Info
Direct damage is a term used to refer to effects which deal damage Damage in Hearthstone is a particular infliction of harm upon heroes or minions, measured by a number which is deducted from their Health and/or Armor (if they have any). If a character s Health is reduced directly to enemy characters Characters are representations of people, creatures, and certain objects and mechanical creations within Hearthstone. A character may be a minion or a hero. Each character has an Attack and a Health attribute, and can attack . Direct damage mainly comes from spells Fireball, a simple mage spell. It costs 4 mana, dealing 6 damage to a chosen target. Spell cards are cards that can be played to trigger a one time effect or ability, described in the 
( Pyroblast Pyroblast Set: Classic Type: Spell Class: Mage Rarity: Epic Cost: 10 Abilities: Deal damage Deal 10 damage.Take the time for an evil laugh after you draw this card.See this card on Hearthpwn data page] Pyroblast 
), Hero Powers Anduin Wrynn with the basic priest Hero Power Lesser Heal A Hero Power is a special ability displayed to the right of each hero s portrait. Usually Hero Powers can be used once per turn and 
( Steady Shot Steady Shot Type: Hero Power Class: Hunter Cost: 2 Abilities: Deal damage Hero PowerDeal 2 damage to the enemy hero.See this card on Hearthpwn data page] Steady Shot is the hunter s basic Hero Power. Contents 
) and some triggered effects The lightning bolt icon, explicitly indicating a triggered effect Triggered effects are effects that activate in response to specific events. Triggered effects may belong to minions, weapons or spells (in the form of Secrets), as 
, Battlecries Battlecry is an ability where a particular effect activates when the card with the Battlecry is played directly from the hand. Although mostly limited to minions, some weapons also have Battlecries. Activation of Battlecries are and Deathrattles A Loot Hoarder displaying the Deathrattle icon Deathrattle is an ability where the stated effect occurs when the minion or weapon is destroyed. Cards with Deathrattle appear with a skull and crossbones when in play. 
( Axe Flinger Axe Flinger Set: Blackrock Mountain Type: Minion Class: Warrior Rarity: Common Cost: 4 Attack: 2 Health: 5 Abilities: Deal damage Tags: Damage-related, Triggered effect Whenever this minion takes damage, deal 2 damage to the enemy 
, Fire Elemental The subject of this article is due to undergo changes soon. For details, see below. Fire Elemental Set: Basic Type: Minion Subtype: Elemental Class: Shaman Cost: 6 Attack: 6 Health: 5 Abilities: Battlecry, Deal damage 
, Leper Gnome Leper Gnome Set: Classic Type: Minion Rarity: Common Cost: 1 Attack: 1 Health: 1 Abilities: Deal damage, Deathrattle Deathrattle: Deal 2 damage to the enemy hero.He really just wants to be your friend, but the 
).
Most direct damage can be dealt to either minions Bloodfen Raptor, a simple minion card. A Beast-type minion, it has 3 Attack, 2 Health and a mana cost of 2. Minions are persistent creatures on the battlefield that will fight for their hero. Minion 
or heroes A hero is a character in the Warcraft universe representing the player. In Hearthstone, this concept is expressed in three interrelated but distinct ways: Heroes are gameplay characters representing players or bosses within a match. 
