Greetings, all.
Here is our list of answered questions from the recent
AMA with Paweł Burza.
In order to save time and space (Ciri's characteristic domains), some questions have been carefully edited for brevity and clarity. (The originals may be read in the above thread.)
Special thanks to all the enquiring minds out there; and, of course, great thanks to
Burza46 , our friendly, biking Community Guy, and
Vattier , our esteemed Forum Manager, for providing this informative, engaging experience for the GWENT Community!
Without further ado, the answers:
1. When will the coinflip be repaired?
A: We are testing a solution for the coinflip – adding an attribute for all faction leader cards that would determine who wins the coinflip (think about a Initiative stat – we could balance this stat like the rest of the cards). This is still very work in progress tho.
2. What is the situation with the severs for console players, and could we have an in-game tracker for consoles?
A: Hi! We are aware of the issues on consoles happening at the moment, we're sorry about this I can assure you that a fix is coming. We develop the game on all platforms and try to cater to all players. When it come to trackers these are third party apps that we don't officially support.
3. I love Gwent but I don't have access to a PC or console all the time. Can you please release a Mobile Android or iOS version of the game?
A: Right now we are focusing on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. But it would be cool to have GWENT on mobile devices!
4:
- Will you fix the Mulligan bug?
- ETA on new expansion?
- ETA on Thronebreaker?
- Can we expect improvements on the UI?
- Where is Rethaz?
- Will we have new events (other than faction challenges and single player mini adventures) in the future?
- Will we see more board skins, for example, class specific ones?
- Is there a legendary pity timer in the kegs, or is it a free-for-all?
- Have you guys ever thought of implementing pity timers for the coin system?
- Can you give us an idea of what the new faction will look like?
- When is the next batch of cards coming?
A:
- Mulligan: Yes, we are looking into this atm
- New expansion is currently in the works, I can't share more info atm
- Thronebreaker is coming this year, the project has really grown from what we showcased last year, so I'm excited for that. We'll share more info once we are ready.
- Yes, we are developing the AI and working on new board designs atm, so expect more cool stuff!
- Kasia Redesiuk has taken over as Project Director, since the beginning of this year.
- Right now the focus is on delivering Thronebreaker
- Like mentioned above new board design is currently in the works
- There is no pity timer in GWENT
- New faction? Nice try
- Next batch will be bigger and it will be an expansion
5. I always wondered: Does the 46 in your name have any correlation to Valentino Rossi?
A: Of course! I'm a big fan of Valentino since the 500cc era, he's always been a role-model when it come to positivist on and off the track
6. When will challenges be added for the leaders (Eist, Adda, Usurper, etc) introduced during the Mid-Winter patch? Or is the only way we'll only ever be able to get them is keg/craft?
A: First we want to improve the ones we have and then add more challenges, the first time user experience deserves an overhaul for sure.
7. Can we hope that a Toussaint faction will come in Gwent?
A: Toussaint is part of Nilfgaard, that is all I can say.
8. When will all the other cards from the Mid-Winter update become premium?
A: They are coming in April, I'm almost done with Pavko
9:
1. How will CDPR manage to add some depth to the game, and is there anything planned to bring back row identity (mechanics, non-agile units, deck-building choices, placements, etc.)?
2. The community heavily critized the Create mechanic, and sent a lot of feedbacks about its impact on the ladder experience. How will the developers tweak this mechanic?
3. The MMR requirement for Rank 21 changed several times (4500, 4200 and 4300 MMR). How challenging does CDPR want the Grandmaster title to be?
4. (Bonus) How many players hit Grand Master during the first season (June/July/August 2017)?
A:
1. We are working on a project called Faction Identity, the designers have a goal to balance each faction so it has at least 3 viable archetypes, this means that card which see less play will get reworked.
