Hearthstone Update Makes Climbing Lower Ranks Easier in Ranked Play

Hearthstone is getting an update in February that will make it easier to move up to the next rank in the Ranked Play mode. Players with lower ranks will now need fewer stars to reach the next rank in competitive mode.

Currently, players need five stars to rank higher, regardless of the level they play in. The stars are earned by winning matches, but players can also lose stars by losing. Blizzard reports that players between Rank 50 and Rank 16 will now only need three stars to progress. From Rank 15 to 11 that is four stars and for the last ten ranks you need five stars.

The new Ranked Play season, which lasts for the entire month, kicks off in February. When a new season starts, each player always moves down four ranks. With the arrival of the update, this also means that ‘remaining’ stars will expire.

For example, a player with Rank 10 goes back to Rank 14 at the beginning of the season and loses a star in the process. The reason is that between Rank 15 and Rank 11 one only needs four stars to progress, instead of five stars. Players cannot earn more stars than they need for the next rank. The expiration of the remaining stars only applies to the coming season.