So I wanted to offer some PvE ideas on some things I'd be excited to see Hex add, to help improve the PvE experience overall.
Evolving Dungeon
Inspirations: Earlier suggestion(I believe it was by Nico), also the PotD in FFXIV, Evo Sealed Gauntlet
Note: This is a paid dungeon. Entrance fee, say, 400 plat.(spitballed - this could easily be way off)
The basic concept of this is that your character and your mercenaries are stripped of their decks for this dungeon. You're given a preset pool of uncommons/commons to build from, as well as 2 special packs to open, similar to Evo Gauntlet. Each pack contains 20 cards and 4 equipments guaranteed to be for cards in your pool(bear in mind you have the preset of common/uncommon to use). 15 of these are guaranteed to be pvp commons or pve common/uncommons. 4 of these cards randomly roll from among current set pvp uncommons, pve rares, pve legendaries, or pvp rares(with decreasing likelihood of course). The final card is a pve rare.
You're then given the opportunity to build decks for this dungeon and set to tackle 10 somewhat random encounters of increasing difficulty. At nodes 4 and 8 you open an additional of these pack. Additionally, you can complete challenges in up to 4 encounters to earn pve packs themed after the encounter.(ex. you might get a Hag encounter with a challenge. Complete that and you open two Kraken pve packs for your pool. Or a goblin encounter might reward devonshire packs)
If you complete the entire dungeon, you get one current set pvp pack as your prize. All cards opened from the packs are kept. So you're paying the entry fee for up to 8 pve packs, four of these 'special' pve packs, and a chance at a single pvp pack. If you lose five times, you're out.
There are a few intents behind this idea.
1) Offer a way to monetize pve to a degree.
2) Offer a way for people to earn content in pve while paying without needing to play against other people.(since not everyone wants competition)
3) Add a randomized form of pve for campaign characters.
4) Add a way to earn PvE packs that isn't just a repetitive static grind.
Hogarth's Gauntlet
Inspirations: Diablo 3 Greater rifts, Hex Arena
Note: This is a free experience.
Here the basic concept is that on the campaign we'd have a new node. This node would be entitled 'Hogarth's Gauntlet' and would take you into a selection menu with 4 different difficulties.
Upon selecting your difficulty, you'd be presented with a dungeon map. Like all dungeons, you can't see the node layout until you reach it, so you don't know how many encounters or deviations you'll have. However, it'd be at last 10 and no more than 20 encounters, with at least 1 deviation for some special effect.
At random, there will be deviations to the path. These deviations offer you small rewards similar to the ones in the kraken dungeon.(small gold bonus or loot 'chest' to be opened at completion + start all encounters with a charge, x random cards get -1 cost, x random actions get 'when you play this, copy it', x random troops get flight, so on)
Every encounter awards a small gold reward with a chance at a loot chest. These chests contain items pulling from the existing pve packs as well as a few exclusive items. Similar to the above dungeon I mentioned, encounters chests contain items themed somewhat after the encounter, although there are some 'generic' items that are shared by all as well.
2-3 encounters throughout the dungeon will randomly be 'boss' encounters. Boss encounters award two chests guaranteed, as well as double the gold of a regular encounter. Each boss encounter has two items that can ONLY drop from its chests, but are rare.
There are also some 'special' bosses you can find. These are quite rare, and range in difficulty from easy to extremely hard, but reward a large bonus and several special items.
Intents:
1) Make gold farming more enjoyable and less 'solved'.
2) Add challenge scaling to pve to some degree.
3) Add more ways to get pve cards.
4) Add some repeatable content to the campaign.
The Scourge of the Overworld
Inspiration: Dragon's Dogma 'raid bosses'
Every encounter you do has a low chance to be replaced by a special challenge encounter that is difficult but not hugely difficult. The encounter is a PART of a boss. Defeating it rewards you a special token you can gift to a friend. The token, when used, enables them to fight the special encounter themselves. Each account can only fight this boss once. The boss rotates once per month.
Completing the boss takes away a percentage of the overall 'boss health'. Once the boss is defeated, everyone who defeated one of the parts of the boss, gets a bonus loot pack to open with 8 pve cards in it(4 of them special).
If the boss is not fully defeated at the end of the month, everyone who beat part of it gets a small pack containing part of the loot of the full pack based off of how much of the boss was beaten.(25% - 2 cards, 1 special. 50% 4 cards, 2 special. 75% 6 cards, 3 special.)
Vroengard had the idea that there could be multiple of these at once, rotating throughout the year. I love the idea... but even just one would be enough to get people to at least feel that having friends was a plus. lol
Intents:
1) Add a tiny bit of social/pseudo-co-op to the pve that is relatively minimally design time intensive.
2) Add another random rare thing to look for.
3) Give people motivation to play pve every month.
Anyone have their own ideas, or want to discuss the above? Feel free to share
Edited: Removed Fog of War as unnecessary. Thanks for pointing that out Vroen. Also added an idea you suggested to the OP.