2. For create will be reworking some of the cards while others will stay the same and will be limited to Arena only, you won't be able to play them in Ranked and Pro Ladder
3. We're currently looking for the sweet spot, we want Grandmaster to be more difficult to achieve but not impossible
4. Don't have the stats with me atm, sorry!
10. Can we expect a powder discount, or premium kegs when the expansion hits?
A: You can expect more of these coming in the near future
11. Have you prepared something interesting for the Challenger?
Will there be skins on the boards or coins in the future?
A: I will be there as Pavko
We're currently working on new board design.
12. Is it possible to return Old Speartip to the previous version, or to expect a card with a similar ability in the future?
A: We might change it, but there is nothing I can promise atm.
13. Are you guys going to make an option to play friends games between PS4 and PC? I play on PS4 and my friend's on PC, and we can't play together.
A: For now we are limited in implementing this unfortunately, although it would be a nice addition.
14. Can we have Traditional Chinese version in the future?
A: That's the plan, more info soon!
15. BORING CARDS: Do you have plan to do something about them?
Do you have plan to redesign them? Or add some new mechanism?
Or is "balance" a priority?
A: The design team is working on bringing back faction identity the purpose for this is for each faction to have at least three viable archetypes. When it comes to depth we will move forward with more in depth interactions.
16. Do you know if the team is working to add support for 16:10 screens on PC?
A: Not for now, but if it's needed we will try to implement it!
17. When will JJPasak be unbanned?
A: Hi, yes if he apologizes, we have the same approach towards all of our players.
18. Will Quen ever coming back to Gwent? With reworked ability or not?
A: No plans for now.
19. Could you tell us how many people are involved in the work on animation cards?
A: We have 6 animators working on the animations within the game.
20. What is your favorite color?
A: Yellow
21. List your favorite female character from each faction (Neutral too), and, yes, this includes the Monsters faction.
A:
Neutral: Mandrake or #TeamYen
Skellige: Coral
Monsters: Brewess: Ritual
Northern Realms: Shani
Nilfgaard: #TeamYen
Scoia'tael: Toruviel
22. Can you give us some info about new faction? Just some clues. Burza pls.
A: It's cool and has a ruthless leader
23. Are there any changes for rarities on the existing cards planned?
A: We don't plan to change the rarities of the existing cards.
24. Can we hope to have a "nostalgic" event in which we'll be able to play the last Closed Beta patch on another server?
A: Hi! Thank you! Not a plan atm, but I like the idea!
25. Any info on a spectator (observing) mode for the community tourney?
A: Not this year for sure.
26. Could new cards like Detlaff, or Syanna come to Gwent, as golds/Leader cards maybe?
A: Of course, maybe not as leaders
27. Any update on the triptych cards' art?
A: We don't plan to bring them back for now.
28. Will we see another faction challenge with that Northern Realms frame in the future?
A: Yes, we will have more of these with the same frames as rewards.
29. Much love to you, Burza.
You earlier said that you guys are working on new board designs -- is there any chance that there is room for individualization?
A: Thank you for the love!
We're thinking more about boards which are tied to the design of the factions
30. New faction color is yellow isn't it, you coy leek-bringer and hint-dropper?
A: More towards red
31. At what point will CDPR be satisfied with the state of Gwent and do a full release?
We're aiming to move out of beta this year
32. When will you start to buff the Wild Hunt?
A: When we add faction identity and add more cards to this archetype, the problem right now is that there are not enough Wild Hunt units.
33. Can CDPR put effort into connecting collection progress between PC, console, and any other platform you do in future?
A: There are some limitations to this, which are out of our hands for now.
34. Could you guys add some more female cards to Nilfgaard?
A: We'll keep it in mind for sure! Thanks!
35. Are other game modes, like Tournament Mode, or 2v2 Mode a realistic possibility for Gwent? Could we expect something like that in the future?
A: Right now we have to focus on what we have, but it would be cool to have in the future. I've always been a fan of two-headed giant
36. Is the plan to make separate single-player campaigns for each faction still up there, or has it been changed after expanding the scope of Thronebreaker?
