Faeria gameplay screenshot showcasing the board

After going free-to-play back in August, it appears that Faeria is now taking the next big step towards an official release. What I mean by this is that the developers have just released the last major Early Access update in order to spend the next weeks and months polishing, bugfixing, and balancing Faeria in order to have it as spotless as it can be when it finally launches.

As for the update, it brings with it a new and reworked leveling system, emotes to mercilessly taunt communicate with your opponents, 15 new "mind-bending puzzles" to complete, as well as a whole bunch of balance, performance, and other tweaks. You can read the full, gigantic patch notes by heading over to the official website, but if you don't care about any of the new features and just want to see what cards are being changed - here's the list:

General balance changes 

One important change we are making is not a change to a card, but a change to the fundamental mechanics of the game:

Ranged creatures now strike back when they are attacked by a ranged attack

Hate Seed

Now 4/4 (Was 4/5) 

Bombslinger

Now 4/1 (was 4/2) 

Krog, the Ogre King

Now discounts by 7f instead of 6f. 

Windfall

10f (was 9f)

Gain 13f. (was 12f) 

Three Wishes 

3f (was 2f) 

Windstorm Archer

1/2 (was 1/3) 

Shaytan Vampire

6/6 (was 5/6) 

Ostregoth

Now has Charge 13.

 

Pandora balance changes

Pandora Opening mechanic changes

When Pandora opens during a player’s turn, they now receive an additional 3f to bring their total to 6f gained for the entire turn.

When a player draws a “Treasure Found” card, they now also draw an additional card from their deck. 

Hammer of Destruction (was Hammer of Aoros)

3f

Deal 5 damage. Shuffle the Hammer into your deck.

(Was Deal 3 damage. At the end of your turn, the Hammer returns to your hand.) 

Dancing Blade

5f

0/6 (Was 4/9)

Flying, Jump

At the end of your turn, deal 3 damage to all adjacent enemies.

(Was: Production - Deal 4 damage to all adjacent enemies)

Astral Weapon

14f (was 16f)

7/7 (was 8/8)

Flying.

Gift - Destroy all adjacent creatures, structures, and lands.

Void Guardian

0f

9/9 (was 8/8)

Gift - Destroy your deck.

Bloodstone Golem

3f

5/6 (was 4/5)

Production - Create 1 faeria in each well. Whenever faeria is harvested, deal 1 damage to your opponent.

Yakhorn Warhorn

6f (was 7f)

Summon three 2/4 Angry Prairie Yaks with haste.

Equinox Automaton

6f (was 8f)

6/6

Gift - You gain 6 Life.

Last Words - Deal 6 damage to your opponent. (was Last Words - Deal 6 damage to each god.)

Dark Crystal

8f (was 7f)

Drain 4 life from your opponent, deal 3 damage to all enemy creatures, and draw 2 cards.

As usual, cards that have been reduced in power level will be available at full disenchanting cost for one week.

I haven't played much of Faeria, so I'm not even going to pretend I understand the implications behind these balance changes, but its nice to see developers take a more active approach. It might create an imbalanced environment every once in a while, but if you just patch it again a week later there's no harm done and everyone gets to enjoy a much more exciting game! If only the Hearthstone devs would realize this...

Hearthstone aside, if you would like to give Faeria a try you can do so for free by heading over to Steam. As far as pay-to-win features are concerned, I haven't noticed any during my short stay, so if you're into card/strategy game hybrids then Faeria might be worth a look. Have fun!

Faeria screenshot of gameplay