Ever since Hearthstone was fully released, I have been addicted. It’s a strategy card game created by Blizzard, Hearthstone is built upon the world and lore of World of Warcraft. I never played WoW, but that did not stop me from playing this spin off. It was enjoyable building new decks, experimenting with new attack combinations, and feeling the sensation of personal improvement.
I have not played Hearthstone in almost a year now. Normally, I would drop the game here and there until the release of a new expansion would reinvigorate my passion. So, when the “Whispers of the Old Gods” expansion was announced, I was ready to return to the game I enjoyed so much; I even preordered the 50-card pack.
Once released, I logged on, opened my packs, and immediately lost my desire to play the game. Opening up the card packs was exciting, seeing all the new cards added to my collection but the desire to actually create a new deck on the new expansion was non existent. I assumed I would return to it later, I just needed to research all the new cards. Time went by and Hearthstone remained out-of-mind.
Several months later Blizzard announced a new adventure expansion with the release of “One Night in Karazhan.” I was intrigued. I would see articles talking about the new cards, and showing off the gameplay trailer. This was all elevating my excitement. I kept thinking “I really need to get on so I can preorder the adventure. Get that limited edition card back!” I never did.
Missing out on the “One Night” adventure is what really made me drop off Hearthstone. Having missed out on two back-to-back expansions, I was so far behind in the meta that it hardly felt worth the hassle to relearn so much. When “Mean Streets of Gadgetzan” was displayed at Blizzcon, I had no emotion towards it. All I could think was “it is too late for me.” I still love Hearthstone. The game remains on my phone, but I do not see myself ever playing it again. Getting so far behind in the meta game truly is detrimental to lapsed players like myself. Perhaps when the game does the reset again, eliminating the new expansion cards, I will feel better about jumping back in. For now, the barrier of entry created by my lapsed experience feels too large to break through.
