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Popete
Oct 6, 2009

This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs

Grimey Drawer


Gwent The Witcher Card Game is a collectible card game from CD Projekt Red that made it's first appearance in the 2015 RPG hit Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Although an optional side game that involved playing varying AI across the game world to earn treasure and rare cards it proved popular enough to spawn a standalone CCG that is currently in closed beta.

Gwent is a fairly easy game to pick up but hard to master. Players take turns placing a single card from their deck on to the playing field. Each player has their own field consisting of 3 rows of distinct types Melee/Ranged/Siege. Character cards can be played onto your field (or in some cases the enemy field) in their corresponding row type, character cards have a simple point value associated with them but may also have special abilities or properties that enhance or harm either side. There are also many utlitiy and ability cards that effect the playing field by enhancing or hurting either sides characters or field. A game consists of best of 3 rounds, a single round is won by whoever has the highest point total when both players pass or run out of cards. The strategies are numerous in Gwent and since a game is best of 3 there are many situations where a player might purposefully concede a round. For instance you might bait the opposing side into playing the strongest cards in their hand during the first round only to quickly pass your turn and forfeit, this sets you up to have a stronger hand to crush them in the next 2 rounds.



There are currently five factions in Gwent each with a unique playstyle.

Nilfgaard


More than any other GWENT faction, Nilfgaard relies on diplomacy and subterfuge to disrupt enemy strategies and enact its own. The empire plants Spies behind enemy lines to perform sabotage and reveal cards in the opponent’s hand. Well-aware of power’s benefits, Nilfgaardians target the strongest enemy units, crippling them or eliminating them altogether.

Northern Realms


The Northern Realms seek to gain control of the battlefield by reinforcing their numbers. Their valiant commanders march in the front lines to inspire their units and boost their strength. Their troops can be immunized against attacks and weather spells through promotion to Gold status, while Medics can return fallen soldiers to fighting form.

Scoia'tael


The Scoia’tael are supremely agile, able to outmaneuver their foes with units able to deploy to any row. As befits guerilla fighters, they often set ambushes: cards played face down which reveal themselves only when the trap has already sprung. To bolster their numbers, the Scoia'tael quickly raise new Commandos, zealous neophytes that take the opponent by surprise.

Monsters


The world of The Witcher is infested with unspeakable horrors, most of which are gathered in the fearsome Monsters faction. Foul weather does not hinder these beasts—in fact, they thrive in harsh conditions. They attack in vast numbers that grow into hordes with the Breed ability, and when brute strength is needed instead, they consume their kin and absorb their strength.

Skellige


Skelligers embrace death’s glory, knowing their priestesses and medics can summon departed heroes from the Graveyard to fight another day. A Skellige player sends units to the Graveyard on purpose… only to bring them back later, stronger than ever. Skelligers also turn wounds to their favor by inciting their bloodied warriors to attack with redoubled strength.

Game is currently in CLOSED BETA you can sign up here.

https://www.playgwent.com/en#/about/world

Reward Map:

Popete fucked around with this message at 23:24 on Feb 27, 2017

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Popete
Oct 6, 2009

This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs

Grimey Drawer
I'll try and gather info to add a description of each factions play style. If anyone would like me to add something to the OP please let me know. I am by no means an expert Gwent player but I've been having a lot of fun with the closed beta.

Slashrat
Jun 6, 2011

YOSPOS
A cheat-sheet of the major mechanical differences between W3 and Stand-alone Gwent would be useful, I think

No Mods No Masters
Oct 3, 2004

Patch notes are out boys :getin: https://playgwent.com/en/news?3700#3700

Popete
Oct 6, 2009

This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs

Grimey Drawer
In an effort to figure out whats different between GWENT and the Witcher 3 Gwent what have people noticed that has changed? Cards are now grouped into bronze/silver/gold/utility, it also seems like there are a lot less spy cards on the field.

Electronico6
Feb 25, 2011

Popete posted:

In an effort to figure out whats different between GWENT and the Witcher 3 Gwent what have people noticed that has changed? Cards are now grouped into bronze/silver/gold/utility, it also seems like there are a lot less spy cards on the field.

