Last year, the auto chess/auto-battler genre was all the rage, and Hearthstone was quick to pick up on the trend, announcing in November that they’d be releasing an 8-player auto-battler game mode called Hearthstone Battlegrounds.
Battlegrounds turned out to be a huge success, attracting attention from both Hearthstone’s general players and streamers alike. With Battlegrounds, the Hearthstone dev team found themselves onto something big, and as Battlegrounds updates continue with the game mode on its way out of beta, more and more players are getting in on the action.
If you’re new to Hearthstone Battlegrounds, it can be tough to grasp everything you can do within the game. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get your MMR up with a little bit of practice.
1.) Two starters are better than one
At the start of every game, you’re given 3 Gold to spend on one unit, with three units in the Tavern to choose from. If an Alleycat or Murloc Tidehunter show up in the Tavern, make sure to buy them right away (the Murloc is preferable over the Alleycat). This is because both units spawn an extra, token minion, that you can sell later on for 1 Gold. Whether you win or lose your first round, the extra gold you can get from the token minion is far more valuable than any advantages you can get from a good first unit. If neither the Murloc nor the Alleycat show up, the 2/3 Dragon or Murloc are good first units too.
2.) Know the right time to level up your Tavern
Leveling up your Tavern is a tricky thing to know the correct timing for. Sometimes you need to prioritize strengthening your warband before you spend most of your Gold to get to a higher Tavern level. The best times to upgrade your Tavern are a.) when you’re on a win-streak and your warband can sustain itself for another round, b.) when you obtain a Triple and the Tavern upgrade can increase the level of your Triple Reward, or c.) when it’s cheap enough (3 to 5 Gold) that it’s more beneficial to upgrade than to keep rolling for minions. There are many other specific instances when leveling up would be the right move, but with these basic rules, you can get the feel for finding the right timing.
3.) Don’t rush to complete your minion tribes
One of the biggest rookie mistakes one can make while playing Hearthstone Battlegrounds is sticking to a minion tribe or alliance too early on. You might get some Dragons, Mechs, or Murlocs in your Tavern in the first few rounds, but if you commit to a tribe or alliance too early, you might find yourself rolling too much to complete your synergies in the later rounds. Until you’re at Tavern Tier 3 (in special cases even Tier 4), there’s still time to change up your minions for stronger units and better synergies. Though I can’t blame you for wanting to get the complete Dragon package. I’m sure I’ve lost over a thousand MMR points forcing a Dragon-filled warband; winning with dragons is just the coolest!
4.) Play according to your hero and hero power
Aside from having synergies in your warband, the most important power you have in Hearthstone Battlegrounds is your hero power. Being able to take full advantage of whatever hero power you have will make all the difference between finishing at last place and finishing in the top four. For a complete tier list of every Battlegrounds hero and hero power, you can refer to this list by Hearthstone Topdecks. Your hero power is there to fill in for your minions’ shortcomings: extra HP works wonders for Murlocs, while extra Reborn triggers are great with Deathrattle minions. Play around the minions that are available to you, but remember to also play around your hero power.
5.) Check on your opponents’ builds constantly
Checking your opponents’ warband status (hovering over their characters) won’t matter too much in the early game, but it’s crucial when you reach the top four. You can roll for units in the Tavern that can counter any strategy your opponent might be using. If you see your opponent playing Demons or Dragons, you might want to look for a Zapp Slywick to take care of those Waxrider Togwaggles and Soul Jugglers. If your opponent’s playing a Divine Shield build, you might want the Foe Reaper or Cave Hydra to cleave through multiple shields per attack. Knowing how to pre-empt your opponents’ warbands is key to snagging first place.
6.) Don’t be afraid to try new heroes
Once you’ve got the hang of most of the stronger heroes and you feel satisfied with your current MMR, don’t be afraid to try some of the lower tier heroes. There will be games when you’ll have the worst possible hero options available, so you’ll want to know how to use them and take advantage of their hero powers. One of the least liked heroes is Fungalmancer Flurgl, and I avoided using him for quite a while until I found myself with no better choice. I ended up winning the game however, and I realized that some of the “bad” heroes just require more time to get used to. Don’t be afraid of losing a few MMR points experimenting with new heroes, you can always win those points back!
7.) Learn from the pros
Battlegrounds is a complex game, and while I’ve mentioned many tips above telling you what to do and not to do, there will be special cases in which you might be better off ignoring any of the tips and tricks above. The best way to learn how to navigate through complicated warband situations is to watch how the pros do it. You’ll pick up a lot from watching Battlegrounds streams, and I highly recommend Savjz, Kripparrian, and Dog’s YouTube channels for their Battlegrounds highlights. What better way is there to get good at a game than to watch someone else being good at it?
With these tips and tricks in mind, you can now be on your way to snagging those top four wins at Battlegrounds. May RNGesus be with you!