Blizzard Entertainment

Patch 23.2, launching on May 10, includes a fresh new Battlegrounds season, Mercenaries updates, new features, bug fixes, and more!

Battlegrounds Updates

GENERAL UPDATES

• The inaugural Battlegrounds season, Rise of the Naga, begins with Patch 23.2!
• Battlegrounds Ratings will be reset when the patch goes live.
• Buddies will be leaving Battlegrounds with the patch.
• The cost to upgrade to Tavern Tier 5 has been reverted to start at 9 Gold.
• Heroes with transforming Hero Powers can now see the next stage of their Hero Power by hovering over it.
• Cards and Hero Powers with the text “for the next combat” or “for the next combat only” have all been updated to read “until next turn” for text space, consistency, and accuracy. This is not a functional change.

NEW MINION TYPE AND KEYWORD

With the new season, Naga will be ad...

In the year of the Hydra, Hearthstone is focusing on improving existing game experiences and building a better, more player-friendly game client. With that in mind, we’re happy to share that three exciting new features will be coming to Hearthstone as soon as Patch 23.2!

Upgrade to Golden

The long-awaited feature is now here! Fans of Golden cards will now have the option of Upgrading their normal cards into Golden versions, in addition to the original option of crafting Golden versions from scratch. The Arcane Dust cost to Upgrade a card is the difference between its base cost and the Golden cost. That means that you get the full dust value of any of your cards you decide to Upgrade! Now fans of Golden cards have an option to easily and efficiently bling out their favorite cards.

Developer Comment: We’re thril...

In this week’s news roundup both Horde and Alliance must heed the call to the Ahn’ Qiraj War Effort, and more details emerge about World of Warcraft®: Dragonflight in a series of interviews across the community, and a new strategy game designed from the ground up for mobile is revealed.

Read on for more details and links to the latest news and announcements.

World of Warcraft®: Dragonflight Expansion

If you missed the expansion reveal, make your way to the World of Warcraft Expansion Reveal article to learn details about the upcoming adventures that the heroes of Azeroth ...

Bow down before Queen Azshara, for soon her army of Naga will flood into Battlegrounds! Patch 23.2, launching on May 10, will bring with it the first ever Battlegrounds Season, Rise of the Naga. The new season will bring a Battlegrounds Rating reset, a new hero, and an entire new minion type, the Naga!

New Minion Type: Naga

Naga are spell-thirsty minions that are drawn to magic. They tend to give you spells or get more powerful when spells are played around them.

New Keyword: Spellcraft

Some Naga have the unique new keyword, Spellcraft! Minions with the Spellcraft keyword grant a temporary spell each turn. That spell can give your minions a buff that lasts until the start of...

Throughout week one of our first Technical Beta for Overwatch 2, our team has been galvanized by all the enthusiasm and positive energy from so many participating players. We’re carefully listening to your feedback during this Beta test. As we committed to more regular communication with our players, we plan to share a weekly update with you about what we’re learning and how that impacts our development plans. For this week's update, we have four main topics to cover. 

Progress on Beta 1 Goals  
The main goals for our first Beta were to test our shift to 5v5, the new maps and Push game mode, overall balance, and build and server stability. We believe 5v5 is a significant adjustment for players, and we have been happy to hear consistent and positive feedback about players having more fun, feeling a greater sense of impact in their matches, and enjoying a faster pace of combat and engagements. While we will continue to adjust the rules of Push, pla...

Join us in a new lighthearted and whimsical game where you’re in command. Easy to learn but hard to master, Warcraft® Arclight Rumble™ tests players’ ability to create miniature armies to effectively overcome each mission’s unique challenges.

Audio Description of Cinematic

Designed from the ground up for mobile and set in the beloved Warcraft universe, Warcraft Arclight Rumble invites players to build armies with their favorite heroes and villains from Warcraft and battle it out in ...

Join us in a new lighthearted and whimsical game where you’re in command. Easy to learn but hard to master, Warcraft® Arclight Rumble™ tests players’ ability to create miniature armies to effectively overcome each mission’s unique challenges.

