Blizzard just announced a small data-only hotfix patch launching today with updates to Hearthstone, Battlegrounds, and Arena, plus bug fixes. Let's take a look!
Monitoring Twig
Blizzard is not announcing changes yet, but they are actively monitoring Twig of the World Tree in Wild.
You can think of this patch as more of a band-aid than anything else. Expect things like buffs and more foundational nerfs in the next patch.
— Aleco (@AlecoGereco) April 14, 2023
Also wanted to note that we're discussing twig in wild right now. I can't make any promises yet but we're monitoring the situation.
Quote from BlizzardPatch 26.0.2 is a data-only hotfix patch launching today with updates to Hearthstone, Battlegrounds, and Arena, plus bug fixes.
HEARTHSTONE UPDATES
Card Changes
Construct Quarter
- Old: 3 Durability
- New: 2 Durability
Vengeful Walloper
- Old: 6 Mana
- New: 7 Mana
Lightray
- Old: 9 Mana
- New: 10 Mana
BATTLEGROUNDS UPDATES
Armor Changes
- A.F. Kay: 18
- Galewing: 14
- George the Fallen: 13
- Illidan Stormrage: 14
- Ini Stormcoil: 15 at higher ranks (no change at lower ranks)
- Lord Jaraxxus: 18 at higher ranks, 7 at lower ranks
- Millificent Manastorm: 14 at higher ranks (no change at lower ranks)
- Onyxia: 14
- Patches the Pirate: 14 at higher ranks (no change at lower ranks)
- Professor Putricide: 14
- Rakanishu: 18
- Sir Finley Mrrgglton: 10
- Tavish Stormpike: 15 at higher ranks, 10 at lower ranks
- The Jailer: 15
- Millhouse Manastorm: 10
- Bru’kan: 12
- Enhance-o Mechano: 8
- E.T.C., Band Manager: 10
- Kurtrus Ashfallen: 12
- Maiev Shadowsong: 9 at higher ranks (no change at lower ranks)
- Master Nguyen: 12
- Queen Wagtoggle: 10
- Scabbs Cutterbutter: 10
- Silas Darkmoon: 10
- Skycap’n Kragg: 11
- Sneed: 12
- The Rat King: 9
- Zephrys, the Great: 10
- Millhouse Manastorm: 6
Note: Millhouse Manastorm now has less Armor at higher ranks, but more Armor at lower ranks.
Buddy Updates
The following Buddies have been adjusted to be more powerful:
Snow Elemental (Chenvaala)
- Old: Tavern Tier 4
- New: Tavern Tier 3
Vaelastrasz (Alexstrasza)
- Old: Tavern Tier 4
- New: Tavern Tier 3
Talent Scout (E.T.C., Band Manager)
- Old: Tavern Tier 5
- New: Tavern Tier 3
Coilfang Elite (Lady Vashj)
- Old: [Tavern Tier 2] 4 Attack, 3 Health
- New: [Tavern Tier 1] 3 Attack, 2 Health
Sub Scrubber (Ini Stormcoil)
- Old: Tavern Tier 5
- New: Tavern Tier 4
Piloted Whirl-O-Tron (Sneed)
- Old: Tavern Tier 3
- New: Tavern Tier 2
Festergut (Professor Putricide)
- Ticking Abomination has been removed from the Festergut minion pool. (It is still in the minion pool for Professor Putricide’s hero power, Build-An-Undead).
The following Buddies have been adjusted to be less powerful:
Nightmare Ectoplasm (Mutanus the Devourer)
- Old: [Tavern Tier3] 5 Attack, 4 Health
- New: [Tavern Tier 4] 4 Attack, 3 Health
Raging Contender (Captain Hooktusk)
- Old: Tavern Tier 4
- New: Tavern Tier 5
Living Nightmare (Kurtrus Ashfallen)
- Old: [Tavern Tier 2] 5 Attack, 3 Health
- New: [Tavern Tier 3] 6 Attack, 4 Health
Waxadred, the Drippy (Heistbaron Togwaggle)
- Old: Tavern Tier 4
- New: Tavern Tier 5
Shady Aristocrat (Sire Denathrius)
- The Quest Discovered will now be more difficult to complete.
Minion Updates
Dr. Boombox
- Old: Tavern Tier 4
- New: Tavern Tier 5
ARENA UPDATES
Card appearance rates were adjusted. High power class cards for Death Knight, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, and Shaman will appear less frequently. High power class cards for Demon Hunter and Warrior will appear more frequently. The Countess, Fel’dorei Warband, Deal with a Devil, and Astalor, Bloodsworn are no longer be able to be drafted.
