At BlizzCon 2023, Hearthstone lead director Cora Georgiou took the stage to announce new modes and happenings in the card battler as it approaches its 10th anniversary. Most significantly, the popular auto-battler mode Battlegrounds will be getting a cooperative Duos mode, which Georgiou says was inspired by Battlegrounds fans looking for ways to play together.
In Duos you’ll be able to connect with a friend and play as a team against other pairs, including special Duos-only mechanics like a shared health pool, team combat, and passing cards back and forth. Battlegrounds will also introduce new heroes and minions that capitalize on the teamwork mechanics. The new mode will be playable at BlizzCon, with a wider launch coming in early 2024.
In addition, the presentation announced “catch-up packs” that will help new and lapsed players access a wider array of cards. All players will get some catch-up packs for free, and there will be some tossed into preorders for the next expansion as well. These packs have variable numbers of cards, between 5-50, which will vary based on how many Standard cards are already in your collection.
This first volley of catch-up packs is meant to get you up to speed with the current Standard season, which means it will include cards from the previous expansions currently in Standard rotation: Voyage to the Sunken City, Murder at Castle Nathria, March of the Lich King, Festival of Legends, and Titans.
Finally, the presentation debuted a new trailer for the Showdown in the Badlands expansion coming November 14, showing off a handful of new cards, as well as a Reno Jackson hero card that marks the first neutral hero card in Hearthstone. That expansion will add 145 new cards, as well as two new keywords. Preorders are now available, which have been revised to now include catch-up packs.
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