I've played a ton of HS on and off since it launched, but have been gone for several years and just started getting back in and loving it. I used to love standard constructed, but now i'm pretty hard behind on cards, so I've been doing other modes. I've been playing a ton of battlegrounds mode, which I'm a big fan of. I've also been slowly working my way through the solo adventure content which has been fun.
I'm looking for advice on where to spend my time and gold. Of course its a game and I'm largely ftp and here to have fun, but also don't want to waste hours on not-so-fun dungeon runs with little-to-no rewards at the end.
Solo Adventures: The last solo content I played was... Frozen Throne, so there's a ton to catch up on. Which one of these is worth it (good times + class cards or packs that are a pain to get otherwise) and which are not?
What should I be doing with my gold? I figure I can (1) buy packs... (2) spend it on solo adventures (not dropping that cash), or (3) on arenas and duels. Is there a common conventional wisdom on this?
It's still a fun game though if you want to return. I'd try to buy every mini expansion for 2000 gold (I think this is the best value) and invest in this years packs (Barrens + Stormwind) to slowly build up decks again and ignore the cards that will rotate out in 8 month (maybe just craft some for decks you're using, like e.g. Wolpertinger or so). Then by match of 22 you're up to speed again.
Here is my opinion, Hearthstone has made a bunch of great changes and some not so great changes. I personally started playing in beta and took a break after Frozen Throne and came back at Rise of Shadows. Hearthstone sets have been super fun and memorable in a standard view point the last few years and we have gotten some incredible cards. Team 5 has gotten much better about pushing out at least some form of balance as opposed to how it used to be where we saw practically nothing nothing. I am loving Hearthstone more than ever now even with some of the over the top cards they have made here recently. I'm not sure If I agree with declining player numbers as a lot of players play very casually. The Tavern Pass change they made to gold has been absolutely wonderful and the best 20 USD investment you can make in the game. As far as the not so great changes I personally think that revolves around card design. I'm not sure some of the cards get play tested the way they should but with the small team they have as opposed to the amount of people that play the game I understand that.
The game is still just fine and some people are overreacting/trolling here.
Personally, I'd have a look at some budget decklists for standard and just try to grind ladder. There are plenty of good, cheap decks that can get you to high rank or even legend. You'll get your gold, reward track progress and then end of month rewards, which will help you get a foothold back into things.
Right now the only solo content that is worthwhile in my opinion is the "book of" adventures that released recently. You get a "class pack" for completing them, and they also mentioned that finishing all the book of heroes will get you a golden standard pack. So those are worth your time.
But honestly, there is no right or wrong answer here. If you're just enjoying BGs, I'd say keep doing that. You get exp reward track progression from that, too, which will help you get stuff.
Maybe the most important thing is that they have been doing these mini sets between expansions lately. They release the entire set of cards for gold (and also add all the cards into the current expansion packs), which has been more or less worthwhile, so you may want to save up your gold for that when the next one drops. I think they were 2000G.
To answer your question. Depends if you wanna play Wild or Standard. If you wanna plat Standard i would stay away from the Adventures (thus buy packs from the latest expansion(s)).
As an avid lover of MTG and Hearthstone. I think Arena is a great product that is far too expensive. MTGO is much better in regards to price. But Arena is a much more visually appealing client.
I feel you get a lot more cards for your money. I also feel you get more from the their 'Rewards Track'.
Daily quests don't need you to win games, but just simpley destroy x amount of creatures or play x cards of y color). For the weekly quest you do need to win 15 games however.
You get a good amount of starter decks as a new player.
Also when Wizards bans a card you get a full refund for each copy you have plus you get to keep the cards.
Also the have good daily offers (up to 95% off!). When does Blizzard ever give a 50% (or more) discount?
I only preorder once when a new block comes out.
With the gold i saved from playing i can often buy another 40+ packs when a new block comes out .
I feel you get a lot more cards for your money. I also feel you get more from the their 'Rewards Track'.
You get a good amount of starter decks as a new player.
Also when Wizards bans a card you get a full refund for each copy you have plus you get to keep the card.
Also the have good daily offers (up to 95% off!).
I only preorder once when a new block comes out.
With the gold i saved from playing i can often buy another 40+ packs when i new block comes out .
Not to mention 'the Vault'.
All of that is very valid @BA5. I haven't pre ordered anything on Arena. I came in the middle of a set ( I can't remember what set) It was just rough to me from a wild card stand point. I should have been more clear.
You can make competitive decks with all the free cards you get in MtG Arena (unlike Heartstone imo).
I don't wanna bash on Heartstone, but i feel MtG Arena is the better online card game (in more than one way).
