For better and worse since I discovered Hearthstone in late December last year it's become an integral part of my life, something I do every day. Accepting that it's woven into the pattern of my life, it's a good idea to look at how the larger patterns in the game affect my life and how to adapt to/balance out those influences.
Hearthstone, as we know, cycles through three expansions each year, each one lasting 4 months. Each cycle phases through very distinct stages from beginning to end. We kind of repeat the same kind of experience/feeling during the stages of each expansion as they cycle back through. So what are those stages?
Stage 1: The Honeymoon - First month of expansion
This part is wonderful. We get to explore new cards, decks, interactions, and all the graphics, sounds, and voice lines. It's fun to homebrew. It's also fun to see which new decks are rising in the meta and how the meta is changing. It’s fun to watch streamers try all the new stuff. Lots of fun all around. The first couple weeks are better than Christmas. The whole first month is great.
For me my Kobolds honeymoon went longer because I was discovering the game, then Witchwood and rotation reinvented it for me. Boomsday's honeymoon faded pretty quickly as it became clear all the new decks were meme and it was exactly the same meta but with Giggling, Zilliax, etc. I have a feeling Rastakhan won't repeat that experience. Fingers crossed…
So the thing to do during this phase is dive in and enjoy it! Pretty simple.
Stage 2: Meta Solidifies - Second month
The meta stabilizes around the start of month 2. This stage is still really interesting because this is when the “story” or “character” or “reality” of the expansion starts to really take shape and become clear. You know what I mean. During this time it becomes very clear what’s strong overall and what’s strong in each archetype (control/combo/aggro). What’s a problem and needs a nerf becomes really clear during this time too, a la Giggling. The experience is still pretty fresh though and we’re still focused on mastering new decks or new versions of old decks, and focused on piloting the decks we like through the new landscape.
This is the time to enjoy getting good with the decks you like and the decks that are strong in the meta, while still pushing to see if this or that can work and find a niche.
Stage 3: The New Normal – Third month
The meta is locked in now, though it will shift some after the nerfs that land during this time. By now we’re in our groove with the decks we tend to play. For me I go one of two ways during this time. I swing between a) being really focused on a few meta decks and seeing how high I can climb with them and b) trying anything and everything on the fringes.By the end of this month I’ve pretty much seen it all, done it all, and heard it all. Depending on how stale the meta is and how much I’ve been playing, I’m somewhere between totally burned out and just ready for something new.
This is the time, I think—for me at least—when it really helps to start playing a little less and pacing myself more. Enjoy the good parts and minimize the rest.
Stage 4: Stale Meta – Fourth Month
This is when, well…it’s still a fun game. It’s still Hearthstone. You still have your crazy Spell Hunter zombeast duels. It still feels good to answer everything from aggro with control. Still feels good to pull off your combo. Still feels good to smash with aggro. But, if you’re like me, you’re…not bored but just fatigued. Just really need to take a break. Play less. A day off here and there. For me, with how much I play Hearthstone, I’d feel better and enjoy the game more overall if I just put the game down and didn’t touch it for the three weeks before expansion. No quests, no nothing (except of course when I can get 500 gold, etc.)
In order for a crop field to remain fertile it needs to be left fallow once every four years so it can renew its capacity. It’s hard to put Hearthstone down, even when you know you’re fatigued, but I think the month before expansion is the time to take a break.
So those are my thoughts on the cycle that repeats in every expansion. Does this jibe with your experience? Now would be the time for me to take that break I was talking about. We’ll see how that goes.
In order for a crop field to remain fertile it needs to be left fallow once every four years so it can renew its capacity. It’s hard to put Hearthstone down, even when you know you’re fatigued, but I think the month before expansion is the time to take a break.
You know your industrial history, I'll give you that. I'd never link four field crop rotation to HS metas. The fallow field was often used for grazing, which I'd equate to your fourth month.
Where would you fit mid-meta patching in your analogy?
Grazing sounds good right now. I could go for some grazing.
As for fitting nerfs into the anology...well after planting the same thing the same way using the same fertilizer and pesticides for a couple years you're gonna have a pretty good idea of what needs to change. So I guess mid-meta patches are like tweaking something somewhere in the process midway through the four year cycle.
For this last patch I'd say the Aviana nerf was like tweaking the old fertilizer to make it work with the new melon crops. It was making them grow into crazy oversized hulk melons. Giggling Inventor was like a new crop that was being tried out. It grew and spread too rapidly, overtaking other crops, so they just stopped planting it. The Mana Wyrm nerf was like the farmer finally being fed up with a worm that's been around forever chewing on his crops but it wasn't quite bad enough to merit adding another pesticide. However the worms have been really feasting on the crops that were introduced recently and it was just time to pull the trigger.
I play a lot of standard in phase 1 and 2. When phase 3 rolls around, I usually switch around to playing arena a lot or sometimes wild. I'll still pop in for the occasional standard game if a new deck looks fun to play, but I don't push for legend or anything. It works for me. Yeah standard gets stale, but there are more game modes than that. I've been playing for over 2 years and I haven't felt like I've needed to "take a break".
Good point. I did completely leave out arena. I probably start playing more arena in phase 3 too, even though ideally we should be playing more arena in the first month for the packs but whatever. I start dipping more into Wild then too.
