Hearthstone 26.0.4 Patch Notes Brings Balance Updates

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Blizzard Entertainment has just kicked out the 26.0.4 update and patch notes for Hearthstone, and here’s the detailed list of changes that will be added with the latest version. The game’s latest version is extensive as the previous ones and brings several bug fixes alongside balance updates to Standard, Wild, Battlegrounds, and Duels. We highly recommend this update for notable changes. Check out the Hearthstone 26.0.4 update patch notes below.

Patch Notes for the Hearthstone 26.0.4 Update

System Update

All Death Knight cards with any three-rune requirements (Frost-Frost-Frost, Blood-Frost-Unholy, etc.) are now removed from all Discover pools and random generation effects.

Card Updates

The following cards have been adjusted to be less powerful:

Rowdy Fan

Old: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has a +4 Attack while this is alive.
New: Battlecry: Choose a minion. It has a +3 Attack while this is alive.
Dev Comment: Rowdy fan has gotten a lot of attention in combination with Lady S’Theno, a powerful combo at high levels of play. But even outside of that combo, it’s a card that is just a bit too efficient at its rate in a wide variety of decks.

Overseer Frigidara

Old: 5 Attack, 6 Health
New: 3 Attack, 6 Health
Dev Comment: Death Knight has several strong decks, and Frost Death Knight stands out as the strongest of the bunch. We wanted to shave a bit more power off it by bringing one of its best cards more in line with the rest of the deck.

Twig of the World Tree

Old: Deathrattle: Gain 10 Mana Crystals.
New: Deathrattle: Refresh your Mana Crystals.
Dev Comment: Twig of the World Tree is the best card in a really good deck leading to some frustrating play experiences in Wild right now. The interaction between Twig of the World Tree and Sphere of Sapience didn’t exist when Twig was first printed, so this change is to curb this card’s power level and bring it back closer to the original play pattern.

The following cards have been adjusted to be more powerful:

Rock Master Voone

Old: [4 Mana]
New: [3 Mana]

Verse Riff

Old: [2 Mana]
New: [1 Mana]

Bridge Riff

Old: [6 Mana]
New: [5 Mana]

Power Slider

Old: 1 Attack, 2 Health
New: 2 Attack, 3 Health

Shield Block

Old: [3 Mana]
New: [2 Mana]

Frightened Flunky

Old: 2 Attack, 2 Health
New: 2 Attack, 3 Health

Thori’belore

Old: Rush. Deathrattle: Go Dormant. Cast a Fire spell to revive Thori-belore! (Revives 2 times.)
New: Rush. Deathrattle: Go Dormant. Cast a Fire spell to revive Thori-belore!

Infinitize the Maxitude

Old: Discover a spell. Finale: Return this to your hand at the end of the turn.
New: Discover a spell. Reduce its Cost by (1). Finale: Return this to your hand at the end of the turn.

Audiosplitter

Old: [3 Mana] 4 Attack, 3 Health
New: [2 Mana] 3 Attack, 2 Health

Spitelash Siren

Old: [5 Mana] 2 Attack, 6 Health
New: [4 Mana] 2 Attack, 5 Health

Arcane Artificer

Old: 1 Attack, 2 Health
New: 1 Attack, 3 Health

Stranglethorn Heart

Old: [10 Mana]
New: [8 Mana]

Halduron Brightwing

Old: Battlecry: Give all Arcane spells in your deck Spell Damage +1.
New: Battlecry: Give all Arcane spells in your hand and deck Spell Damage +1.

Dev Comment: Like Infinitize the Maxitude, Stranglethorn Heart is underperforming. We’re giving them both buffs because we want these Legendary spells to feel better to open and play. We’re also buffing Halduron to give some help to the Arcane Hunter package that has never had a chance to shine.

Jazz Bass

Old: 2 Attack, 2 Durability
New: 3 Attack, 2 Durability

Altered Chord

Old: Lifesteal. Deal 5 damage to a minion. Costs (3) less if you’re Overloaded.
New: Lifesteal. Deal 6 damage to a minion. Costs (3) less if you’re Overloaded.

