I'm a standard player most of the time, but figured I would take a look at this whole BG thing. I still have active Youtube subs to Kripp and a couple others, but the type of content where he just plays a BG thru without much comment on why he chooses the minions he does is not particularly helpful for a person who has literally never played a round in BG before.
So, is there any level one stuff out there, either in video or written form? I've obviously done the basic searches on youtube and reddit, but everything I've found has assumed a level of awareness about the game that I do not have.
Thanks in advance.
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She's pretty good, definitely better than Kripp (like almost every other BG streamer), but most importantly she explains most of her choices and has guides in her YouTube channel, although some of those might be outdated.
Other good options for newcomers are Firebat and Savjz, although they've been playing other stuff lately.
As others have mentioned, Slyssa & RDU both very good players and explains their moves. Personal I prefer Slyssa, but RDU is also great.
Recently I've tuned more and more into l0rinda, as he says he is learning, and takes on advice from chat. While explains what he does and what he could do differently. Often Xixo, Raven and others are in the chat and comes with advice and what, and why he should have done. He is not the biggest streamer, but I think that is a big plus I mean its easier to interact with him and ask him questions yourself.
I remember back when the rewards track came out, there was an issue with battleground perk pass vs. increased reward track pass or something like that. I seem to recall there was a way to get another hero offered each time or something like that.
What is currently available as far as perks and such? Is the perk pass from the start of Darkmoon still in effect, or was that just the first month?
This was another one I tried to google, but as far as how long each item lasted, it was a little shaky on info.
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I usually watch kripp, savjz, dog, rdu, educated collins, tajsama, sungli and many more.
BGz is very simple game mode. After spending some time playing or watching others, youll see that every game is practically the same but the thing is, its just pure grind after lets say 7k.
Battlegrounds perks last until a new full set is released, at which point you need to purchase them again. Usually at the midpoint between sets the cost is halved. They include emotes, some stats and most importantly more hero options and early access to new heroes.
Thx Bengalaas. You may be right, shadow, but right now, I couldn't even tell you what all the tribes are, much less what the individual minions and hero powers are. I am starting from dead zero.
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I've started playing battlegrounds recently for the first time. My only exposure to it was occassionally watching zalae and firebat's youtube highlights (which I think has given me a pretty good headstart). I'm only at ~6k, but steadily climbing and learning a lot.
Once you get accustomed to how things work, these are the most important things to learn imo:
The curve, or what to do with your gold during a match, which can change depending on: your hero, darkmoon prizes, starting units (tokens can allow you to do stuff differently). This it how it generally goes:
Turn 1 (3 gold): buy
TUrn 2 (4 gold): level
Turn 3 (5 gold): sell 1 and buy 2
Turn 4 (6 gold): buy 2
Turn 5: (7 gold): level and buy
The different tribes available: what they are capable of doing during the early, mid and late game. Their strengths and weaknesses. What tavern tier is best for each. What tribe suits each hero better.
Which heroes are best and how to play them (making the most out of their heropower and the tribes available).
Triples: which are worth pursuing and when (remember, making a triple allows you to discover a minion from a higher tavern tier).
Scaling, or how to get stronger. Units that scale themselves vs units that scale your whole board.
Positioning, to guarantee your minions make the best trades. Depends on stats, effects like taunt, deathrattle, divine shield, poison, windfury or cleave, and other stuff.
When to go for tempo (stronger now) and when to go for greed (stronger in the long run).
When to transition into a different comp.
Hope it helps. I'd love to go into each in detail but I'm not good enough yet. My best advice would be to play the game a lot and watch high mmr players.
Appreciate it. That's certainly a good starting primer.
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No problem. If you wanna know the most basic basics, this is what I can think off the top of my head:
Buying a minion costs 3 gold.
Selling a minion grants you 1 gold.
Every turn, you gold count increases by 1, up to 10 (just like mana crystals in play mode).
Rolling (refreshing the tavern) costs 1 gold and shows you a new batch of minions from your tavern tier or lower.
Leveling cost is reduced by 1 gold each turn. Leveling gives you access to higher tier minions.
There's a limited amount of each minion available in the shop. The higher the tavern tier, the less copies there are of each minion.
