problem playing "classic" gameplay

[tompudd]

This is technical question regarding problem of not able to play the game because having to wait long period of time...
Correct me if I'm wrong, I assume the classic game matches me with other players based on rank, this is a big problem because I'm having issues that I can't find any challengers for classic game as I get higher ranking in the game. I've had to wait long period of time and getting tired of waiting. So what do you do?
I don't care about rank, rewards, grinding and all of this nonsense, I just want to play few card games and move on with my life. I simply don't mind buying cards but what's the point if I can't use them....I'm now thinking twice about buying the next expansion pack simply because I can't play it with anyone...
Is it possible that the developer can make "unranked gameplay" or "bar type game" where anyone can join regardless of rank, title, non-sense, do quick game, test some card builds and what not?

 

[KoncertMajstor]

They have unranked . Just uncheck the box under classic which says ranked

 

[tompudd]

oh, I somehow missed that on PS4 ... thanks.

 

[SMiki55]

There is also a lot of players in each seasonal mode

 

[tompudd]

tried unranked and got slaughtered, no balancing, yeah... this game has very steep learning curve. I hope it's not grind or lose MMO type of game...

 

[KoncertMajstor]

tried unranked and got slaughtered, no balancing, yeah... this game has very steep learning curve. I hope it's not grind or lose MMO type of game...

If you're new just play ranked. Ranked will put you vs players of your skill (or at least, people of your rank). Unranked will put you vs anyone (pro rank, meta decks, etc).

 

[tulamide]

I don't care about rank, rewards, grinding and all of this nonsense, I just want to play few card games and move on with my life.

tried unranked and got slaughtered, no balancing, yeah... this game has very steep learning curve. I hope it's not grind or lose MMO type of game...

So basically, you want all the good cards and fine stuff, but without doing anything for it. Just having them and play like a pro.
I think you're not at the right type of game, since CCG has its name because of the collecting aspect.

Anyway, just play Arena ... or Poker.

 

[tompudd]

tulamide the problem was solved, I was waiting too long in ranked and I did not know that I could play unranked. Switched to unranked and got slaughtered. sucks but it is what it is that I'm not at these guys level obviously but it's okay. I would love to have all the good cards and grind up to certain point but sadly I don't have time to grind, time you spend grinding or making money in real world, everyone circumstance is different. I spend 8 hours grinding getting 40 cards, or buy 40 cards because I do not have time to grind but have the money, sounds the same to me. I wish I was elite pro but not everyone is created equal and I don't have the skill to do so. Some people want to play game just to play game, not to be super competitive, in the end, what are you searching for in a game? fun stress reliever, ego, making money? IF I'm going to be stressed out and spend tons of time, there better be money behind it otherwise, no thanks.
I'm a beginner and you are correct, after asking questions and seeing the convergence of unranked, ranked and arena leading to facing pro-gaming elite, gwent online is too stressfull and not suitable for me. I'm more of thronebreaker type of gamer really...

 

[SMiki55]

Honestly I think the matching engine for ranked is bugged last days. I have to wait way more than before for a match.

 

[KoncertMajstor]

Some suggestions I can give you as someone who recently started playing:
1. You don't need to grind hard at all. Just do your dailies and your collection will grow quickly. Even just the basic 6 crowns will give you a bunch of RP.
2. Don't try and be ultra competitive. Just have fun and learn the game. Make sure you play ranked since you'll be facing people of similar skill.
3. If you want to spend money get the beginners bundle. If you have more money get the novigrad preorder.
4. Arena is a good place to mess around. Getting profit is much easier than in Hearthstone.

In fact everything is better than in Hearthstone... Less grinding. Ranked mode is less full of broken meta decks at low ranks. Etc

 

[tompudd]

KoncertMajstor I'm a beginner, here is my opinion on the matter...
no.1 is kind of misleading, some of the dailies said "win 5 or 10 games with skelige" for example, I don't know how to play skelige and don't like them (actually can't stand how laud they are) either but I have all the monster cards though except 2 maybe. if I re-roll the daily, it said I need 50 neutral cards or so sometimes, it takes more than 1 hour for me to do, heck wins 5 times with skellige is already impossible to me against these experts. It's already grinding in my book if I have to do it well over 1 hour. 30 minutes-1 hour is typical work break time for most people and for a reason. Corporate meeting usually last 1 hour and for a reason, after an hour people lost focus. 1 hour is really the max and for a reason.

no.2, after playing unranked, I agree with you, playing rank perhaps the way to go until certain point from what I hear then I'm sure I'm in pro-league by then, which is too stressful in my opinion but it's just me.

no.3, this i didn't know. thanks.
no.4, tried arena once but I only like certain faction and arena is weird about this...

