Character Guides - Zosha, the Whirlwind

A detailed analysis of Armello's stealthiest rat and signature ambusher.

Preface

The enemy can't hurt you if the enemy can't see you. That's the philosophy behind Zosha, the silent but deadly assassin of the Night Mother. While vulnerable by day, at night she becomes an unparalleled stealth machine, capable of flitting about the board without anyone knowing precisely where she's gone. She's the ambush expert in the Armello cast, the one character largely immune to targeted spells at night unless someone brings to bear a card like Divination, Sailor's Lantern or Rangers.

Zosha used to have a very strong position in Armello. When she was first introduced, Armello had only 8 characters available to the vast majority of players (with the Bandit Clan only really appearing in private games). Of those characters, the two with the highest Fight scores were Thane and Zosha. Those were glory days for Zosha, for she was able to cut apart most opponents with ease.

Nowadays, Zosha has a lot more dangerous warrior types to contend with. While still a competent fighter, her low Body and the presence of more warriors means she's not as dominant as she once was. Nevertheless, her affinity for stealth and her flexible statistics make her a viable character in most matches.

I think one of the most compelling things about Zosha is that her stats are balanced enough that she can fill just about any role with the right Amulet choice. I'll talk more on that later, of course; but let's just make it clear that Zosha can be played in a lot of different ways, and it's great.

This guide aims to provide you, dear reader, with all the information you need to know about playing Zosha. I also intend to provide a little information on how to deal with this sneaky rat if you see her in a match.

On Character Archetypes

There is certain language I will use throughout this guide refering to character 'archetypes' that might be unfamiliar to those new to the game (or, heck, even to those that play the game; it's not like these 'archetypes' I'm about to mention are listed on the Wiki). As such, I want to express clearly what they are before I continue.

• Fighter - A Hero that specializes in kicking someone else's butt. They typically are good at one job, and that's hitting things until they die. Examples include Sylas, Horace, Brun, and the Wolf Clan in general.
  
• Generalist - A jack-of-all-trades Hero that is very adaptable to the game and situation. These guys are rarely a bad choice for any given game, and can generally be adjusted to fill whatever role you need them to. Examples include Sargon, Scarlet, River, and the Rabbit Clan in general.
  
• Spellcaster - Spell-focused characters, typically with a high Spirit score, that specialize in casting lots and lots of magic. Most have low Fight. Examples include Twiss and the Bear Clan in general.
  
• Trickster - This is a character that is good at getting gold and/or settlements and using Trickery cards to great effect. Having lots of gold typically makes them fairly flexible (as it gives them good access to both the item and trickery decks). Examples include Scarlet, Twiss, and the Rat Clan in general.

Note that some characters may fit into different archetypes based on their ring/amulet selection, or just based on how they're played. Twiss, for instance, is very capable of flexing both trickery and spell muscles; Scarlet plays as something between a Generalist and a Trickster; and River can be made to be either heavily Fight-focused or to be more of a generalist. The point is, these categories are useful to keep in mind when selecting characters and making choices on amulets and rings, but they're not hard and fast by any stretch of the imagination.

In general, you should be able to look at the cast of characters (after some time playing the game) and know roughly what sort of roles they'll be fulfilling in the game. This will inform key decisions you make before the first dice roll.

Character Overview

Affinity	Fight	Body	Wits	Spirit	Gold
Night	5	4	4	3	7

Zosha's statistics are rather well balanced. She only has 4 Body, as the Rat Clan in general isn't known for being made of stout stuff. However, she's got 5 Fight - a perfectly respectable number, that - and 4 Wits, giving her some decent card draw even before amulets are factored in. Her Spirit is is her weak point: 3. However, 3 Spirit is enough to cast key spells like Teleport.

To top it off, Zosha has a starting gold of 7 (including turn 1 dawn income). That's a lot of gold. Zosha can afford two solid Items with that, or an Item and a Trickery; and with her 3 starting Magic she can usually cast the spell she starts off with. Assuming you get a decent opening hand, Zosha shouldn't run into any problems due to a lack of resources.

Overall, I think Zosha's starting position is very strong, and her stats are balanced enough that she could be steered toward whatever direction you need her to go. Do you want a hardcore Fighter? Zosha can be a darn good Fighter. Do you want her to functon more as a Generalist? You can do that easily with Zosha. Do you need a Trickster? Well, with the right ring choice that's entirely plausible.

But there will be plenty of time to examine those options later. For now, let's discuss her passive.

Passive: Shadow

Well, that description is short, sweet, and to the point. Let's discuss the ramifications.

