Hearthstone Developer Cora on Recent & Upcoming BG Changes
Hearthstone developer Cora shared some interesting insights regarding the recent Battlegrounds changes (Patch 18.4.2) and also possibly hinted a few upcoming changes.
Recent Changes
Quote from CoraBartendotron: Feels like budget Omu right now, so we removed him. Would love to update and bring him back at some point. He's a great character.
Quote from CoraSindragosa Buff: Awesome character, slightly underwhelming HP. Wanted to put a little power here so we gave it a stat.
Quote from CoraKing Mukla Buff: Mukla would like Big Bananas because they are bigger than regular Bananas. Only about 1 in 5 times though.
Quote from CoraWhirlwind Tempest Removed: Mega-Windfury can feel really not interactive, and we felt it wasn't a particularly fun minion to have in the pool.
Quote from CoraPogo-Hopper Removed: This was a tough decision. It hurts Brann and Shudderwock slightly, but Jandice and Pogos can't exist in the game in the same way any longer. Ultimately we decided to preserve Jandice's HP because it's really unique and interesting if Pogo just isn't there.
Quote from CoraSelfless Hero to Tier 2
Deadly Spore to Tier 5Divine Shield/Poison endgame comps are super powerful and can feel a little like old Murlocs. We think this is good to an extent, but the appearance rates for these 2 cards were just a bit too high.
Quote from CoraSalty Looter Buff to 4/4
Bloodsail Cannoneer to 4/3We have more work to do with Pirates, and probably will give them some new pieces in time. For now, though we wanted to just give them a few stats to hold them over while we can design and test internally.
Quote from CoraParty Elemental to 3/2
Arcane Assistant to 3/3Some of you are probably confused as to why we buffed Elementals at all. With Rag going to tier 6, they're going to be noticeably weaker, so we wanted to give the early game a little help. This is still overall a nerf to the type.
Quote from CoraMajordomo change: This is a functional change. He will now give +1/+1 even with no Elementals having been played during the turn. He felt pretty useless at times, and with Whirlwind Tempest being removed, wanted to put a little more power at Tier 4 for Elemental synergy comps.
Quote from CoraLil Rag to Tier 6
Gentle Djinni to Tier 5These were the 2 big minion changes that we based most of our decision making off of. Ultimately, Lil' Rag was just too much of a power spike at Tier 5. He'll still be strong, but harder to find. Djinni at 5 should be fun and quite good.
Upcoming Changes (hints)
Quote from CoraHey, get back to work! We need to fix Demons next! :P (An answer to a Kibler comment on Reddit: "These changes look familiar ;)")
Quote from CoraTbh Infested Wolf annoys us too. Haven't had time to design a better minion for that slot but it's on the list.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)why not? No info about mechanic changes, so probably it stays the same.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)Bartendotron : Without Pogo, I think he must be similar to Ysera but for meca.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)That could be cool.
Flurgle is a get-murlocs hero. Ysera is a get-dragons hero. Patches is a get-pirates hero. Having a few more tribal "get such-and-such" heroes could be nice.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)We already have a mech hero. Mallificent Manastorm is still in the game.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)very helpful insight
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)These changes feel solid. I get that Pogos were potentially a fun, alternative build, but for the most part a Pogo was just a dead roll in the tavern
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)sometimes pogos were the only chance for Brann and Shudderwock to get into top 4, now both of them will be weaker despite being trash tier already
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)"Mukla would like Big Bananas because they are bigger than regular Bananas."
Well duh!
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Posted Oct 13, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)Why can't they just make it so if someone can choose Jandice Mechs are not in the game or at least Pogo-Hoppers are not in the minion pool? Why do you have to remove one of the most iconic and fun minions to play in the game?
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Posted Oct 13, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)Removing one unique build just to preserve a one heroes HP is a really bad idea IMO
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)That's a really interesting idea. If they can remove a hero because a certain tribe is absent, why not the other way around and remove a hero because a certain tribe is active? Blizz could have more really cool HP ideas, but because of one tribe being OP with it, they have to scrap the idea or completely nerf it.
That being said I don't mind them rotating minions out and I don't think Pogo-Hopper should be immune. A chance for a new minion with new strategies.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)What if you picked Brann because mechs were in the game, only for someone else to pick Jandice and suddenly pogos are gone?
They should have fixed Jandice, but it's clear they're too proud to admit her hero power is busted so they'll twist the game around it instead. BAD design.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)Are Pogos really worth it, though?
Whether it's a Jandice-based Pogo removal, or Jandice not showing up if Mechs are in the pool, I don't think it'd be worthwhile. Pogos are so terrible for just about anyone (Brann is OK, Arrana and Shudder not quite worth except for lulz). The meme of switching to Pogos was neat, but doesn't work in today's BGs--games are just too fast. If I level on 2 and my tavern on turn 3 is Pogo and 3 1-stars, it's almost just concede right there.
If a hero can't exploit Pogo, they hate to have that slot wasted. It's just not worth it.
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Posted Oct 13, 2020 (Scholomance Academy)ok