Hearthpwn

Is it possible to update this useful guide? Tips for beginners are still true to date, but key cards recommendation is out of date since the arena changes from wild to standard.

I am planning to do a major update with a video guide too, but I've got several other projects to finish first.  It is coming though!

AbusingKel was nice enough to give us an updated list of top classes for Arena.  You can check it out HERE!

When it comes to watching streamers, it's more useful to watch their archived streams (thought watching live and watching/participating in chat is good too). Watch the draft, before they make a pick, pause the stream. Think about what the right pick is, and why. Un-pause and see if they picked the card you wanted. If not, listen to why they picked the card. Next pick, pause and repeat.

Same with the games. Pause it after they draw each card, before they play. Think about what you'd do, and why. You're not limited to 75 seconds like you are in a real game, think it out. Un-pause and watch. If you played it differently, understand why they did what they did. 

It can take 30+ minutes to "do" a draft if you're really thinking and listening, and as long to watch a game. It's worth it, though.

If you have the means to record your own games (HS Deck Tracker/HS Replay or whatever), use it. Again, pause at the start of each turn (after you draw) and think about the turn, and what the best play is. Then un-pause and watch/analyze.

That said, DON'T ONLY watch replays right away, or even the next day. If you think you made a mis-play in a specific spot, sure. That's good to do right away when it's all fresh.

It's ALSO really helpful (can be more helpful, honestly) to re-watch games you don't remember, because you're coming in with a blank slate. I've done that and more than once looked at the start of a turn and said "I'd do this, then that." only to found out when I un-paused it that I did "dumb thing 1" then "dumb thing 2" instead. What was I thinking!? Or, I decided on what I'd do and un-paused it to see I did something else and I was right the first time and wrong on the 2nd viewing.

Watch replays of other games. Good players AND bad. You want to see examples of good plays you didn't recognize AND be able to spot mistakes that other people (as good as or worse than you) have made. It's important to bolster your spirit recognizing that a player made a mis-play, and not just an endless stream of "I made the wrong play there" over and over.

If you can watch replays and comment, ask why the poster did what they did. Be polite. "I'm learning, can you explain why did you x?"

It ain't easy, and it ain't quick. 

Quote from neonangel >>

Are there key cards you look for when drafting?

Yes. When drafting in Arena you are often faced with difficult choices, but there are some instances where one card trumps all others, hands down.  Certain cards should always be at the top of your list when drafting (always pick the Fireball) and this concept can be applied to all the classes.

If you see any of these cards in your draft you should have an extremely good reason for not selecting them.  You’d think most of these would be common sense, yet I have noticed people that pass them up when they list their Arena drafts or fail to mention them when talking about “best” cards. There are usually many good cards to choose from, but I think you should always give each of these cards first consideration.

My criteria for selecting these cards are they have to be great cards by themselves and not rely on anything else in play. These cards consistently make favorable trades and will usually have a significant impact on the game, if played correctly.

I have limited this list to ONLY common rarity cards from either the Basic or Expert set.  Because these are all common cards, it is not unusual to see multiples of them during a single draft.

Neutral: Harvest Golem and Chillwind Yeti

Druid: Swipe

Hunter: Animal Companion

Mage: Fireball

Paladin: Truesilver Champion

Priest: Power Word: Shield

Rogue: Eviscerate

Shaman: Fire Elemental

Warlock: Soulfire

Warrior: Fiery War Axe

Quote from brockles >>

 Is it possible to have this list updated? It says the last update was mid 2014.

 

Quote from neonangel >>

Quote from brockles >>

 Is it possible to have this list updated? It says the last update was mid 2014.

 

 Sorry, but I've had so much other stuff going on with my Adventure guides and the new set.  I promise I'll start working on a revision and video for the "Getting Started" section soon™.

Quote from neonangel >>

Quote from brockles >>

 Is it possible to have this list updated? It says the last update was mid 2014.

 

 Sorry, but I've had so much other stuff going on with my Adventure guides and the new set.  I promise I'll start working on a revision and video for the "Getting Started" section soon™.

The rewards are determined once you finish, so you should get Knights of the Frozen Throne packs once it goes live and you finish an Arena.  If you test it out be sure and let us know the outcome!

HI any chance the Common key cards section be updated for recent sets (or at least latest set)? After all they are the most common picks you will make. I have a few suggestions and I think they are still suitable here (helpful enough and not being too elaborate).

Neutral: Bonemare, Tar Creeper

Druid: Crypt Lord

Hunter: Bearshark

Mage: Firelands Portal

Paladin: Righteous Protector

Priest: Priest of the Feast

Rogue: Shadow Strike

Shaman: Jade Lightning

Warlock: Abyssal Enforcer

Warrior: Ravaging Ghoul

Quote from Indrafatmoko >>

HI any chance the Common key cards section be updated for recent sets (or at least latest set)? After all they are the most common picks you will make. I have a few suggestions and I think they are still suitable here (helpful enough and not being too elaborate).

 

Thanks, that would be awesome. I play a lot of Arena and feel it might be good to have someplace to collect Arena tips, especially for newer players, without looking on different sites. I was looking at Arena forum at the first time I think your thread looks like a great starting point for newer players that are looking to have some good time in arena. 

I know I've been saying that I was going to do an update here since the end of April and it's finally coming!  I'm trying to get this finished up in between working on Adventure guides.  I'm mostly finished with the new layout and currently working on the video guide to go with it.  Stay tuned!

