Artifact artifact card game dota. Misconceptions about Valve's Artifact card game

Streamers, players and commentators will rush to stream the game. Already on November 19, those who obtained the key at The International, PAX or in the depths of the Internet will have access to it. But while ordinary hard workers have not managed to touch the new card game from Valve, they have already managed to come up with many myths and conjectures.

Myth 1: I have to pay every time I want to play

Valve made a big mistake when, during the release of the first ArtiFAQ, they did not clearly articulate the paragraph about the available competitive game modes (they are called "competitions"). It was only known that the goal of the participants was to win a certain number of matches, and it would be possible to get there with a special ticket. From this, the rumor spread that without throwing an extra penny into Gaben's pocket, it would be impossible to play with someone other than your friends and bots. But already during the introductory tournament, the developers corrected their mistake.

First, there are free modes. The first is Call of Battle. Players are offered a choice of one of six decks that the developers have compiled themselves. The users' task is to win as many matches in a row as possible. It is not necessary to own all the cards. You may not even open your packs for this.

Pitfall: the regime runs the risk of getting bored too quickly.

The second entertainment option is a regular game. Collect your deck and press the rival search button. If Valve again did not fail with the wording, then you can play in the usual "global search" mode (against a random player) or in the "competition" mode, when rivals with each game will become stronger. In this mode, you manage your deck yourself and must have usable cards in the collection.

After the announcements, rumors began to circulate about a free draft (mode from the introductory tournament, when the player chooses cards for the deck gradually), but so far they have not been confirmed by anything.

If everything is so simple, why are there so many disaffected people? The point is, all of these modes are non-rewarding. That is, you can really play by paying only $ 20 for. But getting cards, packs or other rewards in this way is impossible. To do this, you will have to participate in “expert competitions”, which involve a fee for an entrance ticket (when you buy a game, you will be given five of them). And as experienced players suggest, it is almost impossible to constantly hit them plus or at least 0. That is, if you are not a genius of card games and marketing, then you will have to pay to replenish your collection. And free modes are still reminiscent of playing for the sake of playing. This is already difficult for users to feed.

Myth 2: I'll spend all my money on packs!

Valve offers you to spend money not on packs with cards, but on entrance tickets to various competitions. When you buy a game, you will be given 5 tickets that you can use as you wish. At the start, there are three ways to spend them.

The first is to build a deck and start the "challenge". The players' task is to win 5 wins, losing less than 3 times. If you managed to win three matches, your entrance ticket will be returned to you, and after 4 victories, they will also start rewarding with packs of cards.

The second option is a phantom draft. The developers presented this mode at the introductory tournament. Players choose cards from different sets, build a deck and compete. But these cards are only given to you to "hold", you cannot take them for yourself. Also, with 4 victories, a set with cards will be presented as a reward.

The third option, the most tempting one, is a complete draft. The same selection process, but you can keep the cards for yourself. However, for entry to the competition, you will have to give 2 tickets at once and donate five personal sets. If you manage to win 3 victories with the collected deck, then in addition to it you will receive an additional pack and return your tickets. For five won matches, you will be given 3 sets of cards at once. Some Reddit users considered this to be the most profitable way to spend a starter kit.

For those who want to minimize their costs for the game, but at the same time have fun, players recommend to immediately master the trading platform. It will be possible to sell cards and buy the necessary ones. Usually at the start, their cost is greatly overestimated, so that rare, but not too necessary, can be sold at a higher price. Beta players assume that at first this strategy will be much more profitable than buying bundles. Moreover, many sites already have card strength ratings, and streamers will have time to demonstrate the strongest heroes and their bundles in a week.

Myth 3: solid random!

Random is the main topic of discussion in any card game. None of those who have already tried out from Valve say that the game is completely free of the influence of chance. Even the viewers of the introductory tournament managed to understand how strongly the distribution of creeps on the lane and the initial placement sometimes decide. What can I say, items from the Secret Shop, which appear randomly, won whole parties to some participants.

However, players who have spent several months already are ready to convince us that the amount of randomness is balanced by various mechanics. For example, for Naiman, random is leveled by three lines.