Minions attack order is from left to right, but their targets are random (unless there's a taunt).
The player with the most minions attacks first. If the number of minions is equal, it's random.
Having 3 copies of the same minion gives you a triple. That triple will be a golden minion with double the stats and double the effects*, and it will retain enchantments. On top of that, you'll be able to discover a minion from 1 tavern tier higher.
*Not always. For example, if you triple Baron Rivendare, the result will be a 2/14 that triggers deathrattles 3 times (not 4).
It's tier list of all heroes in the game, based on pure numbers (how likely it is to get certain place). Unlike standard / wild you don't have to pay anything to get real value from it and it's very helpful, especially for beginners. General note is that T4 heroes are trash so don't blame yourself for not doing well with one of those (you might even consider concede and start over if you are forced to play them). T3 is 50/50, depending on your luck and T1-T2 is always the way to go (though still many things may go wrong due to RNG).
Easiest tribes to start with are definetely Elementals and Pirates (due to strong early game minions that might carry you into late game). Mechs and Demons are a little bit harder (because they need some specific minions from higher tavern tiers to work), while Dragons, Murlocs and Beasts are rather more advanced and might be hard for the new players (they require certain hero and setup in early and mid game).
Crazy suggestion maybe, but why don't you just play Battlegrounds to learn about it?
I get that it might seem a bit intimidating, but there's really not that much to it. Unlike Ranked or Duels, you don't need to concern yourself with deckbuilding, and unlike original Hearthstone, there are very few "bad" minions. A lot of the bad ones were sorted out over time, and by now, almost every minion has some purpose and can be valuable (except maybe Junkbot).
Also, it's not like Arena or Ranked, where losses are a little more serious. There's no pain in not doing well (frustration aside). I would recommend you to just try it out a little bit. The in-game tutorial is actually sufficient in learning the basics, and I assume your first few games will be against total beginners anyway. When you've made yourself familiar with everything, you can concern yourself with getting better.
Also, just like in regular Hearthstone, nothing can really replace experience. Aside from gameplans for specific heroes, you can't go into a game with a specific plan in mind, like what you want to buy and build etc. You have to go with the game, make the best of what you are offered, even if the best is sometimes just 4th place, and be able to make some tough decisions.
That's not to say that watching streams and videos wouldn't help. There are some good moves you can pick up, like thinning the tavern before a freeze, gold management in general, tech choices, what builds you can go for, when to take risks with leveling, build transition etc. but you have to have an understanding of what you are doing in the game. You have to keep in mind that Battlegrounds is highly unpredictable. You oftentimes won't get what you want, and if you are hard wired to play specifc heroes, buy specific minions and try to force specific endgame builds too early, I guarantee you that you won't have a good time.
Which is why I find some of the suggestions here quite odd. Regardless of how "easy" certain tribes might be, it's not like I can start a game and say "let's play Elementals", when I get no good elemental offered in the first 6-7 turns. And my last attempts with Nomi and Majordomo felt like "Battlecry: Ban all elementals from your tavern". Outside of tribe-specific heroes (particularly Patches) or cases where the game offers you something on a silver platter, you need to be able to improvise.
Also, I would advise against only going for "good" heroes. Not only is it relatively meaningsless because any hero can do well and poorly (with different likelihoods), and you won't always get a good option either, it also makes the mode less fun for you and everyone else. You'll be always doing the same things (more or less), and when every lobby has the same 5 or 6 heroes in it, the game starts to get boring.
As far as general guidelines can be given, Atramentar has already given a good example of how most heroes play the first few turns. I would add that you generally would aim to level to Tavern 4 on 9 gold (level + buy). Staying longer on 3 is rarely worth it, and beyond that, it really depends. But keep in mind that many heroes have a different curve, or generally options to change their plan (like Omu, Elize, Y'Shaarj, C'thun). Some heroes should actually stay a little longer on Tavern 1, because their hero power allows/requires a different approach, like Millhouse, Rafaam, Maiev, and Pyramad.
