Is it worth playing Hearthstone in 2022?

To start the year, I bring a targeted guide for both newbies and old players who left Hearthstone, is it worth getting back into the game this year? Check out the news!

If you're a new player or haven't logged into Hearthstone during the last 120 days, you'll get a Free Deck of the class of your choice (for new players, the Deck will be delivered after completing the introductory missions and go through early levels in Ranked mode).

These decks are updated over the months, and some of them are considered competitive. It's also worth saying that you can disenchant the deck's Cards to get the so valuable Arcane Dust, whatever you choose.

Later on, I'll bring an updated guide of each free deck, so you can make the best choice as possible on how to use them.

The Tavern Pass arrived at the end of 2020 to be the newest rewards system in the game, replacing the daily quests that rewarded us an average of 60 Gold. The Tavern Pass evolves through experience, this experience is gained through missions (daily and weekly), in addition to the games you play (regardless of mode).

Did you see the difference? Formerly, we only had the Arena and a daily quest as a source of Gold. Today we have the same Arena, the same daily quest, plus 3 weekly quests and matches that also grant experience, so just play a lot to earn a lot of Gold.

There is no experience limit per day, you can play freely to advance your pass!

Rewards:

Let's get to the good part, the rewards! Based on the current Free Tavern Pass (Fractured in Alterac Valley), briefly the rewards are as follows: 2 Random Legendary Cards (from the latest expansion), 1 Random Epic Card, Packs (Standard and the latest expansion), several Uncraftable Cards (including a Legendary), Tavern Tickets, Card Verses and lots of Gold. Plus, you'll be able to choose 1 out of 10 hero skins by completing the rewards trail.

When you complete the rewards trail, you'll still have hundreds of extra levels that give you 50 Gold each.

Along with the Tavern Pass also came the Achievements, which serve to remember your greatest achievements in Hearthstone, and accumulate Conquest Points. They are separated into various areas, such as collection, adventures, game modes and more. Some achievements also provide Uncraftable cards or XP (for the Tavern Pass).

Packs' Reformulation:

On March 26, 2020, Blizzard made significant changes to the Hearthstone Packs! They will not give you more than two copies of a same Card, which you would not be able to use. For example, you will only get a third copy of a Card (for any rarities) after you've already gotten at least two copies of all the other Cards of its respective rarity, helping players Free to Play players a lot, as they don't get many packs per expansion.

Mini-sets:

Mini-Sets are one of the biggest new additions to the game, they come in the middle of an expansion as its add-on. They sell for 2,000 Gold with 35 unique cards, the last Miniset (from United in Stormwind) offered 4 Legendary Cards (x1), 1 Epic Card (x2), 14 Rare Cards (x2) and 16 Common Cards (x2).

It's definitely worth purchasing all Mini-Sets, as for just 2,000 Gold (an equivalent to 20 packs) you can get 4 Legendary Cards instantly. A Legendary Card on average is found by opening 20 packs (totaling the same 2,000 in Gold), but you still have to rely on luck. Just do the math and realize how good a Mini-set is.

Over the years, three game modes have been added to Hearthstone, I'll talk a bit about each of them.

Battlegrounds:

The most popular moe in Hearthstone, Battlegrounds arrived at our dear tavern in 2019, as the newest Autochess of the moment. In this mode, the player selects a Hero (with a Hero Power), and manages a table of minions to battle 7 other players! Battles are done automatically, but there is a whole strategy behind to win them.

Hearthstone also makes Battlegrounds Benefits available in its store (sold for Gold or real money), giving you 2 more Heroes at the start of the game, as well as early access to new heroes, emotes and statistics. These benefits last until the end of the current expansion.

Duels

In late 2020, Blizzard announced and launched Duels mode! Here, the player chooses a Hero, a Hero Power and a Treasure, then assembles a deck of 15 Cards (referring to the chosen class) and goes into battle.

At the end of each combat, you'll gain more life, and the game gives you three options of Card sets (in some cases Treasures) to strengthen your deck. Make the best picks to perform great combos with your deck, if you lose 3 times, you're out!

This mode brought its Casual version, which is free, but has no rewards, but also its Heroic version, which works like the Arena, where to enter you must pay an amount of 150 Gold (or use a Tavern Ticket) and receive rewards based on your victory number.

Mercenaries

Mercenaries arrived in October 2021 and was one of the biggest releases for the community, making the game reach amazing numbers on sites like Twitch during its premier. This mode consists of putting together a team of 6 Mercenaries and facing your opponent, each Mercenary has three unique abilities, so abuse this to create unexpected combos against your enemy!

In this mode, there are weaknesses among Mercenaries, just like in Pokémon.

In Mercenaries, there are contracts, which are in "dungeon" formats and give you rewards upon completion. It also has the Fighting Pit where PvP battles take place, the player will receive instant rewards upon reaching a certain rank in the Fighting Pit before the end of each season.

Book of Heroes:

In mid 2020, the Book of Heroes appeared, initially only with Jaina, however, over the months the Books of all 10 Heroes were released.

These Books tell the characters' past through narrative quests in Adventure mode. Each Hero contains 8 quests in their Book (totaling 80 quests). For each completed adventure, you will receive a Class Exclusive Pack, containing only Standard Mode Cards for the Class played (totaling 10 packs).

Book of Mercenaries:

During the Year of the Griffin (2021), the Mercenaries came to the game, and along with them their respective Books. Each Mercenary has a specific class, check out all Mercenaries in Hearthstone:

Kurtrus Ashfallen (Demon Hunter)

Guff Runetotem (Druid)

Tavish Stormpike (Hunter)

Varden Dawngrasp (Mage)

Cariel Roame (Paladin)

Xyrella (Priest)

Scabbs Cutterbutter (Rogue)

Bru'kan (Shaman)

Tamsin Roame (Warlock)

Rokara (Warrior)

The Book of Mercenaries follows the same line as the Book of Heroes, each Mercenary will have 8 missions showcasing their past, and at the end, you'll get another Exclusive Pack for the class played (totaling more 10 packs).

Finally, let's answer the question that generated this article. Is it worth playing Hearthstone in 2022? To me, yes, a lot! The game is extremely fun, with many game modes, and it's also got a much healthier rewards scheme. With the Free Deck and the change in Packs, newcomers will not have to suffer to get a good collection.

Achievements gave Hearthstone a new lease of life, motivating everyone to challenge themselves. Books of Heroes and Mercenaries add up to 160 quests that reward you with 20 packs, bringing stories, fun and rewards in one place. Not to mention the Tavern Pass that makes the game more dynamic by not just locking you into a daily mission.

That's it for today! Any questions or suggestions, I'm open for comments!