The short list is on top with the long explanations below if you care to read about them:
NEW: The TL:DR list:
1.) PERFECT practice makes perfect habits. Don't be afraid to practice vs the beginner and advanced A.I. until you're used to the game mechanics.
2.) Consider your next move during your opponent's turn (or even before that!).
3.) Play for VALUE. Trade 1 of your cards for 2 of your opponent's = they run out of cards and you dominate every game.
4.) If you're falling behind, consider trying to blitz your opponent with lethal damage before they can establish FULL control of the game.
5.) Watch Twitch.tv to get tips on arena and constructed. The best streamers talk out loud.
6.) Some decks will try to kill you within like 6 turns. You can stop it, but you need to be aware of what their strategy is ahead of time. The first minion can give you hints to what they plan to do next.
7.) Card drawing abilities, or "engines," that let you draw multiple cards are extremely important to winning games.
8.) When drafting arena, pick cards for their VALUE and not for "cute combos."
The long list with explanations:
1.) Tons of practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes HABIT. If you play tons of games and you're still going 3-3 in arena regularly, then you have BAD HABITS! In anything, this is the truth: PERFECT practice makes perfect.
2.) When you play Hearthstone, consider what moves you are able to make for next turn before your turn begins. You may come up with 2-3 different strategies for spending your mana the next turn, depending on what your opponent may do. This is called forethought, and it is 100% essential to consider what your opponent is thinking and what he may do next turn. As a new player, you'll learn which cards your opponent may have as you play.
--- Feel free to skip this example and read on --- (For example, if you are playing against a priest opponent and you're on turn 4: Let's say you have 2 minions on the board at 2 toughness. You have a choice to play another 2 toughness creature or wait on that move. CONSIDER that your opponent, because he will have 5 mana once you end the turn and he begins his turn, may Holy Nova you to kill your minions. You don't want to spend mana on a card he's going to kill for free, so you save it and just attack/heal or whatever. His turn 5 comes and he blasts you with Holy nova, killing your creatures. You know he has a fat face and a smug look on the other end of his computer, but HA! You drop your 2 toughness creatures from your hand and still control the game. If you didn't consider this, you'd be crippled.)
3.) Play for VALUE. Make sure that whenever you play a card that it will trade at LEAST 1 of your opponent's cards to kill it. My goal is that every card I play will kill 2+ cards of my opponent's. If you play this way, you will always be "ahead" of your opponent. In order to keep up, your opponent will either have to draw extra cards or also trade for equal value. As a minor tip: when you pick cards in Arena, each card needs to be picked for the "value" that it will get you. This is why Yeti and Senjin Shieldmaster are such good picks -- they usually trade 2 for 1.
--- Feel free to skip this example and read on --- (Quick example: I drop 1 minion with Windfury and kill 2 of my opponent's minions. For a more detailed example, my opponent plays a weapon on turn 1. My next turn, I play an Acidic Swamp Ooze to kill the axe, and the next turn I am able to use the Ooze to kill one of his minions. I just traded my 1 card for 2 of his - the axe and the minion I killed. That is a 2 for 1 value. Notice that my opponent also got some value out of his axe by killing my Bloodfen Raptor, but even still, with that play, I am 1 card ahead in value. That means that I should have 1 more card in my hand or on the board than my opponent due to the play I made.)
4.) Control the board and you'll win, BUT if you're falling behind, consider that you may need to abandon "controlling" the board and aim to kill your opponent before he establishes complete control of the board. This is called AGGRESSION -- You aren't playing for "value" anymore, but you're aiming to deal that last bit of damage to your opponent before he establishes 100% control and die / you can't deal any damage anymore. Outright aggression from the start of the game is a good way to control the board -- What I'm talking about is a "last ditch effort" to drop your opponent's HP to zero before they win.
--- Feel free to skip this example and read on --- (For example: My opponent has 11 life. I am a mage with 1 fireball in my hand and zero other cards and 3 minions on the board that are 3/2, 2/2, and 4/2. It is my turn, I have zero mana, and my opponent has 4 minions out. One of them is Senjin Shieldmaster with Taunt, and one is a big 8/4 beast that will kill me in 2 turns. I send my 2/2 and 3/2 into his Shieldmaster and I have a choice to make... Do I kill the 8/4 with my 4/2 hoping to regain some control? No - I send it to attack my opponent's face and leave him at 7 life. If my opponent can't kill me next turn, I am going to win with my 6 damage fireball and my 1 damage hero ability. After my fireball, I have 0 cards and top-decking against that opponent is almost hopeless b/c he had 2 other minions out anyway. I win. Everyone goes out for ice cream to celebrate.)
