As Hearthstone heads into the Year of the Phoenix, and the arrival of the Ashes of Outlands expansion, it’s also introducing the first new class since the game launched in 2014. The aggressive and game-changing Demon Hunter.

After going hands-on with iconic Warcraft character Illidan Stormrage we sat down with Heathstone Game Director Ben Lee and Lead Designer Dean Ayala to discuss adding a new class into the game.

“There are unanswered questions when thinking about a new class,” Hearthstone Lead Designer Dean Ayala tells me. “Wondering if we even have enough room to do 10 classes because there’s so much hard-coded into the current classes -- just engineering-wise. But above all, you need to answer the question-- why do you do need a new class?”

“It's something the team has looked at before or thought about but never felt like it was the right time or the right moment or the right combination of factors,” Game Director Ben Lee adds. “With the Demon Hunter it was really the perfect storm, the Ashes of Outland expansion, Illidan Stormrage, all these factors working together with the Demon Hunter ideal to make it feel awesome and complete. Also just timing wise, the game is six years old. We wanted something big, something new, something different for players to engage with.”

Click Here for 'Inside Hearthstone’s New Game Changing Demon Hunter Class'