Blizzard is the best kind of helicopter parent, hovering over its beloved child Hearthstone, wiping its nose and nerfing its cards whenever it's needed. With the latest season, the Year of the Raven, the game is getting support for in-game tournaments, better daily quests, and a new Hero skin, among other tweaks and treats. Here are the big headlines from Mount Blizzard.
Expansions are on their way
Just like in the Year of the Mammoth, we'll get three large expansions over the course of the Year of the Raven. We don't have an exact date yet for the start of the new season, but Year of the Mammoth started on April 6, 2017 with the arrival of its first expansion, Journey to Un’Goro. Game director Ben Brode teased that the first expansion for Raven will come "real soon."
A new Druid hero skin
Win 10 games in Standard, and the new Lunara the Dryad skin is your prize. Heroes of the Storm players have already had the chance to dally with this dryad, and she can also be found in the Dreamgrove in World of Warcraft. Her daddy is Cenarius, a legendary druid minion card from the Classic set, so I guess she's following in papa's footsteps.
Hall of Famers go wild
Ice Block, Coldlight Oracle, and Molten Giant are all leaving the Standard deck set, but you'll still be able to play with them in Wild. Molten Giant fans will want to know the big man is going back to its pre-nerf state (a hero-health-affected mana cost of 20, down from 25). The card sets for Whispers of the Old Gods, One Night in Karazhan, and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan are also headed to Wild.
Tournaments are coming
Later this year, Blizzard will launch a beta for in-game Hearthstone tournaments. This isn't a feature aimed at Hearthstone esports pros - it's for humble civilians like you and me who want to get competitive with friends or at Fireside Gatherings.
Daily Quests will pay better
Not only will gold rewards go up, but daily quests will be easier to complete. Whereas before, you might've needed to win three games for a quest, that will go down to two. You'll need to play, say, 30 cards for a specific quest, not 50. Hey, anything that means more coins for cards is fine with us.
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