Do we know whether Fel Damage applies only to the merc, or to the whole party? If it's the party, you might easily skip the gauntlets in favor of Fel Core in the right comp.
(Also, I can imagine situations where you might prefer to target a fighter even though a caster has less health.)
I think this is a terrible choice for a starter legendary protector. He acts like a Fighter, so he's not a great way to teach new players about the roles. He's also very slow and seems hard to use well -- again, not great for a free starter.
I don't see anything Protector-y about these abilities. Yes, healing, but that's also a caster thing.
She does not attack at all, and she doesn't taunt. Protectors are supposed to take hits. I kinda feel like her role got accidentally swapped with Guff's.
Hearthstone really needs a music box. I've thought about this exact thing for years.
Let people complete an achievement to unlock the ability to play different music in the box. It could be as simple as go and complete the ONIK adventure and you could play its theme in the box. It would take very little development time to make this a reality (compared to other features) - I could easily hack this into the game in an afternoon - and it would be an amazing thing for players.
I do think that Mercenaries is going to be good for F2P folks. I really don't see why Blizzard would go completely south of where Hearthstone is at. Yeah, at the end of the day you're going to always have an even better experience if you buy into a game, but Hearthstone's core as a F2P player still remains solid.
I'd love to be proven wrong though. If Mercenaries is as bad as people seem to think its going to be from a monetization point of view, I'll have no issues not playing it and even discussing how poor of a job they did. We'll ultimately have to wait and see, and I may be foolish for trusting Blizzard knows what they're doing with Mercenaries, but I don't have a reason to believe it'll be drastically different from Hearthstone.
There's only so much I am willing to say right now, but as far as I'm aware, there is no early access period that we should expect. Might talk more about it in the coming days, but I'm not ready yet.
Yeah, I don't understand why Blizzard didn't publish pricing information on normal packs alongside the pre-orders. They really dropped the ball on the announcement for this.
I do not understand why they are so bad at doing announcements. You would think one could learn from past mistakes. I really hope Mercenaries opened their eyes.
I pretty clearly stated I think that Blizzard still needs to release more information before you can realistically be expected to pre-order. I also believe they should let these bundles exist for a week or two after its release. It is unbelievably stupid to put up unrefundable pre-orders for content you can't play.
Regardless, I do still stand by my statement that the bundles are good value if you compare them to what is available in the shop.
I might use her as a bench-warmer in a summoning comp, but that's about it.
I do love the Betrayal effect, but that's pretty useless against a solo boss (if there is such a thing). In any case, it's always useless when you're down to the last enemy.
Malfurion Stormrage
Cenarion Surge should read: Your characters' (s-apostrophe) if they mean characters plural, which I'm sure they do.
It's really sad that no one thinks punctuation matters anymore.
Lord Jaraxxus
Do we know whether Fel Damage applies only to the merc, or to the whole party? If it's the party, you might easily skip the gauntlets in favor of Fel Core in the right comp.
(Also, I can imagine situations where you might prefer to target a fighter even though a caster has less health.)
Kurtrus Ashfallen
Demon Slayer really sucks, but the other two abilities are really good. Too bad both the good ones have the cooldown.
However, I think Demons will be a hugely powerful and popular tribe, so Kurtus may actually turn out to have some job security.
King Mukla
So Mukla's Big Brother summons the minion when you first put Mukla on the field?
That seems a bit weak as equipment goes, even after it's upgraded. Will it even survive to get buffed by Primal Power?
Speaking of Primal Power, I really dislike abilities that are completely shut down when you are missing a requirement.
Gruul
Absolutely not a fan of the Dragon hate, which sucks because I wanted to like Gruul.
I guess summoning an Orc could be kind of OK in an Orc party, but you'd probably just want to use an actual Orc merc in the first place.
Grommash Hellscream
I think this is a terrible choice for a starter legendary protector. He acts like a Fighter, so he's not a great way to teach new players about the roles. He's also very slow and seems hard to use well -- again, not great for a free starter.
Garrosh Hellscream
I can't wait to see noobs using Mak'Gora against an enemy caster.
Cornelius Roame
I love the Fighter-slayer aspect.
I also think people will be surprised at how effective Shield of Dawn turns out to be.
Cariel Roame
Her abilities aren't fancy, but her equipment looks extremely powerful.
