Battlegrounds Patch notes are out. Quest tweaks, buffs and nerfs, is this enough to make Hero selection about optionality instead of power?
Alongside the Hearthstone Standard Balance changes, the 24.2.2 patch brings Battlegrounds updates too. Despite Battlegrounds Season 2 launching less than two weeks ago and having a hotfix patch last week, patch notes include many updates for Hearthstone's auto battler. Let's go over the changes.
If you wish to check standard nerfs and buffs, we have a dedicated article on those, check it out here.
Hearthstone Battlegrounds patch notes: Minion and Hero changes
The first big Battlegrounds change we notice after all the Hearthstone standard balance updates in the patch notes is Toggwaggle's nerf. Toggwaggle has been a top-tier Hero since its arrival. HsReplay ranks it as the second-best hero, just below Ysera.
While nerfing Togg's Hero Power by one Gold might not seem significant, it's a great deal. This change will prevent power leveling to Tavern 3 and then Stealing the entire shop. While the Battlegrounds patch notes don't give further comment, it's understandable that facing an unbeatable Hero on turn 4 wasn't the best experience.
Old: 9 Gold
New: 10 Gold
Togg will probably be strong but not as oppressive. It will be time for experimentation regarding which leveling curve will be better for a Perfect Crime moving forward.
Minion Changes: Nerfs
The 24.2.2 Battlegrounds Patch notes bring several minion changes too. They are subtle balance adjustments, but I think they can modify the game's speed if they prove to be impactful.
To begin with, we see Dragons are seeing nerfs. Nether Drake and Amber Guardian are losing some stats. While Dragons aren't a Tier S composition, and despite the Battlegrounds patch notes don't specify, it seems more like a Ysera nerf than to the whole tribe. With Ysera's Dragon consistency, if we add Whelp Smuggler or even Tarecgosa, that becomes a game-winning comp.
Old: 5 Health
New: 4 Health
Old: Start of Combat: Give another friendly Dragon +3/+3 and Divine Shield.
New: Start of Combat: Give another friendly Dragon +2/+2 and Divine Shield
The new Battlegrounds Demon, Legion Overseer, was also hit in the last patch. This minion was probably one of the strongest in Tavern 3. Now it will still help develop tempo in the mid-game, but perhaps it will not overwhelm your opponents.
Old: Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+2.
New: Minions in Bob’s Tavern have +2/+1.
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Battlegrounds Patch Notes: Minion Buffs
On top of the above-mentioned nerfs, Battlegrounds will see 3 buffs to Tavern 2 minions in this patch. While we don't have comments or specific stats on the changes, it is safe to estimate that these changes try to help more the Tavern 2 minions than a specific composition.
Old: 2 Attack, 4 Health
New: 2 Attack, 5 Health
Old: 3 Attack, 2 Health
New: 4 Attack, 2 Health
Old: 3 Attack, 5 Health
New: 3 Attack, 6 Health
Skipping Tavern 2 and going directly to Tavern 3 was a common strategy given that Tier 2 minions couldn't compare in power level to Tier 3 ones. However, with no comments or explanation about these Battlegrounds changes in the patch notes, this is just speculation.
Battlegrounds Quests changes in the 24.2.2 patch
The new content mechanic from Battlegrounds Season 2, Quests, has seen 2 balance changes already. As the patch note states, the following changes are relative to the baseline requirement of each Battlegrounds quest. Those are adjusted depending on several factors, including minions available, Hero selected and the Reward they are paired with.
Quest Adjustments
Quest Old State New State | Track the Footprints Have Bob’s Tavern Refreshed 10 times. Have Bob’s Tavern Refreshed 9 times. | Follow the Money Spend 30 Gold. Spend 33 Gold. | Reenact the Murder Have 18 friendly minions die. Have 19 friendly minions die. | Tiny Henchman At the end of your turn, give +2/+2 to 3 friendly minions of Tier 3 or lower. At the end of your turn, give +3/+3 to 3 friendly minions of Tier 3 or lower. | Alter Ego Even Tier minions in Bob’s Tavern have +6/+6. (Swaps to Odd next turn!) Even Tier minions in Bob’s Tavern have +7/+7. (Swaps to Odd next turn!) | Staff of Origination Start of Combat: Give your minions +15/+15. Start of Combat: Give your minions +12/+12. |
Furthermore, the Battlegrounds team shared in the patch notes that some Rewards are also being adjusted regarding difficulty.
- Teal Tiger Sapphire, Snicker Snacks, and Red Hand were made generally easier to earn.
- The Smoking Gun, Mirror Shield, and Stolen Gold were made generally harder to earn.
If you want to check out all the available quests and rewards, they are available in the Battlegrounds card library. Furthermore, there were some Armor tier Battlegrounds Armor Tier announcements included in the patch notes that you can check out in the official blog post.
Quests and Hero Balance
Before we leave, I wanted to discuss a topic not addressed in the patch notes, Battlegrounds Hero Balance. One of the main concerns after the new Battlegrounds monetization system implementation was that having only two picks might doom players before they even start playing.
"Though the ability to choose from among four heroes at the beginning of a match is changing to a paid-only feature, all players can still play Battlegrounds for free. We’re committed to maintaining hero and gameplay balance so that the choice from four heroes is more about optionality than power."
This quote was quickly turned into a meme. Stats show that this Balance dream hasn't come true yet. We are close to having 90 Heroes, and with so few balancing variables, it's only natural that many will fall behind.
Armor and Quests have done a good job of creating a leveled field since the worst Heroes get easier Quests for the same Rewards. However, this seems not to satisfy everyone.
Is Battlegrounds entering an era in which "sentiment" starts to push stat-driven decisions? Is it even possible to balance the game considering how diverse the player base is in terms of skill? Only time will tell, what's likely is that the player base will become more demanding given the new monetization system.
This is all for now, but stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Battlegrounds news and updates. See you next time in Bob's Tavern
