The Q and A of Homecoming distilled from the Ask a Dev thread. Some questions and answers are para-phrased for the sake of readability.
(This is a work in progress.)
Gameplay (Combat)
Gameplay (Features)
Gameplay (Faction Specific)
(This is a work in progress.)
Gameplay (Combat)
Q: How many rows will Homecoming have?
A: Two, but rows will matter again. Thronebreaker will also be translated to the two row version of the game.
Q: How many bronze copies can you have in your deck?
A: Two, max.
Q: Can you tell, at least roughly, how many cards will be changed?
A: Approximately 80% of the cards will change. Evaluating the row change based on current card design does not give a clear view on what we're aiming for. We'll talk more about gameplay once we have the final design and hopefully that will put the pieces together.
Q: What role will tutor cards play in Homecoming?
A: There will be less tutor cards in the game. As it stands now, we got to a point where we had a tutor overdose.
Q: Will gold immunity return?
A: No.
Q: Are locks still going to exist with Homecoming?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the mulligan/card selection going to be changed?
A: Yes.
Q: Will carryover cards remain in homecoming?
A: We will limit carryover.
Q: Will weather be changed?
A: To a certain degree, but not a lot. This is still being worked on.
Q: How will the interactivity with the opponent be handled? Will he have different ways to counter our moves during our turn, or maybe will just revolve around the ambush mechanic?
A: You'll have time to counter your opponents plays in your turn, we'll also have ambushes for counter-play, you can choose when to activate some ambushes which is cool and a new addition to the game. For example let's say you have an ambush card in play, but the condition for it's activated ability has not been met, you can choose to flip the card and activate it's ability, of course this ability won't be as strong as the one which would be activated if the condition was met and the card flipped on it's own - this is an idea we're toying around with atm
Q: Is it true that minimum number of cards in a deck will be increased to 30?
A: We'll see. We are still playing with this idea.
Q: Will there be drawing cards in-between round?
A: Yes.
Q: Will there be cards that include other already made cards like silver mages (who can cast 3 spells)?
A: There will be some fixed choice cards.
Q: Will every card (faction card, not neutral) be part of some archetype or there will also be "hybrid" cards that work well in multiple decks?
A: There will be hybrid cards.
Q: Could you tell us, to what extent the card's abilities design is completed?
A: We have all factions designed and they are in the process of being tested, more info regarding game design will come. Not ready to get into specifics just yet. Biggest challenge is nailing the new look of the game.
Q: What I'm wondering is whether in Homecoming the cards and archetypes will be unique or whether there will be copy-paste design.
A: We're not aiming for copy-paste design, but for new and unique abilities.
Q: Is RNG really that big of a the problem?
A: RNG is the biggest problem. We have to remember that this is a card game and card games will always have RNG. Of course we will try to limit the amount of RNG in the design space.
Q: Will the rarity (white, blue, purple, gold) change?
A: No change here.
Q: Can we expect new mechanics and keywords that currently do not exist?
A: Yes, there are new keywords and mechanics, including more faction-specific ones.
Q: Will row limit still be a thing? You said that row limit could be canceled and you were considering "a pile" display of the same card with multiple copies on the board. Will you stick to the "pile plan"?
A: Row limit is a thing. We're thinking about piles for tokens and/or the possibility to destroy a card a replace it with a card in your hand.
Q: How will the leaders look like in Homecoming?
A: Leaders are totally different, will wait with going into their mechanics, cause it's a cool surprise, which needs visual representation.
Q: Right now Gwent combat doesn't seem smooth in terms of responsiveness to clicks. Is this on your radar?
A: Yes, it is.
Q: Will locks be getting an overhaul with Homecoming?
A: They might see a change.
Q: Will tags have roles?
A: They will, but there will be less of them.
Q: Will removal/damage be nerfed or reduced?
A: A bit less power on units and less damage done by specials.
Q: Are the rounds and how many of them remaining after Homecoming?
A: Rounds stay the same.
Q: Will Create be a specific Gold mechanic? If yes will you guys reduce the amount of Golden cards with it on top of that?
A: No, it won't.
A: Two, but rows will matter again. Thronebreaker will also be translated to the two row version of the game.
Q: How many bronze copies can you have in your deck?
A: Two, max.
Q: Can you tell, at least roughly, how many cards will be changed?
A: Approximately 80% of the cards will change. Evaluating the row change based on current card design does not give a clear view on what we're aiming for. We'll talk more about gameplay once we have the final design and hopefully that will put the pieces together.
Q: What role will tutor cards play in Homecoming?
A: There will be less tutor cards in the game. As it stands now, we got to a point where we had a tutor overdose.
Q: Will gold immunity return?
A: No.
Q: Are locks still going to exist with Homecoming?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the mulligan/card selection going to be changed?
A: Yes.
Q: Will carryover cards remain in homecoming?
