After having provided feedback on some 200+ submissions to this week's card contest, I think I can finally give some general guidelines on the pricing of hearthstone weapons. Of all the card types, I think weapon pricing is the most complex because Blizzard has slightly different rules depending on the attack value of the weapon, but here is what I have been able to determine:
1 Attack The weapon should be primarily evaluated on its ability. If there is no ability the price formula is 1 mana for every 4 durability.
2 Attack The base cost is 2 mana for 2 durability. Each additional durability costs an additional 0.5 mana.
3-6 Attack The base mana cost is equal to the attack value for 2 durability.* Each additional durability costs an additional 1 mana.
* 3/2 weapons (only) may get an additional 1-mana ability for free, only Warriors may use this to discount the weapon. * 4/2 weapons (only) may get an additional <1-mana ability for free.
7+ Attack So far the only 7+ Attack weapon that Blizzard has given us is limited to one attack on face, so it is impossible to say what the rules would be for standard weapons. That said, this is the point at which spells start being charged a premium for their game ending potential. With that in mind, I believe that a "vanilla" 7/2 should cost 8 mana, and a "vanilla" 8/2 should cost 10 mana.
Deathrattle Deathrattle effects typically get a 50% discount - this accounts for both the delay in the effect and the chance of silence. Weapons cannot be silenced. This means that in order to justify the full 50% discount, the bonus has to have a reasonable chance of failing or "going off at the wrong time."
Summoning a minion cannot fail. Giving a bonus that is limited to a particular kind of minion can.
If a weapon can use up all its attacks in a single turn, it should not get a deathrattle discount.
Immune While Attacking There is only one instance of this ability. It costs 2 mana when applied to a 2 durability weapon. There are a few different ways of modeling this, but I think the best is to increase the cost of the weapon by its durability (with some leeway to apply discounts for a 1 attack weapon).
Windfury When pricing the weapon, multiply the Attack value by 2, Divide the durability by 2. (I.e. Doom Hammer should be priced like a 4/4 which is 6 mana, or 5 mana with Overload 2).
Weapon Loses Attack Value If there are situations where a weapon can lose attack value instead of durability, increase the effective durability by 1.
Weapon Increases Durability This was an incredibly popular option in the weapon design contest. I felt a lot of people executed it poorly. Durability increases should be conditional and/or have a cost associated with them. Anything that happens automatically (I include attacking, summoning, and taking damage in this category) is a poor choice of trigger.
If you have sole control over the triggering condition (and it is a reasonable, non-automatic condition), you can assume that it goes off twice. If both you and your opponent need to do something, assume that it goes off once (this is why the Eagle Horn Bow ability is treated like a 1-mana equivalent, the hunter has to play a trap AND you have to trigger it).
Hero abilities are 1/2 mana equivalents, they should not grant 1 mana bonuses. Using a hero ability as a durability trigger for a 1 or 2 attack weapon is reasonable. Using it as a durability trigger for anything with 3+ attack is not (unless there is a further cost or condition).
Persistent Abilities Our best example of this is Sword of Justice. It has been priced appropriately for triggering two OR three times. If it triggers twice it's 2 mana in stat bonuses and 1 mana for a 1/3 weapon. If it triggers three times its 3 mana in stat bonuses and 1/2 mana for a 1/2 weapon (please note, the abilities on most 0-mana cards are actually worth 1/2-mana, the price of a slot in your deck).
When pricing your own persistent abilities, assume that they trigger twice and make sure that the durability of the weapon is hit each time they trigger (you can frequently do this by taking the mana cost of an equivalent spell or battlecry, multiplying that by 2 and using it as the attack value of the weapon for pricing purposes).
EDIT: This assumes that the persistent ability is separate from the attack. If the persistent ability is triggered by the attack you should add togetherthe attack value of the weapon and 2x the mana cost of the ability and use the combined total as the effective attack value of the weapon.
Spell Damage Blizzard has given us no example of a Spell Damage weapon. However, on minions +1 Spell Damage is priced the same as +1 Attack. From the Weapon contest, the best balanced Spell Damage cards were those that either lost durability every turn or lost durability with every spell cast.
