Hearthpwn

So, Khadgar is Available Again Over in China as a Heroes of the Storm Promo Reward

Almost exactly seven months ago, our Mage friend Khadgar became available in China as a reward for playing Heroes of the Storm and it looks like he's back again starting February 1st. This is a promotion happening for Chinese New Year and will also be giving out items in Heroes of the Storm.

• 3 Wins in Heroes  - 1 Heroes Loot Box
• 45 Kills in Heroes - 2 Heroes Loot Boxes
• 5 Victories in Heroes - Khadgar Hero for Hearthstone
• Reach Rank 20 in Hearthstone - Medivh Hero for Heroes.

If that all sounds horrible to you, which previous article comments have indicated most are not happy about this being only a thing in China, the latest rumors are that Hearthstone China is going to also have a sale on card packs, something that hasn't been done outside of the Un'Goro pack sale in June 2017.

Any special events in China cannot be made use of anywhere else in the world due to it being geo-locked to their own servers.

Khadgar's Availability

Players in the west were able to obtain this hero back in April 2016, almost 2 years ago. Outside of the limited time promotion Blizzard had with Apple (iOS Exclusive Skin!!) to support the World Wildlife Fund, there has not been another widely-available method for us to obtain Khadgar while this is China's second go at it. It should be noted that China was not originally eligible for Khadgar which is likely why he was used last summer as a reward.

Blizzard, players of all types would love to protect the planet again. Let's plant trees?

Outside of the original availability through the Apple App Store and the two China events, Khadgar was available last year to South Korean players for making a donation to support South Korean firefighters. Although a great cause that shouldn't be taken lightly, isn't there some way we could do good for the planet or society which could see more widespread release of Khadgar?

This'll Really Grind Your Gears

Free stuff you can't get your hands on and potentially cheaper packs over in China, surely this couldn't get any worse, right? Oh, how wrong we are. Let's take a step into the Caverns of Times and look back at Blizzard's intentions for alternate heroes.

Back in February 2017, Yong Woo, Hearthstone's Lead Producer, took part in a Korean Q&A for Hearthstone. During the Q&A one item made headlines in which it was stated we'd be seeing some promotional heroes making a return during Year of the Mammoth.

Quote from Yong Woo

• Some promotional heroes and card backs should be coming back during the Year of the Mammoth.

Although we do still have a couple of months remaining until the Year of the Mammoth is over, there have now only been three times where old, unavailable heroes have been available over the past Hearthstone year. These three events have all been for the same hero and they've all been geo-restricted.

The two heroes who are currently locked away are the Mage, Khadgar, and the Priest, Tyrande Whisperwind.

• June 28: Khadgar comes to China in a Heroes of the Storm promo.
• September 30: Khadgar was made available in South Korea. Loopholes allowed anyone to obtain him, for a price.
• February 1: Khadgar available through another Heroes promo in China.

With the fact that not many new heroes are actually being added to the game (3 in the past year), and Tyrande being the only alternate option for Priests, it's sad to see the exclusivity of these two locked up heroes continue. Free to play titles out there are usually overflowing with cosmetic options for their players, why is the Hearthstone team so reserved about adding new heroes to the game?

How Do You Feel About Khadgar's Return?

Simply polling everyone if they'd like to see Khadgar return as a more widespread release is going to end up with a heavily Yes answer, so let's instead generate some comments! Tell us below how you feel about the situation and how you'd like to see unavailable heroes make a more widespread return.