A: We will limit carryover.
Q: Will weather be changed?
A: To a certain degree, but not a lot. This is still being worked on.
Q: How will the interactivity with the opponent be handled? Will he have different ways to counter our moves during our turn, or maybe will just revolve around the ambush mechanic?
A: You'll have time to counter your opponents plays in your turn, we'll also have ambushes for counter-play, you can choose when to activate some ambushes which is cool and a new addition to the game. For example let's say you have an ambush card in play, but the condition for it's activated ability has not been met, you can choose to flip the card and activate it's ability, of course this ability won't be as strong as the one which would be activated if the condition was met and the card flipped on it's own - this is an idea we're toying around with atm
Q: Is it true that minimum number of cards in a deck will be increased to 30?
A: We'll see. We are still playing with this idea.
Q: Will there be drawing cards in-between round?
A: Yes.
Q: Will there be cards that include other already made cards like silver mages (who can cast 3 spells)?
A: There will be some fixed choice cards.
Q: Will every card (faction card, not neutral) be part of some archetype or there will also be "hybrid" cards that work well in multiple decks?
A: There will be hybrid cards.
Q: Could you tell us, to what extent the card's abilities design is completed?
A: We have all factions designed and they are in the process of being tested, more info regarding game design will come. Not ready to get into specifics just yet. Biggest challenge is nailing the new look of the game.
Q: What I'm wondering is whether in Homecoming the cards and archetypes will be unique or whether there will be copy-paste design.
A: We're not aiming for copy-paste design, but for new and unique abilities.
Q: Is RNG really that big of a the problem?
A: RNG is the biggest problem. We have to remember that this is a card game and card games will always have RNG. Of course we will try to limit the amount of RNG in the design space.
Q: Will the rarity (white, blue, purple, gold) change?
A: No change here.
Q: Can we expect new mechanics and keywords that currently do not exist?
A: Yes, there are new keywords and mechanics, including more faction-specific ones.
Q: Will row limit still be a thing? You said that row limit could be canceled and you were considering "a pile" display of the same card with multiple copies on the board. Will you stick to the "pile plan"?
A: Row limit is a thing. We're thinking about piles for tokens and/or the possibility to destroy a card a replace it with a card in your hand.
Q: How will the leaders look like in Homecoming?
A: Leaders are totally different, will wait with going into their mechanics, cause it's a cool surprise, which needs visual representation.
Q: Right now Gwent combat doesn't seem smooth in terms of responsiveness to clicks. Is this on your radar?
A: Yes, it is.
Q: Will locks be getting an overhaul with Homecoming?
A: They might see a change.
Q: Will tags have roles?
A: They will, but there will be less of them.
Q: Will removal/damage be nerfed or reduced?
A: A bit less power on units and less damage done by specials.
Q: Are the rounds and how many of them remaining after Homecoming?
A: Rounds stay the same.
Q: Will Create be a specific Gold mechanic? If yes will you guys reduce the amount of Golden cards with it on top of that?
A: No, it won't.
Q: With the new tutorial, will the rewards be distributed for players who had already done it or will it be obligatory to play it again?
A: You'll have to replay it; we're reworking the whole tutorial.
Q: Are leader challenges going to remain with Homecoming for new players to unlock leaders or will that work differently?
A: Yes, we will have leader challenges, but done in a different way.
Q: Will arena see an overhaul or do we get new game modes?
A: Arena won't be overhauled. We're focusing mainly on delivering the game and not adding new features.
Q: Do you guys have any plans at Homecoming or at a later stage of adding a prestige system to the current level system?
A: Yes, we're planning something very similar, more info coming soon.
Q: When you are changing whole leveling experience, can we expect that our account level progression will be restarted?
A: Players will be assigned corresponding levels in the new system.
Q: Are there any plans to integrate GwentUp (or similar tools) in the default game itself?
A: We would have to design such a tool on our own, but with the current scope that is not possible. Full focus is on delivering project Homecoming.
Q: Will played card history be improved with Homecoming?
A: It stays pretty much the same.
Q: Will there be alternate/upgradeable cards? (Imagine something like "Geralt of Rivia, Bellegarde" or "Geralt of Rivia, Butcher of Blaviken" or so on)
A: Not with Homecoming for sure.
Q: Can we expect the daily wins system to remain the same or will it be changed?
A: Lightly modified.
Q: Do you have plans for some adjustments for Pro-Ladder system?
A: Slight adjustments will be made.
Q: Will there be statistics or perhaps even a leaderboard of sorts for arena?
A: Not planned at the moment.
Q: Are there plans to implement a trading option?
A: Not planned at the moment.
Q: Would it be possible to save match replays in the future?
A: The replay feature is not planned at the moment.
Q: Can we somehow view doomed cards, like a graveyard?
A: Not planned to to have a doomed stack.
