Good news everyone! We've got some information regarding Hearthstone's Arena mode and it looks like we've got some balance coming our way!

Although we have had some mentions of the mode in more recent times, with Dean Ayala mentioning they were figuring out the overall balance plan back in January, and even as recently as just over a week ago Dean mentioning they were going to be talking solutions very soon, mum's been the word around the Tavern for Arena - there's been silence. The big reason for not much going on with the mode comes down to Tian Ding, Data Scientist and the person responsible for micro-adjustments in the mode, leaving the team back in December.

What Arena Balance Can We Expect?

Matt London, Hearthstone's Modes Design Lead, has confirmed on Twitter that although we won't be seeing changes arrive with tomorrow's 23.2 patch, they have a hotfix planned that will bring forth the following:

  • Micro-adjustments to boost the win rates of classes.
  • Over-performing cards will see a reduction in their appearance rates.
  • Build-around cards that lack support in the format are being removed from the card pool.

So, when are we going to see these changes implemented?

Hearthstone Arena Balance Arriving in a Hotfix

The balance changes unfortunately were not ready in time for the cut-off for Hearthstone's 23.2 patch which arrives on May 10. However, a hotfix patch, which typically only needs to hit the Hearthstone servers, will be arriving soon after with the changes.

No exact timing of the hotfixes has been announced, but we'll keep you updated once an announcement has been made.

Quote From Mat London

It's not ideal to post this on Sunday night from a personal Twitter, but I want Arena players to know that there will be no changes to Arena with the upcoming patch, 23.2.

However, changes have been implemented internally and are coming soon.

Quick thread:

Hearthstone content is released in patches, as well as hotfixes. You may have noticed a round of balance changes for Standard and Wild in the last hotfix, 23.0.3, the current HS version. This hotfix had a measurable impact on Arena, but not enough.

Content releases are on a different pipeline from hotfixes, and are locked farther ahead. By the time we decided on the adjustments we wanted to make, the deadline for 23.2 had passed.

The implemented Arena changes include micro-adjustments to boost several low win rate classes, a reduction in appearance rate of overperforming cards, and the removal of several build-around cards that lack support in the format.

The results of these changes have been positive in internal testing; that doesn't mean everything will be perfect. The Modes team is new to this job, and we are committed to keeping at it until we get it right.

Arena changes will go live in a hotfix shortly after the release of 23.2.

Arena players are some of the most engaged, passionate, and longest tenured Hearthstone players we have. We want to provide them with a best in class experience. Thanks for sticking with us.

So, are you excited about Arena getting some much-needed balancing? What changes would you like to see made to the mode in the hotfixes? Let us know in the comments below!