chaotic to figure out how many bundles are live. Recent client data has shown that they have no problems adding 20+ bundle licenses to the game in a single patch, most of which would never be offered to someone. So frustrating but their "random" bundles clearly work better than the old version of them since they can target us with deals that they think we'll pickup.
The Rank 1 AV bundles though do appear to be given to everyone though, it just took time for them to go out. I didn't get them in my shop until around 4 hours after they were first spotted.
Yesterday I saw two shop offers. Alterac Valley welcome (20 money, 10 AV packs, 10 Standard, 1 AV Legy) and a similar golden bundle. I was confused there was no news on this site about this. Now the offer is gone. Did I miss it?
I think you're right about new cards being 'purely optical'. Dean has discussed at several moments how each expansion needs to have a hypemaster - something that invites a greater feeling than 'ah, these cards would be neat in this deck'. New appearances help the new cards to feel different, and that difference also, like the spaces between credit card numbers, makes them more memorable to new players.
With that in mind, I'm amazed that they didn't create something new for these field cards, whether an animation, a card border, or a play visual. You can't just smush everything into the secret slot forever, Hearthstone! Given that they did the same with the home screen redesign - just smushed it all into the old box - it leaves me thinking that Team 5 is suffering for UI support.
Keep in mind I never played Kenin Ezreal I am simple going imperically based on stats.
The deck has gone from a commanding 55% winrate to a 45% winrate. Putting Lee back as the best Ionia deck seeing it go up 1% to 52.
Honestly I don't know if it was actually worth it, like if you enjoy midrange decks absolutely they are doing better control is also doing better.
But it hasn't shaken up the meta in the way people thought, while simultaneously killing an entire archetype just because people couldn't tech properly or play the matchup.
So on the one hand you have a new champ being murdered one week into his release, just so the other decks can go up 2% on ladder like it seems like maybe the reaction was too strong here.
But on the other hand if a deck like Azir Irelia could be considered meta altering maybe Kenin was just as bad, who's to say.
I've been recently playing the three latest installments of Hearthstone's Solo Adventures. While playing them, I found myself enjoying the story much more than I thought, since they usually tend to be pretty back-bones. So, I thought I could make a little ranking just for fun. Yeah, it's ranking, not a tier list. Sorry for the clickbait.
As a quick disclaimer, I'll be just evaluating the storytelling, not the gameplay. Thus, Dungeon Run-likes and Dr. Boom's Puzzles are excluded, since they don't have much story going on (even if some of them have nice character moments). Also, this is obviously just my opinion. If you disagree, I encourage you to give your own opinion in a civil way or even make your own ranking.
Finally, beware, because there will be plenty of spoilers for pretty much every Solo Adventure.
So, let's begin.
#10 - Knights of the Frozen Throne: Icecrown Citadel
Let's get this out of the way. The Adventures which just try to recreate raids from World of Warcraft are all going to be at the bottom of the ranking. In terms of story, they tend to be a boss rush with a small twist in the end, if so.
Out of all of them, I find Icecrown Citadel to be the most basic. Sure, most characters here are iconic, but they're not depicted in an interesting way.
The best thing about this Adventure is the class challenge against The Lich King, but since that's a gameplay element, it doesn't count for this tier list.
#9 - Blackrock Mountain
In terms of pure storytelling, this is probably the most interesting out of all the WoW raid Adventures. I mean, it has the whole betrayal of Victor Nefarius and stuff happens not just at the end of the story.
That said, it hasn't much else going for it. Sure, the Dark Iron Dwarves have a pretty entretaining personality, but that's about it.
#8 - One Night in Karazhan
This might be a bit controversial, since I remember most people hating the party theme of this adventure back in the day, but I really enjoyed it. Hearthstone has a flavor distinct from the rest of the Warcraft universe, and I think this expansion really helped to cement this identity.
I'd highlight the Barnes wing, which was very cool and imaginative.
#7 - Curse of Naxxramas
Hearthstone's debut Adventure makes the top of the raid-inspired story modes. Yeah, it's true, the story is as basic as it gets, but there's one thing that elevates this Adventure.
