How To Earn Gold In Heroes Of The Storm

How To Earn Gold & Unlock Heroes For Free In Blizzard's Heroes Of The Storm

Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard's newest game currently in the Technical Alpha Stage. This MOBA style game is free to play, but there are additional skins, heroes, and mounts that are able to be purchased with cash or gold in the store's in game shop. Just like you can earn gold in Blizzard's game Hearthstone, you also can earn gold in Heroes of the Storm. Grinding for gold within Heroes of the Storm will allow you to unlock mounts, skins, and heroes without spending any cash. Sure you can eventually unlock many items without spending any real life cash in the game's store, but that would take you quite some time to grind out that much gold.

The items in the cash shop are not cheap; some heroes cost 10k gold for a single hero alone without any new skins. That's just the price for the single hero, so it is going to take a lot of grinding for gold to unlock everything you can obtain in Heroes of the Storm without paying. And by then, there will be even more heroes, mounts, and skins to keep grinding out gold to unlock these new additions. Be Warned - Some items are only available for cash and cannot be purchased for gold.

Let's take a look at all the ways you can earn free gold in Heroes of the Storm as well as some tips for efficient gold grinding to make unlocking the heroes for free much easier.  These numbers are tips are based off of the current build for the Heroes of the Storm Tech Alpha.  Blizzard has stated their will be no more wipes of accounts, so these numbers should be pretty close to the final launch build.

HEROES OF THE STORM TEE SHIRTS & BUTTONS

The Ways You Can Earn Free Gold In Heroes Of The Storm:

• Player Level Rewards - Once per account at each gold award interval.
• Hero Level Rewards - Once per each individual character.
• Daily Quests - Repeatable quests that unlock one per day.
• Game Rewards - Playing matches earns gold.

Earning Gold With Player Level Rewards

As a player you have an overall player level. As your player level increases from playing matches, you unlock various player level rewards at certain levels. Included in these rewards are nice chunks of gold, in addition to unlocking more free characters slots.

Here are the current Player Level Rewards:

• Level 2 - 1000 Gold
• Level 4 - 1000 Gold
• Level 6 - Unlock Daily Quests (Each Rewards Gold)
• Level 8 - 2000 Gold
• Level 10 - 2000 Gold
• Level 12 - Extra Free Hero Rotation Slot
• Level 15 - Extra Free Hero Rotation Slot

So in addition to unlocking the daily quests, which will award more gold, you can earn a free 6000 gold just by leveling up your player level simply by playing the game.

Earn Gold While Leveling Each Hero

Each hero in Heroes of the Storm has his own level, that raises as you play that hero more. You earn experience from each match that you use that hero. As you level the hero up, you unlock more talent choices, skin and mount options, and a character portrait. What we are most interested in is that for each hero, you are awarded 500 gold once that hero reaches level 5. So you can unlock a free 500 gold for every hero added into the game just by playing each hero to level 5.  At Blizzcon 2014, they've already announced 4 more new heroes that will be added to the game, so that is another free 2k gold you can earn from playing the new heroes to level 5 as well.

Currently there are 32 different heroes in Heroes of the Storm (including the recent Jaina addition), which means you can earn a free 16,000 gold just by leveling all heroes to level 5. Thrall is going to be available on the launch of the closed beta, which adds hero #32 and another chance for a free 500 gold. The new heroes tend to take 5-6 weeks before showing up in the free heroes rotation slot options.

Making Gold From Daily Quests

Daily quests in Heroes of the Storm are unlocked once you reach Player Level 6. You will receive a random daily quest each day and these daily quests can award anywhere from 200 to 800 gold each. You only can hold 3 uncompleted daily quests at a time, but let me tell you these daily quests are stupid easy!

Only one of the quests require you to win anything, for most of the Hots daily quests you only have to play!  For example, one quest is "Play 2 games with a Warcraft Hero." It's not Win 2 games, but just Play 2 games. Some require you to use a specific type of character, like "Play 3 games with a Specialist Hero", or "Play 3 games with a Warrior Hero." You also don't have to log in each day to collect the daily quests. As long as you have room in your 3 quest hold bin, you will still get the daily quest added to your queue. This daily quest system is one of the easiest I've ever seen in any Blizzard game.