A: It's still the idea
37. Will we, please, be able to complete daily rounds in Arena?
A: No plan for this, we try to keep arena separate.
38. Will it be possible to chat with your opponent, without the avatar system, in a discussion area (if the opponent isn't a "friend")?
A: No plans for this now, we're afraid that this could lead to abusive behavior.
39. As Nilfgaard spies decrease in popularity, after the Enforcers change, could we expect a re-work, to make Enforcers more viable, or to revert them back to the effect they had before the Mid-Winter Update?
A: Hi! Thank you!
We might tweak them if spy NG loses interest
40. Are you planning to release Gwent for Linux?
A: No plans for now.
41. Are there any plans to add some nice Gaunter voice lines to Arena?
A: We will have some cool vanity items coming soon which are arena specific, oh wait, I forgot that's an easter-egg!
42. You said once that vampires are coming to Gwent. Will they come with that big bunch of new cards, or they will be a separate thing?
And what about 100 lvl cap, will it be increased?
A: They will come with a bigger expansion!
We might raise the cap when more players get to lvl 100!
43. Will some kind of row identity feature for cards be worked on?
A: Faction identity is the main focus for now
44. There was a leak on Reddit showing a frame with Arena theme: When and how will it be available?
A: It's coming very soon! More info coming in the following days!
45. What are CDPR's views on dry-passing? Are there any plans to fix it?
What are your views on Card-Advantage spies? Are they getting changed or remain like this?
A: Dry-passing is part of the strategy for us, you still need to win 2 rounds!
CA spies are problematic for us, there was an idea to remove them completely, but first we need to work on coinflip before making such drastic decisions.
46. Is it possible to attend tournaments or events as an audience?
A: Hi! No plans, the logistics part is quite problematic, these events are meant to be streamed, this might of course change for World Masters.
47. What should I do to work in CDPR like you, as a guy from community?
A: Apply for the job, good command of English and passion for games is a must!
48. Will there be different Faction Challenges, that require less time and farming?
A: The format is still work in progress, so who knows
49. Can we expect Gwent's single-player before E3, or an announcement about the release date on E3, in June?
A: Not on E3 for sure
50. Is the new faction going to be Toussaint?
A: Nope, Toussaint is part of Nilfgaard
51. What about increase of row limit up to 12 - 15?
A: Not a plan as for now
52. Do you have any interesting player statistics you can share, possibly including gender and age demographics?
A: We cannot share any stats, sorry!
53. When do we get to meet this guy? :cheers:
A: oh, he's coming this year
54. Is the current plan for avatar cosmetics per season end just like it was last season? Has anything new changed with it, as in rank 15, rank 20, and top 10k?
A: Yes, we like this system and plan to keep it
55. Do you plan any other dev cards like Pavko Gale?
A: We have a couple already and yes, we plan a couple more
56. Can I buy an avatar?
A: We're thinking about an in-game store with vanity items, more info coming soon!
57. Any plans for unique play sounds for each card?
A: Yes! We plan to add more
58. Will we have another chance to get older frames from previous Ranked seasons in the future?
A: Yes! We want to rotate them yearly
59. How does CDPR feel about carry-over units right now? Are "invisible" carry-over like Wardancer something that you plan to keep in the game? Any changes in sight?
A: Wardancer are a problem I highlighted to the team some time ago, the challenge is that we can't find the right ability for them, aside form that carry-over looks quite good at the moment.
60. Any plans for deck importing/sharing?
A: This is something that is on my radar and would love to have it implemented in the future!
61. Is there any chance to bring more AMBUSH, or DRYAD cards to the game?
A: Yes! Dryads are coming!
62. During last year's Great Orchestra Christmas Charity there was auction, where someone bought an appearance in one of Gwent cards. Was this card already introduced? If yes, which one?
