I don’t mind paying for content on a monthly basis when it keeps the game fresh. To each their own though. I feel like Hearthstone for example is reasonably priced for what you get.
For me, new content is a net negative in competitive games. I like feeling like I get better, but that's impossible when everything keeps changing all the time. To each their own I guess.
I don't mind monthly subscriptions alone but it looks like Hearthstone is full of lootboxes as well (via card packs) that feels pretty gross to me and like I said before, I feel it creates perverse incentives. I'll pay (and I do) monthly for games, but not if you are mixing that with lootboxes/gems/etc.
Hearthstone has two main game ‘modes’. The constructed Magic: The Gathering is card packs, the battlegrounds auto-chess team building auto-battler is subscription (although arguably that doesn’t affect much). The other incentives are cosmetic, and there are other game modes which are more niche. The problem with Hearthstone is that because it has a swath of modes, and all those modes price differently, it looks like you have this perverse overlap when in reality it’s pretty disparate.
Interesting, then my point might not apply to that aspect of Hearthstone. I'll admit I might be missing out on certain games since I use the IAP as a filter for games I will even try. I "judge a game by it's IAP" after being burned enough times (getting sucked into a game then realizing it has gross P2W/P2P/gambling/etc mechanics).
Would you elaborate on what makes you feel the game is fresh ?
Gem games constantly add new resources (=png+labels) to justify the subscription but the game mechanism and features remains the same. It’s like if to play the sims you have to buy every new single expansion pack every month.
The engine and rules are the same, but the track is different. You change enough things you get a different game - you don’t change enough, and people get bored. I’d compare F1 to NASCAR. Building a new track isn’t cheap. The rules change every season making the cars require redesigns and try to use the available rules to eke out their own advantages. Part of the fun of hearthstone is its deck building, and if the available card pool never changes or updates in large ways, that aspect of the game dies.