I'll be honest. Most of my MTG time was spent playing Modern and Legacy. I wouldn't know too much about competitive standard decks on a budget if I'm being 100% honest.
Good times are mostly found in the dungeon style adventures. You only get packs for Dalaran heist and uldum, which I think should be old packs sadly. This style is just for fun and can to some extent be replaced by duels which offers rewards and has some kind of meta in it.
The books are decent but I would only play them if I'm tired of every other mode more or less. They give a pack but i don't think it's worth the time if you're having more fun elsewhere. I tried two of the mercenary ones yesterday. Was nice but nothing compared to normal pvp
For standard
Nerfs coming today. Gonna be exciting to see if they're efficient. Very explosive meta. Not for the chill value trade deck building, but great if you want to test out your speed combo or high pressure burst deck.
Runeterra. It is f2p friendly and you are also well rewarded if you spend. The game allows you to interact with your opponent even on their turn. There are tons of viable decks and strategies and homebrews are still a thing.
Hearthstone is a super expensive solitaire that gets worse the more you play it. Play Battlegrounds if you must, but avoid this rigged trash if you can.
For farming/collection building purposes, I recommend getting to Diamond 5 in any ranked mode every month, which gives you a free epic and 1 less than the most amount of possible packs. With the new ranked floor system, it is a lot easier than in the past. I also recommend Arena If you can average 4-5+ wins per run, you can obtain packs at a discount or even for free (depending on how many wins). Completing the Tavern Brawl each week will grant a Classic pack. There is a new rule now that you can't get duplicate cards in packs unless you already have all the cards for that rarity, so keep that in mind when crafting and disenchanting.
Arena can also be a good way to enjoy using the new cards without owning them, including cards that may not see as much play in constructed. Because the new XP system is roughly based on time spent in game and game mode (last time I checked), in a sense it's a lot easier to go infinite in Arena.
In terms of fun, Arena is my favorite mode at the moment, but casual Wild is fun as well. If I wasn't FTP, I would probably also play more Standard and Duels.
Also, if you missed out on any expansions, you are guaranteed to get a legendary within the first 10 packs, I think
I've played a ton of HS on and off since it launched, but have been gone for several years and just started getting back in and loving it. I used to love standard constructed, but now i'm pretty hard behind on cards, so I've been doing other modes. I've been playing a ton of battlegrounds mode, which I'm a big fan of. I've also been slowly working my way through the solo adventure content which has been fun.
I'm looking for advice on where to spend my time and gold. Of course its a game and I'm largely ftp and here to have fun, but also don't want to waste hours on not-so-fun dungeon runs with little-to-no rewards at the end.
Solo Adventures: The last solo content I played was... Frozen Throne, so there's a ton to catch up on. Which one of these is worth it (good times + class cards or packs that are a pain to get otherwise) and which are not?
What should I be doing with my gold? I figure I can (1) buy packs... (2) spend it on solo adventures (not dropping that cash), or (3) on arenas and duels. Is there a common conventional wisdom on this?
Thanks! See you in the tavern.
You should go away again lol. Game's been declining and if you're already out I wouldn't advice getting back in.
Aw beans.
Back.
Damn too bad. Declining in player numbers? Blizzard commitment/engagement? Quality of game play? Or just all of the above?
It's still a fun game though if you want to return. I'd try to buy every mini expansion for 2000 gold (I think this is the best value) and invest in this years packs (Barrens + Stormwind) to slowly build up decks again and ignore the cards that will rotate out in 8 month (maybe just craft some for decks you're using, like e.g. Wolpertinger or so). Then by match of 22 you're up to speed again.
Watch me play :)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwk2WA4qQ6WRM9chJK2KSYQ
Here is my opinion, Hearthstone has made a bunch of great changes and some not so great changes. I personally started playing in beta and took a break after Frozen Throne and came back at Rise of Shadows. Hearthstone sets have been super fun and memorable in a standard view point the last few years and we have gotten some incredible cards. Team 5 has gotten much better about pushing out at least some form of balance as opposed to how it used to be where we saw practically nothing nothing. I am loving Hearthstone more than ever now even with some of the over the top cards they have made here recently. I'm not sure If I agree with declining player numbers as a lot of players play very casually. The Tavern Pass change they made to gold has been absolutely wonderful and the best 20 USD investment you can make in the game. As far as the not so great changes I personally think that revolves around card design. I'm not sure some of the cards get play tested the way they should but with the small team they have as opposed to the amount of people that play the game I understand that.
I'm not sure I 100% agree with you FailURGamer.
The game is still just fine and some people are overreacting/trolling here.