, although some can only target one or the other ( Flame Lance Flame Lance Set: The Grand Tournament Type: Spell Class: Mage Rarity: Common Cost: 5 Abilities: Deal damage Deal 8 damage to a minion.It s on the rack next to ice lance, acid lance, and English muffin 
, Sinister Strike Sinister Strike Set: Basic Type: Spell Class: Rogue Cost: 1 Abilities: Deal damage Deal 3 damage to the enemy hero.There s something about this strike that just feels off. Sinister, even.See this card on Hearthpwn data 
). Direct damage may refer to either type, although some players use it exclusively to refer to effects able to target heroes. Area of effect Area of effect (AoE) is the term for an effect which affects all characters of the specified type. Common targets for AoEs include all enemy minions, all minions, and all characters. AoE is defined in 
and random Yogg-Saron, arguably the most random card ever released Random effects are effects which include some degree of randomness or RNG (random number generation). Random effects introduce an element of chance into Hearthstone. They can be 
target effects ( Flamestrike Flamestrike Set: Basic Type: Spell Class: Mage Cost: 7 Abilities: Deal damage Tags: Area of effect Deal 4 damage to all enemy minions.When the ground is on fire, you should not stop, drop, and roll.See 
, Bomb Lobber Bomb Lobber Set: Goblins vs Gnomes Type: Minion Rarity: Rare Cost: 5 Attack: 3 Health: 3 Abilities: Battlecry, Deal damage Tags: Random Battlecry: Deal 4 damage to a random enemy minion.He lobbies Orgrimmar daily on 
) can produce equivalent results, but are not usually considered to be direct damage. Direct damage is usually used to contrast with damage dealt through by attacking This page describes the act of attacking. For the Attack attribute, see Attribute. Attacking or combat is what occurs when a player commands one character to attack another, causing them to simultaneously deal damage to with minions or heroes, which can be prevented through Taunts The shield-like Taunt visual effect Taunt is a minion ability which forces the opposing player to direct any melee attacks toward enemy targets with this ability. Minions with Taunt (commonly referred to as Taunts) serve 
or Freeze A Frozen minion A Frozen hero Freeze is an ability that marks a minion or hero as Frozen. Frozen characters miss their next possible attack. After this, the Frozen status is removed. Frozen status only 
effects.
The term reach Reach refers to a player s ability to deliver direct damage to the enemy hero, regardless of the state of the board. This generally refers to damage from spells and Hero Powers, but could include activated is often used to refer to hero direct damage, measuring the player`s ability to deal direct damage from the hand, usually in order to defeat the opponent that turn. The concept of direct damage is strongly related to that of burst Burst damage or burst potential refers to a player s ability to deal a large amount of damage in one or two turns, allowing a player to finish off a previously damaged opponent, or deal an .
Discussion
Direct damage is inherently unavoidable, since it is dealt directly to the character. As a result, hero direct damage is a key part of many aggro deck An aggro deck or aggressive deck, also known as a rush deck, is a deck that takes an aggressive approach of dealing damage to the opponent as quickly as possible, generally through the summoning of strategies, usually as a prime source of burst Burst damage or burst potential refers to a player s ability to deal a large amount of damage in one or two turns, allowing a player to finish off a previously damaged opponent, or deal an damage alongside Charge For the card of the same name, see Charge (card) Charge is an ability allowing a minion to attack the same turn it is summoned. Charge is available to all classes, but is most strongly 
minions. Control decks A control deck, also known as a late game deck, is a deck that attempts to attain victory in the late game, through a combination of early game removal and Taunts, and powerful cards in such as Freeze Mage In her youth, Jaina considered a career in law enforcement. "Freeze! Mage!" Freeze Mage is a type of mage control deck which uses Freeze effects and board-wide removal to delay the game until it can 
use direct damage to create one turn kills Burst damage or burst potential refers to a player s ability to deal a large amount of damage in one or two turns, allowing a player to finish off a previously damaged opponent, or deal an , such as by using Frostbolt Frostbolt Set: Basic Type: Spell Class: Mage Cost: 2 Abilities: Deal damage, Freeze Deal 3 damage to a character and Freeze it.It is customary to yell "Chill out!" or "Freeze!" or "Ice ice, baby!" when 
x2, Ice Lance Ice Lance Set: Hall of Fame Type: Spell Class: Mage Rarity: Common Cost: 1 Abilities: Deal damage, Freeze Tags: Frozen-related Freeze a character. If it was already Frozen, deal 4 damage instead.The trick is not 
x2, and Fireball Fireball Set: Basic Type: Spell Class: Mage Cost: 4 Abilities: Deal damage Deal 6 damage.This spell is useful for burning things. If you re looking for spells that toast things, or just warm them a little, in a single turn for 20 damage. Hunter The Hunter is one of the nine classes in Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, represented by Rexxar and Alleria Windrunner. Contents 1 Heroes 2 Background 3 Hero Power 4 Strategy and gameplay 5 Counters 5.1 Secrets 
decks often rely on Steady Shot Steady Shot Type: Hero Power Class: Hunter Cost: 2 Abilities: Deal damage Hero PowerDeal 2 damage to the enemy hero.See this card on Hearthpwn data page] Steady Shot is the hunter s basic Hero Power. Contents to deal a small but consistent amount of unavoidable damage over the early rounds of a match, allowing them to easily burst the opponent`s remaining Health down in later rounds.
