I don't understand the premise of your question. This article is one person's opinion (my own), not a declaration that Out of Games is cutting ties. I don't speak for everyone. The others (and I) will still report on the game, until such a time as it closes shop for good or something happens where we can truly no longer support them.
I may not play the game anymore - and frankly believe other players must take a hard look as to whether or not they should do the same - but I'm still gonna do my job.
@anchorm4n "If everybody went F2P the game would be dead."
This might be one of the more radical things I say, but if enough people felt slighted such that they stopped investing into their fun-time with Hearthstone, to such an extent that it actually threatened Blizzard's bottom line and they subsequently pulled the plug on the game, then perhaps it was time for Hearthstone to go. I've always liked you from our time interacting via custom cards and the like, but I genuinely hate when people say that line. It might not be your general intention, but the sentence implies that you're willing to overlook the impact they've had on other paying customers so long as the game continues to exist for you to play. And that's not okay :/
If everybody did go F2P - because they felt they could no longer support the game monetarily - the game would be dead, and that fate would frankly be deserved.
"For my part, I keep playing Hearthstone. I play since Open Beta have all cards I need, have a few k gold and over 100.000 dust. The game became 100% free to play for me since years. Negative changes to quests, real money offers and pre order nonsense don`t bother me."
So "I've got mine" means the negatives can be safely ignored? That's a selfish mentality: others such as myself have struggled to keep up, and the situation with the Weekly Quests was likely a last-straw situation given everything I addressed above. I didn't even get into the various other means by-which Blizzard has given with one hand and taken with the other.
I have/had been playing since Vanilla, with a small haitus for personal reasons between Argent Tournament and Un'Goro, and I still don't have a full collection. I just couldn't play enough to reach that state, given my job (two if you count this website, or HearthPwn before it), different games I want to play, and various other challenges that compete for my time. To reach that goal of getting from where I was to where you apparently are required an unreasonable amount of playtime...or money, buying Preorders. The game simply doesn't provide enough to get there without absurd levels of dedication, even with all the additional "generous" means you seem focused on. I played long enough to know it has gotten better in some ways, yes; I will concede as much. But that doesn't mean the game is healthy for our wallets or respects our time properly, nor can we just ignore the attempts to chip away at the positive gains we tirelessly complained for.
Because that's what happened, lest you forget: Blizzard wasn't getting more generous out of the kindness of their hearts. We as players fought for those gains, and it still hasn't been enough in the grand scheme of things. So to see them scaled back is a shock to the system, and people such as myself are coming to the realization that the partnership between player and company is an uneven one. It is a relationship that needs to be reassessed coldly, without the shiny colors or token rewards clouding our judgement anymore. And for some of those players, including the writer of this article, the reality is that we cannot continue subjecting ourselves to this abuse.
I have another job, one that usually leaves me tired at the end of the day. I'm not alone in this regard, either: many of us are volunteering our time when able to do so. I know that means sometimes we can't keep up, or things fall through the cracks, but I had every intention of addressing the Hearthstone drama. Believe me, I wasn't letting this one go.
I was hyping myself up for some BG games yesterday, but after seeing what happened to the XP quests, I closed the client. If they won't respect my time, I'll just stop playing.
I've wavered between staying and quitting Hearthstone a couple times now - mostly due to the ratio of expense/enjoyment - but now I have to consider that they just don't want people like me. I play a couple times a week when my dailies fill up, instead of multiple games every single day. They're trying to push me to play more, but in reality I would rather just bail and focus my resources elsewhere.
My dad and I used to drive around town to Pokemon hotspots; it was an enjoyable bonding experience. Until he backed into a pole, and we stopped playing lol.
Had a bad morning and decided "fuck it, I'm gonna buy + install Lies of P." But, while waiting for that, I found a demo for Unicorn Overlord on the Switch and got sucked into a completely different game than I intended today lol.
As I've stated multiple times, I have a problem with half-finishing stuff lately. I need to see about updating my medication or somethin', because either ADHD is really kicking in or my depression is keeping me from finding motivation to stick with games. It's like I have a wandering eye, trying to find the perfect experience that'll make me feel better.
@FortyDust I haven't looked into Unicorn Overlord, but I love SRPGs like FF Tactics, Tactics Ogre, etc. I'll have to research it more!
Edit: Had a bad morning and decided "fuck it, I'm gonna buy/install Lies of P." But, while waiting for that, I found a demo for Unicorn Overlord on the Switch and got sucked into a completely different game than I intended today lol.
Not necessarily a fan of the real-time aspects, but it reminds of the indie game Symphony of War: the Nephilim Saga, which I quite enjoyed. It is definitely not FF Tactics or Tactics Ogre, but I can get behind it anyway.
