The developers of Hearthstone quickly struck the balancing hammer again! While they announced the upcoming nerfs in the Q&A they held on Reddit, we didn't know exactly which cards were impacted but we got all the information shortly after about patch 17.0.2 which is now available in-game!
These mainly concern the Standard game mode, but Battlegrounds, as well as the Wild mode, also received balance changes!
A balancing patch has been rolled out with minor adjustments related to the card obtaining rates in the Arena. These changes should ensure better class balance to return to a 50% win rate. Specifically, it is the percentage of Demon Hunter and Priest victories that should be reduced by this patch, allowing all other classes to go up close to 50%.
No downloads will be required since these changes will be made on the server-side.
Hearthstone Balance Updates
Neutral
- Kael’Thas Sunstrider
Old: Cost 6 mana → New: Cost 7 mana.
- Bad Luck Albatross
Old: Cost 3 mana → New: Cost 4 mana.
- Frenzied Felwing
Old: 3 Attack / 3 Health → New: 3 Attack / 2 Health.
Demon Hunter
- Altruis the Outcast
Old: Cost 3 mana, 3 Attack / 2 Health → New: Cost 4 mana. 4 Attack / 2 Health.
- Battlefiend
Old: 2 Attack / 2 Health → New: 1 Attack / 2 Health.
- Glaivebound Adept
Old: 7 Attack / 4 Health → New: 6 Attack / 4 Health.
Warlock
- Sacrificial Pact
Old: Destroy a Demon. Restore 5 Health to your hero. → New: Destroy a friendly Demon. Restore 5 Health to your hero.
- Bloodbloom
Old: Cost 2 mana → New: Cost 4 mana.
Paladin
- Libram of Justice
Old: Cost 6 mana → New: Cost 5 mana.
Mage
- Open the Waygate
Old: Cast 6 spells that didn’t start in your deck. Reward: Time Warp. → New: Cast 8 spells that didn’t start in your deck. Reward: Time Warp.
Additional changes
The following cards will be eligible for a full dust refund for two weeks after the 17.0.2 patch has been released:
- Golden Altruis the Outcast
- Golden Battlefiend
- Golden/Normal Bad Luck Albatross
- Golden/Normal Frenzied Felwing
- Golden/Normal Open the Waygate
- Golden/Normal Bloodbloom
Battlegrounds
Milhouse Manestorm
From now on, upgrading Tavern's level will cost (1) more for this hero. Minions always cost (2), as does a refreshment at the tavern.
Bug fixes
- The Lurker Below is now properly tagged as a Beast.
- Fixed a tracking issue that prevented 500 wins with Demon Hunter from being achieved.
Fixed a bug where Zephrys the Great would not offer a lethal option if your hero had a large amount of Attack. - Zephrys the Great has been updated to accommodate the Sacrificial Pact and Glaivebound Adept changes.
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