Congratulations! It takes a long time to get a hero golden. I've got three so far - Druid, Warlock, and Hunter. Right now I'm working on Warrior and Rogue.
Thank you so much for doing these guides. I'll let it slide that you forgot to mention that there would be some Warrior versus Warrior matches. LOL. Obviously, I'm totally joking around, because fortunately I could do something else while keeping the window with the live video running, you know how it was for me, I had a window where things were happening, and then a window where things were a little slow.
I too am very tired of the mechs. It was fun for a day. The only positive thing I can say about it is that it definitely shook things up and changed the types of decks I was facing. But I hear you. Mech everything is just over the top. Mech Druid, Mech This, Mech That, Mech, Mech Shmech. Too much of a good thing is too much. Is that a Mae West quote?
WOW. I'm all like, "I've had a long day, I think I'll have a glass of wine and play with some experimental decks in Casual mode." That was a HUGE disappointment. I basically wanted to try some crazy deck lists I've seen plus try a few of my own things. I was dead before I could figure anything out or develop anything! I think Casual mode needs to be renamed "Sudden Death Mode" LOL. I'm not really feeling salty, but I guess I'm whining.
So, I've had a long day, I think I'll have a glass of wine and play a relaxing game of Ranked Hearthstone.
Nothing gets under my skin like “Whoops!”... well what can I say... I did the best play available to survive one more turn. No need to laugh in my face that it didn’t work
How about: I conceded because I, the Rogue, couldn't do anything more against your Token Druid, and you won fair and square with your cheap Wal-mart deck, yet you cannot resist emoting "Thank you." I swear this thread exists because the majority of Hearthstone players are fake and say "oh, well, you're too salty on the forums" but at the same time they're intent on pissing people off and making them salty in the game with their stupid little emote and roping things so they can continue to criticize saltiness. It's like this big cycle they create. They try to irritate people, the irritated people express their irritation, and then the irritated people are criticized for being irritated.
Sometimes I forget to right-click to squelch but I always regret forgetting. This time I got distracted by my difficult mulligan decision and the resulting garbage returned to me for my starting hand. All the while, thinking through my plan, I forgot to squelch. So I conceded when I was a turn away from death. And I was thanked for losing.
I think I'm going to send a message to Blizzard suggesting a name change from "Hearthstone" to "The Explosively Venomous with Lifesteal Mech Hunter Game."
^ I've seen plenty of pro players hold Tracking on the mulligan and play it on turn one. Of course the difference between competitive play and ladder is that you typically know what your opponent is playing, often down to the exact decklist, so you can formulate a game-plan and anticipate what cards you are going to need several turns from now.
Still, I don't think holding tracking is a rookie mistake per se, I think the real distinction is in whether the player makes the correct decision when offered a tough choice or just picks the Zul'Jin ten times out of ten.
I totally agree with you and I don't think I've said anything that contradicts what you're saying. There are lots of examples in Hearthstone history to show that playing Tracking on turn 1 can be a really good idea. My hypothetical for Standard is a good example: you're facing a mage and it could be the type that drops a huge minion early. You can keep yourTracking in your mulligan plus any high-cost spell and use the Tracking card early, even on turn 1. This could also be true for when you suspect your opponent is going to be a control deck. Right now in Standard it's tough to mulligan when facing Shaman (Control? Murloc? Big), another Hunter (Secret? Mech? etc?), Rogue (Hooktusk?Chef Nomi? Pogo? Combo?), Mage (because "Tempo Mage" variants are suddenly returning because players have started to get the idea that they see a mage so it must be conjurer, so now a lot of mage decks start out looking like big spell or tempo and then build up a big board).
IMHO, one thing to learn from this thread is that it's never a mistake to throw the Tracking card back into the deck in the mulligan phase simply because there are a lot of times when you don't know what archetype you're facing and Tracking is in fact much more powerful later in the game in a lot of situations. Now, let's say you mulligan and after that you draw a Tracking. You read the game and decide an early Tracking play is a good idea. There you go. Beneficial early Tracking play.
When I say I think it's a mistake to play early is when it's just something a player does to spend the mana on turn 1. That's not a good play. You play a card when you think you have a plan. Just throwing a Tracking out there on turn 1 just because you have 1 mana is not really a well-thought-out play, don't you think
I agree with almost everything in favor of tracking that has been said in this thread except for that "Lethal 100% of the time" comment which I think was an attempt at sarcasm. I laughed a little, anyway, because if you've ever faced a Hunter using tracking late game and you're down on health you've probably held your breath a little!