Playing Matches Awards Gold

You can also earn gold in Heroes of the Storm just from completing matches. Currently you receive gold from completing a match in Cooperative or Versus modes. In Cooperative Mode you get 10 gold for a Win, none for a loss. In Versus Mode you earn 20 gold if you lose. If you Win in Versus Mode you get a 10 gold bonus, which makes the total 30 gold per Versus match won. So playing Versus other players will always be the best option when you are grinding for gold in Heroes of the Storm.

• Co-Op Loss - 0 Gold
• Co-Op Win - 10 Gold
• Versus Loss - 20 Gold
• Versus Win - 30 Gold

Tips For Unlocking Free Gold In Heroes of the Storm

1. Focus On Getting to Player Level 6 To Unlock Daily Quests.
2. Complete Daily Quests. Or at least never let your daily log get filled where you are missing out on potential gold from quests that you have no room for.
3. Follow the Daily Quest Hold Bin Strategy for increased gold gains from the daily quests.
4. Play Each Free Hero Just To Level 5, Then Switch To Another Free Hero.
5. Mix Up The Hero Types That You Play. If you just played a melee warrior to level 5, don't do another melee warrior next.  If you leveled a Warcraft hero to 5, don't choose another Warcraft hero next. This is because you want to minimize the chances of having to play a character for the daily quests that you've already leveled to 5. If you knock out all of your warriors first, then you don't have a fresh warrior to level to 5 while doing the daily quest for that warrior.
6. Advance Your Player Level So You Get All Free Rotation Slots Unlocked. More heroes to choose from means more heroes to push to level 5 for free 500 gold each week and helps provide more options for daily quest choices to help minimize leveling characters you've already pushed to level 5.
7. Play Versus Mode. There is no reason to play Cooperative mode.  Versus awards a lot more experience and much more gold per match.
8. Always Invite A Party Member To Be Your Friend. Having a friend in your group earns you +50% bonus experience.
9. Complete the Heroes of the Storm Tutorials - Earn an easy extra 1000 gold.

Check the Current Pricing On The Heroes of the Storm Headset

Check out More Heroes of the Storm Gifts Ideas, Tees, & Buttons

My Top 5 Horror Movies For Halloween

5 Fandom Fridays: October 24th Topic

My Must See List Of Halloween Movies

This week for 5 Fandom Fridays we are picking our Top 5 Must Watch Halloween Movies. I've hand selected a list of Halloween appropriate movies for the Halloween season. Included in this list we have some favorite horror movies that are just perfect for Halloween movie watching.

My Top 5 Halloween Horror Movies in no particular order are:

• Trick Or Treat
• Something Wicked This Way Comes
• The Thing
• Saw - The Complete Series
• House of 1000 Corpses

Trick 'r Treat

Trick 'r Treat is my absolute favorite Halloween movie ever created. Sam (pictured on the DVD cover) is one of my favorite characters from a fantasy or horror movie. In Trick 'r Treat you see Sam all throughout the movie, but don't find out how awesome he is until the very end of the film. He is so awesome they even made a Sam Funko POP! Figure. I enjoy the directing style of Trick 'r Treat because there are 4 separate story lines that all link together in the end. It really is both my first watch and a must watch movie for the Halloween season.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Don't let this Disney movie fool you! This is one awesome fantasy-horror type movie that takes place right around Halloween, as one of the boys was born a minute before Halloween and the other a minute into Halloween day. Something Wicked This Way Comes was originally a book, written by Ray Bradbury and he also wrote the screenplay for the movie, so it is a very close adaptation. Mr. Dark is another one of my favorite evil characters and the Mr. Dark's Pandemonium Carnival has inspired many of my Cthulhu and Ravenloft gaming adventures. By far the best Disney movie ever made, Something Wicked This Way Comes is another great classic for setting the mood this Halloween season. Why is there no Funko POP! Mr. Dark yet?

