Most, if not all, of us know about the You're Better Than You Think! Hearthside Chat post. However, that dates back to 2014, many things have changed since, most notably the recent rank floors introduction. Climbing the ladder should now be easier, but how much so?
It seems some people now think everybody and their grandma have reached legend, while others still struggle.
So, I was wondering if we could whip up some homemade, quick-and-dirty check on that old data.
For instance, after season reset last night I was told that at rank 10 I was in the top 9% of the laddering population, while according to the 2014 picture it would have been the top 7.5%. Not a huge difference, but not negligible either.
The legend rank said 0.25%. That's half what was posted in the Hearthside chat thread. What I can say is that there were way more legends this season than last. Ranking up, I played people in the 9k's. Anecdotally, it was also much easier this season. I went 14-4 with Elemental Mage from ranks 2-1-legend.
On NA standard legend it says top 0.25% assuming that's rounded and that roughly 11k hit legend that's means approx 4.4m players that played at least 1 game on standard during the season .
Even if this were the highest number of legendary players of all seasons. Assuming the top number of 11k that's 418,000 times players have reached legend or a maximum of 1% of 4.4m active players over the life of the game on NA, assuming all 418,000 occurrences were different players (extremely) unlikely.
This means barely anyone actually reaches legend. Those of us on this site who have, well we are on this site wanting to be better and caring about the game in the first place.
Its highly likely that the small percentage of players who care enough to be here and invest forum time are those that reach r5-legend.
In one of the dev Q&As, BB explained that one of the problems they want to fix with the current ladder system is the large glut of players "trapped" at rank 20 - apparently, 40% of the player base loses more often than they win, and they don't make any appreciable advancement beyond rank 20.
As far as the large number of players hitting legend - Blizz releases quarterly reports on each of their games. Each release prior to Gadgetzan outsold its predecessor by more than 20%. Presumably, most of the increase in sales is due to a corresponding increase in the size of the player base - if so, the game would have about three times as many players as it did in 2014, more or less. Looking at the data from all the sites which track the game, last month seems to have been the "most played" season since the game launched - it wouldn't be surprising if a record number of people hit legend, all things considered.
On a related note, I wish Team 5 would release final rank distributions given a minimum # of games played, across a range of such values. That's really a better benchmark for your own performance against the field than the current (outdated?) numbers.
It's hard to wrap your mind around. Getting to rank 5 means you're "better" than 98% of the playerbase, when it doesn't feel like that's true at all. It really does feel like that if you don't get legend, you just suck at the game. I know that's not the truth, but that's definitely how it feels.
It's hard to wrap your mind around. Getting to rank 5 means you're "better" than 98% of the playerbase, when it doesn't feel like that's true at all. It really does feel like that if you don't get legend, you just suck at the game. I know that's not the truth, but that's definitely how it feels.
Don't worry its not true. Also consider the fact that low level legend players think they suck compared to high level legend players. It doesn't matter how good or bad you are everyone feels like that. Unless you are number 1. But even then once you lose #1 you feel washed up like you can't do it anymore.
Whether you are good or not,it doesn't matter in this game.If you play a tier 1 deck and you play a lot then you will reach legend.If you can't do it no matter how much you play a tier 1 deck then there is something wrong with you.This game is the most noobfriendly ccg out there.
On NA standard legend it says top 0.25% assuming that's rounded and that roughly 11k hit legend that's means approx 4.4m players that played at least 1 game on standard during the season [...]
On a related note, I wish Team 5 would release final rank distributions given a minimum # of games played, across a range of such values. That's really a better benchmark for your own performance against the field than the current (outdated?) numbers.
Would like to thank everybody who answered here for their input, much appreciated.
Was particularly struck by craptasm's point, also related to those by Brooknt and Skyi101. Indeed, if rank distributions are to mean something, it would be better to have some minimum threshold on games played. Otherwise, players with just 1 ladder game (or maybe even zero? don't know) would be included in the calculations. And, with all due respect, I doubt any competitive player would be much interested into comparisons with them ;)
Come to think of it, several data aggregation sites (metastats, vicioussyndicate, hsreplay...) already follow this min games # approach. Why not Blizzard itself?
