Hearthstone
“Hearthstone” is an online digital trading card game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It’s free-to-play and draws on the rich lore of the Warcraft series, incorporating characters, elements, and relics.
Hearthstone was originally released for Microsoft Windows and macOS in March 2014, and later launched on iOS and Android devices. The game allows for cross-platform play, allowing players from different devices to compete within their respective geographic regions.
Hearthstone began as an experimental game within Blizzard, developed by a small team passionate about collectible card games. It is designed to address the shortcomings of other digital card games by eliminating opponent interaction during player turns and faithfully replicating the feel of a physical card game through its user interface. Many concepts and art assets were adapted from the physical World of Warcraft trading card game.
The game received positive reviews from critics and proved to be a success for Blizzard, raking in nearly $40 million per month as of August 2017. According to Blizzard’s reports, Hearthstone has more than 100 million players as of November 2018. It’s also popular as an eSport, with Blizzard and other organizers hosting tournaments with cash prizes.
Hearthstone 26.6.2 Patch Notes
Introducing Patch 26.6.2, a data-only update scheduled for release today. This patch brings some notable changes to the standard card pool and warp mode, along with developer insights into the tweaks.
In Standard, where the meta is currently in a favorable state and there are plenty of competitive options across categories, one particular card called Whomper stands out in terms of player sentiment.
To address this issue, the development team made adjustments to increase the mana cost. While other cards were considered for minor tweaks, it was deemed more appropriate to let the meta evolve naturally before making further adjustments.
Additionally, Twist mode is still in beta, exploring unique design goals aimed at delivering an evolving format. As part of this exploration, the developers took a lighter approach and addressed three prominent outliers in the current format.
These changes, including potential card bans, are intended to enhance the overall experience of the mode. We will carefully monitor player feedback and consider future actions based on the impact of these changes, including adjustments to the next iteration of the new era format.
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Hearthstone 26.6.2 Update Patch Notes
Patch 26.6.2 is a data-only patch that will be released today, bringing the following updates.
Hearthstone Updates
Standard card update
Developer Comment: Standard Yuan is in a good position right now, with many competitive options in most categories. We made this adjustment because Whomper is the biggest sentiment outlier in the format. We considered a few other cards that could use minor tweaks, but decided it would be best to let this version play out for a while.
Flower of death woo woo
- old: [5 Mana]
- new: [6 Mana]
reverse card update
Developer Comment: Part of Twist Beta is exploring our own pattern design goals. The whole premise of the mode is to have a fast-updating format already built in, so balance changes may not be necessary to keep things fresh. However, we can still implement card bans when we believe they will improve the format. Here, we take a lighter approach to three of the biggest outliers in the current format. We’ll see how these changes impact players and may take further or different actions in the future, including next time we bring back a new era format.
- Glide, Crypt Keeper, and Refreshing Fountain are now banned in Twist.
Battlefield update
Hero Power Update
Khalil Rohm
- Old version: Give 2 friendly minions +1/+1. (After upgrading your tavern, choose an improvement!)
- Offensive Stance: Conviction provides an additional +2 attack damage for the rest of the game.
- Defensive Stance: Conviction provides an additional +2 health for the rest of the game.
- New: Gives 3 friendly minions +1/+1. (After upgrading your tavern, choose an improvement!)
- Offensive Stance: Conviction gives an additional +1 attack power for the rest of the game.
- Defensive Stance: Conviction provides an additional +1 health for the rest of the game.
king mukla
- No text updates.
- Old: King Mukla has a 50% chance of getting the Big Banana, all other players have a 0% chance.
NEW: All bananas have a 33% chance of becoming a Big Banana, regardless of who receives them.
alanna starfinder
- Old version: After 16 friendly creeps attack, the first minion purchased each turn is free.
- NEW: After 14 friendly creeps attack, the first minion purchased each turn is free.
curator
- old: [Passive] Start the game with a 1/1 Amalgam containing Venom and all minion types.
new: [Passive] Start the game with a 2/2 Amalgam with Venom and all minion types.
Armor updates
The following heroes now have more armor:
- King Mukla now has 10 armor.
- Cariel Roame now has 12 armor in higher level halls and 10 armor in lower level halls.
- Aranna Starseeker and The Curator now have 15 points of armor.
