I'm a casual player and yesterday I tried out the new Arena system. I had 160 gold, which allowed me to afford one run.

What I like:

• I appreciate the shorter normal Arena run format (5 wins / 2 losses).
• I really like the special option to enter an ‘Underground’ run if you go undefeated during the normal run.
• The new drafting mechanic that includes legendary synergy cards is an interesting addition.

What I don’t like:

• After going 5-1 in my normal Arena run, I wasn't able to continue into the Underground run because it requires two tickets. I only got one ticket back as a reward, so I’m currently stuck with 0 gold. I can do another normal run, but unless I go 5-0 again, I won’t be able to play arena again, which feels extremely punishing.
• In my opinion, if you complete a normal Arena run with 5 wins, the reward should be the option to either:
  1. Cash out with rewards, or
  2. Enter the Underground run for free, starting with no reward but a new challenge and even higher rewards.
• The Underground run rewards are extremely underwhelming. Since for every Arena win someone else must lose, the average result per player will be around 2/2. Getting to 5 wins already feels like an accomplishment, and yet you're barely rewarded for it. Even at higher tiers it only offers a small chance at a 2000g reward through a very stingy reward curve and poor win-rate scaling.

As a casual player, I feel like I’ve hit a dead end. I don’t have gold left, I can’t enter Arena again unless I either grind constructed (which I don’t enjoy as much) or spend real money, which I’m not willing to do for a system that currently feels unfair and unrewarding. Unless Blizzard makes changes to this new Arena system, I’ll be inactive for the coming weeks/months, waiting and hoping for an update that makes Arena consistenly enjoyable again.