Pax East Blizzard Panel Recap

Yusnaan checking in from PAX EAST! This past weekend, Blizzard had its panel, and reveal Hearthstone’s new upcoming adventure. We will be taken to the Blackrock Mountains, where we will be involved in a stand-off between the fire lord, Ragnaros, and the dragon king of the mountain, Nefarian. The expansion will contain 31 new unlockable cards and a new game board, themed around the Black Mountains and their leaders.

Blizzard announced at the panel that Dragons will be a major element of this adventure. There will be cards that revolve having dragons in your hand or on the board. They said during the panel that they hope to see all-dragon decks, similar to the mech decks that are in the current meta, after the expansion. The cards revealed at the panel are pictured below!

Like the Naxx adventure, the Black Mountains adventure will contain 5 unlockable levels (700 gold or $6.99 each) named below. These levels will have 17 bosses to face against in both a normal and heroic mode. 

Wing 1 - Blackrock Depths
Wing 2 - Molten Core
Wing 3 - Blackrock Spire
Wing 4 - Blackwing Lair
Wing 5 - Hidden Lab

The wings will tell the story of the hero (you) trying to negotiate the war between the dragon king and firelord, which will lead you into chambers of both sides. Blizzard teased a bar fight with lots of angry drunk dwarves! Unfortunately, there will not be a free level given out this time. You can purchase the whole adventure for $24.99. If you pre-order the adventure (using real money, not gold) during March, you will snag an exclusive Blackrock Mountain card back! There will also be a ranked season card back, and a heroic mode completion card back. Watch for more details in the upcoming weeks about this exciting new adventure launching in April 2015!

Another exciting announcement at the panel was that the mobile version of Hearthstone has jumped over its hurdles, and is now in Alpha testing. The release was given the timeline of “soon.” Blizzard warned that the mobile version will increase your addiction way beyond your current love. Blizzard employees at the panel admitted to playing the game all the time, including during bathroom breaks. 

I was able to play with the mobile version after the panel, and it made me very excited for the official mobile version to be released! It felt really good, and I didn't encounter any bugs during the 10 minutes I got to play with it. Blizzard is currently planning two different screen modes to help accommodate all devices and phone-holding preferences. No announcement was made on whether or not the app itself will have a cost or will have ads.  Look in the upcoming weeks for more announcements about Hearthstone coming to a phone near you!

Overall, the Blizzard panel was extremely exciting, and well worth the three hour wait and 7am wake-up time! If you haven't seen the panel yet, be sure to check out the VOD on Twitch! -Yusnaan