It sounds more like you are addicted to use everything possible to achieve the best possible result and in this case, yeah you are right it's easier, but I see this from a different perspective, because now with the new ranked system Hearthstone can be a game what it is advertised: A fun and fast game with strategy elements. Casual players now have a better chance to get better rewards, better progress, but they still won't be legend, because you need still some grind for it, even it is faster than the old one.
Call it addiction, if you wish, I just see it as something logical. The multiplier feature is part of the game and just like the animations we can't disable it. So, since reaching certain milestones could mean getting extra packs, would you not want to climb higher on the ladder and improve your collection?
They can get to Legend eventually, if they wish. They just have to invest some time and, most importantly, decide to do that. If those casuals are new players or playing from a new account, they can get one of the good competitive decks, which the devs offer, and use those to rank up with relative ease. I can honestly see some people "casually" ranking up each month, because they would probably want to get some nice rewards, which get better and better with each milestone (especially on platinum 10 and beyond, when you start to get epic cards as first-time rewards). Like I've said, it's up to them to do that. The game offers a pretty friendly ladder experience and if they wish, they can aim to Legend for the classic legendary and the card back once they reach rank 5 Diamond.
If a player is a true casual, like a meme-level casual, then ye, they probably wouldn't be interested in reaching Legend. They just have to ask themselves at what rank they would be most comfortable.
Basic: Polymorph: Nice removal, reliable and helpfull against a number of decks. (Mainly Ress priest).
Common: Hallucination: Oh i miss this card in standard... We kinda got [Hearthstone Card (Pilver) Not Found] and Dragon's Hoard to replace it, but i still miss it in stanard. At least it's still good in wild thief rogue.
Rare: Spirit of the Shark: Was only played a bit in ROS battlecry Lacky Rogue, but it's still my favorite card from RA. Also in wild it's rogues "Budget" version of Brann Bronzebeard.
Epic!: Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron: Powerfull card, worth the 10 mana, and ALWAYS Lethal. (You never know for who it's going to be lethal). Also i find it funny how this was an UPGRADE to Yogg-Saron, Hope's End for quite a bit. Thank goodness they unnerfed yogg. (Gnomeferatu get's close second tho)
WOAH! LEGENDARY: The Amazing Reno, Zephrys the Great, Face Collector, Bazaar Burglary AND EVEN Yogg-Saron, Hope's End... i'm sorry. But i gotta stick to the one... The one... THE ONLY... Tess Greymane! Tess was the card that managed to hook me onto the thief/burgle rogue archetype and everything you do in that deck is just prepping for this one card. And when you unleash her (And put like 10 copies in your deck with Togwaggle's Scheme) It just gives such an.. indiscribable feeling. It just feels sooo good. Even better than yogg! (Mainly because you have a lot more control over what get's played)
I wish they would make the wild cache separate from the standard one. Instead of rewarding classic packs, reward random wild packs to help encourage more people to play wild.
But, maybe I'm just being greedy.
Why do you think that's greedy? For me it would perfectly fine, if the rewards are separated, because you also have to do the extra climb in wild, so why not encourage people for doing both climbs in wild and standard? I don't see how this is greedy...
I wish they would make the wild cache separate from the standard one. Instead of rewarding classic packs, reward random wild packs to help encourage more people to play wild.
That's why I think, that it it's pointless not to benefit from your current multiplier and the "freedom" the game offers is just us punishing ourselves. The game holds our hands, while we are climbing, so I don't think it's logical to avoid the obvious support.
It sounds more like you are addicted to use everything possible to achieve the best possible result and in this case, yeah you are right it's easier, but I see this from a different perspective, because now with the new ranked system Hearthstone can be a game what it is advertised: A fun and fast game with strategy elements. Casual players now have a better chance to get better rewards, better progress, but they still won't be legend, because you need still some grind for it, even it is faster than the old one.