Firstly, Stealth in Armello means that other players 1) literally can't see you, and 2) can only reveal you with a card that grants Scout OR with a Peril that can target a tile, not just a Creature or Hero. For instance, if Zosha is on a Forest tile, an enemy player might successfully guess where she is and drop a Tanglevine on her. If this happens, Zosha will be visible, and thus be able to be hit with targeted spells (like Aflame).

Assuming Zosha doesn't get revealed by some means, her passive is very powerful. She can move unseen at night; she can attack other characters without them getting to burn cards; she can lay in wait on an enemy's quest and they won't even know she's there. The fact that she can't be targeted by direct damage spells easily and that her location is unknown without the use of Scout items makes this passive very powerful defensively as well. Zosha may only have 4 Body, but she's not going to be the target of most offensive abilities at night.

I think it's worth remembering that night time is the time when everyone's Magic is rebalanced to its maximum, and therefore being invisible under the moonlight means Zosha gets to feel a little safer than most characters do at that hour.

Finally, you should be aware of any Scout effects that are in play. Don't forget to check what rings any enemy wolves are wearing, too! It's unlikely they'll use it, but the Wolf Clan has access to rings that provide Scout on characters with 2 or less health.

Action Points, Health, and Stealth

One way that people can track your movement is via Action Points and Health. For instance, if you take 1 HP damage, you've stepped on a swamp. If you spend 2 AP, you've either traveled over a mountain or a fortified town.

Essentially, keep in mind that savvy players with an awareness of the board and your current position can track your movement at night, or at least make an educated guess.

Turn Order

One more thing that needs mentioning: the utility of Zosha's passive changes based on her place in the turn order. If she goes first, she'll be very hard for other players to pin down at night, as she'll always take her movement - invisibly, mind you - before everyone else. However, if she goes last, she loses that advantage. Not all is lost in such a scenario, however: if Zosha goes last, that means that she can enter the Palace at dawn and be invisible for the entirety of Night. Not a bad setup!

Whatever position you end up with on the turn order, make sure you plan accordingly. Try to enter the Palace at dawn if you're the last player (unless you have a Hot Rot Wine or Strategist Card to go straight for the kill). If a mage goes before you and you have a Teleport spell, consider the losses and gains in reserving it for nightfall (when you're invisible) instead of using it in the day. And if you're the first player, be sure to use nightfall to set up ambushes, putting yourself in the path you're certain someone is going to be walking along so that you can smash them good... or use nightfall as a means of shaking off your pursuers.

If you DO end up as the last player, you should know that you can still cast non-aggressive, non-peril spells without it appearing in the event log at the bottom of the screen. Note, however, that you can still see the spells people have cast pop up on the right side of the screen, so attentive players will still notice what you've done. Anyone that's not paying attention won't be able to look back at the event log and see what you've done, however.

Another thing to remember: if you teleport at night as Zosha, or if you Banish yourself, nobody sees where you've ended up because you're still invisible - unless, of course, they've scouted you.

EDIT: I was told, however, that teleport is visible on the map even if you're not invisible due to particle effects. I don't remember this being the case, but it's worth looking into if you have friends to test this with.

When to Use Zosha

Some people may want to pick a certain character just because they're in the mood to play that character, or they may let the random character selector do the choosing for them. It is perfectly valid to want to play the character you like most, and no matter what I write here, I sometimes just play the characters I want to play. There are those, however, who want to pick their characters strategically. This section is for those fine folks.

Zosha is straddles the line between being a Fighter and a Generalist. She is definitely capable of holding her own in melee, and her stealth capabilities are quite defensive in nature, providing her with protection at night. She fares best against other generalists and anyone that has trouble defending themselves against her. She can tackle other Fighters with the right equipment, but unless she's wearing a defensive amulet she'll have very little room for error when fighting them.

Use Zosha if:

• The other players are a mix of Generalists, Tricksters and Spellcasters. Generally speaking, Zosha can fight these sorts of characters just fine. So long as she uses her stealth well, she can remove their ability to burn cards when fighting her, which can greatly increase your chance of victory, and she can interpose herself in the path of their quests. Her stealth gives her some measure of protection against their Spells and Trickeries, too.
  
• The only Fighters are Thane, River, or Magna. Zosha can effectively nullify the passives of these three wolves because she's invisible. Properly equipped, she can make a bloody mess of them at Night. Just don't be too cocky during daylight.

DON'T use Zosha if:

• Everyone else is already playing Fighter types. You'd be better off playing someone that can exploit the lack of Spellcasters and Tricksters. Perhaps you could play Sana, Ghor, Twiss, a Trickster-built Elyssia, or Griotte?

