Blizzard has announced the start of season 14 of Hearthstone Battlegrounds, titled Dark Gifts of Dalaran, which will begin on August 4.
With a new season comes a LOT of new changes, with the future looking bright. Or should I say dark?
New Dark Gift button can be activated up to 3 times per game and only once per turn to get a new minion with a Dark Gift.
These are NOT the same Dark Gifts that you see in Constructed mode. There's over 40 of them available.
There are two new heroes that interact with Dark Gifts as part of their Hero Power.
New Activate keyword. Some minions have activated abilities that you can use during the Recruit phase once per turn by spending a certain amount of Gold.
New mechanic for Pirates: Lockboxes. Lockboxes are cards that certain Pirates can add to your hand. They contain a Golden minion, but you don't get access to them until you wait a few turns.
New mechanic for Beasts: Fishbait. Fishbait is a token that can be spawned by certain cards during the Recruit phase and then your Beasts can attack it to gain extra stats.
Numbers with 4 or more digits will now be condensed to be more easily readable (for example, any number that is 1000 or higher will now read as "1k" instead of the actual number).
This has the side effect that there's a now a bit of a fog of war when battling with super large numbers since that "1k" could be anything between 1000 and 1999. You can no longer guess what exactly that number is until it finally drops to 999 or below.
Several new cards being added.
Full blog post below.
Quote From Blizzard Entertainment New Gameplay System: Dark Gifts
Dark Gifts are coming to Battlegrounds! These mysterious boons infuse your minions with powerful enhancements steeped in dark magic. You may already be familiar with Dark Gifts from Hearthstone, but we’re putting a new spin on them for Battlegrounds.
Starting on Turn 3, you can use the Dark Gift button to spend 3 Gold and Discover a minion with a Dark Gift. Each of the 3 minions offered will be paired with a unique Dark Gift.
Big stat boosts. Powerful keywords. Game-changing effects. With more than 40 Dark Gifts available, every game offers new ways to power up your warband.
The Dark Gift button can be used once per turn, up to 3 times per game. The minions and gifts offered improve each turn, becoming more powerful the longer you wait. Will you grab an early boost or hold out for something a little more tempting?
Learn more about Dark Gifts in our Developer Deep Dive!
New Heroes
Nightmare Lord Xavius – Feel Devastation
As the lord of the Emerald Nightmare, Xavius beckons you with powerful Dark Gifts.
Tras'tath, Soul Parasite – Void Power
Tras'tath latches onto a future powerhouse, allowing you to secure a Tier 5 minion with a Dark Gift well in advance.
New Keyword: Activate
Activate is a new keyword that gives certain minions a special ability you can trigger during the Recruit Phase by spending Gold, giving you a whole new way to invest your resources. While the minion is in your warband, simply click on it to activate its ability. Each Activate ability can be used once per turn, so choose your timing carefully and get the most value out of your Gold!
Refreshed Minon Pool with New Minions
We’re refreshing the Minion Pool and adding in 60+ brand new minions! Here are a few of the new faces coming in Season 14:
The new additions include a handful of new type-specific synergies. Here are just a few that will be coming:
New Pirate Synergy: Lockbox
Pirates can now uncover Lockboxes containing a Golden minion that's locked up until a later turn... unless you find a way to break it out early.
New Beast Synergy: Fishbait
Fishbait lets your Beasts do something they've never done before: attack during the Recruit Phase! The minion that takes the bait gets a hefty reward for its meal.
New Tavern Spells
Five new Tavern Spells are joining the pool this season:
Trinkets
Trinkets are sticking around for another season and will be available alongside Dark Gifts! Discover 23 new Lesser Trinkets and 24 new Greater Trinkets, each offering new ways to power up your warband.
Take a look at some of the new additions:
Lesser Trinkets
Greater Trinkets
General Updates
Venomous
With Fishbait allowing minions to attack during the Recruit Phase, Venomous has been updated to destroy the first minion it damages each combat, ensuring the keyword remains effective once combat begins.
Venomous
Old: Destroy the first minion this deals damage to.
New: Destroy the first minion this deals damage to each combat.
Chromadrake
Chromadrakes have been removed from the Tavern pool but can still be generated by certain minions and Trinkets. Their keyword has been updated to reflect that they are now only available through these effects.
Chromadrake
Old: One of five Tier 3 Dragons with various Battlecries.
New: One of five Dragons with various Battlecries.
Easy-to-Read Stats
We all love seeing our minions reach absurdly high stats. To help keep your warband readable, numbers with four digits or more will now be condensed for a cleaner, easier-to-read display.