5.) Watch Hearthstone streams on Twitch.tv - Several streamers do a great job at explaining what they are thinking inside their head. Ek0p, Trump, and noLIFE_Kripparian come to mind among others. If you watch their streams, you'll start making their moves and picking their picks. You might even think that awesome play you made in Arena was your own idea, completely forgetting that you watched Trump make the same play 2 weeks ago.
For example: http://www.twitch.tv...eroesofWarcraft
UPDATE: Tips contributed from other posters:
6.) When decks try to rush you down, be aware! Mage or Hunter decks only need to get you to around 15 hp for you to be truly in danger of death next turn, even if they don't have anything on the board. For a mage, the magic number is 11HP for a Fireblast + Pyroblast combo. For a hunter, they tend to go for "combos" in Constructed with beasts and "Unleash the Hounds." Make sure to kill any 1/1 "Young Dragonhawks" with windfury ASAFP -- they can quickly become 5/1's by turn 2-3! (Thanks to Lothix for suggesting this)
7.) Card draw is REALLY important. If you want to show off your skills, statistically that is much easier to do the more cards you have in your hand (and on the board). Nobody can "outskill" their opponent if you have 1 card in hand and they have 5. Almost anything you do is going to be answered by 1 or 2 of their cards. Therefore, make sure you have a few ways to draw cards in your deck. A few really great ways to do this are to:
- Use one card as an "engine" for your deck. A good example of this is Northshire Cleric for Priest, Starving Buzzard for Hunters, or Cult Master. If you can get multiple cards off of one of these, you're in the $$$$ and your opponent probably loses.
- Use draw cards that allow you to draw more than 1 card. A great example of this is Arcane Intellect for Mage, Battle Rage for Warrior, or Divine Favor for Paladin.
- Use one card to net you a BIG card draw once you are about to run out of steam. A great example of this is Sprint for rogue or Lay on Hands for Paladin. You're down to 1 card in hand, you sprint, and you're full steam ahead once more!
- Use "one off" cards that do something + allow you to draw a card. Power Word; Shield for a priest is a great way to draw a card, and allow you to keep your attacking minion alive for an easy kill of your opponent's minion. Value + draw ftw. Other examples are things like Gnomish Inventor, Hammer of Wrath for Paladin, or Flare for Hunters.
8.) When drafting arena, pick cards for their VALUE and not for "cute combos." Don't assume you will always draw X card when you have Y card in play or hand. This is different than deck synergy. For example, you should almost never draft Unleash the Hounds in Arena as a hunter.
I love the feedback I've received so far. I have one more tip to add:
9.) Avoid getting "too fancy" in Arena. What does that mean? To a noob, this tip is simply this: Aim to spend ALL of your mana each turn. To an above-average (but not elite) player, this means... Don't try to get too clever. Don't over-analyze what you believe your opponent is going to do. You might just convince yourself that what you THINK will happen is your opponent's only good move. The result? You will lose control of the board and will fall behind. This is a tough concept for a beginner to learn. It's more the "average" and "above average" players that do this. If you want to be elite 3-star master IRL, you need to stop getting fancy (or keep "getting fancy" as one of your strategies that you *rarely* use). Maybe it is better that I describe things this using an example:
GOOD STRATEGY: It is your turn 7. You have 7 mana to spend. You are a mage and playing vs a priest. They have zero minions on the board, and you have zero minions on the board as well. You know that 8 mana is the magic number for a priest, because they can mind control something. You definitely don't want to play your 7/7 War Golem because of this, so instead you play a few lesser minions to avert the danger of Mind Control. Good job. You play your 4/5 Yeti and your 2/3 Harvest Golem and end your turn.
TOO FANCY: It is your turn 7, you have 7 mana to spend, and are a mage. Your priest opponent has 1 minion this time - a 2/3 Harvest Golem. You have no minions out, but in hand, you have 4 cards... A 7/7 war golem, a 4/5 Yeti, a 2/3 Harvest Golem of your own, and a Blizzard. You decide that it would be good to avoid Mind Control, but that you'll really own him if you save Blizzard and don't play any minions. Then he'll surely have to dump more minions on the board next turn, and you're gonna OWN them with blizzard! Instead, he'll drop a 7/7 war golem of his own and you'll be behind by 1 turn. Man, don't you feel dumb for not playing something on the board! Your opponent is unpredictable. Prepare for that!
No comments:
Post a Comment