A little more than a year ago Blizzard released Hearthstone on smartphones and that hooked me. Up till that point Hearthstone didn't really interest me but something about playing it on my phone made the experience magical. Naxxramas, Blackrock Mountain and Goblins VS Gnomes were the only released adventures and expansions then and I spent most of my time collecting gold and learning how to play. I had no idea what to do with the gold I had but I figured i'd save it until I knew what best to spend it on. I didn't even create any decks when I started because I had no idea what was good. So I just played causal matches with no deck and I lost a lot. During that time I simply realized what was good and what wasn't by trying things and losing a lot of matches.
At that time I only knew a couple people that played and JaBo being one let me know you could unlock Adventure wings with gold. After that I decided that my first steps were to unlock all the adventures cards and then focus on opening packs(something I recommend people do to start). Naxxramas was the first Adventure I unlocked and over time I was able to unlock the rest and open a ton of packs along the way.
It really doesn't seem like i've been playing Hearthstone nearly each day for a year. Since matches only last only a handful of minutes on average(some take much longer) it doesn't ever feel like I am spending much time playing it. For me it's one of those perfect games you can play a few minutes here and there and if you need to concede a match because something comes up it's not a big deal. In a world of very shallow and short lived mobile games Hearthstone is fairly deep and extremely repayable.
In the last couple months I went to my first local bracketed ladder tournament and had a reasonable showing for my first attempt. I am very happy with how well i've done considering I am free to play. I'm not sure one needs to spend a ton of money in Hearthstone to be good or even be competitive but if you spend a lot of money in the game and have all the cards you do have an advantage. Having everything doesn't make someone great but it helps. Over time I imagine i'll unlock most everything that will keep me competitive and the game will still be fun and still not spend any money. With that, if you don't mind spending a few bucks here and there it can really help you to spend it on unlocking the adventures. The adventures are fun and if you complete them you unlock some really incredible cards that will help you do well.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2926/spent-sunday-praising-yogg-at-the-taco-house-my-first-local-hearthstone-tournament
The New Player Experience Is Much Better Now
One of my friends is starting Hearthstone for the first time and so far he really enjoys it. It's cool to help him make his way through the game as a new player and so far he is doing well. I think the new player experience is better than it's been for quite some time. Right now all players new or old get C'Thun and two Beckoner of Evils for free plus if you complete the quests you can get 13 or so free Whispers of the Old Gods packs. This is also on top of the other free classic packs they give you to start the game. It's nice Blizzard gave everyone C'Thun because it's a solid card and comes with an accessible strategy to win the game which is to out well stat'ed minions that buff C'Thun and when he finally comes out on turn 10, you win. It maybe doesn't always work like that but it can and it's something that makes the new player experience much better. Blizzard also has a new deck builder tool to help new players build decks that are pretty good if they have the cards and help them chose replacements if they don't. I've been playing with these Blizzard approved decks and many are quite good so I recommend new players build around them to start learning how things work.
Watching Great Players Can Make You Better
One thing I did to improve at Hearthstone was to spend some time watching other fantastic players play and then I copy their decks and learn from them. I know everyone wants to be an incredibly original deck builder as well as an amazing player but when you start out you really should stand on the shoulders of giants. One streamer I recommend you watch is Kripparian. Kripparian is not only a fantastic player he is also a fun guy to watch and explains his strategy well enough to understand it.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Kripparrian
Kripp posts two videos each day that are clips shows from his daily streams. They involve some sort of theme and he starts out by talking about some timely topic and then shows you relevant matches he's played. Kripp's show is one of my most anticipated shows I watch right now. Most of the decks he showcases I create, play with and modify and i've learned some awesome game tricks by watching him play.
Well That's All Great, But What Happens Now?
I like Hearthstone because it's fun and if it ever felt like it was becoming a chore or a stupid grind i'd stop playing. To date it's been a fun ride and i've hit some really great momentum lately. Not sure if i'll be playing Hearthstone each day for another year but if this last one is an indicator, I should be.
At that time I only knew a couple people that played and JaBo being one let me know you could unlock Adventure wings with gold. After that I decided that my first steps were to unlock all the adventures cards and then focus on opening packs(something I recommend people do to start). Naxxramas was the first Adventure I unlocked and over time I was able to unlock the rest and open a ton of packs along the way.
It really doesn't seem like i've been playing Hearthstone nearly each day for a year. Since matches only last only a handful of minutes on average(some take much longer) it doesn't ever feel like I am spending much time playing it. For me it's one of those perfect games you can play a few minutes here and there and if you need to concede a match because something comes up it's not a big deal. In a world of very shallow and short lived mobile games Hearthstone is fairly deep and extremely repayable.