1-Durability Weapons There are basically two types of 1-Durability weapons I have seen: Infinite Weapons and Burner Weapons.
An infinite weapon is one that has a condition by which it will not lose its one an only point of durability, they should be treated like "weapons that increase durability" or "weapons that lose attack value" as appropriate. In truth, I prefer these weapons to weapons that increase durability because (a) they cannot stockpile durability and (b) they are vulnerable to the Bloodsail Corsair.
A burner weapon is basically a spell in weapon form. I do not like these weapons, I do not like them at all. They are invulnerable to weapon removal (your opponent never gets a turn), they bypass spell resistance (they're not spells), and they can trigger both their battlecry and deathrattle effects in a single turn (and oh boy do they tend to have deathrattle effects).
If you must make a burner weapon, please make it simple.
Savagery isn't that bad now, but if Druids get some real weapons it has the potential to be much worse than Shield Slam.
I personally would start charging Druids a premium for any weapon with more than 2 Attack (or you could just take Ser_Wa's approach and charge them a premium for any weapon).
Here is a very unique weapon that I don't know if this is OP or UP:
I wanted to make a weapon for Paladin that shuts down face-only rush decks. This shield is meant for that purpose. You cannot attack with it, but when an enemy character attacks your hero it deals damage to them. And when your Hero is hit by a character, you lose one durability.
However this weapon comes with multiple glaring downsides.
Here is a very unique weapon that I don't know if this is OP or UP:
I wanted to make a weapon for Paladin that shuts down face-only rush decks. This shield is meant for that purpose. You cannot attack with it, but when an enemy character attacks your hero it deals damage to them. And when your Hero is hit by a character, you lose one durability.
However this weapon comes with multiple glaring downsides.
2. The enemy is the one to decide whether they should attack face or not.
3. Pretty trash against Control.
It is supposed to be a tech card against decks that mean to kill you with tons of weak minions, like face-rush hunter, mech mage, and zoo-lock.
Is the pricing wrong? Is it too strong or is it too weak or is it just right?
I've been trying to figure out the right price for this type of weapon for awhile. I refer to the effect as "remain unsheathed" (because you normally sheathe your weapon at the end of the turn, which is why the attack value goes away).
The problem is that it is significantly less powerful than a normal 2/4 since your opponent gets to decide how to assign the damage.
My gut instinct (and I'm glad you started with a 2/4 Attack weapon), is that it should be priced like Explosive Trap. Your opponent cannot shrink their board size, but they do get to pick which minion(s) get hit. On the flip side, you will likely take significantly more damage than you would with Explosive trap, so perhaps an even lower cost is in order.
Here is a very unique weapon that I don't know if this is OP or UP:
I wanted to make a weapon for Paladin that shuts down face-only rush decks. This shield is meant for that purpose. You cannot attack with it, but when an enemy character attacks your hero it deals damage to them. And when your Hero is hit by a character, you lose one durability.
However this weapon comes with multiple glaring downsides.
2. The enemy is the one to decide whether they should attack face or not.
3. Pretty trash against Control.
It is supposed to be a tech card against decks that mean to kill you with tons of weak minions, like face-rush hunter, mech mage, and zoo-lock.
Is the pricing wrong? Is it too strong or is it too weak or is it just right?
I've been trying to figure out the right price for this type of weapon for awhile. I refer to the effect as "remain unsheathed" (because you normally sheathe your weapon at the end of the turn, which is why the attack value goes away).
The problem is that it is significantly less powerful than a normal 2/4 since your opponent gets to decide how to assign the damage.
My gut instinct (and I'm glad you started with a 2/4 Attack weapon), is that it should be priced like Explosive Trap. Your opponent cannot shrink their board size, but they do get to pick which minion(s) get hit. On the flip side, you will likely take significantly more damage than you would with Explosive trap, so perhaps an even lower cost is in order.
I created a few versions and I would like to know which one you like more:
This version gains you two Armor whenever you are attacked, and then your Hero directly attacks the minion itself.
