Update: While it wasn’t part of the patch notes but rather the expansion announcement blog post, I’ve added info about the pre-release Tavern Brawl at the bottom of this page (since I didn’t want to create a separate post to cover it).
Blizzard just posted patch notes for 30.6 which launches today. The patch should be live on PC shortly and then on mobile devices within the next couple of hours. Here’s a summary of what’s coming:
- The Great Dark Beyond – The next Hearthstone expansion was just announced. It’s called “The Great Dark Beyond” and it launches on November 5, 2024. Learn more about it with our expansion guide.
- Two Free Legendary Cards – We have two free Legendaries coming in this patch. First one is a part of The Great Dark Beyond expansion (the usual Legendary we get on announcement) – it’s Nexus-Prince Shaffar. Players will receive it upon login. The second one is Avatar of Hearthstone. Players should get it after playing one match. It’s part of the 10th Hearthstone announcement celebration and joins Harth Stonebrew in the promo set. We’ve also learned that Harth and Gift cards are planned to rotate out with 2025 Core Set rotation, while the new Avatar of Hearthstone will stay until 2026.
- Prince Renathal in Core Set – To shake up the meta, Blizzard is adding Prince Renathal to the Core Set temporarily, until the expansion’s release. Last expansion they tried the same thing with Baku and Genn, which turned out to not be very successful without much support. However, this time should be different – keep in mind that Renathal has been unnerfed to give 40 Health again, and it has seen Standard play quite recently even when it only gave 35 Health. So I expect to see it a lot over the next month.
- Battlegrounds Updates – We’re getting a mid-season Battlegrounds update. It’s a rather hefty patch with over 30 new Trinkets (including first Duos Trinkets), 7 new minions, and a lot of card pool changed. You can find more info about the Battlegrounds update in this post.
- Arena Update – A new Arena season launches with a “spooky” set of expansions – Core, Ashes of Outland, Rise of Shadows, Darkmoon Faire, Murder at Castle Nathria, March of the Lich King, and Path of Arthas. It still remains Dual-Class, but it’s the last Dual-Class season planned for now (it will be back to single class with the next major update).
- Darkmoon Faire’s Frightful Fantasy – A new in-game event happens between October 17 and November 5. The rewards are two Perils in Paradise card packs, 2 random Epic cards, a Golden version of Avatar of Hearthstone, 2 Tavern Tickets, and Daredevil Patches Rogue skin.
- Pre-Release Tavern Brawl – We’re getting a special pre-release Tavern Brawl. You will be able to open your The Great Dark Beyond card packs early and use them to fight other players until 6 wins or 3 losses. Each entry costs 2 Tavern Tickets (or 300 Gold), but we don’t have any info about the prize structure yet.
- Bug Fixes & Game Improvements – Just like every patch, we’re also getting a bunch of bug fixes and smaller game improvements.
Check out the full 30.6 patch notes below:
Patch 30.6, launching today, starts the countdown to Hearthstone’s next expansion, The Great Dark Beyond, brings Prince Renathal back to Standard for a limited time, includes free Legendary cards, brings a new infusion of Trinkets to Battlegrounds, and more!
Pre-Purchase The Great Dark Beyond
Prepare to blast off into The Great Dark Beyond on November 5! The Draenei’s planet was taken over by the Burning Legion. Now these “exiled ones” are on the run, and in search of a new home. Join them in their journey and explore everything the cosmos has to offer: build-your-own Starships, the new Draenei minion type, the returning Spellburst keyword, an unstoppable demon army, and more. It’s nearly time to venture into The Great Dark Beyond!
The Great Dark Beyond has 145 all-new collectible cards. You can learn more about the mysteries of the universe in The Great Dark Beyond Announcement Blog. Two stellar pre-purchase options are available now for launch!
Log in and Get Nexus-Prince Shaffar for Free!
Log in to Hearthstone now to get your first burst of cosmic energy with the free Nexus-Prince Shaffar Legendary card!* Trigger a chain reaction of Spellburst effects for a huge surge in power.
* Limit one per account. After Patch 31.6, Nexus-Prince Shaffar will be granted upon opening your first The Great Dark Beyond pack, instead of upon logging in.
Limited-Time Event: Renathal Returns to Core!
With Patch 30.6, until the launch of The Great Dark Beyond on November 5, Prince Renathal will be added to the free Core Set! That means he will be playable for all players in Standard and Wild during that time. Two years ago, Renathal had his run of the meta and had to be reined in. Now he’s back with a vengeance! What will you be able to do with 10 extra life and 10 extra cards in your deck?!
Play a Game and Get the Avatar of Hearthstone for Free!
Continuing our year-long celebration of Hearthstone’s 10th year, we’re also giving away another free Legendary card! Play a single game in Patch 30.6 and automatically earn the Avatar of Hearthstone Legendary card.* Crack a pack for big board impact—what do you hope to open?
* Limit one per account. After Patch 31.0, Avatar of Hearthstone will be granted upon opening your first The Great Dark Beyond pack, instead of upon playing one game.
In-Game Event: Darkmoon Faire’s Frightful Fantasy
Celebrate spooky season before we blast off into The Great Dark Beyond! From October 17 to November 5, complete Event Quest tricks to earn XP on the special rewards track. Complete the rewards track to earn extra-sweet treats: 2 Perils in Paradise packs, 2 random Epic cards, 1 Golden Avatar of Hearthstone,* 2 Tavern Tickets, and the Daredevil Patches Rogue Hero Skin.