Minions Update
-
gear helicopter
- Old version: 2 attack points, 1 health point
- New: 1 attack, 1 health
scrap scraper
- Old version: 3 attack points, 7 health points. At the end of your turn, gain a random Magnetic Mech.
New: 4 Attack, 7 Health. At the end of every 2 rounds, you will get a random magnetic mecha.
Robot Drake
- Old version: 2 attack points, 10 health points. Aegis. Your minions with Divine Shield have +8 attack power.
New: 3 Attack, 10 Health. Aegis. Your minions with Divine Shield have +6 attack power.
prickly piper
New: 3 Attack, 1 Health
Bongo Popper
New: 4 Attack, 3 Health.
hungry snapper
New: 5 Attack, 2 Health.
Recycle ghost
- old: [Tier 4] 5 attack power, 4 health
new: [Tier 3] 4 attack power, 2 health
Bream counter
- Old version: 4 attack points, 4 health points. While it’s in your hand, gain +3/+2 after you play as a Murloc.
New: 5 Attack, 5 Health. While it’s in your hand, gain +3/+3 after you play as a Murloc.
twilight barbarian
New: 4 Attack, 3 Health
Atisha Queen of Tides
- Old version: 7 attack points, 8 health points. After you cast a spell, give three friendly Naga +1/+1.
New: 6 Attack, 8 Health. After you cast a spell, give four friendly Naga +1/+1.
Soul Breaker
- old: [Tier 5] 5 attack points, 2 health points.
new: [Tier 4] 4 attack points, 2 health points.
Minion pool changes
- Banner Boar has been removed from the minion pool.
The Patient Scout has returned to the minion pool.
Duel Update
Signature Treasures Update
carrot sticks
new: [3 Mana]
armed men
new: [5 Mana]
Passive Treasure Update
starve
- Old: When a friendly Beast dies for the first time during a turn, draw a minion from your deck and give it +1 Attack.
NEW: After the first time a friendly beast dies during your turn, draw a minion from your deck and give it +1 Attack.
Corrupted Magic Stone
- Old version: After you cast your first Fel spell in a turn, give the leftmost and rightmost minions in your hand +1 Attack.
New: When you cast a Fel spell, the leftmost and rightmost minions in your hand gain +1 Attack.
Card pool update
- Lightning Blossom and Cairne Sunfury have been banned from deck building and all card pools.
Rathgor has been temporarily banned from deck building and all card pools until Diablo leaves the hero pool.
Bug fixes and game improvements
- [Shop/Twist] Updated the Druid Combat Prep deck to now include Shadow Owl instead of the jerry-rigged Carpenter.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed text for Tavish’s “Aim Right” hero ability option; no functionality changes.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where certain hero abilities were not displaying their cost on the hero select screen.
- [Duels] Fixed text for Cy Shadowstorm’s signature treasure, the Ice Ax; no functionality changes.
- [Duels] Fixed a bug with Cy Shadowstorm’s Hero Power Gathering Storm where it wouldn’t work when you had a full board.
Hearthstone gameplay
“Hearthstone” is a purely digital trading card game set in the Warcraft universe. It follows a turn-based game mode where two opponents fight against each other. Players can choose from eleven different classes, each with their own unique cards and abilities called Hero Powers that define different class archetypes. The goal is to reduce your opponent’s health to zero using a deck of cards your opponent has collected.
There are five main types of cards in Hearthstone: minion cards, spell cards, weapon cards, hero cards, and location cards. Quests are a specific type of spell that are unique to the three expansion packs.
The cards are classified by rarity, with Legendary cards being the rarest, followed by Epic cards, Rare cards, Common cards, and Basic cards. To keep the metagame diverse, Blizzard releases regular expansion packs with extra cards every four months, as well as smaller mini-sets between expansion packs. The game features a freemium model, allowing players to play for free or purchase additional card packs and content.
Unlike games like Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone simplifies gameplay by eliminating manual reactions from opponents during player turns and implementing a timer for each turn. Players use “mana” to play cards from their hands, and their mana budget increases by 1 each round, up to a maximum of 10. Each card has a specific mana cost, requiring strategic planning and consideration of available plays.
Minions and spells are an integral part of the game. Minions are placed directly on the board during the game and have special effects such as charge or deathrattle. They give immediate attacks or trigger special abilities when they die. Spells have unique effects and can affect the game board in a variety of ways. Players can obtain cards by opening card packs or crafting cards using Arcane Dust.
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