Hearthstone

The Hearthstone logo

*Hearthstone* is a free-to-play traditional card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Released in 2014, Hearthstone allows players to collect a wide variety of cards from various archetypes and build decks to compete with other players for rank. As a gacha game, Hearthstone's primary mechanic of obtaining new cards is through card packs, which are its own iteration of loot boxes that can be purchased individually or in a set of 10. Hearthstone games are won through coordinating strategies including different cards to reduce your opponents health points to zero.

## In-Game Currency

Hearthstone currently carries two main forms of in-game currency:

* **Runestones :** Runestones are the premium currency in Hearthstone, only being accessible by purchasing them with real money.
	+ **Uses:** Cosmetics (Hero Skins, Coins, Card Backs), Shop Bundles, Tavern Pass, Card Packs, Limited-time bundles.

* **Gold :** Gold is the currency that can be earned by playing Hearthstone. It can be earned as rewards in the rewards track or by playing various game modes or through quests.
	+ **Uses:** Cosmetics (Hero Skins, Card Backs), Card Packs.

### Currency Bundles

#### Purchasing Runestones

To purchase Runestones, players will have to access the shop and scroll to the bottom to directly purchase Runestones. Alternatively, once clicking on the shop, players can click the runestone icon that will appear at the bottom right of their screen:

There are six runestone bundles that can be purchased, ranging from 500 to 8000 runestones.

 1000 Runestones
 1500 Runestones
 2000 Runestones
 5000 Runestones
 8000 Runestones

### Currency Exchange Rate

The currency exchange rate is an estimate calculated by accounting for all currency bundles available for purchase. You can find a detailed breakdown of this process here.

The currency exchange rate is the average rate of all 6 packs: 1 CAD to 80.02 Runestones.

### Payment Methods

Current payment methods include the following:

* MasterCard
* Visa
* AMEX
* JCB
* PaySafeCard
* Paypal
* AliPay
* Battle.net balance

### Refund Policy

Hearthstone will refund players’ runestones within 14 days of purchase, only if the runestones have not been spent on any items.

## In-Game Items

### Cosmetics

Hearthstone offers three main types of cosmetics that may be acquired through the shop, tavern pass, or through events. These are Hero Skins, The Coin cards, and Card Backs.

#### Hero Skins

Hero skins are cosmetic items that replace the default hero of their corresponding class with new artwork, voice lines and animations. These skins are derived from different characters of the World of Warcraft universe.

#### The Coin

The coin is a card that is given to the player that goes second within a match to counter the disadvantage of not going first. The base version of the coin card is available to everyone, but players are able to earn cosmetic variants of it through purchasing or earning all cards from an expansion, or tavern pass respectively.

#### Card Backs

Card backs are cosmetic items that allow players to customize the look of their cards for games. Players are able to assign specific card backs to certain decks and can also mark them as their "favourites". Card backs can be obtained in various ways, such as events, achievements, ranked events or shop bundles, which range in both runestone and gold prices

### Item Costs

As of October 27 2023, the current lowest and highest cost items that are purchasable in Hearthstone are the following (not including items that are given for free or have to be purchased as part of a bundle):

 **Most Expensive Item** | Set of 30 Golden Card Packs

## Battle Pass

### Rewards Track

The Hearthstone battle pass is referred to as the Rewards Track. The rewards track is split into two tracks, a free version and a premium version that is obtainable by purchasing the taverns pass for 2000 Runestones ($24.99 CAD).  Players can level up their track by playing games, completing quests, and gaining achievements. There are 100 levels to complete with various rewards (gold, card packs, uncraftable cards, hero skins, etc). Once a player has reached level 100, they can earn 50 gold for every level completed from level 101 to 400. The rewards track is available until the next expansion arrives in Hearthstone (every 4 months).

Prompt to explain how the battle pass system works.Outlines the different ways that players can earn progress on the battle pass.Overview of the different tiers of the battle pass. Earned rewards can be claimed from this menu as well.Purchase meny for the battle pass, can be bought with real money or with gems.
## Subscriptions

Hearthstone does not offer any subscriptions.

## Loot Boxes

#### Card Packs

Hearthstone offers loot boxes in the form of Card Packs which come in three varieties such as Expansion Packs, Standard Packs, and Class Packs. These packs add 5 random cards from a predetermined pool to your collection, with the pool being determined based on the type of Card Pack. Expansion Packs pull from cards from named expansions. Standard Packs pull cards from Standard card expansions, which is subject to change at any point. Class Packs pull cards from the Standard Pack pool but only cards from their corresponding class.