His Hearthstone personality is just so entretaining and sassy, I couldn't resist to put this on top. This is probably the first tonal departure Hearthstone had compared to the Warcraft universe, so, just like with Karazhan, you have to appreciate that.
#6 - Descent of Dragons: Galakrond's Awakening
I wouldn't be surprised if this was a fan favorite, but I honestly think there's too much going on here. As the conclusion of the experimental Year of the Dragon, this Adventure touches a lot of characters: the League of E.V.I.L., the League of Explorers, Karl and LennyGeorge, Kragg, Galakrond himself...
Sure, the conclusion of several arcs here is very satisfying (Reno and Karl/George come to mind), but I think I would've enjoyed it much more if this whole thing was a bit more focused.
In a way, this is like Hearthstone's Infinity War, a film which I don't personally enjoy as much as most people because of how many things it tries to focus on.
#5 - Ashes of Outlands: Trial by Felfire
In terms of pure storytelling, this is one of the strongest contenders in the whole ranking. Baduu leaving the group and later being brainwashed by the Rusted Legion was a very thrilling event. I also liked Aranna talking shit about her sister Elise, just to embrace her philosophy in the end. Sure, Illidan's final redemption was quite lame, but nobody is perfect.
Besides that, I also loved the flavor of assembling a group of Outcasts who help each other to survive (kinda like Aranna's own League of Explorers), even if the personality of none of them was particularly interesting.
So, why is this Adventure so low in the rank? Yeah, it's obviously the "talking in verse" gimmick. I guess they were trying to go for a shakesperean tragedy feel with this decision, but this whole thing is very optimistic for that. For a story which has its main characters' eyes replaced with demonic fireballs, it has a very feel-good and empathy-driven conclusion lol
In my opinion, this decision would've made way more sense for the Demon Hunter Prologue, since Illidan's story is quite tragic. Speaking of which...
#4 - Ashes of Outlands: Prologue
Even if in a pretty basic way, I think Illidan's fall from grace is pretty well told here. As I said above, this story's chain of misunderstandings has a very Greek/shakespearean tragedy flavor to them, in the sense that all issues are caused its protagonists' fatal flaws. Illidan's pride and power-hunger are obviously a pretty important part, but I like that the story also blames Malfurion's self-righteousness. All in all, pretty cool stuff.
#3 - Book of Heroes
I'm kinda surprised it took them so long to make this Adventure, since it's a pretty obvious move. Still, getting to know the background of these heroes we know from some long ago was pretty cool.
As someone whose main knowledge about the Warcraft universe comes from playing Warcraft III and reading the WoW Wiki, this story mode was pretty interesting. The stories told here had some familiarity, but I also discovered a lot of new information about Warcraft lore.
To be honest, this game mode is not without flaws. Some stories were not particularly well fit for being told in this fashion, which led to jarring time skips (ahem, Uther) or crucial character development being dispached with a short line of dialog.
Compared to something similar like the Demon Hunter Prologue, this is told in a more clumsy way, but, since this has more content, I decided to give it the upper hand.
#2 - The League of Explorers
We're the League! The Explorer's League! And we're a League of Explorers!
What's not to love here? Mysterious settings, thrilling adventures, ancient artifacts and memorable characters. All four members of the League and Rafaam are awesome and iconic. Sure, the story is a bit formulaic and mcguffin-y, but it's pretty entretaining (it's also very fitting that it's plot is structured like the first Indiana Jones movie).
This was the very first Hearthstone original story, which focused on (mostly) Hearthstone original characters. In a way, this is also the first expansion that feels like modern Hearthstone, so that alone makes it very important for the game as a whole.
But most crucially, it still holds up to this day as one of Hearthstone's best Adventures, at least in terms of story and characters.
#1 - Book of Mercenaries
I know this game mode isn't finished by now, but my god! The Stormwind battle, with Tamsin and Cariel's chapters is easily the most endearing story Hearthstone has ever told. Their relationship is so well done not just for Hearthstone, but for Warcraft in general. Cornelius' characterization as a strict father, just to end up like he does, and the way Cariel reacts to it. Awesome stuff.