Be Afraid Of:

• Twiss. You can't attack her; that's typically a bad idea. You can't out-magic her. You probably can't play Trickeries as well as she can. The only way to get her off the map is to put yourself in a position where she has to go through you, not the other way around, or to wield piercing weapons like the Silver Lance or the Hand Cannons. Even then, she's probably going to punish you for getting in her way, so try and do your sleezy stuff at night. And remember, it's safe to attack her if you're NOT worried about losing the cards that are in your hand.
  
• Griotte. You thought you were big and bad at night? Not compared to Griotte you aren't. A well-played Griotte is at her strongest at night, and I've seen her get as high as +7 bonus Clan Affinity Die due to throwing around so many trickeries during the day. You really, really want to be careful when fighting the Butcher Baroness.
  
• Yordana. Let me make this 100% clear: Yordana is one of the most terrifying people Zosha can deal with. She can create different curses to reduce your ability scores, make your victories aid her, make herself invisible to you. If she gets Divination or Spy Network, she becomes a real pain in the neck. This is the one character that would make me pause before choosing to play Zosha. She can melt you easier than anyone else because she can ruin you with her hexes. Heck, she can reduce you from 5 fight to 2 with a combination of Curse of Valour and Curse of Skill. Be aware of this going into any match against her.

Victories to Pursue:

The best victories for Zosha to pursue involve confronting the King in combat. Plan for a Kingslayer victory when you play her, but watch and see if a Rot victory makes itself apparent to you. I wouldn't pursue it eagerly, as Zosha doesn't exactly have a large Health pool and being Infected makes Dawn hurt. However, if it falls into your lap, don't be shy: embrace the Rot.

Zosha may be able to pursue a Prestige victory, but I find this largely is circumstantial and depends both on how other players are faring and whether they're accruing bounties. If they're getting bounties, Zosha is well suited to play hunter-killer and collect her just reward. However, Prestige should be a backup plan for Zosha, not her goal; after all, she's not likely to be able to hold back anyone from killing the King herself, not like a dedicated Spellcaster could.

It's entirely possible to find sufficient Spirit Stones to banish the Rot via questing and stumbling across Stone Circles and Dungeons. Don't count on it, however. Enter the game prepared to kill the King by strength of arms.

Rings and Amulets

I think it's worth mentioning once again (yes, I did this in the Preface already) that Zosha can realistically fill a lot of different roles. She can be played as a Generalist or a Fighter. She can be tough to kill or she can be a terror in the night (or both, even!). She can be a decent practitioner of the magical arts and can certainly be used to throw trickeries around while still being solid in combat. All of this can be determined by what ring and amulet you choose to put on Zosha.

Zosha's options for rings are fairly limited, but depending on the situation there are several good amulets for her. Honestly, I think the Rat Clan has some of the more lackluster rings, despite them being traditionally my favorite clan.

The TL;DR for rings is choose Ruby or Cat's Eye. For amulets... Well, read that section carefully.

Rings

Black Opal is a bad choice for Zosha because she already gets stealth EVERYWHERE at night. Ergo, she loses 50% of the benefit of this ring, which grants stealth in settlements always.

With that said, I've seen a few people put this ring to good effect. Specifically, in combination with the Sprint amulet, you can attempt some stealth-oriented shenanigans wherein you disappear at night and don't reappear during the day, using the Sprint ability to stop in settlements where you can. It's a neat defensive trick, for sure.

Personally, I think that if you want better defenses you're better off with Soak or Resist, but that's just me. I avoid this ring, but feel free to give the above strategy a whirl if that sort of subterfuge is up your alley.

Obsidian theoretically has some use, if limited use. See, Zosha is NOT the equal of characters like Sana and Griotte when it comes to murdering people with spells and trickeries. However, if you've got enough settlements you might get the occasional chance to use your Scout ability from settlements to throw Mercenaries or the like at people you dislike. Nevertheless, this is another ring that I generally don't see being that useful. If someone is near your settlement, chances are they're taking it. Again, I'd avoid this.

Ruby is the ring I usually take with her, though with the new Explode Pool I may start edging away from using it. You see, the new Explode Pool effectively puts a ceiling on the number of explosions your dice can have, and Ruby makes your first rolled Sword explode. It's not bad - you can usually net an extra defense or attack from that, especially if you luck out and get the Royal Shield or Chainmail - but later on when you get more dice it's not as useful unless your explode pool has grown. Being Corrupted achieves this, as does having +Explode Pool equipment (like the Heavy Flail, a perfect weapon for smashing the King). Either way, it's definitely a solid choice, and I think it's the safest choice.

One more thought concerning Ruby: if you have 4+ Spirit or if you get Corrupted, it starts to increase in value. If you choose the Feel amulet, for instance, Ruby is definitely a good companion ring to that amulet.

