Latest Hearthstone Update Introduces Balance Changes and Wild Events
Blizzard announced that the first Hearthstone update of 2018 is here, and packed with events, card changes, and more. Players can read the full update notes on their site here, or check out the summary below.
Check out the developer video of the Hearthstone’s ranked update, featuring some designer insights on the ranked update:
“Introducing Wildfest
To celebrate all things Hearthstone in the Year of the Mammoth, we will be holding several Wild events from February 19 to March 11.
Wild Arena
Starting on February 19 and lasting through March 11, the Arena draft will offer cards that are exclusive to Wild, instead of only Standard cards. If you have an existing arena run, we recommend finishing it up before Wildfest begins, as those Arena runs will be retired automatically on February 19. The first arena run for this event is free.
Venture Into the Wild
This is a pre-constructed Wild Tavern Brawl; just pick a class, and we’ll give you a pre-made Wild deck. This is a great way to experience the fun of Wild, even if you don’t own a full Wild collection.
The Wild Brawliseum
This is aimed at competitive Hearthstone players who want to put their skills and collection to the test. The Wild Brawliseum uses player-built decks that are locked in for the duration of the run, and has an entry fee that uses Gold or real money. Players battle each other until they hit 12 wins or 3 losses, just like in the Arena. The rewards offered are also the same as what is offered in the Arena, so get in there and give The Wild Brawliseum a try – the first run is free!
Card Changes
We announced last week there would be card balance changes coming to Hearthstone, and with this update they are going into effect. You can check out more information on each of these changes on our blog, but here’s the summary of changes:
- Corridor Creeper – Now has 2 attack, down from 5.
- Patches the Pirate – No longer has Charge.
- Raza the Chained – Now reduces your Hero Power cost to 1 instead of 0.
- Bonemare – Now costs 8 mana, up from 7.
Ranked Play Update
We also announced there would be an update coming to ranked play, starting March 1st. For details, read the Ranked Play Updates blog for details. While this hasn’t gone into effect yet, how you play this month will impact your rankings for the March season.
The summary of the changes are:
- Your reset will not be based on the stars you earned over the season. Instead, you’ll reset to four ranks lower than your highest rank that season.
- Players at Legend reset to rank 4, 0 stars.
- All ranks will have 5 stars.
Starting in March, you will no longer earn the monthly card back by reaching Rank 20. Instead, you can earn each season’s card back by winning 5 games in Ranked Standard or Wild at any rank.”
For more information on Hearthstone, visit its official website.
