Is Hearthstone pay to win? Of course not. What a ‘loaded’ question that is impossible to answer in a single, minute answer. It is almost a philosophical question, challenging the nature and ethics of Hearthstone’s design.
The Nature of the Meta
The fan-fabulous Leeroy with UTH
If we level with the fact that Hearthstone is a CCG (collectible card game), then it must be understood that a monetary investment, to some degree, is required to be “successful” at the game. Even outside the digital world, it is difficult for any player to pick up a starting pack of cards and win, successively, at said cards’ game.
Card games are a slave to their meta, which the players dictate through trending card combinations. To play with the trend or against the trend requires specific cards a player may or may not have. Playing competitively without trending/anti-trending cards means a player is at a disadvantage–more so if they do not even own the cards. Obviously, in a non-digital setting, a player will have to either trade or purchase that cards required to participate in the meta, which is the only way to remain competitive. The other option is to abstain from the meta, playing casually and most likely with a smaller pool of cards.
Hearthstone challenges these card game norms to a certain extent, and it also opens up new pathways for player participation. On the one hand, players can play competitively in ranked play, and on the other they can remain competitive in the Arena (a draft game mode). For a player to succeed in ranked play, a certain amount will probably need to be spent in-game to acquire packs, or they will have to grind Hearthstone’s quests to accumulate the in-game currency, gold, to purchase packs.
Even though Hearthstone bars players from trading cards and borrowing cards, it is possible for players to earn in-game currency and purchase packs. On the other hand, players can play in the arena, enabling them to play competitively at a level playing field with all players, excluding skill as a factor.
Thus, it may be more accurate to claim that Hearthstone is pay to win in ranked play, but not Arena (excluding the fact that it requires gold or real money to enter into the arena).
How does skill factor into the “Pay to Win” formula?
Though Hearthstone suffers, I believe, from design flaws–specifically the RNG (random number generator) factor–skill is a major determining aspect in who wins a match. Every card played or not played in a match is a matter of choice. As far as I am aware, outside of what combos are trending in the meta, there exists no winning algorithms, or standard to which all players have access to that would make buying the cards the ultimate means of winning.
Some players have spent an exorbitant amount of money attaining the cards only to consistently lose, never rising the ladder in ranked play (I am a prime example of this). Also, some players have spent little to nothing in Hearthstone who have risen the ladder. From this, we must derive the question, to what extent does skill impact the potentiability of winning versus the amount of money spent on the game.
What is Winning?
Obviously, the phenomenon of winning is beating another player, but I would like to challenge the privilege of winning. Winning cannot be the only factor that determines a players enjoyment of the game because not all players can be “winners”. In a match, it is a fifty percent chance that a player will be a winner, and, vice-versa, a loser. Not to mention, by the nature of the games ranking system, not all players can be the legendary rank.
It’s obvious Milhouse is first pick
In a loose sense of the word, all players can be considered “winners” simply by advancing in rank, improving their win-to-loss ratio in Arena, and maybe even after discovering new card combos.
In addition, and this is the most important consideration, it does not cost money to advance in rank. There are no monetary blockades or requirements prohibiting players who do not spend money from enjoying the competitive aspect of the game. Aside from the cards and arena entrance fee, there are no other methods of attaining an edge over other players that isn’t also offered to players who do not pay. In fact, Hearthstone, compared to many other Free to Play games, is easy-going in terms of what it attempts to sell to other players.
Mirror Matches are Marvellous
Closing Thoughts:
True, the cost for a pack of cards is steep at one-hundred gold. Even steeper, the accumulation of gold is slow once your single daily quest is completed. But this simple fact remains: skill is privileged over card advantage. One player may have attained all the cards before even playing one game, but possessing the awesome legendaries does not guarantee any player a win.
Further, a player does not need to possess all the cards. All that is required is an aspiring Legendary Rank player to net deck a “powerful” deck and disenchant the cards not required to build said deck.
In the end, Hearthstone isn’t a Pay to Win game as many players suggest. Such an accusation serves only to create a myth about Hearthstone. My guess is that unskilled players are in a state of delirious denial about their own card playing talents. Instead of coming to terms with the learning curve of the game, they project their faults onto the game’s nature instead. What sets Hearthstone apart from many other video games is it requires mental feats rather than hand-eye coordination or deconstructing the mechanics of a level or map.
To “win” consistently at Hearthstone requires mental patience, a keen eye for potential combos, anticipating what card your opponent will play, the memorizing of key class cards, and creative problem solving. Even the “easy” decks such as Zoo or Hunter Rush requires a level of perception in both the the present and future turns. You will not get away with simply playing cards on the field. It is how you use them