Hearthpwn

24.6 Patch Notes - Expansion Pre-order, New Event System, BGs & Mercenaries Changes

Blizzard just released Patchnotes for the upcoming Patch 24.6 featuring Expansion Pre-order, a New Event System, Balance changes for Mercenaries & Battlegrounds, and more!

Bugged Game State Update

Blizzard is aware of and looking into something affecting players in EU across multiple games.

— Nicholas “DeckTech” Weiss (@hsdecktech) November 1, 2022

Quote from Blizzard

Patch 24.6, launching today, is a massive patch that kicks off Hearthstone’s next event, immediately adds Knights of the Frozen Throne to the free Core Set for a limited time, reworks Mercenaries systems, refreshes Battlegrounds, and paves the way for Hearthstone’s new Death Knight class and next expansion: March of the Lich King!

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Table of Contents

• Hearthstone Updates
• Battlegrounds Updates
• Mercenaries Updates
• Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

 

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Pre-Purchase March of the Lich King

Hearthstone’s next expansion, March of the Lich King, is coming on December 6! The Lich King is back, and he’s leading his Undead army in an assault on the Blood Elf city of Silvermoon. In this expansion, you can become a Death Knight, the all-new playable class, and use Corpses left on the battlefield to fuel your evil power. Or you can channel magic from the Sunwell with the new Manathirst keyword that makes your cards more powerful as the battle rages on. The armies are gathering. It is up to you to decide whether you will join, or stand against, the March of the Lich King!

March of the Lich King includes 145 new collectible cards. The March of the Lich King Mega Bundle is entirely focused on the Hearthstone mode, granting more cards than ever before, including new Signature cards, Signature Golden Packs, and the entire Path of Arthas set. You can learn more about Signature cards and Signature Golden Packs in the Expansion Announcement, and you can learn more about the Death Knight class and the Path of Arthas set in the Death Knight Deep Dive.

This time, for the first time ever, both March of the Lich King pre-purchase bundles will also be available for one week following the launch of the expansion! Get them now to start rocking your new card back right away, or get them after the expansion goes live—whatever works best for you.

PRE-PURCHASE

Log In and Channel the Power of the Sunwell for Free!

Log in to Hearthstone now for your first steps in the March of the Lich King with the free The Sunwell Legendary Neutral spell!* The Sunwell’s magic is limited only by your hand size! Add it to your collection and see what blessings The Sunwell holds.

* Limited one per account. After Patch 25.6, Sunwell will be granted upon opening your first March of the Lich King pack, instead of upon logging in.

New Cosmetic: Legendary Hero Skins!

Like our Full Hero Skins, new Legendary Hero Skins feature impressive new come into play and hero power animations, a unique hero tray, and new voicelines. They then go even further by replacing your hero frame and portrait with a completely 3D character model! They also have custom character animations for a variety of actions, like attacking, summoning minions, casting spells, emotes, and more!

To celebrate the upcoming Death Knight class, our first Legendary Skin will be Arthas Menethil, for the upcoming Death Knight Class! It will be available for prepurchase as part of the Arthas Menethil Bundle, starting on November 8.

This bundle will be available for purchase in Patch 24.6 and 25.0 after the expansion launches, but the contents of it will not be usable until the Death Knight class unlocks with The March of the Lich King on December 6.

 

New Event System, Knights of Hallow’s End Event, and Knights of the Frozen Throne’s Return to Standard!

We’re introducing a new Events System and interface with Patch 24.6! Now, instead of just Legendary Quests, players can complete thematic Event Quests to earn XP on an Event-specific reward track. Additionally, in-game events will have their own special place in the Journal. When an event is live, there will be a seasonal wax seal over the Journal. Open the wax seal and you will be directed to a special Journal tab for that event, which will show Event Quests, rewards, and duration all in one thematic spot!

The first event with this new Events System will be the Knights of Hallow’s End Event, which starts with Patch 24.6. To kick off that event, the entire Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion will be temporarily Standard legal and FREE for all players! Now you can relive the first time The Lich King came to Hearthstone as you prepare for his return in December.

Use the Knights of the Frozen Throne cards to complete special Event Quests and Daily Quests, to earn Event XP.* Complete the entire Event reward track during the Event period and you’ll get two Battlegrounds Emotes, a Standard Card Pack, a Murder at Castle Nathria Pack, two March of the Lich King Packs, and a Banshee Tyrande Hearthstone Hero Skin!

