I don't think this is the major overhaul that has been hinted at in previous Q&As. If this is, that is a huge let down. This seems like the smartest thing to do though to push these two modes hard since they will be the main face of the game outside of constructed play.
There is also mobile considerations to make when they are overhauling stuff, so take into into account for why they can't just add tons of buttons everywhere.
Unfortunately the puzzle seems to be even more confusing than the last ones. No directions or hints whatsoever on what you're actually supposed to do.
My only guess is that you have to make it so all the weird portal thingies have matching health on both sides. Killing a portal resets the puzzle, using the hero power swaps the opposing board with your own previous board state. Once you attack you essentially transfer the opposing board on to your side. Everything else doesn't make sense.
Also, fair warning. If you click on the end turn button the game will crash. If you try to start it back up again it will attempt to reconnect and then crash again. It repeats this until it decides it couldn't find your previous match. Don't click the end turn button.
I think they are realizing they simply never should have released Stealer. It has the sort of effect that is either way too strong or way too weak (because the setup is too expensive). It's already banned from one play mode, and is being nerfed _hard_ in Standard. Way to go, guys.
RE: Flesh giant. This should have been the change last patch, so whatever. Slightly slows it down, but it's still going to be a good card.
Hopefully these help.
For all you Wild players, though.... I'm pressing F hard to pay my respects.
The game is not unbalanced. It's just balanced in a way that you don't like. And balance aside, it's hard to make an argument that the overall quality is bad.
If you don't like the product, stop buying it. But making a stink about the new monetization options is silly when the game is actually cheaper to play than it ever was before. It's still expensive, granted, but not because they added cosmetics. In fact, the more money they make from cosmetics, the more wiggle room they have to cut us breaks on cards.
Clunky and limiting as the Hearthstone UI is, building a new game from scratch would be more expensive in terms of time and money, and a lot riskier from every angle. Remember how long Mercs has already been delayed? Add a couple more years onto that for a standalone version.
Warlock just got a little slap in the hand. D6 Warlock is a lot slower now but its play pattern remains the same. If it doesn't die from this then the nerfs didn't really accomplish anything when it comes to gameplay feel. The giant nerf is just a small touch as well. Meanwhile, Mages continue to draw through their whole deck and burn you down, Shamans get to double their spells pretty quickly and games still can't go past turn 8. I'm talking about standard here.
Mage did suffer from the nerf to Incanter's Flow but that's not the only issue with that deck. Ignite providing a source of infinite damage and immunity to fatigue is bad enough already but their card draw is way too efficient. I was playing Quest Hunter which is a deck that is highly favored into Quest Mage. Yet, they can race very well because of their extremely cheap and efficient draws. A well timed Imprisoned Phoenix or Guild Trader can help them set up lethal without much problem and they don't even need to complete the quest to kill you. I won more than i lost against them but the games are always close when the mages shift their gears toward a more direct burn plan. And they still have Sanctum Chandler in case their precious spell only deck gets butchered with another nerf.
Shaman controls the board insanely efficiently early in the game because of Perpetual Flame and they aren't punished by the overload because of the first quest reward. Canal Slogger also ensures their survivability into the mid game. Then they complete the quest, play the reward and get their double spells which makes Charged Call and burn spells devastating. And Instructor Fireheart can end the game on her own at that point as well. Even if Warlock gets nerfed more this will not bring slower strategies back into viability. This whole expansion is a complete broken mess.
I can't be bothered to read this instruction manual for a mode that won't come out 'til mid October, but wow, the art is gorgeous! Why can't regular Hearthstone cards have this much character? I love it.
I definitely can't see myself paying more than a few bucks for a PvE mode, though. Usually I have to hold myself back from pre-purchasing. Not this time. Pay how many dollars to play on my own? Nope!
It's also worrisome that they said so little about the enemies you'll be facing. Surely the challenges faced are just as important as the heroes used - but we only see bounty contracts, the fighting pit, and a few bosses? Hrm.
News flash, buddy: Blizzard does not actually want people playing these games for free.
There's no "keeping up with the Joneses" in PvE, so I don't know where you're getting this "2-3 times a year" figure. You just play with what you earn in-game, forever, no problem. It's no one's fault but your own if you compare your free-player experience with a paying player's.
Furthermore, the ability to spend gold on Mercenaries is VERY good for me. After buying the Stormwind pre-order bundles and using my class packs, Standard packs, and most of my dust, I hardly spent any of the gold I'd saved up for that expansion. As the gold continues to accumulate, I was starting to wonder what I'd ever do with it all.
