PvE gameplay feedback: Elf Wizard

Good on you for taking the time!

 

Well, I didn't have time to write a more detailed post last time, I just did it to provide a quick list to help with the conversation.
And I actually agree that movement is generally as useful as the additional health the dwarfs get.

Now that I have time to write a more detailed post, here's how I'd classify those maps I mentioned:

Maps where you start surrounded but mobility helps:

trog wizard 1st map
frozen earth 3rd map
shieldhaven 3rd map
viscous tombs 2nd map
pools of slime 1st map

I do agree that moving is quite important on all of these.
The biggest problem is often that as the enemies move in groups and can threaten several heroes at once, it's often impossible to avoid getting painful hits as you only have time to move one of them back before the enemy gets to attack.

Maps where you start surrounded, mobility not very useful:

shieldhaven 4th map
lizard priest 1,2 maps
diamond of the kobolds 1,2,3 maps

The ones I disagree with you on are lizard priest 1st map and kobolds 2nd and 3rd map.

Against the lizards on the first map the enemies will often split and take all three available passages, leaving you with no options except to make a fighting retreat into the small starting room.

Against the kobolds there's just too many enemies to allow for effective movement unless you can whittle down their numbers first (or they do something stupid).

...like the Lunging Bashes the Kobold Avengers use on the second kobold fight

But thanks for your great analysis, it was a lot more than I'd have had time and energy to do!

 

I'd like to share my opinion on elf wizard as well. First of all I will say I've played all dungeons with said wizard and dwarf wizard - in a different setups (warrior + 2 wizards, 2 wizards + cleric, 3 wizards) and my conclusion is as follows:
When it comes to health - it's much more reliable source since you will always benefit from it as well it is guaranteed - the strength of elf wizard comes from his movement which on some maps mean a lot while on others - it is necessarily useless. I feel like with elves you would need to spend more time building a proper deck than with any other race - as well as you would change few things more often as to fit the needs - in my opinion elves are much more micro-oriented (if we can even call it like that in Card Hunter) than others. Are they weaker? Well for someone who 'takes the deck' and plays it surely is the weakest race - as it requires the most managing but in my opinion they are perfectly fine and they shine on certain maps more than anyone else.

 

Sure. I think by this point we're down to nitty-gritty details, so even if we disagree on 3 (out of HOW MANY?), we nonetheless agree that mobility is usually useful.

As Gabbek points out, of course, HP is ALWAYS useful. At least until Blue Manchu adds cards that say "This card deals damage equal to one-quarter the target's Health. You Heal this amount" and "Attach to target. Halt. Duration is 1 round for every 5 Health target has at time of attachment" and "If target has more Health than you, deal damage equal to the amount of difference, up to a maximum of 10. If this card deals any damage, draw 2 cards."

. . . Huh. Those suggestions would need balancing, but I like them. I'd use that middle one (the "Halt" one) on large enemies.

Anyway, because I like thinking strategically, I'll just give my take on the disagreements:

This is similar to facing Troglodytes in the second battle of Beneath the Frozen Earth or the first battle of Throne of Strench: I consider the effective use of a choke point (limiting the enemy numbers; preventing them from layering themselves usefully; forcing them to move to conform to your strategy, e.g., by running after you; etc.) to be "maneuvering."

Ugh, I forgot they had that card! Well, I cited the second battle of Diamonds of the Kobolds because of the victory squares: there are few enough Kobolds that you might be able to fake them out and maneuver. I know that I've used their pushback effect to my own advantage on the squares once or twice. The level is strategically ambiguous, and it looks like other players agree (trying a variety of strategies), so I ultimately labeled it "depends on strategy" and called it good.

Then, for the third, I found another thing that makes strategy ambiguous: the unique pattern of corridors and difficult terrain. The terrain is sparse and predictable. By using enemy AI, you can force the blobs (of Kobolds) to run around as you see fit. When I first played it, I got lucky and pinned one group (non-Avengers) early on. Then the Avengers approached as usual, while the third group still slogged through difficult terrain. I killed the first group, and from there the math was easy: two minion groups, three corridor paths, and an untouchable party.

 

Sir Knight's already got most of my points covered, so I'll just note that I have indeed used all of the race/class character combinations and I find them relatively balanced. Because of the necessity for close encounters I'd say the Elf Warrior is probably the worst overall choice in the early levels, but he's certainly usable. The Elf Wizard... is a part of my main party. I've gotten a lot of use out of her and have never regretted taking her into any battle instead of a different race of wizard. She has pulled my doughy hind quarters out of more problems than I can brandish a spear at, and specifically because of her movement she has often performed far better in adventures than her human and dwarf counterparts.

More HP is always nice, but even through the late teens the HP difference is small - an amount that is breached in one or maybe two (weak) attacks. As noted in the first post there is only a 6 HP difference between the dwarf and elf wizards at level 10. By level 10, just how many of the NPCs even have attacks that do less than 6 damage?

Does she have problems? Sure. When the map is too constricted for effective maneuvering or the entire map is suddenly engulfed in acorns. But then the dwarf wizard is equally dead in those same scenarios. It just might take another hit. Can that one extra hit give you the time you need to pull out a victory? Of course! Will it? Well, that depends...