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Blizzard's 'Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft' for Mac Now in Open Beta

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Blizzard's newest game, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has entered open beta, which means it is now available for all Mac and PC users in North America. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a free-to-play collectible card game that is set in the Warcraft universe and focuses on 1v1 matches.

In the game, each player chooses a hero with a specific skill set. Heroes are all based on Warcraft lore, so well-known characters like Jaina Proudmoore, Gul'dan, Uther the Lightbringer, and Thall are featured. In the free-to-play Play Mode, Players face each other with a deck of 30 cards and aim to win in either casual or ranked games.

Sheathe your sword, draw your deck, and get ready for Hearthstone - the fast paced strategy card game that's easy to learn and massively fun. Start a free game on Battle.net and play your cards to sling spells, summon creatures, and command the heroes of Warcraft in duels of epic strategy.

With powerful prebuilt decks, and hundreds of additional cards to win, craft or purchase - your collection never stops evolving.

Challenge players of all skill levels on Battle.net or hone your skills in practice matches against some of the greatest strategists of Azeroth - Thrall, Uther, Gul'dan, and more!
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Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has been in closed beta since August, but for the first time, anyone can download the game. Currently, the beta has been opened in North America, with plans to extend access to other countries over the next few days. Blizzard also has plans to introduce an iOS version of the game in the future.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft can be downloaded from the Blizzard website for free.

Article Link: Blizzard's 'Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft' for Mac Now in Open Beta
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/21/blizzard-hearthstone-beta/
star-affinity

star-affinity

macrumors 68000
Nov 14, 2007
1,927
1,218
Been running the closed beta a little and it's good stuff!

More deep and complex than one might think at first with all the different cards and variations, but still easy to get started.

Seems it's done in Unity (at least the ”front end”) which is quite cool. Wish I knew how to use that since I have a gaming idea I think could be something…:)
 
O

outphase

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2009
1,291
32
Parts Unknown
In case anyone is wondering, the game is in fact free-to-play, but it also can be pay-to-win like any other CCG. You expand your card pool by leveling up each character or acquiring Expert Packs (booster packs). You can buy 1 pack for 100 gold (in-game currency) or earn them by completing quests. You can also buy multiple packs ranging from 2 for $2.99 to 40 for $49.99.
 
C

Chazz08

Cancelled
Dec 4, 2012
560
105
ShinySteelRobot said:
Collectible card game? So, basically it's Pokemon but with Warcraft characters?

First Pokemon-style pet battles in WoW, now this.

What with the addition of Kung Fu Panda in MoP, Blizz is really targeting the 12-and-under set these days.
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No. Not like Pokemon. It's like Yu-Gi-Oh.
 
R

Rad99004

macrumors 6502
Nov 12, 2009
286
4
I wish they would have spent the time on Diablo for IOS.

I have no interest in this game.
 
Iconoclysm

Iconoclysm

macrumors 68040
May 13, 2010
3,119
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Washington, DC
ShinySteelRobot said:
Collectible card game? So, basically it's Pokemon but with Warcraft characters?

First Pokemon-style pet battles in WoW, now this.

What with the addition of Kung Fu Panda in MoP, Blizz is really targeting the 12-and-under set these days.
Click to expand...

You do realize that the WoW collectible card game is like 9 years old, right? Little late to complain now.

This is something quite different, and quite good...and for adults. But I can already tell you don't know much about this as you think Kung Fu Panda came before the Pandarian Brewmaster in WC3 over 5 years earlier.
 
Spanky Deluxe

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
Iconoclysm said:
You do realize that the WoW collectible card game is like 9 years old, right? Little late to complain now.

This is something quite different, and quite good...and for adults. But I can already tell you don't know much about this as you think Kung Fu Panda came before the Pandarian Brewmaster in WC3 over 5 years earlier.
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This. You beat me to it.

I've been part of the closed beta for Hearthstone for a couple of months now. It's a fun game although it needs some kind of deck builder helper tool thing. I reached a point where I have a load of 'good' cards but not enough to be able to build decks that people post online. I know I'm meant to learn the cards by trial and error but that is frustrating when I don't have oodles of time to spend. They need to ease the learning curve, in my opinion. My friend is loving the game though and has bought a load of cards and spent loads of time experimenting so knows his decks.
 
