- For the minion card, see Patches the Pirate.
Updates to Hearthstone are made in the form of patches. This page lists all Hearthstone patches to date.
New patches for Hearthstone are released regularly, fixing bugs and adding new cards, card backs and game features. Patches for desktop clients are downloaded automatically from the Battle.net launcher prior to launching the game, and players are required to update to each new patch in order to launch Hearthstone.
Larger patches are released sparingly, adding cards and data for new expansions and adventures, or more rarely major new features. Between these, smaller patches are more commonly released, fixing bugs and adding less critical content such as new card backs, alternate heroes and cards and data for Tavern Brawls.
The Boomsday Project
- Patch 12.4.0.27405 - 5th November 2018
- A small patch, adding the Rastakhan's Rumble pre-order and four new cards to the Classic set.
- Patch 12.2.0.27358 - 18th October 2018
- A small patch, implementing card changes.
- Patch 12.2.0.26996 - 2nd October 2018
- A medium patch, adding data for the Hallow's End event, new player ranks, new daily quests, and the new keyword Casts When Drawn.
- Patch 12.0.0.25770 - 2nd August 2018
- A large patch, adding the data for The Boomsday Project, arena updates, game mechanics updates, and card changes.
The Witchwood
- Patch 11.4.0.25252 - 10th July 2018
- Small patch adding The Boomsday Project preorder.
- Patch 11.2.0.24769 - 6th June 2018
- A medium patch, adding the cards and quests for the Taverns of Time event, arena updates, and game mechanics updates.
- Patch 11.1.1.24589 - 22nd May 2018
- A medium patch, containing various balance changes.
- Patch 11.1.0.24377 - 8th May 2018
- A small patch, with some animations updates, arena updates and bug fixes.
- Patch 11.0.0.23966 - 10th April 2018
- A large patch, adding the data for The Witchwood.
Kobolds & Catacombs
- Patch 10.4.0.23576 - 11th March 2018
- A small patch adding The Witchwood preorder, Arena updates, and special events for the Year of the Raven.
- Patch 10.2.0.23180 - 6th February 2018
- A medium patch containing various balance changes, Wildfest, a ranked play update and the Mammoth Bundle.
- Patch 10.0.0.22611 - 6th December 2017
- A large patch, adding the data for Kobolds & Catacombs.
Knights of the Frozen Throne
- Patch 9.4.0.22115 - 6th November 2017
- A small patch adding Marin the Fox and the Kobolds & Catacombs preorder.
- Patch 9.2.0.21517 - 17th October 2017
- A small patch, containing arena balance changes, upgraded Fireside Gathering support, minor interaction tweaks, Hallow's End content, and game mechanics updates.
- Patch 9.1.0.20970 - 18th September 2017
- A medium patch, containing various balance changes.
- Patch 9.0.0.20457 - 8th August 2017
- A large patch, adding all data for the upcoming Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion.
Journey to Un'Goro
- Patch 8.4.0.20022 - 10th July 2017
- A medium sized patch, nerfing The Caverns Below and adding the Knights of the Frozen Throne Preorder.
- Patch 8.2.2.19632 - 13th June 2017
- A small patch, with minor bugfixes.
- Patch 8.2.0.19506 - 1st June 2017
- A large patch, adding the Deck Importing feature and many others.
- Patch 8.0.4.18792 - 21st April 2017
- A small patch, fixing minor localization and authorization issues.
- Patch 8.0.0.18336 - 4th April 2017
- A large patch, adding all data for the upcoming Journey to Un'Goro expansion.
Mean Streets of Gadgetzan
- Patch 7.1.1.17994 - 9th March 2017
- A small patch, resolving issues from previous patch for iOS users.
- Patch 7.1.0.17720 - 28th Februrary 2017
- A medium patch, bringing the pre-order of Journey to Un'Goro, preparations for the upcoming Year of the Mammoth Standard format rotation, several card changes, and some new Tavern Brawl cards.
- Patch 7.0.0.15590 - 29th November 2016
- A large patch, adding all data for the upcoming Mean Streets of Gadgetzan expansion, as well as new card backs and Tavern Brawl data.
One Night in Karazhan
- Patch 6.2.0.15300 - 8th November 2016
- A small patch, adding Warden functionality.
