Hearthstone Interview with Eric Dodds and Jason Chayes

Posted 2013/10/04 at 3:17 PM by perculia

significant beta patchHearthsteedclosed beta patch notesupdated databaseWhat's your favorite change in this week's patch? Any particular hero or card you think players will really enjoy a lot more after the changes?Jason ChayesEric DoddsSo there's already been a lot of discussion about . Are you happy with the current state of , and how things are balanced between who goes first and second? Or could there be future adjustments to cards that could have potentially OP synergy?ED:Arena is a very accessible experience and there's been some tweaks for 5, 6, and 9 wins this patch, but do you think beginners are still daunted by the cost though, especially when they might lose a bit at first? JC:Yeah, just as a suggestion--I know you guys did some crafting UI tweaks, and it would be pretty cool to record an arena deck that you happened to perform really awesomely with. JC:Do you have any further rewards planned for the constructed ladder, such as cosmetic stuff or cards, in addition to getting more gold per win?JC:Are you happy with the gameplay balance between players that are playing Hearthstone as a free game and mostly getting upgrades from crafting and gold, vs those that have dropped a ton of money into the beta? Obviously you have more cards at your disposal if you spend cash, but you still have to know what you're doing. ED:Some of the legendaries seem OP in the right context but gimmicky otherwise, so if you don't really understand the cards, that could be still shut down.ED:Can you talk a little bit more about some of the major card changes, like how the Warrior and Priest decks got some new tools? Also, are there any potentially problem cards on the horizon that didn't get changed yet but that you're watching closely? ED:Going back to social improvements--this patch had some improvements like the toasts, but do you have any thoughts on more elaborate social things like custom rules among battle.net friends or co-op mode so groups of players can team up against each other?JC:General question about card and hero design--How do you guys keep deck and playstyle variety in each class, when a hero's power is a pretty unique and defining feature of that class?ED:Are there plans to add any themed cards from other Blizzard games, or more game backdrops, in future patches?JC:At one point the Hearthsteed was meant to be a mount you could use in WoW as a reward for joining the beta, but that's since changed. Are there any plans to have cross-game promotions still?HearthsteedJC:I know people were asking about this when Hearthstone just came out, but with how WoW's lore is developing in 5.4, this seemed worth bringing up again. With how everyone hates Garrosh in 5.4, could there be options in the future to choose between new heroes for the same class that mechanically work the same but are cosmetically different? Like choosing Tyrande instead of Anduin for Priest, Varian instead of Garrosh for warrior.ED:

hearthstone interview

Comment by PessimissedThanks Perculia for that interview. It is really good to see how the developers think about the game. There aren't really any comments here that I don't like, so I am really looking forward to release, as I am not in the Beta. Thanks again.Comment by PyxxieI'm glad you guys posted this interview. I received my beta invitation yesterday morning, and since then, I've been putting my time into it. It's a lot of fun, and a good challenge if you're into strategy games. I'm looking forward to upcoming updates.Comment by 1111009I like the ideas mentioned in the interview so far and I am most excited about different hero characters. For example, I like the rogue deck but Valeera isn't exactly my favorite rogue in Warcraft lore. It'd be great if I could have Van Cleef at the head of my rogue deck! Heck, I'd even take Garona. Then again I really like cosmetic stuff like that.

I hope they go through with co-op game modes. Tourney mode or Two-Headed giant with friends could be amazing! I wouldn't mind a mentor mode either a la MTG: Online.Comment by BurzologIt'd be great if I could have Van Cleef at the head of my rogue deck!Edwin VanCleefComment by GiondiIt'd be great if I could have Van Cleef at the head of my rogue deck!Edwin VanCleefComment by vmahrsI Would love too know If this Will be playable on my phone. .Comment by RuhigI Would love too know If this Will be playable on my phone. .I like the ideas mentioned in the interview so far and I am most excited about different hero characters. For example, I like the rogue deck but Valeera isn't exactly my favorite rogue in Warcraft lore. It'd be great if I could have Van Cleef at the head of my rogue deck! Heck, I'd even take Garona. Then again I really like cosmetic stuff like that.Comment by whomiAt one point the Hearthsteed was meant to be a mount you could use in WoW as a reward for joining the beta, but that's since changed. Are there any plans to have cross-game promotions still?HearthsteedHearthsteedComment by 305092 why couldn't they have the Hearthsteed as a promotion for getting accepted to betaComment by AzrileAt one point the Hearthsteed was meant to be a mount you could use in WoW as a reward for joining the beta, but that's since changed. Are there any plans to have cross-game promotions still?HearthsteedHearthsteedComment by whomi why couldn't they have the Hearthsteed as a promotion for getting accepted to betaComment by whomibasicly what i was trying to say was that if you have been with the beta from the beginning like one of the first 200 people to get the beta key and have put 20-30hours a week in to the beta looking for problems it would be nice to get a reward for helping improve the game and have a lag and glitch free experience for others . i participated in the beta to help find the bugs and try to help make the game a fun and stress free experience where there were as few glitches and lag issues as possible. im not saying that it am expecting anything in return as i have been lucky to get accepted to the many different beta's i have participated in.i am just saying that up until October 4th 2013 the Hearthsteed was going to be a beta promotional item and i was disappointed that they changed it after so longComment by EldoronNo... Every time they'll add a character as a hero, it cannot be put in the game as a card. So the less heroes, the better. No need for 5 skins for every classes.Comment by Gideonithere any audio of this so i can just listen while i do my work@work ;)