John Carpenter's The Thing

You can't think of Halloween movies without immediately thinking of the horror genre of movies. Horror movies and Halloween are a close knit link, so of course I have to include the best horror movie ever made in my list of top movies for Halloween. The Thing is one of the best horror movies because of the fear, paranoia, and overall assault of your sanity that comes along when watching this great film. Trapped in an ice station with something infecting and evolving you and your companions one by one. Who will be next?  In most horror movies, the characters do stupid things to get themselves killed.  In John Carpenter's The Thing, the characters choose the actions you would expect a real person to make and still end up in trouble, which makes it that much more realistic and scary. Best horror movie ever! The music from the film is damn creepy too and makes great background music for a Halloween party or trick-or-treat night.

SAW - The Complete Movie Collection

The SAW series of movies was always special for Halloween, as each individual SAW movie was release on Halloween weekend. You may recall all of the previews that ended with "Coming This Halloween." I really enjoyed the entire series of SAW, as there was a ton of foreshadowing in each movie that you didn't realize was there until you've seen the later sequels. The SAW series was great because it turned horror into intellectual torture horror.  Just how many crazy puzzles can Jigsaw come up with? At least they do have a Funko PoP! for Bloody Billy the iconic character in the SAW series,

House of 1000 Corpses

Rob Zombie's directorial debut was an instant cult classic. This sick and creepy slaughterfest takes place during Halloween and is packed full of sick and twisted horror and gore filled fun. If you enjoy grindhouse horror, then you simply can't miss the prequel to The Devil's Rejects. It's in House of 1000 Corpses where we first meet Captain Spaulding, Baby, Otis, and the rest of the Firefly clan. The best evil clown around, Captain Spaulding has his own Funko POP!  Be warned, this film isn't for the more easily disturbed. Bring an apron and splash shield because this one gets really messy! Mwahahahah!


What Are Your Top 5 Movies For Halloween?  
Please Share Your Top 5 List In The Comments Section!

5 Best Men's Halloween Costume MorphSuits

Characters I'd Love To Dress Up As For Halloween

Need a simple costume for Halloween? I've never been one to dress up for Halloween as a specific character or ever wanted to make a cos-play outfit, so I'm going with my Top 5 MorphSuit Costumes For Halloween.

Scary Clown MorphSuit

There are a lot of people that are creeped out or afraid of clowns. I'd be sure to scare the hell out of them with this Scary Clown MorphSuit. This skinsuit has so many scary clown faces and in the oddest of places. With the trippy patterns and wacky colors, this one would also be the perfect costume for a Halloween rave.

Animal Planet Vampire Bat MorphSuit

This Vampire Bat MorphSuit is another nice costume for a Halloween party or haunted house. This MorphSuit is a bit different than the rest because of the addition of the bat wings, which really add to the presentation of this skinsuit costume.

The Zombie MorphSuit

These days, everyone loves zombies, thanks to the major success of The Walking Dead and other cult zombie classics. This Zombie MorphSuit skinsuit costume is an inexpensive Halloween costume and the rotting jaw sets it apart from many of the other zombie costumes out there.

Black & White Checkered MorphSuit

How trippy is this Black and White Checker Pattern MorphSuit? This skinsuit costume is another excellent option for anyone attending a Halloween Rave or house party. This checkered skinsuit and the scary clown skinsuit are my two favorites.

Body Muscle MorphSuit

This cool exposed Muscle MorphSuit skinsuit (or should I say skin-less suit?) reminds me of those traveling Body Worlds exhibits. This MorphSuit costume would be great for a Halloween party costume because I could walk up to people, hold out my open palm, and ask them to "slap me some skin!"  ROFL.

Why wear a traditional Halloween costume when you can wear an awesome trippy Halloween MorphSuit to your next Halloween party, Trick-or-Treat outing, or Halloween rave?  Proper Halloween decorations only make up half the party; the costumes complete the other half of the perfect Halloween event.  Happy Halloween!

Gifts For Gamers: Cthulhu Art - Call of Cthulhu Posters

Gifts For Gamers:  Call of Cthulhu Art & Posters

Cthulhu Art & Posters make great gifts for any fan of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth video game, or the Cthulhu Mythos. The Dark Lord Cthulhu is the iconic symbol of the Cthulhu Myhtos, created by HP Lovecraft.  Any Cthulhu fan would proudly display the Great Old One Cthulhu on their walls in the form of art or posters, so these are great gifts or stocking stuffers.  

Here is a collection of some of the best Call of Cthulhu Posters & Cthulhu Art to help you find a nice inexpensive gifts for a Cthulhu fan.

