In addition to the BGs datamine a large number of Mercenaries info has been found. This includes:
The name, rarity, role, abilities, weapons, alternate portraits, costs to level each weapon and ability of every mercenary
The amount of XP needed to level a mercenary to max level
New keywords the mode will be introducing
The rewards given for competing in the PVP part of the mode
The rewards given to players when the mode launches.
All the info is available on outof.cards
The PVP rewards in particular seem like placeholders because of how low they are so I wouldn’t judge those just yet. What is concerning though is that the 3 rarities have roughly equal distribution among the mercenaries that means if you’re getting average luck you’ll need roughly EDIT: 310ish packs to pull all the individual mercs. Coins can mitigate this to an extent but the cost in coins to craft a merc is unknown. The other issue with the coins system is that there is no control over which coins you get per pack and only vague probabilities of how much you get of each rarity of coins so you can get coins for mercs you’ve maxed out. Granted you don’t need a full collection to compete but trying to target a specific legendary or epic merc is almost impossible because of the randomness of coins.
This is all datamined stuff so numbers can obviously change between now and Oct 12th but unless they significantly alter the drop rates of mercs compared to HS packs most people would need to make this their exclusive focus to be able to compete.
I’m not sure where you’re getting that 1030 packs number. It’s actually going to be far lower.
There are 17 Legendary mercenaries, and from the information we have so far, the drop rates for Legendary Mercenaries are the same as for Legendaries in packs for Constructed: You’re guaranteed one in your first 10 packs, then the average is one every 20 packs.
One of the Legendaries (Grommash) is part of the free eight that everyone gets at the beginning.
So, to get the remaining 16 just from packs (no coins), you would only need to open an average of 310 packs.
Obtaining all the Epics should be faster at an average 1 per 5 packs, and Rares would only require maybe a dozen or so packs to have all of the ones available at launch (especially since you get 6 of them for free to start with).
Im realy looking foward to playing the mode, i just wish the visuals were better .
Maybe they will improve it before release the board needs a massive upgrade.
Its full of realy good ideas that players wanted in standard for a long time.
I think it will be a hit, cant wait to try and summon Jaina and Lich King to make a Frost team.
will this mode have actual strategy and skill or will it just be like hearthstone standard pretty much? basically netdecking with your mercenaries and then it just becomes a rock paper scissor type of thing?
It looks like both. There’d be strategy and skill in terms of which abilities you use, when, who you start with, and which equipment you bring but there will also almost certainly be consensus picks on which mercenaries are best with some obvious synergies with some characters you’ll see a lot more than others.
Every single game that’s based on stats and effects (i.e. information and the application of said information) will inevitably develop a competitive metagame comprised of the most effective implementation of those stats and effects.
If you’re looking for a game where using the internet to find the best things to do doesn’t give the average joe a good competitive baseline, I’d recommend seeking out games based more on physical dexterity and timing. Not games that use cards or static, turn-based plays.
That said, it’s probably going to be a while before fansites can gather enough data to really delineate the best comps, equipment and such, so there will be some skill testing early on for those who can recognize the better synergies/loadouts and how best to build them relative to the field over those who cannot.
Is it me or are most of the mercs epics and legendaries? In warriors, for example you have 8 legendaries 5 epics and 3 rares. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Last time I checked in the dictionary legendary should be fewer in number than rare.