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Hearthstone Recap: Nerfs, BlizzCon Goodies, 20M Players, Dreamhack

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The most important announcements of last week in Hearthstone were the nerfs to Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard, the BlizzCon in-game goodies, and the fact that 20 million players have downloaded and played Hearthstone. Also, the European players that will compete at the BlizzCon Hearthstone championships have been determined this week-end at Dreamhack.





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Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard Nerfs


We already covered this earlier last week, but a reminder does not hurt, given that most Hunter decks have been invalidated by the nerf that Starving Buzzard received. The change to Leeroy is not so problematic and, for most decks, it will not be necessary to replace the card. Tomorrow, we should have updates deployed on the site for all our decks using these cards.

Blizzard Icon Hearthstone Patch Notes - 1.2.0.6485


In this Hearthstone patch, we're addressing some bugs as well as making balance changes to Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard. To view our in-depth explanation on the Leeroy Jenkins and Starving Buzzard changes, please visit our forum thread here.

The full patch notes are below!



Card Changes


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  • Leeroy Jenkins (Neutral) now costs 5 (up from 4)
    • Leeroy Jenkins created a strategy that revolved around trying to defeat your opponent in one turn without requiring any cards on the board. We like having a variety of deck types but taking 20+ damage in one turn is not very fun or interactive.
    • The amount of dust that you get from disenchanting Leeroy Jenkins has been temporarily increased such that it is equal to the amount of dust that it would have originally cost to craft it.
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  • Starving Buzzard (Hunter) now costs 5 (up from 2) and now has 3 Attack and 2 Health (up from 2 Attack and 1 Health)
    • The amount of cards Starving Buzzard allowed Hunter players to draw ultimately ended up being too excessive for its low cost. This change will allow the Hunter’s opponent more time to react to both the Starving Buzzard and the cards drawn by its power.


Bug Fixes

  • Hired gnomish engineers to improve the in-game chat bubbles to reduce clipping.
  • Resolved various bugs and issues.
  • [iPad] Improved overall performance, especially for iPad 2 and iPad mini.
  • [iPad] Resolved an issue where the Hearthstone client could sometimes crash when returning to the client from a locked iPad state.
(source)





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BlizzCon 2014 Card Back


Blizzard released the list of this year's BlizzCon in-game goodies. Hearthstone players will get a specific card back. The goodies are the same, whether you watch the streams live or you attend in person.

Blizzard Icon BlizzCon 2014 In-Game Goodies Sneak Peek



BlizzCon loot explosion! It’s time to take a sneak peek at this year’s BlizzCon in-game goodies for World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III*, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and the upcoming Heroes of the Storm**—they’re yours whether you’re attending the show in person or watching from home with the Virtual Ticket.

World of Warcraft – Grommloc Pet


Watch your foes flee in terror before this delightfully dreadful baby murloc masquerading as Grommash Hellscream, legendary leader of the Warsong clan.
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Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft – Blizzard 2014 Card Back


Infuse your deck with Blizzard spirit by equipping this commemorative card back, forged to resemble the compass design emblazoned in Blizzard’s courtyard.
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StarCraft II – Portraits & Decal


Deck out your profile with a pair of portraits, including Hierarch Artanis and another to-be-revealed icon, and prep your army for battle across multiple universes with a Heroes of the Storm–themed decal.
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Diablo III – Warlords of Draenor Weapon Transmogrifications


Outfit your heroes with six weapon transmogrification appearances inspired by World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor—one for each of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls’ classes.[/url]
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Heroes of the Storm – Nexus Mount and Portrait


Rush into the storm atop the ethereal Nexus Charger, and embrace the unknown with the mysterious Nexus Brawler portrait.
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This year’s epic collection of in-game goodies will be available to use after BlizzCon begins. Head to the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket page to order or learn more.

*Diablo III content for Windows/Mac version only.
**Heroes of the Storm content will be available once you get access to the game; note that ordering a Virtual Ticket does not guarantee a spot in the alpha or beta tests.

(source)




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Qualified Europeans Players for BlizzCon


Kolento, Numberguy, Greensheep, and Kaor are the four qualified European players for BlizzCon. They earned their spot by finishing in the top 4 of the Dreamhack tournament in Sweden this week-end. For more details, GosuGamers has a recap of the last day of competition and a list of all the decks used during the tournament.



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20 Million Hearthstone Players


Blizzard announced this week than more than 20 million players have played Hearthstone since its release. Is considered a player someone who has completed the tutorial and defeated Illidan.

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I think from those numbers Hearthstone has to be deemed a huge success - would be interesting to see the amount for real ££ $$ being spent on cards / adventure packs - but I think Blizzard have done really well so far.

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      AAECAaoICunQBMORBKeNBK/ZBNnsA/rsA4qSBfuRBYfUBKrZBArG+QOs7QS12QTgtQS22QTblATGzgTj9gOGoQX4oAUA
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      AAECAaoIFKjuA6bvA4b6A6SBBMORBMeyBOm2BOnQBJjUBLjZBJfvBKTvBNWyBODtBIqSBdWyBPuRBfSgBbzwBODtBArG+QPTgASVkgTblATgtQSWtwSywQTFzgS12QS22QQA
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      AECAaoICunQBMORBKeNBK/ZBNnsA/rsA4qSBfuRBYfUBKrZBArG+QOs7QS12QTgtQS22QTblATGzgTj9gOGoQX4oAUA
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      AAECAaoIKKjuA6bvA6SBBMORBMeyBOm2BOnQBJjUBLjZBJfvBKTvBMb5A9OABJWSBNuUBNWyBOC1BJa3BLLBBMXOBMbOBLXZBLbZBODtBLzwBIb6A6/ZBPrsA/SgBcSsBNnsA4fUBIXUBLGwBJrUBLzOBIahBfigBYqSBfuRBQAA
       
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      .blog-detail .gallery figure { width: 100%; max-width: calc((100% / 3) - 6px); } @media screen and (max-width: 600px){ .blog-detail .gallery { justify-content: center; } .blog-detail .gallery figure { width: 100%; max-width: 250px; } .blog-detail h4 { text-align: center; } } Announcing
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