Because direct damage cannot generally be prevented, its use often results in frustration for players, due to non-interactive gameplay and a sense of helplessness in avoiding defeat. Because of its impact on interactivity in particular, developers are keen to restrict access to direct damage effects. A few counters do exist, such as Loatheb Loatheb Set: Naxxramas Type: Minion Rarity: Legendary Cost: 5 Attack: 5 Health: 5 Abilities: Battlecry, Modify cost Tags: Spell-related Battlecry: Enemy spells cost (5) more next turn.Loatheb used to be a simple Bog Beast. This 
for spells, and Saboteur Saboteur Set: The Grand Tournament Type: Minion Rarity: Rare Cost: 3 Attack: 4 Health: 3 Abilities: Battlecry, Modify cost, Modify Hero Power Tags: Hero Power-related Battlecry: Your opponent s Hero Power costs (5) more next turn.Listen 
for Hero Powers. Immune The immune effect from Bestial Wrath Immune is an ability that prevents a character from receiving damage from any source, and prevents the opponent from targeting it. Be that as it may, Immune does not prevent destroy, healing or 
effects like Ice Block Ice Block Set: Classic Type: Spell Class: Mage Rarity: Epic Cost: 3 Abilities: Immune, Secret Tags: Damage-related, Triggered effect Secret: When your hero takes fatal damage, prevent it and become Immune this turn.Ice is nice, 
and Mal`Ganis Mal Ganis Set: Goblins vs Gnomes Type: Minion Subtype: Demon Class: Warlock Rarity: Legendary Cost: 9 Attack: 9 Health: 7 Abilities: Immune Tags: Demon-related, Ongoing effect Your other Demons have +2/+2. Your hero is Immune.Mal Ganis doesn t 
can also prevent or at least delay successful direct damage. Strategically, healing Healing is the restoration of Health to a damaged character. Healing a character will increase their Health by the stated amount, up to but not beyond their current maximum Health. Healing effects or Restore Health 
and Armor A hero with 2 Armor Armor is a form of secondary Health available only to heroes, gained through certain spells, Hero Powers and minions. Damage taken will always be deducted from Armor before Health. Only 
can help to recover from direct damage and prevent opportunities for fatal burst damage.
Videos
Terminology
The term direct damage likely came to Hearthstone The Hearthstone icon Hearthstone (formerly known as Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft 1] 2]) is a free-to-play digital collectible card game from Blizzard Entertainment. It was first announced in a presentation by Rob Pardo at the 
via World of Warcraft World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Blizzard Entertainment. The game was first released Nov. 2004, and has since seen six expansions: The Burning Crusade (2007), Wrath of 
, where it is used to contrast with damage over time, used to describe effects which deal small amounts of damage at regular intervals, usually as debuffs. Damage over time only marginally exists in Hearthstone, through a few cards like Cursed! Cursed! Set: The League of Explorers Type: Spell Class: Warlock Cost: 2 Abilities: Deal damage Tags: In-hand effect, Triggered effect While this is in your hand, take 2 damage at the start of your turn.See 
. Be that as it may, the sense of immediate and unpreventable damage remains.
| Game terms | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | Direct damage | |
| Deck archetypes | ||
| Common deck types | Dragon Priest | |
