Important Note:
It has been a very long time since I blogged and plenty of things have gotten so rusty, I suspect I need a capable proof-reader to do the job free-of-charge.
In other news, I really need to get myself started on the current edraft/drafit of A Requiem From Winter Past. In the first chapter, I forgot which song I was listening in order to stay focused although I wouldn't be surprised if it's this one.
It's really weird to see this scene off the back of Fate/Zero.
As for chapter 3, I still remember what I listened to.
The Supreme Gwentleman?
Now let me explain myself here on why the post title. This has got nothing to do with the tragic 2014 Isla Vista killings because as a pro-lifer, I don't believe in the justification of murder regardless of men, women, children, or unborn lives since that'd be like telling me Berserk is actually a moral tale of dark fantasy. Again to quote the very same Nebraskan senator from the state of Nebraska, it's total hogwash. Simply put, it's an expression of creativity not intended to mock your socio-political sensitivities. If you still think I'm a right conservative knave, I can only say Tokugawa Ieyasu was never guilty of partisan politics where Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were concerned.Recently, I started playing Gwent. Now, this was a case of breaking character since I'm never a fan of PvP. It's like cultivating the online habit of not disclosing your home and current cities to those outside your innermost Facebook circle only to undo the lockdown where all your Facebook friends know your current location. In storytelling, the breaking of character is a taboo. In real life, it's deliberate.
Now if you're such a person, rest assured that I'm the same as well. So why did I choose to break character? The reason was that... well, I got nothing better to do. There's a reason why my current Twitter user name is Great Bird Kamuy and it has got nothing to do with my weirdly Ainu facial features. Yes, Everquest 2 was fun. And it still is. Before Gwent, I started playing Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms. That's idly fun. More specifically, it plays like an alternate version of Football Manager where you deploy people in a specific formation. It's some really weird fun since it felt like getting paid for doing little or nothing.
As for Gwent, it's because I decided to get a cerebrally engaging alternative. I still remember my friend Ah-Kiat playing Sanguosha. Despite the hanyu pinyin, Sanguosha is quite kid-friendly. Hence, Ah-Kiat being the responsible Christian he has always been made the right choice. As for me, anything is possible because my brain functions like Batman rather than Superman. Thankfully, this means I'm no John Constantine. On the flip side, this means Ah-Kiat would never touch Gwent and it got nothing to do with grappling with different mechanics, rules, and the three times blah.
Unintentional consequences and the other side of the coin
Those who played Witcher 3 (e.g. another of my friend Salted Fish) would know the game is all about killing monsters, never mind the fact that people were always the bigger monsters in the most famous dark fantasy world outside Westeros. I don't know about you, but I like series not for Henry Cavill or the *bleep* *bleep*. Because my brain functions like Batman, this means my appreciation lies in the characters and storytelling.[Note: Source of my information comes from the wiki site because I don't think like a normal person]
There's a beauty in dark fiction. Without the darkness, we'd just be either deluded idealists or disappointed idealists. Without the negativity, we'd never be able to truly appreciated the positive. Without the cynicism, we wouldn't understand both sides of the same coin. Maybe that's why Mr Lee (i.e. Lee is a very common surname in the same way Li Shimin and Li Dian were clearly unrelated) once said I was a capable analyst even though I happened to be a self-taught one bereft of paper qualifications.
When we talk about unintentional consequences, the bad would always come to mind. If you're a liberal, it means the conservative ideology. If you're a conservative, it means the liberal ideology. If you happened to be G.K Chesterton, that'd be both. If there's anything CD Projekt Red has taught us, it wouldn't be whether the GTA hot coffee machine resulted in some kind of consequences. Rather, I'm sure no one in the studio (i.e. not those American rock stars) actually intended Gwent to be another cash cow.