Flow Rider

Old: [2 Mana] 3 Attack, 2 Health
New: [1 Mana] 2 Attack, 1 Health

Lightning Storm

Old: Overload (2)
New: Overload (1)

Crescendo

Old: [3 Mana]
New: [2 Mana]

Crazed Conductor

Old: [5 Mana] 4 Attack, 5 Health
New: [4 Mana] 3 Attack, 4 Health

Siphon Soul

Old: [5 Mana]
New: [4 Mana]

Record Scratcher

Old: 2 Attack, 2 Durability
New: 3 Attack, 2 Durability

MC Blingtron

Old: 3 Attack, 4 Health
New: 5 Attack, 5 Health

Holy Nova

Old: [4 Mana] Deal 2 damage to all enemies. Restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.
New: [3 Mana] Deal 2 damage to all enemy minions. Restore 2 Health to all friendly characters.

Kiri, Chosen of Elune

Old: [4 Mana]
New: [3 Mana]

Death Blossom Whomper

Old: [6 Mana] 7 Attack, 6 Health
New: [5 Mana] 6 Attack, 5 Health

Battlegrounds Updates – Patch Notes for the Hearthstone 26.0.4 Update

Armor Adjustments

Heroes Getting Less Armor

Chenvaala, C’Thun, Ini Stormcoil, Lady Vashj, Lord Jaraxxus, Millificent Manastorm, and Patches the Pirate all now have 5 Armor at lower ranks, but their Armor did not change at higher ranks.
Silas Darkmoon now has 7 Armor at higher ranks, but his Armor has been increased to 12 Armor at lower ranks.
Hesitbaron Togwaggle now has 10 Armor.
Aranna Starseeker now has 10 Armor at higher ranks, but her Armor has been increased to 14 at lower ranks.
Tess Greymane now has 12 Armor at higher ranks, but her Armor has been increased to 18 at lower ranks.

Heroes Getting More Armor

Teron Gorefiend now has 10 Armor at lower ranks and 15 Armor at higher ranks.
Silas Darkmoon now has 12 Armor at lower ranks, but his Armor has been decreased to 7 at higher ranks.
Infinite Toki now has 13 Armor.
Aranna Starseeker now has 14 Armor at lower ranks, but her Armor has been reduced to 10 at higher ranks.
Captain Hooktusk, Vol’jin, and Xyrella now have 15 Armor at lower ranks, but their Armor did not change at higher ranks.
Tavish Stormpike now has 15 Armor at higher ranks, but his Armor did not change at lower ranks.
Tamsin Roame now has 16 Armor.
Queen Wagtoggle now has 16 Armor at lower ranks, but her Armor did not change at higher ranks.
Illidan Stormrage now has 17 Armor.
Zephrys, the Great now has 18 Armor at lower ranks and 13 Armor at higher ranks.
Tess Greymane now has 18 Armor at lower ranks, but had her Armor reduced to 12 at higher ranks.
Deathwing now has 18 Armor at lower ranks and 14 Armor at higher ranks.
Ozumat now has 19 Armor.
Lord Barov now has 19 Armor at lower ranks, but his Armor did not change at higher ranks.
Kurtrus Ashfallen now has 20 Armor at lower ranks and 15 Armor at higher ranks.

Note: Aranna Starseeker, Silas Darkmoon, and Tess Greymane now have less Armor at higher ranks but more Armor at lower ranks.

Buddy Updates – Patch Notes for the Hearthstone 26.0.4 Update

Dev Comment: This is our last expected patch of this Buddies meta. Battlegrounds Season 4 is coming soon with Patch 26.2. When it does, Buddies will be removed again to make room for a massive minion shakeup. But don’t worry; we’ll see our Buddies again one day. For now, hang tight. Season 4 details are right around the corner!

Bilgewater Mogul (Trade Prince Gallywix’s Buddy)

Old: [Tavern Tier 3]
New: [Tavern Tier 4]

Magnus Manastorm (Millhouse Manastorm’s Buddy)

Old: [Tavern Tier 4]
New: [Tavern Tier 5]

Nightmare Ectoplasm (Mutanus the Devourer’s Buddy)

Old: [Tavern Tier 4] 4 Attack, 3 Health. When you ‘Devour’ this, spit its stats onto 2 extra minions.
New: [Tavern Tier 3] 5 Attack, 4 Health. When you ‘Devour’ this, spit its state onto 1 extra minion.

And the quest gained from Shady Aristocrat (Sire Denathrius’s Buddy) has again been made harder to complete.

Duels Updates

Card Pool Updates

Sister Svalna, Linecracker, Clockwork Automaton, Elwynn Boar, Edwin VanCleef, and Tamsin’s Phylactery have been banned from the eligible card pools.

