22.0.2 Patch Notes - Balance Changes (BG, Constructed), Arena Update, Bug Fixes & More
Blizzard just announced 22.0.2 Patch Notes that will go live later today. Let's take a look at what's new.
Quote from BlizzardPatch 22.0.2, launching today, includes balance changes for Standard and Battlegrounds, a system update for Mercenaries, and more!
Standard Balance Updates
Dev Comment: We’re coming up on two weeks since the launch of Fractured in Alterac Valley and, while players are still finding success with quite a variety of strategies, we want to open up the format further. This patch is mainly focused on weakening some of the stronger, combo-centric strategies that have had long-term success throughout the Year of the Gryphon.
The following cards have been adjusted down in power:
Celestial AlignmentAlliance Bannerman
- Old: [Costs 7] → New: [Costs 8]
- Dev Comment: Although Celestial Alignment is not usually a card used for from-hand, burst damage, it does frequently allow for absurd turns that happen a little earlier than we feel is healthy. Moving it up a mana should allow for more setup and counterplay before Celestial Alignment is cast.
Efficient Octo-bot
- Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: 2 Attack, 1 Health
- Dev Comment: Paladins have a very consistent, powerful package of cards that they can include in quite a few distinct strategies. Alliance Bannerman is one of these cards that can fit into a wide range of decks. Lowering its Health by one should tone down Paladin decks by a small amount across the board.
Snowfall Guardian
- Old: [Costs 2] → New: [Costs 3]
- Dev Comment: Efficient Octo-bot has been a little too efficient at the upper echelons of play. We’re slowing it down as part of the general goal of toning down the power level of combo strategies.
Touch of the Nathrezim
- Old: [Costs 5] → New: [Costs 6]
- Dev Comment: Snowfall Guardian was designed with the intent of giving Freeze Shaman decks a powerful tool, but it is a little too efficient at locking up the board, especially when combined with cards like Brilliant Macaw. Moving it up one mana should soften the power of this interaction.
Runed Mithril Rod
- Old: Deal 2 damage to a minion. If it dies, restore 4 Health to your hero. → New: Deal 2 damage to a minion. If it dies, restore 3 Health to your hero.
- Dev Comment: Touch of the Nathrezim is meant to be a solid removal option for slower Warlock decks, but the overall Health restoration in Warlock is slightly too high. This is meant to be a softer change that leaves Warlock with a powerful removal option, but reduces overall Warlock healing capabilities enough to bring that aspect of the class back in line.
Bloodsail Deckhand
- Old: [Costs 4] → New: [Costs 5]
- Dev Comment: Runed Mithril Rod was an incredibly strong tool in the first few days after the launch of Fractured in Alterac Valley. While players were able to find a counter to it in cards like Rustrot Viper, we believe going up a Mana here will lead to healthier play patterns for the game overall.
Irondeep Trogg
- Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health → New: 2 Attack, 1 Health
- Dev Comment: We’re reverting our previous change to Bloodsail Deckhand. Questline Warrior ended up slightly stronger than intended, and we believe it will continue to find success after this change.
Mo'arg Artificer
- Old: After your opponent casts a spell, summon a copy of this. → New: After your opponent casts a spell, summon another Irondeep Trogg.
- Dev Comment: Irondeep Trogg has the capability of running away with games very early when combined with minion buffs like Noble Mount or Doggie Biscuit. Taking into account the rest of the changes we’re making with this patch, we want to adjust Trogg to remain a viable counter to early spells, but to better match the targeted power level of the format as a whole.
- Old: [Costs 2] 2 Attack, 4 Health → New: [Costs 3] 2 Attack, 5 Health
- Dev Comment: Mo'arg Artificer does too much, too efficiently for decks with large amounts of removal. Increasing its cost by one will make the card a little less efficient as a tool for cheap clears, large amounts of life gain, and combo finishers.
The collectible cards listed above will be eligible for a full dust refund for 2 weeks after the 22.0.2 patch goes live. Bloodsail Deckhand is not eligible for the dust refund, because it's a Core Set card, not a collectible one.
Dev Comment: Alongside the changes above, we’re also making a couple adjustments aimed at powering up slower Mage decks and the less powerful Hero Cards.
The following cards have been adjusted up in power:
Beaststalker TavishGrey Sage Parrot
- Old: [Hero Power Costs 3] → New: [Hero Power Costs 2]
Magister Dawngrasp
- Old: [Costs 8] 6 Attack, 6 Health → New: [Costs 6] 4 Attack, 5 Health
Wildfire
- Old: [Costs 8] → New: [Costs 7]
- Old: Hero Power: Deal 1 Damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +2 Damage. → New: Hero Power: Deal 2 Damage. Honorable Kill: Gain +2 Damage.
- Old: Increase the damage of your Hero Power by 1. → New: Increase the damage of your Hero Power by 1 this game.