Audio Description of Cinematic

Designed from the ground up for mobile and set in the beloved Warcraft universe, Warcraft Arclight Rumble invites players to build armies with their favorite heroes and villains from Warcraft and battle it out in ...

The Warcraft® universe continues to capture imaginations across the globe with enlightening experiences and immersive gameplay, that are the foundation for World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. We are happy to present a new mobile game for the heroes of Azeroth looking to play on the go, and we can’t wait to get it into your hands.

Watch the reveal now.

We’re excited to share Warcraft experiences and counting down for the big reveal—keep checking warcraftrumble.blizzard.com.

The Warcraft® universe continues to capture imaginations across the globe with enlightening experiences and immersive gameplay, that are the foundation for World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. We are happy to present a new mobile game for the heroes of Azeroth looking to play on the go, and we can’t wait to get it into your hands.

Watch the reveal now.

We’re excited to share Warcraft experiences and counting down for the big reveal—keep checking warcraftrumble.blizzard.com.

Illidan Awaits

Head to Outland to face Illidan and his cohorts once more in The Black Temple!

The Black Temple raid is available throughout the Burning Crusade Timewalking event. The difficulty is set to Normal and, like any Normal level raid, will not be available through Raid Finder. To take on this challenge, you’ll need to get your guild or a group of friends together, or head to Group Finder > Premade Groups. The raid scales for your group size (between 10 — 30 players) and your level and gear will be scaled back to match the raid’s challenges.

Want to relive the time you first defeated Teron Gorefiend? Face the Reliquary of Souls once more? Witness the showdown between Maiev and Illidan before the final fight? Now’s your chance. Inside you can earn transmog sets, the pets you need for Raiding With Leashes III, a Music Roll: T...

Patch 23.0.3, launching today, provides balance updates to Standard, Wild, and Battlegrounds, as well as bug fixes and more!

Hearthstone Card Changes

Kazakusan

• Old: Battlecry: If all minions in your deck are Dragons, craft a custom deck of treasures. → New: Battlecry: If you played 4 other Dragons this game, craft a custom deck of treasures.

Miracle Growth

• Old: [Costs 7] → New: [Costs 8]

Secure the Supplies (the third portion of the Warrior Questline, Raid the Docks)

• Old: Play 2 Pirates. → New: Play 3 Pirates.

...

The Shadowlands Dungeons Bonus Event is Underway!

This Week

All week, open Group Finder (default hotkey:I) to queue for any Shadowlands dungeon on Normal or Heroic difficulty.

Alternatively, create your own group of intrepid adventurers and travel to one of the Shadowlands dungeons and set your difficulty to Mythic before entering.

• De Other Side
• Halls of Atonement
• Mists of Tirna Scithe
• Plaguefall
• Sanguine Depths
• Spires of Ascension
• The Necrotic Wake
• Theater of Pain

Look for the following all week long:

• Caretaker Kah'Toll in Oribos has a quest for you. Or, if you forget to pick it up there, you can start it within the Adventure Guide (Shift-J).
  • Quest Requirement: Complete 4 Shadowlands dungeons on Mythic difficulty.
  • Rewards: One loot box containing a piece of gear from Her...

The third Hearthstone Masters Tour of the year is this weekend! Exploring the depths of Hearthstone’s newest expansion, Masters Tour: Voyage to the Sunken City will see more than 400 players from over 40 countries utilizing the new Colossal and Naga minions in their journey to earn a share of the $250,000 (USD) prize pool. Beyond prizing, the stakes are even higher than normal as it will be the last Masters Tour in which players may earn points toward the Masters Summer Championship, June 3 – 5, and an invite to Grandmasters: Last Call coming later this Summer! Read on for everything you need to know to enjoy the action, only on ...

The Overwatch 2 PvP Beta is on the horizon! Starting April 26th at 11am PT, selected players will begin to receive invites to join the PvP Beta throughout the day. In advance of the PvP Beta beginning, we wanted to share more information and answer your questions.  

