Things We Can Learn From Popular Hearthstone Players

Stay calm and relaxed at all times

When there are hundreds or even thousands of people following your every move while you are playing Hearthstone it may be quite hard to stay focused on the actual game. One tiny misplay and the chat will be full of smart alecs who were only waiting to let everyone know what happened. One complaint or even just a slightly disappointed frown and people will start shaking those salty emotes like there was no tomorrow. Yet most popular Hearthstone players and streamers will maintain an overall positive attitude most of the time or when was the last time you have seen people like Trump or Hafu getting truly upset about something that happened to them ingame?

The reasons why those people manage to keep such a calm attitude are manifold: Sure it may be in their nature but I am certain that most popular Hearthstone players are straight up professional about it. They have realized the fact that getting mad over something that cannot be influenced in the first place (i.e. RNG events which are admittedly quite numerous in Hearthstone) is not worth the energy. Streamers like Kripparrian, who is without a doubt the overlord of all absurd Twitch chats out there, even take it to the next level and capitalize on people’s mocking reactions by emphasizing their own “saltiness” (salty being a modern variation of the noun salt that is used to express grief or frustration about something that didn’t go as someone would have liked to) and highlight their most pitiful moments in some of their youtube video-on-demands.

The common Hearthstone peon should take note of how the war chiefs handle their misfortune. It sounds harder than it actually is: Just like a good chef knows the right amount of salt for his recipe so should you.

Don’t forget that you’re not always right

The discussion about whether a certain deck (feel free to replace the term deck with build, spec, talents or masteries depending on what game you are talking about) is viable or not is as old as competitive gaming itself. Now please do not get me wrong, constructive criticism is not bad at all. Elevating yourself to a position, however, from which you dictate others what is wrong and what is right is straight up disrespectful. While most popular Hearthstone players would probably never claim to know the absolute truth about the game there are some in their ranks that tend to disregard certain decks while favoring others. That is, of course, legit and their privilege as they are considered to be experts on this subject.

But as with all experts they cannot always be right. The same goes for Hearthstone pros. During last week’s Seatstory Cup II for instance Tempostorm’s Reynad, who had gained popularity and fame for his great impact on the meta thanks to his great deck crafting skills, lost against ROOT gaming’s Xixo who was using a Shaman deck that Reynad had considered to be inferior to the one he was using. In another example Kripparrian, who is a die-hard arena veteran, used to avoid drafting the Stormpike Commando card in the past because he simply thought the card was not useful at all mainly due to its marginal 2 health and high mana cost. These days observant viewers of his stream will have noticed that his attitude towards the dwarven gunner has changed quite a bit and Kripparrian even admitted himself that he was wrong about guessing the Stormpike’s value. What I am trying to elaborate here is the fact that even popular Hearthstone players with a vast knowledge of the game can be proven wrong. Yet it is the sophisticated way of how they deal with these misinterpretations that is part of why they managed to climb all the way to the top.

Us mere mortals should be encouraged to follow the Hearthstone demigods’ example. Try to stick to your own convictions until they’re proven wrong and try to be open-minded and flexible when it comes to adjusting cards and tuning decks after realizing something had not worked out as intended.

Work hard and love what you are working for

The difference between a good player and a champion is the reason they are playing for. No matter what (e)Sports you are looking at, the people who have accumulated the most glory, most triumph and most fame all enjoy what they are doing. The moment you are forcing yourself to keep playing without actually enjoying the game is the moment you should stop. Popular Hearthstone players are able to play for hours and hours without getting tired of it. Sure, they make a living out of it but that cannot be reason enough to sustain the emotional rollercoaster that Hearthstone puts you through. I am convinced that all of them can only work that hard because even if the game is not treating them very well they still love what they do. I am also sure that if the average Hearthstone player repeatedly keeps that important lesson in his mind and actively works on focusing more on the entertainment Hearthstone provides him with, rather than on the frustration it might cause, he is going to step up his game tremendously and will eventually achieve the goals he has set for himself.

What I am about to say now may sound a little bit harsh but I think it is the truth. When I read comments on some of my videos in which I provided tips to make people better Hearthstone players I often get to read things like “Oh my god, how can you actually make videos about this topic, the game is pay 2 win anyway!” or “This game is a piece of **** it’ll never let me win no matter what class I play!” I usually don’t bother responding to such comments as I neither feel sorry for these people nor would I find encouraging words for them. The only thing I keep thinking to myself is that their mindset is that of someone who will never have what it takes to become a popular Hearthstone player.