* Our current plan is that Harth Stonebrew and the Gift cards that were added at the start of this year will rotate with the 2025 Core Set rotation (Patch 32.0), but that Avatar of Hearthstone and some other freebie card grants coming this expansion cycle will rotate one year later, with the 2026 Core Set rotation. We’ll let you know if those plans end up changing.
Battlegrounds Updates
- 11 minions have been removed from the Minion Pool; 6 minions have been added to the Minion Pool; 1 minion has been added to the Duos-only Minion Pool; 13 minions have been returned to the Minion Pool; and 1 Tavern spell has been returned to the Spell Pool. See all the updates in our dedicated Battlegrounds Blog.
- Trinkets that trigger at the Start of Combat now trigger earlier (at the same time as Quest Rewards, which is earlier than any other Start of Combat triggers).
- Beasts and Dragons can now be in the same games again.
Arena Updates
When Patch 30.6 launches, all Arena runs will end and a new Arena season will begin. Arena will remain Dual-class (our last planned Dual-class season for a bit). The Arena pool will be adjusted so that the following spooky sets make up the Arena card pool for the season:
- Core
- Ashes of Outland
- Rise of Shadows
- Darkmoon Faire
- Murder at Castle Nathria
- March of the Lich King
- Path of Arthas
Bug Fixes and Game Improvements
- [Collection] Fixed a bug where Signature Portalmancer Skyla had the wrong Disenchant value (and restarting the refund disenchant period for this card).
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Magister’s Apprentice had the “not less than 1” rule inadvertently applied to it.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Carry-On Grub and Carry-On Suitcase revealed Tradeable cards to your opponent.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where transforming a Miniaturize or Gigantify minion into another minion that generates minions makes the generated minions unplayable.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where a Meltemental copied from your deck or hand would not have the “permanently Frozen” effect.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where playing a second Sea Shanty in a turn, while Sunsapper Lynessa was out, would not give the second duplicate Sea Shanty.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Razorfen Rockstar’s Armor gain didn’t count for cards like Jasper Spellstone.
- [Hearthstone] Fixed a visual bug when turning a March of the Lich King Signature card into a Signature card from another set.
- [Battlegrounds] Toned down the Trinket Discover VFX.
- [Battlegrounds] Spellcraft effects that don’t buff minions will no longer use up the Glowscale Portrait “permanent” effect.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Golden Pilgrimp was the wrong Tavern Tier.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a text-only issue with Thundering Abomination.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Catacomb Crasher’s effect sometimes didn’t trigger when it should.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Deflect-o-Bot didn’t gain Divine Shield when some All type minions were resummoned.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Training Certificate Trinket and the Ironforge Anvil Trinket didn’t work correctly together.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Glowing Gauntlet Trinket and Vol’jin’s Hero Power wouldn’t work with Polarizing Beatboxer.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where the Nether Pendant Trinket didn’t work correctly with Transmuted Bramblewitch.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Theotar’s Parasol could make Cultist S’thara lose Stealth.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Sire Denathrius’s Quest progression sometimes didn’t show tracking updates.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Arch-Villain Rafaam’s Hero Power could sometimes give a coin instead of a plain copy of the minion it should.
- [Battlegrounds] Fixed a bug where Fish of N’Zoth wouldn’t copy Silithid Burrower’s effect.
- [Battlegrounds Duos] Fixed a bug where your teammate’s Gold would always show as 0.
- [Battlegrounds Duos] Fixed a bug where the Colorful Compass Trinket would show the wrong type for your teammate.
- [Battlegrounds Duos] Fixed a bug where Recruitment Program didn’t work if the minion type was a type not in the lobby.
- [Battlegrounds Duos] Fixed a bug where the “Kick from Party” button didn’t work.
- [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where Shadowstep’s Signature art was incorrectly cropped.
- [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where certain Hero Skins had minion type tags.
- [Cosmetics] Fixed a bug where the Varian Wrynn hero skin’s non-Golden Hero Power wasn’t animated.
- [Solo Content] Fixed a bug where Astromancer Arwyn’s last puzzle in The Boomsday Project’s Puzzle Labs was unable to be completed after some card changes.
- [Shop] Fixed a bug where sub-badges could reset when you re-entered the Shop.
- [Progression] Fixed a bug where some Daily Quests still mentioned being able to be completed in Mercenaries.
- [Progression] Several Achievements will no longer track exceeded quotas. Making this cut will help with performance and stability.
- Misc. other bug fixes and game improvements.
Pre-Release Tavern Brawl info:
Prepare for the Pre-Release Tavern Brawl!
We’re exploring new frontiers in The Great Dark Beyond with a new Pre-Release Tavern Brawl! For one week, from October 29 to the launch of The Great Dark Beyond on November 5, you can open your Great Dark Beyond Packs, build decks, and play with the new cards in a mini-competition until you hit 6 wins or 3 losses and win prizes based on how well you do—including more The Great Dark Beyond cards and packs!
One entry will be free for all players. After that, entries will cost 2 Tavern Tickets, 300 Gold, or 400 Runestones. During this period, there will also be free The Great Dark Beyond community pack drops so that everyone will be able to play with the new cards! Look out for more details on the format, exact prizing, and design insights closer to when the Tavern Brawl goes live.
Note: Standard Packs will not contain cards from The Great Dark Beyond until the expansion officially launches on November 5.
