I basically played The Division as a single-player game, going through the story mission alone and didn’t really play anything else until I had gathered all the collectibles and completed all the entries in the quest log. After that there was basically only player-versus-player content left to do, aside from redoing missions on a higher difficulty (which is basically impossible when playing solo). But the PvP aspect of the game didn’t give me any fun, so I just left the game and awaited the next update.

When it arrived it brought new missions and a rework of how the equipment system works. All weapons and gear now carries with it a level. And to be eligible to play the new missions you have to meet the required level and gear level, even though I had already reached the highest character-level possible at the time. So to be able to access the new content one had to grind for loot so as to raise ones gear score. As a solo player this is extremely tedious, and would mean visits to areas where either enemies or other hostile players are more than likely to destroy you without much of a challenge. And so they lost me as a player for The Division, because their new content was too tedious to access for someone that just wants to play the game a little casually. I’m sure they’ll manage without me.

Leading up to the release of Whispers of the Old Gods for Hearthstone it was announced that some previous content, the Naxxramas adventure and Goblins & Gnomes expansion, would have their availability for purchase removed. The cards would still be available for crafting, but you would no longer be able to buy the adventure or booster packs. Having already bought all the adventures and using all my gold to purchase booster packs of card, I started playing more diligently in an effort to gather as much gold as possible to exchange for packs of the disappearing cards.

Getting close to the release I realized that I had no intention of purchasing packs of the new expansion, which made any future endeavor frivolous. There was no point in continuing as I would have to spend too much time just to get a few initial cards of the new expansion, which would leave me too far behind to have any chance in the new meta of the game. So I stopped playing that as well.

Hearthstone card: C’Thun

Then there was a new announcement. Upon logging in to the game after the release you would automatically receive three packs of cards from the new expansion, along with two subsequent quest that awarded five packs each. Meaning that you could easily collect thirteen packs of the new cards with a little effort. And you were also given a few key cards to the new system, such as the main character of the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion: C’Thun.

This little gesture was enough to change my mind about quitting the game. Making the barrier to entry into the new content lower just by handing out a few samples to get players going is enough motivation to engage me and retain me as a customer. Compared to making me work for the possibility to even access the new content. The outcome is that I’m back into playing Hearthstone with enthusiasm, while I’ve put The Division aside and don’t see myself going back to it.

Hearthstone card: River Crocolisk

When I started playing Hearthstone I thought I had the right idea when I went with a 2/3 over a 3/2. I have since then figured out that I might have been wrong, and here I’m gonna break down why, as visually as I can.

The concept behind picking a 2/3 over a 3/2 would be so that it would survive taking a hit from any 2-attack creature or spell. The idea being that having board control by keeping your minions on the board. But that benefit might not be enough to justify the pick. The fact that both the River Crocolisk and the Bloodfen Raptor are Beasts can come into play, but for this exercise we’ll only be looking at their basic stats; their attack and their health.

Here, take a look at this table for the Crocolisk:

= Attack
= Health
= Defeats
 = Does not defeat
= Survives
= Does not survive

This is how the River Crocolisk stand up to other minions when it comes to health and attack up to the range of 4. It is superior to a combination of four stats, as it both defeats and  and survives a combination of four stats. At the time of writing it is superior to 72 minions, before they start buffing and adding their effects. It can defeat 119 and survives 155 minions.

Now let’s have a look at the Bloodfen Raptor instead:

Hearthstone card: Bloodfen Raptor

First thing we see is that the curve is thrown off, as the Bloodfen Raptor only survives any minon with Attack 1. But the fact that itself has Attack 3 opens up to a whole lot more of minions it can defeat. Number-wise the Raptor is only superior to, as in that it can both defeat and survive, 37 other minions in the current line-up, but it can act as removal for, by defeating, 202 other minions. That means the Crocolisk stops at minion with more than 2 health, whereas the Raptor can go after minions such as Piloted Shredder and other 4/3 minions.

This also plays in when trying to bait out spells from your opponent. A Raptor, which we just established can defeat a Piloted Shredder, is a bigger threat to the board than a Crocolisk, which the Shredder can survive. So while, for instance, a Mage might save the Frostbolt for the Shredder in your hand if you have a Crocolisk on the board, they might see it necessary to remove your Raptor, so now your Shredder has one less spell to worry about.

Board control is not gained by keeping your minions alive, it’s by removing your opponents’ minions.

And if you look at the actual minions themselves in head-to-head combat you find the superiority immediately, as the Raptor can defeat both the Crocolisk and another Raptor, whereas the Crocolisk can defeat a Raptor but not another Crocolisk.

It all may come down to what you deem most important; removing your opponents minions, or keeping your own. But from what I’ve found, board control is not gained by keeping your minions alive, it’s by removing your opponents’ minions.

Ben Brode, one of the designers of Hearthstone, have released a video addressing the reactions from player.

It’s a change that makes sense for the designers, and the spirit of the game in general. But there are a lot of strong feelings among both amateurs and professional players. Reading comments on Facebook or similar places gives you nothing, because it boils down to everyone screaming that Blizzard can’t do anything right and they’re destroying the game with every change they make. PC Gamer published an article by Simon ‘Sottle’ Welch that dove into the reasons why this is a bad change for the game and one of the points he brought up is those that use the deck. One point that he makes is the following:

“You can argue that this isn’t a problem since it represents a level playing field for all involved, but that’s actually not the case. Imagine one player who has correctly identified that Patron Warrior was going to evolve into the best deck in the game. In response they have spent six months grinding games with the deck and their hard work was rewarded with qualification for BlizzCon. Now imagine another player, who for reasons unknown, chose not to learn the deck. Maybe they just didn’t like it. Maybe they didn’t identify quickly enough how good it was. Or maybe it was just too hard for them to bother with. They invest their six months practice into learning other decks, decks that are still strong, and that they are still allowed to play at BlizzCon. Which of these players do you think has an advantage?”

Hearthstone card: Warsong Commander

What he’s saying is that if someone is a one-trick pony, and can only play one deck to gain a high rank, they should be seen as equals with someone that can play other decks? I don’t care how good your sprint is, if you can’t swim you’re not going to compete in a triathlon.

I personally have no quarrels with the card being changed. But I am not a high-rank player, nor use Patron Warrior as my main deck. It’s a fun deck, and I know how to play it, but I have no problem with this change. I’m also a strong believer that a product is subject to change as the designer/developer/producer sees fit, it’s up to me to decide if I want to stick with that product, so if this is what Blizzard wants to do then they clearly in their right to do so. No matter what the reaction from, what I believe to be, a bunch of entitled players that can’t adapt to any change. Which, in my mind, makes you a bad player.