Despite the name, Battleground Buddies is not a new line from Hasbro that makes the military industrial complex seem cute and cuddly. Rather, it’s a new feature coming to Hearthstone with next week’s patch that may literally change the game itself.
Basically, every single hero in the game — all 75 of them — will be assigned a set Battleground Buddy. As players progress through matches, the BB’s meter will fill up, offering a free summon or effect when it’s at least halfway full. But if a player waits until it’s completely full, then the effect or summon is even greater.
Also coming with the January 25th patch is an update to mercenaries that allows them to be assigned to “training grounds” for passive experience gains. This should help round out mercs that aren’t being used on a regular basis.
Hearthstone has a couple of events past this patch. On February 1st, Tavish Stormpike is coming to the Book of Mercenaries, and on February 2nd, the Lunar New Year event will kick off.
Source: Press release