If You Love Cthulhu Too, Please Share This Post.

Cthulhu Posters & Art From Amazon

Cthulhu Posters & Cthulhu Art From Zazzle

Cthulhu Head Poster by insidiousdesign
Browse other Cthulhu head Posters

HP Lovecraft Poster by emilycheeseman
Look at more Lovecraft Posters at zazzle

Keep Calm and Fhtagn Posters by Sporkbender
Browse for more framed art posters at zazzle

Miskatonic University Poster by chesme
Find more Miskatonic Posters at Zazzle

Baby Cthulhu - Poster by buccaneerbrucey
Search for another framed art work

Wishful Thinking v2 : Cthulhu Entering Our World Print by TBW_Designs
See additional Poster templates & designs online at Zazzle.com

Cthulhu at the Wall Poster by CthulhuCthulhu
Check out other Cthulhu Posters at zazzle.com

Cthulhu Nears New York Poster by CthulhuCthulhu
Look at more fine art posters

Sarcophagus medium posters by silentietc
See other Silenti Posters at zazzle

That which is not posters by CthulhuCthulhu
Find other designs of Art & Posters at Zazzle.com

Cthulhu London Poster by CthulhuCthulhu
Shop for Posters & Prints online at Zazzle.com

H.P. Lovecraft portrait (green) Poster by nymbus7
Find another fine art reprint

Cthulhu Heart poster/print by rustyoldtown
Browse anotherPoster template design online at Zazzle

Star Spawn of Cthulhu Print by tikirussy
Browse more Cthulhu Posters

Cthulhu Claus Print by kbilltv
See additional Poster templates & designs online at Zazzle.com

Cthulhu green by niceposters
Check out other Horror Posters at zazzle.com

There are so many awesome Call of Cthulhu Posters and Cthulhu Art Prints available for fans of the Cthulhu Mythos.  Some of these Cthulhu Posters from Zazzle are absolutely amazing!  I can't wait to buy some Cthulhu Posters for myself!  Hopefully, this post will also help you identify some gift ideas for the Cthulhu fans that you know.

5 Geeky Clothing Items I Must Own

Geeky Clothing Items I Need In My Closet Immediately

This week's topic for 5 Fandom Fridays has us looking into our favorite geeky items that we would love to buy for ourselves. Of course these would also make great gift ideas for others that have similar interests, but today is all about me and what I would like to own. Here is my list of 5 of the coolest geeky clothing items that I would love to have in my closet.

The Official Knight Hoodie

The Official Knight Hooded Sweatshirt

The Official Knight Hoodie is just plain awesome and is a must have for any fantasy fans. You can't get any geekier than this grey fantasy knight armor based hooded sweatshirt.

It is complete with a knight's face shield, pauldrons, and gauntlets.  If I had the knight's hoodie I would also buy the Broad Sword Umbrella for the complete knightly look.

The Official Knight Hoodie is definitely medieval wear for the modern man. You could fight your way through the cold with this awesome knight hoodie, or slay goblins on your way to class.

League of Legends Volibear T-Shirt

This League of Legends Volibear T-shirt is my favorite of all of the League of Legends shirts. Volibear is my absolute favorite League of Legends champion to play. I like the blue color for the Volibear Tee the best, as it is available in multiple colors.

Of course, I need to get a shirt that represents my favorite League of Legends champion since I've been mainly only playing League these days. It's a lot of fun and very competitive, which suits my gaming needs.  Check out other cool League of Legends Hoodies and Shirts and there are even cool replicas of League of Legends Hats that you can wear.

All Fear Volibear!

Melting Rubik's Cube T-Shirt

The Melting Rubik's Cube Tee is my favorite shirt that can be seen on The Big Bang Theory TV show.  That's right!  It's one of the many tee shirts worn by Sheldon Cooper, who is one of the best comedy sitcom characters on television.

I like the Melting Rubik's Cube Tee because it looks like the fusion of a Rubik's Cube and a Gelatinous Cube from Dungeon's & Dragons. Or it could be a play on it being an ice cube and therefore it is melting. Be sure to also visit this post on Big Bang Theory gift ideas, if you too are a fan of the show.

