Artifact came out about 3 weeks ago, and has had a pretty rough launch, with player counts dropping off quickly, and a lot of unhappiness around various aspects of the game and its economy. This...
Artifact came out about 3 weeks ago, and has had a pretty rough launch, with player counts dropping off quickly, and a lot of unhappiness around various aspects of the game and its economy.
This update came out yesterday, and Valve has apparently changed their mind about multiple aspects that they previously seemed very committed to. I'm really impressed at how quickly they've managed to implement some of these changes (especially in mid-December, which is one of the least productive times of the year), and their overall willingness to reconsider core parts of the game and their approach to it.
There are multiple interesting and good changes here, but overall, I was most surprised to see them add a method for earning packs for free while playing the game. They've now made it so that you can earn 15 packs and 15 tickets each "season" (which will probably last several months each). They did also reduce the amount the game gives you on purchase to 5 packs and 2 tickets (was previously 10 packs + 5 tickets), but the main impact is that it's now possible for everyone to be able to keep building their collection over time by just playing without needing to spend more money. That's a very significant change for a game where the marketplace is a core feature, and I'm impressed that they were willing to do it.
I still have some gripes about the game overall and find myself playing Magic Arena more often, but this update increased my confidence in the game's future a lot.
Artifact came out about 3 weeks ago, and has had a pretty rough launch, with player counts dropping off quickly, and a lot of unhappiness around various aspects of the game and its economy.
This update came out yesterday, and Valve has apparently changed their mind about multiple aspects that they previously seemed very committed to. I'm really impressed at how quickly they've managed to implement some of these changes (especially in mid-December, which is one of the least productive times of the year), and their overall willingness to reconsider core parts of the game and their approach to it.
There are multiple interesting and good changes here, but overall, I was most surprised to see them add a method for earning packs for free while playing the game. They've now made it so that you can earn 15 packs and 15 tickets each "season" (which will probably last several months each). They did also reduce the amount the game gives you on purchase to 5 packs and 2 tickets (was previously 10 packs + 5 tickets), but the main impact is that it's now possible for everyone to be able to keep building their collection over time by just playing without needing to spend more money. That's a very significant change for a game where the marketplace is a core feature, and I'm impressed that they were willing to do it.
I still have some gripes about the game overall and find myself playing Magic Arena more often, but this update increased my confidence in the game's future a lot.