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[Kenaras]

I think you're right about this as well. From my perspective, I spent a little to get started, but now I don't envision myself ever needing to spend money again, the gold payouts are just so generous for a casual player who plays 5-10 games a day (which I still think is a fair amount).

Meanwhile, people are complaining they don't give out enough gold, which I really don't understand, well because I don't play hours and hours of the game a day I guess. If they do ever increase the gold payout by a substantial amount, I hope they add more gold sinks, because otherwise in enough time my reserves will probably hit 5 or 6 figures.

I'm in a similar boat, though I haven't spent any money. I'd actually be willing to pay some money to support the game, but there just doesn't seem to be any reason to. The gold rewards from dailies and Arenas are more than generous enough to build a decent collection without spending too much time.

Of course, some people seem to be approaching the game with an MMO mentality. They want to grind countless hours every day to complete their card collection ASAP, and get frustrated because this tactic isn't effective. The thing is, Blizzard doesn't want players grinding this way. They get no money from these players, it puts additional load of their servers, and once the players complete their collections they'll most likely just complain about having nothing to do before quitting the game. The current payout structure is designed to discourage grinding, not encourage it.

 

[TheSadRanger]

So if someone spends 150 gold for arena after doing three days of dailies, let's say they get a 2 game mage or shaman win daily for 40 gold, then a 50g daily for killing or casting minions or whatever. Then they get a 60g daily for five wins for some class.

That's three days worth of dailies and if that person decides to spend that gold for arena and gets a shit draft then it's all down the tube. I would hardly say it's "easy" or "quick" to build a fast collection. For the person who spent no money who is a "casual" player that seems like real quick progression.

If your not doing dailies and just want to grind wins for arena well that's 3 wins for 10g so that's 45 games a person has to win a day if they want to participate in arena if they have no gold or money and are out of dailies.

 

[Minsc]

I don't mean to be rude, but I think you are rather the exception than the norm. What's your average arena record like? It's easy not to spend real money if you are constantly going 9-0 or 9-1 in arena games.

Do you save up dailies and do them all every 2-3 days?

I play ~2 battles in the arena a day, and 3-5 constructed matches on average. So the 150g arena fee is usually made up solely by the daily rewards over the course of a single arena run, and then any gold I get from arena is a bonus. While in the beta and perhaps on forums I may be more the exception, in the big picture of all their users when the game is released, I do expect a player averaging around 40-80 games a week like myself to be somewhere around the average, and I think the structure they chose for the arena supports this as well. They could have just as easily made the arena be something you sit through in a single session, or that expires in 12-24 hours after your entry fee is processed, but they instead allow you to split your arena games over the course of years if you desire, drafting a single card a day.

Perhaps what makes me different from other people with similar amounts of games per week is the breakdown of play vs arena. Mine is like 25% arena, 75% constructed, where it may be more common to see the reverse.

 

[Brofist]

Playing around with some different Rogue constructed decks. I know Cold Blood is never a favorite in most decks, but it really does open up some nasty combos with Argent Commander. 7 cost 8 damage charge is pretty sick.

 

[BigAT]

Someone decided to be cute and "take out" my Raging Worgen by putting Blessing of Wisdom on it instead of killing it, so he would draw a card if I ever attacked with it.

Enjoy your extra cards!

 

[intheinbetween]

nvm

 

[DeFrank]

Playing around with some different Rogue constructed decks. I know Cold Blood is never a favorite in most decks, but it really does open up some nasty combos with Argent Commander. 7 cost 8 damage charge is pretty sick.

Agreed. I'd suggest trying The Beast + UTK for Hunter.

That will give you 7 cost 10 damage charge. No shield though, of course.

 

[Rageino]

Just got into the beta, I won't play the thing, is someone still after a beta key?

PM if you so desire, with money offers

Spoiler

JK before I get banned, no money just a promise you'll play it

PM'd...I've been lurking here for so long. Why do Blizz hate me

 

[Dynamic3]

They need to have some sort of skill per deck system for unranked. The day I got into the beta, I used a lvl 1 Priest guide to get to two-star masters; and now when I run in unranked with a deck from another class (I have very few non-basic cards), I get demolished as everyone has rares/epics/legendaries.

