What bothered me most about Mercenaries was the $130 preorder options
Hearthstone at least eased us into the $100 mega bundles + rewards track purchases - we knew what we were paying for when they were introduced
Mercenaries coming out the gate asked for such a irregular price considering the value of said purchase is largely unknown
Love HS and continue to do so, but this is the FIRST preorder offering since BETA which I haven’t immediately dropped $$$ on
I get this 100%! I personally am feeling like the Mercs mode will be fun and something I enjoy, but unless we get some sort of pre-release open beta play to see how much I like or dislike the mode, I won't be pre-ordering anything. This is partially because I would want the Diablo and/or Lich King bundles, which are pricey, and because I already spend too much on the main game mode every year.
Ultimately though, I feel like Mercs is going to be so vastly different from HS that it could have been a stand alone game with completely separate audiences. So really the high monetization is likely not to punish people playing traditional HS, but to capture value out of players returning to HS just to play Mercs. Is that greedy? Maybe. Is it a solid plan on monetizing the new mode? Of course! BGs only monetization right now is cosmetics (plus perks if you don't get them in the mega pre-purchase card bundle). And Duels has no monetization other than the players paying $$$ for a competitive run instead of using gold. But how many people do that? I bet almost none.
So the team put a lot of effort into Mercs and they want to try and make some cash off it. That's fine! But I'm with you on not immediately jumping to pre-order. If there is no open beta and I end up liking the mode after release, perhaps I'll pick up the occasional $20 hero + packs bundle for Mercs. Or maybe it'll actually be relatively f2p friendly! They mentioned daily rewards and match making taking into account your team's overall power level. So despite not buying a lot of packs to power up you could potentially still do well if you are successfully matched up with other f2p players around your level on a regular basis.
I mean, it's the best way to offer them without making them cost more $ or gold. And historically, getting the epics you wanted was sometimes harder than getting legendaries. Probably not the case anymore though with the duplicate protection rules on all rarities. But still... If that is all they are and they cost the same, an Epic pack is a better value than a normal pack. Wouldn't be surprised if these were only available in the occasional special bundle.
As a side note, with the achievement to kill your opponent with Mankrik, Consumed by Hatred during Barrens there was one game where I saw a way for my opponent to trade my taunt and then kill me with Mankrik Consumed being the final blow. Not only did I stay, I moused over various tokens over and over again in a specific order hoping he'd see what I saw (you know, because the tokens on board are outlined in a red glow when you mouse over them). It took him a moment, and I'm not sure if my signals helped or not, but he figured it out!
Got the XP quest to play 12 dragons. With no real dragon archetype in the Standard meta (or Wild really) I decided my only option was to MEME! Took me only six tries to live the dream as a Demon Hunter with infinite Hero Powers! And the best part is that it was against a Questline mage who played Arcanist Dawngrasp TWICE! Yes, they used Potion of Illusion generated off a Runed Orb to get a second (1) 1/1 copy. I didn't even pay attention to if the effect stacked, I thought me and my 18 HP were done for. But somehow the Mage had ran out of steam and didn't have any draw or generation spells in the 4 they were holding. So I survived and played Felfire Deadeye, Coldarra Drake and a few other dragons to not only win but finish my "play dragons" quest!
Yeah, but the weird thing is that initially they both appeared in the "Standard" section of the pack store, and the Wild packs aren't labeled as being Wild specific. The only indication was the vines and the pack contents description after you click on the pack where it states it contains "5 Wild Hearthstone Cards".
Because they didn't properly label them as Wild without clicking on the pack, and the initial placement in the store, some people may not have been aware that they existed. Since launch they have been moved to the "Other Packs" section next to Classic packs so it's a little clearer.
Been trying to complete the Rogue Masquerade achievement, and finally got it after many many attempts using a Masquerage Questline Rogue. Garrosh couldn't avoid me forever!
Anyway, that isn't important! What is important is that the final game was against a Questline Spell Mage, and my Wandmaker just happened to give me a Savory Deviate Delight right after this Mage completed their quest! So of course I played it, and of course Arcanist Dawngrasp was the only minion in their hand so it became a Prize Plunderer!
On the flip side, my Prize Plunderer transformed into a Southsea Scoundrel, which I used to gain a copy of Ignite from their deck, and add to the other copy I got off Wand Thief... It was a bit of an RNG Fiesta, but it sure was fun!
Yeah, seeing as you Discover cards of the class you are disguised as before turning back into a Rogue, you are actually that other class unless you play a Rogue card during the game. At least in terms of how the game views you until you turn into a Rogue, you are that class. So it makes sense that you'd gain XP to level that class instead of Rogue.
