One final NG "rant", can't escape the classics...
This one, motivated by a argument that is used often times to defend NG, and the tipping point for me was when it was also used in the last dev stream, when talking about faction ranking and winrates...
NILFGAARD - "ITS WINRATE ISNT EVEN THAT GOOD!"
That is a f+++ing fallacy.
Whenever players are discussing and complaining about Nilfgaard, someone comes with this argument - that NG's overall winrate isn't even that high, that lately its been the 3rd or 4th best faction, so it doesnt need to be nerfed.
That is an oversimplification of a complex system, a gross assumption that player skill is irrelevant. I agree - but hate it - that deck choice factors more into match results than player skill, but that doesnt mean its totally negligible either.
NG is the most popular faction in Gwent, its always been this way almost surely (for the most part, the playerbase didnt have access to data).
And that popularity has probably increased with time, i wrote about it in my 'snowball effect' post (sorry, i no longe remember where i posted it in this forum) - NG drives other players away from the game, more than all other factions combined, until NG is everywhere.
This popularity is easy to explain - its simple to use, has all the tools, its overtuned so has a lot of room for error, it has toxic archetypes that will grant easy wins due to insta-forfeits, etc.
Im not saying all NG players are terrible, but i am claming almost all terrible players are NG mains. They dont have to put much effort to win, they easily get to pro rank with little knowledge of the game as a whole, just need to know the general basics of their metadeck, they feel good with themselves for their rapid rise in ranks.
THAT is why NG's winrate isnt that high. Most players are not good. Even in Pro rank, most players arent good, just carried by NG and their multiple viable decks (that's another argument: NG has 3/4 competitive archetypes, all other factions in the meta of the past months have 1, 2 if their lucky)
In detail: SY, the undisputed best faction, has basically one deck, carried by vice cards, novigrad and open sesames. SK, by Sove, Svalblod and Tyr (pick 2). Ok, also maybe Sigvald. NG has flanking soldiers, enslave 6, ball status, and stupid cultists (still need to see the effect of their nerf in this patch... or i'd rather not see for myself, just hear about it its OK).
PS - Ive played this game for far too long, watched others play it for far too long, and no other faction can compete with the mistakes ive seen NG players do and still get away with.
To make a fair analysis, you would need to compare factions for a single player, or at least players within the same skill level. And even that isnt perfect, because the game is ridden by netdecking, even i the highest MMR, so its a game of counter back-n-forth, but i have no doubt NG has all the tools to deal with all other factions and metadecks.
So please stop calling it the 3rd best faction, confident because your argument is backed by real numbers - those numbers dont paint the whole picture.
Need to add a whole other section - but certainly related - to this post:
NILFGAARD - ESTABLISHING THE META
NG as a faction has become so impactful on the game, that is not just the popular NG cards themselves that affect the meta - every other faction is defined by what can stand up to NG. Just looking at the last year:
SY - the faction that is considered best suited to defeat NG. Because of the coin mechanics, NG has a tougher time copying their strategy than other factions.
Azar Javed and his scarabs are the most unusual defender, and its the only defender that gives NG serious trouble goin through. Candle is in virtually every SY deck since it first popped up, and NG is probably the faction that runs artefact removal the least, so it lives.
Due to its vice cards and open sesame spam, SY can be behind a ton of points and quickly catch up better than any other faction, and this playing uninteractive is bad for NG.
SK - Sove. Huge, but immune, NG cant do anything about it. Cant give it spying or copy it with Torres. And NG isnt running CoC or scorch when it goes tall so often.
Svalblod. Finisher move, usually worth a ton of points on the same turn hes played, by the time NG locks or destroys it, it was already worth it.
Tyr. Usually insta dealt with as opener on R3, but plays for so many points its still worth it in this case, especially with last say.
Totem, Kaer Trolde - artefacts, NG has trouble dealing with.
Sigvald - usually dealt with by NG instantly, but hes quite cheap, can be revived and worth so much on other matchups so hes viable.
NR - used to be the faction that was bullied by NG, but changed its identity on the last year to stand up to NG.
Mutagenerator, Temple - more stuff NG cant deal with.
Reaver scouts, foltest pride + inspired zeal - NR cards are only meta if they can be activated instantly, and not play below their provision when insta-countered... because NG WILL insta-counter.
Erland - again, huge immune unit, NG cant deal with.
Travelling priestesses deck - doesnt rely on engines, only thinning and pointslam, despite being a combo deck, but its one NG can only stop with mill stuff.
Im not even going to address MO and ST. MO, because its another faction bullied by NG (but there was that meta deathwish deck. Why? It had good chances against NG). And ST has been so weak lately, only elves have been remotely competitive - and admittedly, good against NG, but bad against other metadecks.
