Quote From CaroComments like these belong in the toxic pile. No game developer ever wants their game to fail. Team 5 isn't intentionally trying to sabotage their own game coz that wouldn't benefit anyone. If Blizzard didn't want HS to succeed, they would've moved most of the developers onto other projects, like they did with Heroes of the Storm and StarCraft 2. Instead, they've given us 3 new game modes in the space of 3 years (Battlegrounds, Duels and now Mercenaries). They are pushing out more content now than they have in the past because they want the game to succeed! Yes, they do have their faults like not reacting quickly enough to a polarizing meta or not giving Wild enough love, but they not sitting on their hands doing nothing at all either.
Based on what was shown to us I truly believe, that Mercenaries, unlike Battlegrounds, are not designed to be the best game possible but to make most money from lootboxes as possible.
I was a fanboy once as well but omg, after wasting 200 dollars this expansion on a game I literally haven't played because they killed both Control and Priest and those were the only things I invested in
It is true that the meta is not polarized in a way, that when you encounter deck A with your deck you will win and when you encounter deck B you will lose.
Now it is simple.
You play aggro? You win ~50% against any deck.
You play quest? You win ~50% against any deck.
You play a slower deck hoping to interact on board? Hahaha, no one would play that style while there are quest decks.
I think Flux meant his article well, but it didn't work out. Yes, he correctly stated that attacking anyone is wrong. I can side with that.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, he is wrong in many ways.
He ignores that players make their displeasure so very clear because they love the game. Making the players to be spoiled children throwing themselves on the ground is exactly what the article is aiming against. (But Mom, Wild is Neglected Too!)
Loud discontent has already helped change Reward track for the better. I think many agree that the state of the game after the quests were introduced is not the best. Only aggro strategies or quests work, any style of play where it comes down to interaction on the board are impossible. Games end in round 6-9 by killing an oponent out of hand without any interaction. Is this where the developers want to take the game? Maybe. Is that where the players want the game to go? Many don't. What can players do other than make their displeasure known?
And the not-so-good launch of a new mod whose obvious main goal is to make money has only made it worse. We've already seen that Blizzard's main mistake is not communicating. Not communicating the Reward track, not communicating balance, not communicating the real questions on Mercenaries. Let's not put all the blame on the players.
The problem is - what next? Now game ends turn 7-9, either you play hyper agro and win by turn 5-6 or you play quests and kill your opponent from hand turn 7-9. Mage may lose to agro but together with Warlock completely dtops any slower strategies. Why they will print any minions for mage when spell mage is so efficient? How broken these minions should be to be viable?
Probably stupid question since I didn't watch the reveal but here goes: Is there no economy overlap to traditional HS at all? Like buying Merc coins with HS gold or using HS dust to craft Mercs? That would help a lot with the accessability imho.
That would help if you have agumdance pf gold you do not know what to do with it. Most players use this gold to buy packs
They currently showed 15 red mercenaries, so most likely they will start with 3*15 = 45 mercenaries, adding more later.
Also, they will most likely introduce the fourth color of rare mercenaries, which will not take or deal double damage from any color (see in Rad)
Also, for a run you receive ~150 mercenary coins (see video).
I guess creating a mercenary will cost 100 coins, full upgrade is 50+100+150 coins per one ability (shown in video), so to completely get an upgraded mercenary you need 1000 coins of that specific mercenary.
Basically this is a game where you collect and upgrade tons and tons of heroes. This usually requires really, really really serious grind - playing for hours daily, or big ongoing investments.
As you can see, you will receive specific hero coin drops (either from quests or buying for gold/real money) from lootboxes (packs). So to get a specific hero you want you need to spend a lot or have luck. To upgrade the hero you need more of these coins. You can upgrade your heroes a lot.
Legendary heroes are usually stronger than epic which are stronger than rare etc.
Famous game of this genre, Raid: Shadow legends is run by a casino company, that much money these games make.
The MarkMcKz Mechathun Blade Rogue deck is really fun, not game.breaking and suspectible to aggro but with good draw can end the game turn 6-7 surprising the opponent. And beats res priest consistently!
The Mage quest is on the same toxic level as Warlock, it blocks any minion based strategies. Everything is here what makes gameplay against the deck feeling awful -
massive mana cheat
solitaire game mode with board interaction
plentiful freeze effects on enemy minions
massive card draw
soliaire mode
I just played a game against Warlock where it felt like I play regular HS against a late level duels deck.
On turn 6 finished quest, on turn 7 played the reward, on turn 8 the mage killed me dealing 27 damage from hand, drawing 12 cards from the deck and playing cards worth 28 mana in total. On turn 8.