A: Yes! It's the Witch Hunter card
63. When will there be more information about the vampire expansion?
A: More info coming soon!
64. Are there any plans to somehow bringing back the promote system Northern Realms had?
Also, how do you feel about making Wardancer appear at the end of the turn like Ronvid?
A: With gold immunity here, that wouldn't be as good! Wardancer needs to go back to the drawing board for sure.
65. Don't you think every gold card should have more unique animations when played on the board? Are you guys planning on bringing back the meteors for Ragh Nar Roog?
Also what about having entrance music for gold cards and unique voice lines?
A: Yes, all these things are a priority for us and we'll be adding more.
66. Any plans for legendary entrances for premium legendary cards?
A: We wanted to introduce card interaction on the board, but that is something that is further down the road.
67. Does CDPR have any interest in changing or balancing Wardancer and Dun Banner?
A: Wardancer for sure, Dun Banner can be played around.
68. Do you guys plan to return some units/effects to their previous versions?
Any plan on Nekkers? Same question for I:Sabbath.
A: Hi! First of all, thank you for the kind words!
We might not bring back older effects but focus more on creating a better identity for each archetype, that is the goal now, same thing goes for consume.
69. Is there any likelihood that Gwent will appear in the future for ios and android?
A: PC, PS4 and Xbox one is the focus now
70. Any words about new ambush cards, maybe to create a whole "ambush deck", or are they just an additional part?
A: If it was up to me I would love to have an full ambush deck, but I don't think my opponent would love that
71. Will new cards appear in the next patch?
A: No, for the next one we'll be focusing on bug fixes mainly.
72. Regarding the source material: Do you have rights to use characters and other things from all of Andrzej Sapkowski's books, including Season of Storms? Last year there was also a book released which was written by fans and approved by Sapkowski: "Claws and Fangs". I've just read it, and there are plenty of amazing ideas for spells, monsters and generally characters, so I was wondering if there's any way you could draw from this place of power?
A: I read the book and loved it! We take ideas form all around the universe, so expect more cool stuff!
73. How about allowing players to check their deck by right-clicking a pile of cards next to Graveyard cards? Just make cards displayed randomly, and the whole process would be similar to checking cards in Graveyard, and it wouldn't take board space.
A: I saw this idea somewhere, I think it would be better to have a tracker in-game, but that's not the plan for now.
74. When creating new cards, how does the process work? Do you guys think of a cool idea and then give it to something, or are you trying to create abilities for specific characters that you want to see in the game?
A: The ideas come from Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz our Principal Narrative Designer, he pitches the idea to the illustrators and they create the card
75. Could we have the deck "bars" shine and sparkle if all cards they contain are premium?
A: Interesting idea! Let me pass it on
76. Will we see more Card-Advantage cards in the future? And what your team think about CA in general?
A: CA spies are problematic, we will have to wait and see, there was an idea to remove them completely, but we're not sure about that.
77. What are CDPR's plans on e-sports in Gwent? Will we have something like official Gwent cafes or regional qualifiers?
A: Right now we see more and more event happening around the globe and we want to support them more then we did previously. We have something regional that is in the works but can't share more info about it at this time.
78. What do you think about being able to attach borders, titles and avatars to specific decks?
This would allow people to customize their decks in cool ways and adds a lot of flavour.
Example: I just made a Radovid deck.. with the title Tyrant.. a NR border and Radovid as avatar, of course.
How does that sound? Does it sound feasible to implement?
A: Sounds feasible, let me pass this idea further
79. Is there any chance that the dev team could let Anna Podedworna make a concept artwork/redesign of the board?
A: We have some cool concepts for the new board design and we'll share them once ready
80. When can we expect to a clear release calendar for Gwent?
A: Yes, once we have everything done and working properly I'm more then happy to give a proper roadmap
81. Will daily rewards and daily "rounds completed" bar fill in Arena?
A: We want to keep this mode separate form the daily win counter.