I'll admit that I was pretty disapointed by the first two episodes (especially Rokara's), but the overarching story keeps ramping in a very well crafted way. Honestly, the final Alterac segment would need to flop incredibly hard for me to put this on second place.
And this was my ranking. I'd like to know your opinions or even your own personal rankings.
Good thing is, that you can find/force many epics and legendaries in Duels buckets again, so if you´re missing some of the required cards, I´d recommend trying it. For example I´ve found Ivus, the Forest Lord in the battlecry bucket and did the achievement that way (I was lucky to get the double battlecry treasure too), or Snowball Fight! in the frost bucket, while playing freeze shaman. Sadly, you can´t find Hero cards in pools, but right now I´m trying to find out if I can discover one of the legendary weapons through the new weapon treasure loot.
I basically have the same opinion as what HuntardHuntard said below.
It is really weird that you are pushing back against a very simple Quality of Life feature request which plenty of people want and have asked for since the beginning of HS. Seems like you will not use it even if it gets introduced which is fine, but that does not mean that such a feature has no place inside the game. Your whole argument sounds somewhat self-centred actually.
Yes, squelching is already possible with 2 simple clicks, but that is also a lot of unnecessary clicks over the 40K+ games I have already played since 2014. Also, such a feature could be implemented in very little time and will not take significant "energy" away from spending on other useful features. Since you mentioned your IT experience, you should know that this is true.
Not that it matters for this discussion, but I simply do not want any interaction with my opponent during a game of HS. I do not care if that interaction is positive, neutral or negative. I just want to play the core game and preferrably without distractions like those emotes.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions which do not have to be the same as others. Just leave some room for constructive and open discussion. More importantly, do not get worked up when people do not share your opinions.
I had not forgotten it at all! The swap mechanic was fine and flavourful for worgen, and I remember Spellshifter actually being used in the meta, while the others (especially the rush ones) were great arena cards. Keep in mind it was only 5 cards in an expansion that was aiming to reduce the power level of the game (give or take Genn and Baku...), so it is hardly surprising they didn't see much play when they were designed to be weaker than things from the Year of the Mammoth.
In the end, the swap mechanics is one of many small, non-keyword set mechanics that get put in promotional material but only actually have a few cards. They are also often spread across classes so you'd never have enough in a deck to consider the mechanic significant. You can include ogres and troggs from GvG, joust in TGT, plagues in SoU, mounts in UiS etc.
But, WW has one of my favourite themes of all the HS sets. The point being it is really subjective, and if theme is the basis for Dean's comment, then he would have only been using a limited perspective too.
I'm sure the murder mystery theme would have been dropped early in the design process and long before any of the promotional stuff was in the works. Though it didn't disappear completely. the Monster Hunt (WW's Dungeon Run) was set up as a bit of an investigation as the Gilneans worked out who was making their forest all spooky. They even had the Murloc Holmes treasure. So the mystery theme bleeding into promo images is surprising.
Worth Every Penny - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I found this fanart which inspired me, and I'm trying to create an effect which matches its' mood of being in an unknown place - whether by lashing out in terror, being overwhelmingly confused, or seeing shadows jump from every corner.
Which do y'all think works best?
Feedback for unsubmitted cards:
Destroyer: That isn't worth the effect, nor is there a flavor there I can see to it. Also, I think you're right about there being balance issues: a card like this will fundamentally being overpowered or underpowered, with very little space in between (if any). Perhaps you could find a different direction for the art by synergizing with Mage's elementals somehow, which are all about cards added to hand, spell damage, elemental cost reduction, tokens added to hand, and/or hero power damage. There is a lot of cost reduction in that sphere - maybe you could find enjoy turning an aspect around humorously or playing two aspects against each other.
R: I'm not a fan. For one, the effect seems too easily obtained, but also, the hero power ALWAYS costs (1) more. While balanced, the playing experience is crappy. I don't feel that I've done something special, and what I have obtained is tough to use. I'd go back to the drawing board and figure out how that cost increase can be a payment for something flashy and fun, rather than the shackles on your fun reward itself. That said, you're the only one following a hero power theme, so if it does work out, you'll be in pretty well!
