beginning runs really suck

[tgum]

hi

this game is great but runs take way too long to get fun

the first levels are boring as hell gameplay-wise. the first cards are always the same.
cool mechanics take too long to take action.

it especially sucks when you just suffered an unfair death on a cool run and start a new run again.

otherwise pretty cool game.

[󠀡⁧⁧󠀡]

1. keep playing to unlock more cards
2. fast mode
3. roguelike

[Zu]

4. custom runs

[DaBa]

You've just described how the game works. It's a rogue like deck builder, it can't work differently. If you want varied starts do custom runs or dailies.

[KBar]

It took me a minute to get a taste for this game. I think the daily runs kept me going while I figured out mechanics and play style. Daily runs mix things up and force certain parameters on you. After playing those for a bit, I went back to regular runs and found them more enjoyable.

This game still kicks my ass regularly, but I find it more enjoyable now that I've gotten past the first part of the learning curve. Super fun when you win.

[tgum]

1. there was nothing to actually unlock. every unlocked card and rune was stuff I already got in previous runs.
2. probably the option I activated the first
3. in modern roguelikes/lites the current run's mechanics are usually defined very early, and the fun starts really quickly, not here.
4. custom runs (like most sandbox-ish modes) suck IMO. you end up not playing potentially cool synergies.

NB : I have played this game for 80 hrs already so I know the mechanics, explored many synergies, etc. I played around 20 hrs when i started this thread, and my POV on the game is sadly still the same : I really like it but the "warming up" sequence of any run (i.e. get the first cards and items that define the mechanics of the current run) take WAAY too long.

In a game that usually kicks your ass in a sec it's good to have your next run getting cool quite fast.

[Burdpal]

I feel similarly. Momentum is agonizingly slow in this game. You start with weak cards, leave it up to chance to get an early feel to what you want to build toward (strength deck with Heavy Blade, Barricade build with Body Slam) and once you beat the boss the deck defining skill may not even be present.

Right now I'm working on the "Who needs Relics?" achievement and I feel like I'm slamming my head against concrete - I've recieved Perfected Strike and thought "ok, guess I'll get more strike cards and not remove the starter strikes." I beat the boss and get the choice of Dark Embrace, Offering, or Feed. I can't take Dark Embrace because I literally have no synergy for it in my deck (no exhausting cards outside of Shockwave). I don't want Offering since I exchanged my starting relic for Mark of Pain and can't afford to lose HP willy nilly. And Feed, while good, is hard to fit in on Act 2 where Spheric Guardian can chew me for 20 damage or Chosen attacking for 21; I'd only consider Feed in an early Act 1 where enemies are easy pickings and offer definitive, reliable HP gains. I needed something for damage scaling: Limit Break with Spot Weakness, Demon Form, just something.

Moral of the story? You get good days and bad days, because it's a roguelike, but it makes me feel awful that I can't tailor a build that I envision is optimal without being obfuscated by poor options.

[Spear Deer]

Originally posted by tgum:

hi

this game is great but runs take way too long to get fun

the first levels are boring as hell gameplay-wise. the first cards are always the same.
cool mechanics take too long to take action.

it especially sucks when you just suffered an unfair death on a cool run and start a new run again.

otherwise pretty cool game.

The beginning of a run is often where the most important decisions are made. It might not feel like it, but the choices you make early, and making the right choices early, can set up a run for success. Keep playing, and when you start to see the layer under the initial card mechanic layer, you'll be far more intriuged by the early game.

[Spear Deer]

Originally posted by tgum:

1. there was nothing to actually unlock. every unlocked card and rune was stuff I already got in previous runs.
2. probably the option I activated the first
3. in modern roguelikes/lites the current run's mechanics are usually defined very early, and the fun starts really quickly, not here.
4. custom runs (like most sandbox-ish modes) suck IMO. you end up not playing potentially cool synergies.

NB : I have played this game for 80 hrs already so I know the mechanics, explored many synergies, etc. I played around 20 hrs when i started this thread, and my POV on the game is sadly still the same : I really like it but the "warming up" sequence of any run (i.e. get the first cards and items that define the mechanics of the current run) take WAAY too long.

In a game that usually kicks your ass in a sec it's good to have your next run getting cool quite fast.

how long are you spending in the early game? I successful run only takes me an 40mins-1.5 hours, and early game tends to be pretty cut and dry. The decisions are important, but often you'll know if its a wash or no pretty quickly. I rarely spend more than 15 minutes getting to the boss of act 1.

[Khor]

To be fair, the slow start can`t really be white knighted.
It`s the golden deckbuilding standard and the easiest to balance/build upon... but IT IS (even if by design) sameish.

[Dusk_Army]

^This. As someone who has played several deck builders, most of them feel the same at the beginning. It's how they distinguish themselves in the mid-late game that makes them shine, and I can't compare Slay the Spire to Dominion, Ascension, Brass Empire, or any other deck builder I've played in that regard.

[Birp]

5. super fast mode.

[DarKClouD]

I Don't know, but i feel like since last patch, my runs are getting more difficult than ever.

[uCANdoMAGIC]

I agree that the beginning could be abbreviated a bit. The early battles are fairly inconsequential, as the damage taken is minimal and only the result of bad RNG or a simple mistake. They could be removed and be part of a tutorial and I doubt if any of the more experienced players would miss them.

So instead of the first three battles (or floors), there would only be the card selection screens, which are the most important part of the early game, as they often determine in what direction a deck is taking.

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by uCANdoMAGIC:

I agree that the beginning could be abbreviated a bit. The early battles are fairly inconsequential, as the damage taken is minimal and only the result of bad RNG or a simple mistake. They could be removed and be part of a tutorial and I doubt if any of the more experienced players would miss them.

So instead of the first three battles (or floors), there would only be the card selection screens, which are the most important part of the early game, as they often determine in what direction a deck is taking.

Maybe this is true on lower ascensions, but in A20 you actually have to play your first three fights pretty optimally to avoid losing a lot of HP (jaw worm RNG screws you sometimes) prior to your first elite (which could be gremlin nob... which could kill you if you lost like 15hp to the first three fights).

Originally posted by Spear Deer:

I rarely spend more than 15 minutes getting to the boss of act 1.

Guessing you've never done (or at least consistently win) A20 runs then. Act 1 choices are the most important. Act 2 is execution and luck. Act 3 and 4 don't tend to matter too much and you can go rather fast for most parts of those two Acts.

Honestly, the first two Acts tend to determine whether or not you'll win your run. Act 1 determines how your setup for Act 2 is... and Act 2 is a trial by fire.

[uCANdoMAGIC]

Originally posted by Blood Flowers:

Originally posted by uCANdoMAGIC:

I agree that the beginning could be abbreviated a bit. The early battles are fairly inconsequential, as the damage taken is minimal and only the result of bad RNG or a simple mistake. They could be removed and be part of a tutorial and I doubt if any of the more experienced players would miss them.

So instead of the first three battles (or floors), there would only be the card selection screens, which are the most important part of the early game, as they often determine in what direction a deck is taking.

Maybe this is true on lower ascensions, but in A20 you actually have to play your first three fights pretty optimally to avoid losing a lot of HP (jaw worm RNG screws you sometimes) prior to your first elite (which could be gremlin nob... which could kill you if you lost like 15hp to the first three fights).

Yes, I probably should have mentioned that I'm new at this game and I haven't made it past A1 (so everything I say should be taken with a grain of salt...).
:-)