5 Features Hearthstone Needs

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has attracted millions of players on PC, Mac, and iPad. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, though.

It's a very accessible game that you can spend dozens of hours playing. Blizzard can make the game even more addicting with a few key changes, though. Here are a few additions that could make Hearthstone a much better experience.

Deck Importing

Many Hearthstone players consult websites like Hearthhead or Hearthpwn to find new Hearthstone decks. The problem, though, is that there's no easy way to import these decks from websites to your game. You have to manually create the deck, or find some third-party program.

I play on iPad, so I can't even alt-tab between a website and the game to replicate a popular deck. Instead, I have to sit there with an iPhone in one hand and an iPad in the other. There's gotta be an easier way.

Blizzard really ought to offer a solution of their own. Maybe the game could have an import function where you copy/paste code from websites? This would be a major time-saver for players.

Deck Database

Instead of letting players import decks from websites, Blizzard could just cut out the middle-man entirely. They could allow players to share their deck ideas directly within the game. Other players could then assemble these decks with a press of a button and upvote their favorites.

This could be a really special feature with some extra work. Allowing players to search for decks by class, by a certain card or certain strategy would enable them to quickly make use of their card collection. Suggested substitutes would let them adapt decks if they're missing certain cards.

Some might argue that giving players these ready-made deck suggestions would hurt the game. After all, shouldn't players come up with their own decks? Here's the thing, though: a lot of players don't do this. Let's be honest about the fact that players use outside information to help their performance and make that information readily available to everyone?

Card Trading

If you receive unwanted cards, you only have two options. You can either disenchant them for a small amount of Arcane Dust or leave them in your collection and hope they become useful in a new balance patch.

It'd be great if players could directly trade cards with each other. It'd enable players to get much more value for their cards. This would be a quicker way to get desired cards, too.

This suggestion probably has zero chance of happening, though. Blizzard makes its money off the sale of packs of random cards. If players could directly acquire cards on their wish list, they'd be much less inclined to play the odds with booster packs. They could always put limits on trading (ex: no Legendaries or Golden cards) to keep packs relevant, though.

Rank 10 or 15 Rewards

Right now, there are only two ranks worth hitting in Hearthstone: Rank 20 and Rank 0. The former goal gets you the season's card back while the latter earns you the Legend back. There are scores of players between those two ranks that aren't getting any recognition for their accomplishments, though.

Getting to Rank 15 or Rank 10 is a lot harder than hitting 20. You can get to 20 just by playing a few matches a month with a half-decent deck. You won't lose any progress until that rank so it's just a question of whether you're willing to put in the time to grind to 20. Your winning percentage doesn't matter at all.

I'm not expecting Blizzard to give out different card backs to Rank 15 or Rank 10 players. I realize it takes time to make that new art. However, they could give these players something for their effort. Even a once-per-season reward of Arcane Dust or Gold would be a nice way to recognize these players that rack up plenty of wins but can't quite reach Legend.

Replays

Some matches come down to a single moment. Whenever I lose, I obsess over whether I could've won if I had played a different card or attacked a different minion. A replay function would let players experience these "what if?" scenarios.

I'm not just talking about a simple video of a past match. What I'm picturing is an interactive replay. At any moment, you could hop into this match and play it again. You could battle it out with an A.I. opponent and try to avoid your past mistakes.

Losing always sucks. However, if you could go back in time and succeed where you once failed, that would take the edge off a defeat considerably. These replays would go a long way toward helping players improve, too.