“Take Hearthstone, for example. If the random didn't play in our favor, then we are behind in the game situation. If the random played not in our favor in the Artifact, then it played not in our favor on one of the lines. Therefore, you can take advantage of the failure and strengthen the remaining lines, ”he said in an interview.

The developers remind that the player can balance the process with the help of different abilities and items. Some spells can help allies on the other lane, and teleport and Blink are a must-have. Otherwise, it is an ordinary card game with its pros and cons regarding chances. Yes, it will also light up if the correct card does not come.

“There is almost no randomness on the maps themselves. There are, of course, a couple of random cards, but I, in principle, do not see any problem in this, because basically everything is very competent. I recently played a game: I have two reds and one green hero, and my whole hand is in green cards - just green ones, I can’t do anything, ”Maria harleen Kobzar said in an interview with Cybersport.

Myth 4: I will never be a pro-player, everything is already taken there.

Naturally, in the wake of everyone's love for e-sports and the announcement of a tournament with $ 1 million for first place, everyone began to worry about how to become a pro-player. And looking at the fact that all the avid gamblers from MTG, HS and Gwent are already competing and registering for tournaments, ordinary hard workers lose heart. However, there are several "buts" here.

To begin with, there are players in any esports discipline who started playing in the days of the mammoths. But this does not prevent the talented guys, who have not seen mammoths, now to raise champion cups. Of course, not all at once, but there is a chance.

Secondly, even while watching the introductory tournament, even the audience in the chat noticed the obvious mistakes of professional players. They may have several months of experience behind them, but not all of them play flawlessly. In addition, there are already so many training materials at the disposal of beginners that you can become a couch expert just by watching a video on YouTube.

Thirdly, now there are not only invitational tournaments for stars of the first magnitude, but also for ordinary workers. For example, Brainscans.net plans to run championships for small cash prizes and card packs. Anyone can take part in them. And enthusiasts are already creating websites that will collect information about various championships.

Moreover, Valve and itself offer tools for creating different tournaments. So it will clearly be where and with whom to compete.

The main problem of those wishing to get into esports is the lack of a ladder. The developers want you to have fun and enjoyment, not suffer every step up the stairs. At least for now. So the hardest part will not be learning to play the coolest pro, but getting noticed.

Myth 5: it's so hard, I'll never figure it out

At first glance, it looks like some kind of crazy, especially if you start getting to know the game by watching the matches of pro players. They throw cards, buy some artifacts, and also these circles next to the towers! But in reality, getting to grips with the basics isn't that hard.

The game will include training, which the organizers of the introductory tournament have already shown. Alexey Lex Filippov commented on it in detail.

Users of other card games may find it unusual at first to have three lines, which implies a skillful allocation of resources. But, for example, the Gwent players can relate the lanes to the usual rounds, and the Hearthstone players can easily figure out the mana management.

Believe it or not, even Dota 2 players can get a slight edge. While those who have never seen a MOBA from Valve intensively memorize and memorize heroes and their signature abilities, you already know most of their skills. You will not be surprised when Bounty Hunter hangs Track on you, and Sven will inflict damage not only on the target, but also on neighboring units. In fact, doters are already familiar with almost any game mechanics, but only in Dota 2. So they can just skip this difficult stage of memorization.

Moreover, there is a game mode with bots, which can be given any possible cards. You can study with little or no self-infringement.

If you still have doubts about whether it is worth spending 1400 rubles on and it is not yet known how much on kits and cards, then just watch the streams before the official launch of the game. For pre-ordering, you still will not receive any additional bonuses. But you will understand how much the process can captivate you. Surely, streamers will appear on Twitch who will enter the game for the first time and will not have a complete collection on hand.

And remember, if something goes wrong, Valve can always come up with new free modes or add rewards. The main thing is for Reddit to complain louder.

An introductory article about Artifact by Michael "rokman" Weldon has been posted on artibuff.com. In it, the author talks in understandable language about the main mechanics and concepts of the game. We recommend that all novice players read the translation of this article on our portal.

