Wild Wild Best
Hello friends!
In this blog we will cover a most significant change coming to Kards soon - using wildcards instead of resources as a way for players to acquire new cards. We will discuss what wildcards are, how you use them, how you get them and most importantly, why we are making this change.
This blog is part of a series to inform you about all the upcoming changes:
Wildcards
[h2]The Wild Wild Why[/h2]
Let’s start with, what is a wildcard? A wildcard is something you can exchange for an actual card of your choosing. Wildcards come in varieties, such as based on rarity. A limited wildcard can for instance be turned into any limited rarity card in the game. Wildcards can also be nation specific, so you can have for instance a German limited wildcard.
Creating new cards using Wildcards
Wildcards are a much stronger visual medium for players to learn and use than the current resource system and this is the main reason why we are making this change - we saw that many newer players had a hard time understanding how to actually go about using their resources to full effect. Wildcards offer players a more directed crafting experience, which helps newer players in particular. There are three more strong reasons for this change:
[h2]What You See Is What You Get[/h2]
As stated above, wildcards are associated with rarity and can be nation specific. This means we have 24 different types of wildcards - 1 for each nation at each of the four rarity levels, plus 4 more generic ones, that are not tied to a specific nation. So a German limited wildcard can be used to craft a German limited card, while a generic limited wildcard can be used to craft a limited card for any nation. Note that the minor nations (currently France and Italy) do not have nation specific wildcards, only generic wildcards can be used to craft them. The reason why we have nation specific wildcards is to be able to reward players more directly with progression in a specific nation.
The wildcards are not actual cards you will see in your collection. Instead, to get an overview of the wildcards you own - hover over the new wildcard icon. This will show a popup window listing how many wildcards you have of each type. Note that it is not possible to exchange a wildcard for another.
Crafting using wildcards is very similar to how you craft today with resources - select the card you want to craft and below it is a button to craft it. The button shows what wildcard you will use, a nation specific wildcard will always be used if available before using a generic one.
[h2]Getting Wild[/h2]
Now we get to the final part, which is discussing how you get wildcards in the game. There are four sources for wildcards in the game:
That is all for the wildcards, please let us know your thoughts on them, we really appreciate your feedback.
Provide feedback!
Also, make sure to keep an eye out for the transition blog, where you learn how your hard earned resources will be morphed into wildcards when the new system lands.
Finally for more information on all of this make sure you tune in to the Bunker Chat, where we cover all these changes and more, on the 29th of January at 16:00 UTC on www.twitch.tv/kardsccg
In this blog we will cover a most significant change coming to Kards soon - using wildcards instead of resources as a way for players to acquire new cards. We will discuss what wildcards are, how you use them, how you get them and most importantly, why we are making this change.
This blog is part of a series to inform you about all the upcoming changes:
- High-level overview blog
- Wildcards (this blog)
- National Progression and Achievements
- Non-nation specific seasonal ladder
- Transition to the new systems or "What happens with my stuff?"
Wildcards[h2]The Wild Wild Why[/h2]
Let’s start with, what is a wildcard? A wildcard is something you can exchange for an actual card of your choosing. Wildcards come in varieties, such as based on rarity. A limited wildcard can for instance be turned into any limited rarity card in the game. Wildcards can also be nation specific, so you can have for instance a German limited wildcard.
Creating new cards using WildcardsWildcards are a much stronger visual medium for players to learn and use than the current resource system and this is the main reason why we are making this change - we saw that many newer players had a hard time understanding how to actually go about using their resources to full effect. Wildcards offer players a more directed crafting experience, which helps newer players in particular. There are three more strong reasons for this change:
- First off, the resource system doesn’t really kick in until players start to get duplicates of cards they already have the maximum amount of. This was an issue for newer players with small collections, as they had a hard time getting resources, at a time when they needed them the most. In the current system, gold cards offer newer players the best avenue to extra resources, but this is a very hidden feature, plus many players loath to lose their gold cards. With the new system, it is easier to provide new players with wildcards for them to start crafting decks sooner, in a much more hassle-free manner.
- Secondly, we want to give players a stronger path to progress in a specific nation - currently, the rewards in the game are either random (like cards from packs) or generic (like resources), making it difficult for players to focus on progressing a specific nation above others. With the new national level progression (see another blog), players will be getting nation specific wildcards, helping them progress faster in that particular nation. This gives players a focus and helps them in setting goals.
Nation specific elite Wildcards - Finally, as a part of introducing wildcards, we are also making gold cards be true vanity items. Currently, gold cards have a dual functionality of being a vanity item to bling your collection, but also an important source of resources. This dual functionality has limited gold cards severely, meaning they haven’t had the chance to really shine (pun intended). After this change, gold cards can no longer be broken down for resources. This means we can be much more liberal in giving out gold cards, as we no longer have to worry as much about them inflating the economy. Note that we also intend in the near future to upgrade the look of gold cards.
[h2]What You See Is What You Get[/h2]
As stated above, wildcards are associated with rarity and can be nation specific. This means we have 24 different types of wildcards - 1 for each nation at each of the four rarity levels, plus 4 more generic ones, that are not tied to a specific nation. So a German limited wildcard can be used to craft a German limited card, while a generic limited wildcard can be used to craft a limited card for any nation. Note that the minor nations (currently France and Italy) do not have nation specific wildcards, only generic wildcards can be used to craft them. The reason why we have nation specific wildcards is to be able to reward players more directly with progression in a specific nation.
The wildcards are not actual cards you will see in your collection. Instead, to get an overview of the wildcards you own - hover over the new wildcard icon. This will show a popup window listing how many wildcards you have of each type. Note that it is not possible to exchange a wildcard for another.
Crafting using wildcards is very similar to how you craft today with resources - select the card you want to craft and below it is a button to craft it. The button shows what wildcard you will use, a nation specific wildcard will always be used if available before using a generic one.
[h2]Getting Wild[/h2]
Now we get to the final part, which is discussing how you get wildcards in the game. There are four sources for wildcards in the game:
- Progression rewards
Wildcards are often given as rewards in the new national level system (the rewards here tend to be nation specific wildcards), as well as in draft.
(Edit on Feb 8: Above image has been updated with the latest in-game example screenshot)
Collecting Wildcards as rewards through the new national progression path. - From Packs
Packs can contain wildcards, of any rarity (higher rarities less likely). The wildcards in packs tend to be generic, not nation specific.
Wildcards when opening packs - For every 6th pack opened
You get a bonus wildcard for every 6 packs you open. For this purpose, Officer Packs count as 2 packs. The wildcard received rotates over time, as follows:
Limited > Limited > Special > Limited > Limited > Special > Limited > Limited > Elite > New cycle
These bonus wildcards are always generic. You will be able to track in client how close you are to receiving a bonus wildcard. - From Crate
The Crate fills up as you open duplicates of cards you already have the maximum amount of. The higher the rarity of the card that goes into the crate, the more the Crate fills up. You will be able to track how close the Crate is to being full (as a percentage). When the Crate has filled up, you can open it up to get rewards, including gold cards, high rarity wildcards and a draft ticket. You can fill the Crate multiple times.
Crate concept
That is all for the wildcards, please let us know your thoughts on them, we really appreciate your feedback.
Provide feedback!
Also, make sure to keep an eye out for the transition blog, where you learn how your hard earned resources will be morphed into wildcards when the new system lands.
Finally for more information on all of this make sure you tune in to the Bunker Chat, where we cover all these changes and more, on the 29th of January at 16:00 UTC on www.twitch.tv/kardsccg