22.0 Patch Notes – New Mercenaries & Battlegrounds Heroes, Battlegrounds Cosmetic Boards, Diablo Event Is Over, Duels Update, Arena Rotation, Bug Fixes

Patch 22.0 is coming out tomorrow (Tuesday, November 30) and Blizzard has just posted the patch notes. Here’s a summary of what’s coming:

• Fractured in Alterac Valley Expansion Releases December 7 – “X.0” patches are always expansion pre-release patch, which means that they add all the card data, achievements and so on into the game. Fractured in Alterac Valley officially releases on December 7, but you will already be able to download the patch early so you can enjoy the expansion the moment it drops without needing to download anything extra.
• Mercenaries Update – We’re getting four new Mercenaries in total – three now (Valeera Sanguinar, Sky Admiral Rogers, Trigore the Lasher) and one more when the expansion releases (Vanessa VanCleef). It also looks like Blizzard is adding Mercs to the rewards track. Vanessa is a free Epic Mercenary you unlock at the start of expansion AND you can get extra portraits for her through Tavern Pass. On top of that, four new bounties were added to the Blackrock Zone.
• Battlegrounds Update – Diablo event is finally over – it’s not like the event itself was bad, but after all the buffs, the Hero’s power level was simply too high. We’re also getting a new Hero – Scabbs Cutterbutter, which discovers plain copies of minions from your NEXT opponent’s warband. A pretty interesting effect. On top of that, we’re getting a new cosmetic – Battlegrounds Boards. If you purchase one, you will have a chance to play on it when facing opponent (however, if he has another custom board there’s a chance you will play on theirs instead).
• Duels Update – When expansion drops, it will get added to the card pool alongside Goblins vs Gnomes (we’re getting closer and closer to all sets being available in Duels). On top of that, FIFTEEN new Passive Treasures got added to the pool.
• Arena Rotation – Current Dual-Class Arena is going to end, and we’re getting a new rotation when the expansion drops. Starting December 7, the following sets will be available in Arena: Core, Fractured in Alterac Valley, Scholomance Academy, Saviors of Uldum, The Boomdsay Project, Kobolds and Catacombs, and League of Explorers.
• Bug Fixes – Just like always, a bigger patch means a lot of bug fixes. You can find a full list in patch notes.

Check out full patch notes below:

Patch 22.0, launching tomorrow, paves the way for Hearthstone’s latest expansion, Fractured in Alterac Valley, launching December 7! The Patch also includes updates to Mercenaries, Battlegrounds, Duels, and Arena, as well as bug fixes and more.

Storm into Alterac Valley on December 7

Fractured in Alterac Valley launches on December 7. The new expansion includes 135 all-new cards, featuring the new Honorable Kill keyword, Objective cards, and the return of Hero Cards! See all the new cards in the official card library today.

As soon as the set is live, the Battle for Alterac Vally begins! From December 7 to January 11, all players will compete for Honor in order to receive free rewards and claim victory for their faction. You gain Honor by playing and winning during the eligible period:

• 10 Honor for every game played
• 10 more Honor for every game won (20 total)
• 20 more Honor for every game won versus an opponent from the enemy faction (40 total)

Honor can be gained in Traditional, Arena, and Duels Modes. As you gain Honor, you climb through the ranks of your faction, and across the frozen battlefield—eventually capturing a Golden copy of the enemy faction’s leader! At the end of the event, all Honor will be tallied and the winning faction’s victory will be forever enshrined in Hearthstone when every player receives a Diamond copy of the winning faction’s leader card!

Mercenaries Updates

Mercenaries will be getting its second infusion of Mercenaries, Bounties, and Bounty Bosses with the 22.0 patch! The Mercenaries listed here will enter the fray when the 22.0 patch goes live, while Vanessa will go live with the expansion on December 7.

NEW MERCENARIES

Valeera Sanguinar (Legendary Fighter)

• Blood Elf
• 13/73 maxed stats
• Abilities:
  • Sinister Strike 5: (Speed 3) Gain +10 Attack this turn and Attack the lowest Health enemy. Combo: Gain Stealth.
  • Ambush 5: (Speed 6) Deal 10 damage. If this Mercs was Stealthed, deal 25 instead.
  • Fan of Knives 5: (Speed 7) Deal 7 damage to all enemies. Your other Mercs are (3) Speed faster next turn.
• Equipment:
  • Hidden Paths 4: Passive: Whenever a friendly character loses Stealth, give them +6 Attack.
  • Shadow Dagger 4: Ambush is (3) Speed faster and gains “Deathblow: Gain Stealth.”
  • Unnatural Smoke 4: While this Merc has Stealth, friendly characters a (4) Speed faster.