I'd also really like to play linkblade's Hero Power Druid in Standard, but I don't have Fog anymore :/
Zok Fogsnout is not the greatest card; it probably shouldn't be in there even with the Hero Power package being the goal of the deck. For every time he's created two 7/18s or whatever that truly save me, there are other instances where he just sits dead in hand because he costs too much or the Taunts get ran over because I gave up the board.
I'm assuming you could replace Zok with a major Taunt minion of your choice or some other stabilization tool and still be fine. Siamat's back in Core, or you could go with Greybough, Night Elf Huntress, Eonar, the Life-Binder, Primordial Drake, etc. I would consider stripping out the Audio Amplifier as well, if you do that - it's only there to make Zok better. Hell, I might remove them both anyway: lack of consistency for an oft-underwhelming result equals "bye bye".
If you want to get even sillier, there's always Cho'gall, Twilight Chieftain to consider hehe. I've looked through the list: it's not all that bad, with only the "+1 Health to a minion each turn" being a one-sided bonus not in your favor.
I'm back on the Baldur's Gate III train. Started over, this time with fem-Tav as a Sorcerer/Warlock, Lae'zel as an Eldritch Knight, Shadowheart as a Tempest Cleric/Paladin, and Karlach as a 4-Elements Monk. Attempting to make a "storm"-themed comp, focusing on Lightning, Cold, and Thunder damage. It's...currently not as good as just straight-up hitting things, but I'm only level 5 so the best stuff is waiting for me ahead.
Hearthstone is there too but I kinda gave up on Marvel Snap again, if only because my attention has been elsewhere. Lots of spinning plates to maintain already between BG3, Hearthstone, health concerns, a mentally-taxing job, and other IRL responsibilities.
Still haven't finished Armored Core VI or Sea of Stars; barely even started them, really, if you consider the total time required to complete them.
Nothing too exciting for April in terms of new games I want, but next month is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on May 23rd. Definitely playing that, so everything this month is kinda just "filler".
I've been going back and forth between my two Day-1 creations: "Rainbuff" DK, and "Hero Power, Round 2" Druid.
The Death Knight deck was intended to build upon the BBU Handbuff recipe, making it better by replacing some Core cards and other subpar choices. My version is a Rainbow deck, although Northern Navigation is the only Frost card. I stormed out of the gate with it on Day-1, and while the deck still performs admirably, it's a "known quantity": DK is all about being no-fun with the Plagues, or Handbuffing, so when they queue into you it's not hard to decipher what's about to happen.
"Rainbuff" DK
A Handbuff Death Knight Deck created by
linkblade91. Last updated 1 month, 1 week ago
Meanwhile, the Hero Power Druid is entirely my own homebrew-design. It uses the Festival of Legends package (Free Spirit, Groovy Cat, etc.) and combines it with a few choice pieces that came out over the past year, like Sing-Along Buddy, Celestial Projectionist, Popular Pixie, and Joymancer Jepetto. You remove threats by driving your face into them, slamming the opponent directly when you can; eventually, they run out of steam (and/or leave an opening) and you give 'em the ol' KAPOW with a 28+ damage combo: Sing-Along Buddy -> Hero Power -> Popular Pixie -> Hero Power again.
The deck is very fun, seems to perform well, and no one expects it. The other players all assume you're running Dragons or Spell Damage; when you play Free Spirit on turn 1, there's a notable pause of confusion and they hover over it like they've never read the card. The lethal combo catches a *lot* of people off guard. The main concern is that a knowledgeable opponent will catch on that you can only HP one enemy at a time, and they flood the board to overwhelm you. Not always a problem - that's what the rest of the deck is built to deal with - but it still happens.
Finished the month at Platinum 6 without many stars to aid me in the back half (I don't think I lack stars because I'm bad; I just don't play enough). Not the best deckbuilder, so it could totally be refined more, but regardless it seems better than the Druid decks Blizzard "expects" people to be playing. Last I knew class winrates were in the dumpster, and yet I'm doin' just fine :)
They buffed Frost Lich Cross-Stitch's Mana cost, but quietly dropped the damage by a point as well. Couldn't just straight-up buff it; no, had to be a trade off of some kind :/
Naturally Zok Fogsnout is buffed *after* I commit to stop playing the game lol :/
I don't understand the premise of your question. This article is one person's opinion (my own), not a declaration that Out of Games is cutting ties. I don't speak for everyone. The others (and I) will still report on the game, until such a time as it closes shop for good or something happens where we can truly no longer support them.
I may not play the game anymore - and frankly believe other players must take a hard look as to whether or not they should do the same - but I'm still gonna do my job.
@anchorm4n I know I was a bit... aggressive? in my previous reply, but I don't think we have to stop being friendly towards each other 🙂
This subject has brought out a lot of passion from all camps, for real lol.