 

[Johnlenham]

Someone decided to be cute and "take out" my Raging Worgen by putting Blessing of Wisdom on it instead of killing it, so he would draw a card if I ever attacked with it.


Enjoy your extra cards!

Haha nice. Thats kinf of clever if your down to nothing and youve got no dudes on the table. Though at that point you are probably boned anyway.

 

[Mengy]

This game has become a very casual thing for me. I'll log into it every day to see what daily I got, and then if I can do that daily in arena, and if I have enough gold saved up, I'll pay the 150g and enter the arena, win my one or two games before I lose out and then finish the rest of the daily in constructed. If I don't have enough gold then I'll just play constructed games to do the daily. If I lose a lot and can't seem to win any games then I just give up and try again the next day.

I'm basically just very slowly saving gold for arenas to get my one pack and gold/dust when I lose all my games (my best arena so far is a 2-3). The game is fun and well done but I tire of it quickly after an hour or so. Sometimes I even go a few days without playing it at all. It really needs more to do in it, for example I wish it was easier to enter arena as I find it fun. The 150g entrance fee is stifling for casual players, if they had an arena option that was free to enter but much reduced rewards, that would be awesome. Or constructed tournaments where you could play decks you created to win rewards like in arena. I also really wish it had a better game tracking interface and info tracking, like games played/won/lost for each class, kept track of the people you've played against and your match history, just better multiplayer info in general. It seems very lacking.

It's a great game, and it's fun and well done, but I hope they flesh some bits of it out yet. Still, it doesn't feel like a beta since it plays so well and is so polished.

 

[Minsc]

Someone decided to be cute and "take out" my Raging Worgen by putting Blessing of Wisdom on it instead of killing it, so he would draw a card if I ever attacked with it.

What gets it to 12/10 on the fifth turn?

Edit: Oh, I guess two blessing of kings? Those are pretty scary, didn't recognize the icon.

 

[Professor Lich]

Just another YouTube shout out if people are interested.

Day[9] has started HearthStone Dailies.

What gets it to 12/10 on the fifth turn?

Edit: Oh, I guess two blessing of kings? Those are pretty scary, didn't recognize the icon.

I would never let a Windfury card stay alive with a paladin deck. Buff cards getting double the value, or whatever you want to call it, is way to much.

Same reason I will never let a high health minion with a priest stay alive. I won a game simply because someone left a snap jaw alive when he had 3-5 minions on the board. Two Divine Spirits and an Inner Fire, felt great.

 

[BigAT]

What gets it to 12/10 on the fifth turn?

Edit: Oh, I guess two blessing of kings? Those are pretty scary, didn't recognize the icon.

Yeah, double Blessing of Kings. So I was able do 16 damage with the Worgen on turn 4. I didn't even need the second one, it was just for show.

 

[commish]

Just another YouTube shout out if people are interested.

Day[9] has started HearthStone Dailies.

Somehow I ended up watching a few minutes of Day 9's daily. Kripp might be the dullest person on the entire planet, so Day 9's enthusiasm/personality was welcome. But Day 9 isn't a terribly good player.

 

[SteveWD40]

This game has become a very casual thing for me. I'll log into it every day to see what daily I got, and then if I can do that daily in arena, and if I have enough gold saved up, I'll pay the 150g and enter the arena, win my one or two games before I lose out and then finish the rest of the daily in constructed. If I don't have enough gold then I'll just play constructed games to do the daily. If I lose a lot and can't seem to win any games then I just give up and try again the next day.

I'm basically just very slowly saving gold for arenas to get my one pack and gold/dust when I lose all my games (my best arena so far is a 2-3). The game is fun and well done but I tire of it quickly after an hour or so. Sometimes I even go a few days without playing it at all. It really needs more to do in it, for example I wish it was easier to enter arena as I find it fun. The 150g entrance fee is stifling for casual players, if they had an arena option that was free to enter but much reduced rewards, that would be awesome. Or constructed tournaments where you could play decks you created to win rewards like in arena. I also really wish it had a better game tracking interface and info tracking, like games played/won/lost for each class, kept track of the people you've played against and your match history, just better multiplayer info in general. It seems very lacking.