They had a whole imaginary table of space to use - why not use it? Put an dagger beside the book and have players unwrap something on the hilt to start Mercenaries. Crack open a compass to start Adventures. Click on an event flyer to open Battlegrounds.
Anyway, my point is that Hearthstone is a game about whimsy. In terms of graphic design, it says a lot with little words. This overhaul, though, displays of that magic. It feels like they did the bare minimum. This is the face of your game - why'd you settle for the lowest common denominator?
Probably one of the last tributes. Because seems like they want to remove reference to real people in games going forward (at least judging by Overwatch news)
*shrugs* I'm still excited. The economics of the game can be figured out, probably via enough people bitching about it. That doesn't mean much if the core game is terrible, and I think it looks fun. Say what you want about the gacha mechanics and monetization, but it ultimately still is Slay the Spire maps + Pokemon-esque collecting and leveling. That's what I wanted out of it. I'm also happy to see that the PvP is not a mandatory part of the game: I could endlessly grind PvE maps if I wanted to do that, playing PvP only for the occasional daily win-rewards or whatever.
It was a whirlwind of information thrown at us today, but overall I am interested in the product and ready to throw down money if I end up enjoying it. IIRC Battlegrounds had a similar "what the fuck is this shit" reaction to it from the general populace, and look how that turned out.
"Purchase a 6-month WoW Subscription between now and October 19, or have a current subscription set to renew at a later date" I guess, you will get it too, just dont cancel the sub now. When you get it, then u can cancel.
First step found solved! To unlock the first puzzle play the following cards in practice mode: -Play Oracle of Elune -Play Moonfire on Oracle of Elune Thanks to Zestyclose_Welcome62 on reddit for finding this one! Thanks to Windjammer on Discord for solving the puzzle!
First, I think there is not an inherent problem with the Quest's design itself. It's sort of a new Jade Druid, and when balanced properly, it can keep the anti-control niche. The problem is that it's not balanced right now, but also because I think people need more theorycrafters like Dane who can showcase creative counters in high Legend.
Like I feel like The Darkness can be legit good in this meta. While a 4 Mana play, because of how often Warlock draws, you can quite reliably dig for the Candles to summon a 20/20 minion that can easily take 3 Giants by itself or smack your opponent's face, and the Four Giants Questline variant runs no hard removal; too bad Combo ones does, but cards like Charge exist.
Dane has already shown the power of Miracle Priest against Warlock, and imo Mill Rogue has potential to do the same. They have cards like Evasion and Vanish, and can run either Vanessa VanCleef or Plagiarize to steal Blightborn Tamsin.
Bulwark of Azzinoth can also tank both Giant hits and Tamsin's Fatigue damage, provided you can create a win condition.
But otherwise the deck is meta warping. Either nerf Tamsin herself to 7 Mana, nerf some of the support cards or exclude Fatigue from triggering Tamsin, but the last option is probably something Blizz wants to avoid I assume. I'd bet on nerfing cards like Crystallizer, but I can't deny how cheap their cards can also become, though Azalina Soulthief/Mindrender Illucia let you get the taste of their cheap weed.
Hearthstone's Warlock Nerf Announced - Stealer of Souls & Flesh Giant Both Receiving Cost Increases
I gotta agree with the general consensus that these nerfs aren't enough, but personally i'm glad Flesh Giant can be played in Even Warlock again.
Hearthstone's Main Menu Gets an Overhaul - Play is Now Hearthstone, Battlegrounds Out of Beta, Mercenaries Joins the Fun
I don't think this is the major overhaul that has been hinted at in previous Q&As. If this is, that is a huge let down. This seems like the smartest thing to do though to push these two modes hard since they will be the main face of the game outside of constructed play.
There is also mobile considerations to make when they are overhauling stuff, so take into into account for why they can't just add tons of buttons everywhere.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
You have to Moonfire the Priestess I think
Diablo, the Lord of Terror Enters Hearthstone in its New Mercenaries Game Mode
Sylvanas and the Lich King are the other pre-order bundles.
Though, all these mercenaries can also be earned in-game, so don't feel the need to pre-order to get them!
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
Unfortunately the puzzle seems to be even more confusing than the last ones. No directions or hints whatsoever on what you're actually supposed to do.
My only guess is that you have to make it so all the weird portal thingies have matching health on both sides. Killing a portal resets the puzzle, using the hero power swaps the opposing board with your own previous board state. Once you attack you essentially transfer the opposing board on to your side. Everything else doesn't make sense.