Again, since there is no other weapon like this I don't know if this minor change can make it extremely overpowered or still make it a below average card. It is technically "Gain +8 Armor and deal 8 damage" for only two Mana. Which is kinda insane. I personally find this a bit to powerful, but I'm not sure.
This is the current version, but with different wording and costs 1 less. I find "attack" best describes you using the weapon and using up a durability. When compared to Light's Justice, you gain +1 attack, but you cannot attack at will.
Keep in mind both of these versions have a hidden downside, the fact that these disappear whenever you summon another weapon. Your enemy might just wait the shield out until you are forced to use Muster for Battle or Truesilver, two of the Paladin's best cards. So keep this in mind when valuating this weapon.
On further consideration, I think that the Explosive Trap model would only make sense if the weapon applied damage before you were attacked.
Instead, I think we need to look at the, "random" model. Blizzard typically prices random effects at 50% of what their targeted equivalents cost. That means we would rate the 2 attack as if it were only a 1 attack. A 1/4 weapon costs 1 mana, so that's how I would value this weapon.
Down sides, you don't get to pick who you target (or even if you get to target anyone). Upsides - great for Pirates and for stalling rush.
Could you give me an example of what you meant by burner weapons? Is it like a weapon with 1 health that has battlecry and deathrattle?
Also, how would you evaluate a weapon that gives your hero a card such as spells? I.E. a tome/spellbook for a mage or warlock. It would have 0 attack and every time it gave you a card, it would lose one durability.
Great guide btw, I wish I saw more of these types of posts instead of anti-dr boom threads.
Yes, I consider any 1-durability with a (beneficial) battlecry or deathrattle to be a burner weapon. Also any weapon with 1 durability that's priced like a burn spell and has no condition that lets it last longer (e.g. a 4/1 weapon for 2 mana is a burner - you've basically just made a Heroic Strike that bypasses spell rules and fuels pirates).
Repeating card draw on a weapon is difficult to evaluate - but you've already got the most critical element, each card drawn needs to cost the weapon a point of durability. The cost of the ability needs to fall somewhere between 2 mana (the value of a repeating draw on a minion like Mana Tide Totem or Gadgetzan Auctioneer) and [2xDurability]-1 (the cost of an immediate card draw card like Arcane Intellect or Sprint).
The two formulas that appeal the most to me are: 1-mana/durability OR [2xDurability]-3 (minimum 2).
Both approaches produce the same cost if the weapon has 3 durability - so I personally think it would be best if the first "repeating card draw" weapon had 3 durability.
After having provided feedback on some 200+ submissions to this week's card contest, I think I can finally give some general guidelines on the pricing of hearthstone weapons. Of all the card types, I think weapon pricing is the most complex because Blizzard has slightly different rules depending on the attack value of the weapon, but here is what I have been able to determine:
1 Attack
The weapon should be primarily evaluated on its ability.
If there is no ability the price formula is 1 mana for every 4 durability.
2 Attack
The base cost is 2 mana for 2 durability.
Each additional durability costs an additional 0.5 mana.
3-6 Attack
The base mana cost is equal to the attack value for 2 durability.*
Each additional durability costs an additional 1 mana.
* 3/2 weapons (only) may get an additional 1-mana ability for free, only Warriors may use this to discount the weapon.
* 4/2 weapons (only) may get an additional <1-mana ability for free.
7+ Attack
So far the only 7+ Attack weapon that Blizzard has given us is limited to one attack on face, so it is impossible to say what the rules would be for standard weapons. That said, this is the point at which spells start being charged a premium for their game ending potential. With that in mind, I believe that a "vanilla" 7/2 should cost 8 mana, and a "vanilla" 8/2 should cost 10 mana.
Deathrattle
Deathrattle effects typically get a 50% discount - this accounts for both the delay in the effect and the chance of silence. Weapons cannot be silenced. This means that in order to justify the full 50% discount, the bonus has to have a reasonable chance of failing or "going off at the wrong time."