Why did I say that? It's not because Singaporeans are stupid. I happened to know someone who is smart enough to be given the chance to learn Dutch because she has to spend twelve months in England and two to three years in the Netherlands. If that's not called smart, I don't know what else is. Instead, Singapore has been known to subscribe to what I call a fast-food mentality. We always demand pace and efficiency as if this is a match made and ordained in heaven. Sadly, reality tells us a different story. Singaporeans may say it's effective but exceptional individuals like Thomas Edison, Liu Bang, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would tell you that's not the case. If Edison functioned like a stereotypical Singaporean, we wouldn't have the light bulb. If Liu Bang functioned like one, there wouldn't be a Han dynasty. As for Tokugawa Ieyasu, the stereotypical Singaporean would have called him the Moron of Mikawa for retreating. Ironically, the stereotypical Singaporean mindset would have doomed the nation had the founding fathers believed in such a thing.
The progress was rough, to say the least. And I suspect it's going to be so in the short run. I spent days messing around with the decks, crafting the cards, and burning the ores because I didn't want to use actual money to buy the faction card kegs. Intuitive approach says start from the Monsters faction, my brain reacted like a rebellious Ainu by insisting on Nilfgaard. Was that a mistake? There's a reason why plenty of players I played against (and lost 99.99999...%) were either using Monsters or Northern Realms. Eredin's fake Sildenafil potion made the Monsters more ferocious via mechanics like Thrive, Dominance, and Deathwish. As for the Northern Realms, the Order mechanic is all you need to feel like a Radovid V. I'm not saying that if you're a Monsters faction user, you're an idiot. Neither am I implying only a bald moron would use the Northern Realms. Fact is, your brain is definitely good enough if you're good enough to be a Gwentleman/lady. Even if you find the difficulty too damn high like your housing rent, it doesn't mean you're dumb.
To play Gwent, you must learn fast. In the classroom, you're taught the value of success. In Gwent, you're taught the value of failure. There's only this much your country's government could do in encouraging failure. I find that the best way to learn is to play against players in seasonal mode. Right now is the Season of the Viper inspired by none other than Letho the Lethal Weapon. The offensive aspect wasn't that lethal, though. One thing I learnt the hard way was that relying on damage and bleeding was never the best idea. The core half of the rules lies in the buffing. Get buffed by X and get X turns of vitality status. Sniping is merely disruption via taking out the smaller units (either that or concentrated fire) and that's possibly why only a crazy fellow would use Nilfgaard. Scoia'tael? Only a suicidal fellow would do that. But there's a problem. After being ridiculed and treated like an evolved animal in the schoolyard gangsta land, I became the nearest Singaporean to a Scoia'tael. If Mr Lee's words of affirmation were real, it means I should have an English name. Not something like Claude but Iorweth.
When we talk about unintentional consequences, the bad would always come to mind. If you're a liberal, it means the conservative ideology. If you're a conservative, it means the liberal ideology. If you happened to be G.K Chesterton, that'd be both. If there's anything CD Projekt Red has taught us, it wouldn't be whether the GTA hot coffee machine resulted in some kind of consequences. Rather, I'm sure no one in the studio (i.e. not those American rock stars) actually intended Gwent to be another cash cow.
Progress so far
I'll just go straight to the point. One of the most important things about playing Gwent is this: If you want things to be done the Singaporean way, this game is NOT for you.Why did I say that? It's not because Singaporeans are stupid. I happened to know someone who is smart enough to be given the chance to learn Dutch because she has to spend twelve months in England and two to three years in the Netherlands. If that's not called smart, I don't know what else is. Instead, Singapore has been known to subscribe to what I call a fast-food mentality. We always demand pace and efficiency as if this is a match made and ordained in heaven. Sadly, reality tells us a different story. Singaporeans may say it's effective but exceptional individuals like Thomas Edison, Liu Bang, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would tell you that's not the case. If Edison functioned like a stereotypical Singaporean, we wouldn't have the light bulb. If Liu Bang functioned like one, there wouldn't be a Han dynasty. As for Tokugawa Ieyasu, the stereotypical Singaporean would have called him the Moron of Mikawa for retreating. Ironically, the stereotypical Singaporean mindset would have doomed the nation had the founding fathers believed in such a thing.
