DDOS attacks and general discontent cannot keep Blizzard down for long. After the successful, but somewhat frustrating launch of Curse of Naxxramas, the first expansion to the company's exceedingly popular CCG Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Blizzard is already looking to the future with additional expansions.
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The brief details were revealed at PAX this past weekend. Director Eric Dodds, in charge of the grand Hearthstone project, has been overwhelmed by the reception of Naxxramas and dropped that a new proper expansion, not merely an adventure module, would be coming down the pipe.
According to an interview with Joystiq, Dodds said that "the team is working on a proper expansion with a new type of pack, over 100 additional cards, and a bigger impact on the game." No further details were issued, but we can speculate.
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Blizzard is known for creating balanced, incredibly well done mechanics for their games. They make the titles we want to play, as if propelled by some demonic force that just knows gameplay. Naxxramas introduced the Heroic mode, which allowed elite players to make themselves feel even more elite but was also the first expansion and due to being uncharted territory, may not have seized the day as thoroughly.
Instead, look to World of Warcraft. The world's most popular MMO is unrecognizable from when it debuted 10 years ago. Tweaks and updates, new additions, bosses, dungeons; the whole game has been reinvigorated from the top down, yet still plays the essentially the same way as it did in the last presidential administration.
Curse of Naxxramas was inspired by a raid dungeon in WoW, Naxx, and introduced 30 new cards of familiar faces. 100 new cards certainly ups the ante. I would wager that instead of simply a new dungeon theme, Dodds and company will introduce cards that are set in an entire continent; Draenor, Northrend, Pandaria, etc. However, should they want to go the dungeon route, the entirety of the Molten Core area, which features MC, Blackwing Lair, LBRS and UBRS and others could be a great addition.
WoW is celebrating its 10th anniversary this November and releasing its latest expansion, Warlords of Draenor. Now that the Hearthstone development team has gotten the kinks out of its system with regards to expansions, we may just see some cross-title synergy. Hearthstone would be nothing without WoW, after all.
As for the bigger impact? I shiver at the thought. Nobody makes bigger impacts than Blizzard. Nobody.
What do you want to see out of the next Hearthstone expansion?