Today, Blizzard officially revealed the next expansion for Hearthstone. Madness at the Darkmoon Faire sees the return of The Old Gods – timeless beings of terrifying power that ruled a young Azeroth. They have chosen the Darkmoon Faire as the site of their return and bring with them 135 all-new cards. The new expansion also introduces the new keyword: Corrupt, a new game mode called Hearthstone Duels, and will introduce a new progression system for the game. Madness at the Darkmoon Faire launches on November 17, 2020.
With the return of The Old Gods, they also bring in Old God artifacts – four ancient spells inspired by the designs of the most dreaded Legendary minions from the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion which Madness at the Darkmoon Faire is taking inspiration from. The new keyword coming into Hearthstone is Corrupt. Corrupt cards upgrade in your hand after you play a higher cost card.
The all-new, completely free game mode Hearthstone Duels combines the Arena game mode and the deckbuilding experience from Solo Adventures. Players will face other human opponents with the goal of reaching 12 wins before 3 losses, just like Arena. However, in Duels, Each player starts with custom-built decks from their own collections and will draft additional cards or game-changing Treasures after each match. In addition, Heathstone Duels/ Heroic mode lets players earn other rewards such as in-game gold, cards, card packs, and Arcane dust. The better the record at the end of a run, the better the rewards. Heroic mode Duels are accessed by paying 150 gold or by purchasing a Tavern Ticket for $1.99. Hearthdstone Duels will evolve with each season. The pool of cards will get refreashed from the set catalog, and accompanying new Heroes, Hero Powers, and signature Treasures. Anyone who prepurchases a Madness at the Darkmoon Faire bundle can try out the new mode from October 22 to November 11. All players can try out the mode on November 12 with the launch of a Beta. Season 1 starts when the expansion is released on November 17.
The Madness at the Darkmoon Faire mega bundle costs $79.99 and comes with 85 card packs from the expansion. 5 will be Golden Card Packs that contain all Golden cards; plus 1 random Golden Legendary card; the N’Zoth Warlock Hero; the N’Zoth card back; perks for Hearthstone Battlegrounds that lasts until the next expansion; and early access to the Hearthstone Duels game mode. The Madness at the Darkmoon Faire bundle costs $39.99 and includes 45 card packs from the expansion, one random Legendary Card, the N’Zoth card back, and early access to Hearthstone Duels.
On November 12, Hearthstone will get updated with a fully overhauled progression system that aims to deliver regular, exciting rewards to players regardless of how long they play or how committed they are to the game. The new Achievements system tracks players’ statistics and in-game accomplishments. New achievements will be added with every expansion, as well as future game modes, and major updates. The Reward track allows players to earn in-game gold, card packs, cosmetics, and more. Players who purchase a Tavern Pass can get bonus rewards. Every expansion will introduce a new Reward track. Players earn progress through its 50 levels by accumulating experience points from Quest s, achievements, and play. The revamped Quest system adds robust and rewarding Weekly Quests to the regular rotation of Daily Quests and the special event-driven Legendary quests that come with expansions and content updates. Players can see their progress in the new profile page that will track lifetime stats across a player’s account, including ranks, ratings, and wins.
“This is a huge moment for Hearthstone, with the Madness at the Darkmoon Faire expansion, as well as an all-new game mode in Duels, and a fundamental overhaul of the game’s progression system,” President of Blizzard Entertainment J. Allen Brack said. “As Hearthstone continues to evolve and grow, our focus is squarely on continuing to deliver a uniquely deep and fun game experience, and we think players are going to lose their minds over all this new content.” Below are 14 of the new 185 cards that will be coming to the game in this expansion. The rest of the cards will be revealed in the weeks leading up to the launch of the new expansion.