The Knights of Hallow’s End Event will last for two weeks after the launch of Patch 24.6. Knights of the Frozen Throne will be part of the Core Set from the launch of Patch 24.6 until March of the Lich King launches on December 6!

* Event XP can also be earned by just playing regularly, but completing Event Quests is the fastest way to complete the entire Event reward track.

 

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Battlegrounds Updates

General Text Updates

• Changed all instances of “gain 1 Gold this turn only” to “gain 1 Gold.” This is not a functional change.
• Changed all instances of “gain a Blood Gem” to “get a Blood Gem.” This is not a functional change.

New Hero

The Jailer (Armor Tier 3)

• Runic Empowerment
  • [1 Gold] Give a minion +1/+1. Upgrades after 9 friendly minions die.

This new hero will be available in all lobbies for two weeks after patch launch.

Hero Updates

The following Heroes have hero power updates:

C’Thun (Saturday C’Thuns)

• Old: [2 Gold] At the end of turn, give a friendly minion +1/+1. Repeat 0 times. (Upgrades after each use!)
• New: [2 Gold] At the end of turn, give a friendly minion +1/+1. Repeat 0 times. (Upgrades each turn!)

Infinite Toki (Temporal Tavern)

• Old: [1 Gold] Refresh Bob’s Tavern. Include a minion from a higher Tavern Tier.
• New: [1 Gold] Refresh Bob’s Tavern. Include two minions from a higher Tavern Tier.

The Rat King (A Tale of Kings)

• Old: Passive. Whenever you buy a minion of a specific type, give it +2/+2. Swaps type each turn.
• New: [2 Gold] Discover a minion of a specific type. Swaps type each turn.

The following Heroes have less Armor:

• Bru’kan, Pyramad, and The Rat King are now Armor Tier 1 (0 Armor).
• Lich Baz’hial is now Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor).
• Deathwing, Infinite Toki, Kurtrus Ashfallen, and Tavish Stormpike are now Armor Tier 3 (3-6 Armor).
• Onyxia is now Armor Tier 4 (4-7 Armor).

The following Heroes have more Armor:

• Patchwerk is now Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor).
• Alexstrasza and Ambassador Faelin are now Armor Tier 4 (4-7 Armor)
• Chenvaala, Mr. Bigglesworth, and Zephrys the Great are now Armor Tier 5 (5-8 Armor)

New Battlegrounds Quests

Hire an Investigator: End your turn with unspent Gold 3 times.

Crack the Case: Have friendly minions attack 11 times.

Remember, these are just the baseline Quest completion requirements. Actual requirements in-game vary based on the Reward these Quests are paired with and several other factors.

New Battlegrounds Quest Rewards

Blood Goblet: At the end of your turn, give your right-most minion Attack equal to your missing Health.

Essence of Zerus:  At the end of your turn, add a “Shifter Zerus” to your hand which transforms into random minions.

Hidden Treasure Vault: At the start of your turn, gain 1 Gold. (Upgrades each turn!)

Ethereal Evidence: At the start of every turn, choose from 2 new Rewards.

Volatile Venom: Your minions have +8/+8. After they attack, they die. Horribly.

The Golden Hammer: Spellcraft: Make a friendly minion Golden until next turn.

Sinfall Medallion: After you play a minion, give 2 other friendly minions of its Tavern Tier +2/+2.

Kidnap Sack: Spellcraft: Choose a non-Golden minion. Add it to your hand.

Battlegrounds Quest and Quest Reward Updates

• Quest: Find the Murder Weapon has had its baseline completion requirement reduced from 17 to 14.
• Reward: Anima Bribe has been removed from the Reward pool.
• Reward: Theotar’s Parasol has been returned to the Reward pool.
• Reward: Stolen Gold has had its appearance rate reduced by 50%.

New Minions

Dozy Whelp (Tavern Tier 1, Dragon)

• 0 Attack, 3 Health. Taunt. Whenever this minion is attacked, gain +1 Attack permanently.

Patient Scout (Tavern Tier 2)

• 1 Attack, 1 Health. When you sell this, Discover a Tavern Tier 1 minion. (Upgrades each turn!)

Bristlemane Scrapsmith (Tavern Tier 3, Quilboar)

• 4 Attack, 4 Health. After a friendly Taunt minion dies, get a Blood Gem.

Faceless Disciple (Tavern Tier 4)

• 6 Attack, 4 Health. Battlecry: Transform a minion into one of a Tier higher.

