Dean Ayala Asks: What Would Get You Back Into Hearthstone?
Hearthstone's Dean "Iksar" Ayala had a question for those that used to main Hearthstone as a game but no longer do.
What do they need to do to get you back?
We're actually quite interested in knowing too. With many old Hearthstone players still frequenting our site to see what the game is up to or to chat with old friends, there has to be something the Hearthstone team could do to reel you back in?
Quote from Dean AyalaIf Hearthstone used to be your main game but isn't anymore, what would get you back?
Achievements!!
I quit HS like one or two months ago to take a break until new expansion drops and the rotation is happening. Now I don’t know if I wanna come back tbh.
my biggest issue is (I’m f2p) the ongoing grind to keep up with the cards. I’m good at arena so I went infinite and always gathered all the cards i wanted/needed from an expansion. But for a casual player it’s impossible to get 18 legendaries + all the epics. It’s just too much imo. I love the game and I appreciate all the free pve content. I enjoyed pve the most recently. But it’s just too much and it scares me...
what could bring me back? I can’t think of anything but something like achievements/rewards for people who invested so much time in this game. Not really the most creative idea I know...
The game has just become boring. It's been 5 years and the game really hasn't changed much. The game needs a major overhaul to its reward system. Ranking to 5 gets me a golden epic? Wow i already have this epic and don't care about golden cards so what's the point. Metas growing stale is understandable because all card games have this problem not just hearthstone. I'm unsure but 80% of you're printed cards are completely dead cards in this game and feel like they are just wasted space, and from this you get 100 cards of the 120 set unplayable.
I'd like to see a new game mode where certain (overplayed/overpowered) cards are banned and with special rules. For example, all heroes start at 40hp, only common cards, etc. This way alternative metas would emerge and then be rotated out, let's say every 2 weeks or month. It could also be used as a testing ground for new Standard concepts.
It would be kind of like Tavern Brawl but more balanced and with the same reward system as Standard. There would be no time for a net decking meta to establish and it would sorta feel like a new expansion launch with every reset. IMO the game is a lot more interesting when people are in the process of figuring things out and experimenting.
you basically described contructed tavern brawl, a gamemode where almost everyone netdecks. i dont think this is gonna change if you just rename it tavernbrawl 2 and make it last twice as long
Definitely Tournament Mode! It's a must.
Make April's rotation happen tomorrow.
You're talking about Kibler? The guy that runs around in legend all the time with meme Shaman decks? Who's salty? And who's the loser? We know the answer. Anyway what card game was he involved in designing? He's a good player and a good streamer. I'll defend him from scrubs like you...even if I am banned from his channel for telling his mod to blow me.
just add bunch of achievements after 5 years of game existance you lazy bastards - thats minimum, I wrote it because adding this is just a nobrainer and 1% resources. Still something nice which can bring to the game for a while. I have all golden heroes and all other bullshit done 2 years ago, now the game is bullshit where nothing to do for old players except all the time sensless, with poor rewards laddering bullshit (I already have Legend).
How to get me back?
I just started with Eternal and yeah it's a great feeling. Neither Magic or Artifact have been able to draw me in the way it has...and it's on mobile. It's sooo much more generous than Hearthstone. Feels amazing man. AND they ((shudder)) actually. buff. cards. Feels more like Magic than Hearthstone due to combat mechanics, which is not my preference, but...it works. Now that I'm getting into it it's great to finally feel like I have a choice. I don't have to pour a bunch of money into Hearthstone 3 times a year in order to be able to play a card game I like.
Something like Eternal's monthly league is an example of a new game mode they could add. Also the fact that you can play vs AI for free for rewards in Eternal is mind blowing. Incentives for playing vs AI would make a mode that's already pretty fun much more engaging.
More game modes and just be more generous. Telling Activision to F*CK OFF would be great.
Tournament mode.
Reestablish each class's identity and stick with them. Too many mechanics have bled across too many classes with little rhyme or reason. Hand sizes, hand buffing, and dragons immediately come to mind.
When I first started playing the game, I was impressed by how faithfully WoW's classes were represented. Now, it's just a dang mess of flavorless mechanics encouraged by parasitic card design.
Bring back the adventures how they were. And create a new special permanent mode which all the expansions and adventures ever released are allowed with this specificity: the nerfed cards are featured with it's original design.
I do want to extend myself explaining why the second suggestion is more important; It's due a very simple evidence: throughout Hearthstone's existence, hundreds of excellent, competitive decks have had risen and fallen. Therefore, in this mode they could live provoking nostalgia and renewed excitement to old casual and pro players and curiosity plus inspiration to the new.
stuff that would instantly peek my interest:
- working streaming setup for local events (tournament mode, spectator for both players)
- more frequent balance changes incl. buffing cards for a rotating evergreen set to give older cards and decks a new chance
- lastly classes. the remaining 3 from WoW should be imported as the dev team has the resources as well as blueprints for the classes. it could implement players' feedback over a longer time period to help it getting started. it'd also encourage a deeper look on balancing and sorting out class identity which felt the last two years all over the place. it'd sure be a lot of work, but I think it'd overall help the longlivety of the game
I really enjoyed the day when we get 2 Expansions and 1 Adventure a year, can we get 2 Adventures and 2 Expansions/year? That will also give us a fresh content every 3 months instead of every 4 months.
Just listen to Brian Kibler and all his suggestions.
The removal of the classic and basic set, so that the standard meta does not revolve completely around the same cards. Either they make a sub-rotation of hose cards or just delete it from standard and make reprints in future expansion.
A restricted mode so I can play with old cards whithout encountering frigging busted decks at every turn.
Arena should feture one expansion at a time, including reprints or the sub-rotation of the classic and basic set previously mentioned.
Rewards for ranking that are actually useful.
And please, a rank system for Arena, please.
Actually, just copy MTG Arena. Done. You got me Back.