Design

Hearthstone's client glitching out.

Opinion: Hearthstone’s Client Is Poorly Programmed

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I've written several hundred articles about Hearthstone by this point, and I've ranted a lot. There's a lot to complain about, but there's also a lot that I could've done better as a journalist. One of the things I’ve...
Hearthstone's June update includes a variety of small changes designed to improve the player experience, like streamlined deck importing.

Hearthstone’s June Update: Quality-of-Life Improvements

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Hearthstone's June update featured a variety of fixes and a ton of new features. In fact, there are too many to properly discuss, so I’ll focus on the big ones for today. Before we get into it, I have to...
Path of Exile energy shields have been hit with a massive nerf in the game's 3.0 update.

Path of Exile: Energy Shield and Life Changes in 3.0

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Path of Exile players are undoubtedly aware of the game's ongoing issues with energy shields and life. At the moment, energy shield builds are objectively a better choice -- it's more efficient and effective than a life skill build...
Hearthstone is in a rough place right now, and this time, it's not clear whether the game will be able to bounce back without Blizzard making substantial changes to their development process.

Being Bored in 2017: The Grim Future of Hearthstone

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As we near the halfway point of 2017, Hearthstone is facing a grim reality. The game, despite continued support from dedicated players, has finally reached a point where the majority of fans are dissatisfied. Usually once two months have...
Macros are banned in Path of Exile because they allegedly give players an unfair advantage. But where do we draw the line?

Path of Exile Macro Usage: Popsicle Sticks and Unfairness

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If you’ve ever played an MMORPG, you've run into the 'more buttons than fingers' problem. Between moving your character, using skills, activating potions, and other miscellaneous actions, the controls can become absolutely ridiculous, if not downright comical. Thankfully, many...
Hearthstone's recent "Peek to the Past" Tavern Brawl is a new take on the Pauper game format often found in other CCGs. Blizzard forced players to build decks using only more common cards from the original two sets that were released with the game.

Pauper Mode: The Way Hearthstone Should Be Played

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This week’s Hearthstone Tavern Brawl is A Peek to the Past. The rules of the Brawl are fairly straightforward: you make a deck using only common and rare cards from the basic and classic sets. It's a format that's...
Power creep is a common issue in competitive titles, but is Dota 2 the exception?

Does Dota 2 Have a Power Creep Problem?

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Every time a new Dota patch comes out, the community's discussion of IceFrog's changes will, at some point, involve a heated debate about 'Power Creep.' It's a well-known issue in almost every game genre that undergoes patches and iterations, including...
Blizzard's insistence on catering to casual audiences with Hearthstone has pushed long-time players away from the game, especially as the future of Hearthstone's esports scene remains somewhat uncertain.

Catering to Casuals: Hearthstone’s New Player Problem

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Blizzard's attitude towards new Hearthstone players has been a source of frustration for a while. In the past, I’ve complained at length about the new player experience, and I stand by my original arguments. The same problems still exist, and they...
Aggressive decks are a serious problem in Hearthstone.

Hearthstone: Why I Hate Aggressive Decks

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If you’ve read many of my articles, you'll know that I hate aggressive decks. Not all of them, but most. I do play them, but I hate the way that Hearthstone specifically has designed them. I often play aggressive decks in...
Aggro Druid is one of the many powerful aggressive decks that have risen to the top of Hearthstone's meta since the Journey to Un'Goro expansion released.

Journey to Un’Goro Meta Report #5: Attack of the Aggro Decks

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Aggro decks are back. What can we say? It was fun while it lasted. That’s right folks, the period of experimentation following the release of Hearthstone's Journey to Un'Goro expansion is officially over. Four out of of the top...
Is Hearthstone's stable meta a sign of health, or is lack of innovation hurting the game?

Opinion: Hearthstone’s Failure to Innovate

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Hearthstone has always struggled with innovation. Every cycle, without fail, the community will invent a couple oddball decks that are surprisingly successful, but for the most part, the archetypes are established and most players follow decklists. There are about a...
It's not only the Quests that are making Journey to Un'Goro's metagame feel fast, it's everything. Will the expansion ever slow down?

Need for Speed: Hearthstone’s Fast and Furious Meta

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Hearthstone has been feeling fast for a while now. When the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion dropped, many players felt that games were suddenly over on turn five. In Pirates, Hearthstone's meta picked up the pace again, and the breakneck speed...