What size party?

[ThorimarMarble]

I'm a new player to the game, really enjoying it so far. That being said, what size party should I be using? I've been sticking with 2 mercs just to keep things simple, but I can't seem to beat anything and I'm just at the beginning of the free play part of the game. Does the difficulty scale based on party size or just on the level of the characters? I want to advance as many mercs as I can per mission, but I don't want to push the difficulty up if that would happen.

[ZexxCrine]

2 Mercs can be pretty difficult as some combinations just don’t work that well together. This problem completely disappears in 3 or 4 member compositions. That said, I don’t know what mercs you are playing so I can’t tell if it’s just a poor duo or inexperience.

More enemies spawn with more members, but the scaling is the same. It usually ends up being exactly as difficult with more party members.

[jep]

On the other hand, I feel like if you're not getting the strategy down while playing with 2 mercs, you're going to be totally sunk controlling 3 or 4 mercs. With 2 mercs, you can more easily wrap your brain around "okay, with the first merc I'll do this, then that will put him out of the way so the second merc can do that." Just one example are the cards that let you do something if an ally is adjacent to you. It's easy to mess that up with just 2 mercs, much less when you're trying to coordinate more.

[ThorimarMarble]

I have tried running Brute 2/Scoundrel 2 and Brute 2/Spellweaver 1. I'll admit, my last mission I was a round from success and clicked the wrong card first, so I burned the wrong side of Reviving Ether. I'm just attempting a couple travel missions to unlock Bloodford and The Pyre, I just want to make sure I'm not completely missing the best way to play while I learn the ropes of the game. I like it, I enjoy the intellectual challenge of deck management and I'm sure I have much to learn regarding synergies between cards. That is half the fun of getting a new game. Thanks for taking the time to steer me in the right direction.

[Spud the Spud]

"can't seem to beat anything"

I felt that way at first, too. It boils down to two things, really...or one, depending on how you look at it, they're closely related.

First, the default attack and move choices. You'll see them as "2" on either side of the card. You don't need to use the ability on the card, you can use the default 2 melee range attack or 2 movement (depending on upper or lower) if you prefer...doing so does NOT BURN THE CARD. Like, if you use the default 2 movement on a card that burns on the lower half, it just goes into the discard pile, not the burn pile. This helped me so much once I figured it out, since now I could rest and keep bringing cards back that I needed to use for filler or just to move a spot or two but without an ability. So helpful. The tutorial doesn't stress how important those default actions are, imo, but I'm using them every battle, many times. Really extends the life of your deck so you don't run out of cards.

Second. The discard pile is your friend. It costs you one burned card to bring the rest back, so this is where your longevity lies. Try not to burn cards. Burning them often has great abilities, but the battles are more of a marathon than a sprint. Even Spellweaver shouldn't be burning cards with reckless glee, unless it's getting really close to the end of a scenario. With a bit of practice, you can keep working your way through all, or almost all, of the cards in your hand before you need to do a short rest, and have effective turns all the way through. Perhaps not as effective as burning the good stuff right away, but still doing damage and moving and tanking and healing and all that, and having the longevity to make it through the whole dungeon.

Burning cards is what was keeping me from killing things and getting wins. I stopped doing that except in dire need to get something big to happen RIGHT NOW, and now I'm on a 3 win streak. Not some pro gamer skillz or anything, but I'm new to the game and that's what turned things around. Hope it helps you.

[jep]

Originally posted by ThorimarMarble:

I have tried running Brute 2/Scoundrel 2 and Brute 2/Spellweaver 1. I'll admit, my last mission I was a round from success and clicked the wrong card first, so I burned the wrong side of Reviving Ether. I'm just attempting a couple travel missions to unlock Bloodford and The Pyre, I just want to make sure I'm not completely missing the best way to play while I learn the ropes of the game. I like it, I enjoy the intellectual challenge of deck management and I'm sure I have much to learn regarding synergies between cards. That is half the fun of getting a new game. Thanks for taking the time to steer me in the right direction.

I should mention the Restart Round button on the menu when you hit escape. I have no shame in doing this when I accidentally brain fart and click the wrong thing. I just play the round exactly the same to that point (the RNG picks the same random numbers so you get the same result). This is exactly what I would have done in the board game, as I'm there primarily to have fun, not to curse myself for clicking the wrong thing.

[Cesspit]

I enjoy playing with 4 hero party. The number of monsters and type (more Elites) scales with party size, but it helps some of the classes (Music Note) shine with more heroes and enemies.

[jorginsplat]

Some of the mercs are better than others in different situations. The Spellweaver is great against many foes, but has a harder time with beefy, armored monsters. I like to play 4 mercs to have better answers to different situations.

Also, I can't stress enough how important it is to have plenty of quality move cards in your decks. Cool attacks don't help if you can't get to the monsters to use them. And, you will be much more likely to get to that final room if you aren't move 2 or 3 every round.

[jep]

Originally posted by Cesspit:

I enjoy playing with 4 hero party. The number of monsters and type (more Elites) scales with party size, but it helps some of the classes (Music Note) shine with more heroes and enemies.

Oh, I could definitely see that. There's a lot of those abilities that make me think, "Yeah, no, not worth it for just helping one merc."

But two players is about the amount my brain can keep track of. And there's plenty of times I lock in my selections and then go to take my turn and say, "Wait, what? I picked BOTH of these for their top/bottom action!" X)

[Black Hammer]

The early stuff is pretty easy; run the early missions with two characters, and focus on learning them before swapping them out for two others. Do another two or three missions with that pair, then swap again. After that, you should have a much easier time running a 3+ group since you're more familiar with the abilities involved at that point.

Jumping straight into four can be a little confusing and overwhelming, especially given the rather punishing burn economy of the game at times.

There are also some really specific tricks and tools on certain characters. The mindthief cancelling her augment before a rest if you have an even number of cards (to get back to even on the next draw for an extra turn), how to get the most out of the spellweaver's card reset, and pacing your high movement cards so they're available for the shift to and into the next room.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by ZexxCrine:

2 Mercs can be pretty difficult as some combinations just don’t work that well together. This problem completely disappears in 3 or 4 member compositions. That said, I don’t know what mercs you are playing so I can’t tell if it’s just a poor duo or inexperience.

More enemies spawn with more members, but the scaling is the same. It usually ends up being exactly as difficult with more party members.

What starter combinations work well with 2 - and what do not?

[CostlySpider]

Originally posted by Lampros:

What starter combinations work well with 2 - and what do not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsk965k5OT4

At the 4:13 mark guy has chart, for what works well for two party members. What is ok, what is bad etc.

[Lampros]

Originally posted by CostlySpider:

Originally posted by Lampros:

What starter combinations work well with 2 - and what do not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsk965k5OT4

At the 4:13 mark guys has suggestions for what works well for two party members.

Thanks!