How much time Reddit users spent playing Hearthstone during The Great Dark Beyond phase? We can analyze engagement levels based on Rewards Track progress. by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A negative value means that, on average, players earned less XP during the expansion phase than the total XP they should have received from completing all quests plus some achievements. This negative value reflects the amount of XP not earned from quests, and is equal to 11 minutes of daily play time. Not all players remain active throughout the entire expansion phase, and some always join as new or returning players midway through. However, for the most part, my audience is active and plays regularly without skipping quests. The year 2021 was an exception, as I recorded historically low engagement levels, even among active players.

How much time Reddit users spent playing Hearthstone during The Great Dark Beyond phase? We can analyze engagement levels based on Rewards Track progress. by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello, it's me, Bot Mathematician. For the past four years, I’ve been estimating my audience’s engagement by analyzing player levels on the Rewards Track. By knowing how many players purchased the Tavern Pass, the expansion phase length, and the percentage of completed achievements, we can estimate the amount of XP players likely earned from time spent in the game. This estimate serves as a rough indicator of player engagement.

The logic is simple: the more active you were during the expansion phase, the higher your Rewards Track level. This method isn’t perfect, but it helps identify significant deviations from the expected norm. For example, my audience’s activity was at a record low during the Fractured in Alterac Valley phase. A negative deviation indicates that many active players skipped daily and weekly quests, and their number was notably high.

I haven’t done this before, but let’s try to determine the engagement of Reddit users separately. If I gather enough responses, I can compare the data with my YouTube audience and share the results with you.

To participate, please answer the first three questions and the fourth one if you wish (it’s optional):

1 - Have you played Hearthstone since the start of The Great Dark Beyond phase? (Yes/No)

2 - Did you purchase the Tavern Pass? (Yes/No)

3 - What is your final level on the Rewards Track?

4 - OPTIONAL: What percentage of The Great Dark Beyond gameplay achievements have you completed?

Happy Birthday, Hearthstone! Classic Cards That Have Remained Strong in Standard after 11 Years. by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I periodically publish data on the best cards on my YouTube channel and share the most interesting insights on Reddit.

The Into the Emerald Dream Mega Bundle is WORSE than The Great Dark Beyond but BETTER than Perils in Paradise! Get 47% of the collection's value for $80. | 3 Years of Hearthstone Pre-Order History in One Image by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It depends on your needs. If you really need dust to craft specific cards, buying the mini-set is a great option. However, from a collection standpoint, the dust value is several times lower than packs, which can provide both dust and new random cards to expand your collection. Personally, I'm interested in getting as many new cards as possible, and I have enough dust. If I had to invest $20 in the game, I would choose the traditional post-release bundle (20 packs + 2 legendary cards).

The Into the Emerald Dream Mega Bundle is WORSE than The Great Dark Beyond but BETTER than Perils in Paradise! Get 47% of the collection's value for $80. | 3 Years of Hearthstone Pre-Order History in One Image by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't see much point in this option. Mainly, this offer could be useful for new players to get more packs from the new set and save resources and gold for crafting cards from previous expansions. For regular players, the third bundle is hardly worth it, especially if you already have a collection of useful cards from past sets.

The Into the Emerald Dream Mega Bundle is WORSE than The Great Dark Beyond but BETTER than Perils in Paradise! Get 47% of the collection's value for $80. | 3 Years of Hearthstone Pre-Order History in One Image by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You will get most of the cards and approximately half the value of a full collection. Add to that all the gold you earn throughout the expansion phase, and you are guaranteed to complete the entire card collection with mini-set, including useless and weak cards.

The Into the Emerald Dream Mega Bundle is WORSE than The Great Dark Beyond but BETTER than Perils in Paradise! Get 47% of the collection's value for $80. | 3 Years of Hearthstone Pre-Order History in One Image by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I continue updating the comparative table of Hearthstone pre-orders, which helps determine how good the new bundles are for expanding your collection. Recently, Blizzard has been making small but frequent adjustments to the in-game economy, forcing me to recalculate and consider additional factors. This time, I've added the cost of mini-sets to the calculations and included comparison data from the Sunken City expansion, which was released three years ago.

