Hearthstone Mercenaries Updates for Patch 24.0 - C’Thun Special Event, Sir Finley Joins the Action, Balance Changes, & Various Fixes

Patch notes for the upcoming game client version 24.0 have just been published! It's all set to launch as expected, on Tuesday, July 26. Aside from preparing the ground for the upcoming Murder at Castle Nathria expansion, this major patch will also bring a number of updates to various game modes. Hearthstone Mercenaries got a rather sizeable section reserved for themselves; here is what we can expect in the coming weeks: 

• The final Old God arrives on August 16, with a special limited-time event for C'thun - and we already know what all 10 Tasks are going to be about!
• Sir Finley has fin(-e)ally been found, almost ready to meet up with the rest of the League of Explorers camping in the Village! Expect everyone's favorite distinguished Murloc to join the crew once the new Rewards Track takes over on August 2. 
• Huge amount of balance changes for various Mercenaries, both newer and older! 
• Various bug fixes and other improvements - including the evil Doppelganger getting hit once more. 

A detailed look at the full Mercenaries segment as per the official patch notes: 

Quote From Blizzard

Mercenaries Updates

 

New Limited-Time Event: C’Thun

Sensing that its Old God brethren had awakened, the ancient one C’Thun has emerged from its prison to begin its own assault on Mercenaries! Defend your Village and tame the final Old God in this limited-time event, starting on August 16. The event will consist of 10 special Tasks centered around the Old God C’Thun. Two new event Tasks can be unlocked on each of the first five days of the event, but you have until September 6 to complete all 10 Tasks. Completing all 10 Tasks will get you the C’Thun Mercenary, a random Golden C’Thun Portrait, the Diamond C’Thun Portrait, and 700 Mercenary Coins! Dragons and Protectors will be important for protecting your Village from C’Thun’s wrath.

 

 

New Mercenaries

 

C’Thun (Legendary Fighter)

• Old God
• 10/85 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Mind Flay 5 (Shadow): (Speed 7) Deal this Merc’s Attack damage to an enemy. Deathblow: Summon a 5/15 Tentacle of C’Thun.
  • Tentacle of C’Thun 5 (Old God): (Speed 5) 5 Attack, 15 Health. Rush. Whenever this attacks, give your C’Thun +5 Attack and Old Gods’ abilities Refresh (1).
  • Mask of C’Thun 5 (Shadow): (Speed 4, Cooldown 10) Deal this Merc’s Attack damage to all enemies. Deathblow: Restore 20 Health to friendly Old Gods.
• Equipment:
  • Heart of C’Thun 4: Battlecry: Summon a 5/15 Tentacle of C’Thun. It gains Taunt, but loses Rush.
  • Maw of C’Thun 4: Battlecry: Gain +4 Attack. Destroy a random enemy Minion.
  • Body of C’Thun 4: Bench: Gain +5/+10 after you summon an Old God.

 

Sir Finley (Epic Protector)

• Murloc
• 11/78 Maxed Stats
• Abilities:
  • Adventure Awaits 5 (Nature): (Speed 6) Gain +8 Health and Attack an enemy. If your opponent has fewer characters, gain Divine Shield first.
  • Murlocology 5: (Speed 2, Cooldown 1) Discover a dilapidated Murloc Ability.
    • Dev Comment: This is a pool of Abilities from all existing Murloc Mercs when Finley is released.
  • Lead the Charge 5 (Holy): (Speed 3, Cooldown 1) Give a friendly character +12 Attack and Divine Shield. Give your Murlocs +5 Attack.
• Equipment:
  • Maxwell, Mighty Steed 4: Your Murlocs have +10 Health. Your Explorers have +6 Attack.
  • Exploring Monocle 4: Passive: Lead the Charge also gives Explorers Attack.
  • Finley’s Pith Helmet 4: Passive: After a friendly character loses Divine Shield, deal 10 damage to a random enemy.