New Battlegrounds Rewards Track
On August 4, Battlegrounds Season 13 will end, and Season 14 will begin! With that, Battlegrounds Ratings will reset, and the Battlegrounds Track will update. Any rewards that were already earned from the Season 13 Rewards Track, but not yet claimed, will be automatically claimed for you.
The Season 14 Battlegrounds Track includes brand new cosmetics featuring Maiev, Vanessa VanCleef, and more. Pick up the Season Pass to instantly unlock +2 Hero options at the start of each game. Then, progress through the Season Pass track to earn the new Escape from Dalaran Legendary Strike, 13 additional Hero Skins, a new Bartender, and more! Or upgrade to the Season Pass + to get all the rewards from the Season Pass plus one included Hero re-roll per game.
Level
XP
Cumulative XP
Free Track
Season Pass
1
0
0
2x Hero Slots
2
20
20
3
20
40
2x BG Tokens
4
20
60
5x BG Tokens
5
30
90
Rec Time A.F.Kay Rare Hero Skin
6
30
120
Dalaran Escape - Aya Blackpaw Epic Emote
7
30
150
2x BG Tokens
8
30
180
Off Duty Maiev Legendary Hero Skin
9
40
220
Prison Sous-Chef Cookie Rare Hero Skin
10
40
260
5x BG Tokens
11
40
300
Death's Head Blackthorn Rare Hero Skin
12
50
350
Arch-Warden Rafaam Epic Hero Skin
13
50
400
Dalaran Escape - Advocate Cariel Rare Emote
14
50
450
Street Racer Sneed Rare Hero Skin
15
50
500
2x BG Tokens
16
60
560
Escape from Dalaran Rare Strike
17
60
620
Vanessa VanCleef Epic Bartender
18
60
680
5x BG Tokens
19
60
740
Dalaran Escape - Prosecutor Tamsin Rare Emote
20
60
800
Prison Warden Omu Rare Hero Skin
21
60
860
Smuggler Hooktusk Rare Hero Skin*
22
60
920
Dalaran Escape - Aronist Rakanishu Epic Emote*
23
60
980
Carny Silas Rare Hero Skin*
24
60
1040
Getaway Galewing Epic Hero Skin*
25
60
1100
Crime Master Voone Rare Hero Skin*
26
60
1160
5x BG Tokens
27
60
1220
Dalaran Escape - Judge Jailer Epic Emote*
28
60
1280
Escape from Dalaran Epic Strike*
29
60
1340
Dalaran Escape - Lovestruck Illidan Rare Emote*
30
60
1400
Sewerwock Rare Hero Skin*
31
60
1460
2x BG Tokens
32
60
1520
Advocate Cariel Epic Hero Skin*
33
60
1580
Dalaran Escape - Carny Silas Rare Emote*
34
60
1640
5x BG Tokens
35
60
1700
Prosecutor Tamsin Epic Hero Skin*
36
60
1760
Inspector Holmes Legendary Hero Skin*
37
60
1820
Arsonist Rakanishu Rare Hero Skin*
38
60
1880
Dalaran Escape - A.F.Kay Epic Emote*
39
60
1940
Jade Lotus Goya Legendary Hero Skin*
40
60
2000
Escape from Dalaran Legendary Strike*
*These rewards will become available after the 36.6 patch update.
Creator Early Access Event (with Drops!)
Watch your favorite content creators play the new Season live! Participating players will be streaming on their personal channels, so make sure you have notifications turned on. Time slots by region are:
Americas, LATM, EMEA: July 30 at 9:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. PDT
JP: July 31 at 2:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. PDT
CN: July 30 at 9:00 p.m. PDT - Aug 1 7:00 a.m. PDT
Participating creators will be giving away Battlegrounds Season Pass + codes.
Drops will be enabled category-wide on Twitch. Watch for a total of 2 hours to earn 4 Battlegrounds Tokens (2 total hours, 1 hour per drop).
Upcoming Reveals Schedule
July 27 on r/Bob'sTavern: Trinkets
July 28 on Hearthstone socials: Beast, Pirate, Quillboar, Demon
July 29 on Hearthstone socials: Dragon, Mech, Murloc, Elemental, Naga, Undead
July 30 at 9:00 a.m. PDT: Early Access Event
August 3 at 10:00 a.m. PDT: Patch Notes
August 4 at 10:00 a.m. PDT: Patch 36.2, new Battlegrounds Season begins
Hearthstone Social Channels
Check out Hearthstone on your favorite social media platform of choice:
See the Hearthstone Card Library for updates during reveal season. Make sure you follow along with reveal season so you’re ready to play as soon as the patch drops! We’ll see you in the Tavern.
What do you think of the new additions coming to Battlegrounds? Let us know in the comments below.
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