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Joystiq Streams: Hearthstone addiction, card pack giveaway [UPDATE: Relive the stream!]
And lo did Blizzard Entertainment find another way to ensnare the hearts and minds of its audience, emptying their pockets and draining away precious hours of life. As they did seduce ye with the many clicks and loots of Diablo, the sundry gold pieces and sexy elves of World of Warcraft, and those ever pleasurable Starcraft Zerg rushes, so have they done with the card fights of Hearthstone. Make no mistake, faithful player: Blizzard demands nothing less than your eternal soul! Willingly is how you'll part from it, offered up in exchange for one more round, greasy with victory and redolent, freshly opened virtual card packs. Ahem. Joystiq has a bit of a Hearthstone problem. As everyone knows, the first step on the road to recovery is streaming the game at 4PM EST right here on Joystiq and at our Twitch channel. The second step is giving away a gaggle of Hearthstone card packs for free. Want those card packs? Come on down to the chat and join us. Joystiq Streams broadcasts live on Twitch.tv/Joystiq and right at Joystiq.com every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST. [Images: Blizzard Entertainment]
WRUP: Hearthstone intervention
Ummmm, so the crew at Joystiq has been messing around with Hearthstone. Actually, we've been screwing around with Hearthstone, which is messing around without dinner. Also, never get between a Priest and Holy Nova. NEVER! What's everyone playing? (Besides Hearthstone.)
Hearthmind brings the 'Twitch Plays' phenomenon to Hearthstone
Ever since Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft launched on PC and Mac in March, we've been asking ourselves one question: How would this strategic card game behave if a democratic octopus were in control? That question is now partially answered thanks to Hearthmind, a website that blends Blizzard's CCG with the livestreamed, crowd-play-style of control popularized by Twitch Plays Pokemon. Hearthmind isn't quite controlled the same way Twitch Plays Pokemon is though, as players vote on actions in the game by dragging their mouse cursor over the playing field as opposed to entering commands in the stream's chat. An action is picked by the game every five seconds, so it retains a somewhat brisk pace compared to its Pokemon-based counterpart. As of this writing, the stream, powered by Hitbox as opposed to Twitch, is hovering around 100 participants. Hearthstone just launched on iOS for free this month after Blizzard detailed the game's single player campaign. An Android port of the game is still in the works. [Image: Blizzard Entertainment]
Hearthstone plays its cards on iPad today
Blizzard's collectible trading card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available for iPad. The free-to-play game was first announced at last year's PAX East event in March 2013 as a cross-platform, multiplayer strategy game intended for PC, Mac and iPad. The World of Warcraft developer revealed details for the game's single player campaigh just last week. Hearthstone entered open beta on PC and Mac in January. [Image: Blizzard Entertainment]
Hearthstone officially launches in US app stores
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is now available to download in the US for iPad. The fast-paced card game was released earlier this month in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, but players looking for it in the US had to wait. The wait is over, and you can get your copy of the game for absolutely free and level up while waiting for Curse of Naxxramas, the new adventure-mode expansion for the game that's set to release this summer. Android and Windows tablet users, never fear -- a version of the game for those platforms should be coming out some time later this year.
Blizzard reveals Hearthstone single-player campaign
Blizzard announced its upcoming Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft single-player Adventure Mode at PAX East today, detailing the challenges players will face as they progress through the new Curse of Naxxramas campaign. Curse of Naxxramas features a series of unique enemy encounters and boss battles that take place on a new Adventure Mode-exclusive game board with interactive corners. The mode adds 30 new cards to the Hearthstone deck, including bonus cards awarded for completing nine unique Class Challenges. The Curse of Naxxramas will gradually roll out new Hearthstone content in the five weeks after its simultaneous launch for Windows, Mac and iPad this year. A release date has not been announced. [Image: Blizzard]
Hearthstone's Trump talks Twitch with Mashable
For a long time, if you wanted to watch someone else play Blizzard games live, Starcraft II was your only real option, with some WoW arena gaming popping up here and there. With the addition of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and now the technical alpha of Heroes of the Storm, though, Blizzard has quickly grown their number of streamer-friendly titles. Many of you are probably familiar with Jeffrey Shih, aka Trump, a Hearthstone streamer who currently makes his living doing just that--playing Hearthstone on Twitch.tv. He's one of a several streamers featured in a recent article on Mashable that discusses the state of gameplay streaming as both entertainment and work. Twitch currently partners with about 5100 streamers who make income from their gaming, and some, such as Trump, make enough to do it as a full-time job. If you're interested in gaming as a profession this is a neat article that discusses some of the realities of the work itself, as well as the factors that have made such work possible in the last few years.