 

C’Thun, Sir Finley, and their respective Portraits, will not initially be obtainable through packs or crafting. C’Thun and its Portraits are part of the C’Thun event. Sir Finley will be awarded for free to all players on the Murder at Castle Nathria Rewards Track, and his Portraits can be earned by players who have the Tavern Pass. C’Thun and its Portraits will be obtainable through normal means in a patch after its event ends. Sir Finley and its Portraits will be obtainable through normal means in a patch after the 24.0 expansion cycle ends. Tyrael, Yogg-Saron, and their respective Portraits, are now available through all normal means.

 

Merc Updates

Brann Bronzebeard

• Summit Campfire 5
  • Old: Gain +4 Frost Resistance. Your characters deal Critical Damage to enemies whom have already acted. → New: Gain +5 Frost Resistance. This turn, enemies who have acted take Critical Damage.
  • Dev Comment: In addition to being reworded and giving +1 more Frost Resistance, Summit Campfire has had some bugs addressed that prevented its full effect from working. Now, when the effect triggers, enemies who have already acted will take Critical Damage and any enemies who act after this effect goes will take Critical Damage for the rest of the turn; if Brann dies, all enemies already impacted will stay impacted, but no additional enemies will be afflicted.
• Extra Spirit 4
  • Old: Passive: If you have them in play, Elise and Reno have +5/+12. → New: Passive: Your Explorers have +5/+12.

 

Elise Starseeker

• Oasis Canteen 4
  • Old: Passive: If you have Brann and Reno in play, give them +4/+4 at the end of turn. → New: Passive: Give your explorers +4/+4 at the end of each turn.

Reno Jackson

• We’re Rich 4
  • Old: Battlecry: If you have at least two Explorers in play, Restore 100 health to friendly characters. → New: Battlecry: If you control two other Explorers, restore 100 health to your characters.
• Treasure Inspector 4
  • Old: Deathrattle: Cast two random abilities. → New: Cast a random one of Reno’s Looted Powers! Twice!

 

Wrathion

• Old: 12/79 Maxed Stats →  New: 12/84 Maxed Stats
• Creeping Madness
  • Old: Speed 8 → New: Speed 4
• Tail Swipe 5
  • Old: Deal 20 damage, randomly to the left or right-most enemy. → New: Deal 15 damage to an enemy. Deal 5 damage to all enemies to the left or right of it.

 

Drek’Thar

• Old: 10/73 Maxed Stats → 10/81 Maxed Stats
• Spirit Guide
  • Old: Cooldown 1. Battlecry: If you have Shamanism, gain Divine Shield and Rush. → New: Cooldown 0. Taunt. Battlecry: If you have Shamanism, gain Divine Shield and Rush.

 

Brightwing

• Dev Comment: Brightwing’s fantasy of swapping between bench and battlefield struggled because of randomness. We decided to strengthen her kit overall and reduce the randomness in it so players could direct her effects and choose what she swaps with.
• Old: 7/77 Maxed Stats → 8/88 Maxed Stats
• Faerie Breath 5
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Give a random friendly Merc on your bench +3/+5. → New: Deal 12 damage. Give the lowest health Merc on your bench +3/+10.
• Phase Shift 5
  • Old: Restore 25 Health to this Merc and swap it with the highest health Merc on your bench. → New: Restore 25 Health to this Merc. If you control another Merc, return this to your bench.
    • The Cooldown is now 1 for all levels of this Ability.
• Brightwing’s Ring 4
  • Old: Phase Shift restores 25 more Health. → New: Bench: After a Merc dies, summon this and cast Faerie Breath 5 at a random enemy immediately.
• Brightwing’s Necklace 4
  • Old:  Faerie Breath gives an additional +5 Health. → New: Battlecry: Give your lowest health Merc on your Bench +15 Health.

