Hearthstone: Last News

Blizzard has announced what season 2 of Hearthstone Battlegrounds will include when it launches at the end of the month – and some players aren’t happy.READ MORE: What the hell has happened at Activision and why should you care?Alongside quest mechanics and two new heroes, the planned update to Hearthstone’s auto-battler mode will bring with it a new paid season pass that will give buyers access to a premium tier of its reward track.The first reward of the track is two additional hero slots, which will not be obtainable any other way. This means players who don’t pay will be stuck choosing from two random heroes, while those on the premium tier will have the choice of four.

Blizzard over the sale of Hearthstone card packs to minors.According to Polygon, lawyers filed a complaint in the Superior Court Of Orange County on behalf of Nathan Harris’ daughter and other minors who have bought Hearthstone’s randomised card packs earlier this week. Harris has claimed Hearthstone tricks players into non-refundable purchases without knowing the odds of rare cards.Harris’ suit alleges that his daughter used his credit and debit cards to spend over £240 ($300) on card packs between 2019 and 2021 and “almost never received any valuable cards”The suit argues that Blizzard’s lack of refund policy and parental controls is in breach of “disaffirmation law”, a ruling through the California Family Code that allows a contract to be broken if it’s undertaken by a minor.However, Blizzard has since filed its own complaint, arguing that the company “does not know, and would have no way of accurately knowing, which Hearthstone in-game transactions were initiated by minors using parental credit or debit cards, as (Harris’ daughter) claims to have done.

Hearthstone fans have launched into criticism of Blizzard, after the company added a Diamond Drek’Thar card that costs £20.99 to purchase.In the latest patch for Hearthstone (via PC Gamer), Blizzard has added a diamond version of the game’s Drek’Thar card. The rarest tier of card in the game, diamond-tier cards are animated but otherwise work exactly like lower-tier cards.“The Horde may have lost the battle for Alterac Valley, but the honourable Horde is proud and strong! Show that your Horde pride can overcome any enemy with this Diamond Drek’Thar Legendary card, featuring a special Diamond frame and animation,” reads the card’s entry on the Battle.Net store.However, the price of Diamond Drek’Thar has led to heated criticism from the Hearthstone community, and the card’s price tag – £20.99 or 3000 gold has been condemned by fans across social media.In a Reddit thread expressing derision at Diamond Drek’Thar’s price, one player called the decision “ridiculous and stupid”, while another said it was “a new low” for Blizzard.“Just when you thought Blizzard[‘s] monetization couldn’t get any greedier,” added another unhappy player.Over on Twitter, the sentiment remains the same.Diamond Drek'thar should summon 10-drops because it sure as hell costs more than every single minion in my deck.

Hearthstone streamer Alexandra Alliestrasza Macpherson was swatted mid-stream, with police handcuffing her and her family.Macpherson is one of the most prominent female Hearthstone streamers on Twitch, and last night (February 9) her stream was interrupted by a police raid. The police were there because someone had filed a false report that was serious enough to warrant a fully armed response, specifically to target the Streamer during their broadcast. The practice is known as swatting.After a commotion was heard in Macpherson’s house, she left the room, until a group of three armed officers can be seen moving through the house and clearing the room used for streaming (as reported by PCGamer).Macpherson returned to the stream 25-minutes later and said, “I’m gonna turn the stream off now.

Hearthstone Mercenaries includes a new PvP mode known as the Fighting Pit – but you could end up facing a bot if nobody else is queuing.Blizzard developers have come up with a new way of ensuring you still get a decent match up if nobody else is queuing for PvP – facing you off against AI.Hearthstone lead game producer Gloria Zhang explained that this new AI system will help players who can’t seem to find a game.“If we are not able to find an equal and fair game for you, then we will just give you an AI in PvP mode for you to be able to have a fair game and still have fun,” she explained.This is especially important in the earlier levels, where developers feel there will be fewer players drawn to PvP as they continue to level up their

Hearthstone Mercenaries doesn’t have a ranked mode, but it looks as though it might be getting one sooner rather than later.Hearthstone lead game producer Gloria Zhang told NME that while Hearthstone Mercenaries doesn’t have a ranked mode yet, Blizzard does have some interesting plans.“We do have a season concept for the PvP game mode at large,” explained Zhang. “It’s going to be a monthly cycle.”This doesn’t come as a huge surprise – after all, Hearthstone ranked operates on the same monthly seasons.

Hearthstone Mercenaries originally had a cool new feature which made Alexstrasza a lot more flexible. But it was cut from the game before it launched.“Alexstrasza has three different portraits,” explained Blizzard Entertainment lead game producer Gloria Zhang in an interview with NME.

Hearthstone Mercenaries includes Diablo as a playable character, and it looks as though we could see more non-Hearthstone mercs in the future.Hearthstone lead game producer Gloria Zhang explained Blizzard‘s plans for other mercenaries outside of the Hearthstone franchise.“Right now, we do not have a plan for additional cross-franchise characters,” she said. “But I do not see why we could not do more in the future.”Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time a Diablo character has appeared in Hearthstone.

