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    Artifact - Thoughts from someone who likes 2.0

    Artifact - Thoughts from someone who likes 2.0

    Link to Artifact - The Dota Card Game

    Thoughts from someone who likes 2.0

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 11:21 AM PDT

    I got in before the most recent wave and played about 40 hours. I played 1.0 for about 120 hours. Overall, I enjoy 2.0 and think there are some good changes from 1.0.

    There's been a lot of negativity towards the change to three lanes at once. I also do like 3 separate lanes, but I'm enjoying simultaneous lanes too. It fixes two big issues I had with 1.0. That is initiative being crucial and being continually locked out of a lane. In my 40 hours of 2.0 I never experienced anything close to the frustration of getting locked out lanes like I did in 1.0. This issue is why I dropped constructed all together in 1.0. There was so much mono blue with the strategy of just continually board wiping you so you couldn't play anything. Initiative is an interesting concept that could bring up tough choices like weighing whether playing a card will have enough impact to justify losing initiative or playing a card that forces your opponent to answer and you get initiative back. However, initiative was mostly used to lock your opponent out or prevent yourself from being locked out. IMO there were too many times were playing nothing was the optimal play in 1.0. In 2.0 there can still be tough decisions about initiative, but it does not feel like the game revolves around initiative. 3 simultaneous lanes also stops the first lanes from being the most important lane. I feel the lanes are more balanced in importance now. Middle feels a bit more important since some abilities only go a 5 slots or to adjacent lanes so you have the option to switch to either lane.

    2.0 got rid of pretty much all the feelsbadman RNG. Arrows didn't bother me that much, but I don't miss them. The shop and its RNG is much better. Having to upgrade the shop means that your opponent can't snag a top tier item right from the beginning when you don't have the mana or cards to deal with it. No more flop RNG. The reduced RNG and less lock out of a lane makes 2.0 much less frustrating to play.

    Limited slots kill the swarm archetype which sucks, but I think the benefits out weigh the loss. The flop is so much better now in its design and having the ability to place heros where you want. Heros can be designed around positioning which it seems like the devs are doing. In 1.0 some hero had positional benefits, but it came down to luck a lot of the time if you could get the most out of it. For example, I had a lot of matches were my primal roar would brick because my hero didn't end up in the slot I wanted.

    Heros and cards are a lot more interesting than in 1.0. I hope they improve this further by giving every hero at least 2 passives or actives. I like that a lot of signatures synergize with the corresponding hero, but are also still useful without their hero.

    But I don't like everything. Hero draft is not good. It's okay for a few rounds to get acclimated, but that's it. Deck building is a key part of card games and this mode removes most of it. I don't see it being populated unless there's a constant influx of new players. Some of the rules and mechanics feel just slapped on. For example, the courier and blink scroll. They feel like they don't have a place in the game except just to adjust something. It may come later down the line, but I feel these things should be thematic and try to fit more into the universe. Mana feels a bit low. The downside the 3 simultaneous lanes. Artifact 1.0 was great in this regard. The three separate lanes let you get a sizable amount of mana to work with from the very beginning of the match, but the seperate pools ment you couldn't play a late game card from the start. The first 3 rounds feel weak in 2.0. It's usually mana 6 where I feel like I get a good amount of mana to work with. Not sure how this could be fixed with 3 simultaneous lanes though. It can be difficult to read cards with long descriptions. It's not always clear how an interaction will work. For example, I had a Prellex and another hero with necronomicon in the same lane. Will I get a super creep or demonic archer? Unlocking cards takes too long and can't control what you unlock. I think it would be better to have them all unlocked from the beginning or speed up progression x1.5. I understand that progression systems are a must in modern multiplayer games, but I think it would be much better if the unlocks were cosmetics. Or at least choose what you unlock. I have 85% percent complete collection, but I can't build a deck I want because I'm missing one card. Like I mentioned before limited slots kill swarm archetype. There is also no epic final showdowns in a lane with many heros and creeps due to lane limit. And hand limit. Why is that even a thing?

    Although I'm liking 2.0, I still think it won't succeed. I think pushing the card aspect was a mistake. It's probably too late now, but it should of been made into a board or strategy game. Then people would come in with the mindset of a slower and more methodical game. The less control of individual unit actions would also be more expected. 2.0 still lacks the big flashy combos and plays. Not that that is a bad thing, but it's a tougher sell. I don't blame people coming in from other card games and being disappointed. It doesn't scratch the itch that most other digital card games do. But I imagine a board/strategy game is more niche and not as marketable.

