Blizzard Entertainment’s digital card game ‘Heathstone’ celebrates its new regular ‘Year of the Hydra’ on April 13th. In this season, new content and updates will be added to the existing modes, and persistence and optimization will be strengthened. A number of improvements have been made, including the ability to equip random hero skins, in-game reporting, and convenience-related features, including overall client performance improvements. Of course, three card sets are still prepared, and large-scale new content is planned for the battlefield and mercenaries.
The ‘Core Set’, a bundle of cards provided for free to all users, will also be reorganized. 57 cards were excluded and 72 cards were incorporated, for a total of 250 cards. Among them are members of the original League of Explorers, including Reno Jackson, Brann Bronzebeard, Ellis Starseeker and Sir Finley Mrrgleton. Voidwalker, Mad Pyromancer, Acolyte of Pain, Mossy Giant, Cloaked Huntress, Fandral Staghelm, and other popular cards return to the core set.
Blizzard prepared a video interview with the development team to mark the start of the Year of the Hydra. In this interview, Nathan Lyons-Smith, Executive Producer of Hearthstone, and Edward Goodwin, Associate Game Designer, participated.
Does the new regular power, the Year of the Hydra, have any special significance?
Edward: Usually, the meaning of regular power has a lot to do with the first expansion packs released. In this expansion pack, Voyage to the Sunken City, you’ll find cool minions with the spirit of the Hydra, including the Behemoth minions.
What change will you feel the most in the Year of the Hydra?
Edward: One of our goals this year is to encourage more field-oriented games. The three expansion packs coming to the shores of Hydra will also focus on this.
Nathan: In ‘Sailing to the Sunken City’, new mechanisms such as ‘bear’ and ‘salvation’ will be introduced, and there are many other new mechanisms and cards being prepared. It is difficult to reveal yet, but it is expected to be a very enjoyable game. We look forward to a fierce battle in the field.
Convenience features and client performance improvements have been announced. Are there any improvements to look forward to?
Nathan: The biggest part is the UI (user interface) changes. You will be able to collect achievements easily because the UI displays recently completed achievements. There are some that haven’t been revealed yet, and there will be a number of improvements throughout the year.
What kind of solo adventure content or events can you meet in the Year of Hydra?
Edward: We didn’t prepare as much single content as we did in the previous year. However, there is an event similar to the previous ‘Tomb of Terror’. We are preparing various events that you can enjoy in this expansion pack and the next expansion pack.
A reporting system will be applied, how is the reporting process handled?
Nathan: As a Blizzard team, one of the things that I have benefited from is the Battle.net system. Together with the CS team, we plan to utilize many common features of Battle.net. For example, you can report a chat of a user who makes offensive remarks. I think users will be able to enjoy a better gaming environment.
What is the direction of this core set?
Edward: When we discuss the core set, we have three goals. The first is for both new and returning users to have a pleasant experience. No matter which deck you start with, you want to build a strong deck so you can learn Hearthstone. Some classes add powerful legendary minions, and Kalecgos is a typical example.
The second is that the core set should fit the archetype of each class. For example, in the case of a paladin deck or mage deck that uses a specific pattern, a card that can fully support it is put into the core set each time. The third is that Hearthstone should be enjoyable enough. If the fun that can be felt in a specific job continues, eventually users will continue to enjoy the game. We have updated the warrior’s ‘Closing Strike’ mana cost from 1 to 2 and back from 2 to 1. We hope that warrior users will enjoy a pleasant gaming experience.
Among the cards added to the core set are cards that delay the turn so that the game continues into the second half. What meta are you expecting?
Edward: The theme that runs through this regular power is ‘a more board-oriented meta’. However, I don’t want a specific deck to dominate, either the aggro deck or the control deck. I hope that all users can play in their own style and challenge various styles.
In this core set, heroes from the Explorers’ League return. Will other heroes appear in the next expansion?
Edward: It’s hard to give spoilers. However, the entire development team has great affection for the League of Explorers. If given the opportunity, I would like to continue to showcase the Explorers’ League.
Lastly, what would you say to your Korean fans?
Edward: I want to say thank you to everyone who plays Hearthstone. I hope you enjoy ‘Sailing to the Sunken City’. I will also support those who participate in the upcoming Asian Games national team selection.
Nathan: I also want to support all the players participating in the Asian Games. We hope that other players will also enjoy playing with the new cards and core sets in this expansion.
Seo Dong-min, reporter for Hankyung.com Game Talk
