Great point re: achievements. I am ignoring logic and fun right now, grinding Greybough in Druid and play sub-optimal corrupt cards all over the place. Failing at the ladder, but leveling up - I guess?
I am in nearly the same camp - I will probably be level 33, maybe even close to 34, by the end of today thanks to the weekly quests and my OCD need to complete them in the first day.
I think that's how they'll nerf that card too (reducing the mill quantity) - I played a few hours last night of standard ladder at the Diamond 5 level and I faced 80% plus Y'Shaarj warlocks. That card being played 2-3 times (thanks to Felosophy) is brutal against a control/combo deck.
I can get behind this - I have been spamming sub-optimal decks all week just to check off some of the XP rewarding quests. Have not moved beyond Diamond 5, 2 stars. You're welcome, people trying to climb to Legend.
Another one to add to the list above - you can complete the Shaman Grand Totem Eys'or quest chain (several hundred XP for buffing totems) in duels too. If you use the upgraded hero power, it often generates Eys'or as an option. I grinded a bit of Shaman in duels yesterday and buffed hundreds of totems easily.
I agree that it's a shame that feature isn't included currently. I suspect/hope that they'll add it in a later patch because the player base will demand it.
I bought the Tavern Pass on the day it was released so I have had the boost for almost all my game play since the new system started.
I am a daily player, but I don't track my hours per day. Some days it is a lot (probably 3-4) and some days it isa little as 1/2 an hour just to finish the daily. I also don't mind playing BGs, duels, etc., but my focus is definitely ranked. For what it's worth, I only play Arena/ranked Duels if I have a free ticket or another external incentive.
I am currently less than 100 points from Level 19 being completed. I grinded Duels as Shaman yesterday a bit to complete the XP achievements for Grand Totem Eys'or, which was a nice bonus to realize I could complete it in that format (didn't need to have the card, the Shaman hero power will give it to you randomly).
I am going to reserve my personal judgment on the whole program nearer to the end of the expansion in 3-4 months time once I see how my gold haul has gone. First impressions are that it is going to feel like a grind, especially at the higher levels, and not getting the 10 gold per three wins is already feeling lamer. I will be judging gold vs gold take to judge whether this was all "worth it"
Given the projections that many others have put forth for the amount of time/XP needed to get certain amounts of gold, I am a bit discouraged. As J Alexander put it so well on his stream a few days ago: <very rough paraphrase> "I'd love to feel better about giving Blizzard my money..." I have been a paid player for a couple years (buy pre-orders and $/pack beneficial ratio bundles), and I don't (yet) regret any of it (I love the collection element of the game, and I love having more cards at my disposal in standard and in wild), but I do wish that the new system felt better in a tangible way.
Edit: at first it looked like Tavern Brawls and Duels were not giving me experience and that was really upsetting to me, but as of yesterday it appears they are (I think - I keep checking back at my XP progress after each match to make sure!)
I just realized something disappointing about the new system and the “gold value” of the “challenge a friend” quest- if you do that quest when you’re above level 50, you are essentially gaining 1/3 of the 150 gold for the level you’re on. So at higher levels, that quest is worth 50 gold (and by extension, all the other cheaper quests are worth less too). So lame- really diminishing returns at higher levels on the path. I am assuming for simplicity that one does not have the tavern pass multiplier
Does anyone know: does playing casual duels and tavern brawl award experience? From my limited experience on day 1 of the new system, it appears not. I tried to complete the “play three games as a demon hunter“ quest in the tavern brawl and it neither awarded quest completion ticks or experience. I played a few duels and also didn’t see the bar moving on the progress track. I did confirm the bar was moving when I played some BGs and some ranked later. Seems weird not to award experience in those other game modes
I got those notices too, but no packs. I think the Legendary quests were from Duels, which as you said: people who pre-ordered already got them. I also saw the quest with the legendary and the classic packs, but have no idea what that's for.
I thought the same for the pre-order (that it included the Tavern Pass), because the mega bundles in the recent pass had included something Blizzard called the "Tavern Pass (previously Arena tickets + BG Perks)". I was disappointed when I read the fine print more closely (the Darkmoon Faire bundle includes Battlegrounds Perks only).
Sorry, what I meant was: will there be another quest/quests available when the patch hits (versus the "old" one that I get when the server ticks over at 12pm Pacific tonight).
Great point re: achievements. I am ignoring logic and fun right now, grinding Greybough in Druid and play sub-optimal corrupt cards all over the place. Failing at the ladder, but leveling up - I guess?
