Recently I've been seeing more people starting out in Hearthstone and wanted to write up some tips and starting ideas that helped me out. The in-game tutorials are good but they don't give you a direction or help you make choices about how to spend your time and gold. As you read this you might have something you have that helped you, drop it in the comments. This post is for new players to Hearthstone or people that are thinking about jumping in.
First thing is to keep in mind that you are new to the game and will lose a bunch until you figure out the games mechanics. It's OK, you don't know everything and you don't lose anything in game when you don't win a match. I am also writing this from the perspective of someone that wants to play the game without spending money, to date I haven't and that has worked out well to this point.
If I forgot something let me know in the comments and i'll update this guide over time accordingly.
First thing is to keep in mind that you are new to the game and will lose a bunch until you figure out the games mechanics. It's OK, you don't know everything and you don't lose anything in game when you don't win a match. I am also writing this from the perspective of someone that wants to play the game without spending money, to date I haven't and that has worked out well to this point.
- Start out by playing all the heroes in Single Player mode and unlock them all to achieve all the basic cards. Don't build a deck, just play as the starting heroes and unlock all the cards in Single Player against the computer. Over time you will understand the basic flow of the game and by the time you level all the heroes you should be able to beat the computer most of the time.
- As you continue to unlock the basic cards in Single Player all the gold you acquire should be spent on card packs. You might not know if you pull anything good yet(one my first packs got me a Harrison Jones) but adding more cards to your game is important and you might pull something great.
- When you are done unlocking all the basic cards start playing with people online in unranked matches. When I got to this point I didn't even have a deck built yet. I didn't win much but I started to understand how real people played VS a computer. At this point you should be favoring a few classes over the others, stick to a couple and focus on learning them well.
- When you get tired of losing and understand your focused classes better, build a deck. Hearthstone has a great deck builder so just use that and then play with the deck you build. Based on how the matches go drop cards that don't work and replace them with cards you like. As you play against people you will see them do some cool stuff with cards you might have. Would that strategy work for you? If you see something someone does you like, steal it and make it your own.
- Every week play Tavern Brawl to at least win a match and get the free pack. Tavern Brawl is fun but the free pack each week is incredible, get it.
- Once you get some decks you like start saving in game gold up to unlock the first Hearthstone adventure, Naxxramas. Hearthstone adventures are great in that if you beat the adventure bosses you are assured certain cards. Naxxramas has some epically amazing cards you NEED to have for your decks. Sludge Belcher, Haunted Creeper, Maexxena & Kel'Thuzad are all incredible and will make your decks stronger. Each Naxxrama wing costs 700 gold to unlock so it will take you some doing to accomplish but the cards are well worth it.
- Understand how to reroll your daily quests to get the most gold possible. I outlined the steps I learned in a post here http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2508/heartstone-roundup-the-grim-patron-is-good-gold-stats
- Once you feel ready, each month you should play ranked matches and get to level 20. It's not too hard and if you do it you unlock a monthly unique card back for doing it. Personally I use the standard card back but it's nice to have options and it's something else to do in game.
- Understand all the in game basic quests because doing them rewards you with a ton of gold. http://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/1ua5c9/hearthstone_for_beginners_guide_and_resource/
- If you are losing with a particular deck consider what cards you don't use and think about replacing them. Does your deck not have a good starting temp? Maybe you need more cards that cost less. Are you getting slammed by big creatures you can't match? Maybe you need more cards to help you later in the game.
- Be comfortable with experimentation. If you have an idea, build a deck and try it out. Playing against a computer is a good way to see if a deck has a minimum viability and playing against people is even better. Don't be afraid to try something new but it's also OK to have a mainstay deck you can't help but come back to.
If I forgot something let me know in the comments and i'll update this guide over time accordingly.
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First, I think all Jon has written is a solid strategy to starting. Now I'm going to give you the exact opposite advice :)
Pick a class that looks fun, or try a few and see what you lean towards. Once you've found the few to concentrate on, play through the single player mode to unlock the cards for those particular heroes. Play regularly against other humans after that and learn how other people/classes/decks/cards play. Hearthstone's matchmaking system seems to take into account the level of the hero you're playing as. Losing can be just as beneficial as winning as you start seeing different cards and styles of play.
Then, after you've spent some time with your "main" classes, try playing with the others that you've not played as much. You can play the single player mode or against other people. Because you've already learned the game with your first set of heroes, playing against other people at low levels with your secondary classes can be both fairly easy and you gain experience faster (meaning you unlock your basic cards faster).
I do agree with spending your first gold earnings on card packs because you can randomly get some really great cards. I've skipped Naxx, but am enjoying playing through Blackrock.
Obviously, either Jon's strategy or mine will work just fine (I think most people would agree that his is better honestly, but I prefer mine).
Just do whatever makes you happy in the game!