Hearthstone [PC, Mac, Windows/Android tablets, iPad]

[Jorge-Vieira]

Hearthstone – Blackrock Mountain Adventure adds New Content

Pax East 2015, multiple companies and publishers are demoing their upcoming titles. Blizzard is one of the many publishers present at the event, and had a new piece of content to reveal for their immensely popular card game Hearthstone, titled ‘Blackrock Mountain Adventure.’

http://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Hearthstone.jpg (http://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Hearthstone.jpg)

Blackrock Mountain is a Hearthstone adventure that will test your skills like never before.


New Cards: Blackrock Mountain contains 5 wings populated by a slew of fiendishly clever bosses, each with their own hero power and unique new cards. When you defeat a boss for the first time, you will earn two copies of a brand-new card for your collection!
Legendary: When you clear a wing for the first time, you will be rewarded with that wing’s legendary card – for example, the cruel leader of the mountain’s orcish inhabitants: Rend Blackhand!
Class Challenges: On top of the regular bosses, Blackrock Mountain also includes nine all-new class challenges. Class challenges pit you against a specific boss using a custom, pre-set deck designed to test your skill with the class in question. Succeed, and two copies of a new class card are yours.
New Game Board: SO SHINY!
Dragons: As one would expect, Blackrock Mountain is home to a variety of dragons. Prepare to see a lot more of these scaly, fire-breathing, adventurer-crunching creatures as you brave the mountain!
Orcs, Dwarves, and Elementals, Oh My: Aside from dragons, there are plenty of other minions fighting on either side of the conflict: Dark Iron dwarves, fiery elementals, and the Blackrock orcs (who already had that name before it was cool).
Heroic Mode: If you like a challenge, you can try taking on the Heroic Mode version of any mission that you’ve cleared. This extra-difficult game mode is designed for players who don’t mind taking on ridiculously unfair and overpowered opponents. Bring your best deck and plenty of patience. You’ll need it!


Blackrock Mountain Adventure will bring 32 new cards to Hearthstone and 17 new boss Blizzard revealed that the new Adventure will put players into the middle of an conflict between clashing forces fighting to control the mountain, with new minions an enemies to face.. There are also 32 new cards being added to the game. Seventeen new bosses will be added across five wings, with each wing being released over the course of five weeks.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jsH9w5HW-9w


Blizzard also detailed the upcoming Hearthstone Android and Iphone versions which are confirmed to release in the next couple of months.
The Blackrock mountain Adventure will release in April, for PC, Mac, Windows/Android tablets, and iPad. It could cost 700 in-game gold per wing, or$6.99 per wing. The entire Adventure can be purchased for $24.99. Pre-orders will begin on March 19th.

Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/hearthstone-blackrock-mountain-adventure-adds-conte/

[MAXLD]

Porreiro, a anterior "adventure" Naxxramas trouxe muito boas cartas que continuam hoje fundamentais em muitos decks, quer em Arena quer em "constructed". Sludge Belcher, Undertaker, Mad Scientist, Zombie Chow, Loatheb, Nerubian Egg, Haunted Creeper...

Venham de lá mais umas poucas para diversificar a meta. :)

[Jorge-Vieira]

Hearthstone has finally arrived for smartphones (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/apps-software/matthew-wilson/hearthstone-has-finally-arrived-for-smartphones/)


After months of waiting and long after the game’s release on tablets and PC, Hearthstone is finally available for smartphones. Blizzard’s addictive card game opened up to Android and iOS smartphones last night, with a redesigned user interface to scale perfectly with screens of all sizes.
The free to play card game debuted on the PC back in 2013, since then, millions of players have dug in, buying card packs, completing arena runs and building experimental decks. The game currently has one big card expansion available, focusing on Goblins and Gnomes, along with two adventure modes, titled: ‘The Curse of Naxxramus’ and ‘Blackrock Mountain’.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/screen520x924.jpeg (http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/screen520x924.jpeg)
Since Hearthstone is tied to your Blizzard account, your progress, card collection and saved decks carry over between devices. Once you complete a game on a smartphone, you will get one free card pack from the classic collection.
There are some notable differences for the phone version, the main menu has been rearranged to make using smaller screens easier. Additionally, once in a game, the cards in your hand are pushed off to the side of the screen, you then tap on your hand to bring it up for a closer look and to play cards.
You can find Hearthstone in the Google Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blizzard.wtcg.hearthstone&hl=en) as well as the iOS App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/hearthstone-heroes-warcraft/id625257520?mt=8).



Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/apps-software/matthew-wilson/hearthstone-has-finally-arrived-for-smartphones/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Hearthstone is getting a new game mode (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hearthstone-is-getting-a-new-game-mode/)


Blizzard is updating Hearthstone once again, this time with a new game mode. Today, the developer announced its new mode ‘Tavern Brawl’, which changes up the game in a couple of ways. The game mode will be opening up to those who have a hero character above level 20 some time within the next week or so.
Each Tavern Brawl event will feature different rule sets, instructing you on what sort of deck to build or offering buffs to specific cards. Unlike the Arena mode, tavern brawls will be free to enter, although you can’t constantly play it, there will be a rest timer between entries.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/E0A0CRPSD7WK1433786945619-e1433958001769.jpg (http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/E0A0CRPSD7WK1433786945619-e1433958001769.jpg)
The game mode will be introduced in an upcoming patch for Hearthstone, building on what was already a very good card game. Currently, it doesn’t look like there are any prizes for winning a Tavern Brawl match, though we do know that rule sets will be switched out on a weekly basis to keep things fresh.
Gimmick decks have become a pretty popular way to play Hearthstone in recent months so it looks like Blizzard is attempting to capitalise on that and make it a staple of the base game.



Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/hearthstone-is-getting-a-new-game-mode/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Hearthstone’s Grand Tournament expansion coming in August (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/hearthstones-grand-tournament-expansion-coming-in-august/)


Although it doesn’t seem that long ago since Blizzard released the last expansion for its collectible card game, Hearthstone, clearly it’s been long enough, as the next one is on the way soon. It’s called The Grand Tournament and will add a number of new cards to the game, as well as a new board and a new ability called ‘Inspire’, which triggers when you use your hero power.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/grandtournament.jpg
(http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/grandtournament.jpg)What a moustache
Indeed a lot of the new cards will focus on the use of the player’s hero power. While we don’t know what all of them are about just yet – there are said to be 130 new ones – the ones revealed so far do have text that improves the hero power, or makes it possible to use it multiple times in a single turn.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cards.jpg (http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cards.jpg)
Individually they aren’t enormously powerful, but there is the potential for some incredibly synergy with some of these cards if players are able to get a couple of them on the board at the same time.

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As usual, this expansion will be available to purchase with in-game gold if you have enough, or real money if you don’t, as per Kotaku (http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/07/22/blizzard-announces-new-hearthstone-expansion).



Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/hearthstones-grand-tournament-expansion-coming-in-august/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Blizzard said to be making $20 million a month from Hearthstone (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/blizzard-said-to-be-making-20-million-a-month-from-hearthstone/)


Blizzard has, for many years, enjoyed a steady income from World of Warcraft, with its millions of monthly subscribers netting it tens of millions of dollars a month since it was released back in the mid ‘oos. However with subscriber numbers dwindling to their lowest since the game’s early days, WoW isn’t the dominant force it once was. Perhaps then, Hearthstone can pick up the slack, as one research firm believes it’s earning the publishing giant around $20 million a month.
If SuperData (https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/digital-card-games/) (via PCGN (http://www.pcgamesn.com/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/hearthstone-makes-blizzard-20-million-a-month-according-to-research-company)) is indeed correct, this makes the game more lucrative than industry giants like DotA 2, though not as much as the still dominant League of Legends, which is said to earn Riot more than $100 million a month with its giant user base. Like those games too Hearthstone is free, so Blizzard makes that big stack of change just from optional purchases alone.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/hearthstone.jpg
(http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/hearthstone.jpg)Hearthstone’s aesthetic, interface and non-trading system makes it much easier for new players to dive in and play
“Hearthstone has heightened consumer expectations for digital card games,” the report reads. “Publishers now need to account for the fact that Hearthstone is many players’ entry point to the genre. These players expect CCGs to let them play across devices and be easy to learn yet tactically deep.”
It also highlighted that other developers have started to take notice, making their games much more accessible across multiple devices, with much better tool tips and hints to get players started.
We also learned that digital card gaming has now eclipsed that of physical, real-world card games like Pokemon and Magic the Gathering. While there are just over 20 million worldwide physical card players, there are now more than 30 million digital ones.



Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/blizzard-said-to-be-making-20-million-a-month-from-hearthstone/


Mais um jogo que rende milhões....