How Hearthstone won over a skeptical Magic veteran
I started playing Magic: The Gathering in 1995. I've loved the game ever since a friend introduced me to it. I've played both face to face and online, in one-on-one tournaments and in 12-player free-for-alls. It's the only collectible card game I've ever committed myself to playing. Then along came Hearthstone. I received an invitation to the closed beta. I gave it a few hours and then I dismissed it. I had a long list of reasons. The game was too simple. I felt helpless during my opponent's turn. I couldn't protect my most valuable creatures by keeping them out of combat. I didn't have enough interesting cards to develop the quirky strategies that I prefer in Magic. A few weeks ago, on the advice of a fellow Magic player who had been playing Hearthstone nonstop since open beta, I gave it another shot. I tried to approach the game without my Magic prejudices. I soon discovered that Hearthstone has a lot more to offer than I first thought. Here's how Blizzard won me over.
Should you be playing Hearthstone, if you're playing WoW?
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft officially launched last week -- but players have been enjoying the game in open beta for months. A highly interactive digital version of collectible card games, Hearthstone pits you against the computer and later, other players in battles of wits that test your ability to build cunning combos and clever gambits that have your hero ultimately come out on top. Players can build custom decks of 30 cards, and earn gold by completing quests, using the gold to purchase more cards to construct even more devastating decks. Or, if you're so inclined, you can drop cash at the shop and purchase your deck that way. That said, it's an addictive and pretty fun game, all things considered. But if you're playing World of Warcraft, is Hearthstone something you should also be playing? From a story and lore standpoint, absolutely not -- you're not missing anything at all. There's no story built around Hearthstone, just cards and careful moves. The Warcraft tie-in refers only to the heroes chosen to represent the different class decks, nothing more. Yet at the same time, it might be worth taking a peek at the game, if you're a WoW player.
Hearthstone heroes ranked not by power, but by lore
Hearthstone news site Liquidhearth posted a pretty interesting rank list yesterday. The site primarily focuses on the game-related side of Hearthstone -- arenas, deck builds, card abilities and the like -- however, this particular article looks at not the individual cards, but the heroes featured on Hearthstone's nine available decks. The list is laid out and ranked not by the relative power of the class deck, but by the place they stand in Warcraft lore. Each hero is given a brief descriptive summary detailing their place in Warcraft's history, and each rank is justified by one of three panelists quizzed for the column. What makes it interesting is that from a Hearthstone standpoint, the order isn't really quite where I think it should be. Mage decks, for example, are absolutely devastating if they get the right cards -- and I've had my cards thrown right back at me by more than one incredibly clever set of combos from a priest deck. The rogue deck is particularly devastating when used correctly as well.
Hearthstone out now on PC and Mac
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Blizzard's free-to-play digital card game, is available now for PC and Mac in North and South America. Support for iPad is on its way, followed by Android, iPhone and Windows tablets. The open beta for Hearthstone launched in January in America and Europe. Anyone interested in playing Hearthstone can download it right here. The game begins with introductory missions against Hogger, Millhouse Manastorm, Lorewalker Cho and others, plus a boss fight against Illidan Stormrage. Then, players can challenge the AI and try to unlock all nine original World of Warcraft classes. Blizzard announced Hearthstone at PAX East 2013. [Image: Blizzard]
New Hearthstone card backs revealed
A post on the Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft Facebook page has unveiled several alternate artwork options for the backs of your cards. They are colorful and fun, and will be visible to both you and your opponent while you play a match. You can earn the card backs by attaining certain ranks in ranked play. Thus, your card backs can serve as reminder to your opponents just who they're up against. Hearthstone CM Zeriyah has also let it be known that the new card backs will be animated, though we don't yet have a preview of that. Currently, my favorite of the lot is the rainbow (who doesn't love rainbows? Besides imps, anyway), but I'll withhold my final judgement until we get to see just what the animations look like. I'm sure more unique, animated card backs will be on their way in the future, as well, and they'll provide a nice goal for collectors and competitive players to work toward.
The Lord of the Rings cast as Hearthstone cards
If you're in the US you may very well be currently enjoying the Hearthstone open beta. If you're not, though, you've got to find some way to kill the time until open beta to hit your shores, and what better way to do it than with these Lord of the Rings-themed Hearthstone cards? Imgur user splatypus took the time to create a custom deck of Hearthstone cards based on the characters and iconic moments of the Lord of the Rings movies. While not particularly balanced in some respects, it's at the very least highly entertaining. My favorite card is at the very end, proving that people really do save the best for last. I'm glad this deck doesn't actually exist, because it would be frustrating to both play with and play against. But I'd probably do it at least once, if I could, just for the novelty factor. Thanks to splatypus for this fun, tongue-in-cheek bit of creativity. Commenters of WoW Insider: if you could create a themed Hearthstone deck of your own, what would it be about? What would be its flagship cards?
Hearthstone open beta deals in Europe
Just a quickie for our Euro-pals: Blizzard's digital collectible card game Hearthstone is now in open beta on your side of the ocean too. To hop on board, download the Windows PC or Mac client here.
