Hearthpwn

I would start by fixing this kind of BS

Quote from Th3D1rtSt4R >>

I would start by fixing this kind of BS

It's the new MMR system they didn't mean to implement with this patch (you know, small indie company and all that). I'm not sure they'll "fix" it or just let it play out until people's MMR have stabilised.

For those that haven't seen the post on reddit here it is https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/e6nix9/battlegrounds_mmr_updates/

Quote from SuperAga >>

Quote from Th3D1rtSt4R >>

I would start by fixing this kind of BS

It's the new MMR system they didn't mean to implement with this patch (you know, small indie company and all that). I'm not sure they'll "fix" it or just let it play out until people's MMR have stabilised.

For those that haven't seen the post on reddit here it is https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/comments/e6nix9/battlegrounds_mmr_updates/

 You are cute. But here is the thing, and I will preface this with the statement that I am a designer by profession.

Implementing a ranking change (which I will agree is better than previously), without resetting is not really a great idea when you launch something in beta which has limiting factors that contribute to distinguishing how good/bad players are. You are compounding the issue with a format that is fairly easy to solve, with extended open playability, and a ranking system by which players can measure themselves. By allowing players to place marginally well and see themselves in the red at the end of the game, leads to feel bad moments for players and when it happens a majority of the time, it is even worse.

While the system put in place was intentional, the first fix I would suggest is to reset the rankings so that players are not seeing themselves in the red for doing fairly well.

Players are already getting bored with the mode and now they get to feel worse for sticking in there and playing it. You imply that I was insinuating that it was a bug, which I was not. I was insinuating that a balance change like this that impacts player ranking should be fixed by also allowing players to feel like they are progressing, not like they are regressing.

That being said, I have spent some time considering how I would go about various changes to the game mode in consideration to the overall health of it.

1. Address Beta Exhaustion
Battlegrounds is actually a fairly shallow game mode, it is simple enough for players to pick up and learn and complex enough for players to have something to solve. However it is being solved faster than patches are being released. I think the overall cadence of patch releases is spot on, so really there is not much you can do to address how quickly players are solving the format, without implementing a series of iterations to the game mode to keep balancing. Which, ironically enough is why the game mode is in an open beta. BUT, this issue is compounded by other issues:

• The latest change to the ranking system SHOULD have been paired with a reset. Having your players already solving the format and becoming bored, does not pair well with now allowing them to see red changes to their rank (the means in which players can evaluate their progression or regression), can lead to feel bad moments - even if they are only losing 10 points for doing fairly well.
• Shared minion pools are also creating frustrating experiences and devaluing your complimentary mechanics. Players want to be able to take advantage of your game mechanics like rerolling and tripping up on a minion. However the shallowness of the pool is creating situations where players are now simply either discouraged from utilizing those mechanics or they create situations where it is extremely swingy and unreliable. An example is when a player has to pivot away from a strong board because their minions lost value rather than gained value and the end result is either losing the game or consecutive battles through no fault of their own. RNG is a mechanic that should be employed, but limiting the card pool to a shared pool causes issues that lead to poor player experiences. I would either address the number of minions in the shared pool, or establish a limitless amount of various minions for specific tiers.

2. Murloc Tribe
Murlocs, according to their waiting screen statements, is meant to be a powerful early game tribe that has diminishing returns as the game grows longer (in relation to other tribes). However it is easily the most versatile tribe and scales much better than any other tribe at the moment. The only situation when this was not the case was before the changes to Lighfang Enforcer and before the addition of King Bagurgle. Interestingly enough, I don't actually think either of those are what is causing issues and player frustration. I believe that Gentle Megasaur should simply be removed from Battlegrounds and that Toxfin should be moved to Tier 5. Having both Toxfin + Primalfin Lookout in Tier 4, creates a lot of consistency for Murlocs and their ability to stack Poison onto every minion they have.

After talking about their original version of Professor Putricide and how he interacted with Kaboom Bot, I find it interesting that they would be okay with over saturating an entire tribe with access to Poison.

3. Demon Tribe
I am not entirely sure why they thought that Floating Watcher was going to help Demons any more than Wrath Weaver. The problem isn't that Demons cannot scale well in size, it is that they are otherwise incredibly vanilla in a mode where people are stacking Mechs with Divine Shield, Murlocs with Poison, Beasts with Taunt, etc. While these two cards work well together, they don't address the problems that prevent Demons from being at least as decent as other tribes. I don't really have a fix to propose for Demons, other than creating specific Demons that can assist with summoning other Demons or have similar functionality to Soul Juggler in that it has the ability to remove minions from the board.

5. New Cards
I would also try to bring in various cards from Hearthstone, specifically ones that help with other possible archetypes, like Deathrattle. There are tones of these, like Hadranox, Safeguard, etc. I think Toshley would be rather interesting. Explosive Sheep is one that a lot of people talk about.

I think the point I am getting at here, is that these kinds of effects add a layer of depth to the game and can help contribute from stale games between balance updates. Obviously there is a finite amount of minions you can add to the game mode without crowding out minions from the tavern pool. But Discover mechanics are a great way to help alleviate this to some degree.