BUG FIXES AND GAME IMPROVEMENTS
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Sketchy Stranger would only offer 2 options if you were playing as a Secret class.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where cards gained by Fight Over Me were not tagged as copied from your opponent.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug causing mouse-over tooltips to sometimes disappear. This bug fix includes a temporary mitigation until the next full client patch.
- [Duels] Fixed a bug where Scourge Strike was sometimes literally unplayable.
- [Arena] Fixed a bug where new Core Set cards were not in the eligible card pool.
Whoever is on charge for balance arena needs to be fired, seriously this is something else... or just let the mode die already.
Off-topic, but I've been noticing a few lesser card games releasing cards first, so you can craft, THEN after weeks, they allow you to buy packs.
A warning if it starts happening here.
They already started letting you "open" packs before launch. Packs you can only get through preordering. If I'm greedy Activision, the next thing is literally letting people use those cards a week early, similar to other "early start" preorder garbage they've been doing with things like Diablo 4.
Well, you kinda already can play them a week early, only in duels though.
Specifically, I'm talking about some card games staggering ONE expansion release over the course of several months, letting you only craft cards, then after a long while, allow the buying of packs of said expansion.
I really really hate that they buff cards and even unnerf cards with almost every patch now. The problem with this meta is that the cards are TOO powerful. All around they are. It limits what strategies you can play. Plus, I can only think of like 2 or 3 cards in this expansion that could use a buff. Everything else is fair. It really pisses me off when content creators complain about things being "unplayable because they're 'not unfair'". Enough with the power creep. I'm tired of being punished for not playing a premade deck made by blizzard full of 'must include' cards. I HATE Astalor, but luckily I actually got him from a pack. I would've never crafted that stupid card, but you NEED to put him in every deck you make. There is no counter for that card so if you don't have him in your deck and draw him, but your opponent does, you are automatically at a disadvantage. That Lightray card they just nerfed... that was a buffed card btw... This isnt the first time this year where they had to nerf a card they just buffed. Oh gee I wonder why...
Their card design philosophy sucks really badly right now. It used to be "hey heres an idea for a new card. It's a 4 mana card. Well Chillwind Yeti also costs 4 and is a 4 5, so lets make sure this new 4 mana card is some sort of spin off from yeti. We can make it have slightly more value because it's a class card and not a neutral, but if we give it a battlecry, or deathrattle, we have to reduce its stats from 4 5 somehow to compensate." Now their design process is: "Would it completely break the game if we print a card like Ghostly Strike? It'll be very strong but it wont completely break the game so lets print it. And as a result, yes, the card doesnt break the game, but now until the card rotates, it will be a must include unless theres a card more broken that has better synergy in your deck.
Lightray wasn't buffed though... Vengeful Walloper was.
Lightray was buffed - it was previously only an elemental, then it became a beast/elemental. This was a huge buff when cards like Purator became involved.
This is the third time we've had week 1 balance changes, which could mean we can expect to see more in the future. It doesn't surprise me that these nerfs are not really "nerfs" and more "love taps" to make these decks slightly less unfair, nuking from orbit in a meta which is still developing feels very premature.
Death Knight was released in a 6-set meta, and many of its buffs and changes were to fit in that power level. Because they lost nothing in the rotation, you can liken Death Knight to having "7 sets" in terms of power while everyone else is working with 4.
Paladin lost mostly support cards in the rotation, but also gifted it with some amazing replacements for what it lost. If anything, Pure Paladin is stronger than it was last set, which is odd after a rotation.
Yeah I'll be back after some serious changes. On to other games for now.
thanks for letting us know
I wish they'd give us a better sense of when this "next patch" is.
If we follow the usual patch patterns, expect it on the 25th, maybe 27th.
Next time, think about divine shield, cause that's what it's making Paladin super OP right now.
PS : Lightray won't change that much, due to the so many low cost paladin cards available in standard.
Who needs playtesting if you can netdeck your nerfs from hsreplay.
Nerfing mana cheat cards always makes me happy!
So... not even touching the 75% winrate aggro garbage? Ok
Oh, and last night I built a Blood DK since opponents using that performed pretty well against me. I played eight games. Every single one was against another Blood DK. Nerfing construct quarter will not change the effectiveness of this deck. You're gonna have to do a LOT more.
Blood DK isn't even the main problem. Frost DK is sitting over here with a 73% winrate too. The problem is DK as a class, since all their tools were last year they have all the good stuff that they got to compete with all the decks that had 2 years worth of content
Yes. All classes lost 3 expansions worth of cards. DK lost nothing. This is why you introduce new classes in the first expansion in a rotation, like Demon Hunter. And Demon Hunter was also completely broken at launch.