RNG in card games is both hated and loved. But how does Blizzard see this with Hearthstone?
The game should not feel like a coin toss
The discussion is as old as Hearthstone itself: Does a high random factor destroy the competitive viability of the card game? The colleagues from Polygon grabbed designer Dean Ayala from Blizzard and confronted him once again with this topic. We have summarized the key statements of the interview for you.
According to Blizzard, it is about finding the right balance regarding the random factor. This might be a bit difficult in light of cards like “Yogg-Saron” that can turn the game 180° – for both sides of the match.
“We certainly don’t want every game to feel like a coin toss.”
Nevertheless, Hearthstone does many things that would not be possible in a traditional card game in the physical world. The intention behind such random cards is not just to achieve a random effect, but also to produce different outcomes with the same decks. If there is currently a special Mage deck in the meta that is being played by everyone, both players use exactly the same 30 cards. Through random effects on the cards, such as getting a random spell, small differences arise in the decks that create excitement and can occasionally bring a smile to even professional players.
Furthermore, new cards are not only tailored to professionals but also to casual players and newcomers who may just be starting the game. Therefore, not all cards need to compete at a professional level, and some, like Yogg-Saron, can be a bit more outlandish.
“We want players to feel that it is in their hands whether they win or lose. At the same time, we want to occasionally lighten things up to allow for different gameplay experiences.”
Mein-MMO says: The random factor or RNG is simply part of Hearthstone. While some players may not like it, the most exciting matches usually happen when one hopes for a random effect. Some players are also excellent at optimizing this RNG for their benefit – for example, when a “Mad Bomber” can trigger positive effects even on their own minions, it can indeed be calculated strategy if a few bombs hit their own minion.