FAQ  

Q. How will I know if I'm selected to participate in the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta? 
A. Players selected to participate in the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta will receive a welcome email from the Overwatch team with instructions on how to gain access to the build. Starting at 11am, we will begin rolling out beta access to selected participants. While players selected initially should all receive access on the first day, we may extend invitations to more players at later periods in this test. 

Q. How can I opt-in to the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta and how are players selected? 
A. Visit the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta page t...

The great desert fortress of Ahn'Qiraj, long sealed behind the Scarab Wall, is home to the insectoid qiraji, a savage race set to mount an assault to devastate the continent of Kalimdor. But something far more sinister lurks behind Ahn'Qiraj's walls: the Old God C'Thun, an ancient entity whose pervasive evil had suffused Azeroth since time immemorial.

The next Content Update for WoW Classic Season of Mastery will be available worldwide on April 21, at 3:00 p.m. PDT. At that time, the Ahn’Qiraj War Effort will begin, and both factions must heed the call. Any hero brave enough to undertake the epic quest to become a Scarab Lord will be able to begin their journey.

New in Season of Mastery

Due to the faster release cadence of Season of Mastery, we’ve made some adjustments to the War Effort:

• Half as many total resources as before are now ...

This week we take flight with news on the upcoming Dragonflight expansion, welcome the chilly return of Wrath of the Lich King to WoW Classic later this year, face the Jailer in the Sepulcher of the First Ones Raid Finder Wing 4, and more!

Check out the World of Warcraft Reveal News Roundup for a dragons-eye view of what’s in store for the heroes of Azeroth. In the meantime, read through our one-stop shop for all the latest news and development updates.

Upcoming World of Warcraft®: Dragonflight Expansion

The dragonflights of Azeroth have returned, called upon to defend their ancestral home, the Dragon Isles. Surging with elemental magic and the life energies of Azeroth, the Isles are awakening once more, and it’s up to you to explore their primo...

Two opposing forces—one a benevolent protector of Numbani, the other a mighty successor to the city's Scourge—are both receiving reworks just in time for the Overwatch 2 PvP Beta. Although the new 5v5 team composition will change the way tanks approach team fights, their primary objectives will remain the same: focus on making space for their team, initiate engagements, and peel for allies in trouble. Overall, they’re going to feel brawlier, dishing out damage while utilizing their strong defensive capabilities. Lead Hero Designer Geoff Goodman led the charge on Doomfist’s transition from damage to tank hero, and Senior Hero Designer Brandon Brennan took point on the Orisa rework. Let’s jump into how both heroes have been tailored to fit the changes coming in Overwatch 2!

DOOMFIST

Doomfist’s curren...

World of Warcraft®: Dragonflight Revealed!

Audio Description version.

The dragons of Azeroth have played a central role in the world’s affairs, guiding the mortal races and influencing events with their considerable power—occasionally for their own ends. As their sacred broodlands reawaken, the dragons will call on the heroes of the Alliance and Horde to help reckon with the threats and mysteries that are beginning to surface.

Features: 

...

Join a full panel of World of Warcraft developers in this deep dive as they take you into the Dragon Isles and share insights about the new lands to explore, the creatures you’ll meet, and take you deeper into the various systems and changes that will come with the expansion.

The heroes of the Alliance and Horde have fought against the evils in Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, against the demons of the Burning Legion in Outland, and against each other—unaware that an imminent threat was looming in the vast and icy continent of Northrend.

The Lich King, Arthas Menethil, sits in the ominous Icecrown Citadel scheming to claim the world as his own—a plan that threatens all life on Azeroth. Heroes of the Alliance and Horde must stand against the malevolent being who dares to declare himself the one true king of Azeroth...and seeks to scour all life from the world.

Later this year, you will again get to explore bone-chilling lands, storm Icecrown Citadel, and halt the Lich King’s baleful efforts. Only the most stalwart can challenge the Lich King and end his reign of terror in this rerelease of the 2008 expansion.

Just like it shook up WoW® during its original release, Wrath ...