Vigilant Stoneborn (Tavern Tier 4)

• 2 Attack, 6 Health. Battlecry: Give a minion +6 Health and Taunt.

Ball of Minions (Tavern Tier 4, All)

• 5 Attack, 5 Health. When you sell this, give its stats to a random friendly minion.

Interrogator Whitemane (Tavern Tier 5)

• 8 Attack, 5 Health. Start of Combat: Give the enemies opposite this Taunt. They take double damage.

Vanessa VanCleef (Tavern Tier 5, Pirate)

• 3 Attack, 7 Health. Whenever this attacks, give your Pirates +2/+1 permanently.

The Walking Fort (Tavern Tier 6)

• 4 Attack, 6 Health. At the end of your turn, give 4 friendly Taunt minions +4/+4.

Minion Updates

Prophet of the Boar

• Old: 3 Attack, 3 Health. Once per Turn: After you play a Quilboar, gain a Blood Gem.
• New: 2 Attack, 3 Health. Taunt. After you play a Quilboar, get a Blood Gem.

Tarecgosa

• Old: This permanently keeps enchantments from combat.
• New: This permanently keeps your enchantments from combat.

Dev comment: Tarecgosa will function the same way as it does now. This change is to prevent Tarecgosa from keeping negative enchantments, like Interrogator Whitemane’s added this patch.

Minion Pool Changes

• Spawn of N’Zoth, Gemsplitter, Reef Explorer, Nightmare Amalgam, Nosy Looter, and Yrel have been removed from the minion pool.
• Menagerie Mug has been returned to the minion pool.

New Battle Bash: Hallow’s End Collection

Battle Bash is a new way for you to earn a limited-time* curated collection of Battlegrounds cosmetics, including  at least one Legendary item! Purchasing access to the Battle Bash means you earn one “Hammer” with each Top 4 finish during the Battle Bash period. Each Hammer can then be used to Bash for a random prize from that Battle Bash collection. 

The first Battle Bash will be the Hallow’s End collection of ten items (purchasable for money or 1000 Runestones), including two Legendary items: a Legendary Board, a Legendary Strike, a Rare Bartender, 5 Epic Skins, and 2 sets of three Rare Emotes! 

Purchasing this first Battle Bash will immediately unlock 2 Hammers. On top of that, Bob will give all players one free Bash to try it out. That means you have a random chance to get your favorite prize for free! It also means that if you purchase this Battle Bash, you only need seven Top 4 finishes during the Battle Bash period to unlock all the prizes. This first Battle Bash period will last for three weeks from the initial Battle Bash offering.

* Each Battle Bash collection will only be available as a whole collection for a limited time. However, individual items within a Battle Bash may become available at a later time. Items within each Battle Bash have different pull weightings. For more details, see the full disclosures site.

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends Returns

You can watch the best of the best battle it out in the fresh Battlegrounds meta when Lobby Legends returns on November 12! Keep an eye out for more event details closer to the event’s start.

 

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Mercenaries Updates

New Renown System

You’ve dominated the Bounty Board and your best Mercenaries are beyond Maxed. Your reputation precedes you, and you’ve achieved great Renown in your Village. With Patch 24.6, you’ll be able to convert your excess coins into Renown. Daily Tasks are being reworked (discussed below) and, in their place at the Campfire, you’ll receive a selection of offers to exchange Renown for Coins for a Mercenary you own, but haven’t yet Maxed.

The conversion rates from excess coins to Renown are as follows:

• 10 Rare Coins = 1 Renown
• 5 Epic Coins = 1 Renown
• 2 Legendary Coins = 1 Renown

The conversion rates to then exchange Renown for Coins from Mercs you haven’t Maxed are as follows:

• 100 Renown = 50 Rare Coins
• 150 Renown = 50 Epic Coins
• 250 Renown = 50 Legendary Coins

In the future, this system will be updated to incorporate Renown into the upcoming end-game system. More information will be shared about that update at a later time.

Task System Rework

All Task chains are now available whenever you want! Active Task chains are those for the Mercs that are in your Party at that time, so you can work on up to six Task chains at a time, and you can switch those Task chains up just by switching up your Party. This means players can easily select exactly which Task chains they want to work on, and efficiently clear their Tasks in a way that makes sense for them!

 

In addition to all the Tasks for all Mercs, there will also be extra miscellaneous Tasks mixed in with the daily Renown exchange offerings, so you will still get opportunities to grow even after completing all the main Task chains. Finally, as the Mysterious Stranger’s job is now done, they will no longer appear in mystery nodes—they will be replaced by the Cursed Treasure node.