@anchorm4n "If everybody went F2P the game would be dead."
This might be one of the more radical things I say, but if enough people felt slighted such that they stopped investing into their fun-time with Hearthstone, to such an extent that it actually threatened Blizzard's bottom line and they subsequently pulled the plug on the game, then perhaps it was time for Hearthstone to go. I've always liked you from our time interacting via custom cards and the like, but I genuinely hate when people say that line. It might not be your general intention, but the sentence implies that you're willing to overlook the impact they've had on other paying customers so long as the game continues to exist for you to play. And that's not okay :/
If everybody did go F2P - because they felt they could no longer support the game monetarily - the game would be dead, and that fate would frankly be deserved.
"For my part, I keep playing Hearthstone. I play since Open Beta have all cards I need, have a few k gold and over 100.000 dust. The game became 100% free to play for me since years. Negative changes to quests, real money offers and pre order nonsense don`t bother me."
So "I've got mine" means the negatives can be safely ignored? That's a selfish mentality: others such as myself have struggled to keep up, and the situation with the Weekly Quests was likely a last-straw situation given everything I addressed above. I didn't even get into the various other means by-which Blizzard has given with one hand and taken with the other.
I have/had been playing since Vanilla, with a small haitus for personal reasons between Argent Tournament and Un'Goro, and I still don't have a full collection. I just couldn't play enough to reach that state, given my job (two if you count this website, or HearthPwn before it), different games I want to play, and various other challenges that compete for my time. To reach that goal of getting from where I was to where you apparently are required an unreasonable amount of playtime...or money, buying Preorders. The game simply doesn't provide enough to get there without absurd levels of dedication, even with all the additional "generous" means you seem focused on. I played long enough to know it has gotten better in some ways, yes; I will concede as much. But that doesn't mean the game is healthy for our wallets or respects our time properly, nor can we just ignore the attempts to chip away at the positive gains we tirelessly complained for.
Because that's what happened, lest you forget: Blizzard wasn't getting more generous out of the kindness of their hearts. We as players fought for those gains, and it still hasn't been enough in the grand scheme of things. So to see them scaled back is a shock to the system, and people such as myself are coming to the realization that the partnership between player and company is an uneven one. It is a relationship that needs to be reassessed coldly, without the shiny colors or token rewards clouding our judgement anymore. And for some of those players, including the writer of this article, the reality is that we cannot continue subjecting ourselves to this abuse.
Look what happened to find its way into my email inbox a few minutes ago! What convenient timing!
@FortyDust Don't know if I can alleviate your opinion of us, but we hadn't reported on it in-part because I hadn't finished writing this:
https://outof.games/news/7246-hearthstones-10th-anniversary-negative-player-reception-and-where-we-go-from-here/
I have another job, one that usually leaves me tired at the end of the day. I'm not alone in this regard, either: many of us are volunteering our time when able to do so. I know that means sometimes we can't keep up, or things fall through the cracks, but I had every intention of addressing the Hearthstone drama. Believe me, I wasn't letting this one go.
I was hyping myself up for some BG games yesterday, but after seeing what happened to the XP quests, I closed the client. If they won't respect my time, I'll just stop playing.
I've wavered between staying and quitting Hearthstone a couple times now - mostly due to the ratio of expense/enjoyment - but now I have to consider that they just don't want people like me. I play a couple times a week when my dailies fill up, instead of multiple games every single day. They're trying to push me to play more, but in reality I would rather just bail and focus my resources elsewhere.
More time + money for other games, I guess...
So Unicorn Overlord is fantastic, and I'm having a great time with it. I thank you for mentioning it here! @FortyDust
My dad and I used to drive around town to Pokemon hotspots; it was an enjoyable bonding experience. Until he backed into a pole, and we stopped playing lol.
I have unlocked all weapon cards on my save file; it'll be fun to locate + use the nine new weapons so I can add 'em to my collection :D
Oh and the game happens to be on sale for $20, if anyone out there is interested. It's super fun!
Had a bad morning and decided "fuck it, I'm gonna buy + install Lies of P." But, while waiting for that, I found a demo for Unicorn Overlord on the Switch and got sucked into a completely different game than I intended today lol.
As I've stated multiple times, I have a problem with half-finishing stuff lately. I need to see about updating my medication or somethin', because either ADHD is really kicking in or my depression is keeping me from finding motivation to stick with games. It's like I have a wandering eye, trying to find the perfect experience that'll make me feel better.
@FortyDust I haven't looked into Unicorn Overlord, but I love SRPGs like FF Tactics, Tactics Ogre, etc. I'll have to research it more!