Summoning a minion cannot fail. Giving a bonus that is limited to a particular kind of minion can.
If a weapon can use up all its attacks in a single turn, it should not get a deathrattle discount.
Immune While Attacking
There is only one instance of this ability. It costs 2 mana when applied to a 2 durability weapon. There are a few different ways of modeling this, but I think the best is to increase the cost of the weapon by its durability (with some leeway to apply discounts for a 1 attack weapon).
Windfury
When pricing the weapon, multiply the Attack value by 2, Divide the durability by 2. (I.e. Doom Hammer should be priced like a 4/4 which is 6 mana, or 5 mana with Overload 2).
Weapon Loses Attack Value
If there are situations where a weapon can lose attack value instead of durability, increase the effective durability by 1.
Weapon Increases Durability
This was an incredibly popular option in the weapon design contest. I felt a lot of people executed it poorly. Durability increases should be conditional and/or have a cost associated with them. Anything that happens automatically (I include attacking, summoning, and taking damage in this category) is a poor choice of trigger.
If you have sole control over the triggering condition (and it is a reasonable, non-automatic condition), you can assume that it goes off twice. If both you and your opponent need to do something, assume that it goes off once (this is why the Eagle Horn Bow ability is treated like a 1-mana equivalent, the hunter has to play a trap AND you have to trigger it).
Hero abilities are 1/2 mana equivalents, they should not grant 1 mana bonuses. Using a hero ability as a durability trigger for a 1 or 2 attack weapon is reasonable. Using it as a durability trigger for anything with 3+ attack is not (unless there is a further cost or condition).
Persistent Abilities
Our best example of this is Sword of Justice. It has been priced appropriately for triggering two OR three times. If it triggers twice it's 2 mana in stat bonuses and 1 mana for a 1/3 weapon. If it triggers three times its 3 mana in stat bonuses and 1/2 mana for a 1/2 weapon (please note, the abilities on most 0-mana cards are actually worth 1/2-mana, the price of a slot in your deck).
When pricing your own persistent abilities, assume that they trigger twice and make sure that the durability of the weapon is hit each time they trigger (you can frequently do this by taking the mana cost of an equivalent spell or battlecry, multiplying that by 2 and using it as the attack value of the weapon for pricing purposes).
EDIT: This assumes that the persistent ability is separate from the attack. If the persistent ability is triggered by the attack you should add together the attack value of the weapon and 2x the mana cost of the ability and use the combined total as the effective attack value of the weapon.
Spell Damage
Blizzard has given us no example of a Spell Damage weapon. However, on minions +1 Spell Damage is priced the same as +1 Attack. From the Weapon contest, the best balanced Spell Damage cards were those that either lost durability every turn or lost durability with every spell cast.
1-Durability Weapons
There are basically two types of 1-Durability weapons I have seen: Infinite Weapons and Burner Weapons.
An infinite weapon is one that has a condition by which it will not lose its one an only point of durability, they should be treated like "weapons that increase durability" or "weapons that lose attack value" as appropriate. In truth, I prefer these weapons to weapons that increase durability because (a) they cannot stockpile durability and (b) they are vulnerable to the Bloodsail Corsair.
A burner weapon is basically a spell in weapon form. I do not like these weapons, I do not like them at all. They are invulnerable to weapon removal (your opponent never gets a turn), they bypass spell resistance (they're not spells), and they can trigger both their battlecry and deathrattle effects in a single turn (and oh boy do they tend to have deathrattle effects).
If you must make a burner weapon, please make it simple.
I'd say the sample size of the weapons we have is too small to have 100% conclusive pricing model.
For example, I think Rogue weapons have higher durability cost because of high potential to get buffed with poison or oil.
Also there aren't any 6-attack weapons.
Also, be very careful about Druids with weapons.
Savagery isn't that bad now, but if Druids get some real weapons it has the potential to be much worse than Shield Slam.
I personally would start charging Druids a premium for any weapon with more than 2 Attack (or you could just take Ser_Wa's approach and charge them a premium for any weapon).
