Anybody here play Hearthstone? Have tips for someone getting into it?
I downloaded HS yesterday as I got the itch to play some card games and it seems like a good place to start. I've been following newbie guides I found on /r/hearthstone and have just unlocked all heros and played one play now (and won very surprisingly)
Just curious if people have some advice about starting out/playing or what 'path' to take. I tend to stick to as much solo content as possible in card games before I jump into the PVP side and have a sort of policy of not spending money on games like this before I put in a significant amount of hours and don't get burnt out.
All of this because I've been watching a ton of Magic: Arena on twitch lately as my favorite streamer has gotten addicted (richard_hammer btw)... and figured magic might be a bit overwhelming.
I think a reasonable starting point is what kind of player you are and how much you intend to spend. Hearthstone can be a bit expensive, but I've hit legend (highest rank) many times as a free player. Some advice:
Single Player Content
Between dungeon run and the hunt mode (blanking on name) as well as the puzzle labs, there are a ton of ways to learn about the game and have fun that are totally free.
Arena
The best way to spend your money by far is arena. If you do very well (7 win average) you will be able to play essentially for free and even if you do worse its an easy way to play on a level playing field. You can get gold by completing daily quests and spend that gold arena while your collection is small and you aren't as confident.
Watch streamers
Half the fun of the game for me is watching streamers play the game and come up with their own crazy decks. It will teach you a lot and let you play some decks vicariously that you normally couldn't afford.
I don't agree on Arena for a new player. Hitting 7 wins is doable and can even be frequent for someone who is good and experienced at the game, but it's not likely for someone just starting out. Especially with the new 26-50 ranks, ladder is a better place for a new player to start and learn the fundamentals.
Good points. Arena is better once you have their footing if you're looking to stay cheap, but there is a cost to it.
I haven't been below rank 10 since long before the rank change so I honestly don't know what it's like. I remember when I first started that ranks 25-20 were relatively straightforward, but players started having netdecks around rank 15 or so.
They recently added ranks 26-50 in which you can never lose stars, including at the end of seasons, that way new players only play against other new players until they hit 25 (at which point there's no way to get back into 26-50). I haven't made a new account to try it (and in fact have stopped playing recently, started disliking the direction the game was going in Witchwood and pretty much flat out stopped playing when
DruidsdayBoomsday was released), but in theory at least it should help with many of the new player issues.What do you suggest as a better alternative to build your collection?
When you start opening packs, you will be getting a guarenteed legendary card in your first 10 packs per expansion, and the rule is when you get a legendary, you are guarenteed another within 40, so your best bet is to start spending gold on expansions, since you're likely going to hit 10 classic packs in random bonuses, trade expansions once you get an orange one. Welcome bundle is a pretty good deal if you want to drop $5, and Tavern Brawls get you a Classic pack a week. Finally, in solo content, hit up Icecrown for a Death Knight hero card for completing the prologue, and three Frozen Throne packs for clearing all the bosses.
Definitely watch streamers and youtubers. Trump's (no, not that one) Basic Teachings series is a bit dated but should still be relevant and was the golden standard for new players at the time.
Also I may be biased since I founded the site but go check out HSReplay.net for deck suggestions. If you grab Hearthstone Deck Tracker as well, the site will give you your own replays you can learn from, and will upload your collection to the site so you can find decks you can already craft.
Hearthstone's solo content is definitely my favourite, btw. You can spend a ton of time in it. But not much of it will be relevant to PVP experience. The best advice I can give is get to level 20 on a hero ASAP so you can participate in the tavern brawl: It's a free pack every week, it's fun, and it tends to be pretty chill.