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Sky Admiral Rogers (Epic Caster)

• Human
• 11/76 maxed stats
• Abilities:
  • Sky Guard 5: (Speed 5) Gain +5 Attack and Attack an enemy. If it’s a Pirate, gain Immune while Attacking this turn.
  • Master Tactician 5: (Speed 2, Cooldown 1) Deal 12 damage to an enemy, or restore 12 Health to an ally. It goes next.
  • Firing Position 5: (Speed 6, Cooldown 1) Deal 25 damage to all enemies that have already acted.
• Equipment:
  • Swash Buckling Sash 4: Sky Guard gives an additional +5 Attack.
  • Ship’s Bell 4: Master Tactician deals 4 more damage and makes the target go last.
  • Scout’s Spyglass 4: Passive: After this Merc Attacks, deal 4 damage to all enemies. (Deals Critical Damage to Pirates).

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Trigore the Lasher (Rare Protector)

• Beast
• 10/80 maxed stats
• Abilities:
  • Frenzied Attack 5: (Speed 7) Attack an enemy. If this took damage this turn, deal 12 damage to a random adjacent enemy.
  • Backlash 5: (Speed 1) The next time an enemy damages an adjacent ally this turn, Gain +5 Attack and deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them.
  • Regrow Heads 5: (Speed 4, Cooldown 1) This takes Critical Damage this turn. At the end of next turn, restore full Health to this Merc.
• Equipment:
  • Infused Amber 4: Frenzied Attack deals 4 more damage.
  • Razor Claw 4: Backlash gives an additional +4 Attack.
  • Regenarative Scales 4: Regrow Heads restores 16 Health the turn it is cast.

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Vanessa VanCleef (Epic Protector)

• Pirate
• 10/75 maxed stats
• Abilities:
  • Burgle Barrage 5: (Speed 7) Attack an enemy. Combo: Steal 5 Attack from them.
  • Makeshift Weaponry 5: (Speed 3) Spend stolen Attack to deal that much damage to all enemies.
  • Shifting Satchel 5: (Speed 5, Cooldown 1) Deal 16 damage to an enemy. Give +1 Cooldown to an Ability they didn’t use this turn.
• Equipment:
  • Deadblades 4: Burgle Barrage is (4) faster and always Combos.
  • Extra Pockets 4: After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 5 Attack.
  • Blade Catcher 4: Whenever this Merc is Attacked, steal 4 Attack from the Attacker.

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NEW BOUNTIES

• Razorgore
• Vaelastrasz
• Chromaggus
• Nefarian

The new Bounties will be added to the Blackrock Zone. The new Mercenary Cards, Portraits, and Coins will be added to all existing relevant Mercenary item pools. Vanessa VanCleef will also be awarded for free at the start of the Fractured in Alterac Valley free rewards track, and her Portraits can be earned with the Tavern Pass. Each new Mercenary will come with its own Task Chain, similar to those of existing Mercenaries.

Battlegrounds Updates

DIABLO IS DEFEATED

You all took on the raid boss and survived! The special Diablo event is now over and Bob’s fine tavern is still standing—and preparing for the next round of new combatants. Diablo has been removed from the Battlegrounds Hero Pool.

NEW HERO

Scabbs Cutterbutter

• I Spy [Costs 2]
  • Discover a plain copy of a minion from your next opponent’s warband.

Players with Battlegrounds Perks will have early access to Scabbs Cutterbutter before the Hero is formally released on December 14.

BATTLEGROUNDS BOARDS

Bob’s got something new to show you. Introducing Battlegrounds Boards, an all-new cosmetic option for Hearthstone Battlegrounds! Battlegrounds Boards are special boards that you can bring to the combat phase of your Battlegrounds bouts. These boards sport new visuals for you to see and show off to your opponents. Because Battlegrounds Boards are shared with you and your opponent, you may not see your Board every round.

Bob’s first board is the Arena of Champions, a celebration of Bob’s favorite customer: you! Give your warbands the royal reception they deserve, with suits of armor and flourishes of purple and gold. Get yours in the shop as soon as the patch goes live!

For gameplay purposes, the bottom right portion of all Battleground Boards are simplified when playing on mobile.

Duels Updates

CARD POOL UPDATES

On December 7, Fractured in Alterac Valley and Goblins vs. Gnomes will be added to the eligible card pools. New buckets will be added to cover the cards from the newly added card sets.

NEW PASSIVE TREASURES

Natural Force – Pool 1

• Nature Spell Damage +2

Kindling Flame – Pool 1

• Fire Spell Damage +2

Unholy Gift – Pool 1

• At the start of the game, shuffle 5 Death Knight cards into your deck.

Bitter Cold – Pool 1

• Frost Spell Damage +2

Expedited Burial – Pool 2

• At the start of the game, change each Deathrattle minion in your hand and deck into a 1/1 that costs (1).

Mantle of Ignition – Pool 2

• Whenever you target a minion with a spell, cast it again on its neighbors.

Imp-credible Trousers – Pool 2

• After you cast a Fel spell, shuffle 2 Fel Rifts into your deck.

Iron Roots – Pool 2

• After you cast a Nature spell, give a random friendly minion +2/+2 and Taunt.

Bronze Signet – Pool 2

• Whenever you draw a minion, add a copy of it to your hand.

Battle Stance – Pool 2

• Your hero has +2 Attack on your turn.

Ring of Black Ice – Pool 2

• Whenever a minion is Frozen, add a copy of it to your hand.

Idols of Elune – Pool 2

• At the end of your turn, cast a spell you’ve cast this turn (targets are random).

Runic Helm – Pool 2

• At the end of your turn, add a random Death Knight card to your hand.

Cloak of Emerald Dreams – Pool 2

• At the end of your turn, add a Dream Card to your hand.

Glacial Downpour – Pool 2

• At the end of your turn, summon a 3/6 Water Elemental if you’ve cast a Frost spell.

Arena Rotation

At the launch of Fractured in Alterac Valley, the current Dual-Class Arena event will end and the pool of eligible Arena sets will rotate so that the following sets will make up the Arena card pool:

• Fractured in Alterac Valley
• Saviors of Uldum
• Kobolds and Catacombs
• League of Explorers
• Scholomance Academy
• The Boomsday Project
• Core

Bug Fixes & Game Improvements

• Fixed a bug that allowed players on certain devices to close out of the Fractured in Alterac Valley faction selection screen without choosing a faction.
• Fixed a bug causing Cram Session to not get the Spell Damage bonus from Talented Arcanist or Lab Partner.
• Fixed a bug where Brittlebone Destroyer glowed even when its effect requirements were not met.
• Updated Soul Cleave’s text to properly represent that it only hits enemy minions, not all enemies.
• Fixed a bug where cards returned to hand by Tenwu of the Red Smoke could not be further reduced by cards like Scabbs Cutterbutter.
• Fixed a bug that prevented Goblins v. Gnomes Golden cards from being crafted or disenchanted.
• Fixed a bug where cards drawn by Malygos the Spellweaver after Celestial Alignment were not impacted by Loatheb.
• Fixed a text bug causing Nithogg’s Storm Eggs to show they summoned 20/20 Devilsaurs instead of the 4/4 Drakes with Rush that they actually summon.
• Players will now be able to see their Mercenaries Party while selecting Bounty Treasures.
• Completing multiple Tasks and Bounties at the same time will no longer cause the notifications to overlap on mobile.
• Several more Daily Quests can now be completed in Mercenaries, including Challenge a Friend, Spectate and Friend, and “Play a certain number of a Type of minion” Quests. More Daily and Weekly Quests may be added or reworked for future patches.
• Fixed a bug where The Lich King’s Helm of Domination would not trigger as intended in certain circumstances.
• Fixed a bug where Blink Fox’s Mind Thief Ability would retain a copied Ability over 2 uses, instead of only 1, while Tenth Tail is equipped.
• Fixed a bug where using Mutanus’s Devouring Attack caused Reincarnated Cairne to become invisible.
• Fixed a bug where Eudora’s Briny Bracers were giving 2 less Health
• Fixed a bug where Edwin, Defias Kingpin was showing the wrong art within its Diamond frame.
• Fixed bug causing iOS users to be incorrectly shown “low RAM” warning when entering Battlegrounds.
• Fixed a bug where Mercenaries Equipment Achievements were counting each Equipment upgrade as a new Equipment.
• Fixed a bug where Small Backpacks in Duels could draw C’Thun, the Shattered before he, well, shatters.
• Fixed a bug that prevented players from using the Hero Skin picker functionality in Classic.
• Fixed a bug where Steel Guardian Malfurion and Vanndar Stormpike Hero Skins were missing their custom hero power animations.

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