Q: Will the graveyard view be improved?
A: Graveyard and mulligan screen will look differently.
Q: What will happen with our ranking points when Homecoming launches?
A: You will be transferred to the new system.
Q: Will you be substituting the current "Win x matches with y faction" quests with more interesting ones?
A: Yes
Q: Do we get a new faction in Homecoming?
A: No
A: You'll have to replay it; we're reworking the whole tutorial.
Q: Are leader challenges going to remain with Homecoming for new players to unlock leaders or will that work differently?
A: Yes, we will have leader challenges, but done in a different way.
Q: Will arena see an overhaul or do we get new game modes?
A: Arena won't be overhauled. We're focusing mainly on delivering the game and not adding new features.
Q: Do you guys have any plans at Homecoming or at a later stage of adding a prestige system to the current level system?
A: Yes, we're planning something very similar, more info coming soon.
Q: When you are changing whole leveling experience, can we expect that our account level progression will be restarted?
A: Players will be assigned corresponding levels in the new system.
Q: Are there any plans to integrate GwentUp (or similar tools) in the default game itself?
A: We would have to design such a tool on our own, but with the current scope that is not possible. Full focus is on delivering project Homecoming.
Q: Will played card history be improved with Homecoming?
A: It stays pretty much the same.
Q: Will there be alternate/upgradeable cards? (Imagine something like "Geralt of Rivia, Bellegarde" or "Geralt of Rivia, Butcher of Blaviken" or so on)
A: Not with Homecoming for sure.
Q: Can we expect the daily wins system to remain the same or will it be changed?
A: Lightly modified.
Q: Do you have plans for some adjustments for Pro-Ladder system?
A: Slight adjustments will be made.
Q: Will there be statistics or perhaps even a leaderboard of sorts for arena?
A: Not planned at the moment.
Q: Are there plans to implement a trading option?
A: Not planned at the moment.
Q: Would it be possible to save match replays in the future?
A: The replay feature is not planned at the moment.
Q: Can we somehow view doomed cards, like a graveyard?
A: Not planned to to have a doomed stack.
Q: Will the graveyard view be improved?
A: Graveyard and mulligan screen will look differently.
Q: What will happen with our ranking points when Homecoming launches?
A: You will be transferred to the new system.
Q: Will you be substituting the current "Win x matches with y faction" quests with more interesting ones?
A: Yes
Q: Do we get a new faction in Homecoming?
A: No
Q: What about cards that interact with the opponent's deck/graveyard and resurrects?
A: Skellige will be the faction with more graveyard interaction for sure.
Q: After Homecoming, will there be some decks like 40 NR, which has a very high upper limit, but a very low lower limit?
A: Probably not
Q: Out of all the cards that you have prepared for Homecoming so far, which SINGLE ONE is your favourite?
A: Pavko Gale - his new ability is a bit OP.
Q: Will NG Spies still be a thing in Homecoming?
A: We'll see, can't answer just yet.
Q: Will the ambush mechanic remain ST exclusive?
A: Yes.
Q: Will Imlerith: Sabbath be changed in Homecoming?
A: Yes, he will, but the design team knows he needs to be a bit crazy
Q: Will cards like Quen Sign or Gabor Zigrin return?
A: Quen nope, but Gabor might
Q: Will you add a historic deck based on the lore? (there are characters like "Geoffrey Monck", "Jan Bekker" and so on)
A: Not planned right now.
Q: Will you add cards from the Witcher 3 blood and wine?
A: Our main focus is on Homecoming and there won't be any Blood and Wine cards with this project.
Q: Will the Kambi still remain after Homecoming?
A: Kambi and Hemdall will be totally reworked.
A: Skellige will be the faction with more graveyard interaction for sure.
Q: After Homecoming, will there be some decks like 40 NR, which has a very high upper limit, but a very low lower limit?
A: Probably not
Q: Out of all the cards that you have prepared for Homecoming so far, which SINGLE ONE is your favourite?
A: Pavko Gale - his new ability is a bit OP.
Q: Will NG Spies still be a thing in Homecoming?
A: We'll see, can't answer just yet.
Q: Will the ambush mechanic remain ST exclusive?
A: Yes.
Q: Will Imlerith: Sabbath be changed in Homecoming?
A: Yes, he will, but the design team knows he needs to be a bit crazy
Q: Will cards like Quen Sign or Gabor Zigrin return?
A: Quen nope, but Gabor might
Q: Will you add a historic deck based on the lore? (there are characters like "Geoffrey Monck", "Jan Bekker" and so on)
A: Not planned right now.
Q: Will you add cards from the Witcher 3 blood and wine?
A: Our main focus is on Homecoming and there won't be any Blood and Wine cards with this project.
Q: Will the Kambi still remain after Homecoming?
A: Kambi and Hemdall will be totally reworked.