With Zeriyah back in action, we've got another round of blue posts for you which, thankfully, doesn't include bad jokes from Phenteo.
No Test Phase NDA
As previously stated, there will not be an NDA when the testing phase comes.
Originally posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)If I get invited to the Beta test, I want to stream Hearthstone on my nightly Twitch stream. Will there be an NDA in effect that would prevent me from doing that during Beta?
If you are invited to the closed beta, feel free to stream Hearthstone as much as you like! You won't be under an NDA. I look forward to watching your stream. :)
Linux Support
Originally posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)We do not have plans to support Linux at this time. However, if there is a great demand for it from our community, we may consider supporting it in the future.
Ancestral Spirit / Redemption
Originally posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)How do we handle Ancestral Spirit and Redemption in terms of buffs on the card and ability that proc when a minion plays? I guess the more specific question would be, is the minion considered to simply stay in play, or is it considered to leave them and then be played again?
Cards brought back with Ancestral Spirit or Redemption will not return with buffs on them. They will proc minions like Knife Juggler. They will not trigger any Battlecry effects that card may have. If minions brought back to life with Ancestral Spirit or Redemption have Divine Shield or Stealth as a keyword, they will return to the board with those buffs active.
Prophet Velen and +Spell Power?
Originally posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)As was pointed out to me in another thread, there is a mechanic about which I'm not entirely sure (and seemingly nobody else) anymore: Prophet Velen and his interactions with +Spell Power effects. If I have a Mind Blast (baseline 5 damage) and cast it while having +1 Spell Power, we know it will deal 6 damage. If I cast it while having Prophet Velen into play and no +Spell Power, we know it will deal 10 damage (5 x 2). However, what happens if I have +1 Spell Power AND Prophet Velen? Would Mind Blast deal a total of 11 damage (5*2 + 1), or 12 damage [2(5 + 1)] ?
Velen will take Spellpower into account first, so the answer to your question is 12. When you view the spell in your hand, the text itself changes when it is affected by Spellpower. Mind Blast, for example, will read "Deal *6* damage to the enemy hero." Then that will be multiplied by Velen's power.
Ask Zeriyah
Originally posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)I have Illidan Stormrage in play and I cast an ability. My opponent's Counterspell triggers and "counters" my ability. When this "counter" effect occurs, will Illidan Stormrage proc or will I not gain a Flame of Azzinoth because the spell was not cast?
Ah! Yes, Illidan Stormrage will still proc if a spell is countered by Counterspell.
Question: does the game consider The Coin a spell for the purposes of Counterspell, Violet Teacher, Gadgetzan Auctioneer, Archmage Antonidas, etc?
The Coin is considered a spell, yes. It can be Counterspelled, and will proc minions like Gadgetzan Auctioneer.
They need to remove The Coin from the game, going second and getting to mulligan an extra card is SO big you don't need any other advantage.
No update today ? bleh...
History shows that when the public gets testing access, Blizzard's games don't have an NDA. Testing will still be closed off by using waves of invites.
Yeah, unless something changed internally I am quite confident that the beta invites will go out in waves.
No one knows for certain. My guesses would be as good as yours. All we know is soon.
yay zeriyah's back! :D
Yeah. That's crazy. Velen + Malygos = OMGWTFROFLPWN.
Prophet Velen is even better than previously expected! If that was possible.
I always assumed it works like this anyway but it's still wierd because now that penance is gone you have to use it with either mindblast for an absurd amount of burst or with holy smite in conjunction with spellpower minions to deal decent dmg with it. Tbh I don't think priests have enough damaging spells to make a spellpower deck. Maybe with Auchenai Soulpriest to turn heals to dmg to benefit from spellpower. Now that I wrote it I'm not actually sure if they would beneift from spellpower.
Good question, do Priest heals (that don't normally benefit from Spellpower) that get turned into damaging attacks suddenly do benefit from Spellpower, since they are now damaging attacks and not heals.
Would still make for a tenuous window to fit in your damaging spells while you have the minion up, though, only working as long as you have Auchenai Soulpriest up.
I think they do benefit from spellpower but I've asked it in the forums just be sure