It's a great game, and it's fun and well done, but I hope they flesh some bits of it out yet. Still, it doesn't feel like a beta since it plays so well and is so polished.

I am the same, I think the (as yet unseen) PVE content is where I will find the most fun. You play through a series for bosses for unique card rewards.

 

[Professor Lich]

Somehow I ended up watching a few minutes of Day 9's daily. Kripp might be the dullest person on the entire planet, so Day 9's enthusiasm/personality was welcome. But Day 9 isn't a terribly good player.

Nah, he isn't, but that's why I like watching him.

Best part of this video is how he talks about the core 19 cards everyone uses, and then each episode you see people using them all.

 

[Shai-Tan]

This game has become a very casual thing for me. I'll log into it every day to see what daily I got, and then if I can do that daily in arena, and if I have enough gold saved up, I'll pay the 150g and enter the arena, win my one or two games before I lose out and then finish the rest of the daily in constructed. If I don't have enough gold then I'll just play constructed games to do the daily. If I lose a lot and can't seem to win any games then I just give up and try again the next day.

I'm basically just very slowly saving gold for arenas to get my one pack and gold/dust when I lose all my games (my best arena so far is a 2-3). The game is fun and well done but I tire of it quickly after an hour or so. Sometimes I even go a few days without playing it at all. It really needs more to do in it, for example I wish it was easier to enter arena as I find it fun. The 150g entrance fee is stifling for casual players, if they had an arena option that was free to enter but much reduced rewards, that would be awesome. Or constructed tournaments where you could play decks you created to win rewards like in arena. I also really wish it had a better game tracking interface and info tracking, like games played/won/lost for each class, kept track of the people you've played against and your match history, just better multiplayer info in general. It seems very lacking.

It's a great game, and it's fun and well done, but I hope they flesh some bits of it out yet. Still, it doesn't feel like a beta since it plays so well and is so polished.

I think people would get bored anyway if there were incentives (more quests) to reward more playing. I pretty much just do the quests and maybe play a bit more if the pack I've earned leads to some deck changes. The f2p nature of the game is such that either they get people buying packs or paying for arena (temporary lottery drafted deck). If you could play arena every day for the cost of a 60g quest the mode could very easily be a substitute for constructed mode.

 

[commish]

Nah, he isn't, but that's why I like watching him.

Best part of this video is how he talks about the core 19 cards everyone uses, and then each episode you see people using them all.

Love Day 9 from the days when I would watch Starcraft matches (which are strangely compelling even though I don't play any longer).

 

[Daheza]

@Substince thank you so much for the key. Now to beat his tutorial!

 

[commish]

If anyone still needs a beta key, please PM me. Requirement: Must have at least 1 post made in the thread before this one!

 

[Totakeke]

I still don't know how to draft aggro warlocks to win consistently at 5 games or more. Their hero ability just doesn't sync very well unless you draft mainly 1-3 cost and you get a very good draft with lots of good low costs creatures. Priests too, naturally you want to emphasize on high health minions but again it's less easy to get a good tempo going.

I'm pretty good with paladins and mages now they're pretty straightforward and I can win more gold than I spend on them. They're easy because their unique cards are very versatile. You can just get a few of the good ones and you still have a good deck. Less so with Warlock and Priest uniques because they are more restrictive. I need to think more on how to play them. Definitely want to avoid going slow/control if possible because right now that doesn't really work from what I've experienced. The goal is to have a good tempo staring from 1 or 2.

Main consideration I've had with warlocks so far is whether summoning portal is a good pick. When it works it's really amazing, but you need to already have board control already for it to really work. When it doesn't you've just slowed yourself down and letting the game slip away from you. If we ignore summoning portal and just go low 1-3 curve, that doesn't really work either because the metagame now is mostly 2-5 curve decks and you'll just be at a natural disadvantage. Cards that trigger random discards like Succubus can also be really great or just weak sometimes. Warlocks are also prone to board wipes because their minions are at 2 or 3 health.

 

[Copenap]

If anyone still needs a beta key, please PM me. Requirement: Must have at least 1 post made in the thread before this one!

PMed, now hoping for the best.