Also, fair warning. If you click on the end turn button the game will crash. If you try to start it back up again it will attempt to reconnect and then crash again. It repeats this until it decides it couldn't find your previous match. Don't click the end turn button.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
There is no need to be a dick
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
yep on the puzzle now
Hearthstone's Warlock Nerf Announced - Stealer of Souls & Flesh Giant Both Receiving Cost Increases
I think they are realizing they simply never should have released Stealer. It has the sort of effect that is either way too strong or way too weak (because the setup is too expensive). It's already banned from one play mode, and is being nerfed _hard_ in Standard. Way to go, guys.
RE: Flesh giant. This should have been the change last patch, so whatever. Slightly slows it down, but it's still going to be a good card.
Hopefully these help.
For all you Wild players, though.... I'm pressing F hard to pay my respects.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
Pretty sure you have to download the latest update first which will be available later for mobile as usual.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
Look, if you want to continue licking the master's boot, go right ahead.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
The game is not unbalanced. It's just balanced in a way that you don't like. And balance aside, it's hard to make an argument that the overall quality is bad.
If you don't like the product, stop buying it. But making a stink about the new monetization options is silly when the game is actually cheaper to play than it ever was before. It's still expensive, granted, but not because they added cosmetics. In fact, the more money they make from cosmetics, the more wiggle room they have to cut us breaks on cards.
Hearthstone's Main Menu Gets an Overhaul - Play is Now Hearthstone, Battlegrounds Out of Beta, Mercenaries Joins the Fun
"Ah, welcome to Hearthstone! Would you like to play Hearthstone, or other Hearthstone?"
Hearthstone's Main Menu Gets an Overhaul - Play is Now Hearthstone, Battlegrounds Out of Beta, Mercenaries Joins the Fun
Clunky and limiting as the Hearthstone UI is, building a new game from scratch would be more expensive in terms of time and money, and a lot riskier from every angle. Remember how long Mercs has already been delayed? Add a couple more years onto that for a standalone version.
Hearthstone's Warlock Nerf Announced - Stealer of Souls & Flesh Giant Both Receiving Cost Increases
Warlock just got a little slap in the hand. D6 Warlock is a lot slower now but its play pattern remains the same. If it doesn't die from this then the nerfs didn't really accomplish anything when it comes to gameplay feel. The giant nerf is just a small touch as well. Meanwhile, Mages continue to draw through their whole deck and burn you down, Shamans get to double their spells pretty quickly and games still can't go past turn 8. I'm talking about standard here.
Mage did suffer from the nerf to Incanter's Flow but that's not the only issue with that deck. Ignite providing a source of infinite damage and immunity to fatigue is bad enough already but their card draw is way too efficient. I was playing Quest Hunter which is a deck that is highly favored into Quest Mage. Yet, they can race very well because of their extremely cheap and efficient draws. A well timed Imprisoned Phoenix or Guild Trader can help them set up lethal without much problem and they don't even need to complete the quest to kill you. I won more than i lost against them but the games are always close when the mages shift their gears toward a more direct burn plan. And they still have Sanctum Chandler in case their precious spell only deck gets butchered with another nerf.
Shaman controls the board insanely efficiently early in the game because of Perpetual Flame and they aren't punished by the overload because of the first quest reward. Canal Slogger also ensures their survivability into the mid game. Then they complete the quest, play the reward and get their double spells which makes Charged Call and burn spells devastating. And Instructor Fireheart can end the game on her own at that point as well. Even if Warlock gets nerfed more this will not bring slower strategies back into viability. This whole expansion is a complete broken mess.
Hearthstone's Mercenaries Debut Stream - Everything New We've Learned About the Mode Releasing in October
I can't be bothered to read this instruction manual for a mode that won't come out 'til mid October, but wow, the art is gorgeous! Why can't regular Hearthstone cards have this much character? I love it.
I definitely can't see myself paying more than a few bucks for a PvE mode, though. Usually I have to hold myself back from pre-purchasing. Not this time. Pay how many dollars to play on my own? Nope!
It's also worrisome that they said so little about the enemies you'll be facing. Surely the challenges faced are just as important as the heroes used - but we only see bounty contracts, the fighting pit, and a few bosses? Hrm.
Hearthstone's Mercenaries Debut Stream - Everything New We've Learned About the Mode Releasing in October
News flash, buddy: Blizzard does not actually want people playing these games for free.
There's no "keeping up with the Joneses" in PvE, so I don't know where you're getting this "2-3 times a year" figure. You just play with what you earn in-game, forever, no problem. It's no one's fault but your own if you compare your free-player experience with a paying player's.