Turquoise is... Here, consider the following: have you ever been on your way to a Kingslayer victory when suddenly some jerk cast Wyld's Warning on you and chased you off the palace? Yeah, imagine that but they don't even have to cast that spell to chase you away. Don't take this. Zosha wants to kill the King.

Tanzanite is a ring that I LOVE on some Rats, but not on Zosha. For instance, if this was a guide about Griotte, this would probably have a long explanation about how much theoretical utility you can get out of it and etc., but for Zosha I just don't see this coming up very often. Earning gold on beating a Peril isn't going to help Zosha much.

Cat's Eye is a ring I've grown fond of. It reduces the cost of your first Trickery by 1 each turn. It's simple but handy, and it helps you dip your hands into the Trickery deck every now and then when otherwise you might not be able to. If you're already rolling in gold, however, it's fairly useless.

Amulets

Zosha's primary concern is not dying, and her best amulets help with exactly that. However, she's actually got quite a few good options.

Soak is the first amulet I'd like to talk about. Zosha is good at hunting spellcasters, but normally a single spell or two will lay her low, and that's the end of things. It's easy as pie for a mage to bring her from 4 to 0 in a single turn. Well, Soak makes that just a little harder on the Spellcasters, and that's important. A little extra Body goes a long way to keeping Zosha alive, and it gives you more leeway on the board itself.

Resist is the next amulet I consider a must for Zosha. If you're up against meatheads that like to crack skulls, this is the amulet for you. Having the Resist amulet means you don't need to focus on defense so much, though you certainly still should have at least a single solid piece of defensive equipment. It makes you more dangerous to most of the Fighters out there. I like it.

Discipline is an interesting amulet for Zosha, and I've had a couple people swear by it. Personally, I don't think the extra +1 dice in both Fights and Perils at night is as important as the benefits of the above amulets (which function 100% of the time); however, since Zosha DOES do most of her skullduggery at night, it could be a really smart pick. And hey, being able to survive Perils a little better is a nice bonus.

Think gives you card draw. Card draw is always important. A hand of 5 cards means you have more options for burning, more things to play, a better chance of getting Hot Rot Wine or Strategist... Yeah. Think is rarely a bad choice, and Zosha is no exception.

Feel is good if you want to round Zosha's stats out more and make her more of a Generalist. It makes her able to do just about everything just fine. With a stat array of 5/4/4/4, she can go in basically any direction she darned well pleases, cast most spells she comes across (including Banish!), and even cast two spells in the same turn. Futhermore, it increases her explode pool, making her just a little more effective in combat. And yet... I'd probably just do a single Spirit quest in-game instead of taking this amulet. Still, it means that if you draw Banish early game you can hurdle yourself across the map to your second quest. Consider it.

Decay is the usual choice for Rot-lovers. It counteracts the chief downside of Rot: losing health at dawn. However, realize that just because you have the Decay amulet doesn't mean you're going to get the right cards and events. It does make things like Plague and Plaguebearers a little less dangerous, I suppose. Overall, I'd say Decay isn't your best choice. You don't want to feel locked into a Rot victory, especially with so many people pursuing it as of the recent updates. I suggest avoiding this amulet.

Scratch is another amulet I'd avoid, only this time with way more enthusiasm. As counter-intuitive as this sounds, it's just not as useful as the extra survivability of Soak and Resist. It used to be one of Zosha's best amulets when the game first came out because, heck, she'd have 6 Fight! That was the most anyone could start with! But now it's just not as impressive on her as it once was, and Resist makes for a better bedfellow for those who are playing Fighter with Zosha. Discipline just offers so much more utility, too.

If I haven't mentioned an amulet, it's because I don't think it's a good choice for Zosha. Feel free to experiment, of course. Armello wouldn't be the same if people didn't experiment.

Goals In-Game (Pt. 1)

Depending on how you built her pre-game and what cards you've been dealt at the start, Zosha's goals are fairly flexible. Always plan on killing the King when you start, and understand that the suggestions below are aimed at such a tactic. However, should you find yourself in the right situation to secure another victory type, feel free to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Quest Priorities

No matter what amulet you pick, I generally suggest you at least have 6 Fight, 5 Body, and 5 Wits by the end of the game. If you're up against powerful Spellcasters, aim for 6 Body instead.

The thing about Zosha is that while she's very much a deadly assassin, her stats leave her room to wiggle into whatever build she wants via quests. Her Spirit is already 3, which is sufficient to cast most good spells; but bumping it up to 4 isn't a bad idea for Banish; I definitely think 4 Spirit is what you want. Her Wits is 4, and getting it to 5 or 6 will give her more power to pick and choose what she wants from the various decks, not to mention give her more burn options (always useful when finishing off the King). Her Fight is 5, and getting it to 6 or 7 will help you dominate the battlefield. Finally, I don't think you need to push past 6 Body with Zosha, but if you're worried about being sniped it's not a terrible idea to get 6 Body no matter what amulet you're wearing.

