Blizzard Adding new Player Ranks to Hearthstone

Recently, I’ve had first-hand experience with the early rank levels on Blizzard’s Hearthstone. My ‘Decks for new players’ series which can be found over on our YouTube Channel saw me playing all 9 classes with budget decks. These budget decks are all accessible to new, free-to-play players, as they feature no expensive epic or legendary cards. It was at these low, early ranks that I experienced certain issues with the game which may prevent new players from enjoying Hearthstone. I myself, even as an experienced player, lost games at these ranks – for a new player, winning these games would prove almost impossible.

Thankfully, Blizzard has a solution. An ‘In the Works’ update post has just gone live on the official Hearthstone webpage, this post contains information on the state of Hearthstone and the plans for it in the foreseeable future. It’s one of these plans in particular that has really got our attention.

New Player Experience Improvements are coming to Hearthstone in the form of extra rank levels. New players will now start at Rank 50, as opposed to the current starting rank of 25. Ranks 50 through to 26 will be for new players only. Stars at these ranks can’t be lost and once a player reaches rank 25 the new player ranks will be closed, meaning you won’t be able to drop below that rank again, and the new player experience will be complete.

Also heading to Hearthstone for new players are additional free gifts. Blizzard has said that they want to speed up the new player experience by giving them a few gifts along the way. New cards are hard to come by, especially when you don’t know how to play. This change will make a huge difference and may keep new players interested for longer.

I’m excited by these changes. On multiple occasions, I’ve tried to entice friends and family members into playing Hearthstone. On most of these occasions, the free-to-play roadblock stopped their enjoyment. Having rank levels dedicated to new players will not only hook new players in but also give them the opportunity to build a collection whilst winning games and improving at Hearthstone.