In my attempt to be helpful, I'll share how I use it in my Hunter decks and the reason why I might not include it. Not including it has nothing to with discarding cards. As a lot of people have mentioned, you're not really discarding them because you haven't received them in your hand yet. The concept behind using it wisely is this: You don't need all the cards in your deck to win the match. You need the right cards. Tracking helps you get the right card when you need it.
Here is a list of how, when, and why I play tracking. I hope it helps the OP out in the quest for the Golden Rexxar (keep in mind I don't play in Wild format):
Mulligan: I hardly ever keep Tracking unless I think I'll need it early on in the game. If I suspect I might need it early on in the game it's because I'm going first so I don't have an extra card with a coin and the situation makes me think I might want to keep a card that costs 4+ so I keep the 4-mana card and Tracking so I can fish for something to play on turn 3 or 5 if necessary. An example: I think my Mage opponent is going to have a Mountain Giant. A spell dealing 4 or more damage to a minion is a keeper because I probably don't need to put anything on the board on turns 1 or 2. For most situations, it's better to throw the Tracking back into the deck and draw something else because Tracking is a good late game card and not so good early in the game.
Against Bomb Warrior or any other opponent that shuffles cards into my deck: After my opponent has shuffled a lot of garbage into my deck I look for a chance to play Tracking. This allows me to eliminate the bombs or whatever other damaging cards that were shuffled in and I can draw a useful card.
Bomb or Mech Hunter: Tracking is very handy for fishing for Leeroy, Venomizer, or any other necessary card that can be used to wipe the board or finish off the opponent.
Midrange Hunter: A good late game card to use when you're in need of the card you know is in there but hasn't surfaced. The later into the game you play your Tracking, the better your chances will be of finding what you're looking for and disregarding what you don't need because your deck is lower on cards. It isn't really for card draw anymore because of Master's Call, which is far better for that need to draw cards. This is why a lot of Midrange decks only have one copy of Tracking these days (or none at all).
Secret Hunter: Tracking is not useful for this deck, usually, if you have Subject 9, so it isn't usually included in the deck.
A lot ofplayers that don't have a lot of experience with Hunter or with Hearthstone often use Tracking when they're going first and have only 1 mana available, thinking that this is a good way to use a turn that would otherwise be passed without playing anything. This is usually not the best way to use Tracking. Tracking is much more powerful, in most situations, later in the game.
I hope this helps a little and good luck in getting your golden hero! I'm working on getting Rogue and Warrior golden portraits at the moment.
I don't think any strategy is completely reliable.
EACTLY! LOL It was enough to drive me insane! But, getting it finished was a great feeling even though a lot of it required some luck.
One thing that I'd feel bad about is if people sat down at the computer and just closed out the adventure if they didn't get "exactly whatever combo" for a potential OTK. It's probably more productive to press on with another strategyto see what happens.
I felt the same as OP, too. After I finished the whole thing I asked myself, "Do I really feel like repeating this all over again in heroic mode?" I still haven't bothered, but maybe one of the big challenges of Chapter 5 is to create a deck that works early on and also beats the "final four." The last three mages are outrageous, but they are very different from each other and you have change strategy with the same deck. The first of the four mages, or "Adventurer 8," which is usually the crazy secret mage, gives a time limit on taking your turn so you don't have an infinite amount of time to make decisions or use echoed cards over and over and sort of destroys any plans for using a combo or OTK kind of thing. That particular match also kind of forces you to have a deck of 30 cards or more because sometimes your only option is fatigue her.
So, anyway, I think the last chapter sort of showcases deck building and decision making. While you're selecting cards, going to the tavern to edit, and choosing treasures, the game has you thinking about the "final four" while also preparing for the randomized match-ups.
On one run in Chapter 5 I was very disappointed to get Wendy twice in a row and on another I was irritated because it threw Bae Chao at me twice in a row. You have to be ready for these kinds of curve balls while constantly building your deck for upcoming "monster mages."
Regarding the 0 mana Sound the Bells, I've managed to make this combo twice now. Obviously, barring taunt, Vaporize or Ice Block, it's a free win (although Rocket Boots makes taunt irrelevant). The first time, I actually lost because one boss cast Devour Mind and got a copy of my 0 mana Bells. When he started buffing his minion (I think it was a Mossy Horror), I was ready to quit, as that could literally go on forever, but he stopped at 14 attack. Weird. But I couldn't remove the Horror, so I died. Feelsbadman.