Neoguli: I'm not crazy about it. Fundamentally, it's similar to R's card - by increasing the cost of your reward, while balanced, you're decreasing how fun the card is to play. If you could apply the cost reduction to another aspect, it might be more successful. An aspect that adds some flavor, perhaps - at the moment, I'm not sure why the card does what it does. Discover is a neat field to play with for this competition, so I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Doingtheobvious: I quite like this! You are increasing the cost of your reward, but the damage scaling with that makes the more expensive card feel better, not worse! And actually, I like the non-dual class version more. Fire synergy isn't really a Shaman thing. My only gripes with the card would be that it's a potion, which seems odd for Mage, and that you also ought to change the expansion symbol, because some sticklers care about that.
Hearthstone Story Modes Tier List
Based on my overall enjoyment, the gameplay, and how the story unfolds, here's my own list.
Best in my opinion is Monster Hunt from witchwood, mostly because I think the final battle with Hagatha is engaging, with some nice touches. Its one of those few ones I play more than once, its just that good to me.
Second best would be Rumble Run from Rastakhans. The storyline is as simple as it gets, but it works because its an underdog story, where you're fully in sync with the protagonist because you play as him, lose as him, and ultimately triumph as him. So the gameplay naturally ties along with the storyline, which I like.
Third would be Dalaran Heist. This one is purely because I like the theme, I like the focus on the villains, and I like the music. As far as the story in Rise of Shadows is concerned, its pretty great. A group of misfits attempts to steal an entire city and succeeded despite all odds, in a cartoony, totally non-serious fashion. No pretense, just fun.
Surprised to see Trial by felfire and Galakrond's awakening in anyone's list at all. I enjoyed these two the least.
- TbFF has, in my opinion, poor characters, poor development and is tainted by an incredibly shitty ending. Rikkar, from rumble run, is a blank character of unknown origin (the very definition of a nobody) but it works because the story is about him rising to the top. Arrana on the other hand is the sister of a known character, with a defined character and arc (Far as I know, she starts wanting to escape from her sister's shadow) but by the end we're left scratching out heads as to what has actually been accomplished here. It doesn't help that the story keeps piling on the bs that she becomes completely unrelatable. She's basically Rey from starwars; a character which experiences hardship only in theory but not in action. Its like a 10 yr old's self-insert fanfiction ideal which is sympathetic to its creator but not to anyone else.
Oh and the shitty ending? Illidan being beaten both in power and angst. By someone who literally became a demon hunter yesterday.
- GA suffered because its the supposed payoff to the events in RoS and SoU. And the payoff had two endings, and a contrivance in the storyline where everything (from conquering dalaran, to whatever happened in Uldum) its all to revive Galakrond, who loses in both endings, which is quite absurd because both Rafaam and the league of explorers have absolutely no leverage (no convenient artifact, etc.) that would allow them to win, so the question is simply: Why? Can't Rafaam just destroy the world with or without Galakrond?
The two endings bit is also there just for want of a better story, because I cannot for the life of me understand why can't they just have one linear story where we play as characters from both sides depending on who would ultimately win.
Book of Mercs is still a work in progress, but honestly if it ended in stormwind I might have just placed it on top over the rest. The Cariel-Tamsin storyline was not merely engaging, it was one of the few times I thought team5 manned up with some actual mature, consequential storylines for once instead of the goofy tones or childish storytelling. And then they ruined it for me by bringing back tamsin as a lich. But Im willing to put that aside if they end this whole story nicely and tie the Tamsin storyline down (which Im skeptical, but fine we'll see where they're going with this).
Worth Every Penny - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
Alright, cleared up the card text and found a new name for it. I am perfectly aware this gets harder to play as you play more cards, that's the intent. To provide a challenging mini-puzzle that can offer amazing card draw if you plan accordingly.
Worth Every Penny - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
That effect could be crazy for generating value, if your hand is full of spells, so I'm wondering if the cost-increase needs to be higher, like a 2. Not sure without being able to test it; maybe it's okay. Being Neutral means everyone has a chance to abuse it, though, so in the interest of hedging one's chances nerfing it in advance might be the right call *shrugs*
Also, I personally would not name them "(X) Roame", just because we already have an established Roame family and there's no need to add to it IMO.