To summarize: if you have Resist, aim to have 6/5/5/3 for stats, which leaves you with 1 stat upgrade of your choosing. If you have Soak, aim to have 6/6/5/3, still with 1 stat upgrade of your choice. For other amulets, just stick to the '6 fight, 5 body, 5 wits minimum' rule. Determine quest order based on the rewards they offer, though I personally favor Fight or Wits for my first quest. That's not a hard and fast rule, however.

Item Priorities

Firstly, on treasures: due to Zosha's highly flexible nature, most of them have some value to the Whirlwind. I personally think there are a few gems, like the Silver Lance, Lionheart Breastplate, and the Royal Shield which are must-haves for practically every character. If one of those three becomes available, they're all very amazing. Zosha likes them as much as the next person.

The first treasure that demands special mention is the Moon Scythe, and the reason should be obvious: Zosha will do her best dirty work at night. Combine it with the Royal Shield and you've got a powerful night time combo to kill the King, especially if you can somehow Aflame yourself before healing up.

The Bane Blade is obviously a powerful tool for Zosha, though I think it pairs best with the Royal Shield. A dream setup would be the Bane Blade + Moon Scythe + Royal Shield to attack the King at night, with a hand of cards showing plenty of Moons, Wylds, Suns and Shields. Will it happen? Doubtful. But remember that the Bane Blade and similar abilities that boost your number of dice are at their best when you have ways to turn misses into defenses. If you have three followers, the War Horn is similarly powerful.

The Helm of Heroes can help round out Zosha's Wits while still offering solid defense. Zosha's flexibility can likewise be expanded by the Masquerade Mask and the Wyldfire Staff. However, I'd try to only have one of these three items at a time. This isn't to say you should avoid these items if you already have one, but rather that you should see about giving yourself some better offense and defense once you have a good utility item.

Zosha shines at setting up ambushes at night, and given that you're probably putting Soak or Resist on her, you should have a little leeway to pick more offensive gear. Your goal should be to have 3 shields in combat with Resist and items/followers, or 2 shields in combat with any other amulet. Couple that with some heavy-hitting offensive items like the Heavy Flail or the War Hammer for some serious pain.

There are a few items I'd say are less useful for Zosha than other characters. She doesn't really need the Ranger's Cloak, and the Lord's Scepter and Royal Banner are items I'd only equip if I had no other options or if a Prestige Victory looked imminent, or if you just really wanted to make sure a certain King's Declaration was not passed. (Example: Toll Bells Sing while you're in the Palace.) In general, remember that prestige victories are more happenstance with Zosha, and that your goal should be to stab the King in his rotten face.

I think that the Sailor's Lantern is actually an amazing choice for Zosha, mostly so she knows where to interpose herself to deny people their quests. Again, this helps her create ambush situations at night. I wouldn't keep it when you go fight the King, obviously, but it's an investment I highly recommend for a good chunk of the game. Just keep an eye on the combat effectiveness of other players so you know when to replace it with a weapon or piece of armor.

Finally, if you find yourself equipped with the Poppet or Hand Cannons, realize that defensive gameplay can secure you some serious victories. Poppet or Hand Canoons + two defensive items = the ability to deal just *enough* damage. You can kill the King with the Poppet, too, and it counts as a victory for you.

And in general, when going against the King your best way of finishing him off will always be Pierce damage. This applies to most fighter types, and it's why Thane is such a strong character. Ergo, if you're about to fight the King equipped with a Silver Lance, Hand Cannons and Heavy Plate Armour, you can potentially deal three damage guaranteed. If you can't pierce his defenses, just try to throw as much damage as you can while preserving an appropriate amount of shields respective to your remaining Health. You'll get an intuition for roughly how much you need the more you play.

Goals In-Game (Pt. 2)

Spells

Honestly, most spells have some value to Zosha. It's smart to try to have 4 Spirit, as I said earlier, as that will get you some extra spell-slinging power - including being able to self buff twice in a row at night.

And that is the topic that's most important when discussing Zosha: Zosha is invisible at night, right? Well, if a player can't see you, not only can they not target you, but they can't see what buffs you're casting in the event log at the bottom of the screen, though they CAN see your spells on the right side of the screen. I'm sure I said this already. So when you're casting spells at night, realize that other players might not notice if you've cast, say, Mirror Image on yourself. They might realize you've cast Feral if they're eyeballing the Hero Shelves, but if they're just watching for pop-ups in the chat box they won't realize what you've done until they try to attack you where they last saw you.