I disagree, the only minions which you really wouldn't want to transform are Akama and [Hearthstone Card (Shadowhewler Hanar) Not Found]. Even minions like Edwin VanCleef or [Hearthstone Card (Escaped Mansaber) Not Found] who have strong battlecries or on-board abilities still aren't always as good as a random minion costing 3 more.
I hear you on feeling that losses don't matter when you have a multiplier. In a lot of ways, I think this is a feature (e.g. you can play non-optimized meta decks or tier 2, 3, and 4 decks and still make progress), but it also makes things easier. But the question I have is, what sense of accomplishment did you get out of getting back to rank 5 in the old system? It sounds like you were pretty worn out in October by the grind of it, and I can sympathize a lot with that sense of ladder anxiety when you're close to a goal. The first few times I reached a new ranked floor it felt like an accomplishment, but for me getting back to the Rank 5 - Legend range every season has felt like a chore for a long time - not really an accomplishment so much as an obligation, like I was punching below my weight if let my rank slip.
You ask if I'd call this new system a competitive ladder. I absolutely would, but I think it's competitive in a way that isn't as clear as the old system. The old system was designed to be bottom heavy, and to make it much harder to get to the highest ranks. In that sense, it was a competitive ladder - most players were low on the ladder, some were in the middle, fewer still were in the highest ranks. It looked the way a competitive ladder should look, but as we know, there was a lot of grinding out ranks that didn't really reflect skill growth or competitive ability.
In the new system, there may be nothing stopping you from getting back up to Legend every season with a tier 2 or 3 deck, but it's not really an accomplishment either, and you're not really competing. This new system lets you "hang out" at a rank if you're satisfied with just getting there and stopping. You still have to log in and work your way back there (of course, because Blizzard needs to incentive you to keep playing), but it's no longer hard to just post up at a rank and be done. And that's fine - if you want to bask in your success and just enjoy racking up bonus packs and card backs, go ahead. But if you want to compete, then each season you need to push on to the next rank floor or beyond. And if/when you reach legend, you need to push to increase your legend rank.
At the end of the day, your competitive ranking for the Hearthstone ladder isn't your league/rank pair, it's your MMR. The leagues and ranks are a shiny veneer to make ranking up feel good and to keep you engaged while you're competing for higher MMR. But the MMR is the heart of the competitive game.
1) You want to know what sense of accomplishment I got from reaching rank 5 in the old system? Well, I wouldn't describe it as a huge accomplishment as it was for some players in the vanilla ranking system (i.e. before the introduction of the milestones), it was just a "shiny veneer" that offered me a golden epic. You rightfully called the grind from rank 10-5 a chore and I do too, in a way, but it felt like a true ladder, that also reflected my preferences for competition. In those ranks I faced a lot of high-tier decks, but there was some variety to it unlike from rank 5-Legend. The latter grind was tiresome, as people were too frightened to play anything but tier 1-2 decks, and since I don't consider myself to be a hardcore player, I had no interest climbing higher past rank 5 (+ the rewards in the old system were pretty pathetic). Reaching it may not have been as challenging as it was before the MSoG March patch, but it was still interesting and it wasn't handed on a silver plate.
Show Spoiler
Btw I wasn't worn out from the rank 10-5 grind. I just found WoW Wotlk to be more interesting to play + I lost motivation to play constructive hs after I fell from rank 1 *****. xD
2) I see where you are going at. Yes, the new system gives us more freedom regarding where we want to "hang out" and that could be considered a good thing, but then again, if our multiplier helps us skip ranks, why would someone decide not to benefit from it? Let's say I reach Legend this month. If next month I just climb to rank 5, I will lose the benefit from the 2-point multiplier between rank 5-Legend and won't get an 11-point one in the next season. I will have a harder time reaching Legend again and I won't get the extra pack with ease, so I would only screw myself, if I do that. That's why I think, that it's pointless not to benefit from your current multiplier and the "freedom" the game offers is just us punishing ourselves. The game holds our hands, while we are climbing, so I don't think it's logical to avoid the obvious support.
