Hearthstone Hotfix Patch 24.4.2 - Arena Balance With Bans and Draft Changes, Battlegrounds Updates, Mini-Set Cards Restored

The promised second hotfix for the Maw and Disorder patch cycle has been delivered just in time for the final Masters Tour of the year, with all of the following changes now live across the regions. But besides the expected bug fixes for the new Mini-Set cards, we have also received a sizable set of adjustments for the Arena - including some particular draft bans! 

This is in addition to the updates that already took place the other week: 

• Updated Early Known Issues and Fixes for Hearthstone's Patch 24.4 - Theotar Bug, Disabled Packs & Max Stats for Mercenaries, Battlegrounds Quest Removed, Mini-Set Cards
• Hearthstone's Hotfix Brings Armor Changes to Battlegrounds Heroes, Quest Reward Balance, and Theotar Crash Fix

As this small patch was being deployed server-side, there were no downloads to be seen. The only real indication are the changes that can be observed within the game, and Blizzard's own post. 

Starting with the most notable:

Arena Balance and Draft Changes

Some of the 'relatively useless' or underpowered Legendaries were put on the eternal bench, while some of the old reliable powerhouses might no longer haunt us nearly as much: 

Quote From Blizzard

• Chef Nomi, Spiritsinger Umbra, Magtheridon, Ozruk, The Voraxx, Rend Blackhand, King Togwaggle, and The Darkness can no longer be drafted.
• Sire Denathrius, Ysera the Dreamer, Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, and Deathwing the Destroyer will now appear less frequently in all drafts.

As Modes Design Lead Matt London put it, the goal is to have fewer 'auto-win' cards all around: 

Quote From Matt London

Arena: Changed something like 40 cards this time around, including bans to some bad legendaries. Hoping to reduce the frequency of auto-win cards.

The status of the missing Warrior location is still unknown, unless Matt's magic wand waving has done the trick this time. 

Plus the usual class adjustments, based on current winrates and power rankings: 

Quote From Blizzard

• Certain neutral cards will now appear less frequently in classes they have low synergy with.
• Card offering adjustments were made to make over-performing cards in Demon Hunter, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, and Warlock appear less frequently.
• Several card offering adjustments were made to give Druid and Warrior better average draft offerings.

It definitely didn't take long for these special 'micro-adjustments' to arrive. The last time we took a closer look at class winrates across the board (via HSReplay data) was right before the current set rotation, when Warrior boasted as one of the top classes. Let's just say that hasn't been the case for the past week and a half: 

• Paladin held the top spot with nearly 55% success rate. 
• Demon Hunter, Warlock, and Mage followed at 51-52%. 
• Then we had Shaman close to 50% and Priest slightly above 48%. 
• Rogue and Hunter hovered between 44-45%. 
• And finally Druid at 40% and Warrior with pitiful 38% winrate.

Almost all of it tracks with the changes announced above, perhaps except for Hunter. We'll have to see how quickly these winrates can start shifting around. 

Hearthstone Modes - PvP Matchmaking Fix 

Also related to Arena, but not only - you should now no longer be getting matched against the same opponent multiple times in a row. Except in Mercenaries, presumably, as that's more of a normal occurrence. 

Quote From Blizzard

• [Various Modes] Fixed a bug with certain modes like Duels and Arena where players could get repeatedly matched against the same opponent more frequently than intended.

Battlegrounds Updates

As seems to be the case with every single hotfix nowadays, more or less the usual Armor Tier and Quest adjustments: 

Quote From Blizzard

Armor Tier Changes

The following heroes now get more Armor:
• Pyramad and The Great Akazamzarak are now Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)
• Sylvanas is now Armor Tier 3 (3-6 Armor)

The following heroes now get less Armor:
• Bru’kan is now Armor Tier 2 (2-5 Armor)
• Chenvalaa and Tavish Stormpike are now Armor Tier 4 (4-7 Armor)

Quote From Blizzard

Quest Reward Changes

• Anima Bribe, Evil Twin, and Teal Tiger Sapphire are now slightly easier to earn.
• The Smoking Gun is now slightly harder to earn.

Fixes for the New Maw and Disorder Mini-Set Cards

All of the bugged Mini-Set cards that the community has been keeping track of should now be restored to be working as intended. Not many leftover bugs to worry about now, hopefully. 

Quote From Blizzard

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

•  [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Dew Process would trigger extra times after a Hero Card was played.
•  [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Defense Attorney Nathanos would inherit the status of the Discovered   Deathrattle minion (such as if the minion was Silenced before it died).
•  [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Contract Conjurer’s cost reduction was not counting only Secrets in the   Secret Zone.
• [Hearthstone] Fixed a bug where Murder Accusation would also trigger based on the enemy weapon being destroyed.

Are you glad to see any of that, Arena players? Or perhaps the new Constructed card bugs were bothering you even more?