Hearthstone Mercenaries, the all-new free-to-play game mode for Blizzard’s smash-hit digital card game Hearthstone, is now available, offering players a whole new way to play in its vibrant universe.

Combining the depth of tactical RPG-style combat with engrossing and rewarding long-term progression, Mercenaries puts the focus on Hearthstone’s iconic characters, encouraging players to collect, upgrade, and equip their favorite heroes and villains, and call their shots in epic high-stakes battles.

In Mercenaries, players will assemble Parties of six heroes from among their roster and set out to complete single-player Bounties—a randomly generated series of battles that culminate in a bout with powerful Bounty Bosses.

Every hero on the team will gain experience after each successful battle, increasing in power and gaining access to new abilities as they level up. Upon completing a full Bounty, players will earn a cache of treasure that includes Mercenary Coins, which they can use to craft additional heroes or upgrade ones they already own.

The roster of Mercenary heroes — which includes over 50 at launch — was designed to encourage players to get creative when building teams, with countless powerful synergies for players to discover.

Players can also bring their most formidable teams to the Fighting Pit, where they can square up against other players and earn experience, achievements, and other rewards.

“Mercenaries provides an experience that feels completely new, but embodies the fundamental spirit of Hearthstone,” said Mike Ybarra, co-leader of Blizzard Entertainment. “The team has opened up a whole new chapter for Hearthstone that captures its unique spirit, with a fresh mode full of strategic depth. I can’t wait to see the strategies our players will unleash on the world.”

Players who start their journey will earn their first eight Mercenary heroes just for completing the prologue and introductory missions.

All other Mercenaries can be obtained from simply playing the campaign or via other in-game rewards. Starting today, players can also buy Mercenaries packs for 100 in-game gold each, or purchase pack bundles of different sizes from the Blizzard Shop, starting at US$2.99 for two packs.

Mercenaries packs contain five Mercenaries items, which can include Mercenary Cards, Mercenary Portraits, or Mercenary Coins, which can be used to craft or upgrade Mercenaries. Each Mercenaries pack contains at least one Rare or better Mercenary Card.

Hearthstone Mercenaries features:

• Raise a Mercenary Army — Try out Mercenaries when it launches and get eight Mercenaries just for completing the introductory missions! That’s enough to put together a Party and immediately start chasing Bounties. Keep playing to grow your collection! Once you have completed the Mercenaries Prologue and start your first bounty, you will also receive the adorable new Sarge mount for World of Warcraft!
• Chase Bounties — What is being a Mercenary if not collecting Bounties? Seeking Bounties is a major part of the Mercenaries PVE experience, and is critical for leveling up your Mercenaries, even if you plan to focus on PVP play. There are tons of Bounties to go after, and each one includes procedurally generated encounters leading up to the Bounty Boss, to keep play interesting. As you play longer, additional difficulty levels can be unlocked, too, for even greater challenges!
• Exciting Tactical Combat in PVE and PVP — Mercenaries features a combat system that rewards cunning and anticipation. Before each fight, players will select mercenaries from their team to participate in battle. Each turn, they’ll pick their team’s actions simultaneously with their opponents and watch the results of the fight play out. Players can focus on PVE by chasing bounties or start competing in PVP to complete achievements, earn rewards, and push for a spot on the PVP leaderboard!
• Find Balance and Build your Dream Team — While picking Mercenaries for your Party, you will notice three different colors, representing different Roles. These Roles are Fighter, Caster, and Protector. Each Role has different types of moves, and different strengths and weaknesses. At the most basic level, while on offense, Fighters deal double damage to Casters; Casters deal double damage to Protectors; and Protectors deal double damage to Fighters. Find your favorite combo and build your own dream Team!
• The Village — The Village is your central hub for all things Mercenaries. In the Village, you can manage your collection, collect task rewards, head directly to the Mercenaries shop, set off on Bounties, and so much more!

Hearthstone Mercenaries is a free-to-play RPG that officially launched on October 12. It’s available through the Battle.net desktop app, Apple App Store, Amazon Appstore, and Google Play Store.