Hearthstone: Forged in the Barrens

Hearthstone: Forged in the Barrens is the twenty-first expansion for Hearthstone and the first released as part of the Year of the Gryphon. As with the previous expansions, it introduces several minor mechanics to add variety to battles, as well as new cards and Minions.

Plot

The storyline of Forged in the Barrens is tied to the sunburned lands that once spawned the Horde and now shape the toughest of heroes. Those who come to the Crossroads are subjected to the most brutal tests carried out by wild centaurs, harpies, spikemasters and various machines, traditionally presented in the form of cards. During the game, we will also get to know the stories of newly introduced legendary mercenaries, representing all classes of Hearthstone.

Mechanics

Forged in the Barrens continues the tradition of previous Hearthstone expansions by adding 135 new cards to the game, this time featuring heroes connected in some way to the Barrens. In addition, developers have prepared several new mechanics. The first of these is "Frenzy". It works by significantly boosting characters who received damage for the first time during a clash and survived this attack. The second is "Spell Schools", introducing another layer to the gameplay and giving access to more synergies, both in new cards and old. The last is 'Ranked Spells', implemented in the form of cards that upgrade when a player reaches level 5 and 10 mana crystals, whether they have them in their hand or just in their deck.

Game modes

The add-on does not introduce new game modes. Instead, it provides all the new mechanics for use in the existing modes and also prepares the way for the planned release of the "Mercenaries" mode (battles with randomly generated enemies or selected players, during which we plan our moves at the same time as the opponent, and then passively observe the fight).

Technical aspects

Graphically, the expansion is on the same level as the basic version of the game and previous add-ons. Once again, we also received many cards detailing the new characters.