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GWENT: The Witcher Card Game
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One of the best digital games that have ever been released...

One of the best digital games that have ever been released...

148 View2024-06-14
After 80 hours of playtime, i feel confident, when i say, that Gwent represents the pinnacle of Collectible Card games, and digital games in general. It represents the product of many years of developement and love, and is closer to perfection, as i would have ever imagined, that a product made by men could possibly be.
But, im stepping forward...
Many years ago, i was an enthusiastic Gwent-beta player. It was a time, when Hearthstone was dominating the video-game-world, and lots of small and big companies tried to get a piece of the cake, and released their own visions of card-games. And, while i felt, that better games than Hearthstone were born during that period, they all vanished sooner or later.
Then, CD Project Red joined the competition with a product, that players already knew and loved from the famous "Witcher 3" game, and that was nothing less than revolutionary!
Gwent did, in my personal oppinion, everything better than Hearthstone:
The art was phenomenal and adult, rewards were generous, the card pool was extremely interesting, and the mechanics were easy to understand, but extremely deep.
It didnt take long, and a healthy and growing player-base had established itself, which enabled Gwent to even join the esports-scene, and to rise it to new heights. I will never forget the epicness of Gwent-championships...
Then, Gwent left its beta-state, and with version 1.0, also called "Homecoming", came a complete redesign. I know that the developers intended to return to their vision of Gwent, but still have never understood the reasons behind turning a game that everybody loved into a completely different game, without even trying to understand if that was in their community's interest...
To make a long story short: The official Gwent release was an epic fail, and the beginning of the downfall. Everything, that had grown with the community, was gone, and in order to keep playing, players were forced to start from scratch, and accept that their beloved Gwent was... no more, and would never return.
Hardly surprising, famous pro-players left the game, and the player-base decreased rapidly. I kept playing for some time, but Homecoming wasnt running well on my laptop, and it just didnt feel the same anymore...
Then, rumors came up, that Gwent would be closing its servers, and i quit...
With pain in my heart, but without regrets...
Many years later, i still longed to fill the gap, that Gwent-beta had left in me, and was still jumping from game to game, without ever being able to become satisfied.
Then i discovered TapTap, and did a complex "card-games for Android" research. I was very surprised, to find Gwent in that list, from which i was expecting, that it would have been shut-down long ago...
Out of curiousity and nostalgia, i installed the game once more, and imagine my surprise, when i found out, that the servers are not only still online, but that there is an active community as well. That the game had been supported until fall 2023, and then been given into the player-base's hand, which means, that the community is doing all the balancing now...
Even my collection and my decks still existed, and were fully compatible. And so began my second love with Gwent...
Since its beginnings, Homecoming has been dramatically improved:
Lots of new cards, a new faction, new keywords... Much better balancing, and everything is extremely comfortable and intuitive... Very generous, and still looking unparalleled.
But, above all that, there is an hilarious amount of decks around, and all of them are valid and strong. Each faction has its unique theme, and at the same time, can be so different, in so many interesting ways...
Are you tired of pay2win games, unfair matchmakings and the same couple of netdecks in every match? Of sloppy ports, bad graphics, uncompetent developers? Play Gwent!
Gwent gives you so much freedom in creating something unique, that really fits to you, and compete against mature people with it, that there's no way, that you won't lose your heart in the process.
Personally, ive tried many different nature decks, and am currently playing a completely unique harmony deck, where your units grow with each other, and i have already made it to rank 2 (you start at rank 30), without spending more than 12 Euro for a premium pass.
(Edit: Today, the 27th of June 2024, i have finally reached rank 1 🥹).
And, not a single day passes, where i dont try to optimize my deck, or build something innovative and go wild...
Honestly: After 140 hours with Homecoming v11.10 (as of 06/2024), in which i have just played one faction (of six), i still discover new ways to optimize my deck, often rebuilding everything in the process, and i enjoy the permanent experimentation and optimization immensely!
I dont think im claiming too much, when i say, that Gwent has became a part of my life, that i wouldn't want to miss anymore!
Now, about the inevitable negatives:
There are a few bugs. Nothing relevant, but annoying nontheless. For example, opening card barrels doesnt always work at the first attempt. Then, the draft mode is pretty much useless, as the timer is halved, compared to the standard games. I dont know if this is intended, but it is completely impossible to make thoughful plays under this conditions. And finally... the balancing. There are obviously stronger and weaker factions. Which is an result of a community, that balances the game subjectively, which means, that players nominate to strenghten factions and cards they play, and weaken factions and cards they lose against.
But, thats not the game's fault, but the community's, which puts winning above everything else...
...
I could go on forever, but will close with one final statement:
Gwent is among the best games, that have ever been developed, and might be the best game that i have ever experienced in 33 years of gaming...
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Comments
Rainbow Lotus
Rainbow Lotus Author
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If you've read so far, i guess you are seriously interested in starting Gwent. So, here's a little help to get you started: - Buy one premium-pass of your choice. You will receive insane value for your money! - Choose one faction, and keep playing it. Also, buy only kegs (card packs) from this faction. Then, when you have a full faction collection, continue with neutral cards. - Play ranked until you have reached rank 25, which will enable the unranked mode. Then, keep playing unranked, until you are satisfied with your collection, your deck and your skill. Enough, that you feel comfortable with playing against the strongest decks and players... Have an amazing experience!

2024-06-22

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