Blizzard just dropped 34.2 patch notes, and they are so huge that they decided to split them into two parts. In this part, they talk about general gameplay updates/bug fixes, Arena update, and – of course – Battlegrounds updates (after all, it’s a major Battlegrounds patch). You can check out the other part here.
Let’s start with the smaller updates. Rewind mechanic got another optimization pass and, according to patch notes, it’s been “significantly sped up” (I hope that it includes mobile, because it was significantly slower there than on PC). In Arena, Fabled cards (except Rafaam) will now be draftable. You will be able to get rid of associated cards during re-draft phase in Underground Arena if you wish to.
But most importantly, the patch comes with a HUGE Battlegrounds update. We’ve often been saying that the “X Battlegrounds patch is one of the biggest patches ever”, but in this case it might be THE biggest.
First of all, there’s a brand new system in place called Timewarped Tavern. On turns 6 and 9 (nice), you’ll be transported to a separate Tavern with two Chronum (new currency) to spend. You’ll be offered a variety of cards (minions, spells, and even Hero Powers) to buy. Cards cost either one or two Chronum, so you can buy two regular options or one more powerful one, depending on your build and goals. Once you exit the Timewarped Tavern, you’ll be transformed to a regular Tavern and continue with a regular turn.
The update also adds two new Heroes (Chromie and Murozond), and A LOT of new minions/spells, card and Hero updates, pool changes etc. And I mean A LOT – if we add up all of them (including the new Timewarped cards), we get a number in the hundreds. It’s going to be a complete meta shift, which is honestly quite expected from the major Battlegrounds patches already.
If you want to learn more about the new Battlegrounds Season, be sure to tune into the Card Reveal Stream with Mitchell Loewen and Shadybunny. You can watch it on Twitch and YouTube. And if you can’t watch it live, I’ll leave a link to the VoD here after it’s over.
You can check out all of the Battlegrounds updates as well as other gameplay/game mode changes included in this patch in the blog post below. Also check out the other part of the patch notes that talks about new events and features.
Patch 34.2 launches tomorrow with updates for Battlegrounds, Arena, bug fixes, gameplay improvements, events, and features. This is a large patch, so to better spotlight all the new content, we’re splitting the patch notes into two blogs. This post covers Battlegrounds, Arena, bug fixes, and gameplay improvements.
Rewind is now faster and smoother than ever! When you play a card with the Rewind keyword, you can turn back the clock and replay a card. This feature was initially a bit slow at launch, but we’ve significantly sped it up. Now you can dedicate your time where it matters most: beating your opponent!
Arena Updates
All Fabled cards (except Rafaam) from Across the Timeways are now in the Arena card pool as Legendary Buckets. Drafting a Fabled card will add it to your deck with its associated cards. You are able to redraft the associated cards, should you choose to do so.
Battlegrounds Updates
Harness the sands of time in Battlegrounds Season 12: Tavern at the Edge of Time! Explore the Timewarped Tavern, master new alternate timeline cards, and make every moment count. The new season begins on December 2.
When Season 12 starts, Anomalies and Buddies will be removed from the Tavern.
New System: Timewarped Tavern
With Murozond locked in a time-bending battle against the Bronze Dragonflight, the Tavern is feeling the effects of this chronal conflict. To help in the fight to save time, Nozdormu is opening a special Timewarped Tavern to arm players with cards infused with temporal magic. This unique shop features alternate timeline versions of familiar cards, and you may even encounter a few from timelines that have never been seen before.
The Timewarped Tavern appears twice per game, offering a fresh selection of five special cards each time. A Minor Timewarp occurs on Turn 6, and a Major Timewarp occurs on Turn 9. The cards in this shop are ones you don’t normally find in the tavern:
Unique minions
Unique spells
Alternate versions of existing cards
Second hero powers (Minor Timewarp only)
When you enter the Timewarped Tavern, you receive two Chronum, a new currency used to buy cards instead of Gold. Cards in the shop cost one or two Chronum, and any unspent Chronum disappear at the end of the turn, so spend wisely!
The Timewarped Tavern operates under its own set of rules:
You cannot Freeze or Refresh the Timewarped Tavern.
Your hand, board, and hero power do not function here.
If buying cards causes you to exceed your hand limit, your hand limit will be temporarily increased to accommodate those cards.
Timewarped cards cannot Triple with their regular versions. (e.g., Timewarped Busker can only Triple with two more Timewarped Buskers, not with Southsea Busker.)
Keep an eye out for Nozdormu, the big bronze dragon running the show, and help save the timelines!
Tune-In for Battlegrounds Developer Streams
Battlegrounds Season 12 Card Reveal Stream
Join Battlegrounds Lead Designer Mitchell Loewen and our special guest Shadybunny as they guide you through the biggest Battlegrounds patch of all time!
When: December 1 at 10:00 a.m. PST
Where: Hearthstone’s Twitch and YouTube streams
Drops: Get 1 Year of the Raptor Pack and 4 Battlegrounds Tokens by watching on Twitch or YouTube (not both)
The Tavern at the Edge of Time Dev Co-Streams
Dogdog and BoarControl
Watch Battlegrounds Designer George Webb (BoarControl) as he joins DogDog on his stream for a one-hour Q&A and play session. Will DogDog take BoarControl’s play advice? Let’s find out.
Check out Battlegrounds Lead Designer Mitchell Lowen joining HapaBear on her stream for a one-hour Q&A and play session. Let’s see if Mitchell can still talk through the cards with Hapa’s APM!
On December 2, Battlegrounds Season 11 will end and Season 12 will begin! With that, Battlegrounds Ratings will reset, and the Battlegrounds Track will update. Any rewards that were already earned from the Season 11 Rewards Track, but not yet claimed, will be automatically claimed for you.