The progress was rough, to say the least. And I suspect it's going to be so in the short run. I spent days messing around with the decks, crafting the cards, and burning the ores because I didn't want to use actual money to buy the faction card kegs. Intuitive approach says start from the Monsters faction, my brain reacted like a rebellious Ainu by insisting on Nilfgaard. Was that a mistake? There's a reason why plenty of players I played against (and lost 99.99999...%) were either using Monsters or Northern Realms. Eredin's fake Sildenafil potion made the Monsters more ferocious via mechanics like Thrive, Dominance, and Deathwish. As for the Northern Realms, the Order mechanic is all you need to feel like a Radovid V. I'm not saying that if you're a Monsters faction user, you're an idiot. Neither am I implying only a bald moron would use the Northern Realms. Fact is, your brain is definitely good enough if you're good enough to be a Gwentleman/lady. Even if you find the difficulty too damn high like your housing rent, it doesn't mean you're dumb.
To play Gwent, you must learn fast. In the classroom, you're taught the value of success. In Gwent, you're taught the value of failure. There's only this much your country's government could do in encouraging failure. I find that the best way to learn is to play against players in seasonal mode. Right now is the Season of the Viper inspired by none other than Letho the Lethal Weapon. The offensive aspect wasn't that lethal, though. One thing I learnt the hard way was that relying on damage and bleeding was never the best idea. The core half of the rules lies in the buffing. Get buffed by X and get X turns of vitality status. Sniping is merely disruption via taking out the smaller units (either that or concentrated fire) and that's possibly why only a crazy fellow would use Nilfgaard. Scoia'tael? Only a suicidal fellow would do that. But there's a problem. After being ridiculed and treated like an evolved animal in the schoolyard gangsta land, I became the nearest Singaporean to a Scoia'tael. If Mr Lee's words of affirmation were real, it means I should have an English name. Not something like Claude but Iorweth.
Okay, that joke is way overboard. Mr Lee wouldn't be amused.
So what did I learn? The rules are like the terrain. In fact, they're the terrain. You don't burn them down, you use them against the opponent. The key lies in how many defeats it'd take for you to make sense out of the seemingly nonsense. The dumb part about the Scoia'tael faction lies in a flat two-turn buff. No matter how you look at it, it's a flat +2. This means the Scoia'tael could never go head to head against the Monsters faction and the Northern Realms where vitality can stack like an indestructible Jenga tower.
Final parting... for now
I'm just going to list a few thoughts on how to convert yourself from a suicidal son of a Scoia'tael bow (i.e. they're too retro to use guns) into somewhat of a moron from Owari. In the Battle of Okehazama, Oda Nobunaga decided to pull off the most stunning reversal of his time. Being the Fool of Owari people mocked him as, the smart approach wouldn't be mobilising 3000 dudes against Imagawa Yoshimoto's 25000 men. Long story short, Yoshimoto wasn't prepared for a sudden assault of 3000 dudes since he got 25000 men at his disposal. The Imagawa clan lost and Yoshimoto got cut down in a fight.DISCLAIMER!
Please read the text because there's no fine print here. Below portion is due to my personal observations. They're meant to make you think, not to make you believe. If I'm wrong, it means I'm wrong. If I'm right, it only means Mr Lee was possibly correct about me instead of absolutely. I don't claim to be a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu or the Singaporean equivalent of Guo Jia.
[Note to self: Overwhelming Hunger can become another Dr Frankenstein's monster if used with Deathwish and Thrive]
It is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Thankfully, Gwent is all about learning via defeat. The best way to learn? Get yourself into a fight with another player of the same faction and observe what he/she can do. Each faction works in a specific way, so it's not that hard. Or at least that's the case for me. Depending on which faction you're using, the probability of learning would vary. If you're using Scoia'tael or Nilfgaard, you'd need to make the most out of every round. Stay sharp for what worked for the opponent and against you because you really need every bit of your analytical DNA.
