Valve revealed its entrance to the digital collectible card game genre through its latest title, Artifact, back in early 2018. The game released later in the year in November and was immediately received with mixed reactions, due to its steep learning curve, non-stream friendly gameplay, and heavy pay-to-win mechanics. Initially considered as Valve's attempt at competing with Blizzard's Hearthstone and Wizards of the Coast's Magic Arena, it quickly failed to do so. However, the studio's latest update on what is coming to Artifact's Beta 2.0 phase might change people's mind on the title's future.
The development team addressed some of the most complained about issues with Artifact, starting from finally giving players the ability to see all three of their lanes at the same time. Prior to this update, players were tasked with handling three different lanes, each with its own screens and you have to take actions on each independently, which still stands even during Artifact's beta 2.0 phase. It is mainly to prevent players from getting "shut out in the same way they used to."
Valve is trying to lower the entry floor and implement an easier learning curve to invite new players and make it a little more friendly in nature. Beta 2.0 won't feature a store, denying players the ability to just bypass playing time and pour cash into the game to build overpowered and stacked decks. Not only that, but the studio also introduces a new mode, Hero Draft, where players can construct decks without any pressure and give them the chance to try out higher rated cards.
What do you think of Valve's attempt at saving Artifact with this beta 2.0? Do you think will it be enough to draw players back into its ecosystem? Will it ever compete with the likes of Hearthstone? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
