Hearthstone is getting bolder. The latest mode is a farce – at least that’s what our card demon Cortyn thinks, and he’s getting really worked up about it.
Hearthstone and I have always had a love-hate relationship. At the start of a new expansion, I am always extremely excited, checking out the new cards and already planning cool decks in my head. Sometimes it works out. In other cases, like in the current meta, the game is just no fun anymore. All matches play out the same way, and the game suffers in many areas.
That’s why I was all the more curious about the Mercenary mode, which the developers hinted at a long time ago. Yesterday brought the big reveal.
To put it mildly: What in the Nether just happened?
The presentation was a complete chaos. Even seasoned veterans were unable to fully grasp the features of this mode during the nearly 30-minute presentation. Even with the press materials in hand, it was really, really difficult to understand the details. What exactly are the new card packs? What are Mercenary coins? How does a round work, and why is Diablo suddenly involved?
It didn’t get any better considering that there was hardly any gameplay shown continuously; instead, you were bombarded with 15-second clips in the best TikTok manner until you couldn’t grasp anything anymore due to the effects and all the screen texts.
On top of that, there’s the design. Yes, the mode hasn’t been released yet. Yes, the developers still have about 6 weeks. But if the game board looks like the actual action takes place on 1/9 of the area, then something has just gone wrong with the interface design. Over 85% of the area is empty, as this image clearly shows:
Hearthstone wants money – and more and more
Hearthstone has drastically increased its monetization in the last 12 months. Where it used to be enough to buy a few card packs every 3 months, the game has become more aggressive.
In addition to season passes, purchasable top decks, special class bundles, purchasable solo content, and a new cosmetic set with skins for the Battleground mode almost every 3 days, the Mercenary mode is now also coming.
Because – well, who would have thought – it can be pre-ordered. There are a total of 3 pre-order packages, either with 30 or 50 packs of the new mode and a particularly fancy Mercenary card (Sylvanas, Diablo, or the Lich King). That costs €30 or €50. Or, if you want to get all 3 packages, a whopping €130.
The catch, which hurts more than the hooks in Dead by Daylight, is the following: The Mercenary card packs have absolutely nothing to do with the regular collection. The regular collection and the Mercenary mode are completely separate in this regard.
In the Mercenary packs, you will find various cosmetics, but mainly also coins with which you can acquire new Mercenaries, or – now it gets particularly nice – upgrade existing Mercenaries. You can improve their abilities and equipment if you’ve gathered enough coins.
And because the mere possibility of a €130 pre-order for a game mode that has nothing to do with the rest of Hearthstone apparently isn’t enough revenue: It is also pay-to-win, as the whole thing has PvP.
In PvP, there are no equal conditions. Although “the game tries to find opponents of equal strength,” once you lose a round because your Arthas only does 10 damage with his Death Cloak while the opponent deals 30 damage because he just threw €500 at the problem, pay-to-win becomes obvious.
More money means more power and stronger Mercenaries with better abilities. This is a whole different level of “pay-to-win” and gacha nonsense than what we are used to from Hearthstone.
What I find particularly bold: To build and expand the storage of the Mercenary mode, you need to use gold. Gold that you mainly earn in the other game modes. Gold that is usually used for arena rounds, buying card packs, or mini-sets. Gold that has already become increasingly scarce.
Why is that? The answer is simple: So that you spend even more real money. If you have to spend your gold in the Mercenary mode to get it running, you thus have to spend real money to still get cards in the regular game mode.
Hearthstone doesn’t even try to hide how they want to rip me – or all of us – off. Even the biggest “whales”, i.e., the players who spend a lot of money on Hearthstone, are fed up on the subreddit and feel cheated.
And I can understand it. If I want to enjoy Hearthstone “as a whole” now, I not only have to buy a new set every 3-4 months, but also another “set” for the Mercenary mode, into which I can also sink nearly unlimited money if I want to play PvP.
So I’m roughly looking at €250 – 300 every 3-4 months. That’s not “a bit too expensive”; that’s completely insane. I could just as easily buy a full-price title every month or a new gaming PC every year.
Or to quote Blizzard: “But don’t worry if you can’t get all three packages.” Just this sentence leaves me speechless. Is this what is expected? Is it the desired norm that someone gets “all three packages” for a whopping €130? For a mode that has nothing to do with the rest of Hearthstone? For a mode that was weak in its presentation, smells of pay-to-win, and creates a paywall so big that some former US presidents could have fulfilled their campaign promises with it?
I am angry and disappointed. As fun as the game mode sounds, I find the monetization and the massively integrated pay-to-win terrible. The mode can’t provide me with enough enjoyment to justify an investment of €30, €50, or even €130, which I would likely have to top up every few months when new Mercenaries are added.
At least there’s one positive point: On October 12, the Mercenary mode will be released simultaneously with Hearthstone, along with the zombie co-op shooter Back 4 Blood. I already know which of the two games I’ll be playing that evening.
If you’re looking for an alternative to Hearthstone, MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch recommends the game Legends of Runeterra:
Legends of Runeterra is the better Hearthstone and much cheaper