    TLDR I like 2.0 and think there were many good changes, but I still don't think it will be a successful game.

    submitted by /u/LurkerLuo
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    One thing I think Artifact nailed

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 03:11 PM PDT

    Even though I'm still in the process of trying to form an opinion on 2.0 I was glad to find out it did manage to capture one feeling I had in 1.0 too:

    decisions seem to matter. I think this can primarily be attributed to the 3 lanes and the item shop but Artifact, in contrast to many of its peers, always gives me the feeling my decisions can make or break the outcome. I very rarely feel limited by poor draws(even though some decks will run into topdecking very fast, which might be an issue) or by the opponent simply running a strategy I cannot properly counter with my deck.

    For example if you look at MTGA, Gwent or god forbid Runeterra you often find that this isn't the case at all. Artifact genuinely feels way more strategical due to its micro oriented nature. In all of the aforementioned cases rock paper scissors plays a huge deal in playing the game, for most decks on top of the initial draw. Especially in Runeterra these problems are huge, which makes the game feel very shallow and casual player oriented. You don't really have to think; you just need to create a deck that happens to fit the meta and equal matchups are decided by the cards you draw.

    Still the main selling point of either game for me, and the biggest reason I hope 2.0 won't flop.

    submitted by /u/Gloriouspieps
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    Thoughts on 2.0 from someone whose opinion you don’t care about.

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 04:59 PM PDT

    Feels drier. Artifact 1.0 maybe have been maybe too exotic for a lot of people's tastes but I feel like tweaking the recipe for the cheese to be more palatable instead of replacing it with American cheese was the better move.

    A few refinements, a new monetization/progression system and some new cards would have been enough.

    submitted by /u/LoveHerMore
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    I played 122 hours of 1.0. I didn't really like it but I *hate* 2.0

    Posted: 05 Sep 2020 11:48 PM PDT

    2.0 seems like a lazy remake to me.

    Zoom out? 3 lanes at once? Less mana.

    It makes the game more reactionary and ruins a lot of the strategy of 1.0.

    I honestly didn't love 1.0 either, it had its own set of problems but whatever they're doing with 2.0 is clearly wrong.

    If you want to attract the masses lose the 3 lane idea and focus more on card interactions. If you want to retain your 1.0 player base clean up the interactions betweens lanes, fix how items work and add in mechanic to manipulate creeps.

    Right now you're going to lose everyone.

    I know this whole thing is probably too far gone down the road but artifact is doomed to fail ATM.

    IMO stop everything, scrap the original idea and try something new OR go ham into what the 1.0 crowd wants and make this a niche product, make it free to play, add a progression system and make money on cosmetic microtransations.

    Right now 2.0 will please maybe 1 in 10? and those 10 are people who are already interested in card games.

    Sorry Valve, you got all my love but this game is a disaster.

    submitted by /u/hereyagoman
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    Is there something strange about Lux's face in the new update?

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 12:53 PM PDT

    I feel that i am playing an autobattler, not a card game

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 07:19 PM PDT

    There isn't enough player interaction to make the game feel fun and interactive. In every other TCG, vanguard,yugioh,pokemon,MTG,hearthstone,gwent,LoR you can at least choose where to block/attack.

    This game looks like an autobattler, which isn't necessarily bad but valve might be promoting it at the wrong consumer base. I recommend adding more player interactions into the game and adding an "autobattler" mode instead to satisfy both TCG and autobattle fans

    submitted by /u/giveme80gold
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    Artifact demo (replay) format?

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 11:22 AM PDT

    Does anyone know the format of Artifact replays? Based on the protobufs included in the game I thought the replay format would be similar to Dota2/other source games but that doesn't seem to be the case.

    submitted by /u/AcidicAlpaca
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    Minority report: I played a 1.0 phantom draft just now

    Posted: 05 Sep 2020 11:35 PM PDT

    So after recent 2.0 debates, I become missing 1.0 even more. And I wanna make sure I still like it, because people usually beautify memories subconsciously.

    I reinstalled 1.0, open the game, built a phantom draft deck and started searching. Surprisingly, I got a match in just 3 minutes. When the game started, I just felt sooo good. All the tensions came back and I guess my heart rate doubled when it came to the last 2 rounds.

