Hearthstone is one of the most popular video games in the world. But what is it that keeps people coming back to play nearly every day?
The random factor. From pulling cards from packs to cards involving RNG, Hearthstone keeps pulling you in with the chance of something amazing happening. Arena is the pinnacle of this, being entirely RNG-based while allowing for the skill of a player to show itself both in drafting and play.
Basically, Arena is a format based not around winning as fast as possible, like ladder is, but around card value. This reflects in the deck building section, where “How many of my opponent’s cards is my one card worth?” is more often than not the deciding factor in card choice while drafting for good players. Cards that are versatile and last long or clear many minions are the most valuable. Since there is no way of knowing what exact cards your opponent has due to the random nature of Arena, you must always stay on your guard, even when ahead. Oftentimes, removal is rare, so big minions are the most valuable cards due to the value they provide against smaller minions.
When you get to actually playing Arena, you’ll find out it is a deep and strategic format that punishes players who only know how to hit face. Skilled players who know when and what to trade in always win. Less skilled players can use tools such as Hearth Arena to get them on the right track, but those tools have both benefits and limitations. The best way to improve at Arena is to just keep playing, and with the way Arena works, at a certain point players become good enough to “go infinite” by winning more gold than they invest, thus making them to play Arena forever and keep gaining gold.
Overall, when combining the amazing complexity of Arena with the possibility of being able to earn all the cards in the game through playing Arena, it becomes much more interesting than ranked play, which only gives 10 gold for every three wins with a capped maximum. For experienced players, Arena is just more fun due to requiring a deeper understanding of how Hearthstone works. For new players, Arena is a chance to earn an endless supply of gold to be able to purchase all the cards in the game eventually. Pretty cool, if you ask me.