Valve Responds to 'Artifact' Controversy Over Unwanted Cards

Valve responded to the Artifact community's concerns raised throughout the weekend regarding the game's cards and heroes and said it plans to add a system used to recycle unwanted cards.

Those excited for Valve's new card game had their expectations hinders by observations (via PC Gamer) that the game's payment model would leave players with cards they didn't need and couldn't sell. Artifact costs $20 for the base game and comes with starter cards that give access to different heroes, but any cards wanted beyond that must be purchased with real money. Cards can be bought or sold to other players through the game's marketplace to give players a way to get what they want.

The problem with this system, players said, is these card packs also have the chance of including starter heroes in them. These starter cards and by nature are intended to provide players with heroes to start out with, so if other players already have the starter heroes, those who purchase card packs essentially have the chance to get stuck with starter heroes they don't need and can't sell. Kripparrian, a YouTuber and streamer exploring the world of Artifact who's also known for his Hearthstone coverage, had some bad luck with opening card packs and shared the video below discussing how expensive the game actually is.

Following the controversy that took place over the weekend, Valve responded in a blog post on Steam that outlined plans to improve the card game based on the feedback that's been received so far. Regarding the starter hero system where players were left with unwanted cards, Valve said it intends to put in a system where players can recycle their cards into "event tickets."

"There was nothing to do with duplicate starter heroes," Valve's said to address the feedback. "We're adding a system that allows extra, unwanted cards to be recycled into event tickets. This feature will ship before the end of the beta period."

The public beta for the game is now available, but the card recycle system hasn't yet been added to it. Valve's Artifact blog post addressed two other topics that included drafting events with friends and practicing draft modes without spending those event tickets and said the first two features would be corrected in the beta while the recycling system will come at a later date.