iPad, PC/Mac •
After my torrid love affair with Hearthstone cooled, I kind of figured I was done with the whole CCG thing. After all, a big part of Hearthstone’s appeal was the setting, which I’d spent time in since the 90’s, and the polish that only a billion dollar developer can provide. 2016 surprised me, however, with not one, but two, new CCGs due for mobile that piqued my interest. The first is Duelyst, created by board game designer Eric Lang, and the second is Faeria. Both offer a CCG experience that incorporates a board and tiny little critters you can move around, but Faeria has one advantage over Duelyst, it’s been released for iPad.
Faeria released today for both PC/Mac and iOS. There’s also an Android version in the works, but we’ll have to wait a bit for it to arrive. The game offers the standard CCG setup of head-to-head battles using cards, but there’s also a board involved on which you’ll summon your minions. The difference between Faeria and other board-utilizing CCGs, is that you build the board as the game proceeds. Each turn you’ll add hexes, either to pick up more energy or head directly to your enemy and bonk them on the head. The choice is yours, but of course you also might want to block that path that your opponent is building right to your front door.
Apart from the online play, there is also a single-player campaign with over 20 hours of gameplay as well as practice matches vs. the AI. There are over 300 cards to unlock and different modes of play such as PvP and Draft mode. You can also log in and be a spectator, watching others play, and the tools for tournament creation are built right into the app.
Being a CCG, it should come as no surprise that the app is free to download with IAP for picking up new cards. How easy it is to obtain them in-game remains to be seen, but you should probably expect to drop a little coin if you want to experience everything it has to offer. Considering that the developers need to eat, that’s not the most unreasonable expectation.
As I said elsewhere, Faeria clicked with me more than Duelyst - and Duelyst is good.
But Faeria becoming available on iOS on the same day that War of the Shadows comes out … that is a right old kick in the sleep pattern …
The iPad app is crashing right and left on me at this point, and I’m not even sure I set up an account correctly. Not impressed at the moment …
There is indeed an overall air of not quite fully polished. I also stumbled through the login process and only progressed after resetting my password.
On subsequent start-up the app seemed to present a mix of “we know who you are” and “welcome new player, tap on this and see what happens”. That has evened out now, and it seems comfortable with me and accepting of our previous history acquired via the PC app.
The games themselves play fine … I tripped over the control system a few times but I think that a little more familiarity will make me realise intuitively when units on the board are the active element and when cards in hand are the active element. I had a couple of other oddities but that might have been me.
So the app does the job for me but does suffer in comparison to the cleaner Eternal app - my most direct source for such a comparison.
Edit: One example of “not quite there” is that you have to have your iPad a certain way up … the app only works in one orientation. I don’t expect it to work in both landscape and portrait - but I do expect both landscapes to be available.
The devs are apparently aware of the iPad crash bug. I was able to go through the tutorial and set up an account without any problems on my computer, playing a couple of single-player games since then. The game–like so many CCGs–has a Hearthstone-y feel to it, so we’ll see if it holds my attention any longer than that game did. And I hope the iPad issues get ironed out soon, as I’d much rather play on that device.
Also, I think it’s weird to not set up an account until after the tutorial is done, especially because you can “reserve” a user name without having an account attached to it. I established “geigerm” as my iPad user name but couldn’t finish the tutorial, and I was told the username was in use when I started on the computer.
hello geigerm, the same disturbing experiences for me!
@HolstenKnight confirmed that on iOS we must play through all 8 tutorial scenarios to be able to register an account.
but on the way the game keeps crashing.
i had to start from scratch each time and then the game told me “username already taken” when i tried to go with the same username.
names were taken, but not registered, so can’t be restored now, doh.
by now this weird “obstacle crash course” to safe registration shores has already “burned” three usernames for me
JammaTal…OUT, Jamma…OUT, NinJam…OUT
so don’t wonder if you will meet me as user “DARN!” in some distant future.
the most ridiculous and weird registration procedure EVER.
btw Windows version on Steam keeps crashing at “build a new deck” step itm.
i’m hoping for an emergency fix.
A bit anticlimatic to wait to come home to start the 1.4gb download, only to have the game repeatedly crash when I try to play it.
And now I might lose my user name too? Ive seen some rough roll outs in my time and this has got to be right up there
TERRIBLE launch.
Not only can I not sign on on the iPad, but my Steam account now appears to be screwed up.
Lots of good games out there. Taking my money elsewhere.
This game is brilliant, not sure what bugs you are all running in to, but I am away without issues.
I bought the full base set when that used to be a purchase option. Loved that it was an option and given that I still don’t have a full set of base Hearthstone however many years later, decided I wanted it.
The randomness is way way less than HS, but is still there. The decks I am currently playing have no random effects. The draft mode has a nice little mix of randomisation which can be very frustrating (the pandora treasures) if you get a bad beat. But you can mitigate it with smart play
What hardware are you running?
Im getting wrecked with crashes on iPad 4. Its better since the update, but it is still only barely playable at best
Errr… iPad mini bought about 12 months ago? Not AS smooth as the pc, but no crashes thus far
still freezes on iPad Air2.
often in the very moment of winning a campaign game.
but in ladder and pandora games too.
better since the update, but still happening.
and i must insist that the way of registering an account is a total nuisance.
so many players have lost access to their normal nicknames by this nonsense.
why can’t we simply register an account right from the start?
Multiple crashes on my Air 2 running the latest iOS too. Couldn’t even get past what I’m guessing was a tutorial? Way too much of a headache to spare a gig and a half.
but the game has amazing potential.
@HolstenKnight is totally hooked and says the ladder and pandora games are a blast.
[edit: i have watched some ladder games in spectator mode now, and can definitely confirm that. great show.]
i’m sure more fixes and updates will come.
so i won’t write the game off. just wait on a bit.
I have had my account for ages, so can’t comment on that bit except i don’t remember there being problems
I have also had the luck - or the necessary X Factor in system setup - no freezes or crashes, just the little annoyances like only one landscape way up allowed. The update yesterday smoothed a little bit here and there.
Great game. I also (cleverly!) just completed a quest by spectating Holsten win a game and that was nice … he was beaten down but stood firm, stopped the onslaught and came back to triumph.
I did not buy the full base set as per Baelnor and I wish I had. The current “Steam Launch Pack” is okay though and I have a great feeling of progression as I add cards … and I like the puzzles (which also serve to teach).
It runs really slow on my ipad3.
Already had an account, so no struggles registering.
You get compensated for the full set, right?
Chose that back in the day. (Kickstarter years ago)
I think you “just” keep your full set. The option to buy it was removed last October - but I think no impact for those that already had it.