Season 2: Merry Heistmas!

The holiday season is coming to Backpack Brawl, and the Hob Gang is planning the heist of the century! Season 2 launches November 15th with major improvements to ranked play, exciting new features, and a festive new hero.

TL;DR: What’s New

• New Hero: The Hob Gang joins the roster with a perfectly normal (and legally tall enough) human disguise
• Split Rank System: Progression leagues stay permanent, Competitive leagues reset each season
• Win Streaks: Climb faster with consecutive victories
• Seasonal Leaderboard: Compete against all players based on your highest-ranked hero
• Advent Calendar: Daily rewards throughout December
• Mystery Presents: Risk/reward shop items with hidden contents at better prices
• Gold Rerolls: Reroll Relics and Uniques with gold
• Quality of Life: Smart chest rolls, improved shop

🎄 Season 2: Merry Heistmas

Duration: 50 days (~2 months) + 10 days off-season Launch Date: November 15th Theme: The Hob Gang is pulling off the ultimate holiday heist!

The holidays are the perfect time for a heist, and the Hob Gang knows it. This perfectly normal human (who is definitely of sufficient height and allowed on this ride, thank you very much!) is bringing chaos and cunning to Backpack Brawl. Get ready for a festive season packed with new mechanics, rewards, and ways to climb the ranks.

🥸 New Hero: The Hob Gang

The Hob Gang enters the fray with a genius plan to pull off a heist like you’ve never seen before. They’re a perfectly normal human who definitely belongs here — no questions asked!

More details on the Hob Gang’s unique mechanics and abilities coming soon!

🏆 Major Ranked Changes

We’re overhauling how ranks work in Season 2 to better serve both casual and competitive players.

Two-Tiered System

Progression Leagues (Permanent):

• Bronze → Silver → Gold → Emerald → Ruby → Sapphire → Diamond
• These rankings never reset between seasons
• Progress at your own pace without pressure
• Ratcheted system: you can’t drop down into a lower league
• Perfect for players who want steady progression

Competitive Leagues (Seasonal):

• Heroic → Epic → Legendary → Mythic
• Reset to Heroic 0 at the start of each season
• Not ratcheted: you can go up and down between competitive leagues
• Cannot be relegated below Heroic 0 (the competitive floor)
• For players who want seasonal competition and leaderboard glory

Once you reach Heroic for the first time, you’ll enter the competitive leagues with that hero and participate in seasonal resets. This system lets new players progress without frustration while giving veterans meaningful competition each season.

Smarter Matchmaking and Ranking

We’ve revamped the underlying matchmaking and ranking system to be more fair and rewarding. The new system takes into account the skill level of your opponents when calculating rank point gains and losses.

What this means for you:

• Beat stronger opponents? You’ll earn significantly more rank points for the victory
• Lose to much higher-ranked players? You’ll lose fewer points since they were favored to win
• Facing similar-skilled opponents? Point changes work as normal
• Faster climb for skilled players: If you’re performing above your current rank, you’ll advance more quickly
• Fairer losses: Losing to someone far above your skill level won’t tank your progress

This creates a more balanced competitive experience where every match feels meaningful and your rank better reflects your true skill level.

🔥 Win Streaks

Consecutive victories now reward you with bonus rank points! This system helps skilled players advance faster to their appropriate skill level.

How it works:

Note: these details are being finalized now, so they may be subject to change.

• Win multiple matches in a row to build your win streak
• Multiple tiers of bonuses — more consecutive wins grant a larger reward for each victory!
• Flawless or Total victories advance your streak level
• Regular victories maintain your current streak level
• A Retreat or Defeat resets your streak level to zero
• Win streaks are tracked per hero (look for indicators on your hero!)

Example: if you normally gain 20 rank points for a win, a +50% streak bonus means you’ll gain 30 points instead. This lets highly skilled players reach their true rank much faster.

📊 Seasonal Leaderboard

For the first time, we’re introducing a unified seasonal leaderboard across all heroes!

How it works:

• One leaderboard ranking all players based on their highest-ranked hero
• Resets at the start of each season
• This is our first attempt at seasonal competitive rankings, so we’re keeping it simple to start
• Future seasons may expand with more leaderboard types based on your feedback

Compete for seasonal glory and show off your skills against the entire player base!

🕯️ Advent Calendar

In true yuletide fashion, we’re bringing holiday cheer with a special Advent Calendar!

Duration: December 1st through December 24th How it works: Log in each day to collect a special reward Rewards: A mix of resources, customization options, and seasonal surprises

The countdown to the holidays has never been more rewarding. Make sure to check in daily to unwrap each day’s gift and discover what festive treats await!

🎁 Presents in game

For Season 2, we have integrated a new shop mechanic that will run throughout the season. Find wrapped mystery gifts in the shop that you can buy, and when you buy them they unwrap and become the hidden item underneath.

How it works:

• Mystery presents appear in the shop alongside regular items
• The present shape hints at what type of item is inside
• Better value: Presents are priced better than buying items normally
• Risk/reward: The actual item’s value can vary, so you’re gambling on getting a great deal
• Equip the present to unwrap it next turn, the same way crafting works

Do you take the mystery deal, or play it safe with known items? The choice is yours!

🌟 Seasonal Boons

The Boon system is returning with improvements for Season 2!