Furthermore, the ability to spend gold on Mercenaries is VERY good for me. After buying the Stormwind pre-order bundles and using my class packs, Standard packs, and most of my dust, I hardly spent any of the gold I'd saved up for that expansion. As the gold continues to accumulate, I was starting to wonder what I'd ever do with it all.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
It worked for me. Went into match vs Innkeeper, used Moonfire on my own Oracle of Elune and I am in a puzzle that I can't solve
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
it didnt work?
Hearthstone's Main Menu Gets an Overhaul - Play is Now Hearthstone, Battlegrounds Out of Beta, Mercenaries Joins the Fun
They had a whole imaginary table of space to use - why not use it? Put an dagger beside the book and have players unwrap something on the hilt to start Mercenaries. Crack open a compass to start Adventures. Click on an event flyer to open Battlegrounds.
Anyway, my point is that Hearthstone is a game about whimsy. In terms of graphic design, it says a lot with little words. This overhaul, though, displays of that magic. It feels like they did the bare minimum. This is the face of your game - why'd you settle for the lowest common denominator?
Hearthstone's Newest Battlegrounds Hero, Master Nguyen, is a Tribute to the Late Dan Nguyen of the Hearthstone Team
Probably one of the last tributes. Because seems like they want to remove reference to real people in games going forward (at least judging by Overwatch news)
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
What's so wrong about publishing a bunch of bundles? No one forces you to buy them, and more options are always better than less.
Mercenaries: My First Impressions
*shrugs* I'm still excited. The economics of the game can be figured out, probably via enough people bitching about it. That doesn't mean much if the core game is terrible, and I think it looks fun. Say what you want about the gacha mechanics and monetization, but it ultimately still is Slay the Spire maps + Pokemon-esque collecting and leveling. That's what I wanted out of it. I'm also happy to see that the PvP is not a mandatory part of the game: I could endlessly grind PvE maps if I wanted to do that, playing PvP only for the occasional daily win-rewards or whatever.
It was a whirlwind of information thrown at us today, but overall I am interested in the product and ready to throw down money if I end up enjoying it. IIRC Battlegrounds had a similar "what the fuck is this shit" reaction to it from the general populace, and look how that turned out.
Hearthstone's Sarge Enters World of Warcraft as a Rideable Mount - Cross Game Mercenaries Promotion + WoW Subscription Perks Coming
"Purchase a 6-month WoW Subscription between now and October 19, or have a current subscription set to renew at a later date"
I guess, you will get it too, just dont cancel the sub now. When you get it, then u can cancel.
A New Hearthstone Puzzle Card Back "Gift of Elune" Has Been Added - Solve the Mysteries of Stormwind
EDIT: The first mystery has been discovered solved. Click spoiler if you'd like a link to the solution.
Druid: Oracle of Elune + Moonfire
First step found solved! To unlock the first puzzle play the following cards in practice mode: -Play Oracle of Elune -Play Moonfire on Oracle of Elune Thanks to Zestyclose_Welcome62 on reddit for finding this one! Thanks to Windjammer on Discord for solving the puzzle!
Hearthstone's Warlock Nerf Announced - Stealer of Souls & Flesh Giant Both Receiving Cost Increases
Umm... my two cents.
First, I think there is not an inherent problem with the Quest's design itself. It's sort of a new Jade Druid, and when balanced properly, it can keep the anti-control niche. The problem is that it's not balanced right now, but also because I think people need more theorycrafters like Dane who can showcase creative counters in high Legend.
Like I feel like The Darkness can be legit good in this meta. While a 4 Mana play, because of how often Warlock draws, you can quite reliably dig for the Candles to summon a 20/20 minion that can easily take 3 Giants by itself or smack your opponent's face, and the Four Giants Questline variant runs no hard removal; too bad Combo ones does, but cards like Charge exist.
Dane has already shown the power of Miracle Priest against Warlock, and imo Mill Rogue has potential to do the same. They have cards like Evasion and Vanish, and can run either Vanessa VanCleef or Plagiarize to steal Blightborn Tamsin.
Bulwark of Azzinoth can also tank both Giant hits and Tamsin's Fatigue damage, provided you can create a win condition.
But otherwise the deck is meta warping. Either nerf Tamsin herself to 7 Mana, nerf some of the support cards or exclude Fatigue from triggering Tamsin, but the last option is probably something Blizz wants to avoid I assume. I'd bet on nerfing cards like Crystallizer, but I can't deny how cheap their cards can also become, though Azalina Soulthief/Mindrender Illucia let you get the taste of their cheap weed.