World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Blizzard Entertainment.

The game was first released November 2004, and has since seen six expansions: The Burning Crusade (2007), Wrath of the Lich King (2008), Cataclysm (2010), Mists of Pandaria (2012), Warlords of Draenor (2014), and the upcoming Legion (summer 2016).

Set in the Warcraft universe established by the earlier real-time strategy (RTS) games Warcraft, Warcraft II and Warcraft III, World of Warcraft took the series to a new level with an immersive, persistent, explorable three-dimensional world, receiving universal acclaim upon its release and winning several awards.

With a one-time record of 12 million subscribers, World of Warcraft currently holds the Guinness World Record for the world's largest and most popular MMORPG. Its popularity has declined in recent years, but its final reported figures of 5.5 million subscribers in October 2015 still place it as the world's most subscribed MMORPG.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Hearthstone of course has its roots in the Warcraft universe. Over the course of its expansions, World of Warcraft has played a huge role in creating and developing the world, creatures and heroes of Azeroth. Almost every spell, minion, item and location found in the original Hearthstone was first found somewhere in World of Warcraft. As Hearthstone continues to grow, original characters and lore are becoming more common, but even these have their roots in the earlier games.

Crossover

Horde NPCs in World of Warcraft enjoying a game of Hearthstone

The in-game board from above; compare actual Hearthstone screenshots

From the game's very first announcement, there has been talk of cross-play between Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. During the game's alpha test the developers were already discussing the possibility of allowing players to play Hearthstone from within World of Warcraft. However, no solid plans have yet been announced.

One possible avenue for the eventual introduction of cross-play came with WoW's Patch 5.4.0, when two full-sized Hearthstone boards were added to each faction's shrine in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. These detailed, three-dimensional sets come with cards, mana crystals and even a tiny gryphon on the Stormwind map used by the models. NPCs can be found playing the game from nearby benches and spectating, apparently discussing the game in progress and occasionally cheering the players on. No moving parts are involved, although every so often a small Arcane Explosion occurs above the game board (a spell found in the game itself). Players are free to sit on the benches around unoccupied boards, with some roleplayers including games of Hearthstone in their WoW characters' activities. Some have even begun taking their WoW characters over to Hearthstone for some in-character fun with their roleplaying friends and guildmates.

To mark the release of Hearthstone, on March 11th 2014 the Hearthsteed mount was made available to World of Warcraft players as a reward for winning three games in Hearthstone's Play or Arena modes. As a free to play game, this served to encourage WoW players to try Hearthstone, and marked the first significant and rewarding crossover between the two games.

The first Hearthstone to WoW crossover promotion came in March 2016 with the release of Lady Liadrin, a paladin alternate hero who can be unlocked through raising a character to level 20 in World of Warcraft. With previous alternate heroes requiring purchase with real money, this was a significant departure from tradition, and provides substantial reward for an equally substantial investment of time in the latter game (although not money - it is possible to reach level 20 using the game's free Starter Edition).

The developers have discussed the possibility of adding further crossover in the future, such as Hearthstone card packs dropping from WoW bosses.

Tributes

Jumping for joy following a Hearthstone victory

A number of minor tributes to Hearthstone exist in World of Warcraft. As well as the game boards found in Pandaria, players with a Tier 3 Garrison can access a special NPC by the name of Benjamin Brode <Traveling Salesman>. Brode (based on Hearthstone Designer Ben Brode) offers a pair of Hearthstone-themed items: firstly the Hearthstone Board, which allows the player to place a game board anywhere within the world, accompanied by the introductory music played upon first entering Hearthstone; and the Winning Hand, which causes the player to /cheer as fireworks explode overhead, and the Hearthstone victory music is played. The Hearthstone Board can also be flipped by the player (perhaps due to frustration from encountering yet another Face Hunter), scattering the pieces and revealing the Hearthstone logo on the board's underside.

The Garrison also features the special Hearthstone Tournament follower mission, which sees the follower doing battle with "Mighty Zoo Lock", "Tricksy Miracle Rogue" and "Powerful Control Warrior". The mission rewards two items: firstly the Hearthstone Strategy Guide, which grants the Hearthstone Pro trait, turning the chosen follower into a "master tactician, and a must-watch", granting an additional 35% experience gains to the party; and the Autographed Hearthstone Card, a toy which allows the player to simulate acquiring a new Hearthstone card - although no actual item is generated. The item also has the flavor text "Signed by Trump and Reckful. Not too shabby."

The Demon Invasion event celebrating the arrival of Legion sees NPCs named Doomsayer appear in the capital cities, spreading word of the Legion's coming invasion. These are clearly modelled on the Doomsayer from Hearthstone, using the same outfit seen in the card art, with blood elves for Horde and night elves for Alliance (due to faction restrictions).

Trivia

The Hearthstone board model currently used in World of Warcraft appears to depict a battle between Jaina and Garrosh. It appears Jaina has the upper hand, with 2 minions on the board, and 3 cards left in her hand, while Garrosh has none of either. Jaina also has 2 mana remaining. Released prior to the introduction of limited turn time in friendly play, the game is apparently a duel, since neither player appears to be falling foul of the turn timer!

External links

• World of Warcraft on Wikipedia
• World of Warcraft on Wowpedia