Ranked Play Distribution has reposted through Out.Of.Cards website, originally posted through Dean Ayala’s Tweets.
https://outof.cards/hearthstone/666-hearthstone-releases-ranked-play-distribution-for-the-first-time-in-5-years
If you are relatively new to this game, you may not be familiar with the rank changes that were made for ladder, which made it easier for people who climbed to the higher ranks to stay around that area each month to minimizes the need for heavy grinding in the lower ladders. It’s slightly less noticeable for mid and low ranks due to the fact that more stars (which mean wins) are needed to get through each level though the level drop at the beginning of a new month is less than before. However, at higher ranks (5+) the grind is significantly less and a player can stay around the level 5 area or grind up in a week or two with moderate play instead of spending 2-3 weeks of heavy grinding to get back to 5 consecutively.
The stats for the current ladder is the top chart, the stats for the older ladder is on the bottom chart. This also does not say whether it’s standard, wild, or a conglomerate of both ladders.
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The funny thing about this graphic is that while more ppl hit 5-1, less ppl hit legend despite the ranked floors and 4 rank resets.
I could be cynical and say that is due to quality of product relative to alternatives =p
Only thing that surprised me in the new vs. old distribution is the legend % being lower and over 60% being 15+ in ranked, I would have expected a bigger % number at 15-10 than they showed.
Keep on mind, only 1 game played per season qualifies a player to be included, so the data is significantly skewed in the 15-25 region as many just do it for their 5 win reward.
Cause Legend is all about grinding. Rank 5 is mostly getting a free golden epic to make ladder climbing actually worth it.
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Yet that grind was made significantly easier, and less people are making it?!? thats what is confusing to me. Its never been easier to go from 5-L, yet less ppl are attempting it…
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I’m guessing there’s some sort of push to the end logic to it. If you’ve made the grind to Rank 5 when you were rank 12, you’ll probably see yourself trying to reach higher ranks knowing you’ve pushed hard enough to see yourself that high in the first place.
Nowadays, I hit Rank 5, I push maybe to 4 or 3 and then it’s back to meme decks till reset. I know if I spent the next couple weeks tryharding the ladder I could hit 3 or 2 or higher, but that’s more of a chore than enjoying the game. That’s the thing though. The chore/skill cap of grinding that extra to Legend is not worth the extra golden common, while the chore of grinding to Rank 5 and the skillcap to Rank 5 is noticeably lower than 4 - Legend.
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Hey, dont get me wrong, its great that you shared this which we have been sorta discussing on discord for a few hours. Just saying, some of the numbers make no sense, and (imo) the largest factor here is that anyone who has played just a singular game in ranked is counted. Surely 5 wins should be the minimum, to at least unlock your ranked chest, right?!?
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Of course, I’m just offering a hypothesis to why more see to rank 5 while less see to Legend. I definitely do agree that the skew of ladder distribution does not accurately account for numbers. I’d be more interested in seeing Ranks 19 up to shave off some of the outliers and skewed results.
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Also, 50 ranks now “technically speaking”, and only 25 are shown… Im guessing 25-50 are in the 15-25 bracket, but who knows?!?
Seriously Dean, a better effort would be appreciated.
The reward of grinding hours and hours to get to 5 or legend is not worth it
Go to 5 is barely grinding. Since if you hit 5 you start at 9. 9 to 5 is pretty fast with a decent deck. If you just play 2 to 3 games a day is way more than enough for you to reach 5 from 9.
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I think it’s because once people get to 5 now and start trying for legend it’s mentally aggravating to not get win streaks so they just give up and decide to stay at 5.
Also, some people only strive to hit legend once and no longer feel the need to go further than 5.
The reward from 5 to legend isn’t really worth the grind.
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i’m also confused to see so many players between 25 (20) and 5, “hey, let’s spit on 500dust” o_O
don’t believe what theriddler says, it doesn’t take that long
To be honest, the 4 rank reset means people are more complacent with just climbing the 4 ranks or so each month to hit Rank 5. Whereas before, it was a grind to get to 5 each month, once you’re there, 4-Legend is just an extension of that.
At least, that’s potentially the reasoning for less people at Legend.
With battlegrounds out now I rather just spend a hour or 2 max getting to 5 then play bg instead. When there’s some fun new decks to play I’d play it for a bit but that’s about it.
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