On a side note, I just realised (silly me!) that to check against the 2014 picture, data from certain ranks would be more handy than others, namely those at which Blizz draw the lines (15, 10, 5, legend). Now, about legend and r10 we know already... if someone who recently finished at r15 or r5 could post their rank %, that would be great. Come on, don't be shy!
Mind, data from other ranks is interesting, too, but would require some interpolations / assumptions to compare.
If you feel more comfortable with it, then just consider yourself against those players who reach Rank 15. That is enough ranked games in a season there to filter out those who don't play enough games, or don't give laddering a shot outside of quests. So, just multiply whatever figure by 4x. Still, only 1% of these players who put effort toward laddering in a season reach Legend.
Although, I did hear once that some of the players with the highest win rates were at Rank 15. They probably only log onto the game for the bare minimum of completing their quests, but are pretty good and have a deep collection. It is what you make it.
As for what the achievement of reaching Legend indicates, there has always been a quantity component to laddering, since there have always been bonus stars for win streaks. So a player with an even or slightly negative win rate could always reach Rank 5 with enough games. After rank 5 though, and especially Rank 3+, is where the real differentiating factors are. From that point it is mathematical that only 1 in 5 players will reach legend. (Or, at least it would be if matchmaking with a legend player at this ranks were impossible).
So there is of course a quantity component to laddering, always will be, reaching Legend still is a very meaningful reflection of a player's skill at the game.
I log in on other accounts once or twice per month, just to hit 20 to get the card back. I sometimes level them up to 15, but don't really try. I would say that I probably play 10-20 games per month on those accounts. If I remember right, rank 17 put me in the top 48% of players. Seems ridiculous that I can be that high playing so few games.
If Blizz really wanted you to know where you stood, they would not count those accounts. But they count them all, so you can feel good about yourself and keep playing. If they told you that 80% of players were better than you, then you would probably quit. It's a mind game.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
There are 3 kinds of people in the world. Those that can count and those that can't.
I have when I played tier one or two decks ranked up insanely quickly, but I generally play bad-mediocre decks that are really hard to play correctly, that means I stick between rank 15 and 10 and max out at nine most seasons. I could reach legend with a tier 3 deck that I found fun, but the slog is not my passion. I think a number of people do things like this but are not good enough or play even worse decks such that they are inbetween 20 and 15. Not something I can say is absolutely true but it seems to be the case when I am between rank 20 and fifteen late in the season after playing a really bad deck and falling down, I can't do this anymore now that rank floors are a thing but I used to commonly hit rock bottom 20 when playing excessively weird mill decks, other than my c'thun mill decks which have on occasion gotten me past rank 10 from rank 19 or so. but when in20-15 I see all the craziest stuff, and it is fifty-fifty meta and weird homebrew. if that is the case more like 20% of people can't go past rank 19 or so which is actually reasonably believable considering how hard it is to play f2p. I mean I have reached rank fifteen with homebrew poorman decks that were really bad when all I had was 1 wing of naxx and a few bad basic cards but most people don't have that kind of skill or dedication at that rank.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Just fill your deck with one drops, that is creative deck design, right?
i find the game really only starts to get difficult at rank 5 to legend. like it might be the same for others but its really when people stop and think about their plays, take the full turn rather than spamming cards and hoping for the best. On the topic of we are better than we think, the fact that the percentage of players at a certain rank is lower/higher might only be in the season of an expansion because so many people play when a new expansion comes out and play for that season and maybe one after then stop to it can also be due to the number of players that have played a standard game is much more diluted than usual meaning that the ratio of number of players at a certain rank / the total number players that played a standard game gives a lower percentage because of the diluted player base
I have when I played tier one or two decks ranked up insanely quickly, but I generally play bad-mediocre decks that are really hard to play correctly, that means I stick between rank 15 and 10 and max out at nine most seasons. I could reach legend with a tier 3 deck that I found fun, but the slog is not my passion. I think a number of people do things like this but are not good enough or play even worse decks such that they are inbetween 20 and 15. Not something I can say is absolutely true but it seems to be the case when I am between rank 20 and fifteen late in the season after playing a really bad deck and falling down, I can't do this anymore now that rank floors are a thing but I used to commonly hit rock bottom 20 when playing excessively weird mill decks, other than my c'thun mill decks which have on occasion gotten me past rank 10 from rank 19 or so. but when in20-15 I see all the craziest stuff, and it is fifty-fifty meta and weird homebrew. if that is the case more like 20% of people can't go past rank 19 or so which is actually reasonably believable considering how hard it is to play f2p. I mean I have reached rank fifteen with homebrew poorman decks that were really bad when all I had was 1 wing of naxx and a few bad basic cards but most people don't have that kind of skill or dedication at that rank.
