Hearthpwn

Quick note: This post is not about any one card game, but a general overview about the genre at the moment which relates to all of the online CCGs out now. TLDR: Why pick just one? Play every one you like (that is F2P or in your budget of course) a little instead of being “try hard” at one and that’ll be more fun.

Well, I usually write some post comparing games, and what’s better and why and what’s worse about the game mechanics and all that… it pretty much goes in circles and much of it comes down to personal taste as long as the game has a certain amount of balance that allows you to compete (sure, once in a while an important point comes up worth discussing).

Let’s start our story from Hearthstone open beta when I started playing digital card games (let’s keep "before online CCGs" out of it for now). I enjoyed it because it was the first easy to get into and popular online CCG. I played like crazy (on and off when the meta got stale – but mostly on) until… Elder Scrolls Legends came out. I do happen to be a Bethesda and Elder Scrolls fan and CCG fan so… I played that a lot. And it is great… it made me stop grinding Hearthstone so hard and think about “which I should play.”

Shortly after ESL I found out there were actually quite a few online CCGs that had begun to gain a following. So, I tried the next one – Eternal (still waiting on Faeria to hit ipad, that looks good too!). And… I liked that a bit better than ESL! So, now I had three that I was actively clearing quests for and building a collection for playable ladder decks. I was also going to forums comparing, saying which is better and which is worse and why and… well… that’s a big loop of a conversation. I came to realize, I just like them all. I don’t wanna quit either one for the other. Why the salt and competition? Just enjoy each for its good points!

At the same time, with a life, kids, wife, job etc… it’s impossible to play all of them at a highly competitive level. An intermediate level is about the best I can do with my time juggling three CCGs. This made me come to the rock solid conclusion that playing ladder to win, and being competitive hurts the fun – and for me, in a big way. What I am going to do is just play them all F2P (aside from the “deals” like adventure sets in HS or promotional offers newer CCGs will offer). This way I can just enjoy 1000s of different cards instead of picking “one” game and using a few hundred (if even) at a time in a competitive setting.

Lastly, Hearthstone has taken a lot of heat recently. I guess partly because a) it is the McDonalds of CCGs right now since it is huge and new comers compare to it, and b) because there are more people who have grown tired of it from playing for the last two years.

But, in all honestly, it is above the rest as far as overall smoothness, polish, and character. I would even argue the flow of the game is the most fluent. Plus, the gold cards (premium) looks amazing. Which doesn’t count for a whole lot, but sure is nice. Point is, salty about HS for various reasons over the past few years? Just let it go and enjoy it for the good points along with the other games.

tldr

Quote from jlennonnnn >>

tldr

Yup i basically play 3 card games at the same time, Shadowverse, Hearthstone and ESL, often 2 at the same time which is really fun but i really think about dropping hearthstone, it's less and less fun, if you compare it to the others it lack so much debt. I really wish there is a way to trade my huge hs account for some packs in other games :)

Quote from Talek >>

Yup i basically play 3 card games at the same time, Shadowverse, Hearthstone and ESL, often 2 at the same time which is really fun but i really think about dropping hearthstone, it's less and less fun, if you compare it to the others it lack so much debt. I really wish there is a way to trade my huge hs account for some packs in other games :)

Quote from Talek >>

Yup i basically play 3 card games at the same time, Shadowverse, Hearthstone and ESL, often 2 at the same time which is really fun but i really think about dropping hearthstone, it's less and less fun, if you compare it to the others it lack so much debt. I really wish there is a way to trade my huge hs account for some packs in other games :)