- Patch 6.2.0.15181 - 20th October 2016
- A small patch, containing several Murloc card changes, several critical bug fixes, the returning player experience, and a number of new quests.
- Patch 6.1.3.14830 - 3rd October 2016
- A small patch, containing several card changes.
- Patch 6.1.1.14406 - 15th September 2016
- A medium patch, adding the Tyrande Whisperwind alternate hero, the Welcome Bundle, additional card restrictions for the Arena, some Deck Recipe updates and three new card backs.
- Patch 6.0.0.13921 - 9th August 2016
- A large patch, adding all data for the upcoming One Night in Karazhan adventure, as well as new card backs and Tavern Brawl data.
Whispers of the Old Gods
- Patch 5.2.2.13807 - 26th July 2016
- A small patch, containing various bug fixes.
- Patch 5.2.0.13740 - 15th July 2016
- A small patch, containing a fix to a critical problem introduced with Patch 5.2.0.13619.
- Patch 5.2.0.13714 - 14th July 2016
- A small patch, containing fixes to various bugs, mostly added with the previous patch.
- Patch 5.2.0.13619 - 12th July 2016
- A medium patch, adding the Recruit A Friend system, the hero Morgl the Oracle, the game mode ID system, various small system changes, upcoming Tavern Brawl content, and various bug fixes.
- Patch 5.0.0.13030 (also released as Patch 5.0.1.13030) - 1st June 2016
- A small patch, containing various bugfixes.
- Patch 5.0.0.12574 - 24th April 2016
- The largest patch to date, featuring all data for the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion, all systems and interface changes for the new game formats, several card changes, three new card backs, updated Deck Recipes, and various bugfixes.
The League of Explorers
- Patch 4.3.0.12266 - 14th April 2016
- A small patch, adding the hero Khadgar, a new card back, an updated Paladin Deck Recipe, and various bugfixes.
- Patch 4.2.0.12051 - 14th March 2016
- A large patch, adding 9 additional deck slots, Deck Recipes, the hero Lady Liadrin, and various changes to the Collection Manager, as well as data for upcoming Tavern Brawls, three new card backs, and various bugfixes.
- Patch 4.1.0.10956 - 4th December 2015
- A small patch, adding data for upcoming Tavern Brawls, four new card backs, and various bugfixes.
- Patch 4.0.0.10833 - The League of Explorers - 10th November 2015
- A large patch, adding all data for the The League of Explorers adventure, four new card backs, and various bugfixes.
The Grand Tournament
- Patch 3.2.0.10604 - 20th October 2015
- A small patch, adding a new card back, Japanese localization, and a card change to Warsong Commander.
- Patch 3.1.0.10357 - 29th September 2015
- A medium patch, adding two new card backs, data for a new Tavern Brawl, and animations for several pre-existing cards.
- Patch 3.0.0.9786 - The Grand Tournament Draws Near - 18th August 2015
- A large patch, including all data for the The Grand Tournament expansion, as well as new Tavern Brawl data and other content.
Blackrock Mountain
- Patch 2.8.0.9554 - 29th July 2015
- A small patch, enabling the pre-purchase of Grand Tournament card packs, and making some bug fixes.
- Patch 2.7.0.9166 - 15th June 2015
- A large patch, introducing alternate heroes and the Tavern Brawl game mode, and adding card back and alternate hero tabs to the Collection.
- Patch 2.6.0.8834 - 14th May 2015
- A small patch, containing bug fixes and card backs.
- Patch 2.5.0.8416 - 14th April 2015
- A small patch, containing bug fixes and a new Quest. Released alongside the launch of Hearthstone for iPhone and Android phones.
- Patch 2.4.0.8311 - The Approach to Blackrock Mountain - 31st March 2015
- A large patch, containing all card data for the upcoming Blackrock Mountain, several minor card changes and key bug fixes, and some minor systems changes.
Goblins vs Gnomes
- Patch 2.3.0.8108 - 19th March 2015
- A small patch, adding 2 new card backs and the ability to pre-purchase Blackrock Mountain, as well as expanding the adventure section of the Shop interface.
- Patch 2.2.0.8036 - 26th February 2015
- A small patch, containing 3 new card backs, 2 related achievements, and a new debug card.