Yeah, I’ve actually found this to be true also. Players at Rank 15 are playing the same Tier 1-2 decks as the top of the ladder, only either not playing enough game or not playing well enough to rise further. And at rank 20-15, it is about half net deck and half homebrew/budget decks.
I know, because my wife plays about as many games as I do, but she only plays her own decks. She has all the epics and legendaries she needs, and ends up at around Rank 15 each season.
Most, if not all, of us know about the You're Better Than You Think! Hearthside Chat post. However, that dates back to 2014, many things have changed since, most notably the recent rank floors introduction. Climbing the ladder should now be easier, but how much so?
It seems some people now think everybody and their grandma have reached legend, while others still struggle.
So, I was wondering if we could whip up some homemade, quick-and-dirty check on that old data.
For instance, after season reset last night I was told that at rank 10 I was in the top 9% of the laddering population, while according to the 2014 picture it would have been the top 7.5%. Not a huge difference, but not negligible either.
What about you?
Rank 3, top 0.5% it said. Same last season
The legend rank said 0.25%. That's half what was posted in the Hearthside chat thread. What I can say is that there were way more legends this season than last. Ranking up, I played people in the 9k's. Anecdotally, it was also much easier this season. I went 14-4 with Elemental Mage from ranks 2-1-legend.
Rank 4 for the April 2017 season. Said I was in the top 1%.
There're a lot dead players though
Don't know who else is faster than me lol completed 13:35 est, 12/8
On NA standard legend it says top 0.25% assuming that's rounded and that roughly 11k hit legend that's means approx 4.4m players that played at least 1 game on standard during the season .
Even if this were the highest number of legendary players of all seasons. Assuming the top number of 11k that's 418,000 times players have reached legend or a maximum of 1% of 4.4m active players over the life of the game on NA, assuming all 418,000 occurrences were different players (extremely) unlikely.
This means barely anyone actually reaches legend. Those of us on this site who have, well we are on this site wanting to be better and caring about the game in the first place.
Its highly likely that the small percentage of players who care enough to be here and invest forum time are those that reach r5-legend.
In one of the dev Q&As, BB explained that one of the problems they want to fix with the current ladder system is the large glut of players "trapped" at rank 20 - apparently, 40% of the player base loses more often than they win, and they don't make any appreciable advancement beyond rank 20.
As far as the large number of players hitting legend - Blizz releases quarterly reports on each of their games. Each release prior to Gadgetzan outsold its predecessor by more than 20%. Presumably, most of the increase in sales is due to a corresponding increase in the size of the player base - if so, the game would have about three times as many players as it did in 2014, more or less. Looking at the data from all the sites which track the game, last month seems to have been the "most played" season since the game launched - it wouldn't be surprising if a record number of people hit legend, all things considered.
On a related note, I wish Team 5 would release final rank distributions given a minimum # of games played, across a range of such values. That's really a better benchmark for your own performance against the field than the current (outdated?) numbers.
It's hard to wrap your mind around. Getting to rank 5 means you're "better" than 98% of the playerbase, when it doesn't feel like that's true at all. It really does feel like that if you don't get legend, you just suck at the game. I know that's not the truth, but that's definitely how it feels.
