To understand how Mercenaries Packs work, you can take a look at this chart made by RidiculousHat. Basically, when you get a portrait for a merc you already own even though you are missing other mercs of that rarity, it is because you highrolled on one of the four coin slots. The main slot still follows the dupe protection rules. Proof of this is that when you roll that dupe merc portrait, you also must've gotten 50 coins for a Rare merc, which was that pack's main slot.
It is needlessly complicated and confusing, yes. But it is what it is.
As for the F2P experience, I am not sure what to make of it. I have grinded for 50 hours and completed around 400 tasks, and because of the massive influx of coins I got from those tasks I ended up with an almost full collection: I am merely missing two legendary mercs. However, that was nerfed now. Pre-nerf the F2P experience was okay, but now when the grind needed has basically quadrupled, 200 hours is really just too much, so unless they revert the nerf I'd say F2P stay away.
The effort was acknowledged, though? You got to use this portrait while others could not. For over 3 years you got to use a skin that wasn't available for others. It is only now that this also becoming available for others again, and again for only a limited time (I assume) so in future there will be people who own the skin and people who don't.
I do understand that people that already own the skin feel like others are getting something for free here while they are not, but I think they are forgetting that they had something for years which others could not optain but maybe really wanted. As it was stated before in this thread blizz apparently never claimed that Tyrande never came back(I never checked that though, only relying on others), so one can't really argue that they lied or tricked people and therefore should compensate with packs, a different version of a existing skin or whatever(maybe a little "I play this game longer than you" button to add to your side of the board? ^^)
On the other hand I would not have a problem if they gave you guys free packs, but we know how blizz feels about giving packs away for free… But that is another topic.
In conclusion I think that people who already own tyrande should try to remember that they had access to a cosmetic that others could not obtain, which is apparently really important for some people, for three years. That is a good thing you guys had. However things always change, the demand for tyrande was high and blizzard decided to give a lot of people what they want but could get before(for different reasons). So nowothers get to enjoy this too, which means that you might feel a little less exclusive about owning that portrait now, but on the other hand a lot of people will be really happy to be able to play with her in the future(like me :D)
The acknowledgement and reward being having had Tyrande as a timed exclusive is an interesting point, but it's a little bit arguable: it was not marketed as such. If their initial announcement was "get Tyrande now with Twitch Prime, or for free at a later date" then I am certain most of these arguments wouldn't even happen today, because people should have known what they were getting into and if they didn't read the fine print then it's their own fault so they really would not have room to complain about it. However, their only official statement at the time was that they were looking into making Tyrande available in other regions too, which let's face it could have meant anything.
The whole timed-exclusive thing actually has more merit than it seems though, because Tyrande was initially released in a time when there were only like a couple of alternate hero portraits total, so having it back then was 'worth' way more than it is right now when we are reaching 3-5 alternate portraits for every single hero. It's definitely a fair perspective.
I don't understand the complaint of not getting any compensation for this. We've known Tyrande would be returning for a long time now; your 'compensation' is having been able to use Tyrande for the years before other players could.
I got Tyrande during the Twitch Prime promotion, and have happily used her quite a lot since then. Now other players are finally able to use her, which is great. Nothing about this scenario means anything bad for me; I don't lose anything, all that happens is other people gain. There's no reason for me to gain anything. I already got the gain years ago.
With all my arguments in this thread so far, honestly I'm just starting to think that it's about the dopamine rush when getting free stuff. Most people get Tyrande for free, while users who already had Tyrande get nothing and are annoyed because of it, since they can't participate in this feelgood atmosphere of praising Blizzard for its love for the community.
Sure we could argue all day about how the initial promotion wasn't fair in the first place, or about Blizzard's manipulative psychological tactics in promotional marketing that make people feel like they're missing out by not participating, or how this whole Tyrande release is the easiest and most low-effort way for Team 5 to get in good graces with its community, since it's just making a previously scarce cosmetic freely available for everyone. But all these arguments ignore how giving away Sylvanas to Tyrande-owners would've most likely meant that none of these arguments would have taken place, at least from my perspective. Then again the cause of that could also be that the Tyrande-owners wouldn't have felt like they were brushed under the rug with this event in the first place, so it's all debatable.