Star Cthulhu T-Shirt

Star Cthulhu Shirts by Shirtsploitation
See more Lovecraft T-Shirts

The Star Cthulhu T- Shirt combines the Starbucks logo with the iconic Lovecraft created god, Cthulhu.  Who doesn't want to see Cthulhu eating a bunch of white girls ordering cappuccinos and pumpkin spiced lattes? Instead of the iconic Starbucks white girl with long hair, this logo shows Cthulhu with his long tentacles instead. Such an awesome improvement. I stop at Starbucks many times a week on my way to work and I would love to see the look on their faces when I walk in wearing this sweet Cthulhu Starbucks shirt.  This is such a great piece of Call of Cthulhu Art.

Zombie Herd Long Sleeve Shirt

The Long Sleeve Zombie Herd Shirt is pretty sweet and would make a great gift for any zombie lovers or gift ideas for Walking Dead fans. Zombies are all the craze these days with the success of The Walking Dead TV series, but I'm yet to own a zombie shirt.  That needs to change!  I like the colors used in this long sleeve Zombie Herd shirt and I also like how the zombies in the background are shadows, with only the detail on the closest zombie. That helps to portray the message that there are a lot of zombies coming, but this one is right on top of you.


There you have my Top 5 Geeky Gifts that I would like to own.  These are all items that would help to show off what a big geek I am.

5 Fandom Fridays: Fandoms That Helped Me Develop My Inner Nerd

Well, hello again!

It's been a while since I've posted anything with a regular consistency, since I got completely burned out on Warcraft and no longer play the game.  I've written some posts here and there on various games, but have been wanting to get back into a bit more regular blogging.  With winter coming and more down time at work, I've got a bit more available writing time on my hands and have been itching to get the blog posts rolling again.  I've started to get my creative juicing flowing again and have decided to participate in a new community building project.


Gateway Fandoms That Made Me Who I Am Today

The first topic in the 5 Fandom Fridays series is designed to explore the things we love that helped turn us into the geeks and nerds that we have become.  It's sorta hard to narrow it down to 5 things, but the 5 I've chosen have definitely helped shape me into the geeky, nerdy guy that I am today.

5 Fandoms That I Embody:

1. Gamer
2. Raver
3. Foodie
4. Lovecraft-ian
5. Philly Sports Fan

GAMER

I have always had a very competitive nature and gaming has been one of the ways to compete with family, friends, and even strangers for as long as I can remember.  From the earliest of ages, I was the neighborhood kid that gathered the local kids to group up and play sports together, started the local board game groups, gathered friends for my own amateur card game tournaments, started up the neighborhood role-playing group, and so much more.  

I have always been interested in games of all types, including but not limited to: board games, role-playing games, trading card games, table-top card games, miniatures games, mobile gaming, video games, and PC gaming.  Hell, I've been involved in damn near every type of gaming there is except for LARPing. Those guys are real nerds! ROFL

• I play games almost daily.
• I write a blog about gaming:  Cold's Gold Factory
• I co-host a variety gaming podcast:  The Eviscerated Gaming Podcast (NSFW)
• I've been ranked as high as #17 in the world in Magic the Gathering (Old School Type 1)
• I placed 5th at the MageKnight Nationals at Origins.
• I've made millions in gold in World of Warcraft.
• I own a bunch of gaming inspired clothing.

I am a Gaming Nerd!

RAVER

My passion for electronic music surges through my blood and ears almost daily.  Ever since I heard my first 4 on the floor beat, I have been addicted to House Music.  I've danced my nights away for 9-10 hours straight at plenty of old school raves and warehouse parties.  I've collected a massive amount of dance music for many years.  Having also been trained musically in school, I was a quick learner when it came to stepping up a notch and becoming a DJ myself.  

Having originally started working with Technics and Vinyl as a French House DJ, lately I've transferred over to DJing digitally with my trusty Traktor S2 and a slew of the hottest, freshest tracks I can find.  My favorite genre to mix is Complextro, which is a sub-genre of house music, but I spin almost every genre on my sets on the Eviscerated Gaming Podcast.  Each week we close the podcast episodes with a recorded set that I mix live and the genres vary from week to week as I explore all types of electronic dance music.  The segment on EGP is called Electronic Education and I also have a stand alone Electronic Education Podcast where I focus on Electro House, Progressive House, and Complextro in addition to featuring other DJ guest mixes.  Both EGP and EEP can be found on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.