Worth Every Penny - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
You don't need the first "by", Cost should be capitalized in this instance, and I think you mean for it to say "every Fire spell you cast this game". Beyond those minor errors, you should be good to go :)
The card is strong, but:
All-in-all, I like it.
Every meta. Why?
It is good to hear your wise words, ⚓. I apologize if I offended anyone. I feel sometimes when I simply convey my feelings on threads it seems like everyone jumps me down.
The meta sucks imo but if you guys are enjoying it I'm genuinely happy for you. I can admit I've had a lot of fun when by total luck I run into another burgle enthusiast and we reveal ourselves on turn 2 or 3 and madness insues. To be fair that has been fun : D
Quitting HS
You're a stronger man or woman than me. I play because I still believe like an idiot this game can pull it together. Mostly out of habit ofc. Even Arena is awful now with all these boring honorable swill cards and other boring junk.
Hopefully they will turn it around in the next rotation and you'll find a reason to come back. Enjoy the other video games until then!
Dean Ayala's Hearthstone Q&A #36 - Battlegrounds Streamer Reveals, Long-Term Plan for Tavern Brawl, Auto-squelch
Reborn triggers after deathrattles meaning the minions are reborn after Defile or similar clears so I wouldn't necessarily call it weaker than deathrattle. I was referring to that aspect of it as annoying, not that it's hard to play around. It was just part of the meta I didn't particularly enjoy, I guess.
Achievement Hunting: Alterac edition (featuring bugs from the smol indie company series & Knuckles)
yeah , i think do achievements without the cards is the fun part , usually i try hard it when i start saving gold for next exp.
I done the Wing Commander Ichman becouse Resizing Pouch looking for limited 9 mana pool is good , in a deck with poison beasts and some simple beasts , but before doing the combo i keep Serpentbloom in hand .
I done the Abominable Lieutenant discovered from a Glaciate returning it with Youthful Brewmaster while doing freeze achievement grind
Quitting HS
Hi everyone,
I am quitting HS as of today (already deleted the app) after playing the game since Goblins vs Gnomes.
Ever since Stormwind wild has not been enjoyable and this new expansion has not fixed it. I might come back to the game if they ever do address wild’s issues but it has been almost 5 months and nothing has been done.
Thanks to everyone who supported any of the decks I posted over the years.
Bye!
Hot Take Was Kenin Ezreal Over Nerfed?
That a deck like Ezreal Kennen even reached 55% with it's extreme playrate is VERY wrong.
If you watched some LoR gameplay in the lower ranks you saw how poorly the deck get's played by a good amount of players and that it lost 10% winrate should be because those "suboptimal" players no longer will win games with the deck.
Once these players switch to easier decks I see the deck's winrate recover. Will it be over 50%?
I can't say and hard decks like ez kennen tend to stay below 50% winrate because casuals don't succeed with it.
But I think this is once again an overreaction caused by players not knowing about nerfs, not being familiar with the deck and the deck obviously being weaker than before.
Still i have a strong believe that ionia will be back on the menue soon
In the End, We Were Not United in Stormwind - Will Questlines Remain at the Forefront?
That's sad to hear. I don't know whether you had a chance to revisit Duels recently, but they've been making some long overdue improvements. Still ways to go, just in a better shape than things used to be. And yes, Mercs still do very much feel like beta.
In the End, We Were Not United in Stormwind - Will Questlines Remain at the Forefront?
Late-ish reply as I've been away from "civilization" until yesterday, so much to catch up with. And I very much appreciate all the kind words!
I do like to think everyone has their own strengths (somebody give me at least a half of Flux's speed rating!). I know that I can sometimes get caught up in all the details, so it can be as much a boon as a curse in its own way. There is always so much to keep an eye on, and then everything feels important enough to warrant a mention. ;)
Worth Every Penny - Card Design Competition Discussion Thread
I hope this sticks.
Shop offer gone?
FWIW I still see them in my shop, but these bundles took a while to appear for everyone when they launched on Tuesday. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a temporary error and you'll see them again with a relog.