Second time was Heroic Chapter 4, and I took it all the way. Guaranteed wins are great and all, but damn, that was BORING. Dong dong dong dong dong...
However, I discovered something folks might find useful: Elistra the Immortal caps at 30. On Boss 3, I played her and jammed her all the way up to 110 attack just so I'd be able to play her later and kill Khadgar (who has 110 health at the end of Chapter 5). I did play her in the next fight, and she only cast Bells 30 times. Should still be enough in most scenarios.
It isn't reliable. You got lucky. Twice. Which is totally possible. It is also possible for me to not get so lucky. You can have a bad run with it, trust me, because I did, like three times before I just looked for a better alternative. Even if you get the combo available to you it's possible you won't draw it, for example. That happened to me. Also, you can't rely on the tavern offering you the ability to reduce it to zero, which also happened to me. Also, you can't rely on the card being worth 0 another way, which I also attempted with Emerald Goggles. I would ask you to pull off the combo 50 times in a row and then tell us all how it works so well and so reliably. I'm living proof that you can do it with Paladin George without this OTK that relies on A) visiting the tavern and having the card that allows you to reduce a spell by 2 or a random card to 0 B) if you get the option to reduce the spell by 2, that Sound the Bells is in the selection of four so you can reduce its cost C) if in the case of reducing a random card to 0, that the random card that is selected is actually Sound the Bells. THEN, once you're lucky to have all that Tavern mojo happening, you have to draw the darn card before you die, on all levels and also you have to hope you don't get Norroa on phase 8, an encounter in which the turns are timed. You don't have time to buff a minion over and over to pull it off, if you actually draw the darn card.
I actually managed to pull the OTK Sound the Bells all the way to Archmage Vargoth on Friday. That was where my adventure ended because I was unlucky. I didn't draw Sound the Bells before I died. So, it isn't a good strategy, IMHO, it's really a crap shoot. I really tried to make it work and it didn't, so I went for a different strategy that worked for me.
OK, so finally today with my morning coffee I finished Chapter 5 on normal mode. I used Paladin. The treasures I took were "Robes of Gaudiness," "A Prince's Ring" (this one gives you a random Death Knight hero power). I also took a "Big Boomba" to clear the board and I was lucky to get "EVIL Propaganda" twice (this one steals your opponent's minions). I constructed my deck with a couple secrets, gave my "Annoy-o-Tron" +2/2 in the tavern, and included a modest dragon package which included Dragon Speaker to buff them as well as the card that death rattles into two 4/4 dragons. Versus Vargoth my hero power was the Priest Death Knight's, which allows you to deal 2 damage to anything and refreshes when you play a card. Versus Archmage Kalec I got the Bloodreaver power, which deals 3 damage with lifesteal, and versus Khadgar I got the priest one again. I felt for sure with Khadgar I was going to die, considering my hero power seemed kind of lame and my starting health was lower, but I just kept wiping out his elementals that copy spells and I stole his minions every time he built a full board. I also think my legendary minion that reduces all opponent's minions' attack value 1 sealed the deal for me in the late game. Essentially, I used a lot of control methods to wear out Khadgar and he died overdrawing his deck with Aluneth.
So, with the Paladin class you don't necessarily need to use that "Sound the Bells" OTK method. It's totally unreliable, anyway, because often you can't pull it off with the right options in the Tavern with Bartender Bob and it's a totally useless strategy when facing Norroa, which limits turn times. You don't have time to buff a minion that much against her and if you keep your deck low on cards as a strategy for the OTK Norroa will kill you.
I think there are probably many other ways to finish Chapter 5, but if anyone else gets the same options as me, I think I chose wisely! Also, now that I've finished it, I feel like I've improved my skills for building decks, which is a nice addition to the Golden Pack!
I like this idea! I think it would be a great incentive to get people to play solo adventures and find a new connection between their collection and the adventures -- not like the older way of doing adventures in exchange for card rewards but still having an impact on the collection. For a lot of people, like me, it would be fun because then I'd have to sit down and think about what card I would want to have as a golden legendary. I'm one of those players that isn't so much into the cosmetics of the game, but tying it to an adventure would get me enthusiastic about golden cards. Oddly, I wouldn't dust my golden legendary, either, because it would have a special place in my collection.