At the end of the day, it's commendable to see it like you do no matter how you put it, and I joined this thread purely out of love for arguing since I fully realize no amount of discussion here will influence anything. But I don't think this debate will ever reach a satisfying conclusion, since ironically both sides accuse each other of being selfish and both have a reason to do so.
I must admit that I am interested in this discussion mainly because of its philosophic aspect. I don't give a damn about me or anyone else owning Tyrande. So I've explained the problem to my girlfriend and we tried to solve it from a moralist point of view. Here's what we concluded:
People should focus on themselves. That means, there WAS a "cost" for obtaining the original Tyrande, no matter how big or small. But OP among other players deemed this cost worth the reward at the time. And this is where the discussion should end. The fact that somebody else gets his or her hands on the same reward for less or no cost is irrelevant to your own experience. You can still enjoy your skin. Other people don't directly influence you in a negative way.
My girlfriend related to the Tyrande-issue with a story from school: there was a pupil who was allowed to leave early once a week (don't know why). Another pupil went forth and asked the prinicipal to be allowed to leave early as well - that's just fine, everybody can plead for equal rights. But when the second pupil was rejected (probably because nr. 1 had reasons nr. 2 couldn't provide), nr. 2 then asked to strip nr. 1 from their privilege to reinstate equality. And this is not okay. As long as nr. 2 isn't directly or indirectly harmed by nr. 1s privilege, nr. 2 may try to get it for his/herself, but should refrain from trying to pull down nr. 1.
OP repeated several times he is angry at blizzard and happy for other people getting Tyrande, I didn't miss that. So there's no actively trying to pull someone else down. But, and that's my whole point, as long as there's no downside in the new deal for you, there's no base for a complaint. Tyrande was worth it at the time you paid for her and that's it. I can understand and I do respect your frustration and your decision to not longer support Blizzard with real money because of this, but I've come to a different conclusion for myself. Thanks for raising the issue to my attention in the first place though, I gained something from this discussion, too.
OP and others deemed the cost worth the reward at the time because of the fear of missing out, which is a popular thing in Blizzard games that they love to take advantage of. Just because they didn't outright say Tyrande will never be available again doesn't mean the implication was not there, hence why some feel either manipulated or seen as nothing more than a product because of this decision (yes they did say the opposite, but that was a little bit later to my recollection). Like ShadowsOfSense said, people chose to go through this effort and I agree, but being part of a minority that gets glossed over does make one feel like they are being left out. And it's hilarious how ironic it is.
The thing about philosophy it's that it's a little bit fickle though, because you can just create any story with a tangent that supports your argument no matter how ridiculous it might get: "it doesn't affect you what Epstein did in his off-time, so there's no base for a complaint" and we'd just go around in circles getting nowhere. But for argument's sake, in your girlfriend's example I'd say the reason behind Pupil Nr. 1's privilege would make or break Pupil Nr. 2's case. If that privilege was because of a medical condition that needed weekly check-ups, then it's completely fine and 2 is an asshole for trying to deny that. But if that privilege was because of nepotism so Pupil Nr. 1 can go home and play video games while they're laughing at the peasants who have to "go to school" then Nr. 2 is fully right in trying to deny that, because of fairness. And fairness does have some tangents to this whole argument after all, albeit a bit muddled since both sides consider their side to be the fair one.
I find it funny that every single post upset by the lack of compensation for the people who already owned Tyrande is getting downvoted into oblivion. Here, on Reddit, everywhere. You have to add a 'I'm glad you guys are getting her too' disclaimer to any post that touches this subject or else you're just gonna get spammed with red arrows. I think this shows how small of a minority the Tyrande owners actually are, in which case it really boggles my mind, why not offer a compensation in the first place? When I heard that Tyrande will be free with the arrival of a new $10 hero, I honestly thought Sylvanas will be given for those that don't apply, but hey apparently not.