Since spreading the boosts won't ever work for a Scoia'tael user (i.e. Monsters will overrun you, Northern Realms will outbuff you, those sons of a Viking from Skellige will out-artillery you, and Nilfgaard will just ninja you), there's only one option left bar losing a match by passing twice: Target no more than 2 units and pump every bit of +2 boosts possible. Don't use spells, they're too risky since they'd just clutter up your deck. Use traps and make sure you got one Scout in your deck for the buffing (i.e. +2 with 2 stacks of vitality without breaking a sweat so long you place the trap during the turn before playing the Scout). Invigorate is useful, but somehow strategically predictable (i.e. if I see a player having that ability, there's a very real chance he/she is going to use it in the first round unless it's a poor hand). The key lies in winning the first round. Do it and you have a chance. Lose and... well, either you fold in the second round or you can push it to the third. The latter option is doable, believe it or not. I've done that before but there's a catch: The opponent would still win anyway (Latest update: I managed pulled off a Great Escape once and it's all Geralt's fault).
Since spreading the boosts won't ever work for a Scoia'tael user (i.e. Monsters will overrun you, Northern Realms will outbuff you, those sons of a Viking from Skellige will out-artillery you, and Nilfgaard will just ninja you), there's only one option left bar losing a match by passing twice: Target no more than 2 units and pump every bit of +2 boosts possible. Don't use spells, they're too risky since they'd just clutter up your deck. Use traps and make sure you got one Scout in your deck for the buffing (i.e. +2 with 2 stacks of vitality without breaking a sweat so long you place the trap during the turn before playing the Scout). Invigorate is useful, but somehow strategically predictable (i.e. if I see a player having that ability, there's a very real chance he/she is going to use it in the first round unless it's a poor hand). The key lies in winning the first round. Do it and you have a chance. Lose and... well, either you fold in the second round or you can push it to the third. The latter option is doable, believe it or not. I've done that before but there's a catch: The opponent would still win anyway (Latest update: I managed pulled off a Great Escape once and it's all Geralt's fault).
Oh, and one more thing: You may want to consider Geralt in your deck. Expensive, yes. Dude's card cost is a whopping 10. I wouldn't be surprised if 80% or so of the Scoia'tael faction gameplay would most likely rely on taking risks and chances. If you're not prepared to do that, then you may want to go north.
Card draw is a case of probability in proportion to your total number of cards in the deck. It's tempting to use up every bit of your provisions, but that's a dangerous thing to do. The higher the number of your cards in the deck, the higher the chances of you getting a sub-optimal hand. I don't have to analyse things like Iorweth to tell you that. Gwent isn't the kind of game where more is better. Neither is this game about more expensive the better. Minimum card count in any deck is 25. While this means you can have as many cards in the deck as possible, I recommend a card count between 25 to 29. I made the mistake of using every bit of the deck provisions and that really messed up my hand. The cards I needed got stuck in the deck and Gwent isn't about drawing one card from your deck per round unless you have cards that enable you to do so. If you have a poor hand, you might as well fold it.
So how did I find that out, one may ask. Because there were moments where I drew a superior opposition and there's such a thing called common ground. Apart from higher chances of them playing a gold card, the number of cards in the deck listed happened to be less than 20 or so.
Maybe Mr Lee was right about me after all.
P.S: Stennis has to be one of the most dangerous guys in the game. No, you're not reading this wrong. It's not a typo, it's really Stennis.
Add P.S: In case the likes of Ah-Kiat and Salted Fish don't know who is Iorweth, they don't have to know. One person more dysfunctional than the rest is always worse than one such less.
Final P.S: Hawker Smuggler. Either you know what I'm referring to or you don't.
No comments:
Post a Comment