Images courtesy of Wizards of the Coast
It’s time to put your Arena skills to the test.
Wizards of the Coast announced on their website today that a new achievements system is being introduced to the digital platform with the release of Aetherdrift next Tuesday (Feb. 11).
Video game players are likely very familiar with the concept of in-game achievements; the first instance of platform-wide earnable achievements came with the introduction of the Xbox 360 way back in 2005.
But What Does It Mean for Arena?
According to Grant Reid, Principal Game Designer at Wizards, the introduction of the achievements system has a threefold goal: to encourage exploration, provide engaging content for all players, and to promote self-expression.
Reid said the achievements are designed in such a way that it rewards players for playing matches on Arena, rather than winning. “This encourages experimentation and trying new things,” he said. “But don’t worry: if competition is your cup of tea, we’ve also got you covered.” In total, there are 113 achievements ready to be implemented at launch, covering myriad aspects of playing Magic on Arena, related to specifics like card color, format, and more.
As for self-expression, Reid said that earning achievements will offer unique rewards for players, including avatars, phrases, stickers, and sleeves. Another unique cosmetic earnable through achievements is “titles,” essentially sub-headers players can add to their account name to show off their achievement-hunting prowess. At launch, there will be 21 unique titles to earn.
Will achievements kick your Arena grinding into full-gear as Aetherdrift launches? Or, if your interest in Arena has waned, will achievements be the impetus to get back into the platform? Let us know below!
If you’re new to Arena, check out our complete beginners guide.
