[Battlegrounds] Developer Insight: Dark Gifts

Dark Gift System Overview

We hope you’re excited for the new Dark Gift system coming to Battlegrounds next season! If you want an explainer on the basics, please check out our Season 14 Announcement blog post.

Minion Offerings

• The Dark Discovery button unlocks on Turn 3 and offers Tier 2 minions.
• Each turn, the Tier of eligible minions improves based on a predefined table.
• Nightmare Lord Xavius’ Hero Power follows the same rules.

Additional Offering Rules

• No Battlecry or Choose One minions before Turn 5.
• No Magnetic minions or minions with "when you sell this" effects.
• No minions intended to stay in hand.
  
• From Turn 6, one minion is guaranteed to be of your most common type.
• Specific minions like Leeroy Jenkins and Deadly Spore are excluded for balance.
  

Dark Gifts

There are 43 different Dark Gifts, each with specific turn restrictions and effects.

Sunken Persistence

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Effect: This minion’s Spellcrafts are permanent.

Harpy’s Talons

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Effect: Divine Shield, Windfury

Jaws of Death

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Effect: Start of Combat: Trigger this minion’s Deathrattles.

Fortitude

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Maximum Turn: 3
• Effect: +4/+4.

Affinity

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Maximum Turn: 4
• Effect: At the end of every 2 turns, get a random minion of this type.

Sharpened Sword

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Maximum Turn: 5
• Effect: Whenever you play a card, gain +2 Attack.

Toughened Shield

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Maximum Turn: 5
• Effect: Whenever you play a card, gain +2 Health.

Steady Growth

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Maximum Turn: 6
• Effect: At the end of your turn, gain [+1/+2] / [+2/+2] / [+3/+3] / [+4/+4].

Time Turning

• Minimum Turn: 3
• Maximum Turn: 9
• Effect: This minion’s end of turn effects also trigger at start of turn.

Furtiveness

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Effect: Stealth

Consanguinity

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 5
• Effect: Rally: Get 2 Blood Gems.

Fresh Perspective

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 5
• Effect: Deathrattle: Gain 2 free Refreshes.

Replication

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 6
• Effect: At the end of every 2 turns, get a plain copy of this.

Battle Scars

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 6
• Effect: Has +2/+2 for each Battlecry you’ve triggered this game. (0)

Death’s Embrace

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 6
• Effect: Has +1/+1 for each Deathrattle you’ve triggered this game. (0)

Spell Siphon

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 6
• Effect: Has +2/+2 for each Tavern spell you’ve cast this game. (0)

Gilding

• Minimum Turn: 4
• Maximum Turn: 8
• Effect: This is Golden, but doesn’t give a Triple Reward.

Double Vision

• Minimum Turn: 5
• Effect: Get an extra copy of this.

Toreth’s Blessing

• Minimum Turn: 5
• Effect: This minion’s Divine Shield takes 2 more hits to break.

Amalgamation

• Minimum Turn: 5
• Effect: Has all minion types.

Demonology

• Minimum Turn: 5
• Maximum Turn: 8
• Effect: Rally: Add a Fodder to your next 3 Refreshes.

Polarization

• Minimum Turn: 5
• Maximum Turn: 8
• Effect: At the end of your turn, Magnetize a random Mech to this.

Mystic Essence

• Minimum Turn: 5
• Maximum Turn: 8
• Effect: Deathrattle: Get a random Tavern spell.

Tarecgosa’s Blessing

• Minimum Turn: 6
• Effect: Permanently keeps stats and Bonus Keywords gained in combat.

Dexterity

• Minimum Turn: 6
• Maximum Turn: 7
• Effect: Whenever you play a card, this gains +2/+2.

Incubation

• Minimum Turn: 6
• Maximum Turn: 8
• Effect: +2/+2. In two turns, double this minion’s stats.

Echoing Voice

• Minimum Turn: 6
• Effect: At the end of your turn, trigger this minion’s Battlecries.

Offensive Sacrifice

• Minimum Turn: 6
• Maximum Turn: 9
• Effect: Deathrattle: Give this minion’s Attack to another friendly minion.

Defensive Sacrifice

• Minimum Turn: 6
• Maximum Turn: 9
• Effect: Deathrattle: Give this minion’s max Health to another friendly minion.

Transcendence

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Start of Combat: Triple this minion’s stats.

Battle Scars

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Has +3/+3 for each Battlecry you’ve triggered this game. (0)

Death’s Embrace

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Has +2/+2 for each Deathrattle you’ve triggered this game. (0)

Spell Siphon

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Has +3/+3 for each Tavern spell you’ve cast this game. (0)

Admiration

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Start of Combat: Gain the stats of the minion to the left.