- Patch 2.2.0.7835 - 25th February 2015
- A small patch, containing various minor adjustments, including a new card back and improvements to Spectator Mode.
- Patch 2.1.0.7785 - 9th February 2015
- A patch released together with a hotfix that fixes issues with the in-game friends list.
- Patch 2.1.0.7628 - 29th January 2015
- A small patch, featuring a balance change to Undertaker, and various minor adjustments.
- Patch 2.0.0.7234 – Goblins vs Gnomes Invades the Arena! - 4th December 2014
- A large patch, containing all data for the Goblins vs Gnomes expansion, including around 135 new cards, and bringing with it Spectator mode, cost changes to 3 cards, minion type additions for 11 cards, a slight change to area of effect healing mechanics, and a number of bug fixes.
Curse of Naxxramas
- Patch 1.3.0.6898 - 29th October 2014
- A small patch, featuring minor changes such as adding new card backs and adjusting flavor text localisations.
- Patch 1.2.0.6485 - 22nd September 2014
- A medium patch, featuring two card changes and a number of bug fixes.
- Patch 1.1.0.6284 - 18th August 2014
- A small patch, fixing issues on Windows 8.
- Patch 1.1.0.6187 - 6th August 2014
- A small patch, adding support for Windows 8 mobile devices.
- Patch 1.1.0.6141 - 31st July 2014
- A bug fix patch to fix issues with purchasing the Curse of Naxxramas Plague Quarter wing.
- Patch 1.1.0.6024 - The Necropolis Beckons - 22nd July 2014
- A large patch, preparing for the release of Curse of Naxxramas, adjusting several other secondary features, and making one card change and numerous bug fixes.
Initial release
- Patch 1.0.0.5834 - 30th June 2014
- A small patch, featuring several bug fixes.
- Patch 1.0.0.5506 - 28th May 2014
- A small patch, featuring a minor bug fix.
- Patch 1.0.0.5435 - 21st May 2014
- A small patch, featuring several bug fixes.
- Patch 1.0.0.5314 - 8th May 2014
- A medium patch, featuring one card change, some string changes and several bug fixes.
- Patch 1.0.0.5170 - 10th April 2014
- A small patch, featuring several bug fixes.
- Patch 1.0.0.4973 - 13th March 2014
- A small patch, featuring several bug fixes.
Open beta
- Patch 1.0.0.4944 - 11th March 2014
- A large patch, featuring two card changes, numerous bug fixes, a change to the secret mechanic, changes to the Ranked play season reset, and the addition of golden heroes, card backs and the reconnection feature. The patch was followed within a few hours by the full release of Hearthstone.
Closed beta
- Patch 1.0.0.4482 - 17th January 2014
- A small patch, featuring bug fixes and two Korean language card description changes.
- Patch 1.0.0.4458 - 16th January 2014
- A medium patch, featuring changes to ten cards.
- Patch 1.0.0.4243 - 18th December 2013
- A medium patch, featuring changes to three mage cards, and one bug fix.
- Patch 1.0.0.4217 - 10th December 2013
- Patch 1.0.0.3937 - 17th October 2013
- A medium patch, featuring one card change.
- Patch 1.0.0.3890 - 2nd October 2013
- A large patch, featuring numerous changes to game systems, individual cards and non-gameplay elements. This patch was immediately preceded by a complete wipe of all Hearthstone account information and card collections.
- Patch 1.0.0.3749 - 30th August 2013
- A small patch, mostly focusing on preparing for the EU region, in which the beta was not yet available.
Alpha
- Patch 1.0.0.3664 - 14th August 2013
- A small patch, featuring naming and flavor text changes to two cards and adding 900 more localized voiceovers for heroes and minions.
- Alpha patch 2 - 12th August 2013
- A large patch, featuring numerous card changes, and adding new audio and interface art.
- Patch 1.0.0.3388 - 22nd June 2013
- A large patch, featuring numerous card changes, and introducing the quest system.
- Patch 1.0.0.3140 - somewhere between April 13 and May 23 2013.
- A medium patch, featuring a number of card changes.
- Alpha patch - unknown date
- A list of all known changes between this patch and Patch 1.0.0.3140, possibly spanning multiple patches, and including numerous card changes.
