Hearthstone hears you: Designers will answer fan questions in January 13 stream

Fans have concerns, and Blizzard is ready to listen.

Blizzard announced today that Hearthstone’s developers will host a live question-and-answer stream at 9 a.m. Pacific on January 13 on Twitch. Blizzard plans to share insight on the state of the game, the new player experience (meaning how much fun those starting Hearthstone for the first time now could have), and the ranked play system. Game director Ben Brode and game designer Dean Ayala will answer fans questions live during the stream.

Hearthstone has been a big hit for Blizzard since launching in 2014, becoming the leader of the digital card game market. But that hasn’t protected the game from criticism. Fans often have complaints about specific cards, decks, and modes. Communication like this is vital for keeping a good relationship between a developer and its community — and players continue to complain on Reddit and other forums about Team 5 (Blizzard’s group that makes Hearthstone) and how to talks to fans. The latest set of cards, Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, launched in early December.

We’re near the end of the of the first standard cycle for Hearthstone, which limited the cards players could use in the standard mode. This means that it has been some time since any cards were banned from standard, which makes it hard for new players to compete with current ones who have spent years earning cards. That problem will solve itself in a way when the standard cycle updates with the launch of the next expansion, but some fans wonder if the more changes are necessary to keep the game accessible.

Other are complaining about the popularity of Pirate decks, which are aggressive, fast-paced, and often frustrating to play against thanks to new cards like Patches, a 1/1 Legendary with charge that helps you build a board of minions quickly. Others are worried about deck-defining cards, like Reno Jackson (which can heal you entire deck if it has no duplicates), going away when the Standard cycle refreshes this year.

Basically, fans have a lot of questions and concerns, so it’s good that Blizzard wants to listen.