Since November 2019, Battlegrounds has grown into one of our most popular and beloved game modes. For many players, Battlegrounds has become their main way to play Hearthstone, and we’re excited to further support and grow the mode for all Battlegrounds players. With that in mind, Patch 24.2, launching on August 30, will bring some of the most significant changes to Battlegrounds we’ve ever seen!
We’re sharing a lot in this blog, so feel free to use this table of contents to guide your reading:
Battlegrounds will now have its own progression track that grants Battlegrounds-specific rewards each season. Like the current Hearthstone-wide Rewards Track, there will be both free and premium unlockable rewards along the Battlegrounds Track, and progress towards those rewards is earned by playing. Those Battlegrounds-specific rewards include new Battlegrounds Emotes, Hero Skins, Strikes, and more!
The level 3 reward is free to all players, while the other rewards shown are unlocked through the Season Pass.
By giving Battlegrounds players their own rewards track, we can give them more rewards they care about, and we no longer need to try to mesh Battlegrounds rewards with a Gold and XP system that was designed to serve traditional Hearthstone.
Battlegrounds will remain a free-to-play mode, with more free rewards than ever before. In addition to the free rewards on the Battlegrounds Track, the base emotes, advanced stats, and hero early access that were previously purchased through Battlegrounds Perks will now be available to all Battlegrounds players. We’re excited to make these features free for all players.
Get the Battlegrounds Season Pass to Earn Even More Rewards
The new Battlegrounds Season Pass will get you access to the premium rewards on the Battlegrounds Track, including exciting new tiers of Battlegrounds cosmetics including additional Emote options, Legendary Hero Skins, and a new three-stage Legendary Strike! Purchasing the Season Pass will also immediately unlock the option to choose from two additional heroes at the start of each game. We’re committed to maintaining hero and gameplay balance so that regardless of which heroes you choose from, you know your chance for the crown is based primarily on player skill.
The Season Pass can be purchased in-game with Runestones, Hearthstone’s new virtual currency. Runestones can be purchased through both the in-game shop and the Battlenet web shop, once Patch 24.2 goes live. During the transition period for this first season, the Season Pass can also be purchased with money directly, either in-game or through the Battlenet web shop.
Level
XP To Level
Cumulative XP
Free Reward
With Season Pass
1
0
0
2 Hero Slots
2
20
20
Crystallarium (Rare Board)
3
20
40
Guardian Xyrella (Rare Emote)
4
20
60
Crystal Justice (Rare Strike)
5
30
90
Dark Force Malygos (Rare Hero Skin)
6
30
120
Dark Flight Malygos (Rare Emote)
7
30
150
Sky Sailor Galewing (Rare Hero Skin)
8
30
180
Magic Guardian Elise (Legendary Hero Skin)
9
40
220
Nozdormu, Time Warden (Rare Hero Skin)
10
40
260
Guardian Reno (Rare Emote)
11
40
300
Tamsin, Shadow Mage (Rare Hero Skin)
12
50
350
Adventure Beauty Reno (Legendary Hero Skin)
13
50
400
Shadow Helm Saurfang (Rare Hero Skin)
14
50
450
Guardian Nguyen (Rare Emote)
15
50
500
Corrupted Arcana (Rare Strike)
16
60
560
Mystical Mentor Nguyen (Rare Hero Skin)
17
60
620
Guardian Bigglesworth (Rare Emote)
18
60
680
Bigglesworth, Feline Guide (Rare Hero Skin)
19
60
740
Tuxedo Bob (Rare Emote)
20
60
800
Tuxedo Bob (Rare Bartender)
21
60
860
George the Fated (Rare Hero Skin)
22
60
920
Dark Flight George (Rare Emote)
23
60
980
Rokara, Arcane Warrior (Rare Hero Skin)
24
60
1040
Crystal Justice (Epic Strike)
25
60
1100
Dark Flight Prestor (Rare Emote)
26
60
1160
Omencaller Prestor (Rare Hero Skin)
27
60
1220
Guardian Jandice (Rare Emote)
28
60
1280
Dawn Guardian Varden (Legendary Hero Skin)
29
60
1340
Spellbound Baz'hial (Rare Hero Skin)
30
60
1400
Guardian A.F.Kay (Rare Emote)
31
60
1460
Corrupted Arcana (Epic Strike)
32
60
1520
AF Kitsune (Rare Hero Skin)
33
60
1580
Deal Speaker Blackthorn (Rare Hero Skin)
34
60
1640
Dark Flight Blackthorn (Rare Emote)
35
60
1700
Sorceress Greymane (Rare Hero Skin)
36
60
1760
Secret Destiny Aranna (Legendary Hero Skin)
37
60
1820
Guardian Toki (Rare Emote)
38
60
1880
Spellwinder Toki (Rare Hero Skin)
39
60
1940
Enchanting Edwin (Legendary Hero Skin)
40
60
2000
Crystal Justice (Legendary Strike)
The Season 2 Battlegrounds Track rewards will focus on the anime-inspired “Magic of Azeroth” theme. In a new, alternate timeline, The Dark Flight has launched a crusade to extinguish all traces of magic from society. They have rallied the Horde as their army, gathered a few select magic users to their side, and conquered most of Azeroth. Nozdormu is forming a team to take down The Dark Flight and restore the true timeline. This group, the Guardians of Azeroth, and their allies, must awaken the power within them to save the Magic of Azeroth!
