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Beginner's Guide written by a noob

Av TolkienCat

I wrote this a few hours into the game while the noob-ness was still fresh.

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TolkienCat
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Languages: English

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9 jan, 2023 @ 1:44

12 jan, 2023 @ 17:27

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Guideindex

Överblick

General Tips

Locations

Shock - the most OP thing in the game

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General Tips

Play your first game on easy mode. All your characters start at level 0 or 1, no special cards have been unlocked, and you don't know what you're doing.
In your first game, if you go to the Green area, you don't have a character using Green/Nature abilities, which might backfire if you get artifacts that synergize with green/Nature.
[There's a lot of cool poison and other effects in that area--don't get me wrong, it's a great area. ]
If you go to the Purple/Void area, you don't have anyone using that color (or Hexes), either.
But it's pure RNG what artifacts you get. And you will have 3 choices so you can always ignore the ones that don't apply and hope that 1 of the 3 is good.
[bWorld Quests [/b] After you pick your starting area the game will offer you 3 World Map quests.
--Reroll to get them all 3 in whatever starting area you picked! (For your first game or two.)
--If you DON'T get all 3 to match like a slot machine, then just start over and do it again; it only takes a few seconds to retry.
--If you mix and match, you want to at least make sure that the requirements for other locations are doable. Explore 1-5 locations on each side is fine; destroy 30 enemies in 2 different Provinces is impossible.
Once you know the game better, you may ignore this. One good reason to explore the "whole" world is to find more shrines and gold battles.
Elusive These are the things (usually a turtle?) that show up when you KO someone.
If you hit them, they give you gold. If you KO them, they give you even more gold.
Do fill all 14 card slots, don't try to make a smaller deck for better "efficiency."
The first ult slot enhances the ult effect. The second ult spot reduces the cost, so it is a very important slot to fill.
The "Items" you get (usually a potion) are infinite, but can be used only once per combat. Always use them each combat.
Around Turn 15 you need to make sure you are going to accomplish your missions. I mention this because "killing 30 enemies" can be very difficult in your first playthrough or two.
(Especially if you are doing a lot of Event/Balloon hexes and not fighting enemies.)
Or if the mission is to explore 15 hexes in a second territory (because you didn't make the slot machine match).
BEFORE it's time to do the sub-boss visit my Boss Guide to help you choose what to bring and who to fight.
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/app/1056840/guides/
The barrel fights.
When you finally knock someone out, the barrel will appear. The fight will never end until you kill that barrel--it doesn't matter how many times you knock out the other enemies.
If you are in a position to save a damage Ult before the barrel appears (after KO'ing an enemy) you should do so.
There is only ONE barrel the whole mission and if you happen to knock out 2 enemies at the same time, it will appear in both lanes and it shares HP.
If you can do area damage to "two" barrels it will take the damage twice.
It does NOT share status effects/debuffs, those only accumulate in each lane until it goes away.
Survive 4 rounds" fights:
Exactly what it says. If you are defensive-minded you don't ever need to do a single point of damage, the mission will end as soon as that turn ends.

--If you KO an enemy, they come back!
There is effectively NO HEALING when you start this game, you have to manage all damage through Shield and locations that heal.
You ideally want everyone to be at -20 (or exactly one character at -40) before wasting a turn on Healing.
When the Cataclysm comes, if your team is healthy, keep doing more cool stuff until you are forced to fight the sub-boss.
If they are in trouble then you need to heal them, obviously.
This is one of the main reasons to explore a lot, it gives you more options toward the end as they keep getting closed off. (Also a good reason to have a lot of gold!)
If you are reliant on Burn with Aurora, be sure to look at major fights or major enemies before it starts to see which ones have Cleanse and so forth.
Another common thing is enemies which penalize small direct damage attacks (i.e., multi-shot).
So in some cases you may have to change your deck (if you have enough cards) or just plan on swapping places to get the right personnel in the right lane to counter the ongoing abilities of the enemies (or whatever is in their deck).
Don't forget to reserve some turns for doing Shards and possibly Healing before the cataclysm

--Go to the Shards that are "harder" to get to first.
That is to say, the Shard with the fewest points of entry.
When the cataclysm comes, they will be the most likely to be closed off.
Rarity (Gray) -> Green -> Blue -> Purple -> Gold -> Red
--Gold is Legendary and you can only have ONE COPY of a given Gold card