OP should write a letter to Blizzard suggesting this idea and see what they think.
My best experiences with shaman were playing big shaman, but you're heavily reliant on getting the right treasures to support that, EG robes of gaudiness or Scepter of Summoning. If you pick the deck with Whirling Zap-o-matic you can also go super-aggressive if you get the right treasures (banana split!) and tavern buffs, although the efficacy of the early rush wears off around the fifth or sixth encounter. Battlecry shaman is a ton of fun. Refresh is a great hero power but really messes with your curve if you don't pay attention. Hardly ever worth using on turn 1, for example.
If you're super lucky with priest you can get the Elistra the Immortal + Right hand man + gang's all here dream, but realistically you're stuck playing some form of big priest. The alt hero powers are super underwhelming, but the big stuff buckets are pretty solid.
Rogue has two decent hero powers in Yoink! and Cut-less, but the card pools are pretty iffy. The pirates and weapons stuff is mostly junk IMO.
Tier Bleh is Warlock and Warrior
Warlock has some truly terrible buckets like sacrifice, discard and healing/lifesteal. The top end picks aren't terribly impressive as many of WL's larger minions are discount-demons with some huge drawback. Double battlecry is downright harmful and premium deathrattles are pretty scarce as well.On top of that the hero powers aren't spectacular either. You'll probably do fine with a captured flag zoo/swarm build but boy am I thoroughly unimpressed by Warlock so far.
Warrior's themes are likewise pretty atrocious, like masochistic minions or taunts. The hero powers aren't good either. I've tried everything to make bomb warrior work in act three, where it should be the most favoured due to the lack of space for minions, and even with good treasures(double hero power!) and solid control picks it still fell short for me every time I've tried. So far I've had the most success just going for the quest and ditching my hero power as soon as possible. That said Warrior's large minion pool isn't terrible.
I don't think it's possible to have tiers, but your experience trying out all the different heroes is really helpful! My only deal is that I actually finished Chapters 2, 3, and 4 on my first try using Shaman and I am a terrible Shaman player, so terrible in fact that until I tried it out on this adventure I had no interest in the class and mostly dusted things from that part of my collection if I desperately needed to craft something. Playing the Heist has made me interested more in Shaman. As far as Chapter 1 goes, I beat it with Mage, but on my second try. For Chapter 5 I've tried Hunter, Mage, Warlock, Paladin, and Rogue. Mostly I've been using Paladin, but I cannot for the life of me get the "Sound the Bells" spell reduced to 0 mana. Bartender Bob refuses to give me the option of reducing a spell by three. However, when I use other classes, Bob faithfully gives me the option to reduce spell costs. So, should I make a foil hat? LOL
I would say Tier 1 is Bartender Bob. He's got to be with you all the way so you can get your deck "just so" for the adventure.
Hello, any suggestions for Chapter 5 on normal ? Class, hero power, deck and picks ?
Considering what I've been reading on the rest of the internet and my own experience of repeatedly trying to beat chapter 5 on normal mode about 20 times without success, I'd say you probably just need better luck. Paladin is favored, but it's much easier if you can get "Sound the Bells" reduced to 0 mana cost. I haven't been lucky enough to do that but I've still gotten as far as the second archmage without a "special trick."
I've been able to finish the other chapters on the first or second try. This one is really reliant on having the right combination of stuff offered to you and for you to choose wisely when the "treasures" and cards are offered. I've found in most cases that whenever I take the Potion of Vitality treasure I do a lot better so I always try to get that one. A lot of people are saying that the "Robe of Gaudiness" is another one to choose whenever it comes up, but I have not been lucky enough to have that choice so far, after 20 times of going through this darn thing.
Basically, from what I can tell from my own attempts at trying to beat chapter 5, beating bosses 1 through 9 (or maybe 10, I don't know, Archmage Vargoth is really hard, too) mostly depends on player skill because I think they're pretty simple to defeat with lots of different things. Bosses 10 or 11 to 12 require skill and the right combination of treasures and cards and having that combination largely depends on randomness and decision making. The decision making part, of course, is very limited, given that you can only choose what is offered to you. So, if the good stuff isn't offered on your run or any of your runs, you're going to have trouble finishing it.
Other people might disagree with me, but mostly I think Chapter 5 is a lot like poking something with a stick to see what happens. I'll keep grinding it until I win, though, because I'm determined! I just hope I can beat this thing soon, because it's getting way too repetitive for my liking
Is it just me or is everyone and their mother playing hunter lately? I came back from a vacation with my family and all I get is mech hunters. How bad have these new changes been?
