I see and somewhat agree with what you mean about lack of utility without spells, but they could have designed something far more interesting or powerful (while basic, of course) than a +1 attack buff. It's a disappointing change, flavorfully and powerfully.
I don't understand why they changed the Shaman hero power. It was phrased as a buff in the announcement, but it isn't, right? If it were a buff, they'd replace Searing Totem, the option with the least utility (Shamans rarely hero power for stats).
Not only does the change cramp Shaman's flavor and class fantasy, Spell Damage Shaman has JUST become a thing. This seems to refute everything that Thrall is about currently.
Novice Zapper is nice to see, though. Dust Devil, take your rightful comeuppance! Go sit on the naughty step.
Very neat! More than any other class you've covered (which I've seen), this one captured a robust core fantasy. I could see myself playing this obsessively for a few weeks just to immerse myself in the experience, as I did with Demon Hunter earlier this year.
I love that each mod's picks show the kind of fun they have in Hearthstone.
Slamming big cool cards, succeeding with weird archetypes, generating oodles of random bits, straight face-smashing... Just goes to show, there are many ways to play!
Arbor Up is a scary card. I decided to try out a Spell Druid for fun last night (the list posted on this site) and accidentally climbed to Legend... Oops?
It seems that the devs don't intend Duels to be an F2P-friendly mode (I think Iksar stated this himself, paraphrased.) That's fine. It feels bad, but there are plenty of other modes for F2P players to enjoy.
It'll be less fine if the other new mode we get this year is also collection-intensive, though. Duels being anti-F2P is a novelty. The next mode being anti-F2P is a trend.
Looking at Rocket League's battle pass as an example, I agree that HS' implementation of cosmetics has been lacking. As you say, the design space just isn't there. In Rocket League, each car has 8 slots for cosmetic items, while in Hearthstone we have only three - hero, coin, cardback. Not only that, but compared to the compelling variety of aesthetics you can explore by combining items in Rocket League, the pinnacle (and only possibility, really) of aesthetic synergy in Hearthstone is having a cardback similar to your hero. At the beginning, they played off this - hero skins came with cardbacks - but recently they haven't even done that.
It would be good for them to open more design space, as you say, with custom boards, emotes, hero borders, et cetera and to do so with a mind to aesthetic synergies - what would look good with the existing cosmetics? Have in-jokes, as well, like Rocket League's cosmetic obsession with watermelons and doughnuts. The Battlegrounds' end of match frames would be an easy place to begin with that. Ideologically (technically I haven't the slightest), I don't believe it's too late.
As a side note, implementing viewable player profiles would open plenty of new design space for cosmetics as well.
I don't necessarily agree with you. I've gotten five folks to pick up this game in the last few years. Among those, all of them turned to YouTube and Twitch for deckbuilding ideas and amusing content. They wanted to see what sort of decks and ideas professional players and content creators had, because there's a brain-smotheringly large amount of deck-building options out there.
Granted, those five were more interested in Legend play than they were in out-of-client happenings like tournaments. However, I believe that's because tournaments weren't on their radar. After all, tournament play isn't so different from high-rank Legend play - hype, professionals, cool decks, et cetera. One is shown in-client and one isn't - that's the difference. If tournaments were showcased on the front page of their experience, players would search in that realm for cool ideas, personalities, and decks as well.
If you want a real-world example of this, take Shadowverse, which often holds in-client casual tournaments for cosmetic rewards. They have ranked matchmaking for them and devs keep track of successful decks, showcasing the best or most interesting in-client at the end of each month. Most players participate in those, and if one of the decks showcased is a bit silly or memey, you know you'll inevitably see a fair amount of it on ladder as well. Casual players can enjoy tournaments.
These are great points. If the team had a Rehab Month, in which they set all else to the side and put everyone at work on quality of life improvements, taking Hearthstone into the new year, other PR garbage, that would be very, very welcome.
That said, playing other card games like Mythgard or Faeria helps me appreciate Hearthstone's collection manager. It's not terribly functional, no, but it is smooth and easy to use. Building decks in most other card games is a frustrating experience. Laggy lists, huge lists, odd menus, no search functionality, separate crafting and deckbuilding pages, et cetera.
WATER! FIRE! EARTH!
... biceps?
Meh. They could've at least given it a unique color and style like the others. This is more generic than my local market's 'Frosty Flakes'.
This is how I feel about the new dragons as well, sadly. Thanks for putting it into words!
Best info in the article? The devs like Boulderfist Ogre!
OGRE BEST! OGRE GOOD! OGRE SEXI!
Well, Shaman's was interesting. Heh.
I see and somewhat agree with what you mean about lack of utility without spells, but they could have designed something far more interesting or powerful (while basic, of course) than a +1 attack buff. It's a disappointing change, flavorfully and powerfully.
