Hearthstone Starter’s Guide
Hearthstone Starter’s Guide by nuhertz
If you just got a beta key, you want to get gold, cards and start playing arena as fast as possible. I was very frustrated by how long it took me to “jump right in” to the real playing, so hopefully this will help you get there faster. To do this, you need gold, a decent deck for your class, and lots of wins. Here’s a quick guide on how to get started as fast as possible so you can skip the required stuff and play how you want to. Make sure you also check out all those tips and tricks you should know.
Winning games as fast as possible will really speed along your progress. Playing the AI, although not as fun, is much faster than a lot of the players you’ll encounter online, and will help you unlock everything you need to play how you want to.
UPDATED 12/12/13
Your first class is a mage, and with the recent shift of power going to the mage, this is the class I would recommend getting started with. Here’s a free to play deck that can get you started, and as you play other classes, you can decide which class you really want to focus on.
When you get started, you should really focus on making one unbeatable deck, and use that to grind gold and rank up. Here’s the cards:
1 Arcane Missiles (2)
2 Arcane Explosion (2)
2 Frostbolt (2)
2 Acidic Swamp Ooze (2)
2 Kobold Geomancer (2)
2 Novice Engineer (2)
3 Arcane Intellect (2)
3 Wolfrider (2)
4 Fireball (2)
4 Polymorph (2)
4 Gnomish Inventor (2)
4 Ogre Magi (2)
4 Water Elemental (2)
6 Archmage (2)
7 Flamestrike (2)
Then you want to take this deck and beat every computer AI in the game, which will unlock all classes. That pays 100g.
Go back and do it again, only in expert mode. That will net another 100 gold. If you hit level 10 with your mage, it’s a good idea to switch to another class, as you’ll want to level all 9 classes to level 10, which will net you 100 gold and all the basic cards, but takes some time to complete.
Beat the AI, which even on expert is less difficult than most humans. There is no way to tell which classes you have or haven’t beaten in this mode. Make sure to keep track, I just went in order.
Now it’s time to take your skills to the “Play” feature. Every 3 wins (not vs AI) up to this point will also net 10 gold, and you’ll gain experience for both wins and losses.
At this point, you should have racked up some gold. 100g for unlocking all the heroes, and another 100g from beating all the AI in expert mode, which at minimum will be enough to pay 150 gold to get into the arena once. You likely have some random daily quests completed too, so maybe 300 gold. That will let you pay for arena twice, plus your first free entry.
Great, I have gold, now what?
Arena is the smarter way to spend gold, rather than just buying packs. Every 150 gold spent on arena will get you one pack (five cards), some crafting essences, and some gold. The bonus depends on your win ratio, and 4 wins is the breakeven point for gold (~50). If you are able to win 7 games out of 9 you are guaranteed to get 150 gold when you retire from the arena, which is like a free pack! For even decent players that can win 50% of their games, this is a good choice.
Gold going forward can be earned by every 3 wins, achievements and daily achievements. I’ll list the main ones you’ll encounter below, and you will likely have earned one or two by this point.
Achievements:
- Win 100 games in any mode. (300g)
- Win 1000 games in any mode. (300g)
- Unlock every Hero. (100g)
- Defeat every Expert AI Hero. (100g)
- Collect every card in the Basic Set (all heroes to level 10). (100g)
- Collect every card in the Expert Set. (100g)
- Disenchant a card for the first time (95 dust) (Used to create new cards)
Daily: (One per day, randomly, stacks up to 3 even if you don’t login)
Also, if only a 40 gold quest, discard to try to get more gold!
- Win 2 game with [Insert 2x Random Class] in any mode. (40g)
- Win 7 games in any mode. (100g)
- Destroy 40 minions. (40g)
- Play 20 minions that cost 5 or more. (40g)
- Play 40 minions that cost 2 or less. (40g)
- Cast 40 spells. (40g)
- Deal 100 damage to enemy heroes. (40g)
- Win 3 games with any class. (40g)
- Win 5 games with [Insert Random Class] (60g)
So there you have it, roughly 3-4 hours of play, you’ll have enough gold to enter arena, access to all classes, and well on your way to dominating your friends (but when you play them no gold per 3 wins), and random strangers on the internet (10 gold for 3 wins).
Good luck, and if you have any further questions, comment below and I’ll be sure to update the guide.
Some F2P Decks by Zoelef
For those of you who want to play non-Priest classes, here are some legit F2P decks:
Druid:
- 2x Innervate
- 2x Claw
- 2x Mark of the Wild
- 2x Novice Engineer
- 2x Acidic Swamp Ooze
- 2x Murloc Tidehunter
- 2x Raid Leader
- 2x Razorfen Hunter
- 2x Savage Roar
- 2x Shattered Sun Cleric
- 2x Sen’jin Shieldmasta
- 2x Dragonling Mechanic
- 2x Swipe
- 2x Frostwolf Warlord
- 2x Ironbark Protector
Mage:
- 2x Arcane Missiles
- 2x Frostbolt
- 2x Acidic Swamp Ooze
- 2x Novice Engineer
- 2x Arcane Intellect
- 2x Shattered Sun Cleric
- 2x Fireball
- 2x Polymorph
- 2x Chillwind Yeti
- 2x Gnomish Inventor
- 2x Water Elemental
- 2x Gurubashi Berserker
- 2x Boulderfist Ogre
- 2x Flamestrike
- 2x Stormwind Champion
Paladin:
Watch the video, decklist in description – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXYdYOB4pbo
Shaman:
- 2x Frost Shock
- 2x Rockbiter Weapon
- 2x Murloc Tidehunter
- 2x Flametongue Totem
- 2x Acidic Swamp Ooze
- 2x Novice Engineer
- 2x Hex
- 2x Razorfen Hunter
- 2x Raid Leader
- 2x Chillwind Yeti
- 2x Dragonling Mechanic
- 2x Windspeaker
- 2x Frost Warlord
- 2x Bloodlust
- 2x Fire Elemental
Warlock:
Watch the video, decklist at 0:30 or so – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpMqzB7ZGrM
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