When Blizzard first revealed their latest Hearthstone expansion Rise of Shadows, they had a few new cards to play up their sleeve. Now that the expansion is near a month in, Blizzard is offering up a new group of villains in the League of E.V.I.L. and the start of a storyline that will last the entire year, Hearthstone’s Year of the Dragon. Hearthstone’s latest solo adventure “The Dalaran Heist” is set to launch next Thursday, May 16th.
Players will get acquainted with their bad sides by taking control of evil lackeys to do the wicked bidding of their bosses. King Togwaggle, Hagatha, and Dr. Boom are all in on this chaotic heist, with their sights set on draining the bank, letting loose Dalaran’s prisoners, and attaching rockets to the floating magical city of Dalaran itself.
The Dalaran Heist will span five chapters, each with unique “twists” that alter the mechanics of the game. The first chapter is Dalaran Bank, which will be available for free and include the Mage lackey Rakanishu. The following chapters, each focusing on an important Dalaran landmark, are purchasable for either 700 gold or $6.99 each. A bundle will also be available for $19.99.
In addition to the experience of playing through The Dalaran Heist, each chapter that players complete will reward three packs of cards, with a final reward of a Golden Card Pack when all chapters are finished. Unlike in the past, cards will not be locked behind the chapters. Here’s a quick breakdown of the chapters and twists.
- Chapter 1 – Dalaran Bank: The Twist here is “Coin-filled Coffers,” where players can break open items on the field to gain Coins.
- Chapter 2 – The Violet Hold: This Twist is “Imprisoned Minions;” at the start of the game each player gets a minion in stasis that becomes free after a number of turns are played.
- Chapter 3 – Streets of Dalaran: The Twist is “Crowded Streets.” Two carts congest the field and limit the amount of summonable minions.
- Chapter 4 – The Underbelly: This Twist is “Swapped Attack and Health,” and is just how it sounds.
- Chapter 5 – The Kirin Tor Castle: The Twist here is “Four Additional Encounters” added to the player’s run, and is sure to be a challenge.
The Zayle Shadow Cloak card will be gifted to players who unlock all five chapters of The Dalaran Heist. This card enables play with five new deck recipes. The Zayle Shadow Cloak card is golden, so all the cards in those decks will be golden too. That’s sure to be an especially big boost for new players.
Hearthstone’s Missions Designer Giovanni Scarpati sat down for a Hearthside Chat and gave a rundown of this new adventure’s features.
New elements will also debut with The Dalaran Adventures. The first is a new loadout system that will allow players to customize their play style with new Hero Powers and alternate starting deck options which will be unlock able through play. Non-combat Tavern Encounters are deck-building opportunities every run that allow for deck changes to ensure success while playing through the chapter. Finally is the addition of Anomaly Mode. After unlocking all five chapters, players will be able to play with random rule changes.
This latest adventure is shaping up to be the biggest PvE solo content for Hearthstone yet. In other Blizzard news, Blizzcon 2019 is this November and World of Warcraft: Classic Edition is launching this summer.