The winds of change are upon us! Starting March, expect to see a reworked Ranked Play system in Hearthstone. Although the changes officially take place for the March season, how you play in February will impact how you start in March!
Starting in the Hearthstone Update for March, all players reset four ranks back.
Player ranks will now reset exactly four ranks below your current standing, including the number of stars in your current rank. Here are some examples:
- Rank 15, 2 stars, resets to Rank 19, 2 stars.
- Rank 1, 3 stars, resets to Rank 5, 3 stars.
- Legend players reset to Rank 4, 0 stars.
The changes are most apparent to players Rank 5 up to Legend, where they start the new season at Rank 4 instead of 16. Newer players will also find it easier to progress up the ladder at the beginning of the month, without having to go against seasoned players bunched up in Ranks 16 to 19.
This makes each rank the same, and players will experience the same level of progression regardless of their placement on the ladder. Ranked floors (Ranks 20, 15, 10, 5, Legend) still apply.
Players will need to win five games to get their monthly card back, instead of having to hit Rank 20.
With the Hearthstone Update to the stars in each rank, players would have to win 25 games over the current 10. This makes sure adding that beautiful, new card back to your collection each month does not get more difficult.
Admittedly, the Hearthstone update comes after months of critique from the community, and will hopefully be a welcome change. In theory, the Hearthstone update should allow players at the top of the ladder to jump into the action immediately by matching them against similarly-ranked opponents, providing more engaging matches while reducing the time it will take for them to climb to a rank appropriate for their skill-level each season.
Overall, Blizzard hopes that the Hearthstone Update will help make the experience of climbing the Hearthstone Ranked Play ladder to be “fun, challenging, and satisfying for everyone.”
Whether this will be the case, we will just have to play on and see – but in the meantime, check out the official video discussing the Hearthstone Update below!
Visuals courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
