Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

[MisterOJ]

Anyone else playing this game right now?

I just picked it up this week and I am really having a lot of fun with it. It's basically a pared down Magic: The Gathering type game, but it's free to play and doesn't have a (Like, genuinely free to play. I've played a ton of it and haven't felt the need to pay for anything yet, although I probably will if the game continues to hold my attention.)

If you haven't checked it out yet and have even the slightest interest in trying a Magic-style game, I'd really recommend it. You can play a ton of it without needing to pay anything in order to find out if you like it. It's really refreshing to find a game like this, IMO.

[KiDisaster]

Anyone else playing this game right now?

I just picked it up this week and I am really having a lot of fun with it. It's basically a pared down Magic: The Gathering type game, but it's free to play and doesn't have a (Like, genuinely free to play. I've played a ton of it and haven't felt the need to pay for anything yet, although I probably will if the game continues to hold my attention.)

If you haven't checked it out yet and have even the slightest interest in trying a Magic-style game, I'd really recommend it. You can play a ton of it without needing to pay anything in order to find out if you like it. It's really refreshing to find a game like this, IMO.

I started playing it during beta around November last year, it's held my attention since. I don't play constantly anymore like I used to but I usually fit in a round or two during breaks from whatever other game I'm playing. Especially helpful now that I'm hooked on Dark Souls 2, I can destress with Hearthstone after getting my ass handed to me.

I've spent a bit of money on the game, but only for Arena entries back when I first started and I wasn't breaking even in gold. Altogether I probably spent somewhere in the vicinity of $20-40, which isn't bad at all considering the amount of time I've spent playing it. Now I average 7 or 8 wins in Arena though so I break even most of the time. Hardly ever play constructed, Arena is just too fun.

After all this time the limited card selection has gotten a little stale though, really looking forward to the first expansion. Whenever that may be.

[MisterOJ]

After all this time the limited card selection has gotten a little stale though, really looking forward to the first expansion. Whenever that may be.

Yeah, I could see that happening.

I played my first arena round last night and finished with four wins. Pretty darn happy about that. I went in thinking that if I got just one, I would consider it a success.

[Tobin]

I have been doing pretty well with my customized Shaman 'Murloc Massacre' deck I built - lots of murlocs and +A/D buffers.

I started playing the game for the pony, but I enjoyed it more than I expected and have been playing it more than actual WoW lately.

[Kungsmurfen]

I started playing quite recently and I'm not very good yet. I've only found success in the Mage and Druid classes so far and even though I've opened lots of decks I don't have a single legendary card.

Arena is by far the most fun game mode. Even though I sometimes don't even manage to win one game on my three tries :lol:

[KiDisaster]

I started playing quite recently and I'm not very good yet. I've only found success in the Mage and Druid classes so far and even though I've opened lots of decks I don't have a single legendary card.

Arena is by far the most fun game mode. Even though I sometimes don't even manage to win one game on my three tries :lol:

It took me several months of playing very frequently before I got a legendary in a pack, but my luck is awful. I'm 10-2 on my current arena run but I just ran into a mage and if she's made it this far she's bound to have at least a couple of each of the really annoying cards so I think this is probably the end.

ETA: Managed to beat the mage and then lost the final game against a rogue with the most insane deck I have ever seen in arena. It felt like every card was specifically picked to counter what I was going to play each turn. What an asskicking.

[Mack Kilimaro]

I started playing quite recently and I'm not very good yet. I've only found success in the Mage and Druid classes so far and even though I've opened lots of decks I don't have a single legendary card.

Arena is by far the most fun game mode. Even though I sometimes don't even manage to win one game on my three tries :lol:

I'm not sure exactly how many packs I've opened at this point. I bought one in beta because you got a gold card reward for doing so and I figured what the heck. I have gotten two legendaries, and they were both the same guy. Captain Greenskin, one of the more disappointing oranges to see.

Meanwhile, I run into Ragnaros the Firelord and Sylvanas Windrunner like every pre-made deck I play. It's crazy.

This game is fun. I can't even figure out why. It annoys me less as I've gotten the hang of it more. Ran a fairly cheap mage aggro deck up to rank 14 and that's my best success yet.

[protar]

Really enjoying it so far. Haven't got any legendaries so far, and they can be rather annoying to play against especially when there's several in a row. But I don't feel that they push the game into P2W territory. Most are powerful yet balanced enough cards, or just fun gimmicky cards. Druid's my favourite class at the moment, and seems like one of the most balanced. They've got a lot of good flexibility.

[DemonKing]

I've been playing a bit - just with the base cards + a couple of packs I got for achieving goals. So far I haven't lost a casual match with a heavy card generating Priest deck I made up in 5 minutes, although it probably helps that I played MTG non-stop for years so have a pretty good idea how to play and usually concenrate more on killing my opponent than his creatures, which is what I see a lot of players do.

[KiDisaster]

I've been playing a bit - just with the base cards + a couple of packs I got for achieving goals. So far I haven't lost a casual match with a heavy card generating Priest deck I made up in 5 minutes, although it probably helps that I played MTG non-stop for years so have a pretty good idea how to play and usually concenrate more on killing my opponent than his creatures, which is what I see a lot of players do.

I find it's far better to trade than to go for the face in the vast majority of situations in Hearthstone unless you're specifically playing a rush deck. I can't tell you how many games I've won that could have been losses if the enemy had traded instead of attacking me directly and letting me secure board control for the remainder of the game. It's easy to win a game from low health if your opponent can no longer keep minions on the board. But then control has always been more my style. I've tried playing rush decks and I don't seem to be very good at them.