I would drop Bloodlust (Jades are big enough), Bog Slosher (slow), Stonehill Defender (slow), Lifedrinker (you are not going infinite with Shudderwock)
Another bug - Not the face! achievment Antonidas to hit the face with three fireballs and killing the hero actually works if Antonidas just hits with 3 fireballs, so Brann + Antonidas and there is a high chance you will have it
Actually no, to make the most money you need to make the most addictive game. Typical features:
Maybe this will not be as bad as Raid and clones, but lets see
Based on what was shown to us I truly believe, that Mercenaries, unlike Battlegrounds, are not designed to be the best game possible but to make most money from lootboxes as possible.
Actually Blizzard made Priest a good aggro class
It is true that the meta is not polarized in a way, that when you encounter deck A with your deck you will win and when you encounter deck B you will lose.
Now it is simple.
You play aggro? You win ~50% against any deck.
You play quest? You win ~50% against any deck.
You play a slower deck hoping to interact on board? Hahaha, no one would play that style while there are quest decks.
I think Flux meant his article well, but it didn't work out. Yes, he correctly stated that attacking anyone is wrong. I can side with that.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, he is wrong in many ways.
He ignores that players make their displeasure so very clear because they love the game. Making the players to be spoiled children throwing themselves on the ground is exactly what the article is aiming against. (But Mom, Wild is Neglected Too!)
Loud discontent has already helped change Reward track for the better. I think many agree that the state of the game after the quests were introduced is not the best. Only aggro strategies or quests work, any style of play where it comes down to interaction on the board are impossible. Games end in round 6-9 by killing an oponent out of hand without any interaction. Is this where the developers want to take the game? Maybe. Is that where the players want the game to go? Many don't. What can players do other than make their displeasure known?
And the not-so-good launch of a new mod whose obvious main goal is to make money has only made it worse. We've already seen that Blizzard's main mistake is not communicating. Not communicating the Reward track, not communicating balance, not communicating the real questions on Mercenaries.
Let's not put all the blame on the players.
The problem is - what next? Now game ends turn 7-9, either you play hyper agro and win by turn 5-6 or you play quests and kill your opponent from hand turn 7-9. Mage may lose to agro but together with Warlock completely dtops any slower strategies. Why they will print any minions for mage when spell mage is so efficient? How broken these minions should be to be viable?
That would help if you have agumdance pf gold you do not know what to do with it. Most players use this gold to buy packs
They currently showed 15 red mercenaries, so most likely they will start with 3*15 = 45 mercenaries, adding more later.
Also, they will most likely introduce the fourth color of rare mercenaries, which will not take or deal double damage from any color (see in Rad)
Also, for a run you receive ~150 mercenary coins (see video).
I guess creating a mercenary will cost 100 coins, full upgrade is 50+100+150 coins per one ability (shown in video), so to completely get an upgraded mercenary you need 1000 coins of that specific mercenary.
You do the mathematics.
Basically this is a game where you collect and upgrade tons and tons of heroes. This usually requires really, really really serious grind - playing for hours daily, or big ongoing investments.
As you can see, you will receive specific hero coin drops (either from quests or buying for gold/real money) from lootboxes (packs). So to get a specific hero you want you need to spend a lot or have luck. To upgrade the hero you need more of these coins. You can upgrade your heroes a lot.
Legendary heroes are usually stronger than epic which are stronger than rare etc.
Famous game of this genre, Raid: Shadow legends is run by a casino company, that much money these games make.
More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gacha_game
The MarkMcKz Mechathun Blade Rogue deck is really fun, not game.breaking and suspectible to aggro but with good draw can end the game turn 6-7 surprising the opponent. And beats res priest consistently!
The Mage quest is on the same toxic level as Warlock, it blocks any minion based strategies. Everything is here what makes gameplay against the deck feeling awful -
I just played a game against Warlock where it felt like I play regular HS against a late level duels deck.
On turn 6 finished quest, on turn 7 played the reward, on turn 8 the mage killed me dealing 27 damage from hand, drawing 12 cards from the deck and playing cards worth 28 mana in total. On turn 8.
Questline rewards are like best Duels passives, so Blizz just brought the Duels experience to all HS play modes
Fact is, that I rarely meet a deck without quest on the ladder, that strong they are.
Mostly mage, warlock, DH, rogue, warrior, shaman.
Never or really rarely encountered druid, priest, hunter (after nerfs), paladin
Basically aggro/midrange druid, aggro/combo warlock, aggro priest.
No good control deck exists anymore.
I would drop Bloodlust (Jades are big enough), Bog Slosher (slow), Stonehill Defender (slow), Lifedrinker (you are not going infinite with Shudderwock)
I would add Aya Blackpaw (if crafted), Armor Vendor,Tour Guide,The Lurker Below,Jinyu Waterspeaker (for heal)
This deck do not have infinite Shudderwock but you will win due Jades so Loatheb is not needed as much
Another bug - Not the face! achievment Antonidas to hit the face with three fireballs and killing the hero actually works if Antonidas just hits with 3 fireballs, so Brann + Antonidas and there is a high chance you will have it
I can confirm, just tried it,an easy way to skip the grind
Wild is very diverse now, a lot of playable decks if you really like aggro: