Jump to content
FORUMS
Sign in to follow this  
Damien

GamesCom Interview: Hearthstone Observer Mode Coming Soon

Recommended Posts

6811-gamescom-interview-hearthstone-obse

Yong Woo told us a lot of things at GamesCom about the upcoming Observer mode and the kind of new content we can expect next in Hearthstone.

At GamesCom, we had the chance to have a 20-minute long interview with Yong Woo, Senior Game Producer for Hearthstone. We learned that Observer mode is soon going to be introduced in the game. We also discussed e-sport, replays, 2 vs 2, new classes, more deck slots, stats, timer, and future content.


Below, you will find the whole transcript of the interview, but first we would like to present you with the main things that we have learned.
  • Observer mode is a the number #1 request from the community and at the top of the priority list of the Hearthstone development team. No date can be given at this point, but they are making good progress.
  • Replays is not something currently being actively worked on.
  • 2 vs 2 and other game modes to play with friends are not being actively worked on. Observer mode is the first step towards doing things with friends in the game, and it is not yet known if and when more will follow.
  • Staggering content caused some problems with classes getting their cards earlier than others. They will try to address this when they release new content.
  • No new keywords (new mechanics, such as Divine Shield - editor's note) planned.
  • In the future, there will be a profile system, where we can see some stats.
  • No plans to change how the timer works.
  • No plans to add a new Hero.
  • Maybe more deck slots.

Blizzard Icon Transcript from Interview with Yong Woo


Q. Is there going to be a spectator mode in the game?

A. Yes! I think that this is a really good question. I think that the primary reason why people ask for spectator mode is to make tournaments and streaming easier. Because right now, it is really hard to stitch together two sides of the story and make that work in a cohesive way. We are really sympathetic to that and we really thank the community for bearing with us, and still making really amazing content, and running tournaments, and doing a great job with it. So, one thing I like to say is there is a list of things we want to do and they are hundreds long. If I were to write them down on the floor and it would not fit in this room. And one way we could have approached this is to really make our team hundreds of people and try to do everything at the same time. I do not think that is great for Hearthstone and for the Hearthstone team. I think what makes us strong and what makes Hearthstone really great is we take that list, really look at the top 3 things or maybe the top 5 things that we really think would add value to the players at that time and get that done.

With that said, I am not going to disappoint you. Observer mode is in that top 3 list. We feel that it is the number #1 request from the community, especially around content providers and tournament organizers. However, I do not think that this is the only reason to do observer mode. One thing I love to tell people when we talk about Hearthstone is whenever I play Hearthstone at work, all my co-workers at Hearthstone all swing by and just start watching and before I know it, my entire team is behind my back: chatting, telling me what to do, asking me about strategy, or giving me advice. To me, it is what makes Hearthstone like a really great social experience. I also think that this is what makes streaming so popular right now. When we bring Observer mode online, we want players to experience that kind of wonderful social experience that streamers, but between friends. So, for those two reasons, Observer is in our top priority list. We are actively working on it right now. I do not have a specific delivery date yet, but we are making really good progress.

Q. Does this include replays?

A. Replay is different in nature. This is something that we think is really cool, but it is not quite in the top tier list. There are various ways we could do replays that are more expensive or less expensive, in terms of development cost, and we still need to figure that out.

Q. Are there any other plans to make Hearthstone a better experience for groups of friends, like 2 vs 2 games, Solomon Draft, or things like that? Because right now, asides from installing a streaming software and showing our games to our friends or dueling them, there is little to do together.

A. This is exactly why we are introducing Observer mode. I think a lot of players who are asking for 2 vs 2, 3 vs 1, and all these different combinations... I think it really comes from a thirst for a social experience. And you know as much as like... uhm I have been squeezing some Hearthstone games between interviews. And the games are like 8 minutes long, which is great for a personal, quick experience. But, I think Hearthstone has a huge potential to be a social experience with friends. Currently, we do not have any plans to work on 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, and those types of systems, because frankly it is quite expensive and needs a lot of design work. But Observer mode will get us really far in terms of "you wanna play with your friend, you do not want to wait, join their game, and - am I allowed to say it? - talk trash to them". And then your friend's game is done and you can play each other. I think it really helps get synchronized and help share your experience. I think it is going to be amazing.

Q. What would be the other things in your top priority list?

A. Haha. That is a very good follow-up question! We are not really prepared to announce anything else. One thing we will say is.. I mean you guys are hardcore into Hearthstone, so I do not need to explain what Naxxramas is, but next wing is our final wing opening, so maybe a natural question is "What's next?". So to us, it is really important to figure the right cadence of content. Like players like you guys have probably been playing since beta and I have been playing for years, we have a certain level of thirst for new content. But we need to remember that a majority of our players have been playing since this year, when Hearthstone came out officially. We are trying to figure out that balance. With that said, with Naxxramas, we learned a lot about this way of releasing content. We wanted Naxxramas to be kind of changing or pushing the enveloppe on what is possible in terms of releasing new content in collectible card games. Like what we did with Naxxramas would not have been possible in physical CCGs for instance, where wings staggered into weeks, single-player experience. But for our next expansion, we are interested in learning more about what it would mean to release a new set of packs. So, that is what is going to be next, but I cannot talk much about the details of what is in it or exactly when we are going to release it, because quite frankly it is going to really depend on what we learn from Naxx and how quickly we think the community is absorbing new content. But, that is next and one of the things we are working on.

Q. We had a couple questions about Naxx. The first is that we were puzzled by the fact that, because it is staggered, some classes do not get their cards until the end. Is that something you are happy with?

A. So, you know I play a Priest, and I have over 500 ranked wins as Priest, and I had to wait until this week to get my Dark Cultist, and I had been waiting forever. Everything we do with Hearthstone is a continuously learning experience and we like to think that we are continually designing Hearthstone together with the community. This is one of the feedbacks we have been getting and definitely something that we will be taking into account when we do our next adventure. So, I hear you and we keep getting this feedback, and we are going to absorb it, and think about it. And it is totally possible that we do something about it in the next adventure.

Q. The other Naxx question was that we saw a lot of new cool cards, but no new keyword. How come?

A. Keywords are an interesting topic, because if you think about it, there are already effects out there that are candidates for keywords. For instance, Spectral Knight and our 3/2 untargetable share the same effect, so potentially when we have enough of those new effects that share commonality out there, we might turn them into a keyword. I would argue that there are a lot of cool new effects right now that are not official a keyword. Even things like Loatheb, it is actually really interesting if you think about it, like you play a card and on next turn they have to pay more for spells. Not that we would do more of those, but we can see a world where we tried it out, we see how it affects the meta, and then maybe in the future we make more of those cards, and maybe one day they will become a keyword. I would argue that Naxx has a lot of interesting new mechanics, even if they are not officially a keyword.

You know, keywords are double-edged swords. On the one hand, it really condenses information. I tell you Deathrattle and you know what it is right away. I tell somebody off the street Deathrattle and he is going to be like "What are you... selling me a snake?". They will not know what I am talking about, so it is a balance we have to reach between condensing the information and making too hard a set of vocabulary for new players to understand. It is something we continue to work on.

Q. Is there any way that Arena could become sort of ranked? Right now, you play Arena, but it is very hard to compare with other people.

A. Right now, we are satisfied with the way Arena feels. We actually like the notion that every run is a fresh run. It is like another chance at the dream of getting 12 wins. With that said, although it is not currently on our top tier list, one thing we would consider for the future could be maybe additional profiles, like maybe it keeps track of additional stats, like how many of each key do you have and you can kind of share that with your friends, and that becomes something meaningful for you to do. We are definitely thinking about something in that space, but we are not currently actively working on it.

Q. Since you mention stats, are you going to have more detailed stats? Like to keep track of your winning rates in every mode of the game and stuff like that.

A. Sure. I think that when we go into a system like a profile system, we would consider a lot of that. Now, with Hearthstone it is really about removing unnecessary complexity. I think it is what makes Hearthstone great, it is really like looking at a model like chess, where you can have very simple mechanics and very simple UI, yet to master the game, it takes a lifetime. So, I think a lot of these bells and whistles can be really cool, especially for hardcore players like you guys where if you had a spreadsheet in there with all this data that you can manipulate, it would be really cool. But at the same time, the balance that we are always trying to reach is how to present it in an elegant way, like what is the minimum subset that is really useful.

So, this is something that we are always talking about, something for which we are always trying to find the balance. And you know, frankly, guys like you guys are going to help us find that balance as we move to the future.

Q. Any plans to make it possible to scroll down the history? Currently, it is limited to the last 8 moves.

A. That is something that we get. Right now, we do not necessarily feel that this is necessary. Again, I think that based on feedback, we could consider it, but we currently have no plan to add a scroll bar there. As I said when I talked about chess, we want our interface to be as minimal as possible, and for every button we add, we really ask ourselves the question "Is it really really necessary?". But that one quite has not hit that bar yet.

Q. Would it be conceivable to have stats attached to your Battle.net account, so that they do not clutter the game interface?

A. It is a great idea, but as I said, our list is super long. For a while we have had ideas like having an API with a client where you can connect with a third party client and import/export deck, and stuff like that. These are all super cool ideas. I think that they have varying degrees of development challenge and I think it is also about focus for the team. For now, they are not in our top list. But they are great ideas.

Q. You have mentioned chess several times and we had a question related to chess. Are there any plans to have a more dynamic management of the time, like in chess or go, and not just precisely 90 seconds per turn?

A. Again, I think it is all about balance between complexity and the kind of optimizations you guys are talking about. There are many challenges to this. Hearthstone is all about making a collectible card game that is for everyone. When we say that, we are not saying that we are making a casual collectible card game. What we are talking about is a collectible card game where CCG pros and geniuses can really sink their teeth into and do amazing things, but at the same time, I think what is really important is that it remains popular and accessible for all players to not only play but also watch. So, these are all really great ideas, but I think they all have very complex design implications that make it hard for us to move on right away. Currently, we are happy with the way it is, even if it may have some problems.

Q. It seems that 9 is a very important number in Hearthstone, there are 9 Heroes, 9 deck slots. It makes sense for the Heroes, because it gives a 3x3 square for presenting them, but would it be conceivable to add another Hero at some point?

A. I think some members of the community have come up with designs for new Heroes, and we think that they are really cool ideas and they excite us. But the fact of the matter is that we already have 9 classes, and we feel there already is a ton of diversity and we frankly think that it has enough complexity right now for most people to sink their teeth into. So currently, we have no plans to add additional classes.

Q. Maybe more deck slots? Like when we design decks and we have to test them, we keep deleting and remaking decks.

A. Totally, especially people like you guys. You are absolutely a Power User. Whenever people ask me if they can have more than 9 deck slots, the question I ask them is whether or not they use more than 9 decks actively at the same time. Probably for you guys, the answer is yes, because you are trying out all this crazy stuff.

One example I like to bring up is that I grew up playing games like King's Quest. If you grew up playing PC games, they let you have an infinite number of save files. When I finished King's Quest, I ended up with 2500 savegames, even though I only really cared about 3 of them, which I do not even remember which they are among the 2500. So, that is an extreme, but there is that balance between 9, which I am not sure it is enough, but we currently feel it is, and infinite. For most readers, I would challenge them with his question: "Are you really using more than 9 decks actively? If not, delete the ones you are not using anymore, you would save yourself a lot of headaches in the future.". But you know, for you guys and content creators, that is a pain, so maybe there is something we can do in the future. But let's face it, you guys are like the elite or the top few percents.

Q. Is all the new content going to come either in the form of new card packs or solo adventures?

A. I will be honest with you, we do not know. Like I said, a lot of this is like a learning experience, the two things we wanted to try right away were adventure and traditional card packs. So what comes after that, I am not sure.

Q. Are there going to be new emotes? Like for example, it feels that You're welcome is missing and the oops one is very ambiguous, as you cannot tell whether you made a mistake or the opponent did.

A. That is actually a little intentional. We made a lot of our emotes a little bit vague or a little more general, so that you can use them for different situations. Like if you say "It was an error", maybe it was my fault, maybe it was yours. There are a lot of emotes that people feel we could really use, but as I said, we have a list of things to do, and cooler things keep getting priority. We are working really hard on the most important things, but if you have a really cool idea and you feel it is taking forever for us to get to, speak honestly about it, but at the same time, we really appreciate the patience.
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Fantastic interview guys smile.png

 

Very insightful on the direction Hearthstone is going. My Wife is very active in Hearthstone and the one new feature she would love is more Deck slots, so hopefully Blizzard will implement this.

 

Michael

----------------------

Holy Priest DPS Guide

Edited by Merklynn
  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Fantastic interview guys smile.png

 

Very insightful on the direction Hearthstone is going. My Wife is very active in Hearthstone and the one new feature she would love is more Deck slots, so hopefully Blizzard will implement this.