- Dev Comment: This is a minor rework to make it so that Wildfire will now persist after swapping Hero Powers. Although we don’t envision this being dramatically impactful, we do think it will allow for a smoother gameplay experience with Hero Power changing cards like Magister Dawngrasp.
Battlegrounds Balance Updates
HERO UPDATES
SneedTamsin
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 1 (0 Armor) to Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)
- Sneed’s Replicator
- Old: [Costs 1] → New: [Costs 2]
Scabbs Cutterbutter
- Fragrant Phylactery
- Old: [Costs 0] Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its Health to all your others. → New: [Costs 1] Start of Combat: Destroy your lowest Health minion. Give its stats to all your others.
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 2 (2-5 Armor) to Tier 1 (0 Armor)
Cariel Roame
Deathwing
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 6 (6-9 Armor) to Tier 7 (7-10 Armor)
Millificent Manastorm
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 4 (4-7 Armor) to Tier 5 (5-8 Armor)
Overlord Saurfang
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 3 (3-6 Armor) to Tier 5 (5-8 Armor)
Patches the Pirate
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 6 (6-9 Armor) to Tier 7 (7-10 Armor)
Trade Prince Gallywix
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 3 (3-6 Armor) to Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)
- Armor Tier changed from Tier 4 (4-7 Armor) to Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)
MINION UPDATES
Prized Promo-DrakeDazzling Lightspawn
- Old: 5 Attack, 5 Health → New: 3 Attack, 3 Health
- Old: 4 Attack, 5 Health → New: 2 Attack, 5 Health
Mercenaries Update
- All Heroic Level 30 Bounties will now include at least one pile of Legendary Coins (chosen from the selection of Coins designated for each Bounty) as part of their Bounty completion rewards.
Arena Update
- Abominable Lieutenant is no longer draftable in Arena.
Bug Fixes & Game Improvements
- The base versions of Drek'Thar and Vanndar are now eligible for full dust refunds. We will be doing a separate update later on patch day to grant additional Arcane Dust to players who already disenchanted either card.
- Fixed a bug where the Duels treasure Impcredible Trousers did not properly shuffle the imp portals.
grey sage parrot does not give full dust refund
Because it wasn't completely nerfed, the lowered stats are to compensate for it's lowered mana cost, which will probably end up being a buff
It's a buff.
Ok, so armor in battlegrounds was/is great - it has totally smoothed the difference between good and bad heroes.
However - using it as a way to make lazy balance changes rather than spicing things up more with actual hero power adjustments isn't cool. it is important for the Battlegrounds experience to keep changing, and not for it to stagnate.
I was hoping for Warrior hero card to get buffed. Maybe next patch.
Trogg got murdered.
That's a pretty big buff for Wildfire.
The pirate buff revert won't hurt Pirate Warrior terribly and it was a pretty dumb buff to begin with.
Seems like it's more of a buff to mage hero card buff than Wildfire, per se. Wildfire without a mage hero swap remains essentially the same.
it's a bigger deal in Wild, where people tend to run Frost Lich Jaina
Not... really a very large buff for Wildfire, not in standard. But it's a good change regardless.
Some of the achievements still not working (the immovable object, yetis), good job Blizzard
Play wild and use the chillwind yeti from the legacy set, not the core one. It will work.
Indeed it worked, thank you, but it’s a kind of (unfunny) joke that you have to do workarounds with such a straightforward thing, you could say. Anyways, paladin achievement is still undoable and so is bless achievement, unless you can cast 4 divine spirits on a buffed minion before…
Big spells mage receive a huge buff. It seems anyway pointless, he will still receive an OTK before casting huge spells. The idea of big spells is weak and therefore the deck. They can increase the cards but the idea of casting big spells is weak because they are slow and he will always lose against OTK.
True! But if OTK decks drop in popularity it might just be playable on ladder :)
Agree, what is the point of making the parrot and dawngrasp cheaper if you have to play them after the spells that cost more to have value. Doesn't do much for the deck
Why would they drop in popularity? They just nerfed the hell out of Trogg
The Dawngrasp buffs are super significant. Being able to play them on turn 9 and hero power the same turn is a significant buff.
Parrot buff is weird, but being able to play it and play some other cards is a buff.
I'm also not on board with the trogg nerf. I think Garrote and owl will somewhat drop with the nerfs they got still, but I'm not claiming anything. If the buffs don't work, no loss anyway
Thanks to the nerf my Alliance Bannerman on curve cant get Honorably Killed by Bloodseeker
Pirate warrior has been winning games consistently on turn 7 thanks to Mr. Smite giving the pirate that the juggernaut summons charge combined with his attack and a decent weapon. Not anymore though, because one of the first three pirates you want to play has one less health but is still net zero mana when you play a weapon. How will pirate warrior ever recover?
Additionally, dawngrasp was buffed so much and they are still not playable because they have so much anti-synergy with their spell suite. This still isn’t enough to salvage big spell or button mage.