Last post was before Blizzcon shattered my hopes.

Next week is Blizzcon, either full release or at the very least open beta are expected.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I still don't know how to draft aggro warlocks to win consistently at 5 games or more. Their hero ability just doesn't sync very well unless you draft mainly 1-3 cost and you get a very good draft with lots of good low costs creatures. Priests too, naturally you want to emphasize on high health minions but again it's less easy to get a good tempo going.

I'm pretty good with paladins and mages now they're pretty straightforward and I can win more gold than I spend on them. They're easy because their unique cards are very versatile. You can just get a few of the good ones and you still have a good deck. Less so with Warlock and Priest uniques because they are more restrictive. I need to think more on how to play them. Definitely want to avoid going slow/control if possible because right now that doesn't really work from what I've experienced. The goal is to have a good tempo staring from 1 or 2.

Main consideration I've had with warlocks so far is whether summoning portal is a good pick. When it works it's really amazing, but you need to already have board control already for it to really work. When it doesn't you've just slowed yourself down and letting the game slip away from you. If we ignore summoning portal and just go low 1-3 curve, that doesn't really work either because the metagame now is mostly 2-5 curve decks and you'll just be at a natural disadvantage. Cards that trigger random discards like Succubus can also be really great or just weak sometimes. Warlocks are also prone to board wipes because their minions are at 2 or 3 health.

That's when you use your hero ability and play 2 more creatures

Portal is bad, don't play it. You want a bunch of weenies + creatures that pump them up/demonfire. Playing 2 creatures a turn.

Succubus is a low tier card because it has 3 health. You are most likely going to get screwed in the card advantage race.

 

[shadowstar]

I had one Priest run with 3 MCs that was really bad. My last run was a Priest that had 3 Holy Novas though! No MCs and I went 3-3.

Feel like it's too risky to be worth picking again if the other options are decent. Especially since Priests are more slow burn and their removal is flummoxed by 4 attack creatures. Priests are more slow burn and unless you get great cards, the style doesn't really gel well in the arena meta.

I agree. Most successful arena runs are low cost, mana efficient, aggro decks. Which is why I just don't get the whining.

 

[Minsc]

I agree. Most successful arena runs are low cost, mana efficient, aggro decks. Which is why I just don't get the whining.

I think the whining is for constructed mainly now. I know constructed games against certain classes can go on forever. My last match against a Mage (I was druid) took 15 minutes because I would only put a single creature on the board at once. Ran through all the cards in our deck, but he didn't have enough to win because he was too dependent on AoE cards and I had a few heals to keep out of directly killing with fireballs/spells. Flamestrike is a pretty crappy card for playing against a single creature.

 

[Thats the Best Youve Got?]

Isn't the main draw for people to pay money to play arena?

I think in theory yes, but people are getting sick of Arena probably faster than anyone imagined. Most likely due to the fact that its basically RNG over skill, but thats pretty much the whole game imo.

 

[RumblingRosco]

I love Arena. I'd play it more if I had the time (and gold, actually, though I've been keeping pretty steady for a while now at just enough gold to keep it going). I'm honestly surprised so many people are complaining about the RNG; I mean, it's a card game, there is a factor of randomness involved in all of it, but at the end of the day, I rarely feel like I'm playing well but losing more than I should be (or vice versa).

I had an enjoyable match earlier today. I Coin'd for a Shieldmasta on turn 3; it was the only creature on the board as we'd been trading up until then. Turn 4 I dropped Leeroy Jenkins, hit my opponent for 6, killed a 2/3 he had dropped with the Shieldmasta, and used my weapon (Light's Justice) to take out one of the 1/1 Whelps. Leeroy ended ups ticking around long enough to win me the game in a few turns.

 

[commish]

PMed, now hoping for the best.

Last post was before Blizzcon shattered my hopes.

Okay, I'll send. Enjoy!

 

[Kenaras]

Succubus is a low tier card because it has 3 health. You are most likely going to get screwed in the card advantage race.

