We've got some great news this afternoon from Hearthstone Lead Designer on Final Design, Alec Dawson. In a tweet that was posted to talk about the upcoming constructed balance change schedule, which includes 2 Warlock changes, we got an excellent response about that Battlegrounds Update we've been waiting almost two months to hear more about.

So, what did Alec have to say about Battlegrounds? To start, he mentioned that we've be seeing Battleground Changes in late September. One Twitter user asked for further clarification on what this patch would include the overhaul. To our surprise, Alec was very open and was able to confirm that this was going to be balance changes AFTER the big update.

Quote From Alec Dawson

Balance schedule over next month -

8/31: 2 Warlock changes (upping mana, feels focused)
8/31 to 9/10: Evaluating meta
9/10: Decide if changes are needed
Later Sept: Decided changes go live (BGs included)

Are those BG changes a balance pass on the big update or is that the big update / re-work?

Balance after the big update. More info on that update quite soon!

With no exact date in mind other than "late September" on balance changes for Battlegrounds, that leaves us a three-ish week window from today until that patch would realistically be released at its earliest. Assuming that it takes Blizzard at least a week to decide if the update will need any balance adjustments, we could be looking at a release of the overhaul to Battlegrounds in the next two weeks. Of course this is speculation but it does line up.

When Will We Hear More About the Big Overhaul to Battlegrounds?

Blizzard has not yet made an official announcement as to when we will hear more information about the overhaul which focuses on Tribes and is designed to "'play off the core fantasy of that Type and re-emphasize how the Types play". However, Alec does say that we will be seeing information on that "quite soon" and Blizzard's announcement yesterday about the Mercenaries Deep Dive stream did say that it "might include a surprise or two".

If I were to take a gamble here, I think we're going to be seeing more information on Battlegrounds during that stream next Tuesday, August 31. This obviously has not been confirmed yet by Blizzard, but thanks to the leaked release date of Mercenaries being October 12, I'm willing to bet players would be disappointed to wait 6 weeks after a stream about the mode if nothing more immediate was also announced. If Blizzard were to showcase Mercenaries and then dive into Battlegrounds content that we'd see much sooner, excitement would be through the roof.


Two new Pirate cards coming that showcase synergies.

Alongside that previous line of thinking, I would not at all be surprised to see Blizzard launching the Battlegrounds Overhaul alongside next week's stream. They certainly love pulling off a "when are we releasing it? TODAY!" with everyone, and the stream date lines up perfectly with the patch date so an announcement plus release feels too perfect.

Again, pure speculation as nothing is confirmed as of writing.

Battlegrounds Beta - How Long Can This Go On?

Battlegrounds being in Beta has been a bit of a meme over the past year and change since its release at the end of 2019. The mode has felt polished, has received many updates over this time, and we've finally seen the introduction of cosmetics which means the mode finally has a proper monetization model outside of giving us access to extended stats and extra hero choices.

So, when is the beta going to end?

Well, like this entire article, Blizzard has not been forthcoming when it comes to questions surrounding the ending the "beta" of Battlegrounds, so we can't say for certain. I believe that this major overhaul represents the set up better long-term support of the mode and lends itself well to removing the beta tag. The game has been very polished since coming out, reminiscent of Blizzard of old, remove the useless moniker! The only question remains, when will we be seeing that promised main screen update that will feature a dedicated Battlegrounds button - navigating through extra buttons is annoying!

I'm also hoping that Battlegrounds, once beta is removed, gets a logo revamp like Mercenaries has received prior to its release. The Belwe font just ain't it, captain.


Seriously awesome logo update!

I certainly won't be eating any shoes if I'm wrong about the beta tag being removed, but you can color me disappointed if it remains.

Final Thoughts

Battlegrounds has been such an amazing addition to Hearthstone and really paved the way for the game to become a platform that can support different types of gameplay outside constructed. The overhaul is coming very soon and I'm excited to see what it ends up doing for the game and how Blizzard plans to support the mode in the future past release. We can definitely expect new heroes, cosmetics, new cards, and balance, but what in the world are those new out-of-game systems going to be? Could we see a Battlegrounds-specific rewards track next year?

What are you hoping to see in the big Battlegrounds overhaul? Do you think we'll see something during next week's stream?