Announcing Battlegrounds Season 2 launching on August 30
Since November 2019, Battlegrounds has grown into one of our most popular and beloved game modes. For many players, Battlegrounds has become their main way to play Hearthstone, and we’re excited to further support and grow the mode for all Battlegrounds players. With that in mind, Patch 24.2, launching on August 30, will bring some of the most significant changes to Battlegrounds we’ve ever seen!
Welcome to Battlegrounds Season 2!
Battlegrounds will now have its own progression track that grants Battlegrounds-specific rewards each season. Like the current Hearthstone-wide Rewards Track, there will be both free and premium unlockable rewards along the Battlegrounds Track, and progress towards those rewards is earned by playing. Those Battlegrounds-specific rewards include new Battlegrounds Emotes, Hero Skins, Strikes, and more!
By giving Battlegrounds players their own rewards track, we can give them more rewards they care about, and we no longer need to try to mesh Battlegrounds rewards with a Gold and XP system that was designed to serve traditional Hearthstone.
Battlegrounds will remain a free-to-play mode, with more free rewards than ever before. In addition to the free rewards on the Battlegrounds Track, the base emotes, advanced stats, and hero early access that were previously purchased through Battlegrounds Perks will now be available to all Battlegrounds players. We’re excited to make these features free for all players.
Get the Battlegrounds Season Pass to Earn Even More Rewards
The new Battlegrounds Season Pass will get you access to the premium rewards on the Battlegrounds Track, including exciting new tiers of Battlegrounds cosmetics including additional Emote options, Legendary Hero Skins, and a new three-stage Legendary Strike! Purchasing the Season Pass will also immediately unlock the option to choose from two additional heroes at the start of each game. We’re committed to maintaining hero and gameplay balance so that regardless of which heroes you choose from, you know your chance for the crown is based primarily on player skill.
The Season Pass can be purchased in-game with Runestones, Hearthstone’s new virtual currency. Runestones can be purchased through both the in-game shop and the Battlenet web shop, once Patch 24.2 goes live. During the transition period for this first season, the Season Pass can also be purchased with money directly, either in-game or through the Battlenet web shop.
The Season 2 Battlegrounds Track rewards will focus on the anime-inspired “Magic of Azeroth” theme. In a new, alternate timeline, The Dark Flight has launched a crusade to extinguish all traces of magic from society. They have rallied the Horde as their army, gathered a few select magic users to their side, and conquered most of Azeroth. Nozdormu is forming a team to take down The Dark Flight and restore the true timeline. This group, the Guardians of Azeroth, and their allies, must awaken the power within them to save the Magic of Azeroth!
Gain Battlegrounds XP to Earn Your Rewards
In addition to its own seasonal rewards track, Battlegrounds will be getting its own special Battlegrounds XP system. Earning Battlegrounds XP will progress you along the Battlegrounds Track towards free and premium rewards. You’ll automatically earn Battlegrounds XP for every Battlegrounds game you win, similar to how you earn XP on the Hearthstone Rewards Track now.
You can earn even more Battlegrounds XP by completing new Battlegrounds Missions. Battlegrounds Missions are like Battlegrounds-specific Weekly Quests or Achievements. You’ll be offered 3 new Battlegrounds Missions every week, and you can complete them to earn Battlegrounds XP. These Missions will bank for each Battlegrounds Season, so if you miss a week, you can come back and complete that Mission later. You can also re-roll one Mission per day. Completing Missions will be pivotal for getting through the Battlegrounds Track and earning all those sweet rewards.
All players will still continue to get their normal daily and weekly progression Quests that progress the Hearthstone Rewards Track. Hearthstone daily and weekly Quests will still be able to be completed in Battlegrounds as before, but the Battlegrounds-only weekly Quests will be removed from the general Quest pools and moved over to Battlegrounds Missions pool.
New Battlegrounds Gameplay Mechanic: Quests!
Battlegrounds Season 2 will feature a new mechanic for the duration of the Season: Quests! At the start of turn 4 (the 6 Gold turn), you’ll be offered three random Quest/Reward pairs to choose from. Similar to Hearthstone Quest and Questline cards, the Battlegrounds versions will ask you to complete a particular challenge and, once you do, give you a reward that makes you more powerful for the rest of the game.
Will you go for the powerful Quest Reward that’s hard to reach, or the Quest that most matches your established gameplan? The different options mean that no two Battlegrounds games will play the same way, and you’ll have to think on your feet to adapt on the fly.
New Minions and Heroes
In addition to the new Quest mechanic, Season 2 will introduce two new heroes, eleven new minions, and several updates to heroes, minions, and the overall minion pool. Here are a couple of the new minions we’ve invited to the party:
Rendle the Mistermind is quite suspicious. Whenever you end the turn with this minion in play, minions start disappearing from Bob’s Tavern! One could make a pretty penny with those ill-gotten gains.