On one hand I really am glad more people will be able to switch out of Anduin, as I don't give two hoots about exclusivity. But on the other hand, I do feel like I earned her: by being a long-time customer, paying attention to Hearthstone-related news, and spending a full two hours learning and troubleshooting the process of getting her since I was not part of the eligible countries either. Others got Tyrande by buying an overpriced code off eBay and whatever too. It's really, really not that far-fetched to want this effort to be acknowledged, and I'm sure more people would be able to sympathize with this situation if they didn't see any criticism of it as selfishness and entitlement, which in most cases it certainly is not.
Then again at the end of the day we're still all arguing about .jpg's, so what do I know.
It wasn't my favorite moment at the time, but when the news of the nerfs came around the first thing I did was go Wild to play a deck with Luna's Pocket Galaxy, two of Raven Familiar and a whole lot of big minions. In those three days between the news and the actual nerfs my Mage Wins counter went up by around 30, I absolutely loved that deck.
Out of the 8 legendaries of the set that I did not wish to see behind the charming golden glow of a pack opening, I got 3 of them. Out of the 4 total that I have received.
Honestly I don't know why I haven't gotten used to it yet since the same has happened for Boomsday and Rastakhan as well.
Corrupt the Waters, mostly because I'm trying to get an Elemental Reno deck going in Wild and it looks like it would be a perfect addition to my collection.
To understand how Mercenaries Packs work, you can take a look at this chart made by RidiculousHat. Basically, when you get a portrait for a merc you already own even though you are missing other mercs of that rarity, it is because you highrolled on one of the four coin slots. The main slot still follows the dupe protection rules. Proof of this is that when you roll that dupe merc portrait, you also must've gotten 50 coins for a Rare merc, which was that pack's main slot.
It is needlessly complicated and confusing, yes. But it is what it is.
As for the F2P experience, I am not sure what to make of it. I have grinded for 50 hours and completed around 400 tasks, and because of the massive influx of coins I got from those tasks I ended up with an almost full collection: I am merely missing two legendary mercs. However, that was nerfed now. Pre-nerf the F2P experience was okay, but now when the grind needed has basically quadrupled, 200 hours is really just too much, so unless they revert the nerf I'd say F2P stay away.
Portraits that have already been in the shop:
Portraits that are most likely to be up next due to bundles/promotions:
Pre-order portraits, if that's the route they're going to take:
Other options, most likely after the pre-order portraits:
The acknowledgement and reward being having had Tyrande as a timed exclusive is an interesting point, but it's a little bit arguable: it was not marketed as such. If their initial announcement was "get Tyrande now with Twitch Prime, or for free at a later date" then I am certain most of these arguments wouldn't even happen today, because people should have known what they were getting into and if they didn't read the fine print then it's their own fault so they really would not have room to complain about it. However, their only official statement at the time was that they were looking into making Tyrande available in other regions too, which let's face it could have meant anything.
The whole timed-exclusive thing actually has more merit than it seems though, because Tyrande was initially released in a time when there were only like a couple of alternate hero portraits total, so having it back then was 'worth' way more than it is right now when we are reaching 3-5 alternate portraits for every single hero. It's definitely a fair perspective.
With all my arguments in this thread so far, honestly I'm just starting to think that it's about the dopamine rush when getting free stuff. Most people get Tyrande for free, while users who already had Tyrande get nothing and are annoyed because of it, since they can't participate in this feelgood atmosphere of praising Blizzard for its love for the community.