I don't understand why they changed the Shaman hero power. It was phrased as a buff in the announcement, but it isn't, right? If it were a buff, they'd replace Searing Totem, the option with the least utility (Shamans rarely hero power for stats).
Not only does the change cramp Shaman's flavor and class fantasy, Spell Damage Shaman has JUST become a thing. This seems to refute everything that Thrall is about currently.
Novice Zapper is nice to see, though. Dust Devil, take your rightful comeuppance! Go sit on the naughty step.
Very neat! More than any other class you've covered (which I've seen), this one captured a robust core fantasy. I could see myself playing this obsessively for a few weeks just to immerse myself in the experience, as I did with Demon Hunter earlier this year.
"If you wish to Rally! your Leper Gnomes..." Hah.
I love that each mod's picks show the kind of fun they have in Hearthstone.
Slamming big cool cards, succeeding with weird archetypes, generating oodles of random bits, straight face-smashing... Just goes to show, there are many ways to play!
It's simple. I play Force of Nature. I summon three treants with Charge. I play Savage Roar. And I awaken MALFURION, THE BANCIENT ONE!
Playing Freeze Mage with Jaina's nerfed bust is going to feel wrong, won't it?
Amazing! So much skill in one place. I wouldn't mind it if these were the next two years' cardbacks.
The blue waves is my favorite of the lot. It's so crisp, and deceptively asymmetrical.
When you say lower ranks, do you mean lower numbers (Diamond) or lower skill (Bronze)?
Yeah! I bet Avalon likes mac and cheese, and that guy eats shoes!
Arbor Up is a scary card. I decided to try out a Spell Druid for fun last night (the list posted on this site) and accidentally climbed to Legend... Oops?
The second culprit, though, which I'd never taken note of, is Solar Eclipse. Double Savage Roar for five mana, double Arbor Up for five mana and a Lightning Bloom, that hits HARD.
It seems that the devs don't intend Duels to be an F2P-friendly mode (I think Iksar stated this himself, paraphrased.) That's fine. It feels bad, but there are plenty of other modes for F2P players to enjoy.
It'll be less fine if the other new mode we get this year is also collection-intensive, though. Duels being anti-F2P is a novelty. The next mode being anti-F2P is a trend.
Good things come from China every so often! That Valeera portrait, *mwah*, chef's kiss.
Looking at Rocket League's battle pass as an example, I agree that HS' implementation of cosmetics has been lacking. As you say, the design space just isn't there. In Rocket League, each car has 8 slots for cosmetic items, while in Hearthstone we have only three - hero, coin, cardback. Not only that, but compared to the compelling variety of aesthetics you can explore by combining items in Rocket League, the pinnacle (and only possibility, really) of aesthetic synergy in Hearthstone is having a cardback similar to your hero. At the beginning, they played off this - hero skins came with cardbacks - but recently they haven't even done that.
It would be good for them to open more design space, as you say, with custom boards, emotes, hero borders, et cetera and to do so with a mind to aesthetic synergies - what would look good with the existing cosmetics? Have in-jokes, as well, like Rocket League's cosmetic obsession with watermelons and doughnuts. The Battlegrounds' end of match frames would be an easy place to begin with that. Ideologically (technically I haven't the slightest), I don't believe it's too late.
As a side note, implementing viewable player profiles would open plenty of new design space for cosmetics as well.
I don't necessarily agree with you. I've gotten five folks to pick up this game in the last few years. Among those, all of them turned to YouTube and Twitch for deckbuilding ideas and amusing content. They wanted to see what sort of decks and ideas professional players and content creators had, because there's a brain-smotheringly large amount of deck-building options out there.
Granted, those five were more interested in Legend play than they were in out-of-client happenings like tournaments. However, I believe that's because tournaments weren't on their radar. After all, tournament play isn't so different from high-rank Legend play - hype, professionals, cool decks, et cetera. One is shown in-client and one isn't - that's the difference. If tournaments were showcased on the front page of their experience, players would search in that realm for cool ideas, personalities, and decks as well.
If you want a real-world example of this, take Shadowverse, which often holds in-client casual tournaments for cosmetic rewards. They have ranked matchmaking for them and devs keep track of successful decks, showcasing the best or most interesting in-client at the end of each month. Most players participate in those, and if one of the decks showcased is a bit silly or memey, you know you'll inevitably see a fair amount of it on ladder as well. Casual players can enjoy tournaments.
These are great points. If the team had a Rehab Month, in which they set all else to the side and put everyone at work on quality of life improvements, taking Hearthstone into the new year, other PR garbage, that would be very, very welcome.
That said, playing other card games like Mythgard or Faeria helps me appreciate Hearthstone's collection manager. It's not terribly functional, no, but it is smooth and easy to use. Building decks in most other card games is a frustrating experience. Laggy lists, huge lists, odd menus, no search functionality, separate crafting and deckbuilding pages, et cetera.