Personally, I'd have a look at some budget decklists for standard and just try to grind ladder. There are plenty of good, cheap decks that can get you to high rank or even legend. You'll get your gold, reward track progress and then end of month rewards, which will help you get a foothold back into things.
Right now the only solo content that is worthwhile in my opinion is the "book of" adventures that released recently. You get a "class pack" for completing them, and they also mentioned that finishing all the book of heroes will get you a golden standard pack. So those are worth your time.
But honestly, there is no right or wrong answer here. If you're just enjoying BGs, I'd say keep doing that. You get exp reward track progression from that, too, which will help you get stuff.
Maybe the most important thing is that they have been doing these mini sets between expansions lately. They release the entire set of cards for gold (and also add all the cards into the current expansion packs), which has been more or less worthwhile, so you may want to save up your gold for that when the next one drops. I think they were 2000G.
Go to MtG Arena.
I still play Hearthstone to be fair though.
To answer your question. Depends if you wanna play Wild or Standard. If you wanna plat Standard i would stay away from the Adventures (thus buy packs from the latest expansion(s)).
As an avid lover of MTG and Hearthstone. I think Arena is a great product that is far too expensive. MTGO is much better in regards to price. But Arena is a much more visually appealing client.
You find it expansive? @lordoftheclaps.
I feel you get a lot more cards for your money. I also feel you get more from the their 'Rewards Track'.
Daily quests don't need you to win games, but just simpley destroy x amount of creatures or play x cards of y color). For the weekly quest you do need to win 15 games however.
You get a good amount of starter decks as a new player.
Also when Wizards bans a card you get a full refund for each copy you have plus you get to keep the cards.
Also the have good daily offers (up to 95% off!). When does Blizzard ever give a 50% (or more) discount?
I only preorder once when a new block comes out.
With the gold i saved from playing i can often buy another 40+ packs when a new block comes out .
Not to mention 'the Vault'.
All of that is very valid @BA5. I haven't pre ordered anything on Arena. I came in the middle of a set ( I can't remember what set) It was just rough to me from a wild card stand point. I should have been more clear.
@lordoftheclaps
You can make competitive decks with all the free cards you get in MtG Arena (unlike Heartstone imo).
I don't wanna bash on Heartstone, but i feel MtG Arena is the better online card game (in more than one way).
I'll be honest. Most of my MTG time was spent playing Modern and Legacy. I wouldn't know too much about competitive standard decks on a budget if I'm being 100% honest.
For solo content:
Good times are mostly found in the dungeon style adventures. You only get packs for Dalaran heist and uldum, which I think should be old packs sadly. This style is just for fun and can to some extent be replaced by duels which offers rewards and has some kind of meta in it.
The books are decent but I would only play them if I'm tired of every other mode more or less. They give a pack but i don't think it's worth the time if you're having more fun elsewhere. I tried two of the mercenary ones yesterday. Was nice but nothing compared to normal pvp
For standard
Nerfs coming today. Gonna be exciting to see if they're efficient. Very explosive meta. Not for the chill value trade deck building, but great if you want to test out your speed combo or high pressure burst deck.
Runeterra. It is f2p friendly and you are also well rewarded if you spend. The game allows you to interact with your opponent even on their turn. There are tons of viable decks and strategies and homebrews are still a thing.
Hearthstone is a super expensive solitaire that gets worse the more you play it. Play Battlegrounds if you must, but avoid this rigged trash if you can.
For farming/collection building purposes, I recommend getting to Diamond 5 in any ranked mode every month, which gives you a free epic and 1 less than the most amount of possible packs. With the new ranked floor system, it is a lot easier than in the past. I also recommend Arena If you can average 4-5+ wins per run, you can obtain packs at a discount or even for free (depending on how many wins). Completing the Tavern Brawl each week will grant a Classic pack. There is a new rule now that you can't get duplicate cards in packs unless you already have all the cards for that rarity, so keep that in mind when crafting and disenchanting.
Arena can also be a good way to enjoy using the new cards without owning them, including cards that may not see as much play in constructed. Because the new XP system is roughly based on time spent in game and game mode (last time I checked), in a sense it's a lot easier to go infinite in Arena.
In terms of fun, Arena is my favorite mode at the moment, but casual Wild is fun as well. If I wasn't FTP, I would probably also play more Standard and Duels.
Also, if you missed out on any expansions, you are guaranteed to get a legendary within the first 10 packs, I think
Make sure you save 2000 gold for the next mini-set of cards. Other than that just spend on packs or arena if you're good at it.
I don't recall if solo adventures have anything crucial, you might check hsreplay for decks.
Thanks for all the super helpful responses here! I'm here for casual fun, which includes tooling around in standard, so this is all right up my alley.