In addition to its own seasonal rewards track, Battlegrounds will be getting its own special Battlegrounds XP system. Earning Battlegrounds XP will progress you along the Battlegrounds Track towards free and premium rewards. You’ll automatically earn Battlegrounds XP for every Battlegrounds game you win, similar to how you earn XP on the Hearthstone Rewards Track now.
You can earn even more Battlegrounds XP by completing new Battlegrounds Missions. Battlegrounds Missions are like Battlegrounds-specific Weekly Quests or Achievements. You’ll be offered 3 new Battlegrounds Missions every week, and you can complete them to earn Battlegrounds XP. These Missions will bank for each Battlegrounds Season, so if you miss a week, you can come back and complete that Mission later. You can also re-roll one Mission per day. Completing Missions will be pivotal for getting through the Battlegrounds Track and earning all those sweet rewards.
You receive three Missions per week that each award 60 Battlegrounds XP.
All players will still continue to get their normal daily and weekly progression Quests that progress the Hearthstone Rewards Track. Hearthstone daily and weekly Quests will still be able to be completed in Battlegrounds as before, but the Battlegrounds-only weekly Quests will be removed from the general Quest pools and moved over to Battlegrounds Missions pool.
New Battlegrounds Gameplay Mechanic: Quests!
Battlegrounds Season 2 will feature a new mechanic for the duration of the Season: Quests! At the start of turn 4 (the 6 Gold turn), you’ll be offered three random Quest/Reward pairs to choose from. Similar to Hearthstone Quest and Questline cards, the Battlegrounds versions will ask you to complete a particular challenge and, once you do, give you a reward that makes you more powerful for the rest of the game.
Will you go for the powerful Quest Reward that’s hard to reach, or the Quest that most matches your established gameplan? The different options mean that no two Battlegrounds games will play the same way, and you’ll have to think on your feet to adapt on the fly. You can learn more about these new gameplay Quests in the dedicated Quests preview blog.
New Minions and Heroes
In addition to the new Quest mechanic, Season 2 will introduce two new heroes, eleven new minions, and several updates to heroes, minions, and the overall minion pool. Here are a couple of the new minions we’ve invited to the party:
Rendle the Mistermind is quite suspicious. Whenever you end the turn with this minion in play, minions start disappearing from Bob’s Tavern! One could make a pretty penny with those ill-gotten gains.
Theotar saw nothing. Or did he? The Tea Master spills buffs on your other minions whenever you play another minion without a minion type. What sort of criminal lineup can you put together with this powerful minion leading the way?
These are just a couple of the guests coming to Battlegrounds with Patch 24.2. The two new heroes will be revealed at 11 a.m. (Pacific) today! Keep an eye out for more details in the 24.2 Patch Notes, coming this Thursday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there anything I can use my Gold for in Battlegrounds?
A: No, there are no plans for Battlegrounds to use Gold in any way. Players who don’t want to spend real money or Runestones will still be able to enjoy the free rewards from the Battlegrounds Track.