Evolving Dungeon
Inspirations: Earlier suggestion(I believe it was by Nico), also the PotD in FFXIV, Evo Sealed Gauntlet
Note: This is a paid dungeon. Entrance fee, say, 400 plat.(spitballed - this could easily be way off)
The basic concept of this is that your character and your mercenaries are stripped of their decks for this dungeon. You're given a preset pool of uncommons/commons to build from, as well as 2 special packs to open, similar to Evo Gauntlet. Each pack contains 20 cards and 4 equipments guaranteed to be for cards in your pool(bear in mind you have the preset of common/uncommon to use). 15 of these are guaranteed to be pvp commons or pve common/uncommons. 4 of these cards randomly roll from among current set pvp uncommons, pve rares, pve legendaries, or pvp rares(with decreasing likelihood of course). The final card is a pve rare.
You're then given the opportunity to build decks for this dungeon and set to tackle 10 somewhat random encounters of increasing difficulty. At nodes 4 and 8 you open an additional of these pack. Additionally, you can complete challenges in up to 4 encounters to earn pve packs themed after the encounter.(ex. you might get a Hag encounter with a challenge. Complete that and you open two Kraken pve packs for your pool. Or a goblin encounter might reward devonshire packs)
If you complete the entire dungeon, you get one current set pvp pack as your prize. All cards opened from the packs are kept. So you're paying the entry fee for up to 8 pve packs, four of these 'special' pve packs, and a chance at a single pvp pack. If you lose five times, you're out.
There are a few intents behind this idea.
1) Offer a way to monetize pve to a degree.
2) Offer a way for people to earn content in pve while paying without needing to play against other people.(since not everyone wants competition)
3) Add a randomized form of pve for campaign characters.
4) Add a way to earn PvE packs that isn't just a repetitive static grind.
Hogarth's Gauntlet
Inspirations: Diablo 3 Greater rifts, Hex Arena
Note: This is a free experience.
Here the basic concept is that on the campaign we'd have a new node. This node would be entitled 'Hogarth's Gauntlet' and would take you into a selection menu with 4 different difficulties.
Upon selecting your difficulty, you'd be presented with a dungeon map. Like all dungeons, you can't see the node layout until you reach it, so you don't know how many encounters or deviations you'll have. However, it'd be at last 10 and no more than 20 encounters, with at least 1 deviation for some special effect.
At random, there will be deviations to the path. These deviations offer you small rewards similar to the ones in the kraken dungeon.(small gold bonus or loot 'chest' to be opened at completion + start all encounters with a charge, x random cards get -1 cost, x random actions get 'when you play this, copy it', x random troops get flight, so on)
Every encounter awards a small gold reward with a chance at a loot chest. These chests contain items pulling from the existing pve packs as well as a few exclusive items. Similar to the above dungeon I mentioned, encounters chests contain items themed somewhat after the encounter, although there are some 'generic' items that are shared by all as well.
2-3 encounters throughout the dungeon will randomly be 'boss' encounters. Boss encounters award two chests guaranteed, as well as double the gold of a regular encounter. Each boss encounter has two items that can ONLY drop from its chests, but are rare.
There are also some 'special' bosses you can find. These are quite rare, and range in difficulty from easy to extremely hard, but reward a large bonus and several special items.
Intents:
1) Make gold farming more enjoyable and less 'solved'.
2) Add challenge scaling to pve to some degree.
3) Add more ways to get pve cards.
4) Add some repeatable content to the campaign.
The Scourge of the Overworld
Inspiration: Dragon's Dogma 'raid bosses'
Every encounter you do has a low chance to be replaced by a special challenge encounter that is difficult but not hugely difficult. The encounter is a PART of a boss. Defeating it rewards you a special token you can gift to a friend. The token, when used, enables them to fight the special encounter themselves. Each account can only fight this boss once. The boss rotates once per month.
Completing the boss takes away a percentage of the overall 'boss health'. Once the boss is defeated, everyone who defeated one of the parts of the boss, gets a bonus loot pack to open with 8 pve cards in it(4 of them special).
If the boss is not fully defeated at the end of the month, everyone who beat part of it gets a small pack containing part of the loot of the full pack based off of how much of the boss was beaten.(25% - 2 cards, 1 special. 50% 4 cards, 2 special. 75% 6 cards, 3 special.)
Vroengard had the idea that there could be multiple of these at once, rotating throughout the year. I love the idea... but even just one would be enough to get people to at least feel that having friends was a plus. lol
Intents:
1) Add a tiny bit of social/pseudo-co-op to the pve that is relatively minimally design time intensive.
2) Add another random rare thing to look for.
3) Give people motivation to play pve every month.
Anyone have their own ideas, or want to discuss the above? Feel free to share

Edited: Removed Fog of War as unnecessary. Thanks for pointing that out Vroen. Also added an idea you suggested to the OP.
Gamer. Streamer. Photographer. Writer. Anime Lover. Possessor of Stuffed Animals.
Also... I'm terrible at this game.
Also... I'm terrible at this game.
The post was edited 2 times, last by Eraia ().