Theotar saw nothing. Or did he? The Tea Master spills buffs on your other minions whenever you play another minion without a minion type. What sort of criminal lineup can you put together with this powerful minion leading the way?
These are just a couple of the guests coming to Battlegrounds with Patch 24.2. The two new heroes will be revealed at 11 a.m. (Pacific) today! Keep an eye out for more details in the 24.2 Patch Notes, coming this Thursday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there anything I can use my Gold for in Battlegrounds?
A: No, there are no plans for Battlegrounds to use Gold in any way. Players who don’t want to spend real money or Runestones will still be able to enjoy the free rewards from the Battlegrounds Track.
Q: I used to be able to get Perks with Gold, why do I need to pay now?
A: We want Battlegrounds to be played and loved for years to come. This change will allow us to continue to support and make content for the growing Battlegrounds community. Though the ability to choose from among four heroes at the beginning of a match is changing to a paid-only feature, all players can still play Battlegrounds for free. We’re committed to maintaining hero and gameplay balance so that the choice from four heroes is more about optionality than power.
Additionally, as part of these changes, we’re giving away more free Battlegrounds content than ever before. Advanced states and base emotes are now available to all players, we’ve dissolved Hero Early Access to allow all players to play with new Heroes on patch day, and there are several free rewards on the Battlegrounds Track.
Q: What are Runestones?
A:Runestones will be replacing real money purchases for nearly every product in the Hearthstone shop. Some products, like Pre-Purchase Bundles, the Hearthstone Tavern Pass, and Packs (purchasing more than one at a time) will be able to be purchased with money or Runestones. A few other select products, like individual packs and cosmetics crafted in the Collection, will remain purchasable with only Gold.
With Runestones we’ll be able to offer additional smaller-scale items, such as the individual Battlegrounds Hero Skins offered in the shop with this patch. Runestones will be available in bundles of various sizes, including quantities that correspond to our major products (like the Battlegrounds Season Pass), so you can buy exactly the quantity needed for that product or you can stock up on more for later. No product costs are changing with this conversion—all prices are staying the same, just converted to Runestones.
Q: Can I earn Runestones in-game?
A: No, there are no plans to earn Runestones in-game.
Q: How long will it take to complete the Battlegrounds Track?
A: The Battlegrounds Track is designed to be completed with a reasonable amount of playtime throughout the Battlegrounds Season. The first few levels of the Battlegrounds Track take 20 XP to complete, and this scales up to 60 XP per level. There are a total of 40 levels in the Track, which require 2000 XP in total.
Each Battlegrounds game win (top 4 finish) gives you 10 Battlegrounds XP. Each other placement gives 0 Battlegrounds XP. If you want to accelerate your progression, make sure to complete your Battlegrounds Missions. You get three Battlegrounds Missions every week and each one is worth 60 Battlegrounds XP! Any unfinished Missions for the week are banked until the end of the season, so even more casual Battlegrounds players can take advantage of their big XP boosts whenever they play.
We calibrated the system to allow a significant portion of our engaged Battlegrounds players to complete the Battlegrounds Track by the end of the Season. The system is designed to allow even less-engaged players a good chance to complete it. We will make adjustments in future Seasons if necessary.
Q: Do Battlegrounds Missions award regular XP, too?
A: No. You will still gain some Hearthstone Rewards Track XP as you play Battlegrounds, and there will still be some Daily and Weekly Hearthstone Quests that will be completable in Battlegrounds, but the Battlegrounds Missions will only award Battlegrounds XP.
Q: How does a tiered strike work? What does a Legendary Strike entail?
A: We have upgraded the Strikes you know to add even more KABLAM! With the Season Pass, you not only get the initial two-tier Crystal Justice Strike, but also can unlock two more tiers to that Strike. That includes a tier with a special effect when you knock out a player, and a second tier with an even larger special effect when you knock out a player to win first place. As you progress along the track you will unlock each new stage of the same strike.
Q: What is a Legendary Battlegrounds Hero Skin?
A: Battlegrounds Legendary Hero Skins include animated portraits and voice over effects.
We have big plans to continue bringing new content to Battlegrounds. New heroes, new minions, new events, and new systems will keep Battlegrounds fun and fresh. We’ll also keep bringing back old favorites and updating all our current systems. This is our final major Battlegrounds update of 2022. We’re incredibly excited about everything coming in Season 2 and beyond, and we can’t wait to share it all with you soon. Until then, we’ll see you in Battlegrounds!
Source: PlayHearthstone Blog
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