In Ten Days, Hearthstone's Next Expansion Will Be Revealed - What We Know So Far
A countdown to the expansion announcement will show up on our front page next week - stay tuned!
In just a little under 240 hours, we'll know the name and some details of Hearthstone's next expansion - the last one for the Year of the Raven.
This year's BlizzCon on the surface won't be very different for us, but there's going to be something big missing - Ben Brode. One of Hearthstone's lead visionaries and fathers left the company earlier this year to found his own game studio with other ex-members of the Hearthstone team. Not only was one of the usual Hearthstone folk to tell us about the new expansion, but he was also responsible as the booming voice over the halls of BlizzCon.
Here's what you can expect this year that aren't so different.
- Announcement of Expansion during the Opening Ceremony.
- More details, including card reveals, during the dedicated "What's Next" panel.
- Details on any single player content they're adding in with the card set.
- Playable demo of the new single player content on the show floor.
There's also a couple of new things happening this year.
- An art panel where artists will showcase how they created the new card pack for this expansion.
- A panel talking about the past and future of Hearthstone solo adventures (likely additional, focused info on the new single player content).
Check out the full schedule of Hearthstone goodness over in our dedicated post.
What We Know So Far About Expansion 3
Not a whole lot! We do have a preview image of the theme though thanks to the Year of the Raven introduction from this past February.
- Expansion 1 showcased the trees of the Witchwood (which most, including us, thought we were going to Duskwood)
- Expansion 2 showcased The Netherstorm. No, Tempest Keep was not actually in store for us, it's just the home of Dr. Boom's Lab.
Expansion 3 is all over the place. We've got tribal-style markings that could be Troll themed (maybe even Orc?) and the middle contains what appears to be water, possible even a little bit of ice at the bottom left. The red rocks surrounding the "orb" in the center don't make any immediate connections unlike the Ethereal Gateway from Ex2 and roots from Ex1.
If I really wanted to go crazy with a guess, it would be something Pandaria themed thanks to the very natural, tranquil vibe the overall panel gives me. Come on Lorewalker Cho, let's go to your homeland and, hopefully, not make an absolute mess of it.
What do you think Expansion 3 will be?
it would be nice if it were sea themed, but not murlocs, enough with that meme crap, there is far more to the sea than pirates and murlocs.
I hope that murlocs are not the next exp or i will literally kill myself.
Hate that fkn tribe.
Hi Amy you are pretty want my number? xoxoxo
Just kidding
Hearthstone has been moving away from WoW and towards being its own game with every new expansion, aside from a few sideways glances which I guess are fun for people who actually play WoW (Like the old gods in their time or other legendary cards in recent expansions, from what I understand Dr. Boom was a pretty minor character in Wow and not the meme-fest it is in HS), and the year of the raven clues in general are a lot more obscure than the mammoth ones, I don't think I saw anyone guessing the Witchwood or Boom Labs.
well, duskwood was pretty close. Noone could've expected this completely new stuff. Boomlabs was completely random and the netherstorm clue was not even close to being useful. So, for all we know the next expansion could be a naga space program. I dont think the expansions themes so far werde bad, but i would like nostalgic wow or wc3 themed expansions way more and there is so much unused potential
I think you share that with many WoW players, and yet the move to being a distinct game is a voluntary, intentional Hearthstone strategy. There's a reason a lot more players play it than WoW (part of it is it takes a lot less commitment, IMO), and while they may revisit WoW elements, the game is designed for a much wider audience and in a way that knowing next to nothing about WoW would not discourage you from playing.
As a side note, I think Blizzard has elevated hype building into a form of art with Hearthstone. "Revealing" a year in advance clues about the expansions planned is a great move to keep expectations high even during the time when the game hardly changes.
P.S. I've been trying to vote up your comment for the past 30 minutes or so, I don't know why it's not working.
Add new minion type - Troll!
Naga & Murloc themed. Deal with it.
For some reason the colorscheme reminds me of Tanglefur Mystic
Flavor text: Doom! Only doom for you! But pay good tip, maybe less doom.
Not helping :'(
But Doom is good!
Stranglethorn expansion, maybe. Booty bay (pirates), beasts, and Trolls.
So based on the previous two expansions the preview image doesn't really specify the theme, but rather the location. Number two is clearly Netherstorm, yet we got a BOomlabs, which doesn't exist in WoW (and just happens to be located in Netherstorm)
I don'T think we can reliably guess the theme of the expansion, even if we knew what zone it was based on.
Well, but Dr.Boom and area 52 were on netherstorm, so not totally a blind guess.
No concede button? What?
Dude if you don't know there is a concede button you have better things to worry about than speculation and lamenting on forums. Just hit the gear in the corner friend.
Hope for something in the water, but most important, a real new mechanic (not like echo, rush, magnetize, etc) , something really new like triclasses or quest !
Soggy planks, water - I was reminded of Vashj'ir, the underwater zone in WoW Cataclysm. But some kind of troll/jungle connection could also work I guess...
Hopefully troll, orc, murloc, etc
I attended a three-year old's Bday party this past weekend and it was trolls themed. The birthday girl and everyone else enjoyed the trolls (the cake was yummy!) so I hope you are correct.
I never watched the movie but I have met a couple three trolls and they can turn out fun.