Weapon

Garrosh Hellscream ready to attack using an equipped

For the equip ability, see Equip

Weapons are special cards which can be equipped by heroes. Each weapon has an Attack value and a Durability value. Each hero can only equip one weapon at a time, and equipping a new weapon will destroy the old one. Equipped weapons are displayed to the left of the hero's portrait.

While a weapon is equipped, the hero's Attack will be increased by an amount equal to the weapon's Attack during their turn, and attacking while a weapon is equipped will reduce its Durability by 1. When a weapon's Durability is reduced to zero, the weapon is destroyed. Weapons are the main way of allowing heroes to attack other characters.

Weapons can be equipped in several ways. The main source of weapons is from playing weapon cards. Some spells and minion Battlecries and Deathrattles grant players weapons through the 'equip' ability, as does the rogue Hero Power Dagger Mastery. As well as equipping weapons, some cards offer weapon synergy, improving or drawing strength from them, or even destroying the enemy's. Pirate cards have a strong weapon theme.

Strategically, weapons are useful for removing enemy minions, as well as dealing damage to the enemy hero. They can be used as tools for board control, or as additional burst damage for reaching lethal. Unlike spells or Hero Powers that grant Attack to the hero, the Attack of weapons persists, allowing the player to pay their Mana cost in advance and benefit from the weapon later, and unlike minions, enemy weapons can only be taken off the board with specific counters such as Acidic Swamp Ooze.

Notes[edit | edit source]

A sheathed weapon. Note the Durability is still visible.

For information on attacking in general, see Attack.

Weapons are only active or 'unsheathed' during the possessing hero's turn.^[1] At the end of the possessing hero's turn the weapon is 'sheathed', and covered visually to indicate that it is no longer active. To see the Attack value of a sheathed weapon, mouse over the weapon with the cursor.
While a weapon is active, it grants its Attack value to the possessing hero, and the hero is considered to be wielding the weapon. This Attack bonus is lost when the weapon becomes inactive at the end of the possessing hero's turn.
If a hero with an active weapon attacks another character, the weapon will lose 1 Durability. However, if a hero with an active weapon is attacked by another character, their weapon will not lose Durability. The latter case generally only occurs through special effects, such as Misdirection. Inactive weapons are not involved in combat, and will not lose Durability through any kind of combat.
Weapons can be destroyed through running out of Durability; being replaced by another weapon; or specific destroy effects like those of Acidic Swamp Ooze and Harrison Jones. Regardless of the means, the effect is the same, and any Deathrattles on the weapon will be triggered.
As of now, there are no ways to silence weapons or otherwise nullify weapon card text without destroying the weapon outright.
Weapons serve to increase the hero's Attack, but this can be increased further through effects such as Shapeshift and Heroic Strike. The damage dealt by the hero's attacks is equal to their total Attack value, not just the Attack of any weapon equipped.
Weapons are the only enduring source of hero Attack; all other sources (e.g. Shapeshift, Seal of Light) are lost at the end of the turn. While weapon Attack is 'sheathed' at the end of the player's turn, it is automatically regained next turn.
On golden weapon cards, class is indicated by the color of the vertical band running down the center of the card.

Classes[edit | edit source]

Unlike other card types, weapons are mostly limited to certain classes. Rogues, Paladins, Warriors, and Demon Hunters have the largest range of weapons, with Rogues and Warriors also having the most weapon-synergy cards. Hunters, Shamans, and Death Knights receive weapons frequently but not as often as dedicated classes. Druids, Mages, Priests and Warlocks get weapons rarely, and the latter three only get weapons with 0 Attack and a triggered effect attached to them.

As the game has evolved, weapons have gradually become more common. Kobolds & Catacombs was the first set to introduce Legendary weapons, which included the first ever Druid, Mage, Priest, and Warlock weapons. Scholomance Academy featured the first ever collectible neutral weapon, Sphere of Sapience. United in Stormwind added the first Mage, Warlock, and Priest weapons that were not Legendary, while Festival of Legends added the first non-Legendary Druid weapon.

Weapon cards[edit | edit source]

For Wild format listings, see Weapon/Wild format.

Collectible[edit | edit source]

Collectible weapons can be collected by players and added to decks.

Uncollectible[edit | edit source]

Uncollectible weapons cannot be collected by players or directly placed into decks. However, they can be obtained during play through the effects of other cards.

Cards that generate weapons[edit | edit source]

For Wild format listings, see Weapon/Wild format.

Related cards[edit | edit source]

For Wild format listings, see Weapon/Wild format.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

In March 2020, Chadd Nervig commented on Twitter that the Hearthstone team was considering making changes to weapon frames so that their classes would be more visually obvious.^[2] This was finalized in Patch 18.0 when all weapons received new borders.