Artifact - a computer card game released Valve Corporation... The game was developed in collaboration with Richard Garfield, creator Magic: the Gathering. Artifact based on the universe DotAusing creatures, magic items and characters from the great game lore. Although the expectations from the game are very high, many believe Artifact too complex and confusing game for a general audience, for casual players. I will do my best to explain the mechanics Artifact so that anyone can understand it without having experience playing CCG.

Board

This is the board on which the action takes place Artifact... The first thing that catches your eye is that the game is played on three separate game boards - Lines. This is one of the most important elements Artifactwhich makes the game unique compared to other CCGs. On the player's side, as well as on the side of his opponent, there is a Tower on each line. Each Tower has 40 health points and 3 mana since the start of the game.

In the Universe DotA two major forces, Light and Darkness, are at war with each other. These forces also affect the world. Artifactappearing as Towers and Throne in the game. Whenever a tower on one of the lines collapses, the essence of each side - the Throne - appears from the ground, creating a new target for the player to destroy. The throne has 80 health points. The game can be won by destroying either two towers or a tower + throne.

Let's take a closer look at a separate line:

This is the first line, on which you can more clearly see the mana and health indicators of your tower. Red indicators in the lower right corner of maps and towers will notify you of damage done before Combat Phase.

In the upper left corner of the screen, you can see the "Summary" window. It offers a ton of useful information: it allows you to see all the heroes that are on the lane, tells you what stage the game is at, who owns the Initiative, and also what heroes are on the Fountain.

The fountain is where the hero goes after he dies. Whenever a hero dies, he must spend one turn on the Fountain, and after that he can be re-cast on one of the lines. Just one hero Rix , has the ability Rapid Deployment(quick placement), which allows him to automatically return to combat upon death. There is also an item card, Vesture of the Tyrant which has the same effect.

The button is a gold coin in the lower right corner of the screen. When the button is available, you have the option to play a card. Whenever a card is played, Initiative is transferred to the opponent (the concept of initiative will be discussed a little later). Players also have the option to skip a turn when the button is active. Skipping a turn does not transfer Initiative. The combat phase will begin when both players miss a turn on the lane.

Gold is acquired by killing enemy heroes or creeps. When you kill a hero, you earn 5 gold. Creeps cost 1 gold. One hero Bounty hunter along with his signature card Track , can increase the hero's cost by 10 gold. This means that for killing a hero marked Track , you can earn 15 gold.

Cards

There are five types of cards. Creep Cards, Ability Cards, Upgrade Cards, Item Cards, and Hero Cards. Each of the cards is played differently and interacts with the game in its own way.

Manacost (how much mana the card costs) is located in the upper left corner of the card, next to its name. Under the manacost and the name, you can see an icon that shows the type of card.

Creep cards like Disciple of nevermore will have their own Attack and Health values, and sometimes Armor. The creep card is played on the lane as a separate unit that can fight the enemy, damaging his Tower or enemy heroes. Some heroes have effects or abilities that are activated when played, be sure to read the description of the card carefully.

Spell cards such as Wrath of Gold are cards that have an immediate impact, damaging units, healing creatures, or whatever. Each spell is unique! Some of the most powerful cards Artifact Are spells. An example is the map Bolt of damocles , the most expensive card in the game.

Upgrade cards such as Mist of Avernus are cards that continually improve your lane power. Some upgrades give your tower more mana, increase the attack of your creatures, or even deal damage over time to your enemy units! There are also some improvements that can affect both the player and his opponent ( Glyph of Confusion). If you noticed, there are left and right arrows in the upper left corner next to the game's manacost. This means that a card can be played on one line, but it can be sent to another. For example, if I have a green hero in the first lane, I can activate Mist of Avernus but use it on the third line.

Item cards such as Short sword are bought in gold, which you earn by killing enemy units. With the help of the items that you put on your heroes, you can improve the performance of your heroes, as well as give them bonus effects. Some item cards are consumable resources, granting one of your heroes a one-time effect when used ( Healing salve).

Hero cards such as Ax are the most important part of the match Artifact... Whenever a hero is in your deck, you automatically add 3 copies of the hero's signature card to your deck. Signature card Ax - Berserker's Call, spell card. Signature cards can be creeps, spells, or upgrades. Wouldn't it be interesting if the hero had an item card as a signature card?