Doesn't mean it's intentional though, but maybe it is? I doubt it's something that they will address though even if it is unintentional.
Really working on refining still but I made a new Ignite Exodia Mage on day 1. Only played a few games so far and have mad a few changes here and there, but I pulled it off once already!
BEWARE animation times! Hemet, Jungle Hunter can be used to set up the combo turn once you have the needed cards. Doesn’t empty your deck, just removes all spells, which should cost 3 or less! This guarantees the Chandler draws the shuffled Ignite.
If you’re interested I hope to have a list up soon!
I made a Fire Mage deck last expansion in Wild which was basically Hero Power mage but with (almost) all fire spells. I will need to update it once the expansion launches. I sometimes felt I ran out of steam in long games against control with that deck. This card solves that issue.
One of Mage’s new achievements is to deal 10 with a “single caste of Ignite”. So I think it continually scales from 2 to 3 to 4, etc.
With that said, Hemet with 2x Ignite, 2x Sorceror’s Apprentice, and an Auctioneer in hand. With 10 mana and an empty deck (or just 1 card remaining) you now have all five cards needed to form a new type of Exodia Mage!
The girls make Ignite free, the Auctioneer will draw one when you play the other in a continuous cycle.
I’m a little surprised by how low rated Impatient Shopkeep is. It’s not great by any means, but I feel like the flexibility of being Tradeable alone should put it higher than it’s 27 rating. I guess it comes down to just having better 3 drop options, taking this hasty store owner out of contention in most builds.
I need all the legendary cards this set for the soul reason of getting diamond Benedictus as a reward! I don’t care if Shadow Priest ends up being good or not, I just want it! I don’t remember who said it in what interview, but I swear they promised more future Shadow Priest support not long after Mind Blast went Hall of Fame. And FINALLY they delivered something that could maybe make a viable Shadow Priest deck beyond Shadowreaper Anduin. I have been hyped since the reveal of this card! Kind of hope they explore other “class specs” in the future with similar cards.
I get this 100%! I personally am feeling like the Mercs mode will be fun and something I enjoy, but unless we get some sort of pre-release open beta play to see how much I like or dislike the mode, I won't be pre-ordering anything. This is partially because I would want the Diablo and/or Lich King bundles, which are pricey, and because I already spend too much on the main game mode every year.
Ultimately though, I feel like Mercs is going to be so vastly different from HS that it could have been a stand alone game with completely separate audiences. So really the high monetization is likely not to punish people playing traditional HS, but to capture value out of players returning to HS just to play Mercs. Is that greedy? Maybe. Is it a solid plan on monetizing the new mode? Of course! BGs only monetization right now is cosmetics (plus perks if you don't get them in the mega pre-purchase card bundle). And Duels has no monetization other than the players paying $$$ for a competitive run instead of using gold. But how many people do that? I bet almost none.
So the team put a lot of effort into Mercs and they want to try and make some cash off it. That's fine! But I'm with you on not immediately jumping to pre-order. If there is no open beta and I end up liking the mode after release, perhaps I'll pick up the occasional $20 hero + packs bundle for Mercs. Or maybe it'll actually be relatively f2p friendly! They mentioned daily rewards and match making taking into account your team's overall power level. So despite not buying a lot of packs to power up you could potentially still do well if you are successfully matched up with other f2p players around your level on a regular basis.
I personally won't buy a Mercenaries bundle unless they have four or more options. And when they do, I'll buy them all
I mean, it's the best way to offer them without making them cost more $ or gold. And historically, getting the epics you wanted was sometimes harder than getting legendaries. Probably not the case anymore though with the duplicate protection rules on all rarities. But still... If that is all they are and they cost the same, an Epic pack is a better value than a normal pack. Wouldn't be surprised if these were only available in the occasional special bundle.
My guess is that an Epic pack will be like a normal pack but guarantee at least one card being an Epic rarity.
As a side note, with the achievement to kill your opponent with Mankrik, Consumed by Hatred during Barrens there was one game where I saw a way for my opponent to trade my taunt and then kill me with Mankrik Consumed being the final blow. Not only did I stay, I moused over various tokens over and over again in a specific order hoping he'd see what I saw (you know, because the tokens on board are outlined in a red glow when you mouse over them). It took him a moment, and I'm not sure if my signals helped or not, but he figured it out!
Over two years old, and this idea of mine is just getting better with age (apparently). :
Am I the only one who gets major Imperfect Cell vibes from this? You know, from Dragonball Z, after absorbing Android 17?!
It’s like this Shudderwock absorded SN1P-SN4P and just needs to absorb Zilliax to reach his perfect form!
