Your Questions for Hearthstone Game Designer Dean Ayala!
Blizzard has generously invited Hearthpwn to fly to the Bahamas this weekend for the upcoming Hearthstone Winter Championship! While at the event, we'll have a chance to sit down with Hearthstone Game Designer Dean "Iksar" Ayala to ask him some questions about Hearthstone's upcoming expansion, Journey to Un'Goro!
Do you have a great question on your mind? Write it down in the comments below and we might include it when we compile the best ones later this week!
Dean is a Game Designer on the final design team, focusing on testing and balancing new cards, making sure they're fun, trying to predict what decks they will go in and what the meta will look like. He also plays a lot of Arena! He's also very active on Twitter and Reddit, often responding to questions from the community.
I'm pretty sure it has been oficcially answered they do not count as minions, but they do take up a minion space on the board.
Yes, probably is like that, but Sherazin is indeed a minion even if it's dormant, so I'm not sure yet about that card...
What are future plans to deal with Jade if it proves to be oppressive to the meta after Un'Goro is released?
What are you guys planning to do with control decks because they dont really have a place right now they just get stomped by infinite value jade druid or will you form the meta into only aggro and mid range.
When can we expect to see some new keyword mechanics? Something like First Strike or anything new and exciting?
Brian Kibler of Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame mentioned First Strike in Hearthstone a lot. Basically it would be overpowered, kind of like how Double Strike is in Magic: The Gathering, but there should be a way around it, and I'm as excited as he is to see First Strike in Hearthstone.
With growing card libraries stacking the same normal and golden cards would really come in handy. Has the team talked about this?
Any consideration for an in-game tournament mode?
Why do mobile apps that have only been out for a few months have more features and introduce things into their games more than hearthstone, a game that has been out for years?
Why was hunter selected for the Smuggling mechanic, when hunter is a class that has historically had very poor card draw? Was the idea that card draw would be necessary in a smuggling deck not taken into consideration? Hunter has no class minions that can trigger Fight Promoter on their own save King Krush, unlike Warrior's Bloodhoof Brave and Paladin's Grimestreet Protector.
5 Health is not 6.
Savannah Highmane is a 6/5, it does not have 6 health unless it gets hand buffed (which is not what I meant by 'on their own').
Have you seen my car keys?
Why Hallazeal the Ascended doesn't have the elemental tag?
Because he is not an elemental. Why should it?
He is the member of Twilight Hammer who underwent the porcess of ascension, which turned him into water elemental, so he actually is an elemental, despite he wasn't born one.
You good sir, don't speak for everyone. I want none of those things-I suppose the ability to buy the old adventures would be fine, but you want Blizzard to do all of these other things, and they can't even get the balance of their game right? No to 2v2, new classes and other modes until they learn how to release an expansion that A.) doesn't have a bunch of filler shit cards, and B) Balances out the classes and the meta. IF Blizzard can ever do that (and I don't have a lot of faith they can), then we can look at those other things.
What happened to your eyebrows?
Will there be some sort of free legendary deal like with Whispers?