Hearthstone games, is being nerfed in patch 21.3.While Mindrender Illucia previously allowed players to swap their hand and deck with opponents until the next turn, PC Gamer has spotted that balance issues mean the card is getting a totally new battlecry.Instead of entirely swapping cards, Mindrender Illucia will now “replace your hand with a copy of your opponent’s until end of turn”.These changes address an issue where Priest players were using Mindrender Illucia to effectively skip an opponent’s turn, allowing whoever played the card to get a free turn to do whatever.21.3 Patch is right around the corner! Here's what to expect:

Hearthstone players are unhappy with the pricing of card packs for the upcoming mercenaries mode.Blizzard has revealed a new Mercenaries mode is coming to Hearthstone. However, card packs containing Diablo, Sylvanas Windrunner, and the Lich King are listed at £45 ($50 USD), which has caused an outcry on social media.One user in r/Asmongold said, “Just when you thought Blizzard couldn’t go any lower: They create a Raid Shadow Legend clone for Hearthstone, and yes, you have to buy packs”.

Blizzard has revealed Mercenaries mode, a roguelite game mode within Hearthstone that features a crossover with Diablo.From an upgradeable village hub, players can use different Mercenaries with different abilities to take on bounties and earn rewards.

Activision Blizzard has announced a brand new Hearthstone Battlegrounds revamp for the game’s latest update.In a new blog post, the developer has shared information about the next Battlegrounds update for Hearthstone, saying it will be the biggest update to date.First up, the update will add a major minion shakeup, replacing 37 minions with brand new ones, which will possess a new ‘Avenge’ keyword skill. This will do “something after (x) after (x) friendly minions die”.

Blizzard is nerfing several Hearthstone cards following the United in Stormwind expansion to slow the game down a bit.Trading card games tend to follow a trend of acceleration over time, with cards getting slightly more efficient each release cycle. Blizzard’s Hearthstone appears to have hit this tipping point.

Activision Blizzard will be removing references that are “not appropriate” from its 17-year old MMO World Of Warcraft, in the wake of a slate of sexual harassment allegations that have been levied against the studio.In a message posted to its official forums, credited to the entire World Of Warcraft team, the developers say that “the past days have been a time of reflection”, as they “heed the brave women who have come forward to share their experiences.”The team goes on to say “we stand committed to taking the actions necessary to ensure we are providing an inclusive, welcoming, and safe environment both for our team and for our players in Azeroth,” the setting of the game, and that they will judge success in that goal based on community

Blizzard Entertainment has quietly unveiled its latest set of cards as part of the new Hearthstone: United In Stormwind expansion.As confirmed by Hearthstone lead designer Dean Ayala on Reddit and viewable on the official Hearthstone website, the decision to stealth drop the DLC comes in the wake of the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard.The company is accused of fostering a “frat boy” environment that has caused issues surrounding bullying, sexual harassment and more within the workplace.

Hearthstone expansion United in Stormwind adds a number of new Questline cards – multi-stage quests with huge payoffs if you play your cards right. Now, NME can exclusively reveal one of these new cards – ‘Lost in the Park’.The payoff? Guff Runetotem gets swole as ‘Guff the Tough’.An 8/8 taunt minion that grants players +8 attack and 8 armour, ‘Guff the Tough’ is a force to be reckoned with.But getting him on the board isn’t exactly a walk in the park.“Stroll through the park with Guff as he befriends squirrels and takes in the nature around him,” says the Hearthstone team at Blizzard.

Blizzard Entertainment will be revealing the next expansion for its popular virtual card game, Hearthstone, this week.As reported by PCGamer, the next Hearthstone expansion will be announced at 5:30 pm BST/9:30 am PT/12:30 pm ET on July 1 on the official Hearthstone Twitch and YouTube channels.The lead designer, Alex Dawson, is expected to start the reveal event with an overview of the second phase of the Year of the Gryphon.

Hearthstoneplayer has quit from one of their matches during a tournament instead of properly conceding.During the Hearthstone Grandmasters playoff match Zakarya “xBlyzes” Hail disconnected from the server instead of conceding the game, after having a run of poor draws against his opponent Frenetic.The community calls this kind of disconnection a “ragequit” due to the combination of anger and frustration that leads to the player leaving the game through less official means than conceding the match.Commentary during the stream said: “My heart goes out to him. It’s a brutal way to lose the series”.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced that its free-to-play online card game, Hearthstone, will receive pre-built decks in the next patch.Patch 20.2, which is set to release on May 4, will introduce Battle-Ready Decks, an experimental form of deck that is meant for new and returning players who wish to play a particular class in the game.In the patch notes, Blizzard said: “For the first time ever, we’ll be offering curated decks optimized for the most recent expansion through the web and in-game shops.“When these Battle-Ready Decks become available, you’ll be able to add a complete deck from the class of your choice to your permanent Collection.”According to Blizzard, each Battle-Ready Deck is handcrafted using data captured across “hundreds