By: Joshua Pruett
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Beta. I am thrilled to be a part of it. Now, let's see if it can virtually rekindle my affection for thin card stock with numbers written on them.
A Simplified Complexity
If you're a veteran to WoW TCG, you'll notice some definitive differences with Hearthstone. While I won't go into every detail here, the first thing I noticed was the resource system. In WoW TCG, you had quests that fueled your ability to play cards per turn. The cool thing about it was, you could complete the quests and then turn them over to utilize them as resources. Hearthstone removes the quest cards all together for a straightforward mana system. Per turn you accumulate mana, which you can then use to spend on playing cards. Though I loved the dual functionality of the quest cards, a lot of their functions are found on other cards throughout your deck, so their omission is negligible. Quests do make an appearance in another way and I'll get into that a little later.
The deck-building component of the game is very well done and easy to navigate. You can search for specific card attributes, mana costs, neutral allies and hero class spells to assist in putting together a killer deck. One thing that I am a little bummed about at the moment is not being able to pick your hero. In WoW TCG, your entire deck is based off of your hero and his/her class. The same goes here, but there aren't multiple Warlocks, Warriors, Mages, etc. Right now, there are one of each class with a locked hero power which you can't change. Hopefully they add more heroes in the future that offer alternate hero powers or at least give you the option to switch out their powers for others.
It is beta, so I am sure we will see more and more cards become available. This brings me to the next thing on my mind: obtaining new cards. We are playing a deck-building game mind you, and that means: money. I do like that you can earn gold to open new decks. You do this by successfully winning against real players and fulfilling quests. See, I told you quests would come back. Quests are now implemented not as cards, but as little daily tasks you can pursue for gold. Win two games with a Warlock and you get a sack of forty gold, etc. With expert packs costing 100 gold, pursuing these quests will get you some shiny new cards for your decks fairly quick. And we all love opening new decks.
Expert decks hold five cards with at least one of those being a rare or better. After opening multiple decks, I got pretty lucky. The best deck I opened handed me two rares and a legendary. Me like. When you open a deck, they are revealed face down. You mouse over, click and reveal. I love that they present it like this! It captures the giddy joy of opening real packs. If you are impatient or just don't have any interest in grinding it out, you can just skip the wait and buy the packs upright with real moolah. At $2.99 for two packs (10 cards), looks like I'll be grinding out my collection. There are some quantity deals available, but buying the larger quantity packs will save you most. Basic cards can be earned by leveling up each class. You'll unlock different cards at staggered levels. These basics aren't the best, but they are crucial to filling your deck and making it one that can win.
Balance has always been something that irks me with this type of game. Though a lot of the game does depend on your skill and strategy, it seems that an equal amount can depend on what cards you do and don't have. This is one of the reasons I get turned off to these games. Let's not forget another factor: random odds. Sometimes, the odds just aren't in your favor and you can't do a damn thing about it. But what's a game without a slew of luck thrown into it? You gotta have luck. Speaking of favor, the AI seems to get it handed to them every round, which is why I prefer playing humans. There's an unpredictability that AI just can't match, not to mention the possibility of mistakes humans can make. (Including myself.) Luckily, Hearthstone does a good job of letting you suss out your deck through some good ole' trial and error via practice mode.
Having just the right amount of low, mid and high cost cards will give you a better chance at overcoming the many obstacles between you and victory. (Tip: Mouse over the name of your custom deck and you'll find a nice little bar graph that gives you how many cards you have per mana cost type.) While you're building a deck, you also have an option to craft cards. This is available through the crafting mode where you disenchant unwanted cards for Arcane Dust. The rarity will help determine the cost. In turn, you can use that dust to make new cards, all at a cost of course.
Ah, the sweet taste of victory. Unfortunately, I don't have it every meal, but when I do, I savor it. And though I don't always win, the game is still supremely fun. I love not having to keep track of damage counters and the clean-up is a cinch. I do miss the human interaction. You can't replace someone playing right in front of you. There is a social experience the online world just can't mimic and as of now, you can't chat with random players that aren't your friends. The emotes you can use are a welcomed touch, I would just like to see a chat or voice chat implemented.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Beta has been a blast. Even in beta, it's nice to see it have that Blizzard polish. Though I am very sad to see the physical game go, I am glad to see it translate this well virtually. Let's see what else Blizzard has in store. So far, so good.
If you'd like to challenge my adept skills (yeah right), add my battletag: TheRebelX#1460!
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