Hero Power Updates

No Guts, No Glory (Warrior)

Old: [1 Mana]
New: [2 Mana]

Lichborne Might (Death Knight – Sai Shadowstorm)

Old: [1 Mana]
New: [2 Mana]

Warmaster’s Frenzy (Neutral – Drek’Thar)

Old: [1 Mana]
New: [2 Mana]

Signature Treasure Updates

Devout Blessing

Old: Add a copy of each Deathrattle minion that died this game to your hand. Allied: Priest.
New: Add a copy of each friendly Deathrattle minion that died after your last turn to your hand. Allied: Priest

Ace in the Hole

Old: [2 Mana]
New: [3 Mana]

Moonbeast

Old: [3 Mana] At the end of your turn, add a random Eclipse spell to your hand. Your Eclipse spells cost (0).
New: [4 Mana] At the end of your turn, add both Eclipse spells to your hand. Your Eclipse spells cost (0).

Collector’s Ire

Old: [7 Mana]
New: [6 Mana]

Gift of the Old Gods

Old: [4 Mana]
New: [3 Mana]

Reno’s Crafty Lasso

Old: 3 Attack, 2 Durability
New: 2 Attack, 3 Durability

Sr. Excavator

Old: [6 Mana] Battlecry: Draw 2 cards. Any minions you draw cost (2) less.
New: [5 Mana] Battlecry: Draw 3 cards. Any minions your draw cost (2) less.

Runed Soulblade

Old: [4 Mana]
New: [3 Mana]

Treasure Pool Updates

Ancient Reflections, Bag of Holding, and Mask of Mimicry have been temporarily removed from all Treasure Pools.
Royal Gift and Location, Location, Location have been moved to Treasure Pool 2.

Passive Treasure Updates – Patch Notes for the Hearthstone 26.0.4 Update

Eerie Stone

Old: After you destroy a minion with a Shadow spell, add a copy of that minion to your hand. Reduce its Cost by (2).
New: After you destroy an enemy minion with a Shadow spell, add a copy of that minion to your hand. It costs (2) less.

Brittle Bones

Old: After you destroy an enemy minion with a spell, summon a Volatile Skeleton.
New: After you cast a spell that kills an enemy, summon a 2/2 Volatile Skeleton.

Avenging Armaments

Old: After a friendly minion loses its Divine Shield, give it +2/+2.
New: After a friendly minion loses its Divine Shield, give it +2/+1.

Righteous Reserves

Old: After you play a minion with Divine Shield, give a random friendly minion Divine Shield.
New: After you play your first Divine Shield minion each turn, give a random friendly minion Divine Shield.

Mummy Magic

Old: After you play a Deathrattle minion, give it Reborn.
New: After you play your first Deathrattle minion each turn, give it Reborn.

Endurance Training

Old: Your Taunt minions cost (3) less, but not less than (2).
New: Your Taunt minions cost (2) less, but not less than (2).

Arctic Armor

Old: After the first time you Freeze an enemy each turn, gain 1 Armor.
New: After the first time you Freeze an enemy each turn, gain 2 Armor.

Edge of Dredge

Old: After you Dredge, draw a card and shuffle your deck.
New: After the first time you Dredge each turn, draw a card.

Unholy Gift

Old: At the start of the game, shuffle 5 Death Knight cards into your deck.
New: At the start of the game, shuffle 5 Lich King cards into your deck.
Dev Comment: Unholy Gift and Rune Helmet now use the updated version of Obliterate.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

Hearthstone – Fixed a bug where Arcanite Ripper’s effect was not improving when damage and healing occurred at the same time (such as hitting yourself with Cheaty Anklebiter’s effect).
Hearthstone – Fixed a bug where Screaming Banshee did not work properly when healing and taking damage at the same time (such as while attacking your Ashbringer into an enemy minion).
Hearthstone – Added missing Festival of Legends and Rastakhan’s Rumble cards to Discover Pools.
Duels – Fixed a bug where one version of Crimson Clergy was banned while the other version was not.
Collection – Corrected in-collection “how to obtain” descriptions for various products.
Progression – Fixed a bug where the first phase of the *Melomaniacal Laughter* achievement granted Battlegrounds Track XP instead of Rewards XP.
Localization – Fixed various localization issues.

Hearthstone and the 26.0.4 update are available on PC and mobile devices.