Hunter has become extremely popular and all of its archetypes are really strong again. If you tire of the ladder, be like me and waste your day trying to get lucky with the last chapter of the Dalaran Heist, where none of the "treasures" I needed were ever offered to me today after playing through the damn thing like 10 times. Double health? And hello, Bartender Bob, yoooohoooo, I need my spell reduced by three mana. I really don't need a Hogger or a Lorewalker Cho
It's OK, but it just seems to confirm to me that you really need luck on your side to finish this chapter! I have had to repeat the chapter a gazillion times and still can't finish it. And a lot of times Bob doesn't even offer you the opportunity to edit spells in your deck to reduce the cost of one of them. If you were always given the option to double your health this chapter would be so much easier to finish. Then of course, the boss with the limited time turns doesn't allow you to even use your 0 mana sounds the bell if you were lucky enough to get it down to 0 mana with Bartender Bob and then actually draw the darn thing. Oh well, I can always just spend all day tomorrow trying to finish this darn chapter, LOL!
It took me three tries to finally find someone cooperative and who understood what to do. I think I need to start making friends. With this game it's not so easy, though. Most people request friendship to cuss me out! Don't give up on trying to get the brawl won. It's pretty easy once you get someone on board who understands that the bigger minion needs to be buffed to become a bigger minion that survives. It also helps to work with someone who knows the three phases of the game to make sure that one big healthy minion is created.
My observation in beating pogo hopper rogue decks today is that it's a slow type of deck. If I have the right things, I can kill you before you get your pogo hoppers rolling. I have not lost to a single pogo hopper rogue today. I beat it with huntard (all the archetypes), token druid, tempo rogue (yes! it's a great deck after nerfs! think about this instead of pogo hopper obsessions?), shitty lackey rogue with spirit of the shark (what can I say, I got bored today), bomb warrior.
The deck needs some speed. Find a way to make your hoppers get hopping before turn 7 or so. Either that or transport yourselves to a pocket universe where big rogue has replaced big shaman. The buff to pogo hopper did nothing much for now, but I'm sure somebody will break the meta for an hour or two tomorrow with something killer sexy, all decked out with 20/20 pogo hoppers finishing off some bitches.
Today playing matches on ladder during most of my free time I have won 80 gold. At 3 wins per 10 gold, that means that I have won a total of 24 matches today.
I started playing the game today at rank 9. After winning 24 matches I am still at rank 9.
Congratulations! It takes a long time to get a hero golden. I've got three so far - Druid, Warlock, and Hunter. Right now I'm working on Warrior and Rogue.
Thank you so much for doing these guides. I'll let it slide that you forgot to mention that there would be some Warrior versus Warrior matches. LOL. Obviously, I'm totally joking around, because fortunately I could do something else while keeping the window with the live video running, you know how it was for me, I had a window where things were happening, and then a window where things were a little slow.
I too am very tired of the mechs. It was fun for a day. The only positive thing I can say about it is that it definitely shook things up and changed the types of decks I was facing. But I hear you. Mech everything is just over the top. Mech Druid, Mech This, Mech That, Mech, Mech Shmech. Too much of a good thing is too much. Is that a Mae West quote?
WOW. I'm all like, "I've had a long day, I think I'll have a glass of wine and play with some experimental decks in Casual mode." That was a HUGE disappointment. I basically wanted to try some crazy deck lists I've seen plus try a few of my own things. I was dead before I could figure anything out or develop anything! I think Casual mode needs to be renamed "Sudden Death Mode" LOL. I'm not really feeling salty, but I guess I'm whining.
So, I've had a long day, I think I'll have a glass of wine and play a relaxing game of Ranked Hearthstone.
How about: I conceded because I, the Rogue, couldn't do anything more against your Token Druid, and you won fair and square with your cheap Wal-mart deck, yet you cannot resist emoting "Thank you." I swear this thread exists because the majority of Hearthstone players are fake and say "oh, well, you're too salty on the forums" but at the same time they're intent on pissing people off and making them salty in the game with their stupid little emote and roping things so they can continue to criticize saltiness. It's like this big cycle they create. They try to irritate people, the irritated people express their irritation, and then the irritated people are criticized for being irritated.
