Blizzard is again in hot water because of their newly-implemented Tavern Pass in Hearthstone.

Blizzard's latest update on November 12 introduced a new progression rewards system. It introduces a battle pass called the Tavern Pass, which would have reinvented the game's rewards system. It was supposed to give all kinds of players rewards proportional to the time they spend playing the game. Available for $20, the Tavern Pass offers rewards like gold, card packs, cosmetics, and other bonus rewards.

After a week playing under the new system, players realized that the new system doesn't give enough rewards than it should. Based on calculations by Hearthstone streamer J_Alexander_HS, people will now receive fewer rewards with the same amount of time playing the game. He summarized his calculations on a spreadsheet, showing just how slow the new progression was.

The system itself was confusing, which made it necessary for people to calculate rewards.

To summarize, people were earning experience points too slowly. Previously, players get rewards as they complete quests. Now, players have to play longer hours to get the same amount of rewards they got from quests. Because of this, players are generally asking Blizzard to increase experience gain.

Blizzard responds, promises changes

Blizzard previously reassured players before the release that they won't receive fewer rewards under the new system.

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Franz Christian Irorita ·

Franz Christian Irorita ·

Franz Christian Irorita ·

“We're absolutely not taking away any of the gold you can earn,” senior game designer John Yang said. “One of the goals of the new progression system is to give you more gold, more reward, and more cosmetics for all players. No matter if you play the game ten hours or 1000 hours an expansion, you should be expecting to be more rewarded for your time.”

However, after the new Hearthstone update came out and the response wasn't so great, Blizzard pedaled back.

“We’ll continue to evaluate the impact of these changes, listen to your feedback, and iterate as needed until we get it right.”