The Season 12 Battlegrounds Track includes Across the Timeways-themed cosmetics. Pick up the Season Pass to instantly unlock +2 Hero options at the start of each game. Then, progress through the Season Pass track to earn the new Edge of Time Legendary Strike, 13 additional Hero Skins, a new Bartender, and more! Or upgrade to the Season Pass + to get all the rewards from the Season Pass plus one included Hero re-roll per game.
Level
XP
Cumulative XP
Free Track
Tavern Pass
1
0
0
+2 Hero Slots
2
20
20
Reroll Perk (1 per game)
3
20
40
2 Battlegrounds Tokens
4
20
60
5 Battlegrounds Tokens
5
30
90
Bronze Kael’thas Rare Hero Skin
6
30
120
Toastmaster Murozond Epic Emote
7
30
150
2 Battlegrounds Tokens
8
30
180
Timewalker Brann Legendary Hero Skin
9
40
220
Cookie the Infinite Rare Hero Skin
10
40
260
5 Battlegrounds Tokens
11
40
300
Infinite Galewing Rare Hero Skin
12
50
350
Time Heist Edwin Epic Hero Skin
13
50
400
Raging Baz’hial Rare Emote
14
50
450
Tockatus Rare Hero Skin
15
50
500
2 Battlegrounds Tokens
16
60
560
Edge of Time Rare Strike
17
60
620
Murozond Epic Bartender
18
60
680
5 Battlegrounds Tokens
19
60
740
Taunting Toki Rare Emote
20
60
800
“Murozond” A. F. Kay Rare Hero Skin
21
60
860
Once and Future Lich King Rare Hero Skin*
22
60
920
Disappointed Cookie Epic Emote*
23
60
980
Time Travel Jandice Rare Hero Skin*
24
60
1040
Time Traveler Ini Epic Hero Skin*
25
60
1100
Timewalker Millificent Rare Hero Skin*
26
60
1160
5 Battlegrounds Tokens
27
60
1220
End Time Eudora Epic Emote*
28
60
1280
Edge of Time Epic Strike*
29
60
1340
Accusing Rafaam Rare Emote*
30
60
1400
Proto-Dragon Alexstrazsa Rare Hero Skin*
31
60
1460
2 Battlegrounds Tokens
32
60
1520
Zin-Ashari Faelin Epic Hero Skin*
33
60
1580
Eager Nozdormu Rare Emote*
34
60
1640
5 Battlegrounds Tokens
35
60
1700
Clockwork Mechano Epic Hero Skin*
36
60
1760
Apocalypse Toki Legendary Hero Skin*
37
60
1820
End Time Galakrond Rare Hero Skin*
38
60
1880
Infinite Maluk Epic Emote*
39
60
1940
Tavern-Keeper Nozdormu Legendary Hero Skin*
40
60
2000
Edge of Time Legendary Strike*
*These rewards will become available after the 34.6 patch update.
Hero Updates
New Heroes
Murozond and Chromie are taking their fight to the Tavern! These new heroes will appear in every game for the first two weeks of Season 12.
Murozond, Unbounded (15 Armor)
This Murozond is Unbounded by the rules and sneaks you into the Timewarped Tavern for an extra visit on Turn 8.
Time Twister Chromie (15 Armor)
Use Time Twister Chromie’s chronomancy to replace your Tavern with a fresh selection of Tavern Spells.
The following Buddies have had text updates to account for Timewarped Tavern:
Stoneshell Guardian: Start of Combat: Copy all friendly Rallies (except other Stoneshells).
Piloted Whirl-O-Tron: Start of Combat: Copy your two left-most Deathrattles (except other Whirl-O-Trons).
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements
[Battlegrounds] We’ve adjusted how Taunt and Reborn are applied and removed from minions to resolve issues where these keywords could persist after effects like Sin’dorei Straight Shot or Tricky Trousers.
[Battlegrounds] Increased the cost of upgrading the Tavern from Tier 4 to 5 and from 5 to 6 by 1 Gold in both Solos and Duos.
[Battlegrounds] Reverted Hero mulligan timer to 70 seconds now that Buddies and Anomalies are gone.
[Battlegrounds] Added ability to see how many free Refreshes you can have hovering over the Refresh button.
[Battlegrounds] Start of Turn Refresh checks are now based on the size of cards in the Tavern rather than how many minions.
For example: Previously, if you froze a shop with 4 spells on Tier 1, the Tavern would refill with 3 minions at the start of your turn. Now, it will only refill up to 4 cards. The card pool size for each Tier is as follows…
Tier 1: 4
Tier 2: 5
Tier 3: 5
Tier 4: 6
Tier 5: 6
Tier 6: 7
[Battlegrounds] In Duos, Maximum Combat Speedup and turn timers have been increased.
[Standard] Fixed a bug where Sparking Phial did not give a reduction when targeting minions with Divine Shield.
[Standard] Fixed an audio bug where sometimes Broxigar’s initial voice line was missing.
[Quests] Fixed a bug where weekly and daily quests specific to The Lost City of Un’Goro were still being granted.
[Achievements] Fixed a bug where Mouths to Feed didn’t progress beyond nine.
[Wild] Fixed a visual bug where Spreading Madness missiles appeared to move too slowly.
[Pets] Fixed several visual bugs related to Arfus.
A Hearthstone player and writer from Poland, Stonekeep has been in a love-hate relationship with Hearthstone since Closed Beta. Over that time, he has achieved many high Legend climbs and infinite Arena runs. He's the current admin of Hearthstone Top Decks.