This one, motivated by a argument that is used often times to defend NG, and the tipping point for me was when it was also used in the last dev stream, when talking about faction ranking and winrates...
NILFGAARD - "ITS WINRATE ISNT EVEN THAT GOOD!"
That is a f+++ing fallacy.
Whenever players are discussing and complaining about Nilfgaard, someone comes with this argument - that NG's overall winrate isn't even that high, that lately its been the 3rd or 4th best faction, so it doesnt need to be nerfed.
That is an oversimplification of a complex system, a gross assumption that player skill is irrelevant. I agree - but hate it - that deck choice factors more into match results than player skill, but that doesnt mean its totally negligible either.
NG is the most popular faction in Gwent, its always been this way almost surely (for the most part, the playerbase didnt have access to data).
And that popularity has probably increased with time, i wrote about it in my 'snowball effect' post (sorry, i no longe remember where i posted it in this forum) - NG drives other players away from the game, more than all other factions combined, until NG is everywhere.
This popularity is easy to explain - its simple to use, has all the tools, its overtuned so has a lot of room for error, it has toxic archetypes that will grant easy wins due to insta-forfeits, etc.
Im not saying all NG players are terrible, but i am claming almost all terrible players are NG mains. They dont have to put much effort to win, they easily get to pro rank with little knowledge of the game as a whole, just need to know the general basics of their metadeck, they feel good with themselves for their rapid rise in ranks.
THAT is why NG's winrate isnt that high. Most players are not good. Even in Pro rank, most players arent good, just carried by NG and their multiple viable decks (that's another argument: NG has 3/4 competitive archetypes, all other factions in the meta of the past months have 1, 2 if their lucky)
In detail: SY, the undisputed best faction, has basically one deck, carried by vice cards, novigrad and open sesames. SK, by Sove, Svalblod and Tyr (pick 2). Ok, also maybe Sigvald. NG has flanking soldiers, enslave 6, ball status, and stupid cultists (still need to see the effect of their nerf in this patch... or i'd rather not see for myself, just hear about it its OK).
PS - Ive played this game for far too long, watched others play it for far too long, and no other faction can compete with the mistakes ive seen NG players do and still get away with.
To make a fair analysis, you would need to compare factions for a single player, or at least players within the same skill level. And even that isnt perfect, because the game is ridden by netdecking, even i the highest MMR, so its a game of counter back-n-forth, but i have no doubt NG has all the tools to deal with all other factions and metadecks.
So please stop calling it the 3rd best faction, confident because your argument is backed by real numbers - those numbers dont paint the whole picture.
Post automatically merged:
Need to add a whole other section - but certainly related - to this post:
NILFGAARD - ESTABLISHING THE META
NG as a faction has become so impactful on the game, that is not just the popular NG cards themselves that affect the meta - every other faction is defined by what can stand up to NG. Just looking at the last year:
SY - the faction that is considered best suited to defeat NG. Because of the coin mechanics, NG has a tougher time copying their strategy than other factions.
Azar Javed and his scarabs are the most unusual defender, and its the only defender that gives NG serious trouble goin through. Candle is in virtually every SY deck since it first popped up, and NG is probably the faction that runs artefact removal the least, so it lives.
Due to its vice cards and open sesame spam, SY can be behind a ton of points and quickly catch up better than any other faction, and this playing uninteractive is bad for NG.
SK - Sove. Huge, but immune, NG cant do anything about it. Cant give it spying or copy it with Torres. And NG isnt running CoC or scorch when it goes tall so often.
Svalblod. Finisher move, usually worth a ton of points on the same turn hes played, by the time NG locks or destroys it, it was already worth it.
Tyr. Usually insta dealt with as opener on R3, but plays for so many points its still worth it in this case, especially with last say.
Totem, Kaer Trolde - artefacts, NG has trouble dealing with.
Sigvald - usually dealt with by NG instantly, but hes quite cheap, can be revived and worth so much on other matchups so hes viable.
NR - used to be the faction that was bullied by NG, but changed its identity on the last year to stand up to NG.
Mutagenerator, Temple - more stuff NG cant deal with.
Reaver scouts, foltest pride + inspired zeal - NR cards are only meta if they can be activated instantly, and not play below their provision when insta-countered... because NG WILL insta-counter.
Erland - again, huge immune unit, NG cant deal with.
Travelling priestesses deck - doesnt rely on engines, only thinning and pointslam, despite being a combo deck, but its one NG can only stop with mill stuff.
Im not even going to address MO and ST. MO, because its another faction bullied by NG (but there was that meta deathwish deck. Why? It had good chances against NG). And ST has been so weak lately, only elves have been remotely competitive - and admittedly, good against NG, but bad against other metadecks.
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