Battlegrounds Season 4 starts tomorrow, and the Hearthstone 26.2 patch notes bring everything you need to know!
Hearthstone Battlegrounds fans are just one day away from enjoying season 4, but before that, we need to go over the 26.2 patch notes. The big BGs content update will bring over 100 new minions, among other important changes.
"Patch 26.2 launches Battlegrounds Season 4, where E.T.C.’s taking an exciting new show to Bob’s Tavern!"
Battlegrounds Updates with Hearthstone 26.2 patch
Last Thursday, we got a preview show of what's coming for Battlegrounds in the 26.2 Hearthstone update, today we will cover the most relevant aspects of the patch notes. Once the patch goes live on Tuesday 9, you will notice the following changes:
- Buddies will leave Bob's Tavern.
- There will be a Ranking Reset.
- The Battlegrounds Minion Pool will be updated getting over 100 minion changes.
- The Season 4 Battlegrounds Track will replace the previous one.
Any unclaimed rewards from the Season 3 Track will be automatically claimed when the 26.2 Hearthstone patch launches, so don't worry about missing anything.
There will be a roll schedule for the new minions, starting tomorrow when the 26.2 Hearthstone patch goes live. Given the amount of content released and how many tribes we currently have in the game, this seems like a clever idea. Bob also thanks for having time to make some modifications in its Tavern.
The release schedule goes as follows:
- Tuesday 9: Battlegrounds Season 4 begins with only six minion types eligible (this time for real): Beasts, Murlocs, Dragons, Elementals, Naga, and Undead
- Thursday 11: Pirates will be added to the pool
- Monday 15: Demons will return to Bob's Tavern
- Monday 22: Quilboar and Mechs will complete the available minion types pool.
There will be over 100 minion changes for Battlegrounds Season 4, so you might want to bookmark this article or download the following info guides. If you want a more detailed version, you can check the 26.2 Hearthstone patch notes that describe each individual change.
Hero Changes for Battlegrounds Season 4
We've already mentioned in the Season announcement that Rock Master Voone will make his presentation in the Tavern. But the patch brings other changes too.
Lady Vashj's Hero Power will see a small but impactful change. On top of that Lich Baz'hial's problematic unique ability will also be reworked. The 26.2 Hearthstone patch notes don't include any Dev comment on the reasons behind the changes.
New: Discover a Spellcraft spell of your Tier or lower. Its effect is permanent.
![Old: [0 Gold] Take 4 damage. Gain 2 Gold.<br><strong>New: [1 Gold] Steal a minion in Bob’s Tavern. Take damage equal to its Tavern Tier.</strong>](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net%2Fcms%2Fcontent_folder_media%2FP8403F15XH9Z1682978267454.png&w=3840&q=75)
New: [1 Gold] Steal a minion in Bob’s Tavern. Take damage equal to its Tavern Tier.
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Battlegrounds Bans and Unbanns with Hearthstone patch 26.2
Before this update, some Heroes were banned when certain minion types were present due to unwanted play patterns. The most notable case was Shudderwok and Beasts, given the token synergies the Hero had.
For similar reasons, some other Heroes have been put on the blacklist. The 26.2 Hearthstone patch notes state the following ban/unban list:
- Shudderwock: No longer banned in Beast lobbies.
- N’Zoth: No longer banned in any lobbies.
- Mutanus: Now banned in Naga lobbies.
- Vol’jin: Now banned in Naga lobbies.
On top of these bans, a surprise hotfix announced today came to complement the Hearthstone 26.2 patch notes with two additional temporary prohibitions.
-Monstrous Macaw will be temporarily removed from the minion pool at launch due to a bugged interaction. Macaw will be returned to the minion pool once that interaction has been addressed in an upcoming hotfix patch.
-Fireworks Fanatic will be removed from the minion pool at launch due to an unintended play pattern outlier. We are still assessing this play pattern and the best solutions to it, so the card may or may not be returned to the minion pool any time soon.
If you are curious about that unintended play pattern, it's the game-breaking synergy spotted during the preview event with Upbeat Duo. These two were a bit too much in sync.
Hearthstone Patch 26.2: Keywords updates
Last but not least, some Hearthstone Keywords will see changes according to the 26.2 patch notes. As a reminder of what we've already covered a couple of days ago on the Battlegrounds Season 4 announcement, the Venomous will replace the Poisonous Keyword in Battlegrounds, and Mega-Windfury will no longer be part of the game mode.
Venomous works similarly to Poisonous, but it only destroys the first minion that damages. Continuing in the Keywords department, Magnetic will see a subtle change too. Players will now be able to Magnetize minions even if their board is full. This Magnetic update affects every game mode, so watch out for those Mech Paladins in standard!
This is all for now, but stay tuned to esports.gg for more Hearthstone Battlegrounds news and updates. See you next time in Bob's Tavern.
