Returning player here after being absent for a couple of years. Amongst other things, this free legendary thing is really such a bummer for new or returning players.
SN1P-SN4P is such an important card in alot of meta decks, and it was given out for free?
Well okay, you wanted to reward people for logging in during that period, but Blizzard, can you maybe do another event so that new or returning players can get it for free as well?
Its such a bummer on top of trying to get the new cards to find out that an important was given out for free. I mean, you do want new player and returning players to enjoy the game and not quit right?
Been asking for this on behalf of new/casual/returning players. This year, all players who logged in at the time got Archmage Vargoth and golden SN1P-SN4P for free. 2 versatile legendaries, that whoever comes in later find themselves 3200 dust out of pocket for. It wouldn’t be such a problem if 3200 dust wasn’t so hard to come by, but that’s a lot of dust investment when everyone else got it for free.
One good way to keep these cards as rewards is an achievement system that would allow you to earn some rewards like these legendaries. Hearthstone is punishing for players who leave or start playing late in terms of building up a collection. Yes, it’s more than possible to have enough dust to build a nice deck or 2 and climb to high ranks without spending, but that’s only one part of the game - it’s not all competitive.
For replacing SN1P-SN4P, you can put in a Harvest Golem instead - it will work very similar in any aggressive gameplan.
SN1P-SN4P also rotates out of Standard in less than 7 months, so keep that in mind.
It was a time limited offer, you weren’t around when the offer was on, how can that be unfair?
That is like complaining you missed a Christmas sale in March.
I have onward to Uldum as a quest but won’t complete it because the tavern brawl is so bad - can I have a pass for that so I can get the reward?
If you want to get these freebies, a) login every day, even I do that without playing and for nothing more than collecting, b) keep an eye on the blizzard news and login when you need to.
And as an old player I don’t have whizbang, where is my freebie?
And Hearthstone is all about annihilating a weaker and disadvantaged opponent who doesn’t have the cards you have access to, which bit of this isn’t on message?
I agree with OP, it would be smart business wise for Blizzard to give these cards to new and returning players. It won’t disadvantage current players at all.
I think that new/returning players are at such a disadvantage that throwing a few legendaries their way would help encourage them to stick with it. They could be gated behind certain requirements, like playing X number of games or buying X number of packs (with gold or $).
From the point of view of players, you are certainly right. For new/returning players it is of course obvious, but I also agree that existing players won’t be disadvantaged by this.
But there’s also a different point of view.
Why does Blizzard do these giveaways? What is “in it” for them?
I think they do it to encourage people to log on more often, to play more often. There are lots of in-game incentives for this, and I think freebies in specific periods is also one.
The game will only remain popular if enough players are online. When that drops, matchmaking time increases, more people will move to other games, and a decline sets in that is hard to stop. So you don’t only need a lot of players, you need them online. Often.
“Log in now to claim …” only works as an incentive if you actually need to log in now to claim it. Once word gets out that you don’t really need to log in at the given time, that you will get the reward anyway, the incentive to log on is gone.
Why does Blizzard do these giveaways? What is “in it” for them?
I think they do it to encourage people to log on more often…
I agree, I also think that when you earn the card during the promotional period, there is fun in discovering how cards like Archmage Vargoth and Sn1p Sn4p impact the game at the same time as everyone else. Which decks and strategies become stronger compared to the previous meta. To Blizzard’s credit, I think the Rise of the Mech event was perfectly executed.
That experience is not granted to players who are given the cards months later, the cards are just tools in the toolkit, not the latest toy.
So I see it as - -granting them months later does not dampen the draw for logging in during the promotional period.
Also, sn1p sn4p in particular, along with the mech buffs would encourage new/returning players to invest in Boomsday packs, maybe even purchase a bundle. When making that decision about “how to catch up”, anything that promotes the expansions from the previous year will offset the negative aspect of rotation.
As a last point, a few legendaries are going to be useless unless you purchase bundles or log in regularly. So if granting legendaries help retain new players or lets returning players feel they can “catch up”, that would be to Blizzard’s benefit.
There are actually more cards, that you could get for logging in the right time:
Random saviours of uldum quest (For logging in after Saviours of Uldum’s release)
Archmage Vargoth (For logging in after Rise of Shadow’s release)
Tess Greymane (For logging in after Witchwood’s release)
Marin The Fox (For logging in after Cobolds and Catacomb’s release)
C’thun (For logging in after Old God’s release)
But there are only 2 of them you can’t get via crafting
Golden SN1P-SN4P (As you mentioned)
Golden Gelbin Mekkatorque (Before game’s release you could get it by buying it, the card is crap tho, so nothing of value was lost)
Not exactly Tess, we just got a random legendary for Witchwood.
For Rastakhan’s Rumble, we got a Loa and 2 Spirits as a login bonus.
Every expansion Frozen Throne onwards has given us a free legendary, but Frozen Throne is the only one where it was tied to the solo content and still available.
Certain events have given us some golden cards: golden Eggnapper, golden Devilsaur Egg, Golden Recurring Villain and Mechano-Egg
As for golden exclusives, Golden Marin the Fox is technically available if you get a code from eBay? Collector’s price though, you’d rather get a bunch of packs with that money.
Because it discourages returning players and new players from sticking around? How much money/gold would a new player need to get up and running in this meta? Seeing a free legendary card that is pretty much in every deck is not exactly encouraging for new/old players. There needs to be more freebies and bonus for new/old players, especially since Hearthstone playerbase is rapidly declining.
I’m pretty new, maybe like 15 hours or so into the game and I’ve earned perhaps 20 card packs, gotten to rank 25 and acquired maybe 4 legendaries? So far the pace has seemed good and I haven’t stopped having fun. I have to agree with Halo572. If they gave us that specific legendary because some people missed the “event” or time window to acquire it or whatever, it would be like asking for the breakfast menu at 5pm. This isn’t Denny’s, it’s Hearthstone. Just wait until the morning aka grind and earn it.
There is an event going on right now, so you free packs much faster than usual. Wait until the event is over. Sorry to rain on your parade but if you are Free To Play only, you will not be able to play any meta decks for at least the next 3-5 months. I spent almost $250 dollar in August upon coming back and I am still missing alot of cards.
If you are content with playing budget decks and stay at rank 20ish, then you will be fine.