Hearthpwn

But magma rager is better than ice rager because it buffs rafaam

The game isn't just pay to win, it's pay to play. Grinding isn't a game, it's a requirement to play the game... but even then you have to sink the cash or your chances of playing competitively (even at a very very low level) are next to zero. #pay2win

Power creep over basic cards isn't a big deal. They want basic cards to be bad, upgrading your free cards makes you feel good.

Can we then at least make sure all legendaries are fun and are in some kind of way usable? Legendaries like The Skeleton Knight are downgrades compared to even common cards while other legendary cards are many time more powerful than any other card that can be obtained in the game. Staples like Dr. Boom, Tirion Fordring and Sylvanas Windrunner come to mind as prime examples of unique game changing effects that can only be found on those specific minions. I feel like in a lot of ways profitability comes first and then comes a slight afterthought of game balance. Blizzard would lose out on money and customers if they nerfed staples that are slightly too powerful, while they would lose potential future money if they buffed useless legendaries that people might be sitting on. Blizzard's solution: release new cards that people have to buy as the method of balancing the game.

• Dr. Boom is better than War Golem and is an example of power creep. War Golem was never played though due to it being bad.

Well that's wrong. War Golem is bad because the value for playing a 7 7/7 in the type of meta you see today is astoundingly low.  Where as Dr.Boom is an incredibly sticky 7 7/7 minion.  The card value never plays the role when its role will never fit in the current style of play, no matter how high the damage or health, if it doesn't fit in the meta, its a gimmick card for gimmick decks

I wonder when blizz will come out with some 2v2 fights. I know they hinted at working at something like that in an older interview.

When we start seeing (or hearing about) strictly better expert level cards (like a 3/3 for 2 that does 2 random damage whenever a minion is played, or a 7/7 for 6 that summons two 2/1 boombots that do 4 - 8 damage on deathrattle randomly) then that's when powercreep is a problem.

They could release a set that's strictly "good versions of bad basic cards" (as opposed to "still bad versions of basic cards a la evil heckler/icerager")  and I wouldn't have a problem with it.

When they start releasing Dr. Kaboom and Sword Juggler, that's when i'll worry.

Shouting about powercreep and shouting about Evil Heckler and Ice Rager are two different things. Evil Heckler is not power creep. It is a strictly better card than a trash card, but that doesn't make it power creep, since there is no actual power involved. Both cards are irrelevant, even in arena heckler is a below average card. Chillwind Yeti vs Piloted Shredder is power creep. Nobody shouts about that because those cards aren't directly comparable, but nobody in their right mind would pick Yeti over Shredder, arena or constructed. The game is experiencing power creep, but not in the blunt way people expect. There was a time when Cairn Bloodhoof was a good legendary. Nowadays, there is so much better stuff to do in the game at 6 that a powerful card like Cairn doesn't even get a spot.

And the blizzard fanboys like to showcase their utter lack of how a cg operates.

Woops double post.

People need to quit bitching about Dr. Boom.

Blizzard wants players to feel like their cards are real physical objects that you really, truly own.  That way, when they release new versions that straight up outclass the old ones you bought, the pain you feel is all the more real.

So, power creep is good because it makes new players feel good to get more powerful versions of cards.  However, this isn't power creep because the cards they're replacing weren't playable.  So, if the cards aren't power creep and don't make new players feel good then the cards created were bad and Blizzard should feel bad?  Strong post, Ben.

The problem with your example is that Rag doesn't have Taunt.

War Golem -> Dr. Boom is an direct upgrade.

Ironbark Protector serves a different purpose. It protects you from dying from minion lethal. You play Rag to win the game, not to avoid losing.

Very good points. I agree with his line of thought but we still need a lot of other good cards that are able compete with Piloted Shredder and Dr. Boom  for the 4 and 7 mana spot to stop them from being 'auto includes'.

 I don't mean we need even stronger cards. They might even be overall weaker when considering stand alone value but fulfill a specific role better or enable new deck concepts.

A perfect example is Voidcaller vs Piloted Shredder. Voidcaller is a good overall card that becomes amazing in the right deck (eg. demon zoolock). Piloted Shredder is an amazing card by itself and delivers value everytime BUT  Voidcaller is still arguably better in demon zoolock.

I believe if we had plenty of cards like Voidcaller then Piloted Shredder would see much less play as it is very often just a filler for the 4 mana spot.

new players dont have the skill of kill comanding twice to face

I think this video proves how little Ben Brode actually understands the community he is building a game for

Do you think the community only consists of the <1% of the playbase that posts on forums?

Quote from ravedoyer >>

I think this video proves how little Ben Brode actually understands the community he is building a game for

It's a nice idea to release these videos, but what is the point if they are not relevant?

Maybe instead of "Designer Insights:" the series title should be "What We Want You To Believe:"

No one is complaining about Ice Rager, and the problem with Dr. Boom has nothing to do with War Golem. Are there tons of threads where everyone is talking about how they don't understand powercreep? I can't seem to find them. Everyone knows which minions are OP and which need nerfs, and the communities or Brode's views on what powercreep actually is, are rather irrelevant. This video just dances around, talking close to, but not actually touching on any topic that is in any popular community thread / question.

Piloted Shredder and Dr. Boom most certainly need nerfs. I'd also probably add Knife Juggler and maybe Mad Scientist. These are the cards that most everyone recognizes as the most broken cards. It is quite obvious and BB's thoughts on powercreep don't really matter, these cards are still the ones that need to be looked at. And these are the cards he should be talking about in these videos.

I'm not talking huge nerfs, just bring 'em in line. For example, Knife Juggler and Mad Scientist might be fine with simply losing 1 Attack. A 2/2 Knife Juggler no longer has the 5 stats to be a good on-curve play, which is totally reasonable considering how much value he gives if he lives even one turn, and also how much value he gives in combo / late game situations. Knife Juggler is so good that he could probably go down to a 1/2 and still see limited play. Dr. Boom and Piloted Shredder probably need more than just 1 stat nerfd. Not sure where the correct balance is, but these 4 mentioned minions are all so OP, that it is obvious that at the very least they could all lose a stat or two and still see just as much play.

And the points about basic cards, and keeping things simple and all that is getting old. This is not a hard game. Games such as Kerbal Space Program or Eve Online, those are games that I've considered not telling friends about because I know they are just too complicated / in-depth for some people. That thought has never crossed my mind with Hearthstone. It is not hard, it is one of the most basic, simplest games out today. This is not the thing you should be concerned about with the New Player Experience.

The main reasons I would NEVER recommend someone I know to start playing Hearthstone today is not because of how complicated it is, it is because of how far behind they are, and the fact that they will have to spend HUNDREDS of dollars or NEVER be on an even playing field. F2P isn't going to get you very far, speaking as a person 1 year in, I'm still woefully far behind. For someone starting today, it's a joke, pay money, and not just a one time fee, but a repetitive casino style gamble with your money, or never be competitive.