Happy New Year, everyone!
I was browsing the Hearthstone subreddit this morning. First thread that catches my eye is about the abuse of Hearthstone World Championship Points. That didn’t take long! Basically, it seems shady organizers are now setting up fake tournaments with real battle tags of players in the hopes that Blizzard doesn’t look too closely at the results with the end goal that the organizers (or specific players) can farm points that way to get into the regional events at the end of each season.
As a frequent Fireside organizer, I wanted to offer players in my area opportunities to go for WCS points as well. In order to qualify for WCS points, the following criteria has to be met:
- Allow space for at least 128 participants
- Have at least 32 players registered and competing
- Stream the semi-finals and finals matches of the event
Last year, it was have video recordings of the semi-finals and finals of the tournament. This time, they want it streamed. It’s frustrating for me because some of the hosting venues I use have optimal bandwidth for people playing Hearthstone, but the upload speed is non-existent for streaming. But, Blizzard has a solution and it’s already built in to their games like Heroes of the Storm and Starcraft 2
It’s 2016 and this is going to be another year of growth for Hearthstone. If the game wants to progress and be taken even more seriously as an eSport, then there needs to be match history in place.
Starcraft 2 and Heroes of the Storm have that data in place. I know match history isn’t exactly as sexy as a new adventure, a new game mode, or new card expansions, but it’s a subtle change that can only be a positive for the competitive community going forward.
What should be tracked?
Match history options should definitely show the game mode along with the match result (like a win or defeat). Was it ranked? Casual? A simple Tavern Brawl? A duel?
Classes should be displayed from both the player and the opponent. Board type probably doesn’t matter. Maybe the rank of the player when the match was played should be included.
I’d also consider when the match was played and possibly the duration of the match. I figure if a game ends within 20 seconds, it looks pretty shady. Did someone throw the match? Did someone disconnect?
I know at the end of tournament matches, sometimes players simply forget to take a screenshot of the Victory or Defeat screens. Personally, I have Xsplit running and recording everything because I missed the results screen after a thriller of a match.
On a completely different note, Blizzard is hiring a Fireside Producer! I thought about applying for it myself but I’m way too underqualified, I suspect. I wish they had a junior position or something I could shoot for instead.
While I understand why they have those restrictions, holy moly, there’s no way my local Fireside Gatherings could ever hope to reach those kinds of numbers. I would have to start organising them in my state’s major city, and even then I might be struggling to get those numbers. The joys of living in the middle of nowhere 😛
Fireside Producer sounds like heaven. You should just throw your hat in the ring anyhow. What’s the worst that could happen?!