Alright, I've finished all my edits and the revised info is posted at the start of this thread.

NEW POST

I hope you enjoy it and I should have my video ready sometime this weekend or early next week.

Quote from neonangel >>

Alright, I've finished all my edits and the revised info is posted at the start of this thread.

NEW POST

I hope you enjoy it and I should have my video ready sometime this weekend or early next week.

• Getting Started with Arena "banner": kinda sucks how blurry the image actually is :/ i mean its negligible, but i felt like pointing it out :o
• What is Arena?: "After your deck is complete, you will play against other players with the same win/loss record", id use the word "similar" (or better yet "same or similar" to cover all bases) not "same", cause its not always the same and it feels like a misinformation kinda.
• What is a mana curve?: mby add the "mana curve for 12-rogue deck" pic under this section, not above ;-) Actually, now that i see it, probably add all the pics under their respected paragraphs, not above them.
• How do I know which cards to pick?: mby also include the link to a lightforge tier list, since adwcta is no longer associated with HA and as good as HA is for a regular user, it aint as accurate as it would be under his guidance.
• Card suggestions: druid - id replace Moonglade Portal with Wrath (or at least Starfall); paladin - replace Grimestreet Protector with Aldor Peacekeeper (i mean rly? hes not in top5 ?:D); the rest is fine, i mean not ideal, but its hard to choose just 5 cards to showcase :)
• Also, mby highlight in bold all the "HERE" external link gateways, it feels like it aint showing enough and it is being lost in the text.

Ok, thats all :))

Quote from Sinti >>

Good job!

Tho i have a few suggestions/nitpicks :)

• Getting Started with Arena "banner": kinda sucks how blurry the image actually is :/ i mean its negligible, but i felt like pointing it out :o
• What is Arena?: "After your deck is complete, you will play against other players with the same win/loss record", id use the word "similar" (or better yet "same or similar" to cover all bases) not "same", cause its not always the same and it feels like a misinformation kinda.
• What is a mana curve?: mby add the "mana curve for 12-rogue deck" pic under this section, not above ;-) Actually, now that i see it, probably add all the pics under their respected paragraphs, not above them.
• How do I know which cards to pick?: mby also include the link to a lightforge tier list, since adwcta is no longer associated with HA and as good as HA is for a regular user, it aint as accurate as it would be under his guidance.
• Card suggestions: druid - id replace Moonglade Portal with Wrath (or at least Starfall); paladin - replace Grimestreet Protector with Aldor Peacekeeper (i mean rly? hes not in top5 ?:D); the rest is fine, i mean not ideal, but its hard to choose just 5 cards to showcase :)
• Also, mby highlight in bold all the "HERE" external link gateways, it feels like it aint showing enough and it is being lost in the text.

Ok, thats all :))

Quote from neonangel >>

Quote from Sinti >>

Good job!

Tho i have a few suggestions/nitpicks :)

• Getting Started with Arena "banner": kinda sucks how blurry the image actually is :/ i mean its negligible, but i felt like pointing it out :o
• What is Arena?: "After your deck is complete, you will play against other players with the same win/loss record", id use the word "similar" (or better yet "same or similar" to cover all bases) not "same", cause its not always the same and it feels like a misinformation kinda.
• What is a mana curve?: mby add the "mana curve for 12-rogue deck" pic under this section, not above ;-) Actually, now that i see it, probably add all the pics under their respected paragraphs, not above them.
• How do I know which cards to pick?: mby also include the link to a lightforge tier list, since adwcta is no longer associated with HA and as good as HA is for a regular user, it aint as accurate as it would be under his guidance.
• Card suggestions: druid - id replace Moonglade Portal with Wrath (or at least Starfall); paladin - replace Grimestreet Protector with Aldor Peacekeeper (i mean rly? hes not in top5 ?:D); the rest is fine, i mean not ideal, but its hard to choose just 5 cards to showcase :)
• Also, mby highlight in bold all the "HERE" external link gateways, it feels like it aint showing enough and it is being lost in the text.

Ok, thats all :))

 Thanks for all the feedback, Sinti.  I agree with you for most of those points and already made the changes.  There's not much I can do about the header image unless I just try to create a new one. I didn't include the Lightforge list because I didn't want to throw out several tier lists (and the HearthArena one is much cleaner). With my card suggestions I originally had both cards you listed, but I think they got missed when I started editing them down. I got all the links in bold now, so they're easier to spot.  Thanks again for helping to make this thread an even better resource!

Excellent update, so many relevant info and useful links while also staying very concise. I was unable to find pireli's article before so thanks to that too!

It has been mentioned, but I just realized recently, its nice to always keep your cool and not get frustated easily, as there are so much going on in the arena. It might not be your fault when you draft excellent deck but ends up 1-3. Also I think anyone has those run when you play unfavorable hero, get weird picks and still ends up 8-3. You should still strive to improve your draft strategy and plays, but I think its important to not be too frustated just because you get 0-3. :)

Don't forget, the Hallow's End event begins today and will offer the Dual Class feature in Arena for the next 2 weeks (Oct 24 - Nov 6).  You will get to choose a class, then select a Hero Power from a different class.  Your card pool for your draft will offer cards from both classes!  Each week you will also get one free Arena run, so there's no excuse not to try it out.  It sounds like a lot of fun, so be sure and give it a try before this limited-time event goes away!

Any idea when this goes live? (NA server)