Epic has released a huge update on August 08 2017. In .42 patch the Card system that was introduced back in 2015 was completely re-worked. Everything has changed. There is no any Card Points, Card Upgrades, Universal Cards and so on. Decks are completely different now.
This guide is to cover all the details of the new itemization and deck building system.
You may also want to explore Cards You Must Know About in 42
TL;DR
- Any deck now can be used by any Hero
- A deck consists of 6 Gems (see below) and and to 12 Cards of 2 selected Affinities.
- Only 3 Cards can be equipped at each point of time.
- Discarded Cards return into your deck and can be equipped again.
Now let's talk the details:
Gold, Attributes and Gems
There is new terminology comes with the 42 patch.
Gold
Gold replaces Card Power in Paragon. Starting from the 8th of August instead of Card Power we are going to earn Gold during a match. Gold will be new currency to upgrade Attributes, equip Cards that require Gold and use some Cards that require gold upon activation.
Attributes
Attributes is a new mechanics of leveling up your Hero during a match. There are 3 attributes: Agility, Vitality and Intellect. Each of them can be upgraded up to 25 level and each upgrade costs 1000 Gold. Each level of an Attribute impacts your hero in three ways:
- At first, each level of an Attribute grants your Hero a stat. E.g. one of the stats improved by upgrading Vitality is HP Regen.
- Secondly, the majority of Cards require certain level of Attribute(s) to be equipped.
- And lastly, at levels 1, 7, 13, 19 and 25, Attributes activate a Gem if you have it in your Deck.
Gems
Gems a new item in Paragon. Before the 42th patch there were only cards in Decks. Now a Deck is Cards plus Gems. A Gem is an item that is activated when you upgrade a corresponding Attribute to a certain level. Gems represent the fixed part of your deck and can't be replaced during a match.
Gems are playing a bit different role in your Deck than Cards. The latter can, and should be switched any time you recall to base. Cards help you tweak your Hero to perform as effective as possible during different game phases and scenarios. Cards are your tactical decisions. Gems, on the other hand, represent either your strategic plan for a specific match, an approach to play certain hero/role, or the game of Paragon in general.
Deck Building Process
Step 1 - Pick Two Affinities
Step 2 - Pick Up To 12 Cards
You are limited to 12 Cards total.
Step 3 - Add Gems
When selecting Gems you can skip levels. You are limited to 6 Gems total.
Step 4 - Review and Save
Guide on Building a Good Deck
Before you go into building a deck here are some useful tips:
- Know yourself - build a deck based on your playstyle.
- Know your opponent - there are a lot of Cards in Paragon. Some of them counter another ones. E.g. a match against Kallari will almost always require cards giving vision.
- Know the Cards - it's good to have an impression on each of the Cards in Paragon but you can start with the most frequently used here.
- Test your build with bots
Work in progress. Meanwhile check out these video guides for building a deck.
I notice Step 1 says "Pick 2 Affinities." Does that mean that cards you can use in a deck are no longer constrained by the affinity of the hero you chose? Also, I notice all these new cards. Is it that every card has new art on them, or is it entirely new cards? And one last question: I see that the cards listed here in the photos each have different symbols in the top left corner, with a number next to them. I assume the golden colored symbols with huge numbers next to them mean gold, and the number is the cost, but what about the other cards? Is this just a complete upset of the way decks are made and all the cards we have are no longer going to exist?
@BlueSabere, In the new system Heroes don't have affinities any longer.
Cards are completely new. They are being added to the website. Hang on.
Take a look here https://www.epicgames.com/paragon/en-US/v42
Great. I just downloaded the update and am eager to tinker with the new card and affinity system, and... 5 hour queue. At first it was 4 and a half hours, and I thought that couldn't be right, since the guy in 4 hours 29 minutes and beyond wouldn't want to wait that long, and I reset Paragon, and now it's 5 hours. Anyone else see this problem?
I'm still wondering how to view stats. Like I equip two cards let's say their both power. The power on both changes to the same number. Is that correct? That bar on the right that details moves damages and cooldowns doesn't change though. So let's say I've added 60 power my auto only went up per level and my abilities only increased when leveling. If I use an ability though like knock knock that says it dies 330 dmg but really does 450 how can I wrap my mind around this.
@Moltack4029, There is no good way to see all the stats in one place as it was before.
Like I equip two cards let's say their both power. The power on both changes to the same number. Is that correct?
Yes, correct.
If I use an ability though like knock knock that says it dies 330 dmg but really does 450 how can I wrap my mind around this.
That is a bug unless you have some cards applying some bonus damage. The damage numbers you see on the abilities descriptions should show accurate damage you are to apply on an unarmored target.