One of the best digital card games ever released, with the caveat that even with so many great selling points, it's also an incredible investment in time and brain power to get to a point of competency.
It is for people who enjoy card games with an incredible set of fair and unique mechanics that reward out-playing your opponent over luck and randomness. And while it may be based on Dota 2, with a lot to love for its fans, knowledge of the Heroes or universe is in no way needed to enjoy Artifact. All you'll need is $20 and an open and creative mind.
Artifact (classic) is an amazing game, even as it stands now (totally abandoned). Had the developers supported it properly upon release (updates, game modes, balance changes, etc) it would have been very successful, I have no doubt.
All of the problems with the game were with the game/tournament modes, lack of player progression, new player experience, and lack of support/updates.
The fundamental gameplay is fantastic.
At the first sign of trouble they scrapped the entire game and made a new, much worse version of Artifact from the ground up.
I can't believe how little confidence Valve had in their own game. Many games have recovered from bad launches--Valve didn't even try.
They trusted the judgment of the internet and endless superficial criticisms of the game, rather than their own hearts which guided them to create and release the game in the first place.
They turned an absolutely great, unique, and destined to be classic game into an embarrassing footnote.
Such a strange and sad situation.
There's so much depth to the gameplay that it's still worth playing, potentially for many hours, despite being a dead game.
Core gameplay is good, cards on the market are cheap, could use an expansion to flesh out some of the deck archetypes but that'll come eventually. About to get colourblind support which is a godsend.
New update made it even better btw.
It would be nice to see some more extensive options for those wanting to play by themselves or in non-competitive settings, but beyond that, Artifact is a great showing.
Artifact is as hard-core as Dota2 and you might feel exhausted when you finish a single round which usually would last half an hour. The greedy economy system is lacking in long-term reward and it gives players no choice but to spend more and more money. But despite all those flaws, Artifact is also an innovative game which fuses basic MOBA mechanics and TCG rules together, and those elements actually work well. It's still full of potential.
Artifact is one of the most polished digital card games available. The game’s multi-lane mechanics bring MOBA elements into card game form, providing challenging strategic gameplay. Valve still has a way to go to prove Artifact’s long-term viability though due to its lack of a progression system and ranked modes.
I desperately wanted to enjoy Artifact, but it currently stands as a monument to the flaws of early CCG design. It’s random, it’s expensive, and it does a horrible job of teaching players both basic gameplay and high-level strategy.
This is a good game with bad handle by Valve,get bash by Valve community,noone want to see it succeed ,you can clearly see from all these 0 rating.Even tho it have flaw, it still is a very interesting game, I write this one to speak the truth, give this game some credit it deserve, and give some justice to it.
A.pros:
1.Best competitive card game out there if you only count gameplay. The card game where better player always win.
2.Gameplay is good,easy to pick up what happen,still, deep strategy focus. It's like starcraft but card game. The amount of time i'm sweating when play this game is countless. You really have to challenge your mind to win and the win feel good.
**** only card game where draft mode is competitive viable. And you can play it without the need to buy card.
4.constructed mode is very good and amount of deck that constructed viable is **** is half a year since launch-more than 1 year for beta tester-and the meta is not set yet.every month,there is some new deck come to the top and i love it.
5.Quite good graphic- animation,card artwork,board design,menu,etc,good UI-very clear,informative .Music and voice over is god-tier quality. It add some interesting lore to dota 2 universe.
Cons:
1.monetization is on full greedy **** religion discount, no sale on any event, paying upfront but still have to pay for card to play constructed,pay for ticket to play at highest competitive environment,and pay for loot box.A trading card game but you can't trade with other player,you only can trade through the steam market which valve take 10% every **** can get full collection with way easier than other card game,but that still not make this one right.
**** factor is small impact(except for ogre magi) but feel bad af.ogre magi multi-cast is the worst,you can straight up win game if ogre magi multi-cast **** is 25% and you have atleast 34 chance to do it. attack arrows is a feel bad RNG too-it serve as wave to balance out high attack power hero,make them cant attack tower ,aka your win condition,50%-75% of the time. but it feel so bad when you sure you win and suddenly a curve and your hero attack a creep on his left instead of tower.then you lose.