One thing that can't be overstated is the importance of triples. Since triples let you discover a minion from the next higher tier for free, it's one of the best ways to get powerful minions that allow you to get significantly stronger. If possible, you should try to get triples on Tavern 4 or 5 (to discover one from 5 or 6). You should't always go out of your way to get triples, especially for those that aren't worth it, but when it's reasonable (again, you'll know with experience), try to buy second copies of your minions, so you can have that power boost if you find a third. It can make a big difference.
Sidenote: To this day, I still don't understand why anyone gives an actual F about MMR. There's no rewards for it, no privilege granted, it's not even much of an accomplishment, given that it essentially boils down to grinding and there is no real top end. It's completely meaningless (for the time being), and the mode only gets less fun the higher you climb. You would never even be able to tell whether you are playing against actually good players or players who got extremely lucky, positioning aside, since you will never know what they could have bought or played instead, or how exactly they got the board you are facing.
Getting better is one thing, but don't think too much about your MMR. Even if it would reflect on your abilities more than your dedication, Battlegrounds is, in my humble opinion, the only mode (besides Tavern Brawl, sometimes) in Hearthstone that you can actually play for fun, where you really don't need to concern yourself too much with a meta, or tierlists, or your collection, or anything else.
Thanks Dunscot, I respect the notions concerning MMR and such, but it's been my experience that a little bit of research goes a long way before diving in. I remember when the battle chess variation of Dota came out (I forget which title goes with which IP), and I just wasn't getting anything out of it by playing games until I got a few of the basics via Youtube.
Maybe it's different for this game. I definitely get what you mean about not being able to go into a game with a "plan" that you follow regardless of choices and what not. The players that do that will end up with terrible line ups and ignore potentially hugely powerful comps because you "planned" to go a different tribe or some such.
In any case, it may just be that I have rose-tinted goggles because I'm new, but it has been fairly enjoyable so far. The one thing I am very shaky on is the leveling part. I remember from the battle chess type games that there are varying strategies involving leveling faster or slower based on what you have been offered, but that's the sort of thing that I feel as if I'm not getting a lot of insight into.
In any case, I appreciate all the help and suggestions.
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I usually watch kripp, savjz, dog, rdu, educated collins, tajsama, sungli and many more.
BGz is very simple game mode. After spending some time playing or watching others, youll see that every game is practically the same but the thing is, its just pure grind after lets say 7k.
EXACTLY, that's why my ranking is under 2000 constantly.
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rolling too much. You have limited resource and you have to make the best of it.
Try not to “board lock” yourself, meaning you would have to sell an important minion or get a triple to play something. Sometimes it is better to keep a paired minion in hand if you are strong enough, or at least think of what you can sell if you get into that position.
I also have learned that holding a pair for too long is bad as well.
Personally I love the game for the meme decks and meme bg builds.
I understand you. Going into a game blindly, especially a competitive one. can be a bit difficult. When I started Hearthstone, I only started getting a grip of the game after I watched Trump and went with the recommended Basic Mage, just to have some idea how to get started. I personally found Battlegrounds to be relatively easy to get into, but then again, everyone's different.
About leveling:
That's a bit difficult to answer, since it depends on a lot of things, like your hero, your build and your lobby. For instance, Omu can afford to level faster, since the 2 gold refresh after leveling allows to squeeze in another buy and not end up with a "dead" turn.
I'll try to give a few guidelines for every level-up:
Leveling from 1 to 2 should almost always happen on turn 2. If you are playing Maiev or Rafaam, you want to get more out of your hero power, so it's better for them to spend 2, sometimes 3 turns on Tavern 1, always use your hero power establishing a board and trying to find triples, and level up faster later (as in, going directly to 3 and 4).
Leveling from 2 to 3 is almost always recommended to be done on 7 gold. Omu and Elize can afford to do it a turn faster, sometimes even 2 if they have a token. Most heroes (aside from Maiev, Rafaam and especially MIllhouse) will usually not have a large board at this point and won't deal much damage either. You would rarely take more than 5-6 damage from a loss on these turns, so you can technically afford to level faster at a low risk. But Omu and Elise have an easier time doing so, because their hero power lets them compensate the risk.