J

joshdammit

Suspended
Mar 6, 2013
321
57
Spanky Deluxe said:
This. You beat me to it.

I've been part of the closed beta for Hearthstone for a couple of months now. It's a fun game although it needs some kind of deck builder helper tool thing. I reached a point where I have a load of 'good' cards but not enough to be able to build decks that people post online. I know I'm meant to learn the cards by trial and error but that is frustrating when I don't have oodles of time to spend. They need to ease the learning curve, in my opinion. My friend is loving the game though and has bought a load of cards and spent loads of time experimenting so knows his decks.
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There is a deck builder. If you click the "Suggest a Card" button it guides you through constructing a balanced deck (as far as mana costs and minion count goes.)
 
Spanky Deluxe

Spanky Deluxe

macrumors demi-god
Mar 17, 2005
5,282
1,745
London, UK
joshdammit said:
There is a deck builder. If you click the "Suggest a Card" button it guides you through constructing a balanced deck (as far as mana costs and minion count goes.)
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Yeah but that's next to useless. It just displays random cards based on the spell cost that would make a balanced deck mana wise. It doesn't look at your cards and go "you have a good number of pirate cards, here's a suggestion" or "these cards can go well together to create really strong plays" etc.
 
TouchMint.com

TouchMint.com

macrumors 68000
May 25, 2012
1,625
318
Phoenix
Ive never really been a card game guy but I gotta say the designers are doing all they can with the UI and whatnot to sell this game haha. Dont get me wrong im sure the game play is creative and what not but its really the design that will set this apart from the 10million other rpg battle like card games out there i guess.
 
Z

ZOZO

macrumors member
Nov 11, 2013
65
0
On behalf of all us Thrall lovers, I am shocked:

Heroes are all based on Warcraft lore, so well-known characters like Jaina Proudmoore, Gul'dan, Uther the Lightbringer, and Thall are featured
Click to expand...
 
thefourthpope

thefourthpope

Contributor
Sep 8, 2007
1,391
738
DelMarVa
Ellmer said:
No. The idea is to put away your weapons, and play cards instead. Try unsheathing your sword, and drawing your deck - then tell us how much sense it makes.
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Huh. Ok. I thought it was a fighting game, and it certainly looks in the screenshot like swords (not in sheathes) are involved. But like I said, this isn't my game. I'll defer to you.
 
ShinySteelRobot

ShinySteelRobot

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2002
184
71
Upper Left Corner, USA
Iconoclysm said:
You do realize that the WoW collectible card game is like 9 years old, right? Little late to complain now.

This is something quite different, and quite good...and for adults. But I can already tell you don't know much about this as you think Kung Fu Panda came before the Pandarian Brewmaster in WC3 over 5 years earlier.
Click to expand...

You say it's "quite different", but I think most people would agree the fundamental concept of a "digital collectible card game" (as Hearthstone is defined by Wikipedia) is fundamentally similar to a paper-based collectible card game such as Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh.

But I can already tell you don't know much about this as you think the WC3 Pandarian Brewmaster came before other famous martial arts pandas even though the original concept dates back at least as far as Terry Dunn in 1992 about 10 years before WC3.

Hopefully you'll understand that someday when you move out of your parent's basement.
 
J

joshdammit

Suspended
Mar 6, 2013
321
57
Spanky Deluxe said:
Yeah but that's next to useless. It just displays random cards based on the spell cost that would make a balanced deck mana wise. It doesn't look at your cards and go "you have a good number of pirate cards, here's a suggestion" or "these cards can go well together to create really strong plays" etc.
Click to expand...

Actually, it does make suggestions. If you have too little of certain mana cost cards, it'll recommend higher or lower mana cards. Or more minions.

Yeah, the deck builder isn't going to craft an awesome, themed deck for you. That's up to you to do. That's the point of the game.

Sorry for the late response.
 
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