In the last couple months I went to my first local bracketed ladder tournament and had a reasonable showing for my first attempt. I am very happy with how well i've done considering I am free to play. I'm not sure one needs to spend a ton of money in Hearthstone to be good or even be competitive but if you spend a lot of money in the game and have all the cards you do have an advantage. Having everything doesn't make someone great but it helps. Over time I imagine i'll unlock most everything that will keep me competitive and the game will still be fun and still not spend any money. With that, if you don't mind spending a few bucks here and there it can really help you to spend it on unlocking the adventures. The adventures are fun and if you complete them you unlock some really incredible cards that will help you do well.
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2926/spent-sunday-praising-yogg-at-the-taco-house-my-first-local-hearthstone-tournament
The New Player Experience Is Much Better Now
One of my friends is starting Hearthstone for the first time and so far he really enjoys it. It's cool to help him make his way through the game as a new player and so far he is doing well. I think the new player experience is better than it's been for quite some time. Right now all players new or old get C'Thun and two Beckoner of Evils for free plus if you complete the quests you can get 13 or so free Whispers of the Old Gods packs. This is also on top of the other free classic packs they give you to start the game. It's nice Blizzard gave everyone C'Thun because it's a solid card and comes with an accessible strategy to win the game which is to out well stat'ed minions that buff C'Thun and when he finally comes out on turn 10, you win. It maybe doesn't always work like that but it can and it's something that makes the new player experience much better. Blizzard also has a new deck builder tool to help new players build decks that are pretty good if they have the cards and help them chose replacements if they don't. I've been playing with these Blizzard approved decks and many are quite good so I recommend new players build around them to start learning how things work.
Watching Great Players Can Make You Better
One thing I did to improve at Hearthstone was to spend some time watching other fantastic players play and then I copy their decks and learn from them. I know everyone wants to be an incredibly original deck builder as well as an amazing player but when you start out you really should stand on the shoulders of giants. One streamer I recommend you watch is Kripparian. Kripparian is not only a fantastic player he is also a fun guy to watch and explains his strategy well enough to understand it.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Kripparrian
Kripp posts two videos each day that are clips shows from his daily streams. They involve some sort of theme and he starts out by talking about some timely topic and then shows you relevant matches he's played. Kripp's show is one of my most anticipated shows I watch right now. Most of the decks he showcases I create, play with and modify and i've learned some awesome game tricks by watching him play.
Well That's All Great, But What Happens Now?
I like Hearthstone because it's fun and if it ever felt like it was becoming a chore or a stupid grind i'd stop playing. To date it's been a fun ride and i've hit some really great momentum lately. Not sure if i'll be playing Hearthstone each day for another year but if this last one is an indicator, I should be.
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That's awesome! So, I told you that you can unlock Adventures with in-game gold? I don't really remember that.
Anyway, I appreciate your perspective on the game. It seems you did something rightly smart. I am really glad that you shared one of the tools you've found to be very helpful, the YouTuber. I may have to check that out. Watching YouTube on my TV at night is part of my nightly routine. :)
I've used the deck builder tool to help suggest cards I should put in my deck. I'm not opposed to finding a good recipe (as they have now) and copying it. It would be a cool way to learn how to play more effectively and even with different strategies.
I like the freebies they recently gave us, well they're free if you complete those challenges, which I managed to do some how. I've seen C'Thun used in matches I've played, but I don't think I've ever used it myself.
Back to Adventure Mode, that is what I liked most about the game. I wish this part of the game was so much bigger and wasn't so expensive. I've unlocked some with in-game gold, but I think it'd probably take me a week to get enough to unlock another.
> That's awesome! So, I told you that you can unlock Adventures with in-game gold? I don't really remember that.
Oh you might be right, it was JaBo. But you said something right afterward and I always attributed it to you in my mind. I'll update my post to reflect this, thanks Greg!
http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2495/dropping-cards-battling-heroes-my-recent-game-addiction#comment11290
> Anyway, I appreciate your perspective on the game. It seems you did something rightly smart. I am really glad that you shared one of the tools you've found to be very helpful, the YouTuber. I may have to check that out. Watching YouTube on my TV at night is part of my nightly routine. :)
Watching the Kripp show on TV at night is awesome, it's one of my new favorite times of the day. Besides lunch.
> I've used the deck builder tool to help suggest cards I should put in my deck. I'm not opposed to finding a good recipe (as they have now) and copying it. It would be a cool way to learn how to play more effectively and even with different strategies.
Yeah, the Blizz decks are pretty fun too. I've been impressed with how well they actually do.
> Back to Adventure Mode, that is what I liked most about the game. I wish this part of the game was so much bigger and wasn't so expensive. I've unlocked some with in-game gold, but I think it'd probably take me a week to get enough to unlock another.
There is another one coming out next according to the path Blizzard has layed out. It will, most likely, be another $20 so to date they've released 3 adventures with this other one on the way. And I wish they'd do more per year too but right now, that seems unlikely.