A major patch (version 0.8.33) has been applied to Gwent: The Witcher Card Game. Progression is now determined by round wins rather than match wins, the experience system has been changed, ranked play has been added as have dozens of new cards, while others have been rebalanced.
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Crown halves, awarded for winning individual rounds, are the new currency of progression. The first player to earn two (making a full crown) wins the match, so essentially, this change means you can lose a match 2-1 and still make some progress to the next reward. The rate of progression has not changed, so whereas before it used to take three match wins to fill the post-match rewards bar, it will now take six crown halves.
A new experience system has also been added, and will award XP based on factors such as your performance during matches. XP earns levels, each of which will drop a level-specific reward, such as card kegs, specific cards, scraps and more. You’ll get some XP even if you lose. Any players in the existing level-up system who are above level ten will be brought down to ten, partly because levels require progressively more XP to unlock, thus your level under the old system will be much lower in the new system.
Another major change is the addition of ranked play, which will now unlock at level ten. It features 15 ranks, each of which will give a reward. There are also dozens of card rebalances and new cards added, including Yennefer: The Conjurer, Kayran, Keira Metz and Trololo, who is a troll.
For a full list of new and altered cards, as well as changes to the game, check the Gwent blog here. If you’d like to sign up for the still-closed beta, you can do that here.