by JR Cook - 1 month ago     show comments

Patch 36.4.2 is live today with a relatively light but targeted set of balance changes across Hearthstone’s three main modes. Blizzard is keeping things focused this time, addressing a few frustrating gameplay patterns in Standard while giving struggling minion types in Battlegrounds some much-needed help.

The Food Chain Gets a Creative Nerf

The headliner for Standard is a unique approach to nerfing The Food Chain deck. Instead of hitting the deck’s namescard directly, Blizzard is manipulating Shokk’s Discover pool to remove Agamaggan, which was creating explosive burst damage the turn it was played. They’re accomplishing this by buffing Agamaggan to 9/9 (from 8/9) so it no longer qualifies for the 8-Attack Discover range, then buffing Dread Leviathan (now 8/8, down from 9 mana) and Seismopod (now 8 mana 8/8) to fill that slot instead. The replacements push the deck toward slower, more defensive plays rather than immediate face damage.

Spiderling also gets hit with a health nerf (1/2 down from 1/3), and The Forbidden Sequence quest now requires 8 Discovers instead of 7. Here’s the interesting part: even though The Food Chain itself isn’t being directly changed, Blizzard is offering a full dust refund for it alongside Spiderling and The Forbidden Sequence for the next two weeks. That’s a rare exception to their usual policy and a nice acknowledgment that these indirect changes are still meant to reduce the deck’s power level.

Arena Class Balance and Bug Fixes

Arena’s getting some attention this patch as well. Warrior and Death Knight have been dominating the format, so Blizzard is adjusting appearance rates to prop up struggling classes like Hunter, Druid, Warlock, Mage, Paladin, Shaman, Priest, and Rogue. Cards like Ankylodon, Panther Mask, Possessed Animancer, and Sheep Mask will show up more often in drafts, while overperformers like Shadowflame Suffusion and Hook n’ Heave get their rates decreased.

There’s also a bug fix for cards from the Escape from Violet Hold set, which weren’t appearing in drafts as intended. That should shake up the card pool a bit once it’s corrected.

Battlegrounds Buffs Struggling Tribes

Battlegrounds is where the bulk of this patch’s changes land. Beasts are getting help after the Tasty Lobster nerf hit harder than expected (it’s going back up to +2/+1), and Hoarding Hyena is moving to Tavern Tier 4. Self-damage Demons are getting broad buffs, including an experimental redesign to Eredar Escapist that Blizzard says they’ll monitor closely.

Quilboars, one of the weakest tribes this season, are getting increased Blood Gem scaling. Dragons are picking up modest late-game buffs through Fire-forged Evoker and Mighty Dragonbreath.

On the nerf side, Elementals and Naga are the targets. Unleashed Mana Surge stood out as one of the strongest Tier 6 minions in the game and is getting toned down. For Naga, Cagey Conjurer is getting a straightforward nerf, while Fauna Whisperer’s early tempo spikes are being reduced by weakening Natural Blessing rather than gutting Fauna itself (which would have been too severe based on past metas).

Blizzard notes they don’t expect major balance changes before the mid-season, so this should set the tone for Battlegrounds for a while. Whether you’re climbing with Beasts or pivoting to Demons, now’s a good time to experiment with the newly buffed tribes.

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Source: Blizzard