Together with all the novelties introduced by Patch 24.6, the Arena game mode saw the arrival of a new set rotation and the traditional return of the Dual-Class event. 

Here is a primer on everything that involves, should you still need it: 

  • Dual Class Arena went live on November 1, and will last until December 6th.
  • The eligible sets for this rotation are all those released from Classic through League of Explorers.
    • Kind of an old style Dual-class Arena event, for our nostalgic players out there!
    • For this reason, there's no modern Core Set, but instead you'll be offered the old Basic and Classic sets.
  • If you pick Demon Hunter, no such class cards will appear in the deck draft!
  • Any unfinished runs have already been retired with the patch.
  • If you had left a run unfinished, you were eligible to both claim your rewards and earn a free Tavern Ticket.

Current Arena Rotation and Eligible Sets

For completion's sake, here are all the card sets that are supposed to appear during the draft:

Quote From Blizzard

The eligible sets will be all sets from Classic through League of Explorers, and that's it! No modern cards. But there's a catch—Demon Hunter is still in the game. If you pick Demon Hunter, you could end up with the Demon Claws hero power, but no Demon Hunter class cards will appear.

Dual Class Arena will last until March of the Lich King launches on December 6. The eligible card sets during this period will be:

  • Basic
  • Classic
  • Curse of Naxxramas
  • Goblins vs Gnomes
  • Blackrock Mountain
  • The Grand Tournament
  • League of Explorers

Note that this throwback event uses the Basic and Classic sets, not the more modern Core Set.

All good so far. But now we get to face some unpleasantries.

Hearthstone Team and Tavern Tickets - History Repeats Itself

Although there were many past occasions where Team 5 members were reactive enough to communicate with the rest of the playerbase about either Arena or Duels' runs that were about to get retired (with the obvious implication of receiving a free Tavern Ticket for an additional run "on the house" in the post-patch environment), the devs have chosen to remain silent this time around. And not even for the first time this year. 

We think this lack of communication is a real shame, especially towards those players who approach Arena rather casually. There were past situations where either Matt London or DeckTech would send out a tweet in advance, explaining what's to come. Letting us know only when the patch notes drop at the same time as the patch itself doesn't exactly leave a reasonable window of time to act accordingly and aim for an X-2 score that's ready to be retired.

A Drafting Bug Prevents Classic Arena From Working Correctly

For as much as the community has always enjoyed the concept of picking cards from two classes at the same time, we think it would be better for you to wait a bit more time before diving into this Arena event: as Modes Design Lead Matt London admitted on Twitter, a good chunk of the cards are currently missing from the drafts. As a result, it hasn't been quite the expected Legacy Hearthstone experience.

Quote From Matt London
Some cards are not appearing in Arena draft. We're working on a fix.

Which ones? Why, apparently the whole Basic set for starters. There are "just a few" useful cards in there, you know. Be it Flamestrike, Truesilver Champion, Backstab, or the true honorable mentions of Chillwind Yeti and Sen'jin Shieldmasta. 

Flamestrike Card Image Consecration Card Image Fireball Card Image Dread Infernal Card Image

So things are already weird, but it gets even weirder. It would also appear that Neutral cards are appearing in the draft a lot more often than usual, therefore preventing class cards from showing up at a decent enough rate - which should be the point of the entire event! Multiple reports can be found on the Arena subreddit, but Twitter gives us proof that Team 5 is aware of the situation and is already working on a fix. This is one very familiar bug we've seen before. 

Quote From Matt London

New set looks amazing not sure about this instance of dual class arena though especially with all the missing cards(any update on that). Any chance of buffing the class offering rate a bit. Keep up the good work.

Working on it.

It didn't make it into the hotfixes for this week, so perhaps something will happen in the coming one. 

Ill-Fitting Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter is in a strange place, too. Not having any class cards across the old-school sets, and overall not really belonging to the Legacy set rotation. On its own, Demon Claws can also feel like cheating when paired with certain other class combinations. 

Quote From Matt London
Will the 10 Legacy Set demon Hunter cards be draftable?

No if you choose Demon Hunter in Classic Dual Class Arena you will receive no Demon Hunter cards. RIP.

Typical Illidan, trying to stick around for the masquerade ball when not invited. 

A Peek Into the Future - Death Knights in Arena

If you're interested in this particular topic and how the brand new class is going to work in the game mode, then our in-depth look at Death Knight is the place to be. Here is a brief explanation: 

Quote From Matt London
I've gotten a few questions about how Death Knight's runes will work in Arena. The draft knows which cards you have picked. It will only offer cards you could legally play given the runes you have drafted.

So if you pick a Double Unholy card, no double or triple Frost or Blood cards will be shown. If you then draft a Single Blood card, no Triple Unholy or Single Frost cards will be shown. Can you draft carefully to force certain cards? Why yes, yes you can.

 

We imagine this could be potentially confusing at first, but also very interesting in its own right. 

What are you thoughts on the Dual-Class Arena limited-time event? Have you played at least one run, or going to once everything is working as intended? Let us know about your favorite class combinations!