[Jorge-Vieira]

The next Hearthstone expansion arrives next week (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-next-hearthstone-expansion-arrives-next-week/)


Hearthstone players are about to get another influx of new cards next week as Blizzard’s next big expansion, The Grand Tournament, is set to release. The second card expansion will add an additional 132 cards to the game, bringing along two new gameplay mechanics to boot.
One of the new mechanics is Joust, which forces both players to show a card in their deck, the person with the stronger revealed card gains an advantage in some form. The second new mechanic is ‘Inspire’ which buffs minions every time you use a hero power.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/1439767528-3608-card-communaute.jpg (http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/1439767528-3608-card-communaute.jpg)
The Grand Tournament is the second major card expansion to Blizzard’s free to play game. The first expansion was Goblins VS Gnomes and added in a similar amount of cards to the game. Aside from these expansions, Blizzard also provides small boosts to the card count with mini-campaigns like the Curse of Naxxramus and Blackrock Mountain.
Ahead of The Grand Tournament’s release on the 24th of August, Blizzard will be releasing Hearthstone 3.0, a new update which allows players to take a look at all of the upcoming cards and try out the new game board.



Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/the-next-hearthstone-expansion-arrives-next-week/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Hearthstone now has the chance for players to win college scholarships (http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/hearthstone-now-has-the-chance-for-players-to-win-college-scholarships/)


The TeSPA collegiate esports organisation has announced a new scholarship fund of $100,000 that will go up for grabs for teams of three that play Blizzard’s collectible card brawler, Hearthstone, in an effort to cultivate more competitive esports talent in the U.S. Known as the Collegiate Hearthstone Championship, the competition will have prospective students battle it out against their competitors to be in with a chance of winning, this Autumn.
http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/tespa.jpg (http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/tespa.jpg)
“Pay attention, class! The TeSPA Collegiate Hearthstone Championship is coming this fall to schools across the US and Canada, featuring a brand new three versus three format, vicious school rivalries, and a legendary prize pool of over $100,000 in scholarships,” TeSPA said.
To be eligible for the competition, you’ll need to be a resident of North America, be attending college somewhere and have at least two other highly skilled friends that you want to play with. If you want to be in with a chance of winning too, you’ll need to be particularly good at the Conquest format of games. All three players will be controlling a single deck at any one time.


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That means that you’ll have to rely less on luck, and more your ability to craft multiple, highly versatile decks, using different champions. As PCG (http://www.pcgamesn.com/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft/hearthstone-gets-collegiate-championship-for-teams-of-three-to-earn-scholarship-in-the-us) points out, it’s a much fairer system than just one loss and you’re out.


<iframe width="640" height="385" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_hfGtSMPUMg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/hearthstone-now-has-the-chance-for-players-to-win-college-scholarships/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Using Hearthstone cheat programs could infect your PC with malware


http://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2016/02/2016-02-10-image-4.jpg


If you’re a Hearthstone player and not averse to using hacks and deck tracker add-ons to gain an advantage in the game, you may want to rethink your morally dubious actions. Security firm Symantec has just revealed (http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/hearthstone-add-ons-cheating-tools-come-data-stealing-malware) that many of these third-party programs that supposedly benefit players can actually compromise computers with malicious software.
Symantec found that a large number of unofficial Hearthstone apps could, once installed, be used to steal passwords, spy through webcams and even mine bitcoins.
One program, Hearthstone Hack Tool v2.1, which promised players unlimited gold and dust, was described as a “total scam” that doesn’t work.
Another program that claimed to provide extra gold and dust, called Trojan.Coinbitclip, searches users’ clipboards for Bitcoin addresses and replaces them with a different but similar looking one of its own – another reason for Bitcoin miners not to use the clipboard.
The gray area of deck trackers – essentially card counters - are also susceptible to malware as game creator Blizzard doesn’t support these tools. “In December 2015, Symantec saw that attackers disguised Backdoor.Breut (http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2012-021012-3004-99) as one of these add-ons by using the file name Hearthstone Deck Tracker.exe. This threat is capable of opening a back door, recording from the webcam, logging key strokes, and stealing passwords.”
It was recently revealed (http://www.techspot.com/news/63699-counter-strike-player-gets-thousands-cheaters-banned.html) that a Redditor had created a number of fake hacks for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a way to get those who used them banned by Valve’s Anti-Cheat system (VAC). Hopefully, people will start to realize that downloading this kind of software really isn’t worth it.



Noticia:
http://www.techspot.com/news/63771-using-hearthstone-cheat-programs-could-infect-pc-malware.html