If you are into electronic music as well, then I am always linking my mixes out on my personal/gaming twitter account (@SSmith0911) and my music account (@ElectronicEDM).

• I am a DJ.
• I listen to dance music almost daily.
• I was an old-skool raver.
• Even at 40 years old, I still go to clubs to dance and hear touring DJs.
• I record music mixes weekly.
• I spin on live shows, live streams, and record weekly mixes for EGP.
• I spend more on new dance music than I do on clothing.
• I carry the Circle of 5ths with me everywhere I go.
• I have no fewer than 20 of my own mixes on my phone at a time.
• I'm happy staring into a blinking light, if dance music is playing.

The Raver In Me Will Never Die!

FOODIE

I've always had a great love for trying new foods, reading food labels, experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes, and exploring in the grocery store, deli, or import market.  I enjoyed food and the sciences involved with food and nutrition so much that I majored in Food & Nutrition / Clinical Dietetics.  I know more about food and nutrition than most people.  I hold both a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Dietetics.

Having grown up in a very meat and potatoes and American Food only type of home, I quickly became curious about all of the other styles of food.  As a result, I developed a desire to see and try all kinds of new foods and restaurants, since I wasn't allowed to growing up.  I am always on the hunt for new restaurants opening up here in St. Louis and I love to try out food festivals and tasting events.

I talk way too passionately about food and restaurants and I am the guy who scopes out all the new places and then tells everyone else about the great places or dishes I find.

If I'm not talking about gaming or dance music, I'm talking about food.

Nom Nom Nom.

LOVECRAFT-IAN

My favorite author is H.P. Lovecraft, creator of The Cthulu Mythos.  The short stories and books by HP Lovecraft are some of my favorite books I've ever read.  The twisted, dark, macabre stories of demonic creatures and creepy settings have always been great reads, especially if read by candle light on a stormy night!  I have spawned many other Lovecraft fans through lending my literature and teaching others about the Cthulhu Mythos.  

Being a gamer as well, the Call of Cthulhu gaming system has always been one of my favorite role-playing games.  What I find awesome about Call of Cthulhu was the fact that the average life expectancy of a character was half a gaming session, which allowed for a lot of sick and twisted fun for the Keeper (CoC equivalent of Dungeons & Dragons' Dungeon Master).  Contrary to other types of role-playing games the best characters were not the biggest, baddest, strongest, toughest characters you could make.  The strongest and best characters where actually the ones with the highest speed and danger sense as running away from unspeakable evils is almost always better than trying to fight or going insane from the unspeakable madness.  Mwahahahahah!  So yeah, I owe a lot of my being a sick and twisted individual to HP Lovecraft and The Cthulhu Mythos.  I still need to grab myself some of these sweet Cthulhu Posters and Art Prints.

The nightmare corpse-city of R'lyeh…was built in measureless eons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars. There lay great Cthulhu and his hordes, hidden in green slimy vaults.

—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu" (1928)

All Hail The Almighty Cthulhu! 

PHILLY SPORTS FAN

I'm what they refer to in Philadelphia as a "4 for 4 Guy", which means I'm a fan of all 4 of the major Philadelphia sports teams.  I love the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers.  The crazy thing is that I picked what teams I liked when I was a child before I could read and the decisions on which teams would be my teams were based on either my favorite players at the time and/or the teams uniforms and colors.  It just so happened that all the teams I liked with the cool uniforms or players turned out to all be teams from Philly!  And I've been a 4 for 4 guy ever since.  Go Philly!

I had never actually been to Philadelphia until this year (2014), when my girlfriend took me to the Eagles home opener for my 40th birthday weekend.  We had an absolute blast and I've grown to love the city and the Philly teams even more.  

Philly Rocks!

So there you have it, the top 5 fandoms that influenced me to be the geek that I am today. I look forward to sharing more of these 5 Fandom Fridays posts with you as I get back into writing again more frequently.  

What 5 Famdoms Influenced You The Most?  

Let us all see your Top 5 list in the comments.