Sometimes I forget to right-click to squelch but I always regret forgetting. This time I got distracted by my difficult mulligan decision and the resulting garbage returned to me for my starting hand. All the while, thinking through my plan, I forgot to squelch. So I conceded when I was a turn away from death. And I was thanked for losing.
I think I'm going to send a message to Blizzard suggesting a name change from "Hearthstone" to "The Explosively Venomous with Lifesteal Mech Hunter Game."
I totally agree with you and I don't think I've said anything that contradicts what you're saying. There are lots of examples in Hearthstone history to show that playing Tracking on turn 1 can be a really good idea. My hypothetical for Standard is a good example: you're facing a mage and it could be the type that drops a huge minion early. You can keep yourTracking in your mulligan plus any high-cost spell and use the Tracking card early, even on turn 1. This could also be true for when you suspect your opponent is going to be a control deck. Right now in Standard it's tough to mulligan when facing Shaman (Control? Murloc? Big), another Hunter (Secret? Mech? etc?), Rogue (Hooktusk?Chef Nomi? Pogo? Combo?), Mage (because "Tempo Mage" variants are suddenly returning because players have started to get the idea that they see a mage so it must be conjurer, so now a lot of mage decks start out looking like big spell or tempo and then build up a big board).
IMHO, one thing to learn from this thread is that it's never a mistake to throw the Tracking card back into the deck in the mulligan phase simply because there are a lot of times when you don't know what archetype you're facing and Tracking is in fact much more powerful later in the game in a lot of situations. Now, let's say you mulligan and after that you draw a Tracking. You read the game and decide an early Tracking play is a good idea. There you go. Beneficial early Tracking play.
When I say I think it's a mistake to play early is when it's just something a player does to spend the mana on turn 1. That's not a good play. You play a card when you think you have a plan. Just throwing a Tracking out there on turn 1 just because you have 1 mana is not really a well-thought-out play, don't you think
I agree with almost everything in favor of tracking that has been said in this thread except for that "Lethal 100% of the time" comment which I think was an attempt at sarcasm. I laughed a little, anyway, because if you've ever faced a Hunter using tracking late game and you're down on health you've probably held your breath a little!
In my attempt to be helpful, I'll share how I use it in my Hunter decks and the reason why I might not include it. Not including it has nothing to with discarding cards. As a lot of people have mentioned, you're not really discarding them because you haven't received them in your hand yet. The concept behind using it wisely is this: You don't need all the cards in your deck to win the match. You need the right cards. Tracking helps you get the right card when you need it.
Here is a list of how, when, and why I play tracking. I hope it helps the OP out in the quest for the Golden Rexxar (keep in mind I don't play in Wild format):
A lot ofplayers that don't have a lot of experience with Hunter or with Hearthstone often use Tracking when they're going first and have only 1 mana available, thinking that this is a good way to use a turn that would otherwise be passed without playing anything. This is usually not the best way to use Tracking. Tracking is much more powerful, in most situations, later in the game.
I hope this helps a little and good luck in getting your golden hero! I'm working on getting Rogue and Warrior golden portraits at the moment.
EACTLY! LOL It was enough to drive me insane! But, getting it finished was a great feeling even though a lot of it required some luck.
One thing that I'd feel bad about is if people sat down at the computer and just closed out the adventure if they didn't get "exactly whatever combo" for a potential OTK. It's probably more productive to press on with another strategyto see what happens.
I felt the same as OP, too. After I finished the whole thing I asked myself, "Do I really feel like repeating this all over again in heroic mode?" I still haven't bothered, but maybe one of the big challenges of Chapter 5 is to create a deck that works early on and also beats the "final four." The last three mages are outrageous, but they are very different from each other and you have change strategy with the same deck. The first of the four mages, or "Adventurer 8," which is usually the crazy secret mage, gives a time limit on taking your turn so you don't have an infinite amount of time to make decisions or use echoed cards over and over and sort of destroys any plans for using a combo or OTK kind of thing. That particular match also kind of forces you to have a deck of 30 cards or more because sometimes your only option is fatigue her.
So, anyway, I think the last chapter sort of showcases deck building and decision making. While you're selecting cards, going to the tavern to edit, and choosing treasures, the game has you thinking about the "final four" while also preparing for the randomized match-ups.
On one run in Chapter 5 I was very disappointed to get Wendy twice in a row and on another I was irritated because it threw Bae Chao at me twice in a row. You have to be ready for these kinds of curve balls while constantly building your deck for upcoming "monster mages."