Succubus is low tier, but the card advantage race doesn't really apply to Warlocks. A better way to look at Succubus is to add the hero ability into her cost, as a kind of delayed Overload effect. She costs 2 mana now, and 2 mana plus 2 life later on. A total cost of 4 mana and 2 life is pretty bad for a 4/3, particularly because she trades evenly with the standard 3/2 2-drop - so you get no tempo advantage. She can work if you have a Blood Imp or your opponent has a terrible opening hand, but still isn't great.

Compare this to Soulfire, the other "discard one" card. A 4 damage nuke for 2 mana plus 2 life would be respectable even if you had to pay the cost up-front. When you take into account that you can choose to pay nothing up-front and take care of the cost later, it becomes absolutely amazing. Using it to remove an early threat gives you a significant tempo advantage, and can single-handedly secure early board control. Lategame you will often end up with a single Soulfire in-hand, at which point the discard penalty is removed and it becomes completely free.

 

[shadowstar]

I think the whining is for constructed mainly now. I know constructed games against certain classes can go on forever. My last match against a Mage (I was druid) took 15 minutes because I would only put a single creature on the board at once. Ran through all the cards in our deck, but he didn't have enough to win because he was too dependent on AoE cards and I had a few heals to keep out of directly killing with fireballs/spells. Flamestrike is a pretty crappy card for playing against a single creature.

That's what I thought and someone said Arena. There is no reason to whine about Priest in constructed at high level. The meta right now in both is low cost aggro.

That's pretty much how I fight Mages too and yeah they are by far the longest matches (followed by Shamans for me). I almost always play them until they run out of cards. I usually just have to be able to deal with Archmage when/if it appears. Mages and Priests are so easy to fight against (to me) due to the high cost of their best CC and it offers no board presence. Force flame strike, force sheep, force mind control, etc.

 

[Tarazet]

Jesus, that was a hell of a pull.

Turn 1: Leper Gnome
Turn 2: Coin, Fiery War Axe, Upgrade!, attack with gnome and weapon = 6 damage
Turn 3: Warsong Commander, attack with gnome and weapon = 6 damage
Turn 4: Bloodsail Raider, Cruel Taskmaster to buff the Raider, attack with gnome, pirate, taskmaster, commander and weapon = game over.

My opponent kept playing healing minions and it just wasn't enough against that kind of ramp-up.

 

[RoadDogg]

I just played the same person 3 times in a row (won twice). I've never had that happen before. I need to give Arena another try now that I know more about the classes and what cards might show up.

 

[theorythree3]

Just realized I was part of the bug that the beta opt-in checkmarks wouldn't register. Wish I would have known about a month and a half ago

I'm looking forward to getting in. Just hopeful the open beta actually does come out this month. Does anyone listen to hearthstone podcasts? I've been listening to a few to sort of get my fill.

 

[Daheza]

Just realized I was part of the bug that the beta opt-in checkmarks wouldn't register. Wish I would have known about a month and a half ago

I'm looking forward to getting in. Just hopeful the open beta actually does come out this month. Does anyone listen to hearthstone podcasts? I've been listening to a few to sort of get my fill.

I listen to Happy Hearthstone and The Angry Chicken. I really liked the Happy Hearthstone episode about Arenas. There were some good tips for drafting cards. Also the last angry chicken episode was packed full of information about the future of the game.

 

[xrayregime]

Another wave of invites just went out for NA about 20 minutes ago. Still hoping...

 

[theorythree3]

I listen to Happy Hearthstone and The Angry Chicken. I really liked the Happy Hearthstone episode about Arenas. There were some good tips for drafting cards. Also the last angry chicken episode was packed full of information about the future of the game.

Yep, I listen to Happy Hearthstone as well. Really like Josh Augustine as a host (I listen to his HEX podcast to).

I'll have to check out Angry Chicken. Thanks!

 

[Insaniac]

Friend got me a beta key already, and I just got one from blizzard, so whoever quotes this can have the beta key

 

[theorythree3]

Friend got me a beta key already, and I just got one from blizzard, so whoever quotes this can have the beta key

May I have it? I haven't posted a lot here so it's up to you.

Edit: thanks so much insaniac! If I get a beta key I'll be sure to give it to someone here

 

[commish]

Just a heads up everyone - there are some fake beta key emails going around. Read the new beta key emails carefully!!!