From 3 to 4 is also relatively straightforward, though you can occasionally consider leveling a bit ealier than 9 gold. If you got the Flag Prize (+1/+1 for your board) and maybe even have a Spawn of N'zoth, and at least 5-6 minions on the board (tokens help a lot), you are usually in a good position to stand up against other players. Even if you lose, you shouldn't take much damage. If you don't have those things, you are usually better off not taking that risk, because at this point of the game, losses can start to hurt, especially when you had a weak start and are already at 30 HP and lower.
Now it gets complicated. When to level from 4 to 5 is difficult to answer, as many factors come in.
On 4, there are already a few good minions that are worth picking up, like Cave Hydra, Majordomo, Cobalt Scalebane is usually decent, Security Rover can be a good slot filler, Goldgrubber is very good if you already one or two golden minions, etc. Actually, there are some good minions on 3 as well, particularly Bronze Warden, but with the jump to 4, you get an additional minion offered on every roll, so they become somewhat easier to find. And at Tavern 4, among other buffers, you can also find Menagerie Mug (+2/+2 for up to 3 different tribe minions), which is very often quite good to improve your board.
As you might guess from this, on 4 you reach the point where you need to get stronger quickly, and losses can sometimes accumulate to 15+ damage, especially against players who got lucky. So, moving from 4 to 5 too quickly is quite risky, and should not be done lightly. You could consider going directly to 5 under a few circumstances. If you see a triple right in front of you (or have been saving one for this point), if you are playing against a "ghost" (disconnected/dead player), if your board has some good strength already (like scaling from Iron Sensei), and if you have a lot of HP (around 30), it can be worth it.
But if you do have a triple, it still depends on a few things whether you actually want something from 6 or 5, like tribes in the game and your board. While you can always find something good or useless on 6, Kalecgos is one of the best minions to pick up early. If there are no Dragons in your game, you might rather not take the risk, stay on 4 and discover a minion from 5 instead. If you are already more or less focused on one tribe already, it can be worth trying to get a lategame minion at this point, like for Elementals and Dragons, but not for all tribes. There's nothing good for Demons and Mechs (Foe Reaper is good, but doesn't require other mechs), and there's no unit for Murlocs on 6 at all (Murlocs would need Brann and Bagurgle from 5).
If you do happen to play against a ghost, you'd usually win the next round anyway. But if there are high damaging players in your lobby (very often Patches), it can still be risky to level, because again, you are expected to become stronger. With a bit of bad luck, leveling through the ghost might put you in a very rough match one turn later. So keep an eye on your lobby and carefully consider your position.
If you don't have a reason to go to 5 early, you should stay 2 turns on 4, sometimes 3. If you are already in a dfficult spot, you should put more emphasis on scaling stats than moving to 5.
Finally, going from 5 to 6 is somewhat easier to answer, and harder at the same time. With many builds, you can afford to stay on 5 and just get your 6s from triples. Leveling to 6 is something you should only consider if you can easily afford it (high health, strong board, ghost opponent or some other fringe cases) or if you are in a position where you actually need minions from 6 to get stronger, like with Beasts. Elise can get away with going to 6 fast, since she gets to discover a minion from 6 through her hero power. Omu sometimes as well, just because Omu can usually get to 5 very smoothly.
But generally speaking, don't go to 6 if you don't really need to. Your main concern at this point should be to improve your comp and refine it as much as possible. If you need a more reliable access to Tier 6 minions, it's tricky finding the right moment, but in most cases, you can just wait until you play aginst a dead player. That is, if you survive that long. Going from 5 to 6 usually happens when you are in the top 4 already.
Hello folks,
I'm a standard player most of the time, but figured I would take a look at this whole BG thing. I still have active Youtube subs to Kripp and a couple others, but the type of content where he just plays a BG thru without much comment on why he chooses the minions he does is not particularly helpful for a person who has literally never played a round in BG before.
So, is there any level one stuff out there, either in video or written form? I've obviously done the basic searches on youtube and reddit, but everything I've found has assumed a level of awareness about the game that I do not have.
Thanks in advance.
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Enjoying Americans winning in the Olympics is forbidden because it is political. A 14 plus page discussion of state-sponsored lawsuits against a multi-national corporation based on harassment, discrimination, and wrongful death allegations is apparently not political enough to raise an issue.
