In 2015, I became a Hearthstone Arena player. During my first year (December 2013 and most of 2014), I was testing the waters. I played a lot of Ranked games to try to get Legend. I played Casual. I even joined an online tournament for two weeks. I played Arena too, but it was something I never put as my main focus.
And then for whatever reason, I became fixated on the Arena. Maybe the Ranked meta had me facing aggro every game and I got tired of the struggle. Maybe I was up for the challenge of the seemingly difficult environment. I started watching Arena-only players stream games, and podcasts. I used drafting tools. All in all, I became an Arena player in 2015.
Though an Arena player, I am by no means good, and this progress report will glean on what is going on in my Arena experience.
Overall average wins: 4.91, n=225 – Once upon a time, I ran a 5.14 average or so. I spent most of 2015 somewhere around 5, sometimes above, sometimes below. 5 is the pseudo-infinite level, where with dailies, your winnings form the Arena can finance your runs every day. With the LoE expansion, my play has tanked a little, to the point where I sometimes can’t afford to play Arena everyday.
Rogue – 5.8 wins/run – I’ve always found it weird that the only class I know how to play well in Hearthstone is the most complicated class. Because of my relative success playing Rogue, Valeera remains the only hero I will pick over anything else. A new trend since the LoE expansion has my Rogue average at 6.5 wins/run, and something a lot worse for every other class. My inability to adapt to other classes will likely continue this trend.
Mage – 5.0 wins/run – On paper, Mage seems the best arena class. Lots of removals around, and now Ethereal Conjurer! I possibly play Mage too slow and too reactive. My Mage average has always been above a 5 it seems, but I would need to adapt the gameplay to something faster perhaps, if I want to continue that.
Shaman – 4.8 wins/run – A bit of a surprise, considering Shamans are considered somewhat weak in the Arena. While still below-average, my Shaman play is something that I’m not particularly concerned about, and one that I think will gradually improve.
Warlock – 4.6 wins/run – Warlock is the class I think I’m good at, but am not really. My second-most played class after Rogue, the Warlock playstyle is one that I like a lot. I will use Life Tap when I can to maintain card advantage, while putting stuff out on the board. Like Shaman, I like playing Warlock, and think the win rate will gradually get better.
Paladin – 4.5 wins/run – Once Paladin was my best class. Now it is somewhat nosediving with really low win runs recently. Paladins are one of the easiest classes to play in Arena and Constructed, so this goes into the baffling issue with being best at Rogue. Yeah I can’t explain it. I will still play Paladin, if worse choices are offered.
Hunter – 4.2 wins/run – Hunters are at a crossroads in the Arena. Things are slower, and value picks are a bit better. This is troubling for the headlong aggro class. I like to think I can play Hunter well, but the win rates are a bit lower than Shaman and Warlock.
Druid – 3.8 wins/run – Druids are typically a solid arena class, but my own inability to play Druid (level 34!) in Constructed has permeated to not knowing how to play the class in general. This low win count could also be a product of small sample size, so I am willing to give Druids a bigger shot.
Priest – 3.2 wins/run – Priests are the true draft-dependent class, which will make or break it in the end. I recently had the 0-3 police get me for a Priest run, so I may continue to avoid Anduin when picking.
Warrior – 2.8 wins/run – The worst class in the Arena got some help with the new cards, which makes Warrior much more competitive. People are still not playing Warriors, but when they do, the games a bit closer. Still bad, but one I am willing to play more, unlike Priest.
Even with the lull in Hearthstone content, I will continue playing predominantly Arena. This month has me at my highest Constructed Rank of 8, and it seems I’m hitting a wall at every number. So, I will try to get better and back to a 5 win average.