The new Hearthstone mode “Duels” is live in early access. At least Cortyn is very enthusiastic, as “Duels” combines many strengths of the game.
Hearthstone has not only announced the new expansion “Darkmoon Madness” but has also concurrently introduced a new game mode. At least pre-orderers can already take a look at the new “Duels” mode. We’ve checked it out and will reveal what the new mode has to offer.
What is the Duels mode? A new competitive game mode that joins Arena and Battlegrounds. Thus, it is the third “alternative” game mode to classic Hearthstone matches. In short, the mode is a combination of self-created decks, an arena run, and various dungeon modes that players know from single-player.
This is how the Duels mode works: At the beginning, you choose one of four heroes, then one of three hero abilities, and finally a treasure with which your deck starts. For the Mage, for example, it’s a wand that increases the damage of the hero ability by 1 as long as it is equipped. Lastly, you assemble a mini-deck from your own collection. You may only select 15 cards, and no card may appear twice.
After a match, you will receive several sets of three cards each to choose from, which you can add to your deck. Every few rounds, there are also a few treasures that you can also claim to make your deck even stronger.
The treasures are precisely these “overpowered” treasures from the adventures that you are currently thinking of. For example, there is:
- the cloak that permanently grants +1 spell damage
- the rune that reduces the mana cost of all spells by 1
- the clock that doubles the effect of the first spell cast each turn
The possible combinations are pretty crazy and make a big part of the fun – especially when you build such a combo yourself.
The principle works like in the arena. After the third defeat, you are eliminated, or after the twelfth victory, you have reached the maximum number of wins.
Hero abilities are crazier: The hero abilities are also a bit wackier. For example, the female Mage can – like other Mages – deal 1 damage for 2 mana. However, if she kills a minion with it, she summons a new Mana Wyrm.
This creates new tactical elements because it can be quite worthwhile to kill your own minion to gain a Mana Wyrm. At the same time, you have to be careful with enemy Mages to ensure that minions never remain with only one health to avoid serving the enemy a Mana Wyrm on a silver platter.
Are there rewards? Currently, there are no rewards in this mode (apart from a quest line). However, you can already see a “heroic” mode. This will presumably have a gold prize and then offer rewards similar to the arena. Details about this are still missing.
At this point, you only play for fun and to increase your ranking. Because the “Duels” mode uses the same formula for determining your performance as the Battlegrounds mode did.
But even in this mode you should never give up – because something unexpected can always happen through the treasures.
Can you play the Duels mode already? Yes. Anyone who pre-orders one of the two packages of the upcoming expansion “The Darkmoon Madness” can already access the Duels mode. Whether you pre-order the “cheap” package for €45 or go for the more expensive variant for €80 is irrelevant.
All other players can play and try out the Duels mode starting November 12.
However, keep in mind that early access is somewhat like a beta test. Not all abilities and treasures are available yet, so the possibilities are still limited.
The best thing that could happen to Hearthstone
The Duels mode of Hearthstone is the game mode that I never knew I needed and now can’t live without. It combines the most interesting features from the PvE dungeon runs with the exciting battles that one experiences against other players. The treasures provide absurd combinations that would never be possible in regular play.
If the developers shape this mode just as well as early access already hints, then I will spend countless hours in it.
That’s exactly the kind of “crazy fun” that I appreciate about Hearthstone. More of that, please.
Cortyn Nightshade
Card Demon from MeinMMO
Are you looking forward to the new Duels mode? Have you already tried it out? What is your opinion?
