In its weekly update on the progress of Artifact 2.0, Valve has decided it is time to take a look at the game’s heroes. The heroes were one of the best features in the original version of the game. But, according to Valve, they were also a missed opportunity. With the ongoing revamp of the card game, heroes will see some changes that make them more impactful. And more… heroic.
The main issue with the heroes of old was their underwhelming signature cards and lack of abilities. But, as with many aspects of Artifact, Valve has a new philosophy it is now applying to their design.
Artifact‘s new design philosophy
Number one on the list is that heroes should all have at least one ability. And it’s okay for them to have more than one ability if one of them is passive. Valve is also not shying away from powerful active and passive abilities for heroes. It believes they make gameplay interesting, giving players threats they can use – but also threats they’ll need to deal with.
As for signature cards, Valve wants you to be excited to draw a hero’s corresponding signature card. So, it’s made them less situational in Artifact 2.0, as well as given them better synergy with their associated hero.
Basic hero changes
You can already see the design philosophies coming through in the changes to the Artifact hero cards above. The active and passive abilities synergize well with the heroes’ signature cards for powerful combos. They may even be too powerful. Before you lose your minds, though, remember these cards are still in development. They are by no means final, and the Artifact team admits in the post that they may need to be nerfed a bit.
Valve has received many requests for specific heroes to enter the new iteration of Artifact. It has thrown together some options and will allow players to decide which hero will be added through a poll. If you want to vote, you have until this coming Thursday.