Try Slysssa (the number of Ss might be wrong).
She's pretty good, definitely better than Kripp (like almost every other BG streamer), but most importantly she explains most of her choices and has guides in her YouTube channel, although some of those might be outdated.
Other good options for newcomers are Firebat and Savjz, although they've been playing other stuff lately.
I like Rdu and Slyssa
My custom expansion: Game of Thrones
Learn what the good heroes are,
hope to get offered a good hero.
pick good hero,
learn what the good minions are
hope to get offered good minions
learn What the good dark moon prizes are
hope to get offered good dark moon prizes.
Hope for good RNG and most importantly play for 4hrs a day 7 days a week and you’ll eventually get to 11k rating.
Pick beasts, get hydra + mama bear = win.
I can recommend these streamers.
https://www.twitch.tv/slysssa
https://www.twitch.tv/rdulive
https://www.twitch.tv/l0rinda
As others have mentioned, Slyssa & RDU both very good players and explains their moves. Personal I prefer Slyssa, but RDU is also great.
Recently I've tuned more and more into l0rinda, as he says he is learning, and takes on advice from chat. While explains what he does and what he could do differently. Often Xixo, Raven and others are in the chat and comes with advice and what, and why he should have done.
He is not the biggest streamer, but I think that is a big plus I mean its easier to interact with him and ask him questions yourself.
Check this Nicholena
https://www.youtube.com/c/nicholena/videos
she got some.
EU 11/2015+ , f2p 03/2021+: DK 63 / DH 205 /Dr 277 / Hu 733 / Ma 6666 / Pa 1072 / Pr 1165 / Ro 1791 / Sh 1303 / Wl 707 / Wr 664
Righto. Thx folks
Second question if you'd all be so kind:
I remember back when the rewards track came out, there was an issue with battleground perk pass vs. increased reward track pass or something like that. I seem to recall there was a way to get another hero offered each time or something like that.
What is currently available as far as perks and such? Is the perk pass from the start of Darkmoon still in effect, or was that just the first month?
This was another one I tried to google, but as far as how long each item lasted, it was a little shaky on info.
Helpful Clarification on Forbidden Topics for Hearthstone Forums:
Enjoying Americans winning in the Olympics is forbidden because it is political. A 14 plus page discussion of state-sponsored lawsuits against a multi-national corporation based on harassment, discrimination, and wrongful death allegations is apparently not political enough to raise an issue.
I usually watch kripp, savjz, dog, rdu, educated collins, tajsama, sungli and many more.
BGz is very simple game mode. After spending some time playing or watching others, youll see that every game is practically the same but the thing is, its just pure grind after lets say 7k.
Battlegrounds perks last until a new full set is released, at which point you need to purchase them again. Usually at the midpoint between sets the cost is halved. They include emotes, some stats and most importantly more hero options and early access to new heroes.
Thx Bengalaas. You may be right, shadow, but right now, I couldn't even tell you what all the tribes are, much less what the individual minions and hero powers are. I am starting from dead zero.
Helpful Clarification on Forbidden Topics for Hearthstone Forums:
Enjoying Americans winning in the Olympics is forbidden because it is political. A 14 plus page discussion of state-sponsored lawsuits against a multi-national corporation based on harassment, discrimination, and wrongful death allegations is apparently not political enough to raise an issue.
I've started playing battlegrounds recently for the first time. My only exposure to it was occassionally watching zalae and firebat's youtube highlights (which I think has given me a pretty good headstart). I'm only at ~6k, but steadily climbing and learning a lot.
Once you get accustomed to how things work, these are the most important things to learn imo:
The curve, or what to do with your gold during a match, which can change depending on: your hero, darkmoon prizes, starting units (tokens can allow you to do stuff differently). This it how it generally goes:
The different tribes available: what they are capable of doing during the early, mid and late game. Their strengths and weaknesses. What tavern tier is best for each. What tribe suits each hero better.
Which heroes are best and how to play them (making the most out of their heropower and the tribes available).
Triples: which are worth pursuing and when (remember, making a triple allows you to discover a minion from a higher tavern tier).
