I hit level 67 this morning on the track. I bought the Tavern Pass, and am now just 3 levels away from the 20% XP boost at level 70. I am really enjoying AV so far! I don't have a complete set (missing 5 legendaries), but I have been achievement grinding with what I have and trying out lots of new stuff.
I got Drek'thar too, and was pretty bummed about that, given that I'll get the golden one within a few weeks. At least I get to play those decks now?
I opened 147 packs with my pre-orders, an arena expiration, and rewards from last month, etc. I opened 7 legendaries, so an average of 21 packs per...
On the other hand, I have opened a lot of epics, including 3 packs in a row with an epic in each.
I was disappointed with my haul so far, mostly because I was spoiled in the prior 3-4 expansions (where I averaged a legendary per 12-15 packs, which is really good odds).
I just looked at the Achievements page (Gameplay; Alterac Valley) and indeed I am accumulating honor towards the 7,200 honor points goal. (250 down, 6,950 to go! :P)
EDIT: I noticed in my collection that I also have a new golden Priest card: Stormpike Aid Station, which, if I recall, is the first milestone in the Quest chain.
SECOND EDIT: Humorously - the "reward" for the 7,200 honor achievement is a new hero skin (aka the ones they have on the rewards track per every 200 levels). Must be a bug!
As someone who dabbles in all game modes (with a major focus on constructed), this is a great deal. I have bought each tavern pass that has been offered to date with no regrets (the XP bonus has been well worth it, and I have enjoyed *some* of the cosmetics), and I will be grabbing this one too.
I am F2P in mercs except for the $5 Welcome Bundle and have opened 83 packs so far. I have all the current mercs except one legendary (Edwin). I crafted all the ones I haven't opened (I think I have opened 7-10?) in packs. I am hoarding packs (I have 20 waiting) until the next major content release (that is, when they release new mercs). In the case of the mercs that I have crafted, I am certainly a little ways off maxing them, but you really can get close once you finish their task quest chain.
I have been a big task grinder (617 done so far), and I do 3 wins a day in PVP against the AI to power level my few remaining low-level mercs so I have been able to accumulate lots of coins for crafting mercs that I'm missing.
For someone like me, it doesn't seem like there's ever going to be a need to buy packs in this mode, especially given that the benefits really diminish over time.
On the topic of "more annoying/challenging tasks" ...
I found 2-3 of Sylvanas' ability tasks to be brutal. I found a video on YT that helped with the deathrattle one (it helps if you have the ability/weapon upgraded so that it will kill 2 enemies at once). Doing the first Barrens bounty map on heroic is a fairly efficient way to do it. What you want to do is find the encounters with the caster Quillboars (blue) and then team Sylvanas with two mercs that can damage her down (because the blue Quillboars only attack from range and won't kill themselves). The video showed Jaraxxus and Ragnaros (I used Rag and Uther which is mildly less efficient). Eventually Sylvanas dies, and takes out the two weak-started Quillboars.
There's also a later task (I think it is 17) where it requires you to gain 90 attack with her ability that gains attack after a friendly unit has died in that game (I forget what it's called). Anyways, I did it in normal Banehollow (Felwood #6) and basically turtled/let three other mercs die while chipping away at the enemy team until only the imp who gives health to adjacent minions (and does not attack/heal itself) was left. Then I hit the Sylvanas "add attack" button every second turn until her attack was over 100 and then killed the imp to end the encounter. Painfully slow, but it meant I only had to suicide my team once.
Those two stand out as the toughest, but there were definitely other tasks where there were relatively elaborate combos to pull off. Task 18 for everyone (so far) has been "deal 450 damage to heroic bosses".
Does anyone know when the mercs November season begins (rewards reset)?
EDIT: I read in a stream chat (so this is hearsay) that the first monthly reset was going to be at November's end (so this first "month" may be a longer than usual one).
Completely agree with Pezman! Welcome back, and I just wanted to say I was excited to see this article pop up today.
I haven't seen anything on this one. It's still bugged for me. I think the Priest "Bless" one is still bugged too.
Congratulations on the awesome site growth! Happy to see your reach extending to a wider and wider audience.
I am generally a packs whale, and won't buy the skins this time. That said, I think there are a lot of cool skins in these bundles - lots of fun art.
I hit level 67 this morning on the track. I bought the Tavern Pass, and am now just 3 levels away from the 20% XP boost at level 70. I am really enjoying AV so far! I don't have a complete set (missing 5 legendaries), but I have been achievement grinding with what I have and trying out lots of new stuff.