 

Lady Anacondra

• Dev Comment: Lady Anacondra always felt like a Merc that needed her Equipment just to get her Abilities to baseline levels. So we baked two of the Equipment effects into her Abilities and updated those Equipment with new Viper-summoning effects so that more players can experience that part of her kit.
• Old: 8/76 Maxed Stats → New: 9/84 Maxed Stats
• Serpent’s Bite 5
  • Old: Deal 6 damage. At the end of this turn, it takes 6 damage. → New: Deal 12 damage. At the end of this turn, it takes 12 damage.
• Mend Beast 5
  • Old: Restore 15 Health to a character. If it’s a Beast, also give it +15 Health. → Restore 15 Health to a character and this Merc. If it’s a Beast, also give it +15 Health.
• Toxic Venom 4
  • Old: Serpent’s Bite deals 4 more damage. → New: After you cast 3 Nature abilities, summon a 0/15 Nightmare Viper. (3 left!)
• Signet of the Wilds 4
  • Old: Mend Beast restores Health to Lady Anacondra as well. → New: Battlecry: Summon a 0/15 Nightmare Viper.

 

Morgl the Oracle

• Dev Comment: Morgle always wanted to be the healer for the Murloc party, but unfortunately other characters provided more value. We’ve redesigned his healing to give him the tools to be the Murloc healer he always wanted to be.
• Old: 9/83 Maxed Stats → New: 10/93 Maxed Stats
• Murloc Missile 5
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Give your Murlocs +5 Health. → New: Deal 14 damage. Give your Murlocs +6 Health.
• Healing Wave 5
  • Old: Cooldown 1. Restore 15 Health. If the target hasn’t acted yet, restore 30 Health instead. → New: Cooldown 0. Restore 15 Health to a character and 10 Health to your Murlocs.
• Dousing Rod 4
  • Old: Healing Wave restores 10 more Health. → New: Passive: After one of your Murlocs takes 20 or more damage in a single hit, restore 8 Health to it.

 

Guff Runetotem

• Dev Comments: Guff always relied on Bramblethorn Totem to keep Living Brambles’ damage up. We built that damage into Living Brambles to give him more Equipment options, including a new option as a backline character with the Bramblethorn Totem rework.
• Old: 10/80 Maxed Stats → New: 12/91 Maxed Stats
• Living Brambles 5
  • Old: Deal 10 damage. Nature Combo: Repeat this. → New: Deal 14 damage. Nature Combo: Repeat this.
• Bramblethorn Totem 4
  • Old: Living Brambles deals 4 more damage. → New: Battlecry: Restore 20 health to your characters.

 

Garrosh Hellscream

• Mak’Gora 5
  • Old: Attack an enemy. It Attacks this Merc back. → New: Take 5 less damage this turn. Attack an enemy. It Attacks back.
  • Additionally, Mak’Gora is now Speed 5 at all levels.

 

The Lich King

• Old: 13/88 Maxed Stats → New: 14/92 Maxed Stats
• Frostbite is now Speed 5 at all levels.

 

Cookie, the Cook

• Cookie’s Cooking 5
  • Old: Bleed (5) to all enemies. Restore 5 Health to friendly Murlocs and Pirates. → New: Bleed (10) to all enemies. Restore 10 Health to friendly Murlocs and Pirates.
  • Dev Comment: Cookie was the first playable Merc that we designed with the Bleed effect. At the time, we thought it would be a good idea to allow Bleed to scale with Spell Damage. We’ve decided that Bleed shouldn’t be increased by Spell Damage buffs, so we’ve adjusted the base power of the Ability to compensate for that change.

 

Zar’jira, the Sea Witch

• Old: 8/77 Maxed Stats → New: 9/86 Maxed Stats
• Upstart Acolyte 4
  • Old: Passive: +20 Health. Whenever a friendly character is Frozen, Freeze a random enemy. → Passive: +20 Health. The first time a friendly character is Frozen each turn, Freeze a random enemy.

 

Uther

• Dev Comment: Uther has always struggled to find a place on the Holy team focusing on Anduin and Velen. We think this is a flavorful change and we hope this change will bring more role diversity to Holy compositions. Uther now has the distinction of being the first Protector to deal Holy damage. For justice!
• Old: Caster → New: Protector
• Old: 11/82 Maxed Stats → 12/91 Maxed Stats
• Hammer of Justice 5
  • Old: Deal 12 damage to a character. Its next ability is (3) Speed slower. → New: Deal 15 damage to an enemy. Its next ability is (3) Speed slower.