    I know I'm the minority here. Because I don't want yet another casual card game, at all. If I do, I'd just play HS or LoR. In fact, I never feel heart rate increased when playing HS or LoR, except for the first time when I reached legend or master rank.

    I'm also OK with the arrows RNG, I think players just need more ways to deal with them as stated in my other posts.

    1.0 is far from perfect despite the terrible monetization. It needs replays, ladders, progressions, card balances, etc in addition to F2P. But I just like the core mechanics too much, which 2.0 abandoned many of them.

    I love all the tensions 1.0 brings. I feel lots of pressure from my work, and normal casual card game can't help me relax at all. I don't need 10 casual games per day which I can play while watching TV or conference calls. I just need 2 or 3 games that make me really nervous, and then I can feel relax and enjoy my sleep.

    I know 1.0 is a dead game already, but I think I'll keep playing it from time to time. So please tell me if there's any discord channel or something that 1.0 fans could communicate with.

    Thank you.

    submitted by /u/smthpickboy
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    Someone already said it but I have to say it again. HERO DRAFT sucks, it makes ppl have wrong impression about Artifact 2.0

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 06:10 AM PDT

    I see lots of negative comments from newer players lately. I'm sure these players still have no idea about how deep the game could be in constructed mode. Their impression mainly come from playing campaign and hero draft.

    It isn't like I prefer constructed than draft. I play draft a lot in Artifact 1.0 but the Hero Draft here in 2.0 is not the real draft. You get a random deck instead of building it yourself. And there are many bad things aside from this, such as, you have to rely on luck to get to pick a better hero. For example, if both players want to play green, the one who get to pick Chen first will have massive advantage.

    I think Valve should remove this mode from the game and bring the real draft, or at least lock hero draft mode to be unavailable for low level players so that it won't give wrong impression about the game.

    If you want new players to learn the basics, you have campaign mode for that. Just make it better than the current campaign we have right now so that new players could learn and enjoy the game at the same time.

    submitted by /u/Man_Santichai
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    The Long Haul Podcast Episode 46

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 01:51 PM PDT

    Initial Impressions from someone who got bored of Artifact 1.0 after a week

    Posted: 06 Sep 2020 06:02 PM PDT

    Good

    • Core gameplay is a lot of fun — I'm talking about the first 3 rounds — before the board is filled with 20 effects and it's impossible to keep track of everything. There's only a few (but critical) choices, while in the later rounds, I have too many options — it's headache inducing.
    • Heroes feel fun and unique
    • I like being able to play creeps on top of basic creeps
    • gaining 5 gold in shop feels good when you can't afford anything

    • Card wording is very intuitive and I almost always know what will happen

    Bad

    • Board state gets very overwhelming — very hard to keep track of all the effects and abilities.
    • Shop feels very boring — not excited about my choices at all. I think it's partly because it's hard to determine which item I'll need — or all the items do basically the same thing (i.e. makes hero more survivable), so I just end up choosing something random.
    • Heroes with 3 uniques are overwhelming. Expecially mazzie, because I need to read 6 cards (and the spells don't even link to the equiptment — so i need to shuffle around for it)
    • Text and UI is way too tiny to read
    • Combat switch directions feels arbitrary and hard to keep track of
    • Placement phase feels okay (not unfun, but not fun either)
    • Courier feels very tacked on.
    • Creeps feel lame — they just get in the way. Especially the fact that the first lane is always clogged, so that's kinda a dead lane (why would I put an attacker in that lane?)
    • End game feels very anticlimactic — not from lack of tensity — but rather, it feels like chess rather than an epic finale
    • There needs to be more hover for details instead of clicking. Very tedious to click on things to see details. (i.e. needing to double click to see hero details in hero draft)

    My Big Idea

    Have you thought about making each lane have only 3 slots instead of 5? This would solve the tiny UI issue, and overwhelming board state issue. Additionally, to solve the issue of the game getting too overwhelming and difficult to follow: I think each match should only have 3 or 4 heroes. And the game should start with only 1 lane — an additional lane would open up each round (until there are 3).

    Minor Annoyances

    • Should not get 2 of the same item in shop
    • Revealed items should be fully flipped to me (not just the text)
    • when i am playing a spell and need to select caster, i want the caster to become highlighted (in addition to the lane)
    • When deploying heroes at game start, it should say which lane my opponent is deploying to
    submitted by /u/Bash717
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