1.) As I said earlier tonight on Twitter, the game reminