Hearthstone Dev Tracker

Hi! I’m Tian, a Senior Data Scientist with the Hearthstone team, and today we’re talking about the math behind Arena balance.

Arena matches are played all the time, and they constantly generate data—A LOT of data—that we can use to help make sure that Arena is more balanced. If you had to place me in Boom Labs, I’d probably be in the Mathematical Science department!

The Balancing Game

Arena balance is done in two stages. First, we determine which bucket(s) each card goes into (a bucket is a subset of cards with similar performance quality). A card generally falls into two buckets, and we divide Legendary and non-Legendary cards into two different bucket systems. We decide which bucket each card falls into by its win-rate and pick-rate during games. That means each of the three cards you see during a pick are on similar power tiers.

Rastakhan’s Rumble is nigh! This Hearthstone update makes the final preparations and readies the Tavern for the arrival of Hearthstone’s newest expansion starting December 4! We’re also adding a Fireside Gatherings Pre-release event for Rastakhan’s Rumble, stocking up on Winter Veil decorations, and fixing some bugs.

Read on for details!

Rastakhan’s Rumble, is a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred expansion for Hearthstone featuring 135 new cards, starting December 4!

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2018 was a great year for Hearthstone Esports. Earlier this month Team China upset tournament favorite Brazil in the Grand Finals of the Hearthstone Global Games at BlizzCon. We’ve crowned two seasonal champions at our Summer and Fall Championships. We’ve seen more than 200,000 players attend 25 Tour Stops and other major events across the globe. And by the end of the Year of the Raven we’ll have awarded more than $2.8 million in prize money—our largest amount ever.

Along the way, we’ve gathered feedback from players and fans. We’ve learned that many of you feel the HCT system can be challenging to follow, not as accessible to new players as it could be, and unsustainable for pros. Today we are excited to share with you a preview of our plan for continuing to make Hearthstone esports the best it can be for viewers and competitors alike.

Next Year—and Beyond

The Hearthstone Championsh...

Sometimes the key to victory is as simple as taking a step back and reevaluating your approach. In this week’s Well Played we look at how adding one or two tech cards to your deck—in this case, Quest Rogue—could be the perfect answer to a losing ladder run or a seemingly unconquerable class counter.

Next time you find yourself questioning your card choices, hopefully you’ll consider the addition of some synergistic tech to compliment your deck.