Achieved Gold Priest- April 2017
Whether you are good or not,it doesn't matter in this game.If you play a tier 1 deck and you play a lot then you will reach legend.If you can't do it no matter how much you play a tier 1 deck then there is something wrong with you.This game is the most noobfriendly ccg out there.
If you feel more comfortable with it, then just consider yourself against those players who reach Rank 15. That is enough ranked games in a season there to filter out those who don't play enough games, or don't give laddering a shot outside of quests. So, just multiply whatever figure by 4x. Still, only 1% of these players who put effort toward laddering in a season reach Legend.
Although, I did hear once that some of the players with the highest win rates were at Rank 15. They probably only log onto the game for the bare minimum of completing their quests, but are pretty good and have a deep collection. It is what you make it.
As for what the achievement of reaching Legend indicates, there has always been a quantity component to laddering, since there have always been bonus stars for win streaks. So a player with an even or slightly negative win rate could always reach Rank 5 with enough games. After rank 5 though, and especially Rank 3+, is where the real differentiating factors are. From that point it is mathematical that only 1 in 5 players will reach legend. (Or, at least it would be if matchmaking with a legend player at this ranks were impossible).
So there is of course a quantity component to laddering, always will be, reaching Legend still is a very meaningful reflection of a player's skill at the game.
I log in on other accounts once or twice per month, just to hit 20 to get the card back. I sometimes level them up to 15, but don't really try. I would say that I probably play 10-20 games per month on those accounts. If I remember right, rank 17 put me in the top 48% of players. Seems ridiculous that I can be that high playing so few games.
If Blizz really wanted you to know where you stood, they would not count those accounts. But they count them all, so you can feel good about yourself and keep playing. If they told you that 80% of players were better than you, then you would probably quit. It's a mind game.
There are 3 kinds of people in the world. Those that can count and those that can't.
No, I'm not better than I think.
:)
Its not worth my time to grind just to get an extra gold Shadowflame or some garbage.
I have when I played tier one or two decks ranked up insanely quickly, but I generally play bad-mediocre decks that are really hard to play correctly, that means I stick between rank 15 and 10 and max out at nine most seasons. I could reach legend with a tier 3 deck that I found fun, but the slog is not my passion. I think a number of people do things like this but are not good enough or play even worse decks such that they are inbetween 20 and 15. Not something I can say is absolutely true but it seems to be the case when I am between rank 20 and fifteen late in the season after playing a really bad deck and falling down, I can't do this anymore now that rank floors are a thing but I used to commonly hit rock bottom 20 when playing excessively weird mill decks, other than my c'thun mill decks which have on occasion gotten me past rank 10 from rank 19 or so. but when in20-15 I see all the craziest stuff, and it is fifty-fifty meta and weird homebrew. if that is the case more like 20% of people can't go past rank 19 or so which is actually reasonably believable considering how hard it is to play f2p. I mean I have reached rank fifteen with homebrew poorman decks that were really bad when all I had was 1 wing of naxx and a few bad basic cards but most people don't have that kind of skill or dedication at that rank.
Just fill your deck with one drops, that is creative deck design, right?
i find the game really only starts to get difficult at rank 5 to legend. like it might be the same for others but its really when people stop and think about their plays, take the full turn rather than spamming cards and hoping for the best. On the topic of we are better than we think, the fact that the percentage of players at a certain rank is lower/higher might only be in the season of an expansion because so many people play when a new expansion comes out and play for that season and maybe one after then stop to it can also be due to the number of players that have played a standard game is much more diluted than usual meaning that the ratio of number of players at a certain rank / the total number players that played a standard game gives a lower percentage because of the diluted player base
Yeah, I’ve actually found this to be true also. Players at Rank 15 are playing the same Tier 1-2 decks as the top of the ladder, only either not playing enough game or not playing well enough to rise further. And at rank 20-15, it is about half net deck and half homebrew/budget decks.
I know, because my wife plays about as many games as I do, but she only plays her own decks. She has all the epics and legendaries she needs, and ends up at around Rank 15 each season.
So I hit R12 last season but ended the season at R15 (not sure which one was counted). I think the in-game message said I was in top 30%.