That said, l don't like how the new ranking system is suited more for casuals. Reading my first paragraph and then your text, I realize that we both have different preferences for the ladder. For me, with the presence of a high multiplier the "shiny veneers" lose their previous value. They mean nothing anymore, reaching them more than once doesn't feel challenging, they turn into an inconvinient obsticle we have to overcome every single season. So the ranking system is still a chore, but for me it's not even interesting, because I can bring a weak deck and won't get punished for my decision. I guess I value the grind in the old ranking system more than I thought.
Btw I warmly agree with you, that the MMR is now the true reflection of our skill/competitiveness and not the ranks as that used to be the case in the past. But let's not forget, that the game doesn't reward us for our MMR, rather for the "shiny veneer" we are currently sitting on. If a person wants to enter tournaments, then, ye, they will continue playing on the ladder and try reaching top XXX of all players. Personally I was never interested in that, reaching Legend was the only finishing line. And seeing how the path to the goal becomes more accessible for all of us, reaching it won't be an achievement anymore. That's why I thought it was a good idea to see some tweaks to the multiplier feature.
Basic - Tracking. This card is powerful, fun, and a very handy tool for hunters.
Common - This is a tough decision to make. But I think my favorite is Kobold Librarian because every warlock deck I have ever built since this card came out has included him.
Rare- Either Evolve or Devolve. I like Evolve because of how fun it is to play, but I also like Devolve because of how efficiently is can destroy your opponents synergy.
Epic - Doomsayer, a handy neutral board clear that requires some timing to get just right.
Legendary - This is tough. There are the really powerful, build around cards like Shudderwock and Bloodreaver Gul'dan. There are those iconic characters like Ragnaros the Firelord or Deathwing. And there are also other cards which just tickle my fancy like Deathstalker Rexxar, [Hearthstone Card (Zola Gorgon) Not Found], or Lorewalker Cho. I really can't decide on a favorite Legendary without remembering another Legendary which I like just as much.
Well, the Initiate set is supposed to supplement Classic, right? So by that rule, Basic+Classic cards are usually in the rotation by default, so it shouldnt be too much of a problem.
I imagine Outlands and Initiate sets will be a part of Arena for at least these next two cycles. Once the new expansion in August is out then we'll probably still see Initiate and the new set. Hell, any and all new sets this year might have to stay in the Arena pool just to give Demon Hunter more class cards to draft from.
You still get the same stuff on both ladders and they dont stack. So first time Rank 5 (any metal) would give you that reward and count as completed for both ladders. First time and also End of season
I was thinking of playing it last night after posting this comment, but then looking over the list I was like, "No. I'm too tired and this needs some revisions!" Maybe I'll look at it again after the new cards come out. Perhaps the addition of some Librams could make it better as well.
The new ladder system
Call it addiction, if you wish, I just see it as something logical. The multiplier feature is part of the game and just like the animations we can't disable it. So, since reaching certain milestones could mean getting extra packs, would you not want to climb higher on the ladder and improve your collection?
They can get to Legend eventually, if they wish. They just have to invest some time and, most importantly, decide to do that. If those casuals are new players or playing from a new account, they can get one of the good competitive decks, which the devs offer, and use those to rank up with relative ease. I can honestly see some people "casually" ranking up each month, because they would probably want to get some nice rewards, which get better and better with each milestone (especially on platinum 10 and beyond, when you start to get epic cards as first-time rewards). Like I've said, it's up to them to do that. The game offers a pretty friendly ladder experience and if they wish, they can aim to Legend for the classic legendary and the card back once they reach rank 5 Diamond.
If a player is a true casual, like a meme-level casual, then ye, they probably wouldn't be interested in reaching Legend. They just have to ask themselves at what rank they would be most comfortable.
Rotating Hearthstone Cards That Didn't Get a Chance to Shine - Decklists To Try Before Rotation
Reflex. LOL!
Favorite Cards by Rarity
Basic: Polymorph: Nice removal, reliable and helpfull against a number of decks. (Mainly Ress priest).
