Hearthpwn

Banter With the Blues Recap

Aratil started up a thread on the official forums this afternoon for forum-goers to ask the community team Blues whatever they wish. We've sorted through the answers and picked out the interesting Hearthstone related ones. If you'd like to check out all the responses, head on over the the topic on the Blue Tracker.

A special shout-out goes to Daxxari and Keganbe, who answered questions but didn't make it into the recap.

Quote from The Blues

Do you know when Naxx is coming out, and if so, could you give us a general due date? The wait is killing me!
We are not answering questions on unannounced content. We have announced that Naxxramas will hit sometime this summer, and we're still on track for that. - Zeriyah (Source)

Is there a goal rhythm of adventures/expansions the team hopes to get too and if so is there anything you can share about how you hope to handle it.
We are definitely interested in setting a cadence for content rollout so that players can expect new content at regular intervals. However, we are still in the process of determining what that cadence should be. - Aratil (Source)

Currently, how comfortable are you all with the game mechanics to card drawing, and charge?
Card draw and Charge are both powerful mechanics that we keep a close eye on, for pretty much the exact reason that you stated. However, with that said, the Hearthstone development team is pretty comfortable with how games are currently being played out. - Aratil (Source)

How does the team feel about the current complaints centered around the heavy rush tendency of the current "meta"?
The development team is always on top of the current trends in the meta. The meta is one of those things that is always shifting and changing, and they keep an eye on those trends, and we keep an eye on the player's reaction to those trends. The cards that Naxxramas will introduce will certainly shake things up a bit. Rush is just one archetype that is currently having its day in the spotlight. - Zeriyah (Source)

Are there any plans of introducing controlled trading at a point in the future? If not, what are some concerns that would kinda be in the way of introducing trading?
There are no plans for this at this time. - Aratil (Source)

How does the hearthstone team actually break down?
I can't answer with an exact breakdown, but the Hearthstone development team (not including support teams), is currently around 30 people. This team includes a team of artists that create new art for Hearthstone. The Hearthstone community team is currently 4 people. - Aratil (Source)

Does Blizz ever share backend data? Like, I'm curious how many people are playing at the moment, and how many reach which levels each month. Is that sort of thing shared anywhere?
We do not at the moment. However, we are working on some ideas to make more information visible to the players. - Aratil (Source)

That said, Leeroy Jenkins. Is he a problem? My personal opinion is that he does not need a nerf, can you say which way you guys are leaning on this card? Or how about Gadgetzan Auctioneer? Is there a possibility that the current state of these 2 cards can be balanced out by creating new cards rather than nerfing?
Those are both very powerful cards. Our goal at the moment is definitely to see if we can address current player concerns through the introduction of new cards rather than to continuously adjust the existing cards. - Aratil (Source)

Are you planning on leaving things as-is before the release of Naxxramas, or doing any rebalancing before Naxx is released?
We are pretty confident that the cards available with Curse of Naxxramas will change things up a lot, so we definitely want to make as few adjustments as possible before Naxxramas is released. - Aratil (Source)

Will the top 100 or more ranked players actually be visible in real time ingame or will it stay like this?
That's a feature we've had suggested - it's on our radar. - Zeriyah (Source)

There is an infinite reroll bug for dailies that is available to players on NA, but not for players on EU.
Looking into this. - Aratil (Source)

Will Blizzard add MORE deck slots for us?
There are no plans to add additional deck slots at this time, but it is something that we continue to discuss. - Aratil (Source)

Are classes going to gain additional hero powers over time, or are you set that while new heroes may be implemented, each class will always keep its hero power?
Hearthstone is balanced with the Hero Powers in mind - creating new Hero Powers would be incredibly difficult, and not something we currently have planned. - Zeriyah (Source)

This probably falls under can't tell but is their going to be any external play testing of the Naxx expansion or is it going to be entirely internal? As a followup do you have the same stance on Cockatrice as you did before Hearthstone beta went live?
We don't have plans for a public beta of Naxxramas. Our stance on Cockatrice is currently the same. - Zeriyah (Source)

HearthWars Invitational Begins June 23

The recently announced HearthWars invitational will be running their first event on June 23rd, and is going to be featuring 16 of the top Hearthstone players battling it out live on Twitch for their share of the $160 prize pool. The tournament will be featuring players from top Hearthstone teams; TempoStorm, vVv, Meet Your Makers, DKMR, Good Guy, Managrind, and Ferus. Casting talent for the tournament is being provided by Reynad and an unannounced co-host who will be revealed at a later date.

Here at HearthPwn, we will be posting tournament decklists after the event concludes, so make sure you swing by to check them out! We will be reminding everyone about the event closer to it. For more information, check out the thread on our tournaments forum.

HearthWars will be streamed on the HearthWars Twitch channel on June 23rd 2014 at 3 PM PDT / 6 PM EDT / 12 AM CEST.

Hearthside Chat: Hearthstone Deck Building

Hearthstone's Senior Designer, Mike Donais, posted an article on deck building in Hearthstone and what the fundamentals are for building a strong deck. Below we've provided a very simplified version of the article. If you'd like to read it in its entirety, which is recommended, head on over the the blog post.

Deckbuilding, how does it work?

1. Focus on a theme
2. Have 5-10 early game cards
3. Have 5-10 late game cards
4. Play mostly minions
5. Improve the deck over time

Playing your new deck

1. Start with cheap minions
2. Spend your mana
3. Think twice before making a play
4. A clear board is a happy board
5. Don't play too many minions
6. Card drawing is for late game
7. Hero Power (Focus on getting minions out early on, Hero Power later)
8. Have fun! [Don't do this, trust us, it's not worth it]

Noxious' Naxx Card Talk: Dark Cultist

Noxious uploaded a video discussing the recently revealed Priest card from the Naxxramas Adventure, Dark Cultist. For a full list of the currently released Naxxramas cards, check them out here.

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