 

Michael

----------------------

Holy Priest DPS Guide

Woah, a comment on an interview, you made my day, Michael tongue.png

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice job, Damien.

 

I translated this interview into russian for our community, hope you don't mind) Copyrights and stuff are reserved)

http://eu.battle.net/hearthstone/ru/forum/topic/11664847345

http://clif-hs.blogspot.ru/2014/08/yong-woo-interview.html

 

Guess mister Woo is pleased wink.png

 

https://twitter.com/cataclyst78/status/504301300696092673

No problem! smile.png

By the way, did you do anything with your forum avatar, after registering? like trying to upload a new picture? I get this problem from time to time where new forum users don't have a proper avatar, and I am trying to figure it out!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i started playing heartstone to get the hearthstead...have unlocked evry hero since and been trying to make a good deck for evry hero ..

playing all nine heros and changing decks frequently...i havent decided yet to play just one or going for making an awesome deck for just one of them...i want to try them all and also any new cards i have gotten ...i write out evry deck ive made so i can keep track of what i have changed...so i have a huge stack of paperwork...i throw away evry now and than some of the written out decks if i feel ive got my deck improved and dont need the older versions ...

some of my friends do the same or make screenshots.

the thing is it would be a great help crafting decks if the nine hero deck slots could have a history smile.png

and you could save a deck and give it a name...and a note like: this my amazing evilmage deck that slew maexxna heroicmode!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

  • Similar Content

    • By HSEnthusiast
      Today, we're recapping the four Shaman cards revealed by Gamespot. We also have some dev clarifications on how they work.
      If you missed our previous Warrior recap, you will find it here.

       
      What a way to kick things off; this card looks insane! The dream is that Drakuru takes out two of your opponent’s minions, resurrects them on your side, and survives combat somehow. You’re looking at a 5-for-1 exchange on board.
      In the more likely scenario that it doesn’t survive, that’s still a complete flip of the board state. Even if it’s trading into a single big minion on the opponent’s side, that’s still a 2-for-1, with that 1 on your side being a big tough-to-kill minion. The only worry is that there will sometimes be late-game scenarios where the 6/8 stat line won’t be enough to get you any resurrections, but I’m hopeful those are few and far between.
      Still, even if the Big Shaman archetype doesn’t catch on for Shaman, I expect this card, in particular, to find a home in Renathal Control Shaman lists. This card is doing much of the same work that Sylvanas and Insatiable Devourer are without having to run through the trouble of infusing first.

      Once again, another big expensive card and a solid showy effect to go along with it. Obvious deathrattle/reborn synergy, as well as good with big minions in general. At 10 cost, it will take up your entire mana pool for the turn, though there are things you can do to play around that as a shaman.
      We’ve gotten some clarification from the devs on the mechanics of this one:
      All the copies summoned die at the end of the effect trigger after having attacked. Unfortunately, it won’t be some corruption-style aura effect that a cheeky Showstopper effect can silence off. Your copies are made from your hand from left to right until no more board spaces are available. Beware that Colossals will summon their appendages and take up potential board space from your other copies. Windfury minions will only attack. Sorry Drakuru, no double freebies for you ? Minions that enter Dormant won’t attack, but they won’t die either! The interaction of getting free dormant minion copies on board is interesting, but is there enough to build a deck around? In standard, there is Gangplank, Slimescale, and Pelican Divers, but outside of From De Other Side “synergy,” they might not be worth it. In Wild, at the very least, there is meme potential with getting Magtheridion and The Darkness out with this and getting their battlecries to awaken both copies when you play them out the turn after.
      There’s obvious synergy with the other big cards revealed here, with Prescience loading up your hand with some beefy bois, getting get off reborn, lifesteal and deathrattle value, summon a minion from Overlord Drakuru.

      That’s a lot of keywords for a single card, but they work together to become the stuff of nightmares for any board-based aggro deck. Taunt and lifesteal make this a nightmare to trade into, and even with enough removal to clear the main body and the reborn one, the deathrattle effect still will hit for 3 twice and heal you for 6. So while the 3 attack won’t be anything to write home about, plopping this down will buy you a good deal of time. There’s also the possibility to make use of the leftover reborn 3/1 body to evolve into a 9 or 10 drop.

      This card will get you 2 Mana 2/3 Ghostly Apparitions with the Undead minion type, which can matter for cards like Unliving Champion, or Invincible, for instance. Suppose you trigger the secondary ability here both times. In that case, that’s a pretty sweet deal right there, advancing a Big Shaman win con in 2 ways: The taunt on the Ghostly Apparitions advances your gameplan of stalling the game out until you can stabilize on board enough to play the 5+ Mana minions you’ve tutored out of the deck.
      We’ve theory crafted 3 potential builds that can use this package of Shaman cards.
      First, consider diving head first into the Big Shaman theme, bringing in Vanndar Stormpike and forgoing all other sub-5 cost minions to get max value out of Prescience and From De Other Side. We’re also going to run with the evolve subtheme to take advantage of any leftover bodies that we might get from Stoneborn General, Overlord Drakuru, or Blighblood Berserkers. The departure of the Knights of the Frozen Throne set will make evolving 10 drops better again now that there are no more Snowfury Giants in the Evolve pool, and we get to re-roll for the generally better bodies from the 10 costs. We’re adding in some early-game removal to compensate for the lack of early drops so we can better survive the early game.
      Deck code / link: 
      AAECAaoICunQBMORBKeNBK/ZBNnsA/rsA4qSBfuRBYfUBKrZBArG+QOs7QS12QTgtQS22QTblATGzgTj9gOGoQX4oAUA
      Next, let’s try to use the standard Renathal Control Shaman archetype that’s doing rather well in the meta as a starting point. One safe idea is to look at slotting Overlord Drakuru and potentially Brightblood Berskerker and From De Other Side into this standard XL Renathal Control Shaman as ways of fighting back on board while getting your infuse cards stacked up.
      Deck code / link: 
      AAECAaoIFKjuA6bvA4b6A6SBBMORBMeyBOm2BOnQBJjUBLjZBJfvBKTvBNWyBODtBIqSBdWyBPuRBfSgBbzwBODtBArG+QPTgASVkgTblATgtQSWtwSywQTFzgS12QS22QQA
      We could instead also try and drop all the duplicates from the list and convert it into a Reno deck, as the deck was already playing a lot of one-offs. That gives us just enough room for one of each of these bad boys, which together with Reno will up the turnaround potential of the deck at the cost of a little bit of consistency. Doing so we can end up with this list:
      Deck code / link: 
      AECAaoICunQBMORBKeNBK/ZBNnsA/rsA4qSBfuRBYfUBKrZBArG+QOs7QS12QTgtQS22QTblATGzgTj9gOGoQX4oAUA
      Why not use both and make it a Reno-thal deck? Prescience and Windchill will try to compensate for the loss of card draw from droping one copy of Gorloc Ravager and Famished fool. We are adding in Convincing Disguise to have still enough evolve effects around. The idea of including Bracing Cold and Far Sight is to hopefully discount From De Other Side or the evolve cards so we make use of any leftover bodies in the same turn. Ozumat’s in here not just to get us up to 40 cards, but because it’s a near guaranteed board clear combo with From De Other side, if you manage your hand and board space just right, that leaves you with all its appendages afterward.
      Deck code / link: 
      AAECAaoIKKjuA6bvA6SBBMORBMeyBOm2BOnQBJjUBLjZBJfvBKTvBMb5A9OABJWSBNuUBNWyBOC1BJa3BLLBBMXOBMbOBLXZBLbZBODtBLzwBIb6A6/ZBPrsA/SgBcSsBNnsA4fUBIXUBLGwBJrUBLzOBIahBfigBYqSBfuRBQAA
       
    • By HSEnthusiast
      March of the Lich King, set to release on December 6th, is Hearthstone's third expansion in the Year of the Hydra. Blizzard gave us an early sneak peek at some of the Warrior cards revealed today that we discuss in our latest post.
      Today, we'd like to dive into the Warrior cards revealed by Inven Global.

      Pretty straightforward card. The effect gives us much more value the larger the minion is. It gets really scary with the potential follow-up with Bulk Up giving you this massively overstated minion in hand twice. Or If you can get this on Mor’shan Elite, that’s another nice double dip of value.

      Honestly, this feels like it was tailor-made to be the ideal target of Last Stand, as your opponent can’t easily get rid of it with cheap removal. It lets you use your stats immediately by letting you trade in and stabilize with a big taunt. It might not be too shabby on its own, as the 3 effects make it an annoying wall most opponents will be forced to trade into.

