New 'Hearthstone' expansion coming soon captures the spirit of classic fantasy
Hearthstone is harkening back to some of fantasy's most classic elements with its latest expansion, even taking its own crack at dungeon-delving with a new single player mode.
Hearthstone: Kobolds and Catacombs was revealed at BlizzCon today, and will dive into the subterranean world of the kobolds and the things they find (and run away from) while digging and scavenging underground.
The expansion, coming in December, brings 135 new cards to unpack, a new card mechanic to shake things up, and a rogue-like single player mode called Dungeon Run.
I was able to talk to Hearthstone game director Ben Brode ahead of BlizzCon about Kobolds and Catacombs and the theme of the new expansion.
"This is a set that brings us back to the roots of classic fantasy," Brode said. "It’s full of monsters, treasures, and traps; it’s reminiscent of a simpler time that reminds you of, say, being at a table, gaming with your buddies, and delving deep into dark dungeons."
Kobolds and Catacombs -- reminiscent of Dungeons and Dragons in name -- captures the spirit of classic fantasy RPGs and sounds like it's ripped straight from the original release of World of Warcraft, as it goes dungeoning through the tunnels of the Deadmines.
The expansion explores the extensive tunnels that kobolds have been digging for thousands of years, the treasures they horde, and the enemies they run away from.
Part of that throwback feeling comes from the bounty of new cards, and part of it comes from the new Dungeon Run mode.
Dungeon Run
Dungeon Run is unlike any other single player mode that has come to Hearthstone over the years.
Instead of building a deck and defeating individual bosses -- like in the One Night in Karazahn adventure -- players are given just 10 cards and have to defeat eight random bosses in a row, earning new cards after each fight.
In spirit, Dungeon Run plays like a rogue-like dungeon crawler, with players earning loot as they progress and becoming stronger to defeat stronger enemies.
If you lose, you lose everything and have to start back at the beginning. But with 48 different encounters in Dungeon Run, you rarely have the same lineup of challenges twice.
"I think it's gonna be nuts," Brode said. "It's a great place to come in and start playing Hearthstone because you don't need any cards, it's totally free. It's also really fun — the strategies that pop up, the treasures are so unique and different from a lot of vanilla Hearthstone cards that your experience changes every game."
Some of the cards and treasures, as seen above, do some pretty insane things that would make normal games unfair. But because you're playing against AI opponents, the Hearthstone team was able to test out some crazy cards in Dungeon Run.
The new cards for standard play in Hearthstone aren't messing around.
New cards
Only a few new cards have been revealed thus far but they give a good glimpse at some of the larger themes of Kobolds and Catacombs.
First, there's Marin the Fox, a legendary card that every player will receive for free as long as they remember to log in to Hearthstone on Monday, Nov. 6.
When played, Marin the Fox summons a 0/8 Treasure Chest on your opponent's side of the board. If you can break it, you get some treasure. Tolin's Goblet is just one example of interesting treasure you can find.
Another card coming in Kobolds and Catacombs is Crushing Walls, a Hunter card that takes the idea of Hunters setting traps and dungeon-ifies it. Crushing Walls smashes your opponent's left-most and right-most minions on the board, destroying them.
A third card, Gather Your Party, introduces a new keyword: Recruit. Recruit pulls a card from your deck to be played; this one specifically takes a random minion from your deck and places it on the board, which could have some devastating effects if your deck is stacked with high-cost minions.
Throughout BlizzCon and leading up to the release of Kobolds and Catacombs in December, more cards will be revealed, peeling back the curtain on what to expect when we venture into the tunnels of the kobolds.
Topics Blizzard Entertainment Gaming
