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8 months ago
Did you miss it? Artifact's back, and it's not quite how you remember it. After a year of tinkering following that disastrous 2018 debut, Valve are ready to re-introduce the Dota 2 card game to the world. This week's brief demonstration runs through some of the promising changes arriving with Artifact 2.0 - and if you're lucky, you may be able to try the beta…
9 months ago
Valve have been drip-feeding us details about the return of Artifact, but now they've opened the flood gates. The latest blog post about their card 'em up digs into all sorts of nuances, from revamped mana curves to fiddly initiative rules. They're also muttering about a ranked progression system similar to Dota Underlords', and a singleplayer campaign that will continue the story from the Call…
I'm enjoying how all the headlines around Artifact's upcoming comeback are about what it won't do. It won't sell you cards, and it won't make you play on one lane at a time. 'It won't die in a fire like it did before', promise.We now know a lot more about how the revamped game will actually work. Random deployment is gone, with creeps spawning in…
10 months ago
Artifact 2.0’s placeholder doodles should be canonised in-game
You've probably heard by now, but Artifact is making a comeback. Valve's card-game flop is gearing up for a massive reboot, and no part of the deck-shuffler's carcass is being left to waste. New monetisation, new mechanics, and a surprising new look. This week, Valve dove into some of the earliest ideas they've come up with to make Artifact work - even if it's a…
Artifact's developers have given up on selling people cards. When the closed beta for Artifact 2.0 kicks off, you'll have to earn every single card through playing - no market, no packs. Stingy pricing was just about the only thing holding the game back for me, so, hurray! It's part of a big relaunch. Valve have also mentioned some changes they're making to the game…
Failed Dota 2 card game Artifact is preparing for a massive comeback
Valve are on something of a roll right now. Half-Life: Alyx is looking absolutely stunning ahead of next week's release. While Dota Underlords (and auto-battlers generally) might be on a bit of a downturn, it's hard to say it hasn't done well for itself. Now that they're back in full swing, it might be time for Valve to bring their dustiest skeleton out of the…
2 years ago
Twitch suing spammers who filled fake Artifact streams with porn and murder
Twitch, the livestreaming site owned by Amazon, are trying to sue the digivandals who in May broadcast videos of pornography, copyrighted movies and TV shows, and actual real-world murders. The offenders pretended to be streaming Artifact, dominating Twitch's section for the Valve card game. Twitch don't yet know who they are but have already filed a lawsuit with a California court to get it rolling.…
It came, we saw, it failed to conquer. Personally, I've looked at Artifact's floundering playerbase with a heavy heart, because it's a a great game that deserves better. That's why I was interested to see Richard Garfield (of Magic: The Gathering fame) Arti-chatting about the game's rocky launch, and what it actually means for a game to be "pay-to-win".
It feels strange - wrong, even - to call any Valve game 'failed', but collectable card game Artifact has been on a sharp downward spiral since launch. Today, Valve spoke up about their struggling CCG and what they've got planned for it in an official blog post here. While there's some of Valve's usual vagueness, it's hard not to read some sadness into "Artifact represents…
Artifact adds skill progression and lets you earn cards just by playing
Artifact is a fantastic CCG, if you can stomach its serpentine complexity. Today Valve release the second update that's made it even better, allaying my two main concerns: there's now a ranking system, and you can earn cards just by playing. Up to 15 packs and event tickets can be nabbed during this 'season', which will last a few months and reset players' ranking at…
Artifact’s first big update adds new modes and a neat chat wheel
The first big Artifact update is out, slapping new decks on the table and letting people chat while they use them. There are no new cards in Valve's CCG, but fans of the Call To Arms mode - where everyone dukes it out with pre-constructed cards - might be pleased to see two new decks. That's not my jam, but the new Pauper tournaments where…
I've already played a little, but I'm not yet sure whether Valve and Richard Garfield's 'Dota but cards' game Artifact is going to consume my every waking thought, or if I'll bounce off it like hard cheese. One of those two.I'm about to find out, because it just launched on Steam.
Valve start Artifact story comic, teasing changes for Dotaworld
Tomorrow brings the first full and proper new Valve game since 2013: Artifact, a card game based on wizfest Dota 2. Yes, it is a game about pushing lanes and managing lords (made together with Magic: The Gathering mastermind Richard Garfield, no less), but apparently it also has a story told in that modern Valve way, through a companion comic. Artifact's first digital issue is…
Valve’s Dota-based card game Artifact is due out November 28th, but it seems that its beta has been pushed back from this month to the second half of November. Specifically, it’s been re-scheduled for the 19th, but somewhat tentatively.
Valve renames Artifact card after feedback questioning racist connotations
Valve have responded to some raised eyebrows regarding a recently revealed card for their upcoming game Artifact by changing its name. What was once called ‘Crack The Whip’ will now become ‘Coordinated Assault’ to avoid connotations of slavery and racism when considered alongside the card’s text, which begins "modify a black hero."To be clear, ‘black’ cards do not refer to race, but are a gameplay…
There's a lot going on in Artifact. I'd already read enough to know that, but apparently I needed to see a game play out before the extent of the complexity sank in. Now I can't wait to start laying cards down on three separate lanes, working towards two different victory conditions, parsing each card's stats and tooling up heroes with equippable items. Artifact is Valve's…
Valve have announced plans to launch Artifact, their digital card-battling adaptation of wizard management simulator Dota 2, on November 28th. That's the plan. That's what they say now. Valve's first big game since Dota 2 in 2013, Artifact turns the MOBA into a card game where players build decks to make wizards fight across three 'lanes' of the table and murder the other wizards' base.…
3 years ago
Valve's new game Artifact has a vague release window of 2018, but thanks to a bit of jealousy on Gabe Newell's part it won't be the only Valve game we can look forward to in the next few years. Who do we have to thank for this? Nintendo.
"Hooray! Valve's going to start shipping games again," studio head honcho Gabe Newell has exclaimed. During a recent press preview event for Artifact, cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer reports, Newell said that the upcoming Dota 2 card game spin-off "is the first of several games that are going to be coming from us." What those others might be is a mystery, but this is the…
Valve last night announced Artifact, a new card game based on Dota 2. I can tell you that Artifact is coming in 2018 and sounds like it broadly simulates a game of Dota, with lanes to push and Dota heroes to command, but Valve haven't shown anything concrete yet. For a company that often sets trends, this does seem curiously late - the world is…