All cards, except for items, have their own color. If you want to play a card on a lane, a hero of the same color must be present on it. For example, if you have in your hand Mist of Avernus when you are on the first line, you can only play this card if the green hero is also on the first line. This is another example of why Heroes are so important.

Red cards are based on improving the performance of hero cards: they add armor, effects such as splash ( Cleave) or counterattack ( Retaliate), or just improve the hero's attack rate. Red cards usually force combat, forcing your opponent to kill against your fat units. Usually, red heroes have the highest stats.

Green cards are for improving creeps. They give creeps extra health, armor or regeneration. Many green heroes can upgrade allied units that are next to them in the lane. Certain green spells can increase your tower's overall mana to summon giant creeps!

Blue cards are for board control. Spells that deal damage and clear the board, spells that deal damage to a tower are just a few examples. Blue heroes are the weakest in terms of attack and health. When playing with a blue deck, you prefer to avoid skirmishes between the heroes, winning with powerful spells.

Black cards are aimed at killing heroes and causing damage directly to towers. Black heroes increase the damage of your heroes and creeps on the tower with the help of a siege ( Siege), use spells of direct removal of creatures from the board and targeted damage to creeps. Black heroes have low health, but a very high attack rate. At the same time, a bunch of heroes' abilities are aimed at increasing the damage to enemy heroes.

Phases

Let's look at the different phases of a match Artifact:

This is the very first cutscene at the start of the game. The player's heroes are at the bottom, and the opponent's heroes are at the top. The first three heroes of each player can be called "flop heroes" because they appear randomly at the start of the game. Next comes the Turn, and the last hero to be played is River.

When you build your deck, you can choose which heroes to play on the flop, turn, or river. Keep in mind the amount of health of your heroes, because if you play a low health hero on the flop, it is possible that the enemy flop heroes will be able to kill your hero in the first round.

The Flop and Combat phases are phases during which no player can play their cards or interact with the board in any way. Therefore, these phases are colored red.

The flop is the very beginning of the game. The first three heroes of each team will appear randomly on one of three lanes, one hero for each. After that, three melee creeps will spawn on random lanes (maximum 2 creeps in one lane). Many people think that this is a great example of the influence of randomness on the game. Personally, I think this developer choice is one of the best features Artifactbecause every game starts differently!

Blue phases such as Turn, River and any deployment phase thereafter are stages in which each player gets 2 melee creeps, and if the hero is ready to deploy, the player can choose which lane to place him on.

It seems the player has decided to send Earthshaker to the middle line!

After both players play their heroes, random attack direction cards are generated for those units that do not have enemy units opposite them.

These cards tell the unit in which direction to attack. Sometimes, several creatures can attack the same enemy. This can be either bad or good for the player, depending on the situation. IN Artifact There are many cards that allow players to change the direction of attack of their units. Watch out for such cards, they can be very effective when used correctly!

The action phase is where the main actions take place in Artifact (that's why it's called that). Here, the players take turns taking initiative and play different cards, trying to change the position on the board during the battle in their favor.

The only way that what happens on the lane during the action phase will go into the combat phase is by skipping a turn from both players. Let me remind you that skipping a move does not take away your initiative if you already have it.

During the battle, player units will attack each other at the same time, either by hitting each other and killing the creature, or by attacking the tower directly, reducing its amount of health. If you kill an enemy hero, you get 5 gold. For creeps, they give 1 gold.

The last stage of each round is the shopping stage. Here players spend the gold they have earned to buy item cards for their heroes.

The player has enough gold to buy Blade of Vigil or Potion Knowledge. Which would you choose?

After the end of the shopping phase, all effects that persisted until the end of the round are canceled, all heroes in the fountain reduce the waiting time by one turn, and then the next round begins.

When the round starts, each tower in the game will be filled with mana, and its total amount will increase by 1. The damage done to units will, of course, persist until the creature is completely destroyed or healed.

Why is the concept of Initiative so important?