6. Heroes
I think a lot of the heroes really should just be revisited.

1. Arch-Villain Rafaam is a really fun hero but his Hero power should definitely cost 2 gold. For a single gold, it really does not matter what minion you get from your opponent. It replaces itself and lets you sell it the following turn if you have space, and actually break even on gold while getting a free Battlecry trigger. I think this change is a nice balance swap to bring his power level down, but I also am not entirely convinced it is a top priority change. I think fixing other heroes to bring them up to this level would be better for the game mode.
2. Bartendotron really isn't all that great. I would probably just have him start in Tavern Tier 2 and have his cost to upgrade the tavern adjust to keep him on track to upgrade to 3 at the same turn it is possible for the other heroes.
3. George the Fallen has a really great ability but 4 is a pretty steep cost. I think adjusting it to 3 allows them to still decide if they want a shield or a minion while also giving him a bit more early/mid game playability.
4. Patches the Pirate I would adjust this hero power to start at shooting 1 minion for 3 and each consecutive turn it has the ability to hit an additional minion (to a maximum of 7). His current hero power has no ability to scale and is quickly outpaced by basic minions. I am not sure what the initial intent was for his ability but it is actually rather useless at all stages of the game.
5. Professor Putricide has a lot of damage stacking potential, but it really should just let you target a minion. so that it is playable and not just wasted on hitting a divine shield minion once and then being useless beyond that. I would also adjust the cost to 3 mana in conjunction with being able to target any minion.
6. Sir Finley Mrrgglton His ability kind of just overlaps with Dancin' Deryl in some ways. I would probably just see what a +1/+2 for 2 gold and have the ability to target, would do and adjust accordingly.
7. Sylvanas Windrunner is actually one of the worst heroes in the game mode. I think she would significantly increase in playability if she destroyed the minion and allowed for random gains off Deathrattle effects in addition to the +1/+1. She then has the ability to not lose the 3 gold spent and still have limited scalability.
8. Trade Prince Gallywix is another hero that I just don't see as being that good. The additional gold for 0 really isn't doing much when you compare it to most other hero powers in the game mode. I think 2 gold coins would allow you to get a lot further without... breaking the bank...

Overall, Battlegrounds is great so far. I love it. But I also know a lot of people who have been turned off of it for various reasons, mainly just being exhausted with it. These are the changes I would look to try and implement to balance various aspects of the game mode. I think that the Hearthstone team is actually doing a great job with it and that the update cadence is great. But there are some things I would love to see addressed and hopefully more meaty updates with each patch.

After my previous one just before the patch... a few new stuff. 

AFK's double tt3 - thanks for the ... it's neither a nerf, but certainly not a buff, yet synergies are much easier now, especially with mechs - see cobalt and annoy-o-divine shield. 

Rafaam is Strong, cost should be 2. I only choose AFK over it as she's been my fav since day 1.

Damagers before combat - Ragnaros is still dumb, Patches deals 3 dmg x 2, and the 1 damage to all is better than both And costs 1. Ragnaros should retire, Patches should be 1 mana, deal 1 damage to 3 targets, or stay as is and the spreader should be 2 mana, and a new hero (see P.S.)

Rotation, speaking of the dragon... I will not utter its name, it's cursed, I got 4 matches by top4 with that dragon last two times it was present, and Same 3 (all of us made t4) the whole battle the game before. 

The rest of the heroes are fine, but I'd add one that allows a minion to attack first on hero's side no matter its location, can cost 1 or 2, it's good tech. Personally I'd make all Rush minions work like that, add some non-tribes, and the minion pool would have versatility and an additonal tactics.

Murlocs - top4 and on I lost way less than I beat them, even post patch. The only thing is Coldlight Seer needs to go to tt3, along with Amalgam. They already have the charger and the +2 attack "lord" at tt2. The adapter is an overkill along with the tt5 lord, who's ridiculously strong next to demon's +2/+2.

Toxfin can be removed and we can have the combo poisoner at tt5 that fits all, so Amalgam has less need beyond the magnetics. 

Demons - 3 guys at tt5, but nothing at tt4 or 6? They can be awesome or weak, almost no middle ground.

Mechs - Have a new demon at tt4, replace one from tt5 with a mech, and remove the hydra mech. Love the class. 

Beasts - I don't think there's a better crowded tribe, yet they depend on their tokens and no taunt. Still - hydras, pumpers, and 2 tt6s. Demons next to beasts feel like a nerf. 

Sorry about names missing.

P.S. for laughs - a new hero in terms of last week's deliberations - a Shaman that for 2 adds a random battlecry. In a week they advise patch to buff it to 1 mana, discover, and each such BC triggers twice. When it only has 65% win, they'll give tt2 0/99 minion reading "everything you do triggers an additional time". Then everyone cries, nerfs are posted, people keep crying, the tt2 minion is fixed to 0/88. It'd take 3 months, but who cares...

P.S. 2 I hope no dragon tribe, the No-Tribe needs to get a boost, one of which is replacing Boogey and giving us something else that actually Does something other than pet opponent's DS taunters and die. A Mecharoo does that Plus another 1/1er.

I think poison is to powerfull for this mode , toxifin and  megasuar as stated above need to moved to tiers above.

start with removing heroes so everyone gets same,

0 difference = ez balance 

I wouldn't worry too much about balance with this mode and just do what htey are doing and focus on regular changes and updates - if the mode is changing up every couple of weeks it doesn't matter if one build is overpowered for a little while. The amalgam removal is huge change!

I'd like to see some spicey high tier minions...like Sylvanas or some of the big dragons. I'd also like to see a more reliable way of buffing neutral minions...cards like Bolvar could be lots of fun but they fall off super hard in the late game compared to the generic tribes you see in every game because you can't buff them easily.