We didn't immediately post about them because I wasn't sure how they were being handled out. We stopped posting about tailored bundles with the previous wave of them since there's too many of them and its just too chaotic to figure out how many bundles are live. Recent client data has shown that they have no problems adding 20+ bundle licenses to the game in a single patch, most of which would never be offered to someone. So frustrating but their "random" bundles clearly work better than the old version of them since they can target us with deals that they think we'll pickup.
The Rank 1 AV bundles though do appear to be given to everyone though, it just took time for them to go out. I didn't get them in my shop until around 4 hours after they were first spotted.
Shop offer gone?
Yesterday I saw two shop offers. Alterac Valley welcome (20 money, 10 AV packs, 10 Standard, 1 AV Legy) and a similar golden bundle. I was confused there was no news on this site about this. Now the offer is gone. Did I miss it?
Card Design Conversation - Field Studies
I think you're right about new cards being 'purely optical'. Dean has discussed at several moments how each expansion needs to have a hypemaster - something that invites a greater feeling than 'ah, these cards would be neat in this deck'. New appearances help the new cards to feel different, and that difference also, like the spaces between credit card numbers, makes them more memorable to new players.
With that in mind, I'm amazed that they didn't create something new for these field cards, whether an animation, a card border, or a play visual. You can't just smush everything into the secret slot forever, Hearthstone! Given that they did the same with the home screen redesign - just smushed it all into the old box - it leaves me thinking that Team 5 is suffering for UI support.
Hot Take Was Kenin Ezreal Over Nerfed?
Keep in mind I never played Kenin Ezreal I am simple going imperically based on stats.
The deck has gone from a commanding 55% winrate to a 45% winrate. Putting Lee back as the best Ionia deck seeing it go up 1% to 52.
Honestly I don't know if it was actually worth it, like if you enjoy midrange decks absolutely they are doing better control is also doing better.
But it hasn't shaken up the meta in the way people thought, while simultaneously killing an entire archetype just because people couldn't tech properly or play the matchup.
So on the one hand you have a new champ being murdered one week into his release, just so the other decks can go up 2% on ladder like it seems like maybe the reaction was too strong here.
But on the other hand if a deck like Azir Irelia could be considered meta altering maybe Kenin was just as bad, who's to say.
What do you guys think?
Hearthstone Story Modes Tier List
Greetings, travelers.
I've been recently playing the three latest installments of Hearthstone's Solo Adventures. While playing them, I found myself enjoying the story much more than I thought, since they usually tend to be pretty back-bones. So, I thought I could make a little ranking just for fun. Yeah, it's ranking, not a tier list. Sorry for the clickbait.
As a quick disclaimer, I'll be just evaluating the storytelling, not the gameplay. Thus, Dungeon Run-likes and Dr. Boom's Puzzles are excluded, since they don't have much story going on (even if some of them have nice character moments). Also, this is obviously just my opinion. If you disagree, I encourage you to give your own opinion in a civil way or even make your own ranking.
Finally, beware, because there will be plenty of spoilers for pretty much every Solo Adventure.
So, let's begin.
#10 - Knights of the Frozen Throne: Icecrown Citadel
Let's get this out of the way. The Adventures which just try to recreate raids from World of Warcraft are all going to be at the bottom of the ranking. In terms of story, they tend to be a boss rush with a small twist in the end, if so.
Out of all of them, I find Icecrown Citadel to be the most basic. Sure, most characters here are iconic, but they're not depicted in an interesting way.
The best thing about this Adventure is the class challenge against The Lich King, but since that's a gameplay element, it doesn't count for this tier list.
#9 - Blackrock Mountain
In terms of pure storytelling, this is probably the most interesting out of all the WoW raid Adventures. I mean, it has the whole betrayal of Victor Nefarius and stuff happens not just at the end of the story.
That said, it hasn't much else going for it. Sure, the Dark Iron Dwarves have a pretty entretaining personality, but that's about it.
#8 - One Night in Karazhan
This might be a bit controversial, since I remember most people hating the party theme of this adventure back in the day, but I really enjoyed it. Hearthstone has a flavor distinct from the rest of the Warcraft universe, and I think this expansion really helped to cement this identity.
I'd highlight the Barnes wing, which was very cool and imaginative.
