It’s the end of another Hearthstone era.
Blizzard has announced that support for the Hearthstone Duels game mode is now discontinued. There are also no plans for scheduled updates. Read on for details.
Blizzard ends Hearthstone Duels
Blizzard will remove Duels from Hearthstone in April 2024, according to the announcement. In the official announcement, Blizzard also revealed that it was a difficult decision. However, the change will let the team focus on traditional Hearthstone, Battlegrounds, and more.
"To that end, Battlegrounds Duos is scheduled for an upcoming Battlegrounds patch, and we’re trying out some Duels Treasures in our next Arena season — more details soon," the announcement added.
What is the Hearthstone Duels mode?
In Hearthstone, Duels is a game mode that can be accessed through the "Modes" button in the main menu. After selecting either the Casual Duel or Heroic Duel option, you must choose a hero, unique hero power, plus a Signature Treasure. The screenshot below features the Shaman class, Stormcatcher hero power, and Chaos Storm spell.
After choosing a powerful Signature Treasure for your deck, carefully select the best cards to fill up the 15 remaining deck slots. In this example, the selected hero, hero power, and Signature Treasure all synergize well with the Overload keyword. Note that this game mode bans Prince Renathal, as the minion usually allows players to have 40 cards in a deck.
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Why is Duels getting removed in Hearthstone?
Over on social media, Hearthstone influencer manager Ridiculous Hat detailed the thought process behind removing the game mode. According to him, the Hearthstone Duels game mode requires a significant amount of maintenance. This is because it isn't a sealed pool like in Standard Hearthstone.
"We release new cards all the time that impact the balance of the mode, make new buckets, and have to change interactions between old treasures and new cards," Ridiculous Hat added. He also noted how the discontinued Mercenaries game mode is static compared to Duels. That's why Mercenaries is still playable.
"We want to thank all our passionate Duels fans for every pile of loot, treasure, and hard-fought victory you’ve collected along the way," Blizzard stated. "It’s been a heroic run, and we couldn’t have done it without you."
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