Category: eSports

App Name: Mushroom Wars 2 [eSports Game]

Cost: Free

Developer: Zillion Whales

App Market: Download Page

Description:

The game is here to prove that mobile eSports RTS is a reality!

The game is available for free download on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zillionwhales.mushroomwars2

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1141358828

Mushroom Wars 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the RTS hit. Building upon the core gameplay experience that made the original Mushroom Wars so enjoyable, new game will take you and your friends on a journey of mighty hero characters across four reimagined campaigns for each tribe of Mushroom Folk, and even wilder competitive multiplayer and co-op. All-new heroes serve as the leaders to your strategic onslaught, lending you a set of unique abilities to unleash as you see fit.

I really like Hearthstone but I also really hate it. 🙂  I commented about the game back in April  https://www.appreviewcentral.net/2017/04/26/hearthstone-thoughts-from-a-casual-player/. Well today, I wanted to give an update and some “advice”.

A new expansion, Knights of the Frozen Throne, just came out and I pre-purchased the 50 pack bundle. This is the first time I ever did this. Will I do it again?… probably but I am not sure I could do it for every expansions.

I have been playing ranked games each month this year and the best I got to was 18 (once). I usually get to level 20 and that is about it.  Why can’t I get any further? Two reasons (IMHO): I need to play more and I need better cards.

It can be very frustrating when you play against someone who has clearing been playing longer than you and seems to have legendary cards you have never heard of.  LOL I will continue to try and my goal is to get to level 15 before the end of the year (at least 1 time).

As I have played and been beaten, I have learned quite a bit and definitely know a lot more than I did when I started out 8 months ago.  So part of my advice for new players is to keep working at it, do the quests as best you can to earn gold, and get more cards.   You will lose so you just have to live with that fact. The more you play, the more you will see combos and cards and learn what not to do.  Also I would recommend playing standard mode. I decided early one, that is all I am going to do.

As I mentioned, a pre-purchased the new expansion and I think it was a wise investment. From those 50 packs I got 3 legendary cards, 330 dust, and almost ¾ of the expansion at one time. By getting this pre–purchase, it allows you to quickly get into the “meta” and build fresh decks.  It also saves all of your in game gold for more packs.

So my second piece of “advice” is buy some cards. If you are new, get the starter deal and after that maybe an expansion, when appropriate. Overall I have only spent about $60 on the game and $50 of that was on this new expansion. With this purchase, I feel I am able to build better decks since I have so many new cards already at my fingertips.  I am still missing a lot of legendary cards but hopefully they will come in time.

My goal now is to keep playing, horde the gold, buy and craft cards when needed and move up the ladder slowly. Another expansion is slated to come out in December, hopefully by then I am doing better.

My last piece of advice is to see help online. I have been searching online for info and help. Here are some sites and resources that I like:

• Hearthpwn and their InnKeeper tool
• Hearthstone Top Decks
• Some You Tubers: RegisKillbin and Hearth Share

Hearthstone is a lot of fun and really enjoyable when you can create and play a deck and hold your own in battle. I feel I am finally at this point or very close to it. So these are my thoughts on the game right now.  What do you think about Hearthstone?

Hearthstone is the game that started it all for me – collectible card game (CCG), digital boardgaming, and mobile eSports. I began playing a few years ago, but put it down. I picked it back up again a few months ago. Since then, I have really been re-learning how the game plays and what it takes to make a good deck.  Blizzard recently put out a new expansion that peaked my interest too.

Hearthstone is a game that will you take some time to really learn, develop, and master. Sigh. 🙁

Unfortunately Hearthstone is a very frustrating game and somewhat unforgiving. Why?

1.  To do well in the game, you need to have well developed deck(s). The more cards you discover, the more options you have. There is are so many cards, thus so many options.  It is hard to keep track of all of it. I have put in about $10 into the game, so I am not totally Free to Play but close.  I am working on earning in-game gold to purchase more card packs.

It has become very obvious to me that if you want to progress in the ranked ladder (past level 20) or win more than you lose in casual mode, you need to have epic and legendary cards. The drop rate of these in the card packs is low  and to craft them it costs quite a bit of dust, so….