Scaling, or how to get stronger. Units that scale themselves vs units that scale your whole board.
Positioning, to guarantee your minions make the best trades. Depends on stats, effects like taunt, deathrattle, divine shield, poison, windfury or cleave, and other stuff.
When to go for tempo (stronger now) and when to go for greed (stronger in the long run).
When to transition into a different comp.
Hope it helps. I'd love to go into each in detail but I'm not good enough yet. My best advice would be to play the game a lot and watch high mmr players.
Appreciate it. That's certainly a good starting primer.
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Enjoying Americans winning in the Olympics is forbidden because it is political. A 14 plus page discussion of state-sponsored lawsuits against a multi-national corporation based on harassment, discrimination, and wrongful death allegations is apparently not political enough to raise an issue.
No problem. If you wanna know the most basic basics, this is what I can think off the top of my head:
You can find more specific info here: https://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Battlegrounds
First of all, use this as a guideline: https://hsreplay.net/battlegrounds/heroes/
It's tier list of all heroes in the game, based on pure numbers (how likely it is to get certain place). Unlike standard / wild you don't have to pay anything to get real value from it and it's very helpful, especially for beginners. General note is that T4 heroes are trash so don't blame yourself for not doing well with one of those (you might even consider concede and start over if you are forced to play them). T3 is 50/50, depending on your luck and T1-T2 is always the way to go (though still many things may go wrong due to RNG).
Easiest tribes to start with are definetely Elementals and Pirates (due to strong early game minions that might carry you into late game). Mechs and Demons are a little bit harder (because they need some specific minions from higher tavern tiers to work), while Dragons, Murlocs and Beasts are rather more advanced and might be hard for the new players (they require certain hero and setup in early and mid game).
Crazy suggestion maybe, but why don't you just play Battlegrounds to learn about it?
I get that it might seem a bit intimidating, but there's really not that much to it. Unlike Ranked or Duels, you don't need to concern yourself with deckbuilding, and unlike original Hearthstone, there are very few "bad" minions. A lot of the bad ones were sorted out over time, and by now, almost every minion has some purpose and can be valuable (except maybe Junkbot).
Also, it's not like Arena or Ranked, where losses are a little more serious. There's no pain in not doing well (frustration aside). I would recommend you to just try it out a little bit. The in-game tutorial is actually sufficient in learning the basics, and I assume your first few games will be against total beginners anyway. When you've made yourself familiar with everything, you can concern yourself with getting better.
Also, just like in regular Hearthstone, nothing can really replace experience. Aside from gameplans for specific heroes, you can't go into a game with a specific plan in mind, like what you want to buy and build etc. You have to go with the game, make the best of what you are offered, even if the best is sometimes just 4th place, and be able to make some tough decisions.
That's not to say that watching streams and videos wouldn't help. There are some good moves you can pick up, like thinning the tavern before a freeze, gold management in general, tech choices, what builds you can go for, when to take risks with leveling, build transition etc. but you have to have an understanding of what you are doing in the game. You have to keep in mind that Battlegrounds is highly unpredictable. You oftentimes won't get what you want, and if you are hard wired to play specifc heroes, buy specific minions and try to force specific endgame builds too early, I guarantee you that you won't have a good time.
Which is why I find some of the suggestions here quite odd. Regardless of how "easy" certain tribes might be, it's not like I can start a game and say "let's play Elementals", when I get no good elemental offered in the first 6-7 turns. And my last attempts with Nomi and Majordomo felt like "Battlecry: Ban all elementals from your tavern". Outside of tribe-specific heroes (particularly Patches) or cases where the game offers you something on a silver platter, you need to be able to improvise.
Also, I would advise against only going for "good" heroes. Not only is it relatively meaningsless because any hero can do well and poorly (with different likelihoods), and you won't always get a good option either, it also makes the mode less fun for you and everyone else. You'll be always doing the same things (more or less), and when every lobby has the same 5 or 6 heroes in it, the game starts to get boring.