      Wow, they’re really not holding back with hand disruption this set. One (nearly) guaranteed discard is pretty impactful and becomes a must-remove card in any control matchup. This card will absolutely crush the hearts of some Big Spell Mages in the coming months, that’s for sure.
      It should be noted that this discard, the devs have confirmed to us that it will trigger your opponent’s “Whenever you discard a card” effects. So try and clear a Discard Warlock's Tiny Knight of Evil and perhaps try to play around having Suffocating Shadows or Soul Barrage trigger in that matchup. 

      To round off the control toolbox from this expansion, we’ve got a pretty unique effect here. Hopefully, this doesn’t end up being too easy to play around for savvy opponents. You could pre-empt this by running out a Blademaster Okani first and baiting out your opponent into playing a small spell first. But still, while the effect will only be as game-changing as your opponent’s last spell, getting any meaningful spell off seems pretty nice.
      Putting it all together, we have put together an interesting Taunt Control Warrior decklist to try out:  AAECAQcMmu0D784EvIoE2fkDqIoEiN8E784E0qwEmu0DlJUEzJIFiKAECcWSBZTtA47tA5+fBImgBIagBJDUBMSSBcuSBQA= . Slotting in Varian seems like a natural addition to any deck with Silverfury Stalwart and Tealan hops along to be the one divine shield minion you might want to have in your control deck. Rokara and Remornia are just good cards and they’ll go a long way to having your Mor’shan Elite’s active. The rest of the deck is the classic Control Warrior shell that will hopefully give you the armor and removal needed to live long enough to throw down your double-stated taunted win conditions.
      https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/deckbuilder?deckcode=AAECAQcMmu0D784EvIoE2fkDqIoEiN8E784E0qwEmu0DlJUEzJIFiKAECcWSBZTtA47tA5%2BfBImgBIagBJDUBMSSBcuSBQA%3D
    • By Staff
      Murder at Castle Nathria is Hearthstone's latest expansion. It adds a new Infuse keyword that absorbs anima from your friendly minions, a new card type named Locations, and more.  
      (Source)
      .blog-detail .gallery figure { width: 100%; max-width: calc((100% / 3) - 6px); } @media screen and (max-width: 600px){ .blog-detail .gallery { justify-content: center; } .blog-detail .gallery figure { width: 100%; max-width: 250px; } .blog-detail h4 { text-align: center; } } Announcing
      Murder at Castle Nathria
      Hearthstone’s Newest Expansion

      The Shadowlands is normally where souls go after they die, so when someone dies in the Shadowlands, that’s a special kind of mystery. Sire Denathrius invited 10 of his counterparts and enemies to Castle Nathria for a dinner party so that he could address the malicious rumors that he is hoarding anima, the life-energy that is drained from tortured souls and used to power the Shadowlands. But just after the festivities started, Sire Denathrius was found dead! It seems a gaggle of enemies does not a good dinner party make. Now the illustrious Murloc Holmes, and his trusty sidekick Watfin, have been called to solve the case. Scour new Location cards, follow the trail of Infused minions, question the 10 Legendary suspects, and help determine who committed Murder at Castle Nathria!   

      Murder at Castle Nathria will launch worldwide on August 2 with 135 new collectible cards! You can find the full Murder at Castle Nathria reveal schedule, and all cards that have already been revealed, by visiting the card library here. Check back frequently—the list will be updated with new cards as they’re revealed!
      Ten Suspicious Suspects
      Sire Denathrius had a lot of enemies. And it just so happens that 10 of them were under his roof at the time of his demise! Each class will have a Legendary minion that is a prime suspect in Sire Denathrius’s murder. They all have the means and the motive, but it is up to you and Murloc Holmes to determine who is guilty.



      New Keyword: Infuse
      Anima, drawn from wayward souls, powers all the Shadowlands—and those who consume it! Cards with the Infuse keyword sit in your hand and absorb anima from your friendly minions as they die. After the specified number of friendly minions die while the Infuse card is in your hand, the Infuse card transforms into a more powerful version. Infuse your cards to unlock their full power!

      New Card Type: Locations
      Castle Nathria is like no place Hearthstone has ever been before. Explore the castle grounds through the all-new Location card type! Locations are played onto the battlefield for an initial cost, and then have an ability that can be activated for free on your turns, each time for a powerful effect. Each activation costs 1 Durability and has a 1-turn Cooldown. Every class gets their own Location card in Castle Nathria which represents where they claim their suspect was at the time of the murder, and synergizes with the themes of the class.