Common: Hallucination: Oh i miss this card in standard... We kinda got [Hearthstone Card (Pilver) Not Found] and Dragon's Hoard to replace it, but i still miss it in stanard. At least it's still good in wild thief rogue.
Rare: Spirit of the Shark: Was only played a bit in ROS battlecry Lacky Rogue, but it's still my favorite card from RA. Also in wild it's rogues "Budget" version of Brann Bronzebeard.
Epic!: Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron: Powerfull card, worth the 10 mana, and ALWAYS Lethal. (You never know for who it's going to be lethal). Also i find it funny how this was an UPGRADE to Yogg-Saron, Hope's End for quite a bit. Thank goodness they unnerfed yogg. (Gnomeferatu get's close second tho)
WOAH! LEGENDARY: The Amazing Reno, Zephrys the Great, Face Collector, Bazaar Burglary AND EVEN Yogg-Saron, Hope's End... i'm sorry. But i gotta stick to the one... The one... THE ONLY... Tess Greymane! Tess was the card that managed to hook me onto the thief/burgle rogue archetype and everything you do in that deck is just prepping for this one card. And when you unleash her (And put like 10 copies in your deck with Togwaggle's Scheme) It just gives such an.. indiscribable feeling. It just feels sooo good. Even better than yogg! (Mainly because you have a lot more control over what get's played)
Wild ranked rewards
Why do you think that's greedy? For me it would perfectly fine, if the rewards are separated, because you also have to do the extra climb in wild, so why not encourage people for doing both climbs in wild and standard? I don't see how this is greedy...
Wild ranked rewards
I wish they would make the wild cache separate from the standard one. Instead of rewarding classic packs, reward random wild packs to help encourage more people to play wild.
But, maybe I'm just being greedy.
The new ladder system
It sounds more like you are addicted to use everything possible to achieve the best possible result and in this case, yeah you are right it's easier, but I see this from a different perspective, because now with the new ranked system Hearthstone can be a game what it is advertised: A fun and fast game with strategy elements. Casual players now have a better chance to get better rewards, better progress, but they still won't be legend, because you need still some grind for it, even it is faster than the old one.
[Day 1] AoO - Highlander Secret Galakrond Stealth Rogue
I disagree, the only minions which you really wouldn't want to transform are Akama and [Hearthstone Card (Shadowhewler Hanar) Not Found]. Even minions like Edwin VanCleef or [Hearthstone Card (Escaped Mansaber) Not Found] who have strong battlecries or on-board abilities still aren't always as good as a random minion costing 3 more.
The new ladder system
1) You want to know what sense of accomplishment I got from reaching rank 5 in the old system? Well, I wouldn't describe it as a huge accomplishment as it was for some players in the vanilla ranking system (i.e. before the introduction of the milestones), it was just a "shiny veneer" that offered me a golden epic. You rightfully called the grind from rank 10-5 a chore and I do too, in a way, but it felt like a true ladder, that also reflected my preferences for competition. In those ranks I faced a lot of high-tier decks, but there was some variety to it unlike from rank 5-Legend. The latter grind was tiresome, as people were too frightened to play anything but tier 1-2 decks, and since I don't consider myself to be a hardcore player, I had no interest climbing higher past rank 5 (+ the rewards in the old system were pretty pathetic). Reaching it may not have been as challenging as it was before the MSoG March patch, but it was still interesting and it wasn't handed on a silver plate.
2) I see where you are going at. Yes, the new system gives us more freedom regarding where we want to "hang out" and that could be considered a good thing, but then again, if our multiplier helps us skip ranks, why would someone decide not to benefit from it? Let's say I reach Legend this month. If next month I just climb to rank 5, I will lose the benefit from the 2-point multiplier between rank 5-Legend and won't get an 11-point one in the next season. I will have a harder time reaching Legend again and I won't get the extra pack with ease, so I would only screw myself, if I do that. That's why I think, that it's pointless not to benefit from your current multiplier and the "freedom" the game offers is just us punishing ourselves. The game holds our hands, while we are climbing, so I don't think it's logical to avoid the obvious support.