#7 - Curse of Naxxramas
Hearthstone's debut Adventure makes the top of the raid-inspired story modes. Yeah, it's true, the story is as basic as it gets, but there's one thing that elevates this Adventure.
Yeah, it's obviously Kel'Thuzad.
His Hearthstone personality is just so entretaining and sassy, I couldn't resist to put this on top. This is probably the first tonal departure Hearthstone had compared to the Warcraft universe, so, just like with Karazhan, you have to appreciate that.
#6 - Descent of Dragons: Galakrond's Awakening
I wouldn't be surprised if this was a fan favorite, but I honestly think there's too much going on here. As the conclusion of the experimental Year of the Dragon, this Adventure touches a lot of characters: the League of E.V.I.L., the League of Explorers, Karl and Lenny George, Kragg, Galakrond himself...
Sure, the conclusion of several arcs here is very satisfying (Reno and Karl/George come to mind), but I think I would've enjoyed it much more if this whole thing was a bit more focused.
In a way, this is like Hearthstone's Infinity War, a film which I don't personally enjoy as much as most people because of how many things it tries to focus on.
#5 - Ashes of Outlands: Trial by Felfire
In terms of pure storytelling, this is one of the strongest contenders in the whole ranking. Baduu leaving the group and later being brainwashed by the Rusted Legion was a very thrilling event. I also liked Aranna talking shit about her sister Elise, just to embrace her philosophy in the end. Sure, Illidan's final redemption was quite lame, but nobody is perfect.
Besides that, I also loved the flavor of assembling a group of Outcasts who help each other to survive (kinda like Aranna's own League of Explorers), even if the personality of none of them was particularly interesting.
So, why is this Adventure so low in the rank? Yeah, it's obviously the "talking in verse" gimmick. I guess they were trying to go for a shakesperean tragedy feel with this decision, but this whole thing is very optimistic for that. For a story which has its main characters' eyes replaced with demonic fireballs, it has a very feel-good and empathy-driven conclusion lol
In my opinion, this decision would've made way more sense for the Demon Hunter Prologue, since Illidan's story is quite tragic. Speaking of which...
#4 - Ashes of Outlands: Prologue
Even if in a pretty basic way, I think Illidan's fall from grace is pretty well told here. As I said above, this story's chain of misunderstandings has a very Greek/shakespearean tragedy flavor to them, in the sense that all issues are caused its protagonists' fatal flaws. Illidan's pride and power-hunger are obviously a pretty important part, but I like that the story also blames Malfurion's self-righteousness. All in all, pretty cool stuff.
#3 - Book of Heroes
I'm kinda surprised it took them so long to make this Adventure, since it's a pretty obvious move. Still, getting to know the background of these heroes we know from some long ago was pretty cool.
As someone whose main knowledge about the Warcraft universe comes from playing Warcraft III and reading the WoW Wiki, this story mode was pretty interesting. The stories told here had some familiarity, but I also discovered a lot of new information about Warcraft lore.
To be honest, this game mode is not without flaws. Some stories were not particularly well fit for being told in this fashion, which led to jarring time skips (ahem, Uther) or crucial character development being dispached with a short line of dialog.
Compared to something similar like the Demon Hunter Prologue, this is told in a more clumsy way, but, since this has more content, I decided to give it the upper hand.
#2 - The League of Explorers
We're the League! The Explorer's League! And we're a League of Explorers!
What's not to love here? Mysterious settings, thrilling adventures, ancient artifacts and memorable characters. All four members of the League and Rafaam are awesome and iconic. Sure, the story is a bit formulaic and mcguffin-y, but it's pretty entretaining (it's also very fitting that it's plot is structured like the first Indiana Jones movie).
This was the very first Hearthstone original story, which focused on (mostly) Hearthstone original characters. In a way, this is also the first expansion that feels like modern Hearthstone, so that alone makes it very important for the game as a whole.
But most crucially, it still holds up to this day as one of Hearthstone's best Adventures, at least in terms of story and characters.
