Update: The patch is now live, enjoy! Also, do note that the Dust refunds announced in Patch 28.2 (for the cards that were nerfed because of their buggy/hard to fix interactions) are now live. You can read more about those in Patch 28.2 notes.
Blizzard just posted patch notes for the previously announced . It’s the final balance update before Hearthstone World Championship 2023 next weekend. The goal was to give pro players enough time to playtest it and prepare before they had to submit their decks. That’s why they wanted to play it safe with this patch, and they have another patch window lined up after Worlds where they can take some more risks.
The patch gives a small nerf to Rainbow Mage and Enrage Warrior while buffing some weaker cards, as well as a few Excavate treasures.
The update launches today. It’s a data-only patch so it should go live on both PC and mobile devices at the same time.
Check out the full patch notes below:
Patch 28.2.1 is a data-only patch launching today with the following updates.
Hearthstone Updates
Dev Comment: This is our balance patch for Worlds! We specifically requested this early balance window so that we could make changes that we think will make the coolest Worlds possible! Overall, we think the meta is in a good spot, with most classes having something interesting to play and most top decks having play patterns we’re comfortable with. That lets us take a high confidence, step-wise approach with this patch, instead of making risky, drastic changes.
Enrage Warrior was the biggest standout we wanted to adjust down, and we wanted to make Sif Mage a bit more attackable. We’re also taking this opportunity to buff some underperforming archetypes, especially with new cards. Excavate as a whole got a little love with buffs to a Treasure at each rarity, the Neutral Burrow Buster, and a couple low-performance class Excavate cards.
We have another balance patch window lined up for shortly after Worlds where we’ll be able to make more changes—including maybe some more adventurous buffs. We’ll keep an eye on how these changes land and we hope you’ll join us for the World Championships on December 16th and 17th!
The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:
Inquisitive Creation
- Old: [4 Mana]
- New: [5 Mana]
Thori’belore
- Old: 4/4
- New: 4/3
Battleworn Faceless
- Old: [2 Mana]
- New: [3 Mana]
The cards listed above, plus the cards updated in Patch 28.2 (Fate Splitter, Monstrous Parrot, Counterfeit Blade, Dwarven Archaeologist, and Madam Goya), will be eligible for full dust refunds for at least three weeks following Patch 28.2.1.
The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:
Sludge on Wheels
- Old: 1/5
- New: 2/5
Detonation Juggernaut
- Old: [5 Mana] 3/6
- New: [4 Mana] 3/4
Snake Eyes
- Old: 2/3
- New: 2/4
Going Down Swinging
- Old: [5 Mana]
- New: [4 Mana]
Flint Firearm
- Old: [3 Mana] 3/3
- New: [2 Mana] 2/3
Blast Charge
- Old: [3 Mana]
- New: [2 Mana]
Antique Flinger
- Old: [4 Mana] 5/4
- New: [3 Mana] 4/3
Burrow Buster
- Old: 6/4
- New: 6/5
Escaping Trogg (Excavate Treasure)
- Old: 2/2
- New: 2/3
Canary (Excavate Treasure)
- Old: 2/1
- New: 2/2
Steelhide Mole (Excavate Treasure)
- Old: 2/7
- New: 3/7
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements
- [Hearthstone] Discovery of Magic will now always offer three Discover options when played (if you’ve played enough spell schools that only 1 or 2 remain, it will fill in with random spell(s) from the same spell school(s)).
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Kingpin Pud couldn’t resurrect the entire Ogre-Gang.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where, if Reno, Lone Ranger was played while Hero Powers were disabled (like with a Mindbreaker in play), his Hero Power would not update.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Chaos Gazer’s effect triggered at the end of the turn it was played, instead of the end of the opponent’s turn.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where certain Tavern Spells weren’t ever offered in Discover options.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Hero Powers that upgraded as you upgrade your Tavern were auto-upgrading.
- [Progression] Fixed a bug where some players received the Tae’thalan Bloodwatcher achievement upon login.
Hunter and Paladin buffs kappa.
Gonna be a fun experience, now that enrage has taken a hit.
Flint Firearm, that’s a nice buff, I think he was fine already.