If you’re still giving Hearthstone your time and eyeballs these days, today’s update is one you’ll want to pay attention to, as Blizzard is calling it “the biggest Battlegrounds update to date.” Battlegrounds, you’ll recall, is sort of like the TCG’s version of a miniature tourney-style battle royale, where eight players are pitted against each other one by one until just one player remains. Today’s update adds the new Avenge keyword, adds two hew heroes, and replaces a whopping 37 minions.
“We’ve added a damage cap of 15 damage until the first player dies, meaning that no player can take more than 15 damage from combat until the first player in a lobby dies or disconnects,” the studio says. “We’ve also increased turn timers so that everyone has time to get familiar with the new content: the length of turns 3-9 have been increased by 5 seconds. Everyone will start fresh with this update as ratings will be reset with the 21.2 patch to make way for a new season.”
Source: Official site
Activision-Blizzard is considered a controversial company in the MMO and gaming space owing to a long string of scandals over the last few years, including the Blitzchung boycott, mass layoffs, labor disputes, and executive pay fiasco. Most recently, the company was sued by the state of California for fostering a work environment riddled with sexual harassment and discrimination, the disastrous corporate response to which has further compounded Blizzard’s ongoing pipeline issues and the widespread perception that its online games are in decline.
