My thoughts about anounced Syndicate faction.
I don't like coins mechanic. It is an analog of HS mana. It is another extra complication to a game in addition to orders and charges. If u collect too many complications, then game will become too intricate and people will leave it. It is a mistake of many projects. For example, such big projects like "Artifact" and "Might & Magic: Duel of Champions" have failed because of too complicated gameplay. Look at Blizzard - they know this secret of success - maximum simplicity. HS for example is maximum simple: it has minimum resources, minimum mechanic comlications, minimum rows and even minimum graphics)) May be, they make games even too minimalistic. More complexity is not always bad, but it must be jistified.
But this coin mechanic is not justified. It will breed many problems, starting from arena and create mechanic, which both will generate useless cards, and ending with faction closeness. If in arena u can somehow fix it by choosing leader at the start of draft (what must be made in any case, I think), but u cannot fix the create mechanic. Card, which suites only one leader type (not even one faction) is useless in many cases. Yes, there is another faction cards that are useless outside the faction (harmony cards, for example), but they do not require a faction leader. In arena u can collect many cards of one faction, so it is not a problem even for harmony mechanic. What to say about bloodlust mechanic, which can be easily activated by all factions. But this money mechanic requires a leader! To draw a Syndicate leader on arena is about 16%. And if u choose leader only at the end of draft, the situation looks the most badly - if u've been collecting Syndicate cards all your draft in hope to draw an apropriate leader at the end. Situation becomes much better, if u make leader draw at the beginning. This decision makes arena much better for all leaders. And this is what we can see in Heartstone. They understood from the beginning that leader must be chosen at the start of arena draft. It's logical and essential.
So the first conclusion is that coin mechanic is too unique. Noone can do anything to coin bank: somehow steal these money or to affect this faction's ability somehow else. It makes this faction too OP, too closed and too free in making everything it's user wants. If, for example, playing against SK u can heal ur damaged units, so here u can do NOTHING.
If u make coin mechanic, make it availiable to every faction, or don't make it at all. If u ask me, I wouldn't ever make this complicated thing. There are many other ways to realize criminal faction abilities.
Honestly, I like an idea if this faction very much. Bandits are really very common to Witcher's world. And they are common to the real world too. To make crime or too live honestly - is a choice of any man, which stands in front of him not for one time in his life. Someone cannot resist the temtation of easy money and pleasure. So the idea of faction is cool, really. And some mechanics are cool too. For example, the crime type of card and the intemidate keyword. But I cannot say this about fee, profit and other coin things. What can be made instead of it? It can be ambushes, like ST's ones. it can be card stealing, like some NG's ones. It can be bribery, which means u can pay with ur cards in exchange of taking some opponent's creatures on the board. And so on. Just use cards by itself like money. Don't introduce new foreign entities. It breeds extra complexity and the split between old factions and the new one.
So, I think, coin mechanic is too hasty and reckless. If u remove it, u can distribute all the cards to all the factions, to make all of them interfactional, not only those, which haven't coin mechanic. And there will not be problems with playing against this faction, there will not be problems in arena and in the create mechanic. All cards must be maximum playable inside all factions, this makes game more consistent.
I don't like coins mechanic. It is an analog of HS mana. It is another extra complication to a game in addition to orders and charges. If u collect too many complications, then game will become too intricate and people will leave it. It is a mistake of many projects. For example, such big projects like "Artifact" and "Might & Magic: Duel of Champions" have failed because of too complicated gameplay. Look at Blizzard - they know this secret of success - maximum simplicity. HS for example is maximum simple: it has minimum resources, minimum mechanic comlications, minimum rows and even minimum graphics)) May be, they make games even too minimalistic. More complexity is not always bad, but it must be jistified.
But this coin mechanic is not justified. It will breed many problems, starting from arena and create mechanic, which both will generate useless cards, and ending with faction closeness. If in arena u can somehow fix it by choosing leader at the start of draft (what must be made in any case, I think), but u cannot fix the create mechanic. Card, which suites only one leader type (not even one faction) is useless in many cases. Yes, there is another faction cards that are useless outside the faction (harmony cards, for example), but they do not require a faction leader. In arena u can collect many cards of one faction, so it is not a problem even for harmony mechanic. What to say about bloodlust mechanic, which can be easily activated by all factions. But this money mechanic requires a leader! To draw a Syndicate leader on arena is about 16%. And if u choose leader only at the end of draft, the situation looks the most badly - if u've been collecting Syndicate cards all your draft in hope to draw an apropriate leader at the end. Situation becomes much better, if u make leader draw at the beginning. This decision makes arena much better for all leaders. And this is what we can see in Heartstone. They understood from the beginning that leader must be chosen at the start of arena draft. It's logical and essential.
So the first conclusion is that coin mechanic is too unique. Noone can do anything to coin bank: somehow steal these money or to affect this faction's ability somehow else. It makes this faction too OP, too closed and too free in making everything it's user wants. If, for example, playing against SK u can heal ur damaged units, so here u can do NOTHING.
If u make coin mechanic, make it availiable to every faction, or don't make it at all. If u ask me, I wouldn't ever make this complicated thing. There are many other ways to realize criminal faction abilities.
Honestly, I like an idea if this faction very much. Bandits are really very common to Witcher's world. And they are common to the real world too. To make crime or too live honestly - is a choice of any man, which stands in front of him not for one time in his life. Someone cannot resist the temtation of easy money and pleasure. So the idea of faction is cool, really. And some mechanics are cool too. For example, the crime type of card and the intemidate keyword. But I cannot say this about fee, profit and other coin things. What can be made instead of it? It can be ambushes, like ST's ones. it can be card stealing, like some NG's ones. It can be bribery, which means u can pay with ur cards in exchange of taking some opponent's creatures on the board. And so on. Just use cards by itself like money. Don't introduce new foreign entities. It breeds extra complexity and the split between old factions and the new one.
So, I think, coin mechanic is too hasty and reckless. If u remove it, u can distribute all the cards to all the factions, to make all of them interfactional, not only those, which haven't coin mechanic. And there will not be problems with playing against this faction, there will not be problems in arena and in the create mechanic. All cards must be maximum playable inside all factions, this makes game more consistent.
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