If you're like me, your Hearthstone aspirations probably rest on making Legendary someday. (Currently feeling the rank 7 hype.) Beyond that, you might have vague hopes of becoming a successful streamer or even winning some tournaments and getting picked up by a team. But how about being so good at the game that you manage to snag a job at Blizzard? That's what's next for Ryan 'Realz' Masterson, who previously led the Mana Grind team before its recent disbandment . He tweeted:
— Ryan Masterson (@Realz_HS) August 27, 2014 August 27, 2014
Realz is one of the most respected pros on the scene, and a fantastic player to boot. We recently singled him out as one of the best streamers to learn from . In recent interviews , Team 5's Senior Game Designer, Ben Brode, has talked up the value of bringing in high-level Legend players to help with balancing, the benefit of which can surely be seen in the new Naxx cards, which for the most part have managed to be fun without seeming obviously overpowered.
His announcement that poacher will turn gameskeeper has been greeted positively by both players and his fellow pros. Speaking on the Hearthstone subreddit , an obviously excited Realz wrote:
“This is a truly exciting opportunity for me, and (to rephrase the words of someone I have long admired, who once entered a similar position) I hope my association with the continuing development of Hearthstone will serve to comfort fellow ladder grinders, competitors, and players at large that "one of us" is behind the scenes looking out for the interests of the player. I really can't wait to get started. #TheDream”
All the best Realz, and hopefully you'll keep on streaming. In the meantime, I'll just leave this Post-it saying 'Nerf Mad Scientist plz' on your desk...
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With over two decades covering videogames, Tim has been there from the beginning. In his case, that meant playing Elite in 'co-op' on a BBC Micro (one player uses the movement keys, the other shoots) until his parents finally caved and bought an Amstrad CPC 6128. These days, when not steering the good ship PC Gamer, Tim spends his time complaining that all Priest mains in Hearthstone are degenerates and raiding in Destiny 2. He's almost certainly doing one of these right now.