Nilfggard is getting all the spies. The big difference is that there's a lot more interactions with the board and the cards(like cards that remove strength from opposing cards, when you play certain cards on your board or even to the graveyard), and of course counters to specific strategies and plays. And counters to those counters. And also it isn't a mini-game designed so the main player can win always.



This is the second time they had to bring down the hammer down on Northern Realm. I think the problem might just be the entire concept of Gold cards, because no matter how many people cry about weather monsters, NR decks of all variety end up being ridiculous as the meta develops. To the point that CDRP is now adding cards that just cancel Gold cards, when these were supposed to be untouchable by design. The odd thing is that since the Beta started there were Gold hard counters, it just so happened that four of the six cards that could affect Gold units, were part of the NR set, leaving the others with no tools to work.


Though it's nice to see Dwarf Scoia'tel list getting useful buffs. They got crushed pretty hard by weather and dimeretium bombs, now maybe they'll survive better.

eonwe
Aug 11, 2008



Lipstick Apathy
so far I've been very unlucky at getting into this

dead gay comedy forums
Oct 21, 2011


Got into it today, how's the beta so far?

Abisteen
Sep 30, 2005

Oh my God what the fuck am I?
gently caress all players who win and don't even send a GG. They are the worst.

I wish that you made at least some progress in account levels even in losses. Overall this is a good game and I am excited to see how it continues to develop. To anyone new, card advantage is quite important because by default you will only draw 3 cards throughout the game that are not in your initial hand. You get two draws before round 2 and one draw before round 3.

Popete
Oct 6, 2009

This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs

Grimey Drawer

Abisteen posted:

gently caress all players who win and don't even send a GG. They are the worst.

I wish that you made at least some progress in account levels even in losses. Overall this is a good game and I am excited to see how it continues to develop. To anyone new, card advantage is quite important because by default you will only draw 3 cards throughout the game that are not in your initial hand. You get two draws before round 2 and one draw before round 3.

Agree about the GG thing, I do think it's a cool mechanic though I've found most people do send one.

My biggest gripe so far is that you don't gain anything for a loss, they need some baseline reward or experience otherwise it feels like if you really suck you'll never progress.

Electronico6
Feb 25, 2011

Just don't send GG to people who forfeit on round 1.

Blazing Zero
Sep 7, 2012

*sigh* sure. it's a weed joke

Popete posted:

Agree about the GG thing, I do think it's a cool mechanic though I've found most people do send one.

My biggest gripe so far is that you don't gain anything for a loss, they need some baseline reward or experience otherwise it feels like if you really suck you'll never progress.

i think that pity sex xp is terrible and im glad it isnt in this game. games have winners and losers and its ok to lose

Popete
Oct 6, 2009

This will make sure you don't suggest to the KDz
That he should grow greens instead of crushing on MCs

Grimey Drawer

Blazing Zero posted:

i think that pity sex xp is terrible and im glad it isnt in this game. games have winners and losers and its ok to lose

Yeah it's fine to lose but giving the player nothing means that they won't ever get new cards for their deck and that hurts their chances of competing on equal footing. If someone is real bad at Gwent but still likes to play I can see that turning them away as the only other way to get new cards is through actual cash money. It doesn't need to be a huge reward just something to keep you progressing.

Megazver
Jan 13, 2006

Electronico6 posted:

Just don't send GG to people who forfeit on round 1.

Please do GG us.

dead gay comedy forums
Oct 21, 2011


Popete posted:

Yeah it's fine to lose but giving the player nothing means that they won't ever get new cards for their deck and that hurts their chances of competing on equal footing. If someone is real bad at Gwent but still likes to play I can see that turning them away as the only other way to get new cards is through actual cash money. It doesn't need to be a huge reward just something to keep you progressing.