 

[InVinoVeritas]

I told myself I wasn't going to bother with this beta, but my brother-in-law got in and I played it once on his account... Now every time I get a new email I hold my breath hoping it's an invite. It seems like the perfect game to play a few rounds a day to unwind after work.

 

[Stuggernaut]

So I just make a great Arena deck, that the ONLY thing that it is not strong against is a mage deck...


on 3rd Mage ina row now, 0-2 so far

*@^%&^#%

edit : Yep, wiped out on 3rd mage. At least it was a bad one and I almost got him. He won with 4 health left by pulling a Pyro on his last card or he was dead.

Seriously...WTF are the odds of pulling ALL mage opponents ... I have never seen all one class before on my runs lol. I call shenanigans!

 

[DyslexicAlucard]

Fuck priests sometimes, man. I just played a game where the motherfucker used FOUR Mind Controls in a row. What the fuck do you do at that point? Anything of substance was stolen. For 8 mana (hell, even 10) you remove an opponents minion AND gain one? How did they think that was balanced?

You can say "Well, play around it", but how? He gains a big minion, I can't counter without creatures (no removal) and you'd think after the THIRD MC he would've used them up.

Such BS. MC needs to be an epic or something, not a goddamned COMMON.

 

[Stuggernaut]

Fuck priests sometimes, man. I just played a game where the motherfucker used FOUR Mind Controls in a row. What the fuck do you do at that point? Anything of substance was stolen. For 8 mana (hell, even 10) you remove an opponents minion AND gain one? How did they think that was balanced?

You can say "Well, play around it", but how? He gains a big minion, I can't counter without creatures (no removal) and you'd think after the THIRD MC he would've used them up.

Such BS. MC needs to be an epic or something, not a goddamned COMMON.

Four MC's is rough (probably fun for the priest though).

I had a Mage run where I had 4 elemental and 4 fireballs. Was fun, but I only went 5-3.

Not sure how to fix it though. Random BS is random BS (see my post above for absolute BS ;P).

I have had great draws, and other draws where I get all the non-class crap draws.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Fuck priests sometimes, man. I just played a game where the motherfucker used FOUR Mind Controls in a row. What the fuck do you do at that point? Anything of substance was stolen. For 8 mana (hell, even 10) you remove an opponents minion AND gain one? How did they think that was balanced?

You can say "Well, play around it", but how? He gains a big minion, I can't counter without creatures (no removal) and you'd think after the THIRD MC he would've used them up.

Such BS. MC needs to be an epic or something, not a goddamned COMMON.

I cannot wait until the day I get to draft 4+ MCs. I'll be sure to record all the matches to share with GAF. Sorry though bro, I can only imagine the frustration.

 

[sLight]

Fuck priests sometimes, man. I just played a game where the motherfucker used FOUR Mind Controls in a row. What the fuck do you do at that point? Anything of substance was stolen. For 8 mana (hell, even 10) you remove an opponents minion AND gain one? How did they think that was balanced?

You can say "Well, play around it", but how? He gains a big minion, I can't counter without creatures (no removal) and you'd think after the THIRD MC he would've used them up.

Such BS. MC needs to be an epic or something, not a goddamned COMMON.

With 4 MC, the priest's deck would be shit without targets. Which means if you just don't play anything big he will have horrible targets. If he didn't have 4 holy novas as well, he would die to just about any agro deck before turn 8 even comes around.

 

[commish]

Here's what happens when you draft 5 mind controls in one arena deck. I think I went something like 2-3 or 3-3. Just hard to get minions to play when you're always drawing 8 mana MCs early. In this particular game, I drew MC 4 rounds in a row.

 

[Haly]

Well, yeah, you're not supposed to draft 5 of ANY 8+ cards.

That's just basic deckbuilding.

 

[commish]

Well, yeah, you're not supposed to draft 5 of ANY 8+ cards.

That's just basic deckbuilding.

Yes, was a lesson quickly learned.

 

[Altazor]

Oh man, I randomly decided to watch some videos of this game and I liked what I saw. So I decided to opt in the beta program... and hopefully I get an invite

I'm afraid I'll be quite awful at first but meh, game seems fun enough for me to stick with it.