I cannot tell you have many times I have been destroyed by some random legendary card my opponents pulled out.

I have recently been looking for videos and articles on budget Hearthstone decks to help me out. They are out there but most Hearthstone videos and articles assume you have epic and legendary cards.

2. I am curious how the game matches players. There have been many, many times when it clear the person I am facing has a ton more experience and much, much stronger cards than me.  My highest level hero is about 26.

I recently started a brand new account, just to see what it is like to “be a new player”. All I can say is wow! Some of the players I was matched with could not be new based on the cards and card backs they had. Thankfully you do get a little bit of experience by losing.

3. Losing is part of the game, I totally understand that. I learn from my mistakes but in Hearthstone there is no way to review a game or see what your opponent’s deck was.  This would be a great feature to help players learn and get better.

So why I am so salty?  I am tired of losing but I recently came across two articles that really sum up what I have been feeling, seeing in the game:

Hearthstone: Journey to Un’Goro expects players to spend too much to be competitive

Hearthstone: How Journey to Un’Goro has put off the casual player

Are you a Hearthstone player? What do you think about all of this?

At the end of the day, I am still going to play the game because you never know, that next pack you open might have a legendary in it!  So I am going to search You Tube for some helpful videos and muddle my way through.

From the Press Release:

Skillz, the worldwide leader in mobile eSports, today announced a suite of solutions for brands to engage consumers through mobile eSports, including the opportunity to host brand-sponsored tournaments. This is the first time consumer brands have had the ability to reach and engage the Skillz audience of over 10 million people.

The new offerings for brands include the ability to sponsor mobile eSports tournaments across thousands of Skillz-enabled games. Brands can sponsor an entire game, or choose to sponsor specific tournaments within a game. They are also able to host and sponsor physical events where players can compete at in-person tournaments, or work with social influencers via live-streamed events on Twitch, YouTube and other streaming sites.

“As eSports continue to gain popularity, we’re seeing the same evolution we saw with offline sports like basketball and football. It starts by defining rules, then building a player base, and finally adding broadcast and spectator opportunities. When the transformation of a game into a sport hits an inflection point, major brands want to get involved,” said Andrew Paradise, founder and CEO of Skillz. “With mobile eSports now representing more than 30 percent of the industry’s prizes, we’re excited to give brands a way to connect with the diverse audience that mobile has attracted.”

The eSports industry is projected to reach $5 billion in annual revenue by 2020, according to Activate. Established brands like Coca-Cola, Intel and Snickers have already gravitated toward eSports through various sponsorships and are helping bring more attention and viewership to the rapidly expanding industry. According to Newzoo, the total eSports audience is expected to reach 292 million by the end of 2016. The rise of mobile eSports has pushed the sport further into the mainstream through creating opportunities for the world’s 2.1 billion mobile gamers.

By working with Skillz, brands can reach an audience that is larger and more diverse than the traditional eSports market. The Skillz user base is 49 percent female, as opposed to just 19 percent for the industry as a whole. The new sponsorship opportunities from Skillz will continue to broaden the market, fueling the growth of the industry’s prize pools while allowing brands to connect with the next generation of athletes and fans.

About Skillz

Skillz is the leading mobile eSports platform, connecting the world’s 2.1 billion mobile gamers through competition. As the eSports provider for over 1,600 game studios, Skillz accounted for more than 20 percent of all eSports prizes awarded in 2015 while broadcasting 8.5 million minutes of gameplay to spectators worldwide. Skillz makes games better by powering the competitions that players love and giving developers the chance to turn their game into the next great electronic sport. Founded in 2012, Skillz is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading venture capitalists as well as the owners of the New England Patriots, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Mets.

Champions of Fire is Amazon Appstore’s first-ever casual mobile game eSports tournament. The tournament will be on Dec 9th, 2016.   You can watch it on Twitch here.

The following games will be highlighted:

• 8 Ball Pool
• Bloons TD Battles
• Disney Crossy Road
• PAC-MAN 256 – Endless Arcade Maze
• Fruit Ninja

I am excited to see how this turns out. I am curious on the selection of games too. I have heard that a new version of Fruit Ninja will be coming out for this event.  It is cool to see more mobile eSport events occurring.