Edit: Had a bad morning and decided "fuck it, I'm gonna buy/install Lies of P." But, while waiting for that, I found a demo for Unicorn Overlord on the Switch and got sucked into a completely different game than I intended today lol.
Not necessarily a fan of the real-time aspects, but it reminds of the indie game Symphony of War: the Nephilim Saga, which I quite enjoyed. It is definitely not FF Tactics or Tactics Ogre, but I can get behind it anyway.
For "This Day in History" afficiandos, Microsoft Corporation was officially found on April 4th, 1975. Next year will be their 50th anniversary!
Zok Fogsnout is not the greatest card; it probably shouldn't be in there even with the Hero Power package being the goal of the deck. For every time he's created two 7/18s or whatever that truly save me, there are other instances where he just sits dead in hand because he costs too much or the Taunts get ran over because I gave up the board.
I'm assuming you could replace Zok with a major Taunt minion of your choice or some other stabilization tool and still be fine. Siamat's back in Core, or you could go with Greybough, Night Elf Huntress, Eonar, the Life-Binder, Primordial Drake, etc. I would consider stripping out the Audio Amplifier as well, if you do that - it's only there to make Zok better. Hell, I might remove them both anyway: lack of consistency for an oft-underwhelming result equals "bye bye".
If you want to get even sillier, there's always Cho'gall, Twilight Chieftain to consider hehe. I've looked through the list: it's not all that bad, with only the "+1 Health to a minion each turn" being a one-sided bonus not in your favor.
I'm back on the Baldur's Gate III train. Started over, this time with fem-Tav as a Sorcerer/Warlock, Lae'zel as an Eldritch Knight, Shadowheart as a Tempest Cleric/Paladin, and Karlach as a 4-Elements Monk. Attempting to make a "storm"-themed comp, focusing on Lightning, Cold, and Thunder damage. It's...currently not as good as just straight-up hitting things, but I'm only level 5 so the best stuff is waiting for me ahead.
Hearthstone is there too but I kinda gave up on Marvel Snap again, if only because my attention has been elsewhere. Lots of spinning plates to maintain already between BG3, Hearthstone, health concerns, a mentally-taxing job, and other IRL responsibilities.
Still haven't finished Armored Core VI or Sea of Stars; barely even started them, really, if you consider the total time required to complete them.
Nothing too exciting for April in terms of new games I want, but next month is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on May 23rd. Definitely playing that, so everything this month is kinda just "filler".
I've been going back and forth between my two Day-1 creations: "Rainbuff" DK, and "Hero Power, Round 2" Druid.
The Death Knight deck was intended to build upon the BBU Handbuff recipe, making it better by replacing some Core cards and other subpar choices. My version is a Rainbow deck, although Northern Navigation is the only Frost card. I stormed out of the gate with it on Day-1, and while the deck still performs admirably, it's a "known quantity": DK is all about being no-fun with the Plagues, or Handbuffing, so when they queue into you it's not hard to decipher what's about to happen.
Meanwhile, the Hero Power Druid is entirely my own homebrew-design. It uses the Festival of Legends package (Free Spirit, Groovy Cat, etc.) and combines it with a few choice pieces that came out over the past year, like Sing-Along Buddy, Celestial Projectionist, Popular Pixie, and Joymancer Jepetto. You remove threats by driving your face into them, slamming the opponent directly when you can; eventually, they run out of steam (and/or leave an opening) and you give 'em the ol' KAPOW with a 28+ damage combo: Sing-Along Buddy -> Hero Power -> Popular Pixie -> Hero Power again.
The deck is very fun, seems to perform well, and no one expects it. The other players all assume you're running Dragons or Spell Damage; when you play Free Spirit on turn 1, there's a notable pause of confusion and they hover over it like they've never read the card. The lethal combo catches a *lot* of people off guard. The main concern is that a knowledgeable opponent will catch on that you can only HP one enemy at a time, and they flood the board to overwhelm you. Not always a problem - that's what the rest of the deck is built to deal with - but it still happens.
Finished the month at Platinum 6 without many stars to aid me in the back half (I don't think I lack stars because I'm bad; I just don't play enough). Not the best deckbuilder, so it could totally be refined more, but regardless it seems better than the Druid decks Blizzard "expects" people to be playing. Last I knew class winrates were in the dumpster, and yet I'm doin' just fine :)
It seems our glorious leader will be...unavailable for a time ;D
They buffed Frost Lich Cross-Stitch's Mana cost, but quietly dropped the damage by a point as well. Couldn't just straight-up buff it; no, had to be a trade off of some kind :/
I spotted a bumper sticker a couple minutes ago that said "I hope something good happens to you today." In potentially related news:
"the next installment of the Borderlands series is currently in production."
Woohoo!