Sure we could argue all day about how the initial promotion wasn't fair in the first place, or about Blizzard's manipulative psychological tactics in promotional marketing that make people feel like they're missing out by not participating, or how this whole Tyrande release is the easiest and most low-effort way for Team 5 to get in good graces with its community, since it's just making a previously scarce cosmetic freely available for everyone. But all these arguments ignore how giving away Sylvanas to Tyrande-owners would've most likely meant that none of these arguments would have taken place, at least from my perspective. Then again the cause of that could also be that the Tyrande-owners wouldn't have felt like they were brushed under the rug with this event in the first place, so it's all debatable.
At the end of the day, it's commendable to see it like you do no matter how you put it, and I joined this thread purely out of love for arguing since I fully realize no amount of discussion here will influence anything. But I don't think this debate will ever reach a satisfying conclusion, since ironically both sides accuse each other of being selfish and both have a reason to do so.
OP and others deemed the cost worth the reward at the time because of the fear of missing out, which is a popular thing in Blizzard games that they love to take advantage of. Just because they didn't outright say Tyrande will never be available again doesn't mean the implication was not there, hence why some feel either manipulated or seen as nothing more than a product because of this decision (yes they did say the opposite, but that was a little bit later to my recollection). Like ShadowsOfSense said, people chose to go through this effort and I agree, but being part of a minority that gets glossed over does make one feel like they are being left out. And it's hilarious how ironic it is.
The thing about philosophy it's that it's a little bit fickle though, because you can just create any story with a tangent that supports your argument no matter how ridiculous it might get: "it doesn't affect you what Epstein did in his off-time, so there's no base for a complaint" and we'd just go around in circles getting nowhere. But for argument's sake, in your girlfriend's example I'd say the reason behind Pupil Nr. 1's privilege would make or break Pupil Nr. 2's case. If that privilege was because of a medical condition that needed weekly check-ups, then it's completely fine and 2 is an asshole for trying to deny that. But if that privilege was because of nepotism so Pupil Nr. 1 can go home and play video games while they're laughing at the peasants who have to "go to school" then Nr. 2 is fully right in trying to deny that, because of fairness. And fairness does have some tangents to this whole argument after all, albeit a bit muddled since both sides consider their side to be the fair one.
I find it funny that every single post upset by the lack of compensation for the people who already owned Tyrande is getting downvoted into oblivion. Here, on Reddit, everywhere. You have to add a 'I'm glad you guys are getting her too' disclaimer to any post that touches this subject or else you're just gonna get spammed with red arrows. I think this shows how small of a minority the Tyrande owners actually are, in which case it really boggles my mind, why not offer a compensation in the first place? When I heard that Tyrande will be free with the arrival of a new $10 hero, I honestly thought Sylvanas will be given for those that don't apply, but hey apparently not.
On one hand I really am glad more people will be able to switch out of Anduin, as I don't give two hoots about exclusivity. But on the other hand, I do feel like I earned her: by being a long-time customer, paying attention to Hearthstone-related news, and spending a full two hours learning and troubleshooting the process of getting her since I was not part of the eligible countries either. Others got Tyrande by buying an overpriced code off eBay and whatever too. It's really, really not that far-fetched to want this effort to be acknowledged, and I'm sure more people would be able to sympathize with this situation if they didn't see any criticism of it as selfishness and entitlement, which in most cases it certainly is not.
Then again at the end of the day we're still all arguing about .jpg's, so what do I know.
It wasn't my favorite moment at the time, but when the news of the nerfs came around the first thing I did was go Wild to play a deck with Luna's Pocket Galaxy, two of Raven Familiar and a whole lot of big minions. In those three days between the news and the actual nerfs my Mage Wins counter went up by around 30, I absolutely loved that deck.
Out of the 8 legendaries of the set that I did not wish to see behind the charming golden glow of a pack opening, I got 3 of them. Out of the 4 total that I have received.
Honestly I don't know why I haven't gotten used to it yet since the same has happened for Boomsday and Rastakhan as well.
Corrupt the Waters, mostly because I'm trying to get an Elemental Reno deck going in Wild and it looks like it would be a perfect addition to my collection.