 

King Krush

• Old: 12/73 Maxed Stats → New: 12/76 Maxed Stats
• Devilsaur 5
  • Old: Cooldown 1 →  New: Cooldown 0

 

Kurtrus Ashfallen

• Old: 14/74 Maxed Stats → New: 14/77 Maxed Stats

 

Tavish Stormpike

• Old: 7/83 Maxed Stats → New: 8/86 Maxed Stats

 

Lord Jaraxxus

• Old: 10/81 Maxed Stats → 12/83 Maxed Stats

 

Mannoroth

• Old: 11/78 Maxed Stats → 13/84 Maxed Stats

 

Tamsin Roame

• Old: 9/84 Maxed Stats → 10/87 Maxed Stats

 

Warmaster Voone

• Old: 9/82 Maxed Stats → New: 10/90 Maxed Stats

 

Rokara

• Old: 10/76 Maxed Stats → New: 10/79 Maxed Stats

 

Ragnaros

• Old: 9/69 Maxed Stats → New: 10/75 Maxed Stats

 

Antonidas

• Old: 6/73 Maxed Stats → New: 7/76 Maxed Stats

 

Vanessa Van Cleef

• Dev Comment: Originally, the fantasy of Vanessa was that she’d steal a bunch of attack and then get a big payoff with Makeshift Weaponry. In practice, however, spending all your Stolen Attack was too high a cost. It also meant that Makeshift Weaponry was a dead Ability on her first turn. We’ve increased its base power, reworked the Extra Pockets synergy, and made the downside less punishing, so we increased the speed to 7 to compensate for those buffs.
• Old: 13/75 Maxed Stats → New: 13/86 Maxed Stats
• Makeshift Weaponry 5
  • Old: Speed 3. Spend Stolen Attack to deal that much damage to all enemies. → Speed 7. Deal 12 damage to all enemies. (Improved by Stolen Attack)
• Extra Pockets 4
  • Old: After using Makeshift Weaponry, this Merc keeps up to 10 Attack. → Battlecry: Steal 4 attack from an enemy opposite this.

Niuzao

• Old: 10/80 Maxed Stats → New: 10/87 Maxed Stats

 

Vanndar

• Old: 13/83 Maxed Stats → New: 13/86 Maxed Stats

 

Deathwing

• Old: 12/90 Maxed Stats →  New: 14/94 Maxed Stats

 

Onyxia

• Old: 10/70 Maxed Stats → New: 11/75 Maxed Stats
• Broodmother’s Rage 4
  • Old: Passive: When another friendly Dragon is destroyed, deal 7 damage to all enemies. → New: Passive: When another friendly Dragon is destroyed, deal 7 Fire damage to all enemies.
  • Dev Comment: This Equipment was already dealing Fire damage, so this is just a wording update to clarify the effect.

 

Lady Vashj

• Old: 10/75 Maxed Stats → New: 12/81 Maxed Stats

 

Captain Hooktusk

• Old: 10/75 Maxed Stats → New: 13/83 Maxed Stats

 

Trigore the Lasher

• Backlash 5
  • Old: Gain +5 Attack. Each time an enemy damages an adjacent ally this turn, deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them. →  New: Gain +5 Attack. After an enemy damage an adjacent ally this turn, deal this Merc’s Attack damage to them.
  • Dev Comment: This is not a functional change to Trigore, just a wording update. We also fixed a bug so that Trigore no longer hits after Trigore is functionally dead and no longer hits enemies who are functionally dead.

Murky

• Old: 11/79 Maxed Stats →  11/80 Maxed Stats
• Marching Murlocs (Summoned by the March of the Murlocs Equipment)
  • Old: Speed 5 → New: Speed 4

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

• Fixed a bug causing some players to get stuck in the Mercenaries tutorial.
• Fixed a bug sometimes causing error messages after getting a new Mercenary.
• Fixed a bug where players would sometimes upgrade a Mercenary’s Ability or Equipment and the upgrade wouldn’t take effect.
• Improved the appearance of tooltips, addressing issues such as lengthy tooltips getting cut off in Mercenaries.
• Weakened and slowed down the Doppelgangster encounter.
• Fixed bugs and wording issues with various Mercenaries Abilities, Equipment, and Treasures. 

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