The Hearthstone Team has announced that Mercenaries, the new game mode that launched October 21, 2021, is no longer going to receive content updates.
The news comes after a post showcasing new updates coming to the mode which include dual-types, factions, and six new mercenaries to collect. These updates in Patch 25.4 are going to be the final content updates the mode receives, with Blizzard instead focusing their efforts towards the normal game and Battlegrounds.
Mercenaries was a mode that was met with poor monetization, low replayability with a dull grind, and unbalanced pvp. It should come as no surprised that more efforts won't be pushed to the mode.
Quote From Blizzard After these updates, we will be focusing on making the Hearthstone and Battlegrounds modes the best they can be. At the same time, Mercenaries will continue to get support for bug fixes and periodic balance changes as needed, but no further regular content updates. With the new additions in this patch, we hope that Mercenaries will be a fun, fulfilling mode for players.
To everybody who has ever chased a Bounty or gathered around the Campfire, we thank you for making this chapter in Hearthstone’s history special, and we hope you’ll enjoy everything Mercenaries has to offer in 25.4. See you in the Tavern!
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Comments
Unfortunate. But not unexpected.
The sad reality was that this was always going to happen, especially since mercs never really did took flight the same way battlegrounds did. Couldn't really make money neither. The moment they practically removed the grind from the game I was pretty much convinced it would die off, but I didn't think it would be this soon.
Oh well, that 90 packs I saved up will be good for one last tango and then this mode will sink into obscurity, an occasional memory of me grinding up 2 hours a day back in the day when that mattered.
So sad. I quite liked this game mode, but its been in need of an overhaul almost from day 1. Far too grindy, far too little variety in the different regions and dungeons, not rewarding enough to re-play. There was real potential here that never had enough resources devoted to realizing it.
I don’t think anyone is surprised. It still sucks for those who put long hours into getting this into the client and functioning (with little to no bugs on launch if I remember correctly just) to see that work go to waste.
They took a huge gamble with the mode. There was definitely room for a mode like this in Hearthstone, but IMO the suits ruined it.
I'm still surprised we haven't seen all the merc heroes end up as portraits in the main game. Maybe in the future.
Given how much time it was in development, it still felt rushed and unfinished at launch. Gave everything a very "naked cash grab" feel. That they never ended up rescuing it with real end-game goals tells me that it was something pitched to increase monetization with gameplay an afterthought.
Disappointing that they couldn't find a way to resuscitate the game mode, but perhaps it was flawed from the start and beyond saving. I burnt out on Mercenaries pretty fast...which is a little awkward considering I reviewed it for this website and ended with saying this:
Maybe my expectations were too high but I was hoping for something more substantive, a new game mode that could actually keep truckin' like Battlegrounds, but single-player. Slay the Spire has its fans, and this could have been something like that but for Warcraft (which would've been awesome). Alas it was not to be; instead, Mercenaries will be relegated to a phase and nothing more...except the occasional heavy pause when anyone asks "how much did you spend on it?"
That's not what I wanted to see when they announced early during this HS year that Mercs will get the spotlight it deserves.
Such a tragic end for a mode that has been in development (hell) since 2020. I guess at the end the mode wanted to be too much. It tried to be a rpg, a rogue-like, a pve, a pvp, a collectible and a live service game and at the end didn't do anything of that too well. This update feels like they tried to fix the issues they found, but gave up on it in the end and are now releasing the stuff that's already done. Kinda like what Artifact did.
Well, I guess you have to think positively. Atleast now you can actually finish the mode once and for all. And hey, atleast I still have a chill place to grind something. Especially with the boss rush.
I will miss it :(
This game mode was fun for me for like 5-6 weeks. Then I completely lost interest in it. I only come back to it to complete some quests quickly.
I hope they put this mode in the "other game mode" section and get another mode back on the "front menue" like Tavern Brawl, Arena or the single player mode.
It's time, for Arena to be back on the (Main) Menu! (I think)
Tavern Brawl. For a few years now, they barely introduced any NEW Tavern Brawls, so I call that low effort (seriously, f*** Heroic Brawl, remember, when they did NORMAL Brawliseum? Where the cost of entering was just like in Arena and not 1000 Gold?).
Single player, although very casual and enjoyable mode, it won't ever be a main focus (recently they also did not add much there).
Arena. Still quite popular, despite the (lack) of dev effort in 1-2 years now (apart from balancing). Still with potential to grow IF they put some effort. I hope it replaces Mercenaries (in main menu) :P