It has been more than six years since Hearthstone first released, and it appears that Blizzard is actively seeking new ways to engage with casual and premium users. Outof.cards has recently reported that Blizzard has sent some players a survey asking for their thoughts on a battle pass that would replace the current system of daily quests, achievements, and winning three games.
A Battle Pass Per Expansion
Like clockwork, Blizzard is sure to release a brand-new expansion every four months, and a battle pass would last just as long. Like many other games, Blizzard would incorporate both a free and premium reward track from levels 1-100, and then an additional 50 levels that awards gold to be spent in game.
According to the survey, the rewards would be largely split among the newest and prior card packs, upgradable hero skins, arena tickets, random cards of different rarities, alternative art for the coin, and we assume other cards later on, gold, an expansion card back, and finally an experience boost for faster track progression.
So far, so good. At least in this concept for a battle pass there are, at first glance, no cards locked behind a battle pass, unlike the recent Galakrond’s Awakening adventure that gated several important cards behind purchase. You can check out what to expect here.
On the surface, a battle pass organized in this way would be fairly easy to level up for both casual and more dedicated players, with the majority of the rewards unlocked by level 50, but with enough rewards afterwards to keep users busy all the way through an expansion.
Comparing The Current System
Right now, calculating the amount of gold that a player earns each expansion is fairly simple, but it also assumes that they play at least often enough to complete their daily quests without missing any due to inactivity. With an average daily quest reward of around 55 gold and 120-day expansions, a casual player should earn 6,600 gold.
Although there are also events that offer more gold from time to time, and 10 gold awarded per three victories, it is difficult to properly estimate how much can be earned, so let us assume that a player wins a single match per day, earning an addition 400 gold during an expansion, and 7,000 total.
According to this proposed battle pass, a player would earn roughly 3,990 by completing levels 1-100, and an additional 1,250 by reaching level 150. In addition, they would receive several cards, 35 packs of the latest expansion, and 28 packs for the previous expansion.
The real question then is whether one values gold for purchasing new packs, or simply acquiring any cards for their dust value to craft. Ultimately, this will be a matter of preference, but forcing all players down one route instead of allowing them to choose is not likely to be a popular move.
A Battle Pass With Cosmetics Might Be Attractive
Although the survey is merely a first exploratory step towards becoming implemented in Hearthstone, the success of battle passes in so many other games cannot be denied and must look quite appealing to Blizzard.
The best battle passes, like those seen in Fortnite or Dauntless, offer players access to great looking cosmetic items that players often place great value in despite offering zero competitive advantage. While the amount of gold and the types of packs earned may not be ideal, the inclusion of a new hero skin (from an unknown pool) in the free track and two upgradable hero skins with three levels each in the premium track may be more than enough to win most players over.
Recently, new hero skins have mainly been locked behind the most expensive expansion bundles, making them a frustrating cosmetic that is acquired only by few. Even limited-timed event cosmetics like Tyrande Whisperwind and Nemsy Necrofizzle were time gated for years until they were made publicly available to players after an initial period.
With Hearthstone now in its sixth year, it comes as no surprise to see Blizzard exploring a new way to keep players invested, and a battle pass constructed in this way might be the ideal solution, perhaps not for all players, but for most.
With that said, the current cost of maintaining a Hearthstone account is already as high as it has been since launch, and the price of a premium track for a battle pass would need to be modest, as it does not seem reasonable to expect players to fork over money for pre-order bundles, three times per year, along with gold or money for adventures, and now potentially one more expense.
Source: outof.cards
NEXT: Epic Games Now Worth $17.8 Billion, Proving Exclusivity Signing Did Not Hamper Growth