Hearthstone cards come in four rarities which are Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. These cards also have a cosmetic quality to them separate from their rarity which are grouped as Normal, Golden, or Signature. Common, Rare, and Epic cards can be found in Normal or Golden qualities. Legendary cards can be Normal, Golden, or Signature. Signature cards can only be obtained from specific Card Packs that change from expansion to expansion.

To ensure that pack opening feels satisfying to the player, Hearthstone offers a pity system where certain rarities or qualities of cards are guaranteed after a certain number of opening separate from the drop rate.

The drop rate of Normal Packs are as follows:

* 0.6% - Signature Legendary card - One guaranteed within 361 packs.
* 0.6% - Golden Legendary card - One guaranteed within 361 packs.
* 1.4% - Golden Epic card - One guaranteed within 142 packs.
* 7.1% - Golden Rare card - One guaranteed within 29 packs.
* 8.1% - Golden Common card - One guaranteed within 25 packs.
* 5.0% - Normal Legendary card - One guaranteed within 40 packs.
* 21% - Normal Epic card - One guaranteed within 10 packs

NOTE: Each pack is guaranteed to have at least one Normal Rare or better with remaining cards being typically Normal Common.

Prompt shown when a new card pack is unlocked.Menu for opening packs with currently available packs shown on the left.Image displayed when opening the pack, cards have an event on them based on their rarity.The drop rate of Golden Packs and Signature Golden Packs are as follows:

* 0.6% - Signature Legendary card - One guaranteed within 361 packs.
	+ 15.1% chance in Signature Golden Expansion Set packs - One guaranteed within 14 packs.
	+ 5% chance in Golden Expansion Set packs - One guaranteed within 40 packs.
* 5% - Golden Legendary card - One guaranteed within 40 packs.
	+ One guaranteed within 10 packs of a new card expansion. Afterwards, the above rule follows.
* 21% - Golden Epic card - One guaranteed within 10 packs.

**Note:** Each pack is guaranteed to have at least one Golden Rare or better with remaining cards being typically Golden Common.

## Pay-to-Win Systems

Hearthstone does not have any pay-to-win systems.

## Limited Time Offers

### Shop Bundles

Hearthstone offers various shop bundles that offer exclusive and regular items or packs. Prior to the release of every major expansion, players are able to “pre-purchase” that expansion to receive additional rewards that are exclusive on top of 80 packs of that expansion.

The game also offers limited time offers for new players in the form of bundles that are only purchasable through real life money. Other bundles offer different cosmetics or packs, with some items being uncraftable or unobtainable through packs.

## Personal Review

**How does the video game’s culture impact microtransaction spending?**

The culture of Hearthstone does not incentivize microtransaction spending. Many players feel that it is skillful to play through the game and achieve a high rank without spending. With that said, the main way the company makes money is through marketing and selling card packs for real money by introducing new card sets frequently.

**Is it possible to free-to-play while having a good experience?**

It is possible as it offers enough resources for players to craft whatever deck they choose. The only downside is lack of variety as it is difficult to craft many decks without spending real money due to resource constraints. There is a unique type of fun in trying to spread your resources as far as possible without spending money.

**What is the value proposition offered by the microtransaction systems and are they substantial improvements over not spending?**

Microtransaction systems in hearthstone are mainly to increase progression by making it easier to get cards. That means that the main value offering is convenience. Whether or not this is a substantial improvement over not spending depends on the player’s preferences and approach to the game.

**Do microtransactions add “value” or simply add prices to features/items that other games include by default?**

The main value add is time as purchasing cards is much faster than earning them by playing the game.

**Do you need to spend to have fun?**

No, unless you play long enough for the resource constraints to hit you. At that point, it may be frustrating to play since it takes a lot of time to earn the resources necessary to build new decks.

**Is it worth spending on microtransactions in the long run?**

If you require variety in the decks that you want to play then yes it is worth spending since resource constraints will make the game less fun for you. Otherwise, it is not worth spending.

**Do I recommend that you spend on this game based on my personal experience playing it?**

I would not recommend it. It is unlikely that people will stick with the game for a really long time (3+ months) so it is possible to manage with what the game offers.

## Resources

1. ↑ Hearthstone Wikipedia
2. ↑ Hearthstone FANDOM Wiki - Runestone
3. ↑ Hearthstone FANDOM Wiki - Gold
4. ↑ Blizzard Support - Refund Policy
5. ↑ Hearthstone FANDOM Wiki - Collection Manager
6. ↑ Hearthstone FANDOM Wiki - The Coin
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Blizzard Support - Hearthstone Shop
8. ↑ Hearthstone FANDOM Wiki - Shop