WRUP: In which we opine about Hearthstone
It's been about a week since Hearthstone hit the ground in beta. In the meantime, we've seen giveaways, speculations, videos, and plenty of time to start trying it out. So while we rounded up the weekend asking your intrepid WoW Insider staff about what they're playing, we also asked what they think of Hearthstone so far. So kick back and prepare yourself with the weekend; don't forget to tell us in the comments what you're playing!
Dan Desmond (@Antigen_) I'll probably play a bit of Hearthstone, grind out some more ranked matches and arenas. I'm not as far along as Matticus, but then again I'm not using an OP hunter deck :P
I'm cautiously optimistic about the game. I'm just worried about dailies turning it into a chore and microtransactions becoming mandatory. We shall see.
Daniel Whitcomb (@danielwhitcomb) I will working on taking over Steelport in Saint's Row 4, mostly. SR4 is an amazing, amazing game. As far as Hearthstone goes, it's a fun game, and I'm really enjoying my hunter deck. I am not, however, enjoying class specific daily quests that force me to play a class that I have no good cards for.
Elizabeth Harper (@Faience) Hearthstone dailies and I am making a concentrated effort to inch my monk towards level 90. Or maybe I'll start playing my paladin again. I'm horrifyingly indecisive about these things, but I'll get there eventually... probably. Hearthstone is way more addictive than I thought it would be and I definitely like it... even if I don't quite love it. I look forward to seeing more of the game as it keeps growing!
Joe Perez (@lodurzj) Hearthstone like the rest of the crew I'm sure. I'm finding a weird balance of like, love and dislike with the game. I dislike that it feels like play and ranked mode are going to wind up favoring those that wind up with a lot of packs by any means, even at first, but I find that to wind up being the downside of most CCGs. I love the animations, the flavor text, the voices of the various cards and the sounds of the spell effects. I do like the fact that I have to think of it differently than other CCGs in the fact I have to focus on efficiency and really focus on a single minded approach to the deck. There are things that I think can be improved, and I've been pretty vocal about those opinions, so we'll see. So far I think it's a fun game.
As far as my deck goes. I really want to build a shaman control deck, but I need so many cards to make it work the way I want, and I keep getting paladin cards. I mean, seriously, I feel like I'm being trolled by pallies I've gotten so many paladin cards! >.<
Lisa Poisso (@lisapoisso) WoW and EQ P99 and maybe a little Hearthstone. I'm far more amused by the cute injections of WoW into Hearthstone than I am the actual gameplay. Even Magic is more about a bunch of people laughing and eating and drinking than it is playing cards for me, so it's probably fair to say that the genre's not my thing.
Matt "Matticus" Low (@matticus) Sitting at Diamond 3 right now. Masters seems like it takes a while to get into. I've had some incredibly close wins and outright dominating games but there have been some where a victory just wasn't in the cards (literally). I forgot I preordered Saints Row 4. If I can tear myself away from Hearthstone (or if they go under maintenance) then I can get some time in. My flagship deck is my Hunter Beast Wars deck which does well against most decks but falters against certain late game decks or ones that can survive against early aggression. However, I've been having some fun playing a Paladin themed Divine Shield deck. I'm trying to master the art of the Rogue deck right now but it's incredibly combo based.
Matt Walsh Obviously going to play some more Hearthstone this weekend, though it being one of the last weekends of the unofficial summer, I am going to try to enjoy as much time outside as I can. Loving Hearthstone so far, though I feel like I need more and more practice to get a really decent handle on it and what to expect from other players.
Olivia Grace (@oliviadgrace) gamescom. That is all. Hearthstone is fine I have personal opinion quibbles, but fine.
Robin Torres (@cosmiclaurel) I'm going to pet battle with the leveling mage again. With Hearthstone, I either win handily or get stomped. I seem to have no in between.
Sarah Pine (@ilaniel) Uh, I am playing WoW and Hearthstone and maybe Assassin's Creed? I saw it on my computer again and was like "Oh yeah, I like that! I miss that!"
Hearthstone is tons of fun and really, really cute. My favorite board is the Orgrimmar board because of the interactive catapult. I've been rocking a mage deck and enjoying it, but in the light of Alex's completely ridiculous priest deck I think I'm gonna have to level Anduin some.
The weekend is the perfect time to kick back, relax and enjoy some game time. Are you an achievement junkie? Can't get enough raiding? Rolling a new alt? Considering taking the leap into roleplaying? Whatever your favorite way to play World of Warcraft, let us know in the comments what you're playing this weekend!