Initiative is, first of all, the ability to play your cards first on the line. As I explained earlier in this article, a player cannot play a card unless a hero of the same color is on a lane. Let's take a look at a map like Gust ... For the duration of the round, she gives the effect of silence on all enemy heroes in the lane. While under the effect of silence, the hero cannot play cards of the same color from his hand. If I start the first lane action phase with initiative and I can immediately cast

Artifact is a collectible card game based on the famous MOBA Dota 2. The project is developed by legendary game designer Richard Garfield and Valve, led by Gabe Newell, one of the most admired people in the gaming industry. The project was announced shortly before the final match of the 2nd day of The International 2017 by commentator Sean "Day9" Plott.

The gameplay resembles the classic confrontation in Dota: instead of three lanes, there are three boards, and the user fights with a collected deck of heroes who, after death, can be revived "in the tavern" and return to the battlefield. Victory or defeat is counted depending on whether the throne is broken or won on two of the three lanes. To win, you also need to finish off creeps worth one gold or heroes for which they give five gold. Gold is used to purchase original items of one of three categories: damage, health and armor. Each card can accept three items, one for each category.

The game includes three battlegrounds and a set of characters from the original Dota 2, which are presented in the form of 44 cards. There are more than 280 cards in total. Artifact also supports the purchase / sale of cards on the marketplace for real money, has competitive and normal modes available, new functions and is planned "as a service", which means that players will have many different additions. The project is offered on Steam for $ 20.

Artifact is expected to be one of the main competitors of Hearthstone, but can it compete with the king of the CCG genre with this distribution model? We will find out this already on November 19, when the game will go to a full release.

Valve is a large privately-owned company that has released games such as Left 4 Dead, the Half-Life series, Portal puzzles, the Counter-Strike (CS) first-person shooter series, and arguably the longest-running multiplayer project Team Fortress 2. They all left a solid footprint on the industry. For the past seven and a half years, Valve has been busy reworking existing ideas, turning them into long-term projects that can bring Valve hundreds of millions of dollars. Moreover, Steam also brings the company about 30% of all sales in the service.

Valve is making a whopping amount of money. The exact amounts are not known, since Valve is not obliged by anybody to publish financial statements as a private company. If we take into account the sales of games through the service, the audience of Dota 2, TF2 and CS: GO, the company should receive quite large sums of money, approximately one and a half billion a year.

Part of the funds goes to operating expenses. Another part for modernization and experiments with VR, prototyping and other futuristic hardware. Still on reinvestment and other developments. A fairly reasonable (logical) question arises - how much money is left for the games?
Judging by the latest announcement from Valve - a card game set in the Dota2 universe, Valve has little money to make games. It is not enough that Valve is ready to catch on to the market of card games, which have been released by all and sundry in recent years.

Against the background of news that veterans are leaving Valve, in particular those who were involved in scripts, similar news, raising questions about what game developers in Valve itself are doing? Not engineers, artists and modelers, but those people who directly come up with game design,

New card game Artifact from Valve is the right decision. Unexpected but totally meaningful. Especially since Valve called in Sean Plott, also known as Day9, to stream. Sean is known for being watched by a large number of Hearthstone players. They not only have a cool host, but also one that the audience of the rival card game is watching. Most importantly, the Dota card game will be played. Why? Because this game has a large audience and good lore.

However, such is the industry - arena multiplayer, card games, e-sports-e-sports-e-sports. The industry has found a gold mine and is hammering in until the picks are worn out. And Valve, along the way, is also investing in a potentially revolutionary technology that could become an analogue of the Dota of the 2020s, when new sensations replace the bulging eyes from masterful combos.

In the meantime, the Dota audience is spending hundreds of millions on cosmetic improvements and other goodies, Valve will handle Dota... Card games, comics, figurines, hats, cups, posters, trinkets, videos, and all, all, all. After all, the main goal of any successful company is not to earn a lot of money, but to earn all the money from the product invented by it. And Valve has no plans to finish yet.

Forget Half-Life. For the next 5-7 years old. Perhaps never. Because now is the time for franchise shooters, not stories about portals and other worlds like Zen.