Hearthpwn

What do you play? When do you play one over the other?

Even after all this time I'm still unsure about where I should play. It seems obvious but is it really?

I like to play "casually" just for fun with silly decks like Yogg Mage. I don't care so much about winning, "ranking up", or those rewards there. So naturally I play in Casual.

Problem: Other people may not care about playing the intended game at all in Casual. For example just doing quest X and since "it's just Casual" they don't even care about trying to play properly to begin with. Maybe when their quest is finished or they can't work anymore towards it they just leave. Some people may just pass the turn or play Suicide Warlock. That's not very fun at all.

So should I rather play Ranked then? And if yes it also begs the question what Casual is even for then.

Indeed I tried in the past and have to say that sometimes it does seem to be better. At least people there are serious about playing the game more often than not.

Problem: It seems very counter intuitive and wrong to play Ranked if you just want to play for fun. For example there are so many "OP broken decks" nowadays I could and would just concede to on turn 1 because they're so efficient that it's either win or lose by turn 4 and I have no interest in such a game. But in Ranked where it's all about winning and people play the best (and therefore most "OP" and most "broken") deck possible this is to be expected and you can't be mad at it. I do understand that. If people really want to play like that for whatever reason I don't mind. But I would rather play more "casually" just for fun. So should I then...

What I would really like to know is where do you play if you play "just for fun". Because I know there are at least a few more out there that play such "just for fun decks" like Yogg Mage. Where do you play? Where do you think it's easier and more likely to have a fun time?

(I'm also asking because ultimately friendly games are superior but you need friends for that. So I wonder where it's more likely to find other people like me that play just for fun with decks like Yogg Mage. Rubinlibelle#2843 on EU if anyone wants to add me btw.)

I play ranked but try to avoid ranking into diamond, in platinum you find a lot of experienced players just having fun with meme decks. Edit: I should clarify I only play Wild. 

In casual I feel like I bump into meta decks pretty often that I assume people are playing to finish a quest quickly or test them out before ladder. Also higher chance of afkers. 

I stopped playing Casual because back when the Rewards Track was released (I think?) they made it so you get 1/2 as much as experience for playing casual. 

I was trying to look this up recently and I couldn't find any definitive answers on whether that's still the case or not. Anyone know?

Quote from SlowestBro >>

try to avoid ranking into diamond

LOL - The highest I've ever gotten was gold. How many games does that even take? I always hear it from others and it seems like for many it's nothing special but I can't even imagine it. Maybe the type of decks I like to play are worse than I thought. Also it was like 5 years ago when I tried and I feel like those decks are getting worse every expansion. But maybe I've gotten better in the meantime. Still I don't see any chance of me getting to platinum even if I played a lot.

And yeah, the meta decks and people that are just AFK too! There's just so much annoying stuff in Casual. Ranked probably is the way to go.

Once you reach legend once, it's almost impossible not to reach D5. You get so many bonus stars for each win, anyone can get there. It's just getting there the first time which requires more work and is more of a challenge. Once at D5, you stop getting bonus stars so the last stretch is longer than all the previous stages.

I stopped casual because people don't care. 

Standard ladder to climb, Wild ladder for fun/chores(quests)