       
      Locations Gameplay Preview with Brian Kibler and Designer Leo Robles Gonzalez
      Want to get a longer look at the new Location card type? Join Brian Kibler and Game Designer Leo Robles Gonzalez as they explore the new Location card type, try them out in a couple games, and reveal some more new cards! Join them on Friday, July 1, at 11 a.m. (Pacific) on Twitch and Youtube!

      Prince Renathal Login Reward Available Now!
      Log in to Hearthstone to get your first hint at what Castle Nathria holds with the complimentary Prince Renathal Legendary minion!* Grow more powerful as you draw more souls to your cause with 40 life and a 40-card starting deck! Add him to your collection and see what you can do when you have more space to work with.

      * Limited one per account. After Patch 24.6, Prince Renathal will be granted upon opening your first Murder at Castle Nathria card pack instead of upon logging in.
      Pre-Purchase Murder at Castle Nathria
      The Murder at Castle Nathria Mega Bundle includes 80 Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, 5 Golden Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, two random Murder at Castle Nathria Legendary cards, the Sire Denathrius Warrior hero skin, the Denathrius card back, the Sandy Shores Battlegrounds Board, and 10 Mercenaries Packs!*

      The Murder at Castle Nathria Bundle includes 60 Murder at Castle Nathria card packs, 2 random Murder at Castle Nathria Legendary cards, and the Denathrius card back!

      Pre-purchase
      * Battleground Perks are not included in the Mega Bundle pre-purchase this time. We’re reworking how Battlegrounds Perks and rewards work for next Battlegrounds season. Until then, some of the current Perks are being extended. Check out the Patch Notes and stay tuned for more details.

    • By Damien
      This thread is for comments about our Handbuff Paladin Deck.
    • By Staff
      A new Hearthstone update prepares the Tavern for United in Stormwind, launching August 3. Here are the official patch notes.
      (Source)
      The 21.0 patch prepares the Tavern for United in Stormwind, launching August 3. It also brings a new Hero and cosmetics for Battlegrounds, a major update for Duels, an Arena rotation, and more.
      You can check out all 135 new cards included in United in Stormwind on the card library here.
      Battlegrounds Updates
      NEW HERO
      Galewing Dungar’s Gryphon Choose a flightpath. Complete it to get a bonus!
      Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Galewing before it's formally released on August 10.
      Duels Updates
      When the 21.0 patch goes live on July 27, all players’ Duels ratings will be reset and the pool of eligible cards you can use to build your 15-card start deck will be updated as follows:
      (NEW) United in Stormwind Wailing Caverns Mini-Set Forged in the Barrens The Darkmoon Races Mini-Set Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Scholomance Academy (NEW) Kobolds & Catacombs Journey to Un’Goro One Night in Kharazan Whispers of the Old Gods Curse of Naxxramas Legacy (Basic/Classic) Core NEW PASSIVE TREASURES
      Party Replacement At the start of your turn, summon a 2/2 Adventurer with a random bonus effect.
      Inspiring Presence After you play a Legendary minion, reduce the cost of a random minion in your hand by (1).
      Greedy Gains Your minions have +2/+2 but cost (2) more (up to 10).
      Meek Mastery Your Neutral minions cost (1) less and have +1/+1.
      Legendary Loot At the start of the game, equip a random Legendary weapon.
      Deathly Death! After a friendly Deathrattle minion dies, destroy the minion with the lowest Health.
      Ooops, All Spells! At the start of the game, destroy all minions in your deck. Your spells cost (1) less and gain +2 Spell Damage.
      BANNED CARDS & BUCKETS
      The following cards have been banned from between-game card buckets and will not be Discoverable:
      Final Showdown              Lost in the Park Defend the Dwarven District       Sorcerer's Gambit            Rise to the Occasion        Seek Guidance  Find the Imposter            Command the Elements The Demon Seed             Raid the Docks  Other Banned cards:
      Unstable Evolution is banned from card buckets but will still be Discoverable. Maestra of the Masquerade is banned from deckbuilding, card buckets, and will not be Discoverable. Seven new designer card buckets have been added as well:
      Furious Fel (Demon Hunter) AHHHH RATS!!!! (Hunter) Fire!!! (Mage) SI:7 (Rogue) ARRRRRRG! (Warrior) Auction House (Neutral) Live to Win (Neutral) Smart buckets have also been updated to include the two new card sets, and two previously missed card sets: Legacy (Classic/Basic) and Demon Hunter Initiate. Lastly, you’ll be able to find United in Stormwind cards in Duels card buckets after the patch goes live and before the expansion launches.
      Arena Rotation

