During this year's BlizzCon, Hearthstone game director Ben Lee revealed several new features Blizzard had planned to make the game feel fresh in 2021. One of these additions is Mercenaries Mode, a brand new way to play Hearthstone during the Year of the Gryphon that will have players focus on recruiting famous Blizzard characters to pit against an opponent in a rock, paper, scissors-style battle format. Blizzard has now revealed that iconic characters from the Diablo franchise will be part of Mercenaries Mode when it launches next month.
Though Hearthstone's Mercenaries Mode may initially look like a simple concept, players diving into the mode must be able understand concepts from other Hearthstone modes like spell school synergies and mechanics specific to certain tribes in the game. Each mercenary on a player's team will have specific abilities that may do extra damage to certain opponents or buff/heal their teammates. All of this strategy will be packed into an overall system mimicking rogue-like missions that provide loot and experience.
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This mode may feel even more like a strategy RPG with Hearthstone adding The Lord of Terror and others from Diablo, Blizzard's dungeon looter. A trailer showcasing some abilities of these Diablo characters has dropped that also includes new cards coming such as Kill Command, Doom Charge, and Fire Stomp. For Hearthstone players also anticipating the launch of Diablo 2: Resurrected later this month, they can pre-order a Hearthstone bundle that will guarantee them a Diamond Legendary Diablo Mercenary Card in the game.
The Hearthstone bundles revealed also have Mercenary Packs, which players can open for a chance to get new mercenaries to use in Mercenaries Mode. Packs have combinations of Rare, Epic, and Legendary cards. Cards aren't locked behind paywalls and can also be earned through competing in the mode. The primary way to earn Mercenary cards is by purchasing them with Mercenary Coins, which are obtained through bounties and other methods in the PvE version of Mercenaries Mode.
Players starting out in Mercenaries Mode when it launches on October 12 will need to complete a few tutorial missions before being given a pre-determined roster of eight mercenaries to use. The mode has its own hub within Hearthstone, and players will be able to enter the Travel Point for PvE and the Fighting Pit for PvP among several other options. Trying out a bounty for the first time will also unlock a special mount in World of Warcraft, Sarge, the pet mouse of Harth Stonebrew.
Hearthstone is available now on PC and mobile devices.
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