Blizzard has nerfed Hearthstone‘s infamous Drek’Thar card – which it was selling for $25 – and has offered refunds to the players who already bought it.
The Diamond Drek’Thar, a premium version that could only be bought by paying $25 (or 3,000 in-game gold), was released in early April to significant player outcry due to its high price tag. In Hearthstone’s latest patch (as reported by PC Gamer), Blizzard significantly weakened all versions of the card, which would obviously have left paying players unhappy.
Seemingly anticipating further backlash, Blizzard is automatically giving 3,000 gold to players who already bought Drek’Thar, and are even letting them keep the card (though it likely won’t be viable in competitive play now anyway). Players who bought Drek’Thar using real money won’t see that refunded, however, as they too will just be given the 3,000 gold equivalent.
Diamond Drek’thar should summon 10-drops because it sure as hell costs more than every single minion in my deck. pic.twitter.com/CwX7KvhRHu
— Hearthstone Top Decks💙 (@HSTopDecks) April 5, 2022
Drek’Thar, if he was the highest cost card (mana-wise) in a player’s deck, would previously summon two random minions onto the board, making him ideal for high-tempo, swarm decks. Following the nerf, however, Drek’Thar will only summon one, significantly reducing its impact.
The move seems to have broadly gone down well with fans, who have welcomed Blizzard responding to backlash and its relatively generous apology offering. The refunded gold could notionally be used if Blizzard decides to release another Diamond card exclusively through its store, but given the backlash over Drek’Thar, it seems unlikely it will.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.