For quite some time now, the debate around “RNG” has run rampant in the Hearthstone community. An acronym for “random number generation”, RNG simply refers to any action in game that has a component of randomness. This can be something like the Shaman’s hero power (which summons one of four random totems), or the infamous Boom Bots which randomly choose a target, and randomly deal between 1-4 damage to that target.

There will always be complaints about RNG in the game, especially after a player loses a match in a fairly spectacular way thanks to “bad luck.” However, the flip side of that is that their opponent experienced a huge thrill by winning a game they thought was all but lost. This brings us to our first point:

Experiencing the rush

If you’ve played Hearthstone for any significant amount of time, you’ve had that game. The game where the situation looks almost hopeless, where any chance for a comeback seems like a pipe dream. You play your last possible card, hoping that the Hearthstone gods will smile down upon you. Suddenly, the (almost) impossible happens: your random effect hits exactly as you need it to, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat! You’re ecstatic, your heart is racing, and you can’t help but have a huge smile as you stare at the victory screen, unable to believe your luck. The sensation is incredible, and it’s that kind of adrenaline rush that will ensure you keep coming back.

If a seasoned vet like Brian Kibler can get this excited, the rest of us can (and will) feel it too

Maintaining a huge player base

That brings us to our second point. The vast majority of Hearthstone players will never compete in a single tournament, and it’s important for the long-term health of the game that these players stick around. Randomness ensures two things: 1) A less-skilled player will at least have a chance against a player with greater skill, and 2) There’s always something, aside from our own shortcomings, that we can blame a loss on. That last point could be expanded on greatly, and likely warrants its own article. Basically, it’s important for players to be able to blame losses on some external factor, so that they keep coming back to play. If they feel that losses are their own fault and they’re just a bad player, many will simply stop playing a game they feel they have no chance in.

This is a spectator-friendly game

One of the huge draws of Hearthstone is how much fun it is to watch. It’s consistently one of the most-viewed games on Twitch, and large tournaments tend to pull in a large viewer base. The layout is beautiful, and the visual effects are fantastic to watch, even for a casual fan. Part of what makes the game enjoyable to spectate to a large audience is the unpredictability of the game. Having those “NO WAY, I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED!” moments goes a long way towards keeping spectators engaged over the long run. Again, one of the most appealing qualities to Hearthstone is how easy it is for new players/spectators to become engaged with the game. Those moments go a long way towards not only drawing people in, but keeping them interested.

It’s actually not as bad for eSports as you think

There are those that will agree with my above points, but believe that there’s too much RNG for Hearthstone to be taken seriously as an eSport. While I understand that viewpoint, I must respectfully disagree. First of all, Hearthstone is already making its name in the eSports community. It’s currently happening, it’s only getting bigger, and it’s doing it despite the presence of random effects.

2014 champion Firebat is still a top-tier player. That's not just luck.

Secondly, the fact is, the most successful tournament decks typically try to eliminate randomness as effectively as possible. The top deck over the last 6 months has been Patron Warrior, which uses exactly 0 RNG-based effects. One of the biggest counter-picks to this deck has been Mid-range Druid, whose only random effects come from Piloted Shredder. One of the other most popular picks has been Demon Handlock, who only get randomness from Voidcaller. Even then, that level of randomness is somewhat controllable.

Do we sometimes see random effects have a large effect on an important tournament game? Yes, it has happened, and it will happen again in the future. However, on average, RNG-based effects are rarely the deciding factor in top-level matches. The pros generally go out of their way to avoid decks that are extremely RNG-dependent, as seen by the fact that Tempo Mage, generally considered a strong deck, is a pretty niche pick in tournament play.

I’ll close this part out with a quote from Senior Game Designer Ben Brode:

“You know actually I think the randomness can increase the skill required to play a game. If you imagine a game of Hearthstone except you ordered all the cards in your deck, then you could learn every game you play your 1 drop, you play your 2 drop, your 3 drop, your 4 drop, etc...but because it's random, the order you get your cards, you often see game situations that you've seen before or that no one's ever seen before. Really great players can figure out what to do in new situations better than other players. And so cards that increase randomness into the game state actually can increase the amount of skill required to solve novel game states. So I think randomness adds exciting new stories and suspense and it can make the game more skillful if you do it right.”

Card games always involve some level of randomness

While Hearthstone may take the idea of RNG a bit further than we’re used to, card games always have randomness attached to them. The most common form is simple: Did you draw the cards you needed to win? It can go beyond that, as if you spend any time with Magic: The Gathering players, you’ll hear complaints about “mana screw” or “mana flood.” Different card games might be affected by randomness in various ways, but it’s always there. Heck, even poker players deal with randomness, and sometimes lose to inferior players because of it, but there are still people who play for a living. The reason for that is simple, and it’s the final thought I’ll leave you with:

Even with randomness present, the most skilled players will always find a way to be successful in the long run