That said, l don't like how the new ranking system is suited more for casuals. Reading my first paragraph and then your text, I realize that we both have different preferences for the ladder. For me, with the presence of a high multiplier the "shiny veneers" lose their previous value. They mean nothing anymore, reaching them more than once doesn't feel challenging, they turn into an inconvinient obsticle we have to overcome every single season. So the ranking system is still a chore, but for me it's not even interesting, because I can bring a weak deck and won't get punished for my decision. I guess I value the grind in the old ranking system more than I thought.
Btw I warmly agree with you, that the MMR is now the true reflection of our skill/competitiveness and not the ranks as that used to be the case in the past. But let's not forget, that the game doesn't reward us for our MMR, rather for the "shiny veneer" we are currently sitting on. If a person wants to enter tournaments, then, ye, they will continue playing on the ladder and try reaching top XXX of all players. Personally I was never interested in that, reaching Legend was the only finishing line. And seeing how the path to the goal becomes more accessible for all of us, reaching it won't be an achievement anymore. That's why I thought it was a good idea to see some tweaks to the multiplier feature.
Favorite Cards by Rarity
Wild ranked rewards
There is no Standard Bronze 5 reward and Wild Bronze 5 reward, only one common Bronze 5 reward.
So, if you got the Bronze 5 reward in Standard, you will not get Bronze 5 reward in Wild.
Shadow Council Lock
I like where you are going with this, but I am not sure sense demons is worth having for the scramp Imp and the matron.
Hearthstone Arena in Ashes Of Outland - New Rotation and New Cards
Well, the Initiate set is supposed to supplement Classic, right? So by that rule, Basic+Classic cards are usually in the rotation by default, so it shouldnt be too much of a problem.
Hearthstone Arena in Ashes Of Outland - New Rotation and New Cards
I imagine Outlands and Initiate sets will be a part of Arena for at least these next two cycles. Once the new expansion in August is out then we'll probably still see Initiate and the new set. Hell, any and all new sets this year might have to stay in the Arena pool just to give Demon Hunter more class cards to draft from.
Hearthstone Arena in Ashes Of Outland - New Rotation and New Cards
Yet another round of twin tyrant bullshit. Third time DoD. -,-
Wild ranked rewards
You still get the same stuff on both ladders and they dont stack. So first time Rank 5 (any metal) would give you that reward and count as completed for both ladders. First time and also End of season
Should The Coin be a dead element?
You're welcome! :-)
Should The Coin be a dead element?
Just remove turns completely and let both players take their turns at the same time obvious solution duh.
Our Thoughts on Hearthstone's Ashes of Outland Neutral Cards (Part 1)
Two more parts in less than 24 hours. monkaS
I believe in you guys!
Favorite Cards by Rarity
Favorite Cards by Rarity
Basic: Reckless Rocketeer its kind of like Leeroy but better because it's a goblin on a rocket.
Common: Noble Sacrifice 10/10 sound effect right here
Rare: Togwaggle's Scheme I've always loved shuffle effects
Epic: Gnomeferatu I uh like milling cards yeah.
Legendary: Bandersmosh Hi'reek memes and playing dragon queen on turn 5 great meme times you really cant go wrong with the smosh
Should The Coin be a dead element?
Ah finally! Nerf the coin thread on out of cards! I've waited for this sinds the beginning!
Should The Coin be a dead element?
Maybe the coin should also freeze an enemy? That way it could be used to counter the attacking advantage of going first
Wild ranked rewards
If I go from bronze 10 to bronze 5 in wild do I get any rewards or does it not stack? And if I do get rewards will they be wild or standard?
Favorite Cards by Rarity
Rotating Hearthstone Cards That Didn't Get a Chance to Shine - Decklists To Try Before Rotation
I was thinking of playing it last night after posting this comment, but then looking over the list I was like, "No. I'm too tired and this needs some revisions!" Maybe I'll look at it again after the new cards come out. Perhaps the addition of some Librams could make it better as well.