Ben Brode, Hearthstone’s game director and meme extraordinaire, is almost a holy figure in the gaming community. Every once in awhile, he comes down from his pedestal at the Team 5 offices at Blizzard to share some information about the game with us lowly plebs. Usually, it’s a post on the Blizzard forums or a random voice of reassurance on reddit, but never more than that. That is, until today, when Brode had a reddit AMA , where fans were allowed to ask questions directly to the big man himself.
Here’s what Ben Brode said in Friday’s AMA:
Plan On Improving Spectating Experience?
Yes, not much more than that.
More Stats Available To Players?
Yes, and there should be more information coming out later this year. Brode hates “profile pages,” so the team’s looking at better alternatives.
Which Card Limits Future Mechanics?
Stonetusk Boar, along with Malygos, Preparation and Innervate.
New Cards With “Minion Placement” Mechanic e.g. Dire Wolf Alpha?
Yes, there will be definitely more. Considering how this was one of Hearthstone’s only unique mechanics in the early days of the game, it feels so weird for them to have dropped the idea completely. It’s popped up here and there, like with Grimestreet Protector, but never more than a couple of cards per set.
Favorite Hearthstone Meme
Four mana 7/7, nothing’s better than a developer making fun of themselves and Flamewreathed Faceless.
Why No Legendary Totem?
“This is a gross oversight on our part. I will see what I can do.”
Collection Manager Get An Update?
Yes, more features on their way.
Better Arena Rewards?
Brode and his team are working on it and it should be released sometime in an upcoming patch.
Why Was Journey To Un’Goro successful?
The Standard rotation and Hall Of Fame really shook up the meta, allowing for more awesome decks to flourish. The team may have included a bit too many card features that could have been saved for future sets, but overall it came out great.
Is Hearthstone Too Expensive?
“We are definitely seeing players compete at high levels without spending any money at all. If you want literally every card in the game,” Brode said. “That's tougher to do, but we are listening to community feedback here. We recently made pretty big changes to the way our Legendary drops work in packs, and are giving everyone a free Legendary Death Knight Hero with the new set. There will also be a lot of opportunities to earn packs of the new set, through some upcoming events and through the single player missions that will be free with the new set.”
Will You Rap For The Next Expansion?
If you don’t know, Journey To Un’Goro’s release trailer was the first in Hearthstone’s history not to have a song. Fans, myself included, were pretty pissed and massively upvoted a petition to get Brode to rap. He did and it was absolutely glorious . When asked, he answered with this picture , which pretty much crushes my dreams of Brode rapping about the Lich King.
Favorite Card?
Lord Jarraxus
Hearthstone To Console?
Most likely not — tablets and phones seem to be doing the trick fine.
Favorite Flannel Shirt Brand
J.Crew. I never knew Brode was a fuckboi.
Are you satisfied with Brode’s answers and do you want to ask him something yourself? I may get a chance to speak with the big man at Blizzcon this year, so leave your ideas in the comments below.
