The Hearthstone team announced an update to Ranked Play mode earlier today on their official website which should minimize some of the extraneous ladder grinding time at higher ranks:
We’ve heard a lot of feedback about the long climb in Ranked play, so starting with the February Ranked Play season, we’re introducing a quality of life change by reducing the number of Stars required to advance in many of the Ranks!
Currently, every Rank has five Stars. When the February Ranked Play Season starts, each Rank will have the following number of Stars instead:
| Rank | Stars |
|---|---|
| Rank 50 to Rank 16 | 3 Stars per Rank |
| Rank 15 to Rank 11 | 4 Stars per Rank |
| Rank 10 to Rank 1 | 5 Stars per Rank |
This will make your Ranked Play climb faster in the lower ranks, while preserving the more competitive Star values for the higher Ranks.
When the February Ranked Play Season begins, you will still be reset four Ranks lower than the highest Rank you achieved in the previous season, but “excess” Stars will be shed to align with the new value for the Rank you are moving to. For example, if your highest Rank in January was Rank 10 with five Stars, then when the February Season begins, you will be set to Rank 14 with four Stars. The “fifth” Star is no longer there, but you would still be at the highest value for the Rank you were moved to.
Were these changes a good move? Will you be more active on the Ranked Ladder now that the higher ranks will be less tedious to grind through? Sound off in the comments.
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