The Arena — Hearthstone Walkthrough

Learn to master the Hearthstone tutorial with our comprehensive walkthrough. Discover boss strategies, understand gameplay differences, and conquer every mission.

The tutorial is the initial experience designed to introduce players to _Hearthstone_. It is composed of six 'missions', and must be completed before the player can play _Hearthstone_ properly. The tutorial comprises a kind of introductory [game mode](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Game_mode "Game mode") with reduced [gameplay](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Gameplay "Gameplay") and helpful instructions.

Once the tutorial is completed, the player is taken to the [main menu](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Main_menu "Main menu") for the first time and awarded a series of 5 [quests](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Quest "Quest") to play games in the [practice mode](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Practice_mode "Practice mode") or [constructed](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Constructed "Constructed"). The player is then able to play _Hearthstone_ as they wish, although they are encouraged to start with practice mode. While the tutorial is over, additional guidance is provided on each new screen and during the player's first match, explaining features such as the [mulligan](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Mulligan "Mulligan") and [The Coin](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/The_Coin "The Coin"), effectively resulting in an extended tutorial in the game's native environment. The tutorial is the first and most critical part of the game's [new player experience](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/New_player_experience "New player experience").

The tutorial is presented the first time a player opens the game in any [region](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Region "Region"). While the tutorial is designed to only be played once, it can be replayed by clicking the (?) icon while viewing the practice mode in the [Solo Adventures](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Solo_Adventures "Solo Adventures") menu.

Gameplay

Each 'mission' takes the form of a [battle](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Battle "Battle") against a special enemy hero, or [boss](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Boss "Boss"). The player controls Jaina Proudmoore "Jaina Proudmoore (tutorial)"), and the story follows her as she learns the basics of _Hearthstone_. Compared to normal play the tutorial is heavily directed, with the player's actions limited to a few possibilities. Basic game elements are added with each mission, slowly introducing the basics with helpful tips and instructions. Each mission also features substantial dialogue between Jaina and her opponent (see boss pages for transcripts).

Between each boss encounter, a unique "Mission Progress" interface ("The Journey Begins") is displayed, listing the defeated bosses and providing a review of the main element of the last encounter's lessons. If the player loses a match, after the Defeat screen they will immediately return to the Mission Progress interface as it appeared following their last victory. Challenging a boss for the second time may produce a different introductory message, highlighting the likely cause of the player's failure.

The tutorial features only [Basic](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Basic "Basic") cards, and [boss cards](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Boss_card "Boss card") unique to the tutorial itself. Each mission rewards copies of a new card; however, since all Basic cards are automatically included in the player's collection, this is purely to highlight that the card will feature in the next encounter.

Differences from regular play

Several changes to the usual rules apply during tutorials to provide flavor, simplify gameplay, and/or make the missions easier than facing a regular opponent:

• The coin flip and deck order is scripted, not random, and [mulligans](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Mulligan "Mulligan") are unavailable.
• Neither hero has a [Hero Power](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Hero_Power "Hero Power") until the second mission.
• The second player does not receive an extra card until the third mission.
• There are no starting hands in the first mission, while it is only two cards in the second and third. The player goes first in the first two missions.
• [The Coin](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/The_Coin "The Coin") is never added to any hand.
• The first three bosses start with 10, 20, 30 health, respectively.
• The player does not have the option to [concede](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Concede "Concede").
• Active [emotes](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Emote "Emote") are not accessible.
• There is no mana in the first mission, instead every single card costs 0 mana.

Additional restrictions on player decisions are in place at first, and are gradually removed as the player progresses through the tutorial.

• Certain targeting options must be made as directed.
• Until the third mission, the player cannot end the turn with mana still available to play a card. (The message "Not yet! You have more cards to play!" is shown.)
• Until the missions, the player cannot end the turn without [attacking](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Attack "Attack") with all minions possible. ("Not yet! You can still attack.")
• The player cannot cast [Fireball](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Fireball "Fireball"), [Polymorph](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Polymorph "Polymorph"), or [Fireblast](https://hearthstone.fandom.com/wiki/Fireblast "Fireblast") on themselves or their own minions. ("Save that for the enemy!")
• Because of these restrictions, it is impossible to lose the first or second missions.

The player receives written and spoken advice throughout all missions (see below), but is not forced to follow it except as described above.

Guidance and displays

Each mission provides substantial guidance both through Jaina's spoken dialogue and through visual cues such as arrows, highlights, and text tooltips. These are provided either in addition to or in place of the tooltips and visual cues seen in regular play.

• Red arrows frequently appear to highlight the correct action or which target to interact with.
• When playing the first minion, the friendly side of the battlefield is highlighted to indicate where to drag the card.
• Written tooltips frequently appear unprompted to explain specific mechanics, such as "Your used Mana Crystals refill each turn."
• Trying to play cards without enough mana results in Jaina explaining "I need to wait a turn for my mana to recharge."
• The fifth mission sees the word "Cost" superimposed abo