How to play Hearthstone

Use those Quests

How to play Hearthstone

If you're a regular Hearthstone player, there are more ways to earn resources than simply playing through online matches, the Arena and through solo Adventures. There's also the staple of the free-to-play mobile game - the daily task or quest. Hearthstone doesn't break tradition here, employing two types of Quest that serve as running challenges.

They come in two distinct flavors: Daily Quests and Unique Quests. Daily Quests can be found in the Quest Log and, as the name suggests, these update every day to keep you pushing for rewards in different ways (win a number of matches, use a certain hero a number of times, etc). Unique Quests are one-off challenges - they don't appear in the Quest Log and only pop up once you complete a certain milestone.

Get to know your currencies

How to play Hearthstone

There are two main currencies in the world of Hearthstone - gold and dust. Gold is your generic currency, which can be earned from reaching level 10 each with Hero, completing Daily Quests, Unique Quests, beating other players in online play and more. If you're looking to buy booster packs, then gold is the surefire way to get there (other than actual cash).

Dust is the other resource, and it's one beginners don't often know how to use. Dust (or Arcane Dust) is the heart of Hearthstone's crafting mechanic, which uses this resource to create brand new cards. Yes, actual cards. You can also get dust by 'disenchanting' or destroying cards you don't want.

Get crafty with crafting

How to play Hearthstone

So you've been working hard to hone your craft in Hearthstone, building a deck that's gone from basic to something more akin to who you are as a player, but there's something missing. It's time to start using the resources that you've been gathering after all those daily quests and ranked matches for something worthwhile.

Crafting is that worthwhile venture - and since dust is marginally easier to farm than gold, it's worth avoiding buying boosters with gold and using this method instead. Enter Crafting mode and select which cards you want to disenchant. The higher the amount of dust at your disposal, the rarer the card you can craft.

Get into the Arena

How to play Hearthstone

Alongside traditional competitive play on online matches and the single-player fun of Adventures, Hearthstone also offers another means of earning gold and levelling your Hero - the Arena. The Arena works like a gauntlet, where you play with a pre-designed deck and try and get as many wins as you can before your deck gets taken out. Each time you win, you can gamble for more gold. It's risky, and costs 150 gold just to be admitted, but it's a goldmine if you're brave.

Also, since the Arena often attracts a faster style of play than normal online play, different Heroes tend to rise above others. If you want to really make a name for yourself in this area, try picking a Hero from the Mage, Paladin or Rogue classes. Stay away from the likes of the Priest or Hunter classes as they often get eaten alive in the Arena.

Preserve the health of your deck

How to play Hearthstone

With our minds still fresh from that introduction to the Arena, let's cover one aspect of the mode that's key to surviving for as long as possible: maintaining the health of your deck. Since you only have a choice of three decks at your disposal, you have to build them wisely. There's a limit on how many of one particular card you need, but don't get foolish and just fill it with mid to high-level cards - cards are pulled blindly (you don't hold a hand like in normal play) so fill your deck with plenty of spells and a lot of versatile creatures.

By having a lot of minions of varying types in your decks, you can change tactics on the fly to find lethal (reduce your opponent's health to zero). With that in mind, be sure to play less flexible minions first to ensure those that follow allow for more flexible moves (such as rushing your opponent for the quick lethal.