Rise of Shadows: The Dalaran Heist – Here is what the new solo adventure about

As we reported last time, Hearthstone is getting a brand new single-player mode titled The Dalaran Heist on May 17 (MY & SG Time), which it will be tied together along with the Rise of Shadows expansion. A few weeks ago we are lucky to be able to try out the new solo adventure, and here is what it is all about.

*You can also check out our guide on all the heroes, hero powers and starting decks here.

Rise of Shadows introduced us to the League of E.V.I.L, while The Dalaran Heist gives players a chance to get more familiar to the evil group. For those who are new, the League of E.V.I.L is formed by Arch-Villain Rafaam with 4 other members – Heistbaron Togwaggle, Swamp Queen Hagatha, Madame Lazul and Blastmaster Boom. Their plan is to steal the magical city of Dalaran, and you will become a henchman working for them.

Its gameplay is very similar to the previously released Dungeon Run mode. With a total of 9 new playable characters, this is the biggest single player adventure to date according to Blizzard. The heist takes place across 5 chapters, each with a unique twist and their own final boss. For instance, the first chapter (which is free) takes place in the Bank of Dalaran with Coin-filled Coffers twist – every enemy spawns a Cache of Cash.

The first hero, Rakanishu (Mage) is available for free along with the first chapter, while the following chapters are only purchasable and unlock 2 heroes each. Unlocked heroes are replayable in other chapters. Every hero will have up to 3 hero powers, as well as 4 starting decks (including one random deck).

There are 75 bosses in total where HP of the boss increase by 5 in each encounter. Defeating a boss unlocks more hero powers and allows you to pick a loot that adds additional cards to your deck. Interestingly, The Dalaran Heist also features the non-combat Tavern encounter for the first time. You will get the opportunity to have “friendly encounter” occasionally in the middle of a run, which allows you to tinker with your deck.

Owning all chapters unlocks you the Anomaly Mode that is usable once you complete the chapter. According to our interview with the Ben Thompson and Dean Ayala (the Lead Artist and Game Designer of Hearthstone), it is inspired by the past single-player modes like Tavern Brawls where you can play in unique rules. For the Anomaly Mode, it allows you to replay the chapter with random alterations to the rules, which grants you a very different and unique experience every run. You can build your deck to take advantage of the effect too.

After you completed all the 5 chapters, you will be awarded a new legendary card – Zayle, Shadow Cloak. It works similar to Whizbang the Wonderful, the only difference is that you will start the game with one of Zayle’s evil decks this time. Each of these 5 decks will represent a member from League of E.V.I.L.!

About the difficulty of The Halaran Heist, Ben and Dean also tell us that It will be a bit challenging for both newbie and veteran. You will definitely go through failures but eventually you can get through it by improving your decks and strategies. While if you love challenges, there will be a Heroic Mode for The Dalaran Heist that of course gets more difficult to beat. Clearing the Heroic Mode rewards you a Card Back (but from what we know, this is the only reward).

The new solo adventure – The Dalaran Heist will be available in Hearthstone on May 17 (Malaysia, Singapore Time). The first chapter is free to play, while the rest are unlockable for 700 gold or $6.99 each. You can also purchase them as an all-inclusive package for only $19.99 USD (about RM83).