Experience rollover

[tailings]

Why does excess experience sometimes carry over and sometimes not?

[MigrantP]

To level up you exchange cards with a total amount of XP greater than or equal to the requirement. There is no change given, but there can be cards left over that you keep for the next level.

[tailings]

I'm sorry, but that wasn't clear. Admittedly, the concept of cards is quite odd in this game.

Again, sometimes when I choose experience for a reward and if that experience is greater than necessary to increase to the next level, then sometimes the excess is dropped and sometimes it is carried over and added to the progression towards the next level. I don't see how this correlates to cards, as each encounter involves the same number of cards, ie, there's one hero 'card', one encounter 'card', one dungeon 'card', etc, for each given scenario. How might there be extra cards left over? Unplayed skills?????

[Jeysie]

Essentially this is a digital version of a physical game with cards. Each card you can get as a reward has a certain number of experience points on it. So when you turn in experience, you're actually turning in the cards whose total experience points are the same or more than the amount of experience needed, and you can't split a card.

That's why the experience sometimes carries over and sometimes doesn't is because of how many "cards" you're turning in.

So for instance, if you have 1 card with 3XP, and 1 card with 2 XP for a total of 5XP, if you need to pay 4XP you'll have to turn in both cards leaving you with 0 left over.

But if you have 2 cards with 2 XP and 1 card with 1XP for the same total of 5XP, if you pay 4XP, you get to turn in the 2 cards with 2XP and have the remaining card with 1XP left over.

[tailings]

LOL. I do appreciate the effort to explain but I'm still not getting this 'card' concept. When I complete an encounter, I have the choice of picking one of three options: item, skill/potion, exp. Only one of those options determines whether I will advance in experience. I can see the exp value of the experience option. If I choose the exp option, I will gain experience. If I choose item or skill/potion, I do not gain experience.

I really don't see how 'cards' factors in. If I choose a skill 'card', it never alters my experience. But, if I choose the exp reward, I gain that amount of experience. If the exp award is greater than necessary to achieve the next level, sometimes the extra is carried over and sometimes it is discarded. At that moment, what specific 'cards' are determining whether exp is carried over? Can you explain with specific, in game examples of the 'cards' involved without calling them cards?

I would very much like to understand, as it would help decide when to choose an exp award and when not. Choosing a 3 exp award when only 2 exp are needed is an acceptable option if/when I know the excess will carry over. It is not an preferable option if I know it will be lost. At present, I don't see how to predict when the total 'card' value will carry the excess over.

[Jeysie]

Originally posted by tailings:

I really don't see how 'cards' factors in. If I choose a skill 'card', it never alters my experience. But, if I choose the exp reward, I gain that amount of experience. If the exp award is greater than necessary to achieve the next level, sometimes the extra is carried over and sometimes it is discarded. At that moment, what specific 'cards' are determining whether exp is carried over? Can you explain with specific, in game examples of the 'cards' involved without calling them cards?

The encounter cards are what is meant by "cards" here.

What might help to visualize this is going into the Card Library from the main menu and going to Encounters and actually looking at one of the cards. Notice how every encounter card has three things printed on the edges: An item on the left, a skill on the bottom, and experience at the top right.

So what is happening is that very time you win an encounter, you are actually taking that literal card into your play area and picking one thing on it (item, skill, XP) to be what that card now represents. In the actual physical game you'd be tucking the encounter card itself that you won under the appropriate edge of your character card so just the item/skill/XP bit was showing.

Then when you go up a level using XP, you're actually taking the literal cards you kept for their XP, picking a combo of cards with XP that adds up to equal or above the amount needed, and placing them back in the box.

The digital game abstracts the taking/turning in cards visually which I suspect is where the confusion is coming from, but underneath that's what's actually happening is the game is taking, tucking under, and turning in cards for you.

So if you need only 2XP, you would actually want to pick either an encounter card with a 2XP reward or a 1XP reward if you already have a 1XP encounter card. Otherwise if you pick an encounter card with a 3XP reward you'll have to turn it in and then lose that extra 1 XP because you can't split a card.

[MigrantP]

As Jeysie explains, you cannot avoid calling them cards because they are cards. The game is called One Deck Dungeon because it's literally "one deck" of encounter cards that is used for everything.

A specific concrete example:

Start a game in the Dragon's Cave. The deck of cards is shuffled. Suppose you're playing on Standard, so you automatically gain the top card of the deck as XP. Suppose it's an Ogre, so you now have 4 XP (out of 6 to get to Level 2).

At the start of the floor, the dungeon floor effects makes you spend 5 time. So 5 cards are discarded from the top of the deck.

At the start of the turn, you spend 2 time. So 2 cards are discarded from the top of the deck.

You explore - 4 cards are moved from the top of the deck to the door area.

At the start of the turn, you spend 2 time. So 2 cards are discarded from the top of the deck.

You choose a door and flip it over. It's a Spiked Log! The card has 3 loot options - an item, a skill, or 3 XP. You take it on, and then in Claim Loot decide to take it as XP. Now you have two cards claimed as XP, and they total up to 7 XP. That's greater than or equal to 6, so they are removed from the game, and you level up.

Suppose in another run, the same things happen, except you start with a 2 XP card. Then you claim a 3 XP card (total 5, so no level up), and then another 3 XP card. Now you have 8 XP, so you level up! But since you can spend just two of the cards to make 6 XP, you automatically do that, and keep the 2 XP card toward the next level.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but you can click on the XP track to see the cards you have claimed as XP.

Note that all of this is explained in the How to Play section, so if you're still having trouble, I recommend reading through that.

(note to Jeysie - there are no 1 XP encounter cards in the game)

[Jeysie]

Originally posted by MigrantP:

(note to Jeysie - there are no 1 XP encounter cards in the game)

Whoops, oh yeah. Goes to show how fried my brain has been lately. :P

[tailings]

Originally posted by MigrantP:

As Jeysie explains, you cannot avoid calling them cards because they are cards. The game is called One Deck Dungeon because it's literally "one deck" of encounter cards that is used for everything.

A specific concrete example:


Suppose in another run, the same things happen, except you start with a 2 XP card. Then you claim a 3 XP card (total 5, so no level up), and then another 3 XP card. Now you have 8 XP, so you level up! But since you can spend just two of the cards to make 6 XP, you automatically do that, and keep the 2 XP card toward the next level.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but you can click on the XP track to see the cards you have claimed as XP.

Note that all of this is explained in the How to Play section, so if you're still having trouble, I recommend reading through that.

Ah! Eureka! Shazam! That is the element that was unclear. I did not realize all completed encounters (cards) are collected by the player and then 'spent' to level up once enough exp had been accumulated. >That< makes sense, (well, at least the design of it does, it would still be nice if that extra exp always carried over).

No, I hadn't realized the cards claimed can be viewed. Will have to look for that next time in game. Will also take another, more thorough read through the How to Play.

Cheers All.