I will miss your awesome deck lists and well-written guides! Good luck!
I got the Hollow Abomination one yesterday when I used the Battlecry to kill an enemy's Bloodmage Thalnos. No issues on my end for that one.
I don't think that's a bug. He rotates classes (secrets offered) depending on what you picked previously.
Sorry, that sucks.
I got Drek'thar too, and was pretty bummed about that, given that I'll get the golden one within a few weeks. At least I get to play those decks now?
I opened 147 packs with my pre-orders, an arena expiration, and rewards from last month, etc. I opened 7 legendaries, so an average of 21 packs per...
On the other hand, I have opened a lot of epics, including 3 packs in a row with an epic in each.
I was disappointed with my haul so far, mostly because I was spoiled in the prior 3-4 expansions (where I averaged a legendary per 12-15 packs, which is really good odds).
Now to spend some of my hoarded gold on packs.
I really like the inclusion of "neutral cards that may be appropriate for x class" in the analysis. Great work as always!
I just looked at the Achievements page (Gameplay; Alterac Valley) and indeed I am accumulating honor towards the 7,200 honor points goal. (250 down, 6,950 to go! :P)
EDIT: I noticed in my collection that I also have a new golden Priest card: Stormpike Aid Station, which, if I recall, is the first milestone in the Quest chain.
SECOND EDIT: Humorously - the "reward" for the 7,200 honor achievement is a new hero skin (aka the ones they have on the rewards track per every 200 levels). Must be a bug!
I'm getting the same thing. I am assuming that these points aren't counting for anything yet because the quest line isn't live.
As someone who dabbles in all game modes (with a major focus on constructed), this is a great deal. I have bought each tavern pass that has been offered to date with no regrets (the XP bonus has been well worth it, and I have enjoyed *some* of the cosmetics), and I will be grabbing this one too.
Awesome, timely idea for an article topic. Thanks for the fun lists to try out!
Thank you for putting together this quick-reference guide together!
I am F2P in mercs except for the $5 Welcome Bundle and have opened 83 packs so far. I have all the current mercs except one legendary (Edwin). I crafted all the ones I haven't opened (I think I have opened 7-10?) in packs. I am hoarding packs (I have 20 waiting) until the next major content release (that is, when they release new mercs). In the case of the mercs that I have crafted, I am certainly a little ways off maxing them, but you really can get close once you finish their task quest chain.
I have been a big task grinder (617 done so far), and I do 3 wins a day in PVP against the AI to power level my few remaining low-level mercs so I have been able to accumulate lots of coins for crafting mercs that I'm missing.
For someone like me, it doesn't seem like there's ever going to be a need to buy packs in this mode, especially given that the benefits really diminish over time.
Me neither!
Friendly Edit: I think it should be "Edition" not "Addition".
On the topic of "more annoying/challenging tasks" ...
I found 2-3 of Sylvanas' ability tasks to be brutal. I found a video on YT that helped with the deathrattle one (it helps if you have the ability/weapon upgraded so that it will kill 2 enemies at once). Doing the first Barrens bounty map on heroic is a fairly efficient way to do it. What you want to do is find the encounters with the caster Quillboars (blue) and then team Sylvanas with two mercs that can damage her down (because the blue Quillboars only attack from range and won't kill themselves). The video showed Jaraxxus and Ragnaros (I used Rag and Uther which is mildly less efficient). Eventually Sylvanas dies, and takes out the two weak-started Quillboars.
There's also a later task (I think it is 17) where it requires you to gain 90 attack with her ability that gains attack after a friendly unit has died in that game (I forget what it's called). Anyways, I did it in normal Banehollow (Felwood #6) and basically turtled/let three other mercs die while chipping away at the enemy team until only the imp who gives health to adjacent minions (and does not attack/heal itself) was left. Then I hit the Sylvanas "add attack" button every second turn until her attack was over 100 and then killed the imp to end the encounter. Painfully slow, but it meant I only had to suicide my team once.
Those two stand out as the toughest, but there were definitely other tasks where there were relatively elaborate combos to pull off. Task 18 for everyone (so far) has been "deal 450 damage to heroic bosses".
Does anyone know when the mercs November season begins (rewards reset)?
EDIT: I read in a stream chat (so this is hearsay) that the first monthly reset was going to be at November's end (so this first "month" may be a longer than usual one).