Here is a very unique weapon that I don't know if this is OP or UP:
I wanted to make a weapon for Paladin that shuts down face-only rush decks. This shield is meant for that purpose. You cannot attack with it, but when an enemy character attacks your hero it deals damage to them. And when your Hero is hit by a character, you lose one durability.
However this weapon comes with multiple glaring downsides.
1. Incredibly susceptible towards anti-weapon minions including Acidic Swamp Ooze and Harrison Jones.
2. The enemy is the one to decide whether they should attack face or not.
3. Pretty trash against Control.
It is supposed to be a tech card against decks that mean to kill you with tons of weak minions, like face-rush hunter, mech mage, and zoo-lock.
Is the pricing wrong? Is it too strong or is it too weak or is it just right?
I've been trying to figure out the right price for this type of weapon for awhile. I refer to the effect as "remain unsheathed" (because you normally sheathe your weapon at the end of the turn, which is why the attack value goes away).
The problem is that it is significantly less powerful than a normal 2/4 since your opponent gets to decide how to assign the damage.
My gut instinct (and I'm glad you started with a 2/4 Attack weapon), is that it should be priced like Explosive Trap. Your opponent cannot shrink their board size, but they do get to pick which minion(s) get hit. On the flip side, you will likely take significantly more damage than you would with Explosive trap, so perhaps an even lower cost is in order.
I created a few versions and I would like to know which one you like more:
This version gains you two Armor whenever you are attacked, and then your Hero directly attacks the minion itself.
Again, since there is no other weapon like this I don't know if this minor change can make it extremely overpowered or still make it a below average card. It is technically "Gain +8 Armor and deal 8 damage" for only two Mana. Which is kinda insane. I personally find this a bit to powerful, but I'm not sure.
This is the current version, but with different wording and costs 1 less. I find "attack" best describes you using the weapon and using up a durability. When compared to Light's Justice, you gain +1 attack, but you cannot attack at will.
Keep in mind both of these versions have a hidden downside, the fact that these disappear whenever you summon another weapon. Your enemy might just wait the shield out until you are forced to use Muster for Battle or Truesilver, two of the Paladin's best cards. So keep this in mind when valuating this weapon.
On further consideration, I think that the Explosive Trap model would only make sense if the weapon applied damage before you were attacked.
Instead, I think we need to look at the, "random" model. Blizzard typically prices random effects at 50% of what their targeted equivalents cost. That means we would rate the 2 attack as if it were only a 1 attack. A 1/4 weapon costs 1 mana, so that's how I would value this weapon.
Down sides, you don't get to pick who you target (or even if you get to target anyone). Upsides - great for Pirates and for stalling rush.
Could you give me an example of what you meant by burner weapons? Is it like a weapon with 1 health that has battlecry and deathrattle?
Also, how would you evaluate a weapon that gives your hero a card such as spells? I.E. a tome/spellbook for a mage or warlock. It would have 0 attack and every time it gave you a card, it would lose one durability.
Great guide btw, I wish I saw more of these types of posts instead of anti-dr boom threads.
Don't Complain, Use Your Brain!
Yes, I consider any 1-durability with a (beneficial) battlecry or deathrattle to be a burner weapon. Also any weapon with 1 durability that's priced like a burn spell and has no condition that lets it last longer (e.g. a 4/1 weapon for 2 mana is a burner - you've basically just made a Heroic Strike that bypasses spell rules and fuels pirates).
Repeating card draw on a weapon is difficult to evaluate - but you've already got the most critical element, each card drawn needs to cost the weapon a point of durability. The cost of the ability needs to fall somewhere between 2 mana (the value of a repeating draw on a minion like Mana Tide Totem or Gadgetzan Auctioneer) and [2xDurability]-1 (the cost of an immediate card draw card like Arcane Intellect or Sprint).
The two formulas that appeal the most to me are: 1-mana/durability OR [2xDurability]-3 (minimum 2).
Both approaches produce the same cost if the weapon has 3 durability - so I personally think it would be best if the first "repeating card draw" weapon had 3 durability.