I just returned this week after a very long hiatus of 2 years and it feels like I am a new player at times with a big collection but there are aspects of this game that are just severely lacking.
Game after game I find myself asking where some of the most basic QoL improvements are:
– An actual history not just last card played
I just played a game against NR commando and my Heymaey protector took 3 random damage from absolutely nowhere. There was nothing on my side of the board that could do it and my opponent only played Roche: Merciless to kill one of my Witcher adepts and then end turn. What just happened and why can't I actually look it up?
– Detailed tooltips
Why are some cards filled with a wall of text but keywords are not properly explained?
Why do monster players break ties in regards to dominance when the keyword itself is DOMINANCE?!
Why doesn't Arnaghad trigger before an enemy deploy?*
Why do you not explain that adrenaline effects occur even AFTER you have played the card?
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It is just sloppy design and more veteran players might have more examples but the game suffers for it in the long term. This isn't something you should leave and say "learning curve" only to then push out an expansion with more keywords, more text to read, and more rules to remember.
* Honestly, I had to learn that deploy effects always occurs from a loading screen that flashed for 3-4 seconds. Hand on my heart, I love the card and it has secured the win for me several times over but that is just bad design in a strategy game and a missed opportunity that could allow for the game to grow.
You don't need to feed the dopamine of every player and reward them for everytime they play a card. At worst, have some pricey neutral cards with a keyword that allows them to act similar to Arnaghad before the deploy effect occurs if the enemy card gets destroyed. If not this, then why have other strategies that are more complex to trigger?
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Gwent has always scratched that card game strategy itch for me but god damn if I don't outright hate it at times as well. You can't improve the game by just nerfing or buffing different cards every now and then, a good game needs love and care at every level.
Thoughts?
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/gwent/comments/q7fji6/fun_but_excrucatingly_frustrating_at_the_same_time/