Max McCall on Class Design Philosophy and Deckbuilding Themes
Hearthstone Game Designer, Max McCall, recently responded to a question on the official forums asking about the design philosophy behind each class. We think it's worth highlighting the following:
- The team wants each game of Hearthstone to feel different. Making classes that have their own identity helps with that.
- There will always be some overlap between mechanics, but each class can sometimes use them in different ways.
- Giving each class different deckbuilding themes and supporting each theme through cards in expansions is how they try to promote diversity.
- Players don't need incentive to continue playing decks they are already playing, which is why they try to promote new decks with each set.
You can find the full post from Max, including a non-exhaustive list of deck themes, below.
Quote from MaxMcCallWe work hard to make games of Hearthstone feel different from one game to the next. Making each class feel that it has a distinct identity separate from other classes is an important tool to ensure different kinds of games. The hero powers are the strongest sources of class identity, but if each class used all the same cards, games would still end up feeling too similar to one another. (We’ve seen this in the past: when strong neutral cards are played ubiquitously, people enjoy Hearthstone less.)
So, we try to give cards to each class that are thematically and mechanically different. There is still some overlap, of course. Multiple classes get deathrattle rewards – that is, cards that reward players for playing lots of deathrattle minions. Weapons are too central to Hearthstone to give to only one class, so about half the classes have access to them. Druids can attack with their hero, but they don’t have weapons. In return, Priests, Mages, and Warlocks have a slightly higher emphasis on spells than the weapon classes. Still, every class needs spells, especially some removal, so you occasionally see some bleeding with e.g. Arcane Shot and Holy Smite.
We don’t highlight class flavor by exclusion very often. Hearthstone has few mechanics that aren’t core to its gameplay, so it’s tough to say ‘this class does not get this mechanic’ without paying a steep price. We do it a little – Hunter doesn’t get any healing, for example – but it’s tough to do en masse. Plus, defining things by omission isn’t very obvious.
Instead, we try to promote class diversity by giving each class a few deckbuilding themes and supporting those themes with the class-specific cards in expansions. We’re more successful with some themes than others. Getting Warriors to build decks based around taunt minions has been tough, but Warlocks are generally happy to play decks based around Demons. Sometimes our themes are weak when we debut them, but gain strength as we make new cards over time. For example, Pirate decks were on the weak side until Mean Streets, but now plundering your opponents is very popular. Also, most classes have a class-specific mechanic, and most of those mechanics support deckbuilding rewards as well.
Here are some of the loose themes we’ve tried to promote in the past. This list isn’t exhaustive, tends not to include decks that have existed since Classic, and we might do more or less of anything on here, but hopefully it gives you an idea:
Druid: Beasts, Tokens
Hunter: Secrets, Deathrattle, Beasts (Druid Beast decks tend to reward a single large Beast, and Hunter Beast decks tend to reward having lots of Beasts)
Mage: Spell rewards, Secrets
Paladin: Buffs, Secrets
Priest: Healing, Shadowform, Deathrattle
Rogue: Battlecry/combo rewards i.e. Shadowstep, Weapons, Stealth
Shaman: Overload, Murlocs, Totems
Warlock: Demons, discard
Warrior: Armor, Enrage, Taunt
Again, this doesn’t include decks that have always existed like Freeze Mage or Miracle Rogue – we don’t really need to make new cards for those decks to get people to play them. It also doesn't include 'neutral' themes like Dragons or Pirates.
The main goal of these deckbuilding themes is to get people to build new types of decks. People don’t need much incentive to play the decks they are already playing, and frequently they are playing those decks because they are strong, which is why we try to promote new decks with each set, instead of reinforcing the existing metagame.
They List Rogue as a weapon classe while they don't list Shaman Warriors or Paladins.
Yet Rogue only have their hero power, barely ever use a weapon buff card, and never play any weapons. Hahahahaha
Why don't they list Dragons as part of Priest?
I find it odd that Blizzard's vision for the classes is so... broad. Mage has a theme as wide ranging and diverse as "Spells" and Warrior has... a bunch of minions with Taunt. Or a bunch of minions with Enrage. For some reason, instead of concepts like Control and Aggro, Blizzard wants many classes to be defined by spamming minions that all do the same thing or have the same tribal tag.
And they push that idea very aggressively, too. Just think of how many Beast Druid support cards they've released, without the concept ever really taking off, instead of working with the Druid archetypes that players naturally gravitated towards. It's like they're smashing a square peg into a round hole until the hole becomes square.
I hope they hire Brian Kibler, he's my only hope for this game
Exactly, they want each class to feel unique. That is why they gave shaman healing, board clears, weapons, taunts, mana cheating and decent card draw. Being overpowered makes shaman unique. Meanwhile rogue isn't allowed to have taunts, board clears or healing because of class identity? Give me a break.
Shaman also has a 1 mana card that is stronger than our hero power and they don't have to run deadly or junk like Squidface to buff their weapon. They just roll a totem or play good cards like thalnos or drake. Like wtf?That is one area rogue should be better than shaman, but again. We are not.
I would also like to point out how bad poisoned blade is. Auctionmaster literally allows us to miracle a poisoned blade and it still isn't good enough. Meanwhile, 1 mana fiery waraxe is the norm in shaman land, and if they don't feel like playing that, they have plenty of other good weapons.
I remember a time when Shaman was the Joke out of the 9 classes.
He forgot:
Mage: RNG
I would be a lot happier with this if these deck themes had actually been played around with by blizzard.... some of them haven't at all
Shadowform priest? When the fuck has that gotten support?
Combo Rogue? Other than Shado-Pan and the 1/2 no new combo cards....
Weapons rogue, yet since gvg, they've gotten one new "weapon" (off deadly fork) that was completely overpriced and weak for the 3 mana, 3/2 body it gives?
Secret mage, yet you institute an aggro meta and control cards for secret mage, when jade druid exists? ( and this is a deck i love except for pirates and jade druid which makes 4/10 games practically)
Wow, they really fail on a lot of these class fantasy goals.
People wondering about Priest's Shadowform (a card that virtually nobody uses), but what about Auchenai Soulpriest and Embrace the Shadow?
Don't say that theme is weak in meta.
:( Shadowform is mandatory in any of my priest decks
Rouge: Weapons. . .
Poisoned Blade
Paladin: Buffs, Secrets
Shaman: Overload,MURLOCS, Totems
Also
Priest: Shadowform
Rogue: Weapons
Meth not even once XD
Murloc shaman? Shadowform priest? Rogue weapons? Blizzard please...
Lots of talk, no substance from Blizz.