I Can't Get Past Rank 5!

Ok, judging by the title, you know you are going to read a rant. If you read here through the link that I shared in my Facebook page, you know you have clicked a clickbait. So why would you continue reading? I guess you just have too much free time, just like me. So, because we both have a lot of free times, I’m going to tell you a story and it’s gonna be long. Believe me.

I don’t remember how it begins but I imagined that it begins with a remarks, “Hearthstone is awesome!” Yeah, everyone that dwells in the world of collectible card game (CCG) must have heard that remarks once in their life. At that time, I do remember ever reading a game review in Touch Arcade about Hearthstone and it has a positive review. But, I doubt that I would enjoy it because my experience told me that most free CCG in App Store are crap and I have already addicted in Magic at that time. Why would I try Hearthstone?

I believed my friend said something like the game resembles Magic a lot so I can jump into it instantly but it has some charm that Magic doesn’t have. I don’t believe that crap, though. I mean, Magic is the oldest CCG alive which already evolves into a CCG with the best gameplay compared to its followers. Why would I try Hearthstone again? And thus the conversation ends.

Later I would find myself bored inside my room. Dark Souls and Dota 2 is no longer entertaining, playing GTA V just doesn’t interest me, and I’m too scared to play Evil Within. I can’t play Magic because it was Saturday so Stompas was closed and I can’t afford Magic Online. I  really need something to play and that’s when I open the Pandora Box which is Steam.

You see Steam is basically a hub which has portals to many different worlds in which you can’t return from. Famous among those portals are Minecraft and Dota 2. I believe I have heard stories where someone decided to play Minecraft and then his college never heard anything from him again. I almost got into that state because of Dota 2, but luckily, by some miracle, I managed to escape. The thing is, I didn’t realize that Hearthstone is actually one of this stupid games you can’t escape from.

Upon the opening of a tavern door which leads me to Hearthstone’s first tutorial, I’m already intrigued. This game is really putting so much effort into CCG. I remember when I’m playing Yugioh in Gameboy and Duels of Planeswalkers in iPad, the board was very simple. Cards enter the board just like in real life with some niche special effect, and their attack is indicated by a simple arrow. Hearthstone decided to go over the top by making everything as hilarious as possible. Cards enter the battlefield some animation and voice over, minions attacks by crashing into the target and create a hilarious boom sound, which is followed by some clapping sound effect. Hearthstone really makes you feel like you are a gladiator fighting in a grand colosseum watched by many people, not just two random guys sitting in a table playing cards against each other.

Hearthstone is basically the Yugioh game that I never had. Back when I was a kid, I always wanted to play a Yugioh game where I could feel like I’m playing with a duel disk. The card comes alive, the sound effect exciting, and the battle feels real. Hearthstone did all of that and they didn’t charge you with anything! On top of that, the gameplay is actually good! Indeed it is a simplified version of Magic the Gathering’s gameplay, but it actually makes the game more face-paced and less frustrating because no longer you will be punished by not making a good manabase. In a way, it creates their own identity as a different CCG than Magic the Gathering is.

I also liked the finance system. I have created a Magic Online account so I know that the finance system in MODO is abysmal. On top of the fluctuating market and simply bad interface, there is no way a first timer in Magic Online can buy any cards without watching Youtube first. It’s just stupid. Hearthstone, on the other hand, has a very intuitive finance system where you can disenchant (sell) a card for some dust (money) and use the dust to craft (buy) a card. All of the prices are fixed so you won’t have to worry that your collection will be devalued in the future. It’s all good.

Like most free-to-play games, Hearthstone also have some in-app-purchase, in this case: a booster. You can buy 2 booster pack for $2.99 but you can also buy a booster pack with an in-game money. This is actually the best aspect of Hearthstone in that you can actually be an F2P player but still being able to compete with people who use their real hard money.

I started the game on March 2015 with a budget Face Hunter which is basically the Mono-Red Aggro of Hearthstone and managed to grind the ladder real hard. I played Hearthstone minimum 2 hours a day, getting minimum 5 packs a week, and ever since September 2015, managed to get to Rank 5 each months, which rewards me with a minimum 500 dust. Currently, I have owned some of the most competitive deck in Hearthstone: Secret Paladin, Midrange Paladin, Reno-Lock, Zoo-Lock, Control Warrior, Control Priest, Tempo Mage, Midrange Hunter, and my favorite Face Hunter.

However, here is where the frustration starts. I can’t get past Rank 5! Only once in a blue moon when the metagame is littered with Control and Midrange decks, I managed to sneak my face hunter deck into Rank 3. But then I can’t do it anymore. Basically, I am stuck in Rank 5 and I don’t know how to break this wall. The metagame of the ladder is just unpredictable. There are no decks that has more than 70% winrate in Hearthstone Ladder, so even if you can rack some win here and there, eventually you will lose. On top of that, there is no longer any winning streak bonus past rank 5 so you have to get all of the stars by yourself up to the Legend Rank.

It’s simply too difficult and frustrating. You are not only required to spend a crazy amount of time to grind, but you need to keep your calmness. The way the ladder work is that everytime you win you get a star and everytime you lose, you lose one star. Therefore, the only realistic way to climb to Legend Rank is by keeping a streak of winning 2 games and losing 1. The thing is, sometimes you will face a losing streak and then you’ll get frustrated and then you don’t want to continue playing anymore. It’s like even if you keep playing you’ll only keep losing and it’s not good.

People said that Secret Paladin is the best deck to get to Legend but I keep getting smashed by Face Hunter, Tempo Mage, and Freeze Mage. So I started to play Control Warrior only to get crushed by Midrange Druid and Secret Paladin. I tried to play Midrange Paladin but I failed to understand how the deck can win. I played Zoo-Lock but I overextended to Lightbomb, I played Face Hunter and keep losing to Reno. I tried playing Arena but damn, it’s too random for me. Basically, everything I do results into losing and losing and I don’t know what I should do.

Sometimes I tried playing Control Priest. I found the deck relaxing and hilarious to play. I have beaten Tempo Mage and Face Shaman with a 6/18 Deathlord which they can never kill because I keep healing it to full life with Flash Heal and Circle of Healing. I have beaten Midrange Druid and Reno Lock by stripping away every threat they have. But I have also been beaten by a Zoo-Lock and Raptor-Rogue which aggro’d me real hard with a sticky minion that I can’t remove. But well, it’s still the most fun deck I can play these days.

The thing is, through all of the frustration and disappointment, Hearthstone is still a fun and challenging game. I have a friend who gets to Legend every month and it kinda motivate me. Someday I’ll also reach the Legend Rank and then I probably can stop playing Hearthstone, or not. Lol.