The general consensus among people much better than me is that board control is the most important factor in this game, that's why most people tend to play that way. But hey, whatever works right? :)

[SkynJay]

Damn all of you. I was fine not knowing about this game, now I am sucked in completely.

[KiDisaster]

Ever have one of those games where the opponent makes such a horrific mistake you actually feel bad for taking advantage of it?

I just played against a Druid, it was getting to the late game (turn 9 I think) and I had a Silver Hand Knight, with Squire and Sylvannas on the board at the start of his turn, all at full health. He had nothing. He Faceless Manipulator'd my Sylvannas, which by itself would have been a pretty solid play, but then uses Mark of the Wild to make it a 5/9 with taunt and ends his turn.

It hurt me to do it :\

[protar]

I did have a rather gung-ho rogue who kept smashing his face into my Ogres and my Ironbark. I made him pay by swiping and then hero-powering him.

[Gertrude]

It's a fun game, but losing it's luster for me. I did well enough when I started, but one day I started getting matched with decks that far outclassed mine and you could tell it was tightly focused. I expect to gradually get matched with better players, but this was like a light switch being turned on and was very frustrating. It's almost to the point right now where i can tell when the match-making shifts me up or down a level. There is no gradual slide - it's me being stomped or me having good, even'y-matched games. Mostly it's me being stomped.

I'm totally a casual player and have no interest in being super-competitive. I know enough to be good, but don't care enough to study up on meta strategies and min/max my deck. Deck-building and collecting are part of the fun for me, so I don't craft anything either - I'd rather open a pack and be surprised and see how I can fit my new toys into decks. I feel like players like me are falling through the cracks and might get too frustrated to continue. I haven't played in over a week, but haven't written it off entirely.

[Tobin]

I'm like you Gert, but I'm still having fun with it. I did nothing but practice yesterday to fill out the levels on each of the characters (except Warrior, Garrosh can suck it).

I built a new rogue deck, but I'm still not happy with how it performs.

I'm practicing with a druid set - it's kinda unfair to hit a Core Hound with Mark of the Wild...

I got two of the frozen Ghoul cards which are pretty sweet - they play nicely in the Murloc deck since I go through a lot of creatures.

[protar]

It's a fun game, but losing it's luster for me. I did well enough when I started, but one day I started getting matched with decks that far outclassed mine and you could tell it was tightly focused. I expect to gradually get matched with better players, but this was like a light switch being turned on and was very frustrating. It's almost to the point right now where i can tell when the match-making shifts me up or down a level. There is no gradual slide - it's me being stomped or me having good, even'y-matched games. Mostly it's me being stomped.

I'm totally a casual player and have no interest in being super-competitive. I know enough to be good, but don't care enough to study up on meta strategies and min/max my deck. Deck-building and collecting are part of the fun for me, so I don't craft anything either - I'd rather open a pack and be surprised and see how I can fit my new toys into decks. I feel like players like me are falling through the cracks and might get too frustrated to continue. I haven't played in over a week, but haven't written it off entirely.

Casual mode is probably the best for well...casual players, if you're not too interested in being competitive. Or you could play ranked and just find your niche in the mid-ranks.

It does need more stuff just for fun though. Adventure mode is apparently in the works whatever that means (hoping for some WoW dungeon themed NPC fights) and I'd like to see some unranked party game modes.

[Kungsmurfen]

I finally got my first legendary card! A golden Hogger which I instantly disenchanted to create Ysera, that card is amazing.

Ever have one of those games where the opponent makes such a horrific mistake you actually feel bad for taking advantage of it?

I was that opponent. Yesterday I was playing Druid and was winning. All I needed to do was play my starfall on his hero but I didn't pay much attention and clicked his minion instead and had to wait for my next turn to finish him. He got a pyroblast and won thanks to it :P

[Gertrude]

Casual mode is probably the best for well...casual players, if you're not too interested in being competitive. Or you could play ranked and just find your niche in the mid-ranks.

Oh, my experience was in casual mode - they have some sort of matchmaking system in place for that too, right? I switched to ranked to see how that was and blew through the first few with little problem until I hit 20. Then it was just the same-old shit. Could be a good match, could be facing a deck that smashes me immediately.

What I'd actually like to see is the casual split in two. One being a casual mode for players who do have a rank and are using it to test new decks, farm gold, whatever, and a second area for people who don't give a shit about rankings at all. Can't play there if you've ever played in a ranked match, or never gotten above an arbitrary low rank. Something like that.

Tobin: I started out not liking Rogue, but then figured out that spellpower Rogues were actually quite fun. It's not my natural playstyle, however. I like something more controlish than face-smashy. I gravitate towards Druid and Shaman.

[Fiddler]

I still enjoy the game, just not as fanatical about it as I was at first.

I still find it great when I'm playing my Hunter trap deck and a misdirection trap causes my opponent to kill himself, its great.

[protar]

Oh, my experience was in casual mode - they have some sort of matchmaking system in place for that too, right? I switched to ranked to see how that was and blew through the first few with little problem until I hit 20. Then it was just the same-old shit. Could be a good match, could be facing a deck that smashes me immediately.

What I'd actually like to see is the casual split in two. One being a casual mode for players who do have a rank and are using it to test new decks, farm gold, whatever, and a second area for people who don't give a shit about rankings at all. Can't play there if you've ever played in a ranked match, or never gotten above an arbitrary low rank. Something like that.

Tobin: I started out not liking Rogue, but then figured out that spellpower Rogues were actually quite fun. It's not my natural playstyle, however. I like something more controlish than face-smashy. I gravitate towards Druid and Shaman.

I've heard that people deliberately stick around rank 19/20 so that they can prey on new players coming down the ranks. I definitely think there's a hurdle around there and things get a lot easier at about rank 16.