Gwent screenshot of the new Monsters and Nilfgaard themed boards

CDPR has recently announced the Homecoming update for Gwent, a massive project that aims to rework the game from the ground up and refocus it on what it was originally trying to be - a deeply strategic game with a variety of unique and interesting playstyles. While all of this is definitely good, it does come with one unfortunate drawback, and that is the simple fact that Gwent will not be getting any major updates for the next six or so months.

However, in order to keep everyone playing despite the lack of massive new features, CDPR will occasionally be releasing minor updates and balance tweaks to shake up the gameplay. Once such update has launched today, bringing with it a reverse Arena mode where you draft your opponent's deck, over thirty previously missing card animations, as well as faction-themed board designs.

Perhaps most importantly for players on Xbox One, this update has also corrected the long-standing issue that would simply freeze the game and force you to take a loss. So if you were holding off from the ranked mode because you couldn't actually play more than a few matches in a row, now would be a good time to give Gwent another chance.

As for the new Arena mode, I must admit it's a surprising amount of fun. Having to find the most miserable combination of cards imaginable has proven itself to be rather tricky, especially when you have to consider all of the positive combinations you could create by picking the most underutilized and obscure cards out there. It's not a mode that will stay fresh and interesting for long, however, which is why I'm also glad to say that the reverse Arena event will end on April 24th, only to return at some point later on.

You can learn a little more about this update, as well as the whole Homecoming rework, by heading over to the official website.