#1 - Book of Mercenaries
I know this game mode isn't finished by now, but my god! The Stormwind battle, with Tamsin and Cariel's chapters is easily the most endearing story Hearthstone has ever told. Their relationship is so well done not just for Hearthstone, but for Warcraft in general. Cornelius' characterization as a strict father, just to end up like he does, and the way Cariel reacts to it. Awesome stuff.
I'll admit that I was pretty disapointed by the first two episodes (especially Rokara's), but the overarching story keeps ramping in a very well crafted way. Honestly, the final Alterac segment would need to flop incredibly hard for me to put this on second place.
And this was my ranking. I'd like to know your opinions or even your own personal rankings.
See you around :)
Krush From Above! - Hunter Alterac Achievement
I pulled it off first try: just play Wing Commander Ichman on a board with 5+ enemies and you're good to go.
Achievement Hunting: Alterac edition (featuring bugs from the smol indie company series & Knuckles)
Good thing is, that you can find/force many epics and legendaries in Duels buckets again, so if you´re missing some of the required cards, I´d recommend trying it. For example I´ve found Ivus, the Forest Lord in the battlecry bucket and did the achievement that way (I was lucky to get the double battlecry treasure too), or Snowball Fight! in the frost bucket, while playing freeze shaman. Sadly, you can´t find Hero cards in pools, but right now I´m trying to find out if I can discover one of the legendary weapons through the new weapon treasure loot.
Dean Ayala's Hearthstone Q&A #36 - Battlegrounds Streamer Reveals, Long-Term Plan for Tavern Brawl, Auto-squelch
I basically have the same opinion as what HuntardHuntard said below.
It is really weird that you are pushing back against a very simple Quality of Life feature request which plenty of people want and have asked for since the beginning of HS. Seems like you will not use it even if it gets introduced which is fine, but that does not mean that such a feature has no place inside the game. Your whole argument sounds somewhat self-centred actually.
Yes, squelching is already possible with 2 simple clicks, but that is also a lot of unnecessary clicks over the 40K+ games I have already played since 2014. Also, such a feature could be implemented in very little time and will not take significant "energy" away from spending on other useful features. Since you mentioned your IT experience, you should know that this is true.
Not that it matters for this discussion, but I simply do not want any interaction with my opponent during a game of HS. I do not care if that interaction is positive, neutral or negative. I just want to play the core game and preferrably without distractions like those emotes.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions which do not have to be the same as others. Just leave some room for constructive and open discussion. More importantly, do not get worked up when people do not share your opinions.
Dean Ayala's Hearthstone Q&A #36 - Battlegrounds Streamer Reveals, Long-Term Plan for Tavern Brawl, Auto-squelch
I'm not defending Genn and Baku's longer term influence, but they were exciting in the lead up to the expansion when everyone expected them to suck.
Dean Ayala's Hearthstone Q&A #36 - Battlegrounds Streamer Reveals, Long-Term Plan for Tavern Brawl, Auto-squelch
I had not forgotten it at all! The swap mechanic was fine and flavourful for worgen, and I remember Spellshifter actually being used in the meta, while the others (especially the rush ones) were great arena cards. Keep in mind it was only 5 cards in an expansion that was aiming to reduce the power level of the game (give or take Genn and Baku...), so it is hardly surprising they didn't see much play when they were designed to be weaker than things from the Year of the Mammoth.
In the end, the swap mechanics is one of many small, non-keyword set mechanics that get put in promotional material but only actually have a few cards. They are also often spread across classes so you'd never have enough in a deck to consider the mechanic significant. You can include ogres and troggs from GvG, joust in TGT, plagues in SoU, mounts in UiS etc.
Dean Ayala's Hearthstone Q&A #36 - Battlegrounds Streamer Reveals, Long-Term Plan for Tavern Brawl, Auto-squelch
But, WW has one of my favourite themes of all the HS sets. The point being it is really subjective, and if theme is the basis for Dean's comment, then he would have only been using a limited perspective too.
I'm sure the murder mystery theme would have been dropped early in the design process and long before any of the promotional stuff was in the works. Though it didn't disappear completely. the Monster Hunt (WW's Dungeon Run) was set up as a bit of an investigation as the Gilneans worked out who was making their forest all spooky. They even had the Murloc Holmes treasure. So the mystery theme bleeding into promo images is surprising.