As far as general guidelines can be given, Atramentar has already given a good example of how most heroes play the first few turns. I would add that you generally would aim to level to Tavern 4 on 9 gold (level + buy). Staying longer on 3 is rarely worth it, and beyond that, it really depends. But keep in mind that many heroes have a different curve, or generally options to change their plan (like Omu, Elize, Y'Shaarj, C'thun). Some heroes should actually stay a little longer on Tavern 1, because their hero power allows/requires a different approach, like Millhouse, Rafaam, Maiev, and Pyramad.
One thing that can't be overstated is the importance of triples. Since triples let you discover a minion from the next higher tier for free, it's one of the best ways to get powerful minions that allow you to get significantly stronger. If possible, you should try to get triples on Tavern 4 or 5 (to discover one from 5 or 6). You should't always go out of your way to get triples, especially for those that aren't worth it, but when it's reasonable (again, you'll know with experience), try to buy second copies of your minions, so you can have that power boost if you find a third. It can make a big difference.
Sidenote:
To this day, I still don't understand why anyone gives an actual F about MMR. There's no rewards for it, no privilege granted, it's not even much of an accomplishment, given that it essentially boils down to grinding and there is no real top end. It's completely meaningless (for the time being), and the mode only gets less fun the higher you climb. You would never even be able to tell whether you are playing against actually good players or players who got extremely lucky, positioning aside, since you will never know what they could have bought or played instead, or how exactly they got the board you are facing.
Getting better is one thing, but don't think too much about your MMR. Even if it would reflect on your abilities more than your dedication, Battlegrounds is, in my humble opinion, the only mode (besides Tavern Brawl, sometimes) in Hearthstone that you can actually play for fun, where you really don't need to concern yourself too much with a meta, or tierlists, or your collection, or anything else.
Thanks Dunscot, I respect the notions concerning MMR and such, but it's been my experience that a little bit of research goes a long way before diving in. I remember when the battle chess variation of Dota came out (I forget which title goes with which IP), and I just wasn't getting anything out of it by playing games until I got a few of the basics via Youtube.
Maybe it's different for this game. I definitely get what you mean about not being able to go into a game with a "plan" that you follow regardless of choices and what not. The players that do that will end up with terrible line ups and ignore potentially hugely powerful comps because you "planned" to go a different tribe or some such.
In any case, it may just be that I have rose-tinted goggles because I'm new, but it has been fairly enjoyable so far. The one thing I am very shaky on is the leveling part. I remember from the battle chess type games that there are varying strategies involving leveling faster or slower based on what you have been offered, but that's the sort of thing that I feel as if I'm not getting a lot of insight into.
In any case, I appreciate all the help and suggestions.
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EXACTLY, that's why my ranking is under 2000 constantly.
EU 11/2015+ , f2p 03/2021+: DK 63 / DH 205 /Dr 277 / Hu 733 / Ma 6666 / Pa 1072 / Pr 1165 / Ro 1791 / Sh 1303 / Wl 707 / Wr 664
The biggest mistake people make including myself.
rolling too much. You have limited resource and you have to make the best of it.
Try not to “board lock” yourself, meaning you would have to sell an important minion or get a triple to play something. Sometimes it is better to keep a paired minion in hand if you are strong enough, or at least think of what you can sell if you get into that position.
I also have learned that holding a pair for too long is bad as well.
Personally I love the game for the meme decks and meme bg builds.
such salt much BM.
I understand you. Going into a game blindly, especially a competitive one. can be a bit difficult. When I started Hearthstone, I only started getting a grip of the game after I watched Trump and went with the recommended Basic Mage, just to have some idea how to get started. I personally found Battlegrounds to be relatively easy to get into, but then again, everyone's different.
About leveling:
That's a bit difficult to answer, since it depends on a lot of things, like your hero, your build and your lobby. For instance, Omu can afford to level faster, since the 2 gold refresh after leveling allows to squeeze in another buy and not end up with a "dead" turn.
I'll try to give a few guidelines for every level-up:
Leveling from 1 to 2 should almost always happen on turn 2. If you are playing Maiev or Rafaam, you want to get more out of your hero power, so it's better for them to spend 2, sometimes 3 turns on Tavern 1, always use your hero power establishing a board and trying to find triples, and level up faster later (as in, going directly to 3 and 4).
