A year ago (or less) I would have said this is a puzzle game. I’m not so sure any more, except maybe for newer players.
Since we have no way of seeing the PvP enemy AI’s gem/skull priority, we have no way to puzzle out what the AI’s next move will be.
I think definitionally, there’s no longer any puzzle.
All I do now is try to loop or explode the board and win in 3 turns, or before my PvP opponent does the same to me in 4-5 turns.
I just don’t find the game to be fun any more, roughly going back to the reworked Trolls, but obviously with 3.1 AI algorithmic changes.
I understand that there are GoW community members who desperately wanted to lose more (i.e., face better AI) and they got their wish.
For my part, I was very clear that I wasn’t looking for that situation, and it seems to be exactly what I got.
I think the real loss of strategy, ie the puzzle feeling, comes from hitting “end game” when you have that ONE troop combo that is so dominant that it no longers pays to invest the time in new teams and you are facing META defenses that, if not killed by said team, will loop and/or Rngesus you to death.
The puzzle has been gone for a long time for me, but I love the game, my guild, this community. I really think there is MORE strategy in TH then in the main game at this point. Also, while I am at it, I think ARENA is where the devs need to spend some serious energy in the future.
ARENA is where the heart of GoW still lives, but the ROI is so POOR that no end-gamers bother with it. If devs would PLEASE adjust ARENA REWARDS or maybe offer some new ARENA-style modes that offer better rewards, I think something special can come of it…
It’s always been odd to me that Arena and Treasure Hunt exist. It’s a game about collecting and leveling up cards. Why create a mode where none of that ties in?
They are fairly good resources for early game players. Mostly for souls and glory to buy some ultra rare troops or even a legendary. But i agree on more variations of arena. Also I hate treasure hunt event weeks I have to do them now cause of the gem reductions.
TH- Is a GoW Spinoff, based on Tyri. Whenever I play a TH I put myself in the mindset of that character and enjoy it for what it is, a diversion to earn some loot which I can then use to level up my cards. There is the game mechanic tie-in.
Arena- Is the ultimate mode for serious strategy players. And if truth be told, my favorite game mode, but I literally NEVER play it anymore. This is where personal collections and power is thrown away (except for HERO) and players are put on EQUAL footing to build a synergy team AS THEY GO! It is a MtG Booster Draw in GoW. It’s brilliant! It’s just not worth my, or any end gamers time. ROI is horrific compared to spamming PVP. And when you consider that at end-game this is more of a resource collection game than a puzzle game, then ROI is the #1 mitigating factor in determining where a payer should spend their most valuable asset, TIME.
That is why I would love to see an update to Arena that added some sort of structure, perhaps unlocked at lvl 1000 that allowed for a ROI that is comparable to PVP. Since that is the bar to which all modes will be compared by end-gamers. I would scale up the cards to full 20 lvls, fully traited, and make them an Epic, a Legendary, and One Mythic, selected in THAT order. This way you are building from the ground up, just like Arena now. Hero would of course be final slot and you would be able to modify weapon as always to fit the team synergy. But again the final piece of this glorious puzzle, pray pardon the pun, is that the REWARDS would have to be worthy of the time invested. It would need to grant more than 30 seals, offer significant gold, I would love to see trophies awarded for dominance in this mode, and of course, winning all 8 matches would have to come with a prize in either Gems, or Diamonds to really draw the end-gamers in.
Not anymore it’s just Dawnbringer with 3 random crap troops. There is no strategy involved with arena it’s just kill Dawnbringer before it casts or lose. I used to love doing an arena run on warlord 1 but that is impossible now.
As I stated above, I have not played Arena in a long time, but if all you are facing is Dawnbringer and it is that dominant a weapon, then that is truly disappointing.
Arena should be the one place where players meet on equal footing, maybe since ALL troops are available regardless of ownership, then all WEAPONS should be available as well?
Of course that doesn’t solve the dominance issue…
Maybe just ban Dawnbringer from the game mode? I would be fine with that. (Especially since I wont be able to craft for a VERY long time!)
It’s getting that way. I use to see one every run or 2 but today I saw 4 in the 9 battles I did. If I get a kill with Runic Blade before Dawnbringer casts then I have a chance at winning if the ai doesn’t get any skulls but if it casts before I can get a kill I just lose.
That might be better than now but then it would just be a rush to see who gets it up first.
I would be ok with that but I’d prefer the hero weapon just be random each time.