So with that in mind, self-buffs are your best friend, especially Mirror Image. Try casting such spells when you think the other players' attention may be occupied or when the information may be missed. It's okay if players know where you last were if you WANT them to know because they think they can whoop your butt in a fight. Bloodthirst is another one that you should love, because it will also not be reflected on the Hero Shelf. You generally like all the combat buffs.

One neat trick if you have the Royal Shield is to cast Aflame on yourself and then heal the damage immediately, assuming you have both Aflame and a Wyldweed or something in your hand. Again, if you do this at night, this information won't appear in the event log. Whoever you battle with this combo will be in for a nasty surprise.

In general, using Banish, Teleport, and Haste to get to your quests faster is vital. You want to do them as quick as you can before bullrushing your way into the King's face. Also consider dropping yourself near or on someone's quest if that quest happens to be in the same general direction as your own. Again, you want to ambush jerks and punish them.

Remember: since you're invisible at night, using Teleport and Banish means players won't know precisely where you are. Take advantage of that.

Finally, if you've got Divination, use it or burn it ASAP. Don't let someone Glamour it out of your hand. Don't let Twiss take it when you attack her. If it gets leveraged against you, you may lose your stealth at a critical time.

One last note: certain spells will reveal your position. Leech has an animation that shows life being sucked from your opponent to you. Syphon has similar visual effects. My understanding is these ARE visible to other players, but I may be wrong about Syphon, and this may change in the future. Still, for the time being, be aware of the animation and try not to cast these at the end of your night time shenanigans unless you're the last player.

Trickeries

Zosha may not have plenty of opportunities to dig through the Trickery deck. Unlike Sylas in my other guide, Zosha can't depend on getting extra combat power from her passive when fighting the King; her passive is largely defensive and for fighting other Heroes or surviving their attacks. No, Zosha won't be able to dip her fingers into the Trickery Deck super often.

If you take the Cat's Eye ring, you will have more opportunities to use the Trickery deck than usual, so bear that in mind.

It is important, of course, to watch for specific cards. If nobody has used the Strategist card, it could be worth it to try and get it if you REALLY need that extra movement right now. You also can manipulate prestige with some of its contents, or one of the various abilities that can get you more gold when you're desperate.

If you don't have mana but you have gold and want Suns and Moons (such as if you've got a Longbow or the Hand Cannons), it can definitely be worth it to dig into the Trickery deck. You might get useful cards, and you might get the right symbols to burn.

Another time to dig into the Trickery deck is just when you're too far away from someone that has a sizeable bounty on their head to hit them with spells, but you REALLY want to try and kill them. There's a few cards in the Trickery deck that might help you take that bounty. Mercenaries, Hidden Trap, Arson, Plague Bearers, Crooks, Sharpshooter... They're all in here, and while you're not guaranteed to draw one, keep in mind which of them you've seen played. If your chances of getting one are good, go for it. Secure that kill.

Finally, if you get Rangers or Spy Network, DO NOT let other players use them on you. Like with Divination, burn or use these cards. Get them out of play. Scout the Palace Perils if someone's been tossing out expendables, or scout a forest you think someone's hiding in, or scout out the perils leading to your quest... or guesstimate where your enemy's quest is based on where they've been trying to go so you can prepare a trap for them.

Utility Items

Wyld Sap and Wyld Weed are always important for warrior types. Let's just say that. Know when to go digging for them; try to recall if someone else has used them yet.

If you're going to use the Throwing Axe or Poisoned Gift, keep in mind that it reveals that you're adjacent to another player. It doesn't Scout your position for them or anything, but if you spend 3 AP moving directly next to someone and there's only one spot you could have done so, realize that a reprisal may be coming. Sometimes you WANT a reprisal, especially if you've been setting up self-buffs in secret, but sometimes it's the last thing you want. Play smart, and consider passing such little 'gifts' along when you still have AP left to keep moving.

You don't have any means of getting Magic outside of digging through dungeons and waiting for nightfall, so if you have a critical spell to cast and you haven't seen Moon Juice played, don't be afraid to dig for it.

Followers and Declarations

Followers

The Blacksmith is great because being better at fighting stuff is great. He'll keep you alive and help you hit harder so long as you have a shield icon item and a sword icon item. Get the Blacksmith, and if you have an item with a non-sword non-shield symbol that you want to wear, see if you can cast Shimmer Shield on it first, just in case.