New Limited-Time Event: Rattlegore

RATTLEGORE! Rattlegore has escaped and is making its way to terrorize your Village, starting on November 1. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks, centered around Rattlegore. Two new event tasks will be unlocked on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until November 29 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will get you the Rattlegore Mercenary, two random Golden Rattlegore Portraits, and 700 Mercenaries Coins! Orcs, Beast, and Demons will be helpful in completing this special event.

New Mercenary

Rattlegore (Epic Protector)

• Undead—12/30 Maxed Stats
• Abilities
  • Rusted Blades 5: (Speed 2) Gain +5 Attack and Attack an enemy. Make this ability (2) speed slower.
  • BONEFLAME!!! 5: (Fire – Speed 4) Deal 16 damage. Deathblow: Gain +3 Fire Damage.
  • Confusing Bruising 5: (Shadow – Speed 1, Cooldown 2) Gain +15/+15 and Attack an enemy. Die at the end of turn.
• Equipment
  • Spooky Scary 4: Deathrattle: Fill your Board with 9/9 Skeletons.
  • A Solid Education 4: Deathrattle: Resummon this as a 10/70 without this Deathrattle.
  • Rattling Bones 4: Deathrattle: Resummon this with -2/-5.

Rattlegore and its Portraits will not initially be available through packs or crafting. They will be available through all normal means in a patch after the Rattlegore event ends.

 

Arena Updates

When Patch 24.6 goes live, all current Arena runs will end, and Hallow’s End will come to Arena! Dual-class Arena is back, and this time we’re kicking it old school. The eligible sets will be all sets from Classic through League of Explorers, and that’s it! No modern cards. But there’s a catch—Demon Hunter is still in the game. If you pick Demon Hunter, you could end up with the Demon Claws hero power, but no Demon Hunter class cards will appear.

Dual Class Arena will last until March of the Lich King launches on December 6. The eligible card sets during this period will be:

• Basic
• Classic
• Curse of Naxxramus
• Goblins vs Gnomes
• Blackrock Mountain
• The Grand Tournament
• League of Explorers

Note that this throwback event uses the Basic and Classic sets, not the more modern Core Set.

 

Improved New and Returning Player Deck System

New and returning players* will now be able to borrow a selection of competitive decks for one week following their return, before choosing one to claim at the end of that Loaner Deck period. In Patch 24.6, there will be 6 Loaner Decks they can try during that period.

* Includes players who didn’t play the Murder at Castle Nathria expansion. See the official post for decklists and eligibility details.

 

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Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• [Quests] Some Daily and Weekly Quests will now include an arrow at the bottom. Press this arrow to be taken directly to the part of the client where that Quest can be completed.
• [Hearthstone] The Hearthstone tutorial can now be skipped by pressing “Leave Tutorial” in the in-game menu.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Blademaster Okani’s ability could be wasted if a spell was also Countered at the same time by Ice Trap.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual mobile bug with destroying a Location with Demolition Renovator.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Reno the Relicologist could cause disconnects under certain conditions.
• [Battlegrounds] The Battlegrounds Track will now open to the page of the most recently earned item.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where some Alternate Bartenders were not saying their voicelines as frequently as expected.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bugged interaction between the Time Thief Darkmoon Prize and the Secret Sinstone Quest Reward.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where minions summoned off the Evil Twin Quest Reward were not copied by Khadgar. There remains a visual bug where the now copied Evil Twins will not have their mustaches; we will award them the appropriate facial hair in a later patch.
• [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Leeroy Jenkins killed the last minion that damaged him, not the one that dealt him lethal damage.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug where Ysera’s Nightmare Ability was being treated as a Nature Ability instead of a Shadow Ability.
• [Mercenaries] Fixed a bug where Genn’s Smooth Transformation Equipment would trigger while he was on the bench.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug with the “One of the Classic Blunders” Achievement.
• [Achievements] Fixed a bug with the “Shut Up, Dad” Achievement.
• [Collection] You can now search “tag:imp” or “tag:whelp” to return all cards in your collection that have those tags. You can type just “imp” if you want all text matches as well as all cards with the Imp tag.
• [Misc.] Fixed a bug causing computer opponents to make unexpected plays.

March of the Lich King Card List & Expansion Guide

Learn more and see all the cards in our dedicated Card List.