Yeah, like play 3 matches or a random daily goal. It isn't going to make filthy casuals able to beat the people who are going to be really into it

Also there got to be some rewiring steps coming from Witcher 3 because the common sense strategies have been all thrown to poo poo

Electronico6
Feb 25, 2011

Popete posted:

Yeah it's fine to lose but giving the player nothing means that they won't ever get new cards for their deck and that hurts their chances of competing on equal footing. If someone is real bad at Gwent but still likes to play I can see that turning them away as the only other way to get new cards is through actual cash money. It doesn't need to be a huge reward just something to keep you progressing.

They either need to improve the starting decks or just give a good handful of free kegs for first timers(5-10 kegs) to improve those decks and build their own right outside the gate. Because the rate of getting kegs per day is pretty good, you can gain up to two kegs without much hassle everyday, which is something you can't do at all in Hearthstone.(Which at best nets you 1 per day) It's just getting through that initial hump that is real miserable and feels like an unending grind to get any decent stuff.

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

Popete posted:

Yeah it's fine to lose but giving the player nothing means that they won't ever get new cards for their deck and that hurts their chances of competing on equal footing. If someone is real bad at Gwent but still likes to play I can see that turning them away as the only other way to get new cards is through actual cash money. It doesn't need to be a huge reward just something to keep you progressing.

Yeah, I actually like this. You don't have to feel like you're hitting a stone wall just because you're on a losing streak and it actually makes me want to come back and play. Also, there are cards that are pretty great, and you can build a strategy around that, but more often than not you will just have a good old time with the base cards. Probably because the game hasn't quite yet gotten as bloated with awful combos like HS has. The GG mechanic is also a good idea generally. And removing/not including the awful emoting spam is also nice.

General Morden
Mar 3, 2013

GOTTA HAVE THAT PAX BISONICA
got into this and while it's fun, it seriously needs more new players

i've hit level 2 and the game is only matching me up with higher level players with good decks

Xik
Mar 10, 2011

Dinosaur Gum
Started getting into hearthstone last week, then received an invite to this a few days later... :tinfoil:

I quite like the Witcher universe, but I'm still a relative newbie. Just finished Witcher 1 last year and still in the process of playing Witcher 2.

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

General Morden posted:

got into this and while it's fun, it seriously needs more new players

i've hit level 2 and the game is only matching me up with higher level players with good decks

That doesn't NEED to be a problem, but unfortunately most higher level players are playing Monster decks. I'm ready to revise my former statement and say monster decks may need some tweaking before the game is where it needs to be.

Edit: I mean, monster decks aren't unbeatable, but you need to very mindfully tailor your deck to beating them specifically. Most other decks don't as heavily rely on weather effects, and the free monster staying on the board can be a real pain.

Comte de Saint-Germain
Mar 26, 2001

Snouk but and snouk ben,
I find the smell of an earthly man,
Be he living, or be he dead,
His heart this night shall kitchen my bread.
https://www.gog.com/news/gwent_nilfgaard_has_arrived_celebrate_with_a_huge_beta_keys_giveaway

More beta keys available.

Fuzz
Jun 2, 2003

Avatar brought to you by the TG Sanity fund

Just got in, awesome! Thanks, Comte!

FallenGod
May 23, 2002

Unite, Afro Warriors!


Thanks, glad I decided to see if a thread for this existed.

socialsecurity
Aug 30, 2003





I'm in, I loved Gwent in Witcher 3 I already am not fond of this interface it feels I dunno busier? The numbers and everything don't seem to be as easy to read at a glance.

Blazing Zero
Sep 7, 2012

*sigh* sure. it's a weed joke
i got a key and played some matches. its a fun and good card game with a lot of differences from standard card games

Lichtenstein
May 31, 2012

It'll make sense, eventually.
I'm trying this game out and immediately took a liking to Nilfgaard. However, I don't quite get how all the cards are meant to work just yet.

Cantarella, I assume, is meant to be played for her card draw basically only in decks able to reclaim your spies?
I fail to see much value in Emissary. Are they just meant to be cantrip spies to trigger spy-related efffects of other cards?

mark-p87
Sep 27, 2006
Really Dystopian Rhetoric
Had a chance to give this a go over the last couple of days, really enjoyed it so far. Hadn't played anything online for a while and had almost forgotten the joy it can bring. Passed Round 1 after playing 1 card, my opponent then proceeded to clear his deck to win that round 73-0. Thanks!