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For better and worse since I discovered Hearthstone in late December last year it's become an integral part of my life, something I do every day. Accepting that it's woven into the pattern of my life, it's a good idea to look at how the larger patterns in the game affect my life and how to adapt to/balance out those influences.
Hearthstone, as we know, cycles through three expansions each year, each one lasting 4 months. Each cycle phases through very distinct stages from beginning to end. We kind of repeat the same kind of experience/feeling during the stages of each expansion as they cycle back through. So what are those stages?
Stage 1: The Honeymoon - First month of expansion
This part is wonderful. We get to explore new cards, decks, interactions, and all the graphics, sounds, and voice lines. It's fun to homebrew. It's also fun to see which new decks are rising in the meta and how the meta is changing. It’s fun to watch streamers try all the new stuff. Lots of fun all around. The first couple weeks are better than Christmas. The whole first month is great.
For me my Kobolds honeymoon went longer because I was discovering the game, then Witchwood and rotation reinvented it for me. Boomsday's honeymoon faded pretty quickly as it became clear all the new decks were meme and it was exactly the same meta but with Giggling, Zilliax, etc. I have a feeling Rastakhan won't repeat that experience. Fingers crossed…
So the thing to do during this phase is dive in and enjoy it! Pretty simple.
Stage 2: Meta Solidifies - Second month
The meta stabilizes around the start of month 2. This stage is still really interesting because this is when the “story” or “character” or “reality” of the expansion starts to really take shape and become clear. You know what I mean. During this time it becomes very clear what’s strong overall and what’s strong in each archetype (control/combo/aggro). What’s a problem and needs a nerf becomes really clear during this time too, a la Giggling. The experience is still pretty fresh though and we’re still focused on mastering new decks or new versions of old decks, and focused on piloting the decks we like through the new landscape.
This is the time to enjoy getting good with the decks you like and the decks that are strong in the meta, while still pushing to see if this or that can work and find a niche.
Stage 3: The New Normal – Third month
The meta is locked in now, though it will shift some after the nerfs that land during this time. By now we’re in our groove with the decks we tend to play. For me I go one of two ways during this time. I swing between a) being really focused on a few meta decks and seeing how high I can climb with them and b) trying anything and everything on the fringes. By the end of this month I’ve pretty much seen it all, done it all, and heard it all. Depending on how stale the meta is and how much I’ve been playing, I’m somewhere between totally burned out and just ready for something new.
This is the time, I think—for me at least—when it really helps to start playing a little less and pacing myself more. Enjoy the good parts and minimize the rest.
Stage 4: Stale Meta – Fourth Month
This is when, well…it’s still a fun game. It’s still Hearthstone. You still have your crazy Spell Hunter zombeast duels. It still feels good to answer everything from aggro with control. Still feels good to pull off your combo. Still feels good to smash with aggro. But, if you’re like me, you’re…not bored but just fatigued. Just really need to take a break. Play less. A day off here and there. For me, with how much I play Hearthstone, I’d feel better and enjoy the game more overall if I just put the game down and didn’t touch it for the three weeks before expansion. No quests, no nothing (except of course when I can get 500 gold, etc.)
In order for a crop field to remain fertile it needs to be left fallow once every four years so it can renew its capacity. It’s hard to put Hearthstone down, even when you know you’re fatigued, but I think the month before expansion is the time to take a break.
So those are my thoughts on the cycle that repeats in every expansion. Does this jibe with your experience? Now would be the time for me to take that break I was talking about. We’ll see how that goes.
TLDR: If it's too long don't read it ;)
You know your industrial history, I'll give you that. I'd never link four field crop rotation to HS metas. The fallow field was often used for grazing, which I'd equate to your fourth month.
Where would you fit mid-meta patching in your analogy?
Golden Hero Collections thus far; -
Europe: Druid, Hunter, Paladin, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior (9/9)
Americas: Druid, Mage, Paladin Shaman (4/9)
Everywhere else: Workin on it.. (0/9)
Grazing sounds good right now. I could go for some grazing.
As for fitting nerfs into the anology...well after planting the same thing the same way using the same fertilizer and pesticides for a couple years you're gonna have a pretty good idea of what needs to change. So I guess mid-meta patches are like tweaking something somewhere in the process midway through the four year cycle.
For this last patch I'd say the Aviana nerf was like tweaking the old fertilizer to make it work with the new melon crops. It was making them grow into crazy oversized hulk melons. Giggling Inventor was like a new crop that was being tried out. It grew and spread too rapidly, overtaking other crops, so they just stopped planting it. The Mana Wyrm nerf was like the farmer finally being fed up with a worm that's been around forever chewing on his crops but it wasn't quite bad enough to merit adding another pesticide. However the worms have been really feasting on the crops that were introduced recently and it was just time to pull the trigger.
How's that? LOL!
I play a lot of standard in phase 1 and 2. When phase 3 rolls around, I usually switch around to playing arena a lot or sometimes wild. I'll still pop in for the occasional standard game if a new deck looks fun to play, but I don't push for legend or anything. It works for me. Yeah standard gets stale, but there are more game modes than that. I've been playing for over 2 years and I haven't felt like I've needed to "take a break".
Good point. I did completely leave out arena. I probably start playing more arena in phase 3 too, even though ideally we should be playing more arena in the first month for the packs but whatever. I start dipping more into Wild then too.