Q: I used to be able to get Perks with Gold, why do I need to pay now?
A: We want Battlegrounds to be played and loved for years to come. This change will allow us to continue to support and make content for the growing Battlegrounds community. 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.
Additionally, as part of these changes, we're giving away more free Battlegrounds content than ever before. Advanced states and base emotes are now available to all players, we’ve dissolved Hero Early Access to allow all players to play with new Heroes on patch day, and there are several free rewards on the Battlegrounds Track.
Q: What are Runestones?
A:Runestones will be replacing real money purchases for nearly every product in the Hearthstone shop. Some products, like Pre-Purchase Bundles, the Hearthstone Tavern Pass, and Packs (purchasing more than one at a time) will be able to be purchased with money or Runestones. A few other select products, like individual packs and cosmetics crafted in the Collection, will remain purchasable with only Gold.
With Runestones we’ll be able to offer additional smaller-scale items, such as the individual Battlegrounds Hero Skins offered in the shop with this patch. Runestones will be available in bundles of various sizes, including quantities that correspond to our major products (like the Battlegrounds Season Pass), so you can buy exactly the quantity needed for that product or you can stock up on more for later. No product costs are changing with this conversion—all prices are staying the same, just converted to Runestones.
Q: Can I earn Runestones in-game?
A: No, there are no plans to earn Runestones in-game.
Q: How long will it take to complete the Battlegrounds Track?
A: The Battlegrounds Track is designed to be completed with a reasonable amount of playtime throughout the Battlegrounds Season. The first few levels of the Battlegrounds Track take 20 XP to complete, and this scales up to 60 XP per level. There are a total of 40 levels in the Track, which require 2000 XP in total.
Each Battlegrounds game win (top 4 finish) gives you 10 Battlegrounds XP. Each other placement gives 0 Battlegrounds XP. If you want to accelerate your progression, make sure to complete your Battlegrounds Missions. You get three Battlegrounds Missions every week and each one is worth 60 Battlegrounds XP! Any unfinished Missions for the week are banked until the end of the season, so even more casual Battlegrounds players can take advantage of their big XP boosts whenever they play.
We calibrated the system to allow a significant portion of our engaged Battlegrounds players to complete the Battlegrounds Track by the end of the Season. The system is designed to allow even less-engaged players a good chance to complete it. We will make adjustments in future Seasons if necessary.
Q: Do Battlegrounds Missions award regular XP, too?
A: No. You will still gain some Hearthstone Rewards Track XP as you play Battlegrounds, and there will still be some Daily and Weekly Hearthstone Quests that will be completable in Battlegrounds, but the Battlegrounds Missions will only award Battlegrounds XP.
Q: How does a tiered strike work? What does a Legendary Strike entail?
A: We have upgraded the Strikes you know to add even more KABLAM! With the Season Pass, you not only get the initial two-tier Crystal Justice Strike, but also can unlock two more tiers to that Strike. That includes a tier with a special effect when you knock out a player, and a second tier with an even larger special effect when you knock out a player to win first place. As you progress along the track you will unlock each new stage of the same strike.
Q: What is a Legendary Battlegrounds Hero Skin?
A: Battlegrounds Legendary Hero Skins include animated portraits and voice over effects.
We have big plans to continue bringing new content to Battlegrounds. New heroes, new minions, new events, and new systems will keep Battlegrounds fun and fresh. We’ll also keep bringing back old favorites and updating all our current systems. This is our final major Battlegrounds update of 2022. We’re incredibly excited about everything coming in Season 2 and beyond, and we can’t wait to share it all with you soon. Until then, we’ll see you in Battlegrounds!
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
Split battlegrounds off into its own game. Its own client. Then you can fix the bugs seeping from your hacked use of the Hearthstone code, and I can stop rerolling weekly quests that demand i play Battlegrounds.
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
Well. It's literally Pay To Play. You won't have fun if you are forced to play shitty heroes and no way you can be competitive. Kinda understandable tho. BG's steal player(money) base from constructed so they have to back up for it. But still, this is shit, this is garbage, fuck blizzard, they wont stop here. Watch them add new class to hearthstone for only 50$
Posted Aug 23, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
If something that directly affects players winrate (2 Hero Slots) is unlocked by something you can't earn in-game, you can't call this mode free to play. The difference between pay to win and pay to win faster is huge, and that's pay to win. They totally deserve the outrage they are getting this time.