3.Mana ramp and overpower **** this game ramp is overpower since you can get some mana back when you start to ramp make it have way higher impact than other card **** make late game card come too early like Time of Triump which is a turn 6 card, come at turn **** speak of time of triump,why the f does it have so many stat in **** make hero basically unkillable and deal massive amount of **** bolt of Damocles deal half of a tower max hp,why axe stat and signature card is way too good. Still,even though this game have some problem with card power,it is quite balance.
4.A true brain stomper. You will be drain out in 4 hour of play **** it might be frustrated sometimes.
5.A competitive card game with out a competitive ladder,no support from valve to help esport scene grow,there is no reward to play after lvl 16,there is no reason to drive people play more.
6.Lack of update and communication from dev. At this point,it is clear that re-launch will happen and there is no update until then.
(played 45h before writing)
Sadly, many negative reviews about the pay to win system and gambling elements are true. I will concentrate here mostly on the negative sides because they may be most important for some of you.
There are around 300 cards in the game now and for 17.95€ you will get 2 starter decks with 54 cards and 120 random cards. This sounds good but is by no means enough to be competitive. More interesting to understand the game are time limited event decks with strong cards that introduce into different play styles. However, as the name says they may only be available from time to time.
To build you first competitive deck you will need to invest at least 5-10€. The auction house is very well implemented into the game (lock here for Diablo 4 Blizzard^^). It is a joy to use as long as you don’t think about the money. Most cards are very cheap for 4-15 cent now and prices will most likely fall. A good deck needs a minimum of 49 cards. The most expensive card “Axe – a rare red hero” was sold for 16-20€ last weekend, the second most expensive card was for 12€. That means you decks may realistically cost everything between 5-100€. Indeed, the most expensive rush deck that hit me completely unprepared was close to 90€. The game gives you a one click option to buy your opponent’s deck or to safe all the information for later analysis.
The card prices are by far not the most negative aspect of the game. Most hardcore card game players will not mind about the prices. The main problem are the entry tickets (0.95€) for competitive expert play or arena. After 3 wins you get a new entry ticket and card packs when you win more. However, it is the best way to play for experienced players because you will learn here the most and the matches are very enjoyable. The people mostly know what they are doing, and they will fight until victory or death. The free competitive play is more for tinkering around and learning the decks, but perfect runs are not difficult to accomplish for more experienced players here.
In conclusion, Artifact is a freshly new card game in a unique mooba style. The game mechanics are pay to win, but they are very good and it takes long to understand the underling mechanics. It is something for people that like to customize their decks for a unique plays style. After 30 h of play I did only encounter two decks that were similar but not identical to my cheaper dark assassination siege deck. On the other hand I did encounter quite often variations of 2 very powerful decks that were most likely copied from some website, this does not mean that they always win (after a while you know exactly what to expect and how to counter; luck plays also an important role), more dangerous are unique custom decks that can surprise.
In the end, the question is what you would like to enjoy most with you money. A visit to the cinema, unhealthy food at a fast food restaurant, or better a good book. Artifact is somewhere in between as long as you can keep it under control.
At this moment i don´t recommend this game to any friend, there is a LOT to improve in the game to be worth your time.
The game need casual and expert rank
Need some way to encourage you to keep playing, quests, skins, cards, tickets, gold, sleeves, sprays...anything!
Chat ¬¬ (c´mon that´s basic and should be in the game day one)
Balancing (cards like axe or drow are pure bullcrap)
TOO MUCH RNG!!! The rng in this game goes to increase your damage, to double your cards to even cheat ****!!! ¬¬
Don´t get me wrong the game is good and has potential, but it has too many flaws right **** just wait.
SummaryA collaboration between legendary game designer Richard Garfield and Valve, Artifact promises the deepest gameplay and the highest-fidelity experience ever seen in a trading card game.