I am in nearly the same camp - I will probably be level 33, maybe even close to 34, by the end of today thanks to the weekly quests and my OCD need to complete them in the first day.
I agree - great article and cool stats to see.
I think that's how they'll nerf that card too (reducing the mill quantity) - I played a few hours last night of standard ladder at the Diamond 5 level and I faced 80% plus Y'Shaarj warlocks. That card being played 2-3 times (thanks to Felosophy) is brutal against a control/combo deck.
My thoughts exactly. Normally I would be excited for drops (if they had them)
I can get behind this - I have been spamming sub-optimal decks all week just to check off some of the XP rewarding quests. Have not moved beyond Diamond 5, 2 stars. You're welcome, people trying to climb to Legend.
Another one to add to the list above - you can complete the Shaman Grand Totem Eys'or quest chain (several hundred XP for buffing totems) in duels too. If you use the upgraded hero power, it often generates Eys'or as an option. I grinded a bit of Shaman in duels yesterday and buffed hundreds of totems easily.
I agree that it's a shame that feature isn't included currently. I suspect/hope that they'll add it in a later patch because the player base will demand it.
I bought the Tavern Pass on the day it was released so I have had the boost for almost all my game play since the new system started.
I am a daily player, but I don't track my hours per day. Some days it is a lot (probably 3-4) and some days it isa little as 1/2 an hour just to finish the daily. I also don't mind playing BGs, duels, etc., but my focus is definitely ranked. For what it's worth, I only play Arena/ranked Duels if I have a free ticket or another external incentive.
I am currently less than 100 points from Level 19 being completed. I grinded Duels as Shaman yesterday a bit to complete the XP achievements for Grand Totem Eys'or, which was a nice bonus to realize I could complete it in that format (didn't need to have the card, the Shaman hero power will give it to you randomly).
I am going to reserve my personal judgment on the whole program nearer to the end of the expansion in 3-4 months time once I see how my gold haul has gone. First impressions are that it is going to feel like a grind, especially at the higher levels, and not getting the 10 gold per three wins is already feeling lamer. I will be judging gold vs gold take to judge whether this was all "worth it"
Given the projections that many others have put forth for the amount of time/XP needed to get certain amounts of gold, I am a bit discouraged. As J Alexander put it so well on his stream a few days ago: <very rough paraphrase> "I'd love to feel better about giving Blizzard my money..." I have been a paid player for a couple years (buy pre-orders and $/pack beneficial ratio bundles), and I don't (yet) regret any of it (I love the collection element of the game, and I love having more cards at my disposal in standard and in wild), but I do wish that the new system felt better in a tangible way.
Edit: at first it looked like Tavern Brawls and Duels were not giving me experience and that was really upsetting to me, but as of yesterday it appears they are (I think - I keep checking back at my XP progress after each match to make sure!)
I just realized something disappointing about the new system and the “gold value” of the “challenge a friend” quest- if you do that quest when you’re above level 50, you are essentially gaining 1/3 of the 150 gold for the level you’re on. So at higher levels, that quest is worth 50 gold (and by extension, all the other cheaper quests are worth less too). So lame- really diminishing returns at higher levels on the path. I am assuming for simplicity that one does not have the tavern pass multiplier
Does anyone know: does playing casual duels and tavern brawl award experience? From my limited experience on day 1 of the new system, it appears not. I tried to complete the “play three games as a demon hunter“ quest in the tavern brawl and it neither awarded quest completion ticks or experience. I played a few duels and also didn’t see the bar moving on the progress track. I did confirm the bar was moving when I played some BGs and some ranked later. Seems weird not to award experience in those other game modes
Some (few) achievements give rewards of XP, not just points.
I got those notices too, but no packs. I think the Legendary quests were from Duels, which as you said: people who pre-ordered already got them. I also saw the quest with the legendary and the classic packs, but have no idea what that's for.
I agree - that part isn't explained at all. I guess** you get slightly more "per game/hour" if you win?
As always, thanks for having all the news that's fit to print on this site!
Correct.
I appreciate this analysis.
I thought the same for the pre-order (that it included the Tavern Pass), because the mega bundles in the recent pass had included something Blizzard called the "Tavern Pass (previously Arena tickets + BG Perks)". I was disappointed when I read the fine print more closely (the Darkmoon Faire bundle includes Battlegrounds Perks only).
Sorry, what I meant was: will there be another quest/quests available when the patch hits (versus the "old" one that I get when the server ticks over at 12pm Pacific tonight).
The big question for me is: will there be new weekly/daily quest(s) available when the patch goes live? I hope so.