How expansions will be intertwined during Hearthstone’s Year of the Dragon

Blizzard recently revealed the name of the upcoming year in Hearthstone, the Year of the Dragon.

The Year of the Dragon will be unique because every expansion that’s released during it will be intertwined. We now know a bit more about how Blizzard plans on pulling off this impressive feat, too.

All three expansions that will be released during the Year of the Dragon will be telling an ongoing story. Developers recently revealed on Reddit that players can expect to see numerous characters make multiple appearances across all three expansions. We have already met two of these characters through trailers released on the Hearthstone YouTube channel, and we can expect to see more trailers drop in the future.

According to the team, the “Trilogy” will take a variety of twist and turns (like most good stories) and will primarily be told in the single player mode of the game. Players can, however, expect to see the elements of this story spread throughout all other aspects of the expansions.

While we can’t be certain about what the team has in mind, it sounds like this could be hinting at the story changing the game in a major way. In what’s arguably Blizzard’s most popular title, World of Warcraft, events in the story can alter player abilities, the game world, and even character models. If the Hearthstone team is taking notes from the WoW crowd, this trilogy might alter the game even more than we expect.

Something else developers mentioned was that there are plans to link many of the Tavern Brawl and in-game events to the story. Tying these game elements back to the story could give Hearthstone an atmosphere that makes it feel alive just like WoW. 

The team also implied that we can expect to see some new heroes joining Hearthstone soon. These heroes will more than likely be linked to fighting the league of villains that seem to be gathering in the recent King and Fortune Teller videos. Heroes are presented in the game in the form of character portraits and players constantly express their desire for a wider selection.

When the first of the three new expansions drops in April, players can expect to see a version of Hearthstone that ultimately feels more alive. If Blizzard is able to pull off all of the integration it’s hinting at, the Year of the Dragon could be the most exciting time in Hearthstone yet.