by JR Cook - 9 years ago     show comments

CM Whirthun has posted a blog covering everything that was revealed at the gamescom media briefing that wrapped up a short time ago. We can expect to hear more information over the rest of the conference, but for now, this is a good start.

Highlights include the Joust mechanic, which has to be seen to be believed:

In addition, eleven heretofore unseen cards from the expansion were revealed. You can see them in the post below or check them out in our rapidly-filling spoiler list.

We’ll have more analysis on these cards ready to go shortly, but for now, check out the official reveals.

Perhaps more importantly, The Grand Tournament will bring increased rewards for ranked play. Getting a real reason to grind up the ladder was something that players have been requesting a lot. Back in May, our writer Dannie Ray proposed some changes to the ladder reward structure. Find out how close he was to the actual changes!

It’s been quite the eventful day by the hearth! Earlier, executive producer Hamilton Chu and senior game designer Mike Donais took to the gamescom stage to dive in to more of the exciting features making their way to Hearthstone with the release of The Grand Tournament. Check out what was covered below!

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Joust

No tournament (especially one as grand as The Grand Tournament) would be complete without the time-honored tradition of jousting! The Grand Tournament brings this exciting test of might to Hearthstone with the addition of a brand-new mechanic—Joust.

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Minions Joust by emerging from their decks, creating a brief contest within a contest wherein players each reveal a minion from their deck. In order to win, the minion who initiated the Joust must reveal a minion with a higher mana cost. The rewards are varied based on the minion starting the Joust, but players will want to emerge victorious from the lists as often as possible!

Highest Rank Bonus

We love receiving feedback from the Hearthstone community. One thing that we’ve been hearing a fair bit of is that, when playing on the Ranked Play ladder, people often feel hesitant to continue playing after reaching a particularly good rank. It simply feels like too much of a step backwards if they lose a rank or two. Based on that feedback, we’re making a change that we think will help put players’ minds at ease so that they can continue enjoying Ranked Play and pursuing even greater heights.

Beginning this month, each player’s Quest Log will display the highest rank they have reached during the month and recognize their accomplishment. Additionally, we’ll be awarding players who progress past rank 20 with some minor rewards as a way of congratulating them for their achievements. Eligible players will receive a treasure chest at the end of each season containing the season’s Ranked Play card back, one or more golden cards, and some Arcane Dust. What’s in the chest is determined by your highest rank over the course of the season. For example, a player whose highest rank was 17 will receive a golden common card, 20 dust, and the season card back.

Below is an example of what a player who reaches rank 5 might receive.

New Card Reveals

We also unveiled a number of cards at gamescom, some of which can be found below!

          

Saddle up your steed, sharpen your lance, and prepare for The Grand Tournament, coming later this month!

In case you missed it yesterday, a new Warrior spell was revealed! Keep an eye here for more reveals and all the latest Grand Tournament coverage, and check out our spoiler list for the full set of revealed cards.