The Spymaster is a good friend of Zosha's. She can help Zosha set up ambushes and make life Hell for the other players, or she can help her avoid being in the path of dangerous people while those dangerous people are traveling to their quests at night. I think she's one of the best people you can get.

The Apprentice is... a really solid find for Zosha. Zosha is a bit of a Generalist, as has been said, even if she leans toward being on the smashy-smashy side. Ergo, the Apprentice can be a great person to make her spellcasting a little easier (all spells cost 1 less). Get him if you can.

The Brilliant Fool can help you breach the palace early and help you survive Perils that otherwise might cost you some much-needed AP or health. Take that ♥♥♥♥♥ on an adventure; chances are he'll be helpful.

I would avoid the Warlock only because your health pool isn't large enough for you to be gouging it on purpose. With that said, if you're going Corruption anyway, he can help you solidify your chances at victory. If you DO keep him, you can theoretically use the Warlock to reduce your HP enough to die quickly and get back to your Clan Grounds if it's nearer to your next quest. Nevertheless, if offered a choice between him and someone else, I'd pick someone else in most cases unless you're planning to have 6 Body by the end of the game.

Most every follower is useful, but I felt these were of special note for Zosha.

King's Declarations

Generally speaking, Zosha is flexible enough that most declarations have situations where she can use them to her advantage. However, there's a couple declarations that stand out positively, and a couple that stand out negatively.

The Good:

• Peace Treaty: Specifically if you're NOT the last player to move at night, this one can be really good for you. You can put yourself in between someone else and their quest, or at least a tile you think they're going to travel to, and trick them into attacking you. Succeed in that and you'll cost them 3 prestige right off the bat. Now that's cruel.
  
• For Royal Eyes Only: Zosha is invisible for 50% of the day, so even if you get a bounty at night people have to find her to take advantage of that first. Moreover, Zosha has an inherently lower HP pool than others due to being a rat... so you can potentially get a bounty in the day, finish your quest at night, and kill yourself with cards or swamps to stop others from getting the bounty. This potentially puts you back near your next quest, too, if your next quest is at the Clan Grounds.
  
• Green-Eyed Monsters: Maybe it's just my playstyle, but I often find I'm struggling with gold as Zosha. This can either be used to give yourself a quick boost in reserves (if you already have some) OR as a means of keeping everyone else down in the Prestige arena.
  
• Beasts of Bane: Also, remember that you're invisible at night. Banes may attack other players, but they won't attack you. Depending on the situation, this may be a good thing. Just try not to accidentally feed someone extra Prestige with this declaration.
  
• Ripped Reality: You can purposely fail the Banish perils this creates to travel across the map, or you can use it to send someone that's already in a stone circle closer to you so you can kill them. At the least, you can use it to send that person away from their quest objective if they haven't finished it yet.
  
• Night Maneuvers: King's guards attack people at night. Fortunately, they won't attack Zosha, because Zosha is invisible.

The Bad:

• Fog of War: Nope. Just nope. Stealth is your advantage. Don't give it to everyone else, not unless you have a darned good reason.
  
• Rot Rain: Remember that you don't have a high Body, at least at the start, and the early game is when this Declaration comes into play. Use this declaration with caution, if at all.

In general, most Declarations are situational. Huh, have I said that before? I'm sure I have. Anyway, just be smart about using the King's Declarations. Look at the Hero Shelves and Inventory Shelves of your opponents as you're picking. Have keen map awareness, or as keen an awareness as you can manage to have in a game as chaotic as Armello. Make informed decisions, not arbitrary ones.

Winning and Losing

The Ideal Start

Since Zosha has some considerable starting funds, she fares best when she gets a decent piece of equipment at the start - say, a Bastard Sword or a Chainmail Shirt. Couple that with a helpful spell to assist in combat with another hero, or a good spell to help her reach her quests faster (Teleport or Banish) and you've got a pretty good start for Zosha.

Zosha can get easy prestige off of other heroes at the start, especially squishy ones. Should someone like Sargon or Amber be headed in her direction for their quest, she might be able to both do her own quest and ambush them as an afterthought. She'll have the advantage in any such confrontation unless they've procured a very helpful Item or Treasure already, and her stealth mechanic allows her to negate the special abilities of Thane, Magna, and River.

Zosha's first quest hopefully gives her either an item with pierce (such as the Hand Cannons or Silver Lance) or puts a solid defensive item (Royal Shield or Lionheart Breastplate especially) in her hand. She should aim to have 5 body by her second quest if she doesn't have the Soak amulet.