Notes
- The developers try to release major features in separate patches to new content such as adventures and expansions, in order to reduce the risk of problems due to the changes.[1]
Version conflicts
Each patch represents a different version of Hearthstone, incompatible with previous versions. Because of this, players using different patches cannot be matched against each other, in order to avoid version conflict and missing data during matches. This usually only happens due to using different platforms, or because a player has not logged out and updated since the new patch has been released.
While players are required to update to the latest patch as soon as it is released on their current platform, because patches are released at different times for different platforms, it is possible to update one device to a new patch while the other is not yet able to update. Once an account has been updated to a new patch, the player will not be able to access the account on any device that has not yet updated to that patch, effectively locking out all other platforms until that patch is also released for them.
Use of older versions appears to only be permitted during the rollout period, while the patch is being rolled out to each platform in turn. Once all platforms have access to the latest patch, clients with the older version will be prevented from playing until they have updated to the latest version.[2]
The complexity of releasing on multiple platforms can cause delays to the release of patches.[3] Designer Dean Ayala explains, "In order to patch simultaneously on PC/Mobile there are a number of things that have to be submit and approved being we can release a new patch to the public," with the result that card changes are often postponed until the new patch is ready for all platforms.[3]
Patch numbers
Each patch's version number charts its position in the game's history. Currently, the first part of the number is changed for each major release (expansion or adventure). From Blackrock Mountain to The League of Explorers the second part was changed with each patch, reseting to 0 at the start of each new release, but Whispers of the Old Gods has seen the second digit increased more erratically. The third digit was unused until Whispers of the Old Gods, but seems to reflect smaller progressions. The remaining digits are increased at a more erratic pace, likely reflecting revisions to in-house builds not released to the public. These digits do not increase the first three parts of the version number, and are essentially superfluous. Colloquially, patches are often referred to by the first two sections, such as "Patch 3.2". Note that these rules are not always followed; some patches fail to increase numbers, or increase numbers without including appropriate changes.
The system used until Whispers of the Old Gods was similar to that used in games like World of Warcraft, although without the division between major and minor patches, without the use of the third part of the number, and with additional digits. In comparison, "Patch 4.1.0.10956" would likely be titled "Patch 4.0.1".
Prior to the adoption of a standardised format with Blackrock Mountain neither the first nor second parts of the number were regularly increased. The game's version numbers initially began with 1.0.0. This was changed to 1.1.0 after the release of Curse of Naxxramas, and again to 1.2.0 with Patch 1.2.0.6485. The first digit was raised from 1 to 2 with the pre-patch for the game's first expansion, Goblins vs Gnomes, but was not increased to 3 until the game's second expansion, The Grand Tournament. In September 2014 Yong Woo had stated that the developers were still "tuning" their version number process.[4] After setting a consistent patch number trend with earlier content, Whispers of the Old Gods saw sparse and erratic increases to patch numbers, entirely breaking the established pattern. The expansion's Patch 5.2.2.13807 also saw the third digit increased for the first time, previously never having had any value other than 0.
Patch numbers were first stated in official blogs with Patch 1.0.0.4243. With Patch 5.2.0.13619 the official blogs ceased to state patch numbers, instead referring to each new patch as a "Hearthstone Update".[5]
Trivia
- As of April 2016, the Whispers of the Old Gods patch is the largest patch Hearthstone has ever received.[6]
See also
- Hotfixes - updates to Hearthstone not released in the form of client patches
- Platform-specific patch changes - a list of changes specific to the game's non-PC versions
- Card changes - a list of all changes made to specific cards
- Rule changes - a list of changes to pre-existing game mechanics
- Unknown patch - a list of changes with no certain accompanying patch or date of implementation
- Bugs - an ongoing project to chart all bugs currently affecting the game
References
- ↑ Hearthpwn: Tavern Brawls and Open Q&A - BlizzCon 2015 Live Panel Recap (Fireside Chat). (2015-11-07).
- ↑ PlayHearthstone on Twitter. (2016-04-24).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dean Ayala Talks About the Nerfs, Jade Concerns, and the Different Hearthstone Design Teams. (2017-02-14).
- ↑ Yong Woo on Twitter. (2014-09-23).
- ↑ Hearthstone Update – July 12, 2016. (2016-07-12).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-04-22).
Hearthstone patches | |
---|---|
Alpha | |
Beta | |
Release | |