Leveling from 2 to 3 is almost always recommended to be done on 7 gold. Omu and Elize can afford to do it a turn faster, sometimes even 2 if they have a token. Most heroes (aside from Maiev, Rafaam and especially MIllhouse) will usually not have a large board at this point and won't deal much damage either. You would rarely take more than 5-6 damage from a loss on these turns, so you can technically afford to level faster at a low risk. But Omu and Elise have an easier time doing so, because their hero power lets them compensate the risk.
From 3 to 4 is also relatively straightforward, though you can occasionally consider leveling a bit ealier than 9 gold. If you got the Flag Prize (+1/+1 for your board) and maybe even have a Spawn of N'zoth, and at least 5-6 minions on the board (tokens help a lot), you are usually in a good position to stand up against other players. Even if you lose, you shouldn't take much damage. If you don't have those things, you are usually better off not taking that risk, because at this point of the game, losses can start to hurt, especially when you had a weak start and are already at 30 HP and lower.
Now it gets complicated. When to level from 4 to 5 is difficult to answer, as many factors come in.
On 4, there are already a few good minions that are worth picking up, like Cave Hydra, Majordomo, Cobalt Scalebane is usually decent, Security Rover can be a good slot filler, Goldgrubber is very good if you already one or two golden minions, etc. Actually, there are some good minions on 3 as well, particularly Bronze Warden, but with the jump to 4, you get an additional minion offered on every roll, so they become somewhat easier to find. And at Tavern 4, among other buffers, you can also find Menagerie Mug (+2/+2 for up to 3 different tribe minions), which is very often quite good to improve your board.
As you might guess from this, on 4 you reach the point where you need to get stronger quickly, and losses can sometimes accumulate to 15+ damage, especially against players who got lucky. So, moving from 4 to 5 too quickly is quite risky, and should not be done lightly. You could consider going directly to 5 under a few circumstances. If you see a triple right in front of you (or have been saving one for this point), if you are playing against a "ghost" (disconnected/dead player), if your board has some good strength already (like scaling from Iron Sensei), and if you have a lot of HP (around 30), it can be worth it.
But if you do have a triple, it still depends on a few things whether you actually want something from 6 or 5, like tribes in the game and your board. While you can always find something good or useless on 6, Kalecgos is one of the best minions to pick up early. If there are no Dragons in your game, you might rather not take the risk, stay on 4 and discover a minion from 5 instead. If you are already more or less focused on one tribe already, it can be worth trying to get a lategame minion at this point, like for Elementals and Dragons, but not for all tribes. There's nothing good for Demons and Mechs (Foe Reaper is good, but doesn't require other mechs), and there's no unit for Murlocs on 6 at all (Murlocs would need Brann and Bagurgle from 5).
If you do happen to play against a ghost, you'd usually win the next round anyway. But if there are high damaging players in your lobby (very often Patches), it can still be risky to level, because again, you are expected to become stronger. With a bit of bad luck, leveling through the ghost might put you in a very rough match one turn later. So keep an eye on your lobby and carefully consider your position.
If you don't have a reason to go to 5 early, you should stay 2 turns on 4, sometimes 3. If you are already in a dfficult spot, you should put more emphasis on scaling stats than moving to 5.
Finally, going from 5 to 6 is somewhat easier to answer, and harder at the same time. With many builds, you can afford to stay on 5 and just get your 6s from triples. Leveling to 6 is something you should only consider if you can easily afford it (high health, strong board, ghost opponent or some other fringe cases) or if you are in a position where you actually need minions from 6 to get stronger, like with Beasts. Elise can get away with going to 6 fast, since she gets to discover a minion from 6 through her hero power. Omu sometimes as well, just because Omu can usually get to 5 very smoothly.
But generally speaking, don't go to 6 if you don't really need to. Your main concern at this point should be to improve your comp and refine it as much as possible. If you need a more reliable access to Tier 6 minions, it's tricky finding the right moment, but in most cases, you can just wait until you play aginst a dead player. That is, if you survive that long. Going from 5 to 6 usually happens when you are in the top 4 already.
I hope this helps a little bit.