I can understand this decision by CDPR, but the choice for the rank that unlocks casual mode (7) is really terrible.
If the objective was to protect new players from having a bad starting experience, then rank 15 or even 20 might be enough.
Maybe they used recent data from ranked, where there were newbies able to reach ranks higher thank 7, thanks to the huge imbalance of decks like Foltest and Dijkstra, but on a regular situation, you were required to have some piloting skills, at least of the deck you use, to reach said ranks.
Now with this system, it forces all sorts of players to play ranked, where they're less likely to face experimental decks and are encouraged to "play seriously and try to win", thus removing the freedom that existed in Gwent before.
If the objective was to protect new players from having a bad starting experience, then rank 15 or even 20 might be enough.
Maybe they used recent data from ranked, where there were newbies able to reach ranks higher thank 7, thanks to the huge imbalance of decks like Foltest and Dijkstra, but on a regular situation, you were required to have some piloting skills, at least of the deck you use, to reach said ranks.
Now with this system, it forces all sorts of players to play ranked, where they're less likely to face experimental decks and are encouraged to "play seriously and try to win", thus removing the freedom that existed in Gwent before.