Hearthstone is all set to get a new expansion and some fundamental changes to the main game’s mechanics. Yes, the way in which you acquired cards and gold is all set to change, and all leaks about a battle pass are actually true. We’re getting a ton of new content – and a revamp of existing game mechanics. Before you go all out “Yaaay!!!” and skip out on the actual announcements, let’s go over all of them.
Firstly, Hearthstone is all set to get another new expansion soon. It’s taking the scene to Darkmoon Faire, the place for the mystical fair where all forms of magic reside. Organized by Silas Darkmoon, it is a typical time of festivities in World of Warcraft. Just like Warcraft, Hearthstone highlights the lighthearted magic of Darkmoon Faire in a hilarious manner. The expansion comes with 135 cards, and of course, a new keyword called Corrupt. Corrupt cards get an extra bonus when a card of a higher cost is played when the Corrupt card is in hand. For example, Fleethoof Pearltusk gets a stat boost of +4/+4 when it gets corrupted.
The expansion also features the prominent return of the Old Gods (yes, all four of them) in a prominent manner. They are bigger and even better than ever before!
Hearthstone will also be shifting to a format where each expansion will be getting 2 mini-sets. The first mini-set will be launching a month after the launch of the new expansion and will feature 40 extra cards. It is yet unclear as to how this sort of mini-expansion will be monetized, though it might follow the pattern of Galakrond’s Awakening and can be a structured adventure. The 18.6 update adds a slew of balance changes to the game and allows players to redeem a copy of Silas Darkmoon, the eccentric host of Darkmoon Faire, for free. He’s a legendary card that you can put in your decks and experiment with right now!
The expansion also comes with a new game mode called Duels. Duels follow the format of the Dungeon Run, where you build your deck with 15 cards and add cards and Artifacts on the way. You even start with customized heroes of your choice, with special hero powers. The only difference is that you get to decide what you start with. Of course, if you successfully finish the Duel (with six wins), you get rewarded for your perseverance. You have three lives – one defeat, and you lose one life. Once you run out of lives, the Duel automatically ends in a loss. The Duels mode is currently in Early Access and will be available to every player who preorders the Darkmoon Faire Mega Bundle.
The biggest change comes to the game’s system of rewarding cards, though. The game will now feature a battle pass called the Tavern pass, which awards card packs as well as random cards such as legendaries and epics. Players now earn experience instead of gold, and every bit counts towards the completion of the pass, which runs from level 1 to 50. The pass gets renewed every expansion, so you have 4 months to complete each pass – which is quite some time to earn all the rewards. Oh, you now get both weekly and daily missions for completion – with weekly missions rewarding more experience than dailies.
The game will also get its own set of achievements for completion. Achievements on completion get permanently added to your profile and can be viewed by any unworthy critter who dares to play Priest against you (just kidding!). Achievements also reward card packs or gold on completion, so you’ll be getting extra. It’s noteworthy to mention that achievements mentioning “collect all cards from a set” essentially mean “collect all common, rare and epic cards from a set” – legendary cards do not count! If that isn’t cool, I don’t know what is. The only big question is – after all this time?
Darkmoon Faire comes to Hearthstone on November 11, 2020.