VOTE: Who is the Best Hearthstone Hero?

Every Hearthstone player has their personal favorite hero, but which hero is the best? Sound off with why your Hearthstone hero is the best.

Hearthwhatnow?

Oh, you mean that new microtransaction service module that has an even more cynical pricing and planned obsolescence scheme than MTG? Yeah, not playing that.

Where did you parrot that misinformation from?

I downloaded it for my iPad mini for the first time and man was it addictive played for like 6hrs I haven't played a game longer than an hr at a time for yrs!... Also downloaded it for my lgg3 now.

I second that.

Hearthstone is a fun TCG where you don't need to pay money if you just want to play casually.

Sure I'll bite. When every expansion invalidates previous decks and whoever has the most complete collection for various heroes has a significant advantage over someone who does not then you are at Netrunner/MTG level of planned obsolescence. Seeing as how Hearthstone has a new expansion like ever 4 months or so then the turnover rate is much higher than MTG and Netrunner who usually only do 1 or 2 new sets per year.

Hearthstone is just one more cynically-monetized microtrans slot machine masquerading as a game. At least in MTG or Netrunner you have something tangible, in Hearthstone you are either spending time or money (which is the same thing) just to keep running on the treadmill chasing that carrot.

You never catch the carrot.

Well MTG is basically the same thing. You can't expect to build a deck and then make it last for the next ten years. All TCG are like that, that's why they are card games. The goal (fun) is to open packs, get new cards, find ways to improve your deck etc.

That is precisely my point. It's just like MTG, but with 4 expansions per year so you never really get off the treadmill. The only way to unlock enough to be competitive before the next expansion is to play constantly or spend money. At least with MTG you can actually play with your new decks for 6 months or so before the next wave hits.

@SerOlmy: I think the point here is that there is no carrot in Hearthstone. There's no endpoint reward where you say "ok, I won the game, on to the next" because you can always make or play against a different deck.

And I don't think it's as cynically priced as you make it. You CAN play the game without spending money (cash) and if you're good enough at it you can play it forever (talking about the arena here). And yes, there are examples of people who play the game A LOT and have an average win rate high enough to buy back in infinitely. Sure, time is money but this is a criticism you can lay for any game in history that doesn't make you money.

It has only been out a little over a year and they have already had 4 expansions. All of which have cards that invalidate the previous sets. So yes it is cynically monetized and it is a never-ending treadmill, which is running even faster than most other CCGs or eCCGs like MTG, Netrunner, MTG Duels, etc. It is a "game" designed by psychologists to keep as many people invested for as long as possible to maximize profit. No thought of fun or enjoyment went into it other than as an afterthought or how they can leverage it to increase engagement.

Hearthstone was in closed beta from August-November 2013 with about million people playing, January they went into open beta and released in March 2014. Naxx(adventure expansion) came out July 2014 with 30 cards, and then GvG came out in December with 123 cards. BRM(adventure expansion) came out April 2015 with 31 cards, and now TGT is suppose to come out late August supposedly with 130ish cards. They are roughly coming out with one adventure expansion(30 cards) and one big expansion(120+ cards) every year. I never can understand why people make comments about games they have no interest in or that they don't like the pay scheme of the game. So you are saying that companies shouldn't have any interest in their games and to let them go stale and that Blizzard shouldn't want any profit from their games??? What an awesome concept, from now on I will goto you for business advice:p

Because these pay schemes bleed into other games and pretty soon will be common. This freemium s*** that is nothing but a perpetual treadmill designed to exploit habitual behaviors needs to be stomped on hard before it metastasizes into other games. We are already seeing it in things like Destiny and Evolve. This type of thing is quite literally the worst problem in gaming.

Simple, don't play those games that have that freemium scheme, good luck on your crusade to save us. When Diablo 3 had the real world auction house I never bothered with the feature, when Heroes of the Storm freemium idea came out with all these cosmetic offerings for characters I didn't bother getting them. When I enjoy a game, like Rocket League for example, I'm more than happy to buy DLC and help support the company to continue making it the fun game that it is. You control what you buy, if you don't like it, don't buy it!!!

@SerOlmy: Do what you must. But I'd say you are depriving yourself of playing the best collectible card game of all time, and certainly the best collectible card game in video game form.

I voted for Malfurion. He is my favorite character of the bunch, and I feel like the Druid is a pretty balanced deck to play with. I probably play as the Druid more often than the other classes in Hearthstone, now that I think about it.

My least-favorite hero is still probably Gul'Dan, though I see where the Warlock deck has some potential. Managing that self-inflicted damage and making your attacks worth the risk is difficult. I also have trouble making a decent deck with Jaina these days, though she is my highest-leveled character. It's difficult balancing your deck out with a decent number of both spell and monster cards, when your deck relies so heavily on spell cards.

@SerOlmy: Me and 30 millions of Hearthstone players don't give a single ****.

That because you are easily manipulated by a game system designed by psychologist to exploit habitual behaviors. It's just like Vegas, not everyone is a gambling addict but the vast majority of them are wasting their time and money for absolutely no gain, because "OOOOOOH! bright lights and this nice feeling in my tummy when I win 1 time out of 1000."

EDIT: Danny had a really good video about this in Destiny, but you can apply the same thing for games like Hearthstone as well. Enjoy being exploited.

Or did you ever think it's maybe for fun?

You're on a forum writing about a game. I could say you are wasting your time here for absolutely no gain.

Hahahahaha, that's awesome :)

My favorite at the moment is Thrall because I like the way shaman plays. Who cares if its a cash grab the game is fun. I spent over 100 on it already not because I had to but because I wanted to, same reason I bought supporter packs for Path of Exile. I dont mind spending money on things I enjoy