GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

The game may have a lot of terrible reviews from salty beta players that didn't enjoy the direction Gwent went in after the overhaul that was Homecoming. That's fair, the game has changed a lot. And I will admit there were a lot of balance issues and the like at launch. But now? It has never been in a better state. There's so many damn decks in every faction that are viable. Yes, even competetively. The gap between the best of the best decks and the mediocre ones is really slim. So much so that a large portion of the time your skill will be the determining factor. If you like the witcher series, then I don't need to convince you to try the game. But if you don't, do so anyway. You won't regret it. You can get a full card collection in a matter of months. Which would take years in games like Hearthstone. It is overly generous. So much so CDPR had to make it harder to earn premium cards, BY REQUEST of the players. That's the level of player friendly we're talking about. There are monthly patches to keep the game fresh, unlike Hearthstone where it can take years to see a card nerfed. Join us.

Gwent has been reworked for the better from its days as a mini-game in The Witcher 3 and through an extended beta period. The game in its current state has a diverse meta, with an incredibly generous business model. Ranked play has a healthy and diverse meta, made even better by the most recent Mulligan patch. Games are played best two out of three rounds. The game encourages clever bluffing and hand management to win. Deck building is far more interesting here than in other games - you pick a leader and build a deck of 25+ cards. Each card costs provisions (and your deck can cost up to 150 provisions + the provision bonus of your leader). Further, this provision system provides the developers an effective way to balance the card pool. The pricing of the game is very generous - its very possible to play for free. There are many in-game achievements (contracts) to be done, all of which award points to spend on various rewards - new leaders, resources for making cards or buying packs (kegs) etc. Further improvements are still coming - improved starter decks are in the works, as well as new leaders & future large expansions. Seasons are also going to see thematic quests and game modes. Support CDPR by giving the game a go, they truly care about the future of the game and it provides interesting strategy whether you're a Witcher or CCG fan.

So, no reason for me to skirt around the elephant in the room. The one star out of five rating. This Gwent is not the Gwent I spent too much of my free time playing. Frankly, this iteration is a hollow shell of what once was. I'm not sure why they trashed Gwent and replaced it with... this. But I am not impressed. Big boo. :)

I gave this a try. I played a bit in the beta, where it was a blend between the original Gwent and more usual trading card games. Now it is changed to something fundamentally different from what Gwent was in TW3. For the sake of honesty, I haven't played it much on this second try, but that is due to these changes. I see potential for people who do not want more of the classic version, but I'm not in that crowd. I do want more of that. What is my suggestion? Simple, at least in concept: give us the ability to play good old school Gwent online. If it costs money, fair enough, I'll pay for the decks (please no keg/loot boxy stuff). All I want is to play actual Gwent with actual people

Firstly, I'd like to note that I've had gwent account since its beta, just didn't have time at the start of it to really play with dedication. I came back to it in hopes to stay, but that's not meant to be, it seems. I love witcher games, love CDPR. I really liked GWENT music, art, general feel of the game, BUT I have to give it 2 stars. Firstly, it's insanely slow paced. 15 min per match at starter ranks with opponent seemingly "ropig" for hell of it rather than making real choices is ggravating and is really not enjoyable at all. Secondly, game is unnecessarily over-complicated with no proper tutorial whatsoever. It doesn't explain what to do, how insane amount of mechanics work, or round and their intricacies. Take it from MTGA, they made a tutorial that guides you through each starter deck and you get to experience what the deck is supposed to do, how cards are supposed to behave and so on. Game as complex as GWENT really needs it. I think i'm done for good with this game, a shame really, just as I started to get good at it primarily because of how slow it is. THirdly, iOS app needs work as well, especially because it cross-play with PC, so in addition to slow opponents, it's really annoying to see that your opponent also disconnected. I wanna love this game, i'd love to invest in it more, but not the way it is - no tutroial, slow as hell and broken server connections...