A completely unique gaming experience, HEX: Shards of Fate was created from the ground up as a digital trading card game, free from the restrictions that come from being shackled to physical trading cards. Players will make their way through the dynamic MMO world featuring champions, dungeons, raids, and epic gear. Cards can be found while battling within the world or purchased in 15 card Booster Packs.

The magic of HEX: Shards of Fate comes from the digital nature of the game. Not only are player's in-game avatars able to level up across a range of stats, but the cards themselves have unique attributes as well. Each card has a "double back" which reveals digital challenges and achievements for that card. Cards also have socketed slots for adding gems that fundamentally change how the card plays, allowing players to modify and individualize their collection to suit their play style, with billions of potential results.

Gameforge and HEX Entertainment are expanding the beta of HEX: Shards of Fate with the first single-player content. The Frost Ring Arena will have players duelling against various AI opponents as part of an overarching storyline, with newly introduced PvE cards expanding the repertoire of playable effects, spells and troops to over 700.

The Frost Ring Arena is divided into four wings, each consisting of four regular opponents and one boss. To guarantee replayability, the adversaries are randomly chosen at each start from a pool of a total 30 normal AIs and 7 bosses. In addition, the duels against the AI opponents differ in their composition from the previously seen PvP bouts, in such that certain creatures make exclusive use of cards of a specific category, for instance, or draw heavily on countermagic.

If a player loses three rounds in the ring, the attempt to run the arena is a failure. Depending on how far the player has managed to progress, they will receive rewards in the form of rare items, cards and gold.

During a tournament in the arena, there’s a certain random element which can crop up to add a little extra flavour. In this case Hogarth, Lord of the Arena, appears in person and lays down a specific challenge to the players, such as to win a duel without taking more than five points of damage. If the player manages to complete a challenge during a duel, they will earn themselves a bonus for the subsequent rounds, such as an extra unit or the ability to continue to the next level despite having already lost three rounds.

The new PvE cards are exclusive to bouts against the AI and differ in the way they work from the regular PvP troops and spells. Certain cards, for instance, earn a higher damage value with each victorious duel. To make it easier to manage decks, the interface now offers additional areas for players to put together their PvE and PvP decks.

With the release of the Frost Ring Arena, the story surrounding the world of HEX: Shards of Fate enters the focus of events for the first time. The icy theatre is found in the northernmost reaches of the Hyperborean Mountains, an inhospitable, sparsely populated corner of the world of Entrath. After the Hex meteorite impact which rocked civilisation to its very foundations, this once flourishing land faded into obscurity. One thousand years later the renegade Hogarth managed to pin down the exact location of this long forgotten arena, which cast a spell over the curious and inquisitive, and surrounded him with arcane secrets of all kinds. To this very day, the wizard lives in this most hostile place, waiting for someone to challenge him and his minions in the Frost Ring Arena.

Frost Ring Arena features at a glance:

• First single-player campaign
• Over 30 different AI opponents
• Challenges with various additional objectives
• Introduction of PvE cards
• Expanded card interface for easier overview of different decks

Key Features:

• Digital Trading Card Experience: Have access to your deck from anywhere in the world!
• Unique “Double Back” Cards: Flip your card to see its back; flip it again to see its double back!
• Digital challenges and achievements can evolve a card from a Dragon Egg to a mighty Dragon as it gets used in battle.
• Socketed Cards: Collect gems, and use them to change how cards play and customize your deck. The combinations are endless as you mix and match to create your own perfect combo.
• Transforming Cards: Harness the power of transforming cards, which change mid-match as you play.
• PvP and PvE Gameplay: Play in a variety of different ways against friends! PvE dungeons will include hundreds of Booster Pack cards and customizable character cards.
• Online Play Sessions: With dozens of daily tournaments, on demand 8-player drafts and (potentially) real cash prizes, HEX: Shards of Fateis poised to be the definitive professional online TCG.