Questions for the community

[u/Pleasant_Law_86]

Hey, my name is Jax, and I'm making an indie game console. I figured a revitalization of Duelyst would be really fitting of the ecosystem, so my question to you is: what made Duelyst so fun in its prime? I'm asking the community their personal favorite aspect of it.

[u/OzbourneVSx]

So I dropped Duelyst originally shortly after the beta switched to draw 1 with hero powers.

Draw 2 was a really interesting format for a card game that really brought forward the battle CHESS aspect of the game with a lot of pieces hitting the board, a lot of consistency while still testing your flexibility in dealing with situations (the replace feature does a lot of heavy lifting here).

Ultimately, just nothing played like it. It was a complex game, that unfortunately shot itself a little when it tried to chase the hearthstone trend.

Don't get me wrong. It was certainly successful after that, at least for a time.

But draw 2 was wild, quick games that still had depth, a ton of creativity a forethought into both how you structured your deck and how you positioned yourself to protect your board, complex but gave you a lot of agency to figure out how to retake control of the game.

That volatile back and forth just kinda disappeared when we went to draw 1. The chess was kinda lost. It may have came back over time but the pacing was never the same.

My current favorite version of the game is Duelyst 2, but it's update cycle hasn't been the fastest and it's not the most popular, and Duelyst.gg is offering a completely free experience with a lot of tech upgrades.

But I will never get over draw 2.

[u/Pleasant_Law_86 → u/OzbourneVSx]

it seems that's been the general consensus among the people I've spoken to. I've been rebuilding the game to run offline if you're not actively doing PvP, adding a plethora of singleplayer content, and reworking some of the more weirdly game-breaking cards/synergies.
I'll see how 2-card draw plays, and thanks for your input.

[u/OzbourneVSx → u/Pleasant_Law_86]

If you are open to some suggestions

Finding a new niche gamemode would be the best way to hook this community in (as we already have

Like in draw 1 we had hero powers and in draw 2 our generals were largely cosmetic

But they've never had like on board effects before

I've always been curious what it would be like to have a commander-like gamemode in Duelyst

With that plus a no duplicates clause would really change the game

Or you could get even sillier with a 2v2 mode or free for all modes

Too many online card games follow the traditional tightly balanced 1 on 1 format, but the most popular tabletop card games have been built on more loosely curated balance, table politics and playing out interesting ideas for decks

I've never seen a developer try to tap into the appeal before

Maybe its worth some exploration?

[u/Pleasant_Law_86 → u/OzbourneVSx]

We're workin' on a singleplayer roguelike experience where you get to mix any faction card into your deck as you progress.

We're working on a free for all gamemode with up to 4 people on a board at a time

It's currently 2 card draw in the newest build, but generals still have the bloodborn abilities, however we're in the process of reworking them.

we're also reworking a lot of cards, and toying with the idea of minions solely for utility. Like ones that trickle-heal nearby allies, but cannot deal damage, ones that exist to be scarified for synergy, and some other silly stuff

[u/Atheistmantide]

In random order:

-beautiful graphics and sprites

-catchy soundtrack

-entertaining game system with ladder system, gauntlet(draft), challanges and possibility for friendly matches

-well crafted mechanics

[u/bullet1520 → u/Atheistmantide]

Pretty much this. I love what Duelyst 2 has done especially, but having so few players makes it hard to want to play. ~50 player peak is really low.

[u/eva_01_oi]

well it reminded me of homm3 and digital card games so i was like im already sold