I am still stunned by the changes to Battlegrounds that are coming in patch 22.2 on Tuesday 25 January. The addition of Battlegrounds Buddies will effectively turn Battlegrounds into a brand new game: there will be 75 new minions in the game all at once! Furthermore, the cost to upgrade to Tavern Tier 5 is going up by two Gold (now starting at 11), which will make it less viable to rush up the tiers.
With all 75 Heroes being changed at the same time through the addition of Buddies, it will be a brand new meta.
More Levers for Balancing
With the introduction of Buddies, Blizzard will have several ways to adjust balance in Battlegrounds:
- Hero Power (cost, effect)
- Buddy (effect, tier)
- Armor
To start testing game balance, the Armor system will be temporarily disabled when Buddies arrive. This will enable Blizzard to more easily adjust the power level of Buddies, which are a stronger element, and the fine-tune with Armor later. With all these levers in their toolkit, balancing Battlegrounds should be more manageable than ever.
We can expect Buddy balance changes early in the new patch:
We’ll be keeping a close eye on Buddy balance and make fast adjustments if necessary, but we are still limited to certain time windows to make adjustments, so we appreciate patience when the time comes ????
— Dom ???? (@DCalkosz) January 19, 2022
How to Use Buddies Effectively
The fastest way to get your Buddy is to play for tempo. Dealing damage (or popping Divine Shields) and winning or tying fights progress your Buddy bar. Therefore, if you don’t do much, you will get to your Buddy slower.
The other major factor is the tier your Buddy is assigned. The first copies of tier 2 Buddies are generally available on turn five (seven Gold), tier 3 Buddies on turn six (eight Gold), and tier 4 Buddies on turn seven (nine Gold). You will get three copies of your Buddy overall, so if you want your Buddy in Golden, you cannot sell your first copy. Whether you want your Buddy to just make a quick visit to your board or whether you want them to stay depends on their abilities.
For Buddies that have a continuous effect and stay on the board, note that some of them may have low stat lines that can become a liability. Some of them belong to a tribe, which may allow you to get good synergies from them. A Buddy can also belong to a tribe that is not offered in the lobby, and that may affect its desirability!
What Will Happen to the Current Top-Tier Heroes?
Buddies have the potential to change the meta completely. That said, they are only one element of the power of Heroes, and the already-established good Hero Powers have an advantage going into the Buddy meta. Top-tier Heroes can fall if their Buddies are not up to speed, but they get a headstart thanks to their Hero Power.
Ysera‘s Buddy is Valithria Dreamwalker. She is a tier 3 Dragon with a passive effect to give Dragons in Bob’s Tavern +3/+3. She joins the game at a time when Ysera is typically already working on Tarecgosa buffs, and a small, flat stat bonus to new minions is not that impressive. You also need to keep Valithria on your board to benefit from the buff. Overall, Valithria does not look too impressive. Ysera is already stronger in lower MMR lobbies, and Valithria will not help her higher up the ladder.
Cookie the Cook‘s Buddy is Sous Chef. As a tier 2 Buddy, Sous Chef comes into play as early as turn five, potentially speeding up Cookie’s second Discover by a turn. You need to keep Sous Chef around if you want to use your Hero Power multiple times, but it looks like an interesting addition that can speed up Cookie and make him even more dangerous. It’s also Murloc, so it might still belong in the late-game combos if you give it Poisonous.
Captain Hooktusk‘s Buddy is Raging Contender. Raging Contender un-nerfs Captain Hooktusk and gives you the full Discover back. Its main problem is that it takes up board space to maintain the improved Hero Power, and it cannot easily be buffed. It might still give Hooktusk some turns with better Discoveries before making way for an end-game composition.
Malygos‘ Buddy is Nexus Lord. It looks totally bonkers to me. Getting higher tier minions from Malygos’ Hero Power, even rolling twice to get two tiers higher just looks crazy strong. Good times ahead for Malygos?
Dancin’ Deryl‘s Buddy is Asher the Haberdasher. Asher does not have a board-wide effect, but it can grow fast and become a major force, even going into later turns.