 

[Hackmaster214]

I played some of this back when it was still in beta, and I recently came back, but I've been having a ton of trouble at winning matches in recently, where I think I only win 1 out of every 5 matches. For one, while match making does match you with people with equivalent rank, it don't match you based on your overall level. So you can be in a match with someone who has the same rank, but a way higher overall level, and uses leaders and cards you can't overcome and will destroy you no mater what kind of strategy you employ. And before you ask, I mostly play ranked matches and seasonal matches, So I don't believe I should be losing this many matches.

This has happens so much, its making me wonder if some people are actively lowering their rank in order to play against less skilled players. I'm also a fan of Overwatch and they had a similar problem to this, so it isn't out of the question. If that is the case, I hope that CD Project Red will do something to curb this problem.

I might just be sour and be going through a really bad loosing streak, but I'm really wondering if anyone else is encountering similar issues to the one I'm facing. I just want to know how to stop losing so many of my matches. It gotten to the point where it is seriously affecting the enjoyment of the game overall.

 

[SMiki55]

its making me wonder if some people are actively lowering their rank in order to play against less skilled players.

It's impossible to lower a rank except for the season's end.

 

[tompudd]

Hackmaster214 ranked or unranked eventually you will end up in the same place playing against pro elite players. I totally understand the frustration but It's PVP and people are competitive so no where around that. In PVP, we all know that it all boils down to how much dedication, time, effort and skill that you have regardless of your deck collection to certain degree because the reason that I said deck collection is the fact that I have 95% monster cards and still geting destroyed because I'm lacking dedication and skill to be super competitive but it's okay it's only a game to me, I just find something else that make me happy like thronebreaker. I don't have any of those qualities so decided to throw in the towel and do game like throne breaker but I did ask people in general forum if CPDR can make PVE game similar to MTG shandalar from the 90s where we can use and buy GWENT cards but use it for PVE.
I believe some people have masochistic tendency where they keep getting abused and yet keep coming back for more either by other players or the game itself...

 

[KoncertMajstor]

but I've been having a ton of trouble at winning matches in recently, where I think I only win 1 out of every 5 matches.

edit: Here's a screenshot of my game history:

http://imgur.com/a/cHdgVX8

I hid players' names, but a lot of these are high ranked, experienced players. The ST deck was eldain, and the NG deck is a variant of Shupe calveit, and also an all neutrals calveit deck (yes really) that I play in seasonal. I'm posting this not to show off, but to show you that I went from a 1:7 win:loss ratio when I first came back to the game, to now.

I almost made the exact same post back when I returned to Gwent (I played a bit in closed beta then took a pause).

It took me a little while to get accustomed to the game -- there are some significant changes, so you'll need to kick old habits (getting card advantage is now way different for example).
If you're already playing ranked, just stay in that mode and have fun with it -- you'll get better with experience and card collection grows quite quickly so you can head over to gwent up and pull a few of the top rated decks soon enough. Your new starter decks should be pretty strong, at least for low ranks while you learn.
Unranked is far less forgiving. I learned the hard way losing a bunch to pro rank players in unranked. Then when I went back into ranked at ranks 30 etc, I was able to beat my opponents with ridiculous margins... there is a very large experience gap.

Gwent, I find more than other games, rewards skillful play:

1. Playing a lot will let you understand what cards each faction has. Once you get a feel for it, once your opponent plays some cards, you can then determine what they CAN do, and what they are likely TRYING to do. For example, if I see a Sk player who starts playing beasts, I know they're going for beastmaster, and can start trying to play around that. If I see a NG player with a bunch of soldiers, they're likely going to try and go for a vrygheff/vreemde combo. etc.

2. Playing your own deck has a lot of room for learning and improving. You get most of your cards up front, and with such small decks, you can almost always go through your main combos. This is not just for beginners. It's not enough to net-deck or watch a couple of videos. For example, a player who got 2590 MMR with an Eldain deck sent me his list over twitch. When I tried it, I was losing most of my games in unranked... Clearly, it wasn't the deck. The more I played though, the more I started discovering its nuances and could then 2-0 even strong meta decks if I could catch them with a good draw in round 2.

This is one of the reasons I enjoy this game over Hearthstone. Hearthstone the decks typically play themselves out, with each match having fewer pivotal decisions. These are my personal thoughts though, not everyone needs to like every game, but I just wanted to give my own story, since it sounds like how things started out for me too (bunch of losses, into now being able to compete vs anyone).