Going to try another faction than Northern Realms tonight I think.

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious
Nilf are fun to play andthe changes in the rules really got me back into it. Monster decks are still tricky though

eonwe
Aug 11, 2008



Lipstick Apathy
Game is fun but I honestly feel like this game is less forgiving to people without a lot of good cards than most of the other card games Ive played

i havent played in like a couple months tho

General Morden
Mar 3, 2013

GOTTA HAVE THAT PAX BISONICA
if someone wants a closed beta key, I got an extra one

Jeza
Feb 13, 2011

The cries of the dead are terrible indeed; you should try not to hear them.
Trying it out atm. Haven't done any searching on good decks but I've built a pretty reliable one for starter cards. Scoia'tael, fill your deck with only beneficial bronze Special cards. I opened Quen and a decent legendary that can bring back any non-gold Special card also, but the legendary is just gravy. The deck works by mulliganing all your Specials for your Mahakam Defenders (the one with resilience) and slow playing the start round.

The ideal start is both Defenders, Quen and the Cow and letting your opponent go first. Then you can basically slow play the first four turns by playing the cow and using Quen on your Defenders and playing them. You only need to play around Scorch from that point on. Usually I just concede the first round, but sometimes if they keep trying to remove the Defenders I'll just keep buffing them. Either way the deck has tonnes more value than most others because the Elves that pull random buffs will just drop Swallow potions for free onto your board. You end up playing with more cards than your opponent, and your board sticks the entire way through quite often.

Virtue
Jan 7, 2009

I'm surprised this thread has so few posts. Is the beta really restricted or something? I got in yesterday and have been doing alright with the starter decks. Scratches that witcher 3 itch a bit as well

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious

Virtue posted:

I'm surprised this thread has so few posts. Is the beta really restricted or something? I got in yesterday and have been doing alright with the starter decks. Scratches that witcher 3 itch a bit as well

I'm not so sure actually. The game is fun, certainly a lot more than Hearthstone, but I get the feeling it being closed means less people have the time for it they should have.

Also there's not a ton of stuff to say. The balance changes are pretty wild at the moment, but that's a good thing, since it means they're aware the game needs them.

Megazver
Jan 13, 2006
I stopped playing because there will be a wipe and I can't be arsed to grind cards knowing that. I will, however, play once the game is released.

Blazing Zero
Sep 7, 2012

*sigh* sure. it's a weed joke
i feel the same way as megazver

Ferrinus
Jun 19, 2003

i'm finding this quite easy, i guess in part because i'm a fast type but also because i have a coherent mental model of the world
How come like 3/4ths of everyone I'm matched with plays monsters!! I play monsters and I'm getting self conscious about it.

When's the wipe/release supposed to happen?

Blazing Zero
Sep 7, 2012

*sigh* sure. it's a weed joke
i havent seen any mention of it, but i imagine when open beta starts

Comte de Saint-Germain
Mar 26, 2001

Snouk but and snouk ben,
I find the smell of an earthly man,
Be he living, or be he dead,
His heart this night shall kitchen my bread.

Megazver posted:

I stopped playing because there will be a wipe and I can't be arsed to grind cards knowing that. I will, however, play once the game is released.

I could be wrong, and someone please correct me if I am, but I think that any cards you unlock in the beta will be credited to you int he release. Like, you won't get the same cards, but you'll get kegs.

Again, I may be very wrong, I am not on the Gwent team and haven't followed it closely.

Blazing Zero
Sep 7, 2012

*sigh* sure. it's a weed joke
the only carry over i know of is purchased kegs. not kegs from leveling up and gg ore

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Go-Gurt For Dinner
Jul 8, 2013
Sure they mentioned that you get three kegs for every five levels you are after the wipe as a thank you, on top of any purchased kegs.

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