Red is heirloom, which you get from Shards)
That's what that extra Artifact slot is for on your character sheet, and the Heirlooms range from good to amazing. There are better (game breaking) gold artifacts but the red Heirlooms come with a free slot and are tailored to your character.
Never refuse a "bad" artifact of good rarity in exchange for gold, you can take it to an Oracle and Transmute.
When you are ready to try your first Shard be aware that after the fight you will get 20 HP back for free.
If you are offered a Campsite that's up to you, if you want to upgrade a card.
But if you are offered a Shrine, and you have a good team (or a defensive one that can survive the HP loss or whatever the negative effect is), then you should ALWAYS do it. You don't earn the Shrine until after the fight, but shrine powers are VERY powerful and synergistic--the more the merrier.
If a boss is going to Stun you, try to get Leon to take it; possibly in a side lane with Taunt, or else use his Ult (to activate multiple Immunes for the 2 turns).
When a character is stunned, you can still move them out of the way using someone else's Action Points.
When a character is rooted, you cannot.
So when the Stun comes, Leon takes it.
Then you move him out of the way to do your DPS.
Then someone moves him back, like dusting a shelf with a statue.
(Just be sure to save the AP necessary)
The middle lane is generally where you want your buffer/tank.
It takes all area damage, always. And of course it can play ranged cards (some buffs are ranged) in both adjacent lanes.
--On the other hand, it is also a great spot for a melee (cards with 1 arrow, not 3 arrows) character who creates Shock. (Ranged characters can do this from either side.)
IF YOU TAUNT AN AOE to the middle from a side lane, it will go from hitting only 2 team members to hitting all 3.
Immunity is poorly written. Immunity allows you to "ignore" damage, so ignoring DoT (dam. over time) would be good, right?
Nope--it means that it has no effect on damage stacks!
But it does free up your shield to deal with those stacks.
Shard battles You only have to defeat the main villain in the middle lane to end the scenario.
(This is also true of the big bosses, but not as practical to try.)
After you beat the sub-boss and go to fight the main boss (Akhan) it gives you three free hexes:
Capital
Buy/upgrade Cards
Buy Artifacts
When you do the Main Boss (Arkhan) try to kill the lieutenants ASAP.
Then you can take turns in the middle lane while the other lanes "rest" and clear the negative cards (Confusion, Insanity, etc) from their decks.

But you MUST clear them or they will overwhelm your deck.

You may want to edit your decks for cards with lower cost (-2 AP per character) or with card draw (or Haste) to help you cycle around them initially.

[Guide written at 20 hours of gameplay.]

Locations

Many locations give you 1 thing for free, but then you have to pay for additional uses at that location. This is why you want some gold reserve before you go.

WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE GOLD
Event (Word Balloon) - Gold is often useful usually 100 or 200.
----Generally better to Fight and get Essence, gold, and ability cards (or possibly artifacts if it's an Elite fight--the gold shield). But for your first couple games it's fine, you will want to check them out for curiosity's sake.
Alchemist (Potion bottle) You'll get one Item for free and can purchase more for about 200 each (standard pricing). Go with 250 gold, one Item is bound to be good
Outpost (Minions) - Wait until you have 400 gold or so. You get 1 for free but can buy more.
--Amazing when you are learning the game, even the common ones; also amazing with certain artifacts and characters
The Capital can heal your whole party for 20 HP or you can upgrade cards (costs increase with each purchase). Try to put off the Capital until you have a lot of gold.
--Note 1: You gain access to a Capital right before the Boss, so save money for it, as well.
--Note 2: Capitals do not generate Threat, so you can visit them after the Cataclysm.
End bosses
--Gold allows you to upgrade things before the ultimate boss Akhan

NO GOLD NECESSARY
Campsites will heal your whole party for 20 HP or one person for 40...theoretically you might do the 40 HP thing with Leon.
Shrines. Permanent passive buffs.
Always go immediately. Although you COULD wait to see what artifacts you have for synergy purposes.
Chests - Always pick up all chests immediately
Gray Crossed Swords/ Basic Battles Do a lot of these in your first game to get gold and new Abilities (cards) and learn how the game works.
You do NOT get artifacts here, which stinks, and you only get 1 Essence.
Elite Battle (Gold Shield)
Don't attempt this until all your characters have full decks (improved Ults).
You will likely want/need a bit than just 14 "basic" cards, such as a Shrine benefit, Artifact synergy or Allies or a couple Items. Or some good/upgraded more-rare abilities.
Shard - Best loot, period, but very hard.
--On your first playthrough wait until around Turn 26 then try to do them while reserving a turn to Heal.
--Or don't attempt one at all, just go to the sub-boss after the Cataclysm. They are very hard your first game. IMO if you are going to lose, you should at least see how a boss works before you end the game.
--But definitely do attempt them in your other games! They are crucial.
Card Pile (+3 cards for 1 character)
--Acquire cards from gray fights [gaining gold and Essence] until 1 character is short 3 cards to fill out their deck, then use this
Oracle (Ability upgrades) upgrade Cards
--"Transmute" raises the rarity of an item then gives you 3 new ones to pick one
--You only get one free offer then it disappears, you can't buy extra
--Don't go until you have better cards that are worth upgrading (preferably blue or purple or gold)

Shock - the most OP thing in the game

Shock does NOT work like Hex /Burn /Poison.
You first apply a stack of Shock then must attack the enemy to activate it.
The shock is AoE and doesn't run out through usage (next turn it all goes away).
AoE = Area of Effect
The target also takes the base attack damage (or more targets if it is also AOE).
Once you try Shock, you will understand why everyone plays on harder difficulties.
And other reasons, of course.

3 kommentarer

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chemkid 24 sep, 2023 @ 21:55

oh yes! your guide is totally gold!! first time runner here.
followed your guide and 6h 50m 29s later i'm the proud winner of my first run!
ok, i took my time. casual mode and all... kept shards and elite battles for past turn 20.
lots of fun! especially with your guide. thanks again!

normal battles: 14, elite battles: 2, shard battles: 1, boss battles: 2
battle time 3h 29m 27s

seed: 120725651

cheers!

chemkid 24 sep, 2023 @ 0:43

thank you very much!

SgtNoGlory 21 apr, 2023 @ 12:45

Honestly, this guide is still very relevant! This'll get you started well :)

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