Got the XP quest to play 12 dragons. With no real dragon archetype in the Standard meta (or Wild really) I decided my only option was to MEME! Took me only six tries to live the dream as a Demon Hunter with infinite Hero Powers! And the best part is that it was against a Questline mage who played Arcanist Dawngrasp TWICE! Yes, they used Potion of Illusion generated off a Runed Orb to get a second (1) 1/1 copy. I didn't even pay attention to if the effect stacked, I thought me and my 18 HP were done for. But somehow the Mage had ran out of steam and didn't have any draw or generation spells in the 4 they were holding. So I survived and played Felfire Deadeye, Coldarra Drake and a few other dragons to not only win but finish my "play dragons" quest!
Thanks for the reminder that I still need to finish Illidan's story. Sometimes I forget that the Initiate solo content wasn't his BoH story.
Also...
HAPPY NOZ DAY!!!
Yeah, but the weird thing is that initially they both appeared in the "Standard" section of the pack store, and the Wild packs aren't labeled as being Wild specific. The only indication was the vines and the pack contents description after you click on the pack where it states it contains "5 Wild Hearthstone Cards".
Because they didn't properly label them as Wild without clicking on the pack, and the initial placement in the store, some people may not have been aware that they existed. Since launch they have been moved to the "Other Packs" section next to Classic packs so it's a little clearer.
There is already a Chapter 2. It's called "Book of Mercenaries".
Been trying to complete the Rogue Masquerade achievement, and finally got it after many many attempts using a Masquerage Questline Rogue. Garrosh couldn't avoid me forever!
Anyway, that isn't important! What is important is that the final game was against a Questline Spell Mage, and my Wandmaker just happened to give me a Savory Deviate Delight right after this Mage completed their quest! So of course I played it, and of course Arcanist Dawngrasp was the only minion in their hand so it became a Prize Plunderer!
On the flip side, my Prize Plunderer transformed into a Southsea Scoundrel, which I used to gain a copy of Ignite from their deck, and add to the other copy I got off Wand Thief... It was a bit of an RNG Fiesta, but it sure was fun!
Yeah, seeing as you Discover cards of the class you are disguised as before turning back into a Rogue, you are actually that other class unless you play a Rogue card during the game. At least in terms of how the game views you until you turn into a Rogue, you are that class. So it makes sense that you'd gain XP to level that class instead of Rogue.
Doesn't mean it's intentional though, but maybe it is? I doubt it's something that they will address though even if it is unintentional.
Dane played an Even Reno deck just like this, and one of the clips on his YouTube video of the deck he's Demon Hunter. EVEN Demon Hunter... LOL
Spell damage stacking with Bleeds sounds like a bug. Corrupted Blood from Hakkar used to stack from Spell Damage but they changed that pretty quick.
Really working on refining still but I made a new Ignite Exodia Mage on day 1. Only played a few games so far and have mad a few changes here and there, but I pulled it off once already!
I you aren’t aware, the combo goes 1Sanctum Chandler, 2 Sorcerer's Apprentice, and then Ignite into an infinite loop of damage!
BEWARE animation times! Hemet, Jungle Hunter can be used to set up the combo turn once you have the needed cards. Doesn’t empty your deck, just removes all spells, which should cost 3 or less! This guarantees the Chandler draws the shuffled Ignite.
If you’re interested I hope to have a list up soon!
I made a Fire Mage deck last expansion in Wild which was basically Hero Power mage but with (almost) all fire spells. I will need to update it once the expansion launches. I sometimes felt I ran out of steam in long games against control with that deck. This card solves that issue.
One of Mage’s new achievements is to deal 10 with a “single caste of Ignite”. So I think it continually scales from 2 to 3 to 4, etc.
With that said, Hemet with 2x Ignite, 2x Sorceror’s Apprentice, and an Auctioneer in hand. With 10 mana and an empty deck (or just 1 card remaining) you now have all five cards needed to form a new type of Exodia Mage!
The girls make Ignite free, the Auctioneer will draw one when you play the other in a continuous cycle.
I’m a little surprised by how low rated Impatient Shopkeep is. It’s not great by any means, but I feel like the flexibility of being Tradeable alone should put it higher than it’s 27 rating. I guess it comes down to just having better 3 drop options, taking this hasty store owner out of contention in most builds.
I need all the legendary cards this set for the soul reason of getting diamond Benedictus as a reward! I don’t care if Shadow Priest ends up being good or not, I just want it! I don’t remember who said it in what interview, but I swear they promised more future Shadow Priest support not long after Mind Blast went Hall of Fame. And FINALLY they delivered something that could maybe make a viable Shadow Priest deck beyond Shadowreaper Anduin. I have been hyped since the reveal of this card! Kind of hope they explore other “class specs” in the future with similar cards.