Maintaining the Lead

The best way to stay ahead with Zosha is to do your quests as quietly and efficiently as possible, taking whatever opportunities present themselves to hinder your opponents' progress at the same time. Use the cover of night to maneuver into positions that will make life harder on your enemies, and try to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

Zosha's somewhat low health pool can work to her advantage if you time your own death right. Upon completing your second quest you can effectively end your own life to be sent back to your Clan Grounds, as typically the third quest will be somewhere near your starting position. If you're already injured (say at 3/5 life), you can splash about in the swamps to reduce your health, or purposely lose a fight with another character, or even smite yourself with Moonlight. In this way, there can be advantages to being flimsy. This advice applies to most characters, of course; but also consider that as Zosha you ambush whoever you use them to kill yourself, meaning they can't burn unwanted cards whereas you can. If you have a hand full of offensive symbols (Wyld/Sword/Moon), you can really put the hurt on the other player before you die.

Don't forget that you want to fight battles on your terms. Fighting at night means opponents can't burn cards, whether you're attacking or defending (at least for the first battle). Attacking in the day without proper equipment means they can burn cards and otherwise prepare themselves better. This isn't to say you should never take the offensive during the daytime. Far from it. Attack whenever you need to. Just understand the risks involved with a daytime conflict, especially against characters like Thane and Magna, and don't forget that you're letting your opponents burn unwanted cards.

Otherwise, just remember that the night is your friend. It provides you with safety and security. If you're player 1, it's easy to move out of harm's way before someone drops a Moonlight or Tanglevine on your location. If you're not player 1, well... it's a bit dicier, to be sure.

Falling Behind

The first bit of advice with Zosha is this: don't give up, especially if you're Player 4. You more than anyone else are capable of yanking victories from the toothy maw of defeat.

If you're being consistently outfought or gunned down by someone's spells, don't give up. Zosha can be played passively as needed, using her stealth as a defensive tool, as a means of avoiding contact with other players. Place yourself appropriately and you might be able to avoid conflicts entirely. You can catch up on quests this way, or at least that's the theory.

Zosha also can engage the King relatively sneakily. Player 1 Zosha can move up to the palace at night with nobody knowing exactly where she is before her turn starts at dawn. Player 4 Zosha can breach the palace by daylight, then immediately become stealthed. Things only become easier if you have access to Hot Rot Wine or Strategist; they're not entirely necessary for a Player 4 Zosha to win, but a Player 1 Zosha could definitely use that help.

If Zosha's turn comes before that of a character with a bounty, it's entirely possible she can try become the Prestige Leader by setting herself up in an ambush for them. It's also a good way to make some much-needed gold to outfit yourself appropriately for any coming conflicts.

Finally, don't be afraid to change up your build as you're questing if you think the situation is developing in a way that demands different stats. Maybe you NEED a Banish as soon as you finish your third quest, the better to get your last quest done and break into the palace, so you upgrade your Spirit to 4. Maybe that second Wits quest gives you the item that'll ensure you kill the King, like the Hand Cannons. Or maybe you just don't need more than 5 Fight because nobody else in the game is that tough in a fight anyway; but more card draw might help you get that Hot Rot Wine or Strategist card, or Barkskin, or something to stop the other players from sniping you when you breach.

Whatever the situation, just don't give up. An Armello match is only over when its over.

Final Thoughts

Zosha is definitely an interesting character to play. She's flimsy, so you have to compensate for that, but once you do she's a force to be reckoned with. Her ability to ambush people at night, to avoid being blasted to smitherines when the Spellcasters are gathering their spellpower, and her knack for denying her opponents the ability to burn their cards helps her minimize risks.

I'm really quite glad I've finally buckled down and finished this guide. Zosha was my first "main character" in Armello, and though I don't think I'm all that skilled at playing her, I think she's someone everyone should be willing to try.

I'd like to thank fellow players Wyld Kin and Noelwym for their insight. They both gave some some pretty interesting thoughts, and they both helped by playing as Zosha against me in a few matches. I'm quite grateful for that!

I'll be doing some edits to my Ghor and Sylas guides, I think, as I've had time to rethink my strategies a little bit. Overall those guides will remain the same, but as I've played Ghor once again I've come to value Fight quests more than I used to, for instance. And I'll be going through and trying to clean up spelling errors and capitalization inconsistencies as well. Probably. I might get lazy.

The next guide I'll be working on will be for Elyssia. After that, I think I'll write a guide on Thane, and then... who knows?

Thank you for reading this far, and good luck in Armello!

[Artemis]

Thank you so much, great help, defo deserves more views :)

[Poseidon66]

This is a great guide! My favourite character is Zosha and this really helps. I have one thing to add, though; Zosha is good at prestige victories. She can buff up her stats, but, more importantly, lie in wait of characters trying to get to the king. This part of her helps her in that respect a lot. But, anyway brilliant guide! Thanks.