That’s the point. I suspect Twist is failing because they can’t effectively monetize it. I’m trying to suggest a way to monetize twist while making sure it offers value to players.
Buying a full expansion which would only be valid in twist for 3 months is very bad value, and players didn’t go for it. But buying a complete miniset for 2000 gold or cash (at the regular price) would be a much more reasonable investment, IMO.
Also, if the future of Twist is in doubt, players will be reluctant to invest in it. A long term plan for twist would involve releasing a new miniset every 3 months or so, and introducing that set into the format at that time. It also allows for rule changes (using the same sets) every season.
I’d written this post before I saw the announcement of the rules for the new twist season. Obviously having a “commons only” rule is great. I’m certainly not expecting to see a different miniset every month (and I wouldn’t want to), so having rules on deckbuilding is a great way to create a fresh format without introducing new cards. Of course, that format is unlikely to bring in any money… some monthly formats would include new cards (which cost gold/money) and other formats would not. Like I said, one miniset every 3 months would work fine for me.
Of course, releasing a miniset and then telling players they can’t use the legendaries from that set the following month isn’t a good look, so its not like you can just alternate the two. But the idea is that sometimes there would be new cards available, and sometimes not. But if the format is to change on a monthly basis, you can’t add completely new cards every time that happens.
They could do that, but the idea is that the minisets would support Twist format. The whole idea of the “straight to wild” expansion was about supporting Twist mode, NOT wild.
The use of the term “straight to wild” was, IMO, disingenuous. The cards were designed for Twist format. Obviously they also had to be usable in wild, but they weren’t designed to shape the format. They were developed for twist format, and any impact on wild format was of secondary importance.
I would totally agree. But if they can’t monetize the mode, why would they keep it open?
Why do you think Duels is being removed from Hearthstone? IMO, its all down to the lack of monetization. Running Twist format without monetization would, IMO, mean that going the “duels route” becomes inevitable.
Of course, if Blizzard want players to spend money on Twist, there needs to be a long term plan for it, and players need to be confident their investment will not become worthless.
Its very sad to see Duels being abandoned, as it does bode badly for other modes if they cannot be monetized.
Mercenaries has stayed because of two things:
1 - It is a static format, because new cards will not be added. Therefore it doesn’t require updates, and won’t get them.
2 - Closure of the mode would make collectible items completely worthless, and players would rightly expect compensation for this. Blizzard won’t do that. This also applies to Wild format, and is probably the only reason Wild format still exists.
These two considerations do not apply to Duels or Twist. All collectibles for the formats can be used in Wild. Duels needs to be updated EVERY TIME a new set is released, and while Twist does not automatically include newly released cards, it is by definition a changing format, so it needs regular updates.
So… my thinking is that if Twist cannot be successfully monetized, it will go “the way of duels”. I’m hoping that can be avoided. The BG battlepass is “affordable” (although it would be more affordable if you could buy it with gold), so I’m trying to find an “affordable” solution for Twist.
BTW, I also play Duels, and I’m very sad to see it go. I hope it can be saved, or even relaunched.