What’s new:

• Mix of returning favorites from Season 1 and brand new seasonal Boons
• Some Boons will be themed around the Merry Heistmas season
• Improved presentation: We’re changing how Boons are discovered and displayed
  • The “discover by upgrading” system felt unintuitive
  • New system details coming soon — still being finalized

How Boons work:

• Choose between three random Boons in the shop on rounds 3, 7, and 11
• Permanently upgradeable passive abilities that persist through runs
• Multiple tiers of upgrades for each Boon
• 20 Boons to collect and master

📜 Season Pass Improvements

The Season Pass Gold Pass has received significant upgrades for Season 2!

What’s improved:

• Significantly increased value: More rewards, better progression, and exclusive content
• Price adjustment: The Gold Pass price has been slightly adjusted to reflect the increased value
• Note: Prices vary by region due to geographic pricing

The Season Pass remains the best way to maximize your seasonal rewards and unlock exclusive content like hero skins, customization options, and bonus resources.

📅 Season Challenges

Seven weeks of Season Challenges await you — one for each week of the season!

What’s new:

• Two additional challenge pages (up from 5 in Season 1 to 7 in Season 2)
• Weekly challenges that refresh throughout the season
• Challenges designed to encourage experimentation with different heroes and strategies

Complete challenges to earn Season Pass progress and exclusive rewards!

⚙️ Gameplay Changes

Relic Reroll — No More Ads

The Relic reroll system has been updated for a smoother experience:

• Old system: Watch an ad to reroll once
• New system: Pay 6 Gold to reroll once
• Why the change: Reduces mid-game ad interruptions and gives you meaningful gold spending decisions

Unique Item Reroll

We’re adding a new reroll option for Unique items!

• Cost: 10 Gold
• Limit: One reroll per shop appearance
• Unlock requirement: Have at least 4 Unique items available for your current hero
• Why this matters: Gives you more agency when hunting for specific build-defining Uniques

Instant Merge Power

A new shop power is available for decisive moments!

• Function: Works like the Banishing Stone: complete a recipe immediately instead of waiting until next turn
• Cost: Gold (price increases each time you use it in a run)
• Strategy: Save it for crucial moments when completing a recipe now vs. next turn makes all the difference

✨ Quality of Life Improvements

Additional Lives in Shop

More control over when you gain your extra lives!

• Old system: Extra life ad only available on the loss screen
• New system: Gain extra lives directly in the shop during your run
• Why it’s better: Choose when to secure your safety net instead of waiting until you’ve already lost

Smart Roll Chests

Premium chests now intelligently avoid giving you maxed-out cards!

Applies to: Emerald, Ruby, and Diamond Chests

How it works:

• These chests will prioritize cards you haven’t maxed out
• Only rolls existing maxed cards if all available cards in that rarity are maxed
• Converts to coins if nothing else is available
• Result: Much better value from premium chests

🛒 Improved Store

Limited Time Offers:

• Similar to Daily Deals but with more variety
• Can include currencies, customization options, chests, or Wild Cards
• Purchasable with IAP, Gems, or sometimes available for free
• Rotates regularly to keep things fresh

Hero Chests in Store:

• Hero-specific chests now available in the main store
• Easier access to target specific hero upgrades

Individual Hero Stores:

• Each hero now has their own dedicated store
• Access it through the hero overview screen
• Features hero-relevant offers: skins, chests, and improvement deals
• Includes Hero Path bundles specific to that hero
• Why this matters: No more scrolling through irrelevant offers — find what you need for your favorite hero instantly

🎮 What This Means For You

For New Players:

• Permanent progression leagues mean you can climb at your own pace
• No pressure to rush — your progress is always safe
• Plenty of quality-of-life improvements make the game more accessible

For Competitive Players:

• Win streaks let you climb to your skill level faster
• Smarter matchmaking makes matches more fair
• Seasonal competitive leagues and leaderboards provide fresh challenges

For Everyone:

• Less ad interruption with gold-based rerolls
• Better chest rewards with smart rolling
• More customization to express yourself
• Festive holiday content throughout December

FAQ

When does Season 2 start?

November 15th is our target launch date.

What happens to my current rank?

If you’re in Bronze through Diamond, your rank stays exactly where it is: these progression leagues are now permanent. If you’re in Heroic or above, you’ll be reset to Heroic 0 at the season start (this applies to all competitive league players).

How long does Season 2 last?

50 days (approximately 2 months), followed by a ~10-day off-season before Season 3.

Do I lose my Boons from Season 1?

Boon progression is seasonal and resets with each new season. Some Season 1 Boons will return in Season 2, while others are being replaced with new seasonal Boons. This keeps the meta fresh and encourages experimentation each season.

Can I still use ads if I don’t want to spend gold on rerolls?

No. The Relic reroll system has been changed to gold-only. However, other ad-supported features remain in the game, such as bonus rewards and the extra life system (now accessible in-shop).

How does the seasonal leaderboard work if I play multiple heroes?

The leaderboard ranks you based on your highest-ranked hero. If you’re Legendary on one hero and Epic on another, your leaderboard position is determined by your Legendary rank.

See You in December!

Season 2: Merry Heistmas launches on November 15th with the Hob Gang, permanent progression ranks, win streaks, and tons of quality-of-life improvements. The Advent Calendar starts December 1st, so don’t miss your daily rewards!

As always, we value your feedback. Join us on Discord to share your thoughts, report bugs, and help shape the future of Backpack Brawl.

Happy holidays, and happy heisting! 🎄💎

The Backpack Brawl Team