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
And it mostly doesn‘t make a big difference if you have only two or four heroes to choose. Most of time all four are crap. Maybe one out of ten games you get a real good and useful one.
Posted Aug 23, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
TLDR as I don't play Battlegrounds. One question: does this mean that future constructed Hearthstone Rewards track will contain strictly Constructed-related rewards (Constructed hero skins, card packs, golden cards, coins, etc.)? It'd be great news for constructed players.
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
As of right now, we do not know. We'll have to wait until the next rewards track to see the answer to this. Judging from how the BGs rewards on the rewards track didn't come at the cost of any Constructed-relevant rewards, I severely doubt we'll get an increase in gold, skins, etc if all BGs-related content was removed from the rewards tack.
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
Yes, I assume they should replace the Battleground rewards with the Constructed ones as the Battleground track exclusively contains Battleground stuffs…
It’d be terrible to take away the Battleground rewards without any other replacement to it… it contradicts to one of their former posts on improving the Track Rewards and such.
Posted Aug 23, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
After this change the damage cap will essentially become non-existing. Every game will have at least one quitter who left because he got only two shitty heroes.
Posted Aug 23, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
I used to play BGs to gain experience in reward track and buy standard packs. Now the process will be even slower . People have to decide between 2 game modes.
Why do you see it as a good thing? How separate rewards make anything better?
The point is, if you don‘t play bg or even don‘t care about cosmetics in this mode it is kind of a waste getting skins for it. While you do the hs pass you would more like to have stuff for hs directly. So it is much better to seperate.
I personally play bg, but don‘t give a f… on all the cosmetics there. Same thing for mercenaries. I would prefer more gold or may a pack or something.
Posted Aug 23, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
Getting stuff you don't want or don't use can't hurt you.
What you really want is more HS stuff but you won't get that just because BG stuff is moved to a different battlepass. If you want more HS stuff in the main battlepass you need to advocate for more HS stuff in the main battlepass, not call for separation that doesn't benefit you but hurts players who play multiple modes
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
Well it‘s same thing like with a chocolate brand in my country. They have a classical mix of different kinds of chocolate. There are some people which like all of them. But some or most people don‘t like all of them and so you have to find someone who want to eat this (I never found one up till now) or just have to throw away. A few years ago they started to sell different boxes. You now get less different sorts, but more of specific ones. If that means I had to buy two boxes to get all sorts I like, I would rather buy two instead one of the classic box where I have to throw away some.
Same for me with rewards.
Of course for those players here who want both it is a little bit sad. They could make a special offer for those which is cheaper or at least players should be able to buy it with gold.
May the feedback would be enough to make them change it someday.
Posted Aug 24, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
Sorry, but the example doesn't make sense. If you are getting digital stuff you don't want, you merely gain nothing. You don't need to dispose of it or something like this. Also, that additional chocolate you don't want is not free, of course you'll prefer buy a cheaper product with what you want (or a similarly costed product with more of chocolate you like)
Maybe you think that it will cost less or have more constructed stuff in it because BG stuff is removed? Nope. It is unrelated.
Posted Aug 23, 2022(Caste Nathria Balance Changes)
How would I do the monetization (assuming cosmetics are not enough)?
When you start you get 1 hero, no selection at all. At X rating you get your second hero. At Y rating you get your third hero. At Z rating you get your fourth hero. Alternatively, you buy the pass and get 4 heroes immediately
Still P2Winish, but not a strict P2W and more like pay to not grind.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Why they couldnt add 3rd and 4th slots open as later prizes in free battlepass and get instantly from paid battlepass?
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Posted Aug 25, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)because $$$$
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Split battlegrounds off into its own game. Its own client. Then you can fix the bugs seeping from your hacked use of the Hearthstone code, and I can stop rerolling weekly quests that demand i play Battlegrounds.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Well.
It's literally Pay To Play. You won't have fun if you are forced to play shitty heroes and no way you can be competitive.