Toxicity

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Venomous

Charisma

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Effect: Rally: Get a random minion of your most common type.

Resistance

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Maximum Turn: 10
• Effect: Start of Combat: Double this minion’s Health.

Hostility

• Minimum Turn: 7
• Maximum Turn: 10
• Effect: Start of Combat: Double this minion’s Attack.

Dexterity

• Minimum Turn: 8
• Maximum Turn: 9
• Effect: Whenever you play a card, gain +4/+4.

Golemancy

• Minimum Turn: 9
• Maximum Turn: 10
• Effect: Deathrattle: Summon a Golem with this minion’s stats.

Persisting Horror

• Minimum Turn: 10
• Effect: Reborn. Is Reborn with full stats and Bonus Keywords.

Titanic Strength

• Minimum Turn: 11
• Effect: +1000 Attack.

Invulnerability

• Minimum Turn: 12
• Effect: Immune while attacking.

Exception: Tras'tath, Soul Parasite

• Tras’tath, Soul Parasite doesn’t follow standard turn restrictions and has its own pool of eligible Dark Gifts when you Discover a Tier 5 minion.

Additional Rules & Restrictions

• Sunken Persistence can only be offered on Spellcraft minions.
• Harpy’s Talon is offered more often on Rally minions.
• Jaws of Death can only be offered on Deathrattle minions.
• Affinity can only be offered on minions with a type.
• Sharpened Sword cannot be offered on minions with Avenge.
  
• Toughened Shield cannot be offered in Quilboar or Naga lobbies.
• Steady Growth gives a different amount of stats depending on the offering turn.
• Time Turning can only be offered on minions with end of turn effects.
• Furtiveness can only be offered on Avenge minions.
  
• Consanguinity can only be offered on Quilboar.
• You cannot be offered Battle Scars if you haven’t triggered any Battlecries.
• You cannot be offered Death’s Embrace if you haven’t triggered any Deathrattles.
• You cannot be offered Spell Siphon if you haven’t cast any Tavern spells.
• Gilding can only be offered on the lowest Tier minion offered.
• Toreth’s Blessing can only be offered on Divine Shield minions.
• Amalgamation can only be offered on minions with no minion type.
• Demonology can only be offered on Demons.
• Polarization can only be offered on Mechs.
• Tarecgosa’s Blessing can only be offered on Dragons.
  
• Dexterity can only be offered on minions with a type.
• Incubation can only be offered on minions with a type.
• Echoing Voice can only be offered on Battlecry minions.
• Offensive Sacrifice can only be offered on minions with a type.
• Defensive Sacrifice can only be offered on minions with a type.
• Transcendence can only be offered on minions with no minion type.
• Toxicity can only be offered on Murlocs.
• Charisma cannot be offered on Taunt minions or Avenge minions.
  
• Resistance cannot be offered on Beasts, Undead, or minions with no type.
• Hostility cannot be offered on Avenge minions or minions with no type.
  
• Dexterity cannot be offered on minions with no minion type.
• Golemancy cannot be offered on minions with no minion type.
• Persisting Horror cannot be offered on minions with no minion type.
• Titanic Strength cannot be offered on Dragons.
• Invulnerability cannot be offered on Taunt minions or minions with no minion type.
• Gilding, Persisting Horror, Titanic Strength, and Invulnerability are rarer than the other Dark Gifts.
• Deathrattle minions cannot be offered Dark Gifts that give stats except Sharpened Sword and Death’s Embrace.
• Battlecry minions can only be offered Double Vision, Replication, Gilding, and Echoing Voice.
• Choose One minions can only be offered Double Vision, Replication, Gilding, and Echoing Voice.
• Toxicity cannot be offered on minions that already have Venomous or Poisonous.
• Polarization cannot be offered if you are below Tier 3.

Early Access Event

If you want to see how these Dark Gifts will play out, do not miss our Battlegrounds Early Access Event on July 30th, 9AM PDT!

Participants will stream on their own channels and will also have Battlegrounds Season Pass+ to give away.

Times:

• Americas, LATM, EMEA players: July 30 at 9:00 AM- 3:00 PM PDT
• JP players: July 31 at 2:00 AM. - 8:00 AM PDT

Twitch Drops will be enabled category-wide from July 30, 9:00 AM to July 31, 8:00 AM (PDT) so you can watch any Hearthstone stream you’d like to earn up to 4 Battlegrounds Tokens (make sure you link your Twitch and Battle.net accounts so that your viewing time counts towards the drops).