Blizzard launches Hearthstone open beta for Windows and Mac
Blizzard's digital collectible card game Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has entered open beta, and is now available as a free download for Windows and Mac in North America. Originally announced at PAX East in 2013, Hearthstone saw a lengthy closed beta test in advance of today's launch. Ports for iOS and Android are set to premiere later this year. While Hearthstone is currently available only in North America, Blizzard announced that players in other regions can expect to join the open beta "within the next few days."
Blizzard looking to expand microtransactions?
An article over at Gamespot has recently brought to attention the fact that Blizzard is seeking both a manager and a director for a new unit within the company: "Microtransaction Strategy". For those of you paying attention to ongoing trends in the video game industry, this in particular might pique your interest. As we all well know, 2013 was a landmark year in terms of new titles for Blizzard with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and their announced MOBA, Heroes of the Storm. Both of these games are going to be free-to-play, which means that they'll be relying on microtransactions to generate cash flow. With World of Warcraft being one of the few remaining MMOs that still charges a monthly subscription fee, I think it's fair to say that Blizzard hasn't been at the forefront of microtransaction-driven financing, despite the existence (and success) of WoW's purchasable pets, mounts, and transmog gear. However, the establishment of both the Microtransaction Strategy team and job openings therein point to some development along that front. It will be interesting to see what other types of microtransaction offers become available in Blizzard games in the future.
Hearthstone open beta pushed to 2014, closed beta opt-in still possible
Blizzard expressed hopes during Blizzcon that they would be able to launch the open beta of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft this month, but an update to the Hearthstone site's news feed explains that it's just not in the cards. "We believe the right thing to do for the game is to not rush it out into open beta, but to instead hold onto it a little longer to make sure it's ready for wider testing," the statement reads. "We're close to the open beta - very close." You can still secure your spot in the closed beta though - the same post explains that anyone who opts-in for the closed beta by January 7 will be invited in "at some point before the open beta begins." Anyone that signed up before December 16 for the closed beta but did not receive an invite should also check their spam folders, because Blizzard has sent invites to everyone that signed up before that date. If you can't find it, the post explains that Blizzard is constructing additional pylons a list of Battlet.net accounts that signed up for the closed beta, which will all be flagged for access "within the first few weeks of January." While the closed beta is for PC and Mac, Hearthstone will reach iPad and Android devices in the second half of 2014.
Hearthstone: Mage nerfs in latest patch
A new Hearthstone patch is being applied today. Arena players will be happy to learn that their issues with actually getting into it will be fixed. Other big changes? Nerfs to the mana cost of mage spells Blizzard, Cone of Cold, and Frost Nova. You disenchant Blizzard and Cone of Cold for their original costs temporarily. I'll outline my thoughts on the mage nerfs after the jump and provide a few mage decklists that were used prior to the patch. Hearthstone Update: Arena Issue and Upcoming Changes We've been keeping an eye on Freeze mechanics for the past few months, and we've decided to make some changes to certain cards that utilize Freeze in this patch: Cone of Cold, Blizzard and Frost Nova. These cards are all having their mana costs increased by one. We understand that the Freeze mechanic can be frustrating to play against, and we feel that these changes should allow the opponent some additional time to be aggressive with their minions and well as slow the overall pacing of the control-based Mage play style while still keeping Freeze playable in many different types of decks. Thank you for continuing to test Hearthstone and giving us your feedback! source
Hearthstone Beta patch notes for December 10
Blizzard Community Manager Keganbe has put together a comprehensive set of notes for patch 1.0.0.4217 to the Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft beta. As ever, you can hit the break for the full post, but we'll pull out some highlights here: You are now able to abandon one quest per day. When you abandon a quest, you'll receive a new, random quest in its place. This is a huge deal, as we'd commented on how quests and their stagnant style of sitting in your log until completed were an irritation. Particularly if, for whatever reason, you really disliked playing a certain class, the quests could be a real burden. You now have the option to keep the sound playing while the game is running in the background. Finally! Now we can alt-tab away while our opponent plays, or while the game finder is playing its weird tune, and tab back in when we're ready to go! This is a simple little quality of life change that's been a long time coming. There are also drastic changes to the ranking system, minions and portraits have been added, and the "seasons" last for a month. You now win and lose stars for winning and losing games, and once you hit the top 10,000 players you'll have your specific ranking displayed. A lot has changed! Hit the break for the full notes.
Hearthstone upcoming changes
As Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft marches slowly towards its open beta stage and eventual release, further tuning is taking place. Community Manager Aratil has posted today on the Hearthstone forums about the full set of changes, and you can see that post after the break. Several outlying cards have been altered to ensure that they are not problematic, including the much beloved reviled Priest Mind Control. What's more, there's been a cap of 100 added for gold earned via Play mode. The cap does not apply to gold earned via Arena, Questing or Achievements, but from simply winning in Play mode. Aratil asserts that this is to "combat certain methods of gold acquisition that violate our Terms of Service", implying that there could have been some exploitation taking place, potentially win-trading or similar. Hopefully they will work out a way to combat that without capping gold, as it seems like players should be able to grind out more than 100 via Play mode per day, if they wish to. Hit the break for the full changes.