      When United in Stormwind launches on August 3, the Arena will include cards from the following sets:
      United in Stormwind Forged in the Barrens Wailing Caverns Mini-Set Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Darkmoon Races Mini-Set The Witchwood Saviors of Uldum Rastakhan's Rumble Core Book of Heroes Illidan – Coming August 10

      After regaining his freedom, Illidan was eager to prove himself once and for all. But even as he journeyed far from his homeland and joined forces with new allies, the thirst for power never left him. It was only a matter of time before it interfered with his judgment, resulting in more dire consequences than ever before…Defeating all 8 bosses in this linear adventure will reward 1 Demon Hunter pack, containing only Demon Hunter cards from Standard.
      United in Stormwind Rewards Track & Tavern Pass
      When the Rewards Track refreshes when United in Stormwind launches, all players will automatically be granted any unclaimed rewards on both the free track and the Tavern Pass track (if purchased), and a completely new Rewards Track of unlockable loot will take its place.

      The Forged in the Barrens Tavern Pass will expire with the launch of United in Stormwind and a new Tavern Pass will be made available for purchase—offering a host of brand-new cosmetic rewards and XP boosts.

      Learn more about the United in Stormwind Rewards Track and Tavern Pass here.
      As a reminder, Battlegrounds Perks are now available as a standalone purchase, separate from the Tavern Pass.
      New Cosmetic Coins
      Two new Cosmetic Coins are being added with United in Stormwind, the Stormwind coin and the Lordaeron coin. The Stormwind coin is obtainable by completing the first 90 levels of the Rewards Track with the Tavern Pass. The Lordaeron coin is obtainable by collecting 135 unique United in Stormwind cards.

      Keep in mind that United in Stormwind will have a 35-card Mini-Set that will make it easier to reach both the 25 total United in Stormwind Legendary cards for the Archbishop Benedictus Diamond card reward and the 135 total United in Stormwind cards for the Lordaeron Cosmetic Coin. We’ll have more information to share about the United in Stormwind Mini-Set in the coming months.
      Bug Fixes & Game Improvements
      Fixed a bug where Shenanigans would not transform Soul Fragments into Bananas. Fixed a bug where Wicked Stab could be upgraded by cards that temporarily increase mana. Fixed a bug where Shan’do Wildclaw would not lay flat on the board. Fixed a bug where Defender would not play its VO when summoned by Noble Sacrifice. Fixed a bug where golden Soul of the Forest would not summon golden Treants. Fixed a bug where golden Ancestral Spirit would not summon a golden minion. Fixed a bug where golden Grave Rune would not summon golden minions. Fixed a bug where golden Primal Talisman would not summon golden minions. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Y’shaarj’s Battlegrounds Hero Power would not take its newly summoned minion into account when deciding which warband attacked first. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Baron Rivendare was causing visual issues when in a warband with golden Kaboom Bot. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Galakrond’s Greed was missing a tooltip for Discover. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Come One, Come All! Was missing a tooltip for Discover. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Avatar of N’Zoth was missing a tooltip for Deathrattle. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Sprout It Out! Was missing a tooltip for Taunt. Fixed a Battlegrounds bug where Hero Powers for Aranna Starseeker, Infinite Toki, Millhouse Manastorm, Nozdormu, and Tess Greymane were missing a tooltip for Refresh. Fixed a Duels bug where Diamond cards would only be Diamond in appearance for the first game of a run. Fixed a Duels bug where Lone Champion and minions summoned by Gift of Luminance were not buffed by Hold the Line. Updated the description of the Roguish Maneuvers Hero Power in Duels to be more accurate. Fixed a bug with Book of Mercenaries Guff where A Party of Adventurers will cast Against All Odds, even if they have board control. Fixed a bug where one of Lady Katrana Prestor’s emotes was showing incorrect text. Searching “Refund” in the Collection will now populate with cards eligible for a dust refund. Pressing and holding on the Rewards Track page arrows will now flip through the pages quickly. Fixed a bug where if a player disconnected from a ranked match, they’d get a message stating they won their last ranked game upon relogging.  


×
×
  • Create New...