Removing dry-pass
I feel that current Gwent deviates a lot from the way that it used to play out in Witcher 3, and from the whole idea of having rounds in the first place.
When I think of the idea of rounds, like battles in a war, the idea is this: "Okay, I lost this round, but maybe I can recover next one." Or: "I'll deplete my opponents resources this round, so I lose in disadvantage, but I'll be able to recover next round".
But in reality, in at least ~80% of games, Gwent effectively has two rounds. (And more and more frequently, we see dry-passing the first round as well: Gwent then becomes a super boring one round point fest.) And therefore there is no chance to "recover next round". Any advantage gathered in the first round is passed on directly to the third and decisive round. Often, this advantage decides the game. My proposal is to return Gwent to a 3 round game.
How to do so? Well, by removing dry-passing. (That is, players are not allowed to pass without having played a single card that round; unless they have no cards, of course.) The problem with dry-passing is that when you play first in a round, usually the best you can hope for is to lose 1 card up. But there is a way to assure one the outcome that is likely the best possible: simply dry-passing. In some very specific situations, and in some very specific match-ups, it might be better not to dry-pass, but that is a deviation from the norm. Unless you have strong specific reasons not to, it is always better to dry-pass.
Without dry-passing, people wouldn't be so afraid of losing on even cards or giving up the first round plus one card. Okay, you won this round; but I might win the second, and recover my disadvantage. This would even help control the effect of the coin-flip.And as a bonus: it would solve the problem of resilience cards (which without the dry-pass issue, are a very important mechanic for the game - a way to transfer tempo between rounds, which should be a central tenet of the entire game!). I also feel that it would increase the strategic complexity of the game, as you would have to think about how to win (or lose with advantages) three rounds, and not just "win first round with CA, have a good finisher", like most strategies nowadays.
So, any comments?
I feel that current Gwent deviates a lot from the way that it used to play out in Witcher 3, and from the whole idea of having rounds in the first place.
When I think of the idea of rounds, like battles in a war, the idea is this: "Okay, I lost this round, but maybe I can recover next one." Or: "I'll deplete my opponents resources this round, so I lose in disadvantage, but I'll be able to recover next round".
But in reality, in at least ~80% of games, Gwent effectively has two rounds. (And more and more frequently, we see dry-passing the first round as well: Gwent then becomes a super boring one round point fest.) And therefore there is no chance to "recover next round". Any advantage gathered in the first round is passed on directly to the third and decisive round. Often, this advantage decides the game. My proposal is to return Gwent to a 3 round game.
How to do so? Well, by removing dry-passing. (That is, players are not allowed to pass without having played a single card that round; unless they have no cards, of course.) The problem with dry-passing is that when you play first in a round, usually the best you can hope for is to lose 1 card up. But there is a way to assure one the outcome that is likely the best possible: simply dry-passing. In some very specific situations, and in some very specific match-ups, it might be better not to dry-pass, but that is a deviation from the norm. Unless you have strong specific reasons not to, it is always better to dry-pass.
Without dry-passing, people wouldn't be so afraid of losing on even cards or giving up the first round plus one card. Okay, you won this round; but I might win the second, and recover my disadvantage. This would even help control the effect of the coin-flip.And as a bonus: it would solve the problem of resilience cards (which without the dry-pass issue, are a very important mechanic for the game - a way to transfer tempo between rounds, which should be a central tenet of the entire game!). I also feel that it would increase the strategic complexity of the game, as you would have to think about how to win (or lose with advantages) three rounds, and not just "win first round with CA, have a good finisher", like most strategies nowadays.
So, any comments?
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