Kinda understandable tho. BG's steal player(money) base from constructed so they have to back up for it.
But still, this is shit, this is garbage, fuck blizzard, they wont stop here.
Watch them add new class to hearthstone for only 50$
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)If something that directly affects players winrate (2 Hero Slots) is unlocked by something you can't earn in-game, you can't call this mode free to play. The difference between pay to win and pay to win faster is huge, and that's pay to win. They totally deserve the outrage they are getting this time.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)How is this a negative change? This was the state of the game until now. As a free to play player I could only choose from 2 heroes.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)As of today, you can buy Battlegrounds Perks for 1200 Gold and chose from 4 heroes.
And there are thousands of spare Gold on every account who plays only Battlegrounds mode.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)And it mostly doesn‘t make a big difference if you have only two or four heroes to choose. Most of time all four are crap. Maybe one out of ten games you get a real good and useful one.
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)TLDR as I don't play Battlegrounds. One question: does this mean that future constructed Hearthstone Rewards track will contain strictly Constructed-related rewards (Constructed hero skins, card packs, golden cards, coins, etc.)? It'd be great news for constructed players.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)As of right now, we do not know. We'll have to wait until the next rewards track to see the answer to this. Judging from how the BGs rewards on the rewards track didn't come at the cost of any Constructed-relevant rewards, I severely doubt we'll get an increase in gold, skins, etc if all BGs-related content was removed from the rewards tack.
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Why is it a great news? Maybe if u assume they will add more rewards.
But i have hard times believing it
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Yes, I assume they should replace the Battleground rewards with the Constructed ones as the Battleground track exclusively contains Battleground stuffs…
It’d be terrible to take away the Battleground rewards without any other replacement to it… it contradicts to one of their former posts on improving the Track Rewards and such.
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)After this change the damage cap will essentially become non-existing.
Every game will have at least one quitter who left because he got only two shitty heroes.
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Way to kill a game mode that is flourishing. F Blizzard
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)I used to play BGs to gain experience in reward track and buy standard packs. Now the process will be even slower . People have to decide between 2 game modes.
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)The point is, if you don‘t play bg or even don‘t care about cosmetics in this mode it is kind of a waste getting skins for it. While you do the hs pass you would more like to have stuff for hs directly. So it is much better to seperate.
I personally play bg, but don‘t give a f… on all the cosmetics there. Same thing for mercenaries. I would prefer more gold or may a pack or something.
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Getting stuff you don't want or don't use can't hurt you.
What you really want is more HS stuff but you won't get that just because BG stuff is moved to a different battlepass. If you want more HS stuff in the main battlepass you need to advocate for more HS stuff in the main battlepass, not call for separation that doesn't benefit you but hurts players who play multiple modes
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Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Well it‘s same thing like with a chocolate brand in my country. They have a classical mix of different kinds of chocolate. There are some people which like all of them. But some or most people don‘t like all of them and so you have to find someone who want to eat this (I never found one up till now) or just have to throw away. A few years ago they started to sell different boxes. You now get less different sorts, but more of specific ones. If that means I had to buy two boxes to get all sorts I like, I would rather buy two instead one of the classic box where I have to throw away some.
Same for me with rewards.
Of course for those players here who want both it is a little bit sad. They could make a special offer for those which is cheaper or at least players should be able to buy it with gold.
May the feedback would be enough to make them change it someday.
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View User Profile
-
Send Message
Posted Aug 24, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)Sorry, but the example doesn't make sense. If you are getting digital stuff you don't want, you merely gain nothing. You don't need to dispose of it or something like this. Also, that additional chocolate you don't want is not free, of course you'll prefer buy a cheaper product with what you want (or a similarly costed product with more of chocolate you like)
Maybe you think that it will cost less or have more constructed stuff in it because BG stuff is removed? Nope. It is unrelated.
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Posted Aug 23, 2022 (Caste Nathria Balance Changes)How would I do the monetization (assuming cosmetics are not enough)?
When you start you get 1 hero, no selection at all. At X rating you get your second hero. At Y rating you get your third hero. At Z rating you get your fourth hero. Alternatively, you buy the pass and get 4 heroes immediately
Still P2Winish, but not a strict P2W and more like pay to not grind.