I can see her rounding out the bench in almost any comp, but the attack buff could be sought-after for guys like Samuro, for example.
Alexstrasza
I don't see anything Protector-y about these abilities. Yes, healing, but that's also a caster thing.
She does not attack at all, and she doesn't taunt. Protectors are supposed to take hits. I kinda feel like her role got accidentally swapped with Guff's.
Lich King
Fun Fact: In the pre-order image on the in-client store, The Lich King has the Human tribal tag.
Also, why do so many of these cards say "cast" where they should say "casts"? Did all the editors get laid off?
Gala Medivh is Coming to Party in Hearthstone Battlegrounds as a Bartender Replacement Skin
Hearthstone really needs a music box. I've thought about this exact thing for years.
Let people complete an achievement to unlock the ability to play different music in the box. It could be as simple as go and complete the ONIK adventure and you could play its theme in the box. It would take very little development time to make this a reality (compared to other features) - I could easily hack this into the game in an afternoon - and it would be an amazing thing for players.
Valeera Sanguinar
You can easily see why she's legendary.
10 damage AOE plus party-wide speed buff? L O L -- I can see why she wears red.
How Much Do Hearthstone's Mercenaries Packs Cost? Are the Pre-Orders Worth the Price? Pricing Details Datamined
I do think that Mercenaries is going to be good for F2P folks. I really don't see why Blizzard would go completely south of where Hearthstone is at. Yeah, at the end of the day you're going to always have an even better experience if you buy into a game, but Hearthstone's core as a F2P player still remains solid.
I'd love to be proven wrong though. If Mercenaries is as bad as people seem to think its going to be from a monetization point of view, I'll have no issues not playing it and even discussing how poor of a job they did. We'll ultimately have to wait and see, and I may be foolish for trusting Blizzard knows what they're doing with Mercenaries, but I don't have a reason to believe it'll be drastically different from Hearthstone.
How Much Do Hearthstone's Mercenaries Packs Cost? Are the Pre-Orders Worth the Price? Pricing Details Datamined
There's only so much I am willing to say right now, but as far as I'm aware, there is no early access period that we should expect. Might talk more about it in the coming days, but I'm not ready yet.
Warmaster Voone
So many different directions to go with this guy, and they all seem fun!
Makes me wish there were more Dragon mercs.
How Much Do Hearthstone's Mercenaries Packs Cost? Are the Pre-Orders Worth the Price? Pricing Details Datamined
Yeah, I don't understand why Blizzard didn't publish pricing information on normal packs alongside the pre-orders. They really dropped the ball on the announcement for this.
I do not understand why they are so bad at doing announcements. You would think one could learn from past mistakes. I really hope Mercenaries opened their eyes.
Tyrande
Amazing support for several casters, including Bru'kan once you get Band of the Wilds. I believe that may be the comp to beat.
How Much Do Hearthstone's Mercenaries Packs Cost? Are the Pre-Orders Worth the Price? Pricing Details Datamined
I pretty clearly stated I think that Blizzard still needs to release more information before you can realistically be expected to pre-order. I also believe they should let these bundles exist for a week or two after its release. It is unbelievably stupid to put up unrefundable pre-orders for content you can't play.
Regardless, I do still stand by my statement that the bundles are good value if you compare them to what is available in the shop.
Tirion Fordring
Totally busted. If nerfs ever happen, this guy's at the top of the list.
Tavish Stormpike
A good example of a merc that really blows until you get his equipment. Then he's pretty good in PvE and amazing in PvP.
I doubt I'll be using him much, but I can see him being a favorite for a lot of people.
Sylvanas Windrunner
I might use her as a bench-warmer in a summoning comp, but that's about it.
I do love the Betrayal effect, but that's pretty useless against a solo boss (if there is such a thing). In any case, it's always useless when you're down to the last enemy.
Scabbs Cutterbutter
I really love the way Wicked Stab works. it opens up a ton of possibilities with various support units.
Stealth could be amazing with a good healer in the party.
Saurfang
There are enough Orcs to field an all-Orc party of six, and I think that exact team will be really good.
Individually, it seems like Orcs will not get along great with non-Orcs, but honestly what did you expect?
Rokara
When you have both Garrosh and Rokara benefiting from Orc synergy, things are going to get out of hand fast.