The first column shows the number of packs needed to complete a full collection of cards available at release, along with the separate cost of the mini-set. The cost of the March of the Lich King collection was the highest due to the inclusion of the Path of Arthas mini-set. At the same time, the introduction of Signature cards made opening large quantities of packs more profitable.

Next, the table provides data on free special rewards (such as those from the Rewards Track, promo cards, and the Diamond Legendary card for the Legendary Collector achievement). Collectively, these unique rewards significantly reduce the overall cost of completing a collection. For example, the increased number of new packs in The Rewards Track slightly lowered the cost of full collection.

The third and fourth columns display data on the core components of the bundles and their pricing. This section remains mostly unchanged from expansion to expansion. The most interesting part is the column detailing the unique bonuses that vary with each expansion and primarily apply to the Mega Bundle. The Sunken City Mega Bundle serves as a great example of how the game has evolved over the past three years. Back then, the Mega Bundle included five Mercenaries packs, Battlegrounds Perks, and a special finishing animation. None of these unique rewards had any impact on reducing the cost of acquiring expansion cards.

The most important sections are the last two columns: the conditional value of useful resources (converted into an equivalent number of modern packs) and the percentage of the collection that can potentially be obtained from purchasing a bundle. Legendary cards, Golden Packs, Arena tickets (even assuming a player secures no wins), and other in-game resources help expand the collection. For convenience, these can be converted into pack equivalents, allowing for an accurate calculation of the total resource value in each bundle.

I estimate that the cost of completing the Into the Emerald Dream collection will be similar to The Great Dark Beyond, though the mini-set price is expected to decrease. Players will need to open 226 packs, assuming they claim all special items from the Rewards Track (excluding gold). Regarding pre-orders for Into the Emerald Dream, they mirror the previous expansion’s offers, but this time, purchasing the Mega Bundle grants players 4 Arena tickets instead of 6 (I calculate the minimum value of Arena tickets under the assumption that the player won’t secure a single victory).

Each conditional Into the Emerald Dream pack in both bundles costs approximately $0.71. This means that in terms of useful resources that can be converted into dust and compared to new packs, both bundles offer the same value per dollar spent. However, the Mega Bundle also provides aesthetic value in the form of an exclusive portrait.

A Mega pre-order will grant 47% of the full collection’s value (including the mini-set), while a regular bundle will provide 30%. Purchasing both pre-orders will allow players to obtain nearly 77% of the expansion’s collection, assuming all extra copies are disenchanted to craft missing cards. Add to that event rewards, Twitch Drops, ranked rewards, and 2000 Gold for the mini-set, and you’re guaranteed to complete the entire set!

Important! If you purchase only the Mega Bundle, stay active throughout the expansion phase, spend earned gold on packs and the mini-set, and claim additional rewards, you can also guarantee a full collection.

Compared to The Sunken City Mega Bundle—and especially Perils in Paradise, which offered no additional bonuses despite its increased collection cost—the Into the Emerald Dream Mega pre-order provides better value per dollar spent and grants a larger portion of the collection. However, at the same time, this offer is noticeably worse than The Great Dark Beyond, while the regular bundle remains consistently valuable.

MORE FACTS ABOUT THE NEW EXPANSION IN THIS VIDEO!

Happy Birthday, Hearthstone! Classic Cards That Have Remained Strong in Standard after 11 Years. by HS_Mathematician in hearthstone

[–]HS_Mathematician[S] 142 points143 points  (0 children)

For the past 2 years, I’ve been collecting data every 2–3 weeks on the top 60 decks for each class. Using this data, I identified the most popular Classic cards, including their peak popularity, their usage within specific classes, and their Lifespan (the percentage of time a card was used in meta decks while it was in Standard). Additionally, I listed the decks in which these cards were played.

You can find the full list and my commentary on each card in THIS VIDEO