It isn't reliable. You got lucky. Twice. Which is totally possible. It is also possible for me to not get so lucky. You can have a bad run with it, trust me, because I did, like three times before I just looked for a better alternative. Even if you get the combo available to you it's possible you won't draw it, for example. That happened to me. Also, you can't rely on the tavern offering you the ability to reduce it to zero, which also happened to me. Also, you can't rely on the card being worth 0 another way, which I also attempted with Emerald Goggles. I would ask you to pull off the combo 50 times in a row and then tell us all how it works so well and so reliably. I'm living proof that you can do it with Paladin George without this OTK that relies on A) visiting the tavern and having the card that allows you to reduce a spell by 2 or a random card to 0 B) if you get the option to reduce the spell by 2, that Sound the Bells is in the selection of four so you can reduce its cost C) if in the case of reducing a random card to 0, that the random card that is selected is actually Sound the Bells. THEN, once you're lucky to have all that Tavern mojo happening, you have to draw the darn card before you die, on all levels and also you have to hope you don't get Norroa on phase 8, an encounter in which the turns are timed. You don't have time to buff a minion over and over to pull it off, if you actually draw the darn card.
I actually managed to pull the OTK Sound the Bells all the way to Archmage Vargoth on Friday. That was where my adventure ended because I was unlucky. I didn't draw Sound the Bells before I died. So, it isn't a good strategy, IMHO, it's really a crap shoot. I really tried to make it work and it didn't, so I went for a different strategy that worked for me.
OK, so finally today with my morning coffee I finished Chapter 5 on normal mode. I used Paladin. The treasures I took were "Robes of Gaudiness," "A Prince's Ring" (this one gives you a random Death Knight hero power). I also took a "Big Boomba" to clear the board and I was lucky to get "EVIL Propaganda" twice (this one steals your opponent's minions). I constructed my deck with a couple secrets, gave my "Annoy-o-Tron" +2/2 in the tavern, and included a modest dragon package which included Dragon Speaker to buff them as well as the card that death rattles into two 4/4 dragons. Versus Vargoth my hero power was the Priest Death Knight's, which allows you to deal 2 damage to anything and refreshes when you play a card. Versus Archmage Kalec I got the Bloodreaver power, which deals 3 damage with lifesteal, and versus Khadgar I got the priest one again. I felt for sure with Khadgar I was going to die, considering my hero power seemed kind of lame and my starting health was lower, but I just kept wiping out his elementals that copy spells and I stole his minions every time he built a full board. I also think my legendary minion that reduces all opponent's minions' attack value 1 sealed the deal for me in the late game. Essentially, I used a lot of control methods to wear out Khadgar and he died overdrawing his deck with Aluneth.
So, with the Paladin class you don't necessarily need to use that "Sound the Bells" OTK method. It's totally unreliable, anyway, because often you can't pull it off with the right options in the Tavern with Bartender Bob and it's a totally useless strategy when facing Norroa, which limits turn times. You don't have time to buff a minion that much against her and if you keep your deck low on cards as a strategy for the OTK Norroa will kill you.
I think there are probably many other ways to finish Chapter 5, but if anyone else gets the same options as me, I think I chose wisely! Also, now that I've finished it, I feel like I've improved my skills for building decks, which is a nice addition to the Golden Pack!
I like this idea! I think it would be a great incentive to get people to play solo adventures and find a new connection between their collection and the adventures -- not like the older way of doing adventures in exchange for card rewards but still having an impact on the collection. For a lot of people, like me, it would be fun because then I'd have to sit down and think about what card I would want to have as a golden legendary. I'm one of those players that isn't so much into the cosmetics of the game, but tying it to an adventure would get me enthusiastic about golden cards. Oddly, I wouldn't dust my golden legendary, either, because it would have a special place in my collection.
OP should write a letter to Blizzard suggesting this idea and see what they think.
I don't think it's possible to have tiers, but your experience trying out all the different heroes is really helpful! My only deal is that I actually finished Chapters 2, 3, and 4 on my first try using Shaman and I am a terrible Shaman player, so terrible in fact that until I tried it out on this adventure I had no interest in the class and mostly dusted things from that part of my collection if I desperately needed to craft something. Playing the Heist has made me interested more in Shaman. As far as Chapter 1 goes, I beat it with Mage, but on my second try. For Chapter 5 I've tried Hunter, Mage, Warlock, Paladin, and Rogue. Mostly I've been using Paladin, but I cannot for the life of me get the "Sound the Bells" spell reduced to 0 mana. Bartender Bob refuses to give me the option of reducing a spell by three. However, when I use other classes, Bob faithfully gives me the option to reduce spell costs. So, should I make a foil hat? LOL
I would say Tier 1 is Bartender Bob. He's got to be with you all the way so you can get your deck "just so" for the adventure.
