Some interesting news came in this evening from Hearthstone's Dean Ayala regarding the future of the Arena. Although Dean did not have definitive plans to share about the game mode, he did express his thoughts on the format which should be of interest for players who enjoy the Arena and are a great community discussion starter.

  • Dean would like to rebuild the Arena game mode.
  • The core problem is that there is no matchmaking in Arena based on skill. Dean could see a future where it changes.
  • Changing to a "matchmaking by skill" formula would mean that rewards would have to be changed too.
  • He thinks that most Arena players would be unhappy with a change and would hate to alienate them from the mode.
  • To see success and growth in Arena, large changes like this might be needed though.

Keep in mind that Dean is not saying they are going to be changing the Arena, but he has certainly opened an interesting can of worms for the Arena crowd. While we're not ready to comment on it quite yet, it remains a great question for the community!

If you regularly partake in the Arena, how do you feel about Dean's suggestions? Let us know in the comments below!

Quote From Dean Ayala

Any plans on rebuild the Arena gamemode? (like the draft system /reward/etc) ?

I really want to. Arena has this core problem of not being a matchmade mode and it hurts any new player trying to join. The rewards system forces our hand here a bit but I could see a future where we change rewards and just matchmake players by skill. (Source)

It's actually at the forefront of my mind. The worry is that I think most current arena players would be unhappy, and you hate to alienate passionate users of a feature. In order to see growth and success, it might be a change we have to make. (Source)