4Game

This isn’t meant as a rant or meta-hate thread; I’m just curious to hear other perspectives.

One of the best things about Gwent imo is how quickly the meta changes. There are good and bad months ofc, but the reliable monthly patches (something I’m still amazed and grateful for, which we shouldn’t take for granted) can usually be counted on to shake up the existing tier list. The worst months of oppressive dominance are painful but never last long.

Until recently. The rework to NG soldiers overshot the mark by miles. No big deal though, one month of pain and we’ll swing back to a good place. But it never happened; other than the early hotfix, soldiers have still not received a single meaningful nerf to address what makes them so overtuned.

In fact the next patch made the oppression worse. NG knights delivered another utterly busted midrange package. NR reavers and SK warrior/raid were close behind. But ok… expansion season, fine, one more month of pain and then we’ll definitely get the nerfs we need—right?

But again, it didn’t happen. Not one meaningful nerf that had any hope of making the tippy top decks less dominant. A bunch of random nerfs that weren’t needed, yes. A change to Sove that was needed and appropriate, yes, but negated by the PF leader buff, making SK raid more oppressive than ever. A change to Yrden that I agree with, yes, but which made the already-top decks even more dominant. The tier list still hasn’t moved an inch.

To me, these three months have been the least fun since I started the game. At least 75% of my matches are against meta decks that are so predictable and potato-head, it feels like I’m playing a bot. I can know exactly what my opponent is going to do, but still have no way to play around the massive uninteractive point swings that dominate the meta. It’s awful.

But it might just be me. I know a lot of players are enjoying it. Several top streamers, whose opinions I trust, say the meta is healthy and diverse. Reddit tends to be super negative at all times, in any given season, so it’s no help as a barometer.

I’ve been wondering if I’m just burnt-out. I know if the December patch doesn’t seriously shake up the tier list, I will probably quit the game; I’m not interested in another month of this. But maybe I’m just too much in my own head and need the break anyway.

Do others (especially long-time players) feel the meta has noticeably stagnated? Or this perception a sign of burnout? Thanks in advance for the input.