Considering what I've been reading on the rest of the internet and my own experience of repeatedly trying to beat chapter 5 on normal mode about 20 times without success, I'd say you probably just need better luck. Paladin is favored, but it's much easier if you can get "Sound the Bells" reduced to 0 mana cost. I haven't been lucky enough to do that but I've still gotten as far as the second archmage without a "special trick."
I've been able to finish the other chapters on the first or second try. This one is really reliant on having the right combination of stuff offered to you and for you to choose wisely when the "treasures" and cards are offered. I've found in most cases that whenever I take the Potion of Vitality treasure I do a lot better so I always try to get that one. A lot of people are saying that the "Robe of Gaudiness" is another one to choose whenever it comes up, but I have not been lucky enough to have that choice so far, after 20 times of going through this darn thing.
Basically, from what I can tell from my own attempts at trying to beat chapter 5, beating bosses 1 through 9 (or maybe 10, I don't know, Archmage Vargoth is really hard, too) mostly depends on player skill because I think they're pretty simple to defeat with lots of different things. Bosses 10 or 11 to 12 require skill and the right combination of treasures and cards and having that combination largely depends on randomness and decision making. The decision making part, of course, is very limited, given that you can only choose what is offered to you. So, if the good stuff isn't offered on your run or any of your runs, you're going to have trouble finishing it.
Other people might disagree with me, but mostly I think Chapter 5 is a lot like poking something with a stick to see what happens. I'll keep grinding it until I win, though, because I'm determined! I just hope I can beat this thing soon, because it's getting way too repetitive for my liking
Hunter has become extremely popular and all of its archetypes are really strong again. If you tire of the ladder, be like me and waste your day trying to get lucky with the last chapter of the Dalaran Heist, where none of the "treasures" I needed were ever offered to me today after playing through the damn thing like 10 times. Double health? And hello, Bartender Bob, yoooohoooo, I need my spell reduced by three mana. I really don't need a Hogger or a Lorewalker Cho
It's OK, but it just seems to confirm to me that you really need luck on your side to finish this chapter! I have had to repeat the chapter a gazillion times and still can't finish it. And a lot of times Bob doesn't even offer you the opportunity to edit spells in your deck to reduce the cost of one of them. If you were always given the option to double your health this chapter would be so much easier to finish. Then of course, the boss with the limited time turns doesn't allow you to even use your 0 mana sounds the bell if you were lucky enough to get it down to 0 mana with Bartender Bob and then actually draw the darn thing. Oh well, I can always just spend all day tomorrow trying to finish this darn chapter, LOL!
It took me three tries to finally find someone cooperative and who understood what to do. I think I need to start making friends. With this game it's not so easy, though. Most people request friendship to cuss me out! Don't give up on trying to get the brawl won. It's pretty easy once you get someone on board who understands that the bigger minion needs to be buffed to become a bigger minion that survives. It also helps to work with someone who knows the three phases of the game to make sure that one big healthy minion is created.
My observation in beating pogo hopper rogue decks today is that it's a slow type of deck. If I have the right things, I can kill you before you get your pogo hoppers rolling. I have not lost to a single pogo hopper rogue today. I beat it with huntard (all the archetypes), token druid, tempo rogue (yes! it's a great deck after nerfs! think about this instead of pogo hopper obsessions?), shitty lackey rogue with spirit of the shark (what can I say, I got bored today), bomb warrior.
The deck needs some speed. Find a way to make your hoppers get hopping before turn 7 or so. Either that or transport yourselves to a pocket universe where big rogue has replaced big shaman. The buff to pogo hopper did nothing much for now, but I'm sure somebody will break the meta for an hour or two tomorrow with something killer sexy, all decked out with 20/20 pogo hoppers finishing off some bitches.
Today playing matches on ladder during most of my free time I have won 80 gold. At 3 wins per 10 gold, that means that I have won a total of 24 matches today.
I started playing the game today at rank 9. After winning 24 matches I am still at rank 9.
Didn't get a measly bonus star.