George the Fallen has finally found Karl! When you have Karl the Lost on the board, using George’s Hero Power gives all your Divine Shield minions +2 Attack. George’s Hero Power will also be updated so that it can target minions in the Tavern, so now you can give Divine Shields to even more targets. In a Poisonous warband, Karl does nothing, but if it happens to be a non-Poisonous lobby, Karl can add more punch to George’s Divine Shielded army.
Out of these top Heroes, Malygos looks like the clear winner to me, followed by Cookie the Cook. Ysera looks the weakest with the others falling somewhere in between. I would keep my eyes open for any time Malygos or Cookie is offered in the early Buddies meta.
Interesting buddies
King Mukla‘s Crazy Monkey looks really interesting. King Mukla is currently good in the early game, but then it starts to taper off. Crazy Monkey comes into play just as Mukla’s initial strength starts to wane, and it gives the Hero another tempo boost.
Death Speaker Blackthorne‘s Death’s Head Sage is another fun one. Quilboar are not exactly a top-tier choice even for Death Speaker, but a Buddy that has the Quilboar tribal tag and gives you more Blood Gems just might change the way the Hero is played back towards its natural synergy tribe.
Tess Greymane and Scabbs Cutterbutter can get copies of their opponents’ Buddies with Hunter of Old and Warden Thelwater. There are lots of interesting Buddies out there, so this ability can be powerful. Scabbs is generally the stronger Hero, so he should come out on top in this contest.
Maiev Shadowsong‘s Buddy looks phenomenal: getting Golden minions from Maiev’s Hero Power seems incredibly powerful. Shadow Warden is a tier 2 Buddy, so you can get them on turn five, Hero Power, and get a free Golden minion on turn seven.
Ragnaros the Firelord has been a bit on the slow side in the current meta, and Lucifron’s help comes a bit late, but doubling the Sulfuras bonus looks like a good way to rapidly get some stats on the board.
If I had to pick one low-tier Hero that just might make a comeback to the meta thanks to Buddies, I would choose The Curator. Amalgam is nice, and having two Amalgams is even better! Mishmash is a tier 2 buddy, so they will be available as early as turn five, so there will be plenty of time to get some serious buffs rolling on both of your Amalgams. Any stat buffs are automatically shared, and Mishmash can be given Divine Shield and Poisonous separately.
It Will Be a New Game on Tuesday!
This was just a taste of what the new Buddies can do, and there will be so much to test and learn when the patch comes on Tuesday. The way every Hero is played will change to some extent, and the cost increase of Tavern tier five will force players to reconsider the early leveling curve. Good times ahead for Battlegrounds!
Also to note you could sell your first Mishmash (depending on how much you invested into it) before you get your other 2 Mishmash if you don’t care for having 1 oversized minion, could be a thing either way I like Mishmash
Finally, mounts are here! Although I’d prefer to call them companions rather than buddies, but it’s whatever.
Hey Buddy…
I’m not your buddy, pal.
I laughed when I saw the term, companion would certainly be more consistent with typical gamer lingo. Probably why they called them buddies.
BG is the 2nd mode I played when Standard became boring and stagnant. The simple factor is because everything is free. You don’t have to pay anything at all. Thus getting a confusing new thing such as buddy mechanic probably takes sometime to learn.
And hey, as long as it’s free. It’s a good thing. Which kinda reminds me of something I predict very long time ago, for when the mode has become so popular, they will start selling tickets to play, and that will be the start of BG popularity decline.
I thought this too but at this point I think they are going to stick with the perks. At least in the near term.
My reasons for playing BGs is similar to yours, its free and is a quick start-up. Unlike duels. But I like the way duels is set up with both options. Would like to see this with arena.
Perks not gonna be enough cash income, if we’re to hard split 50/50 between whale and F2P, Those 50% would buy with gold, if they have BG as main.
That’s why you can see how eager they are pushing cosmetics for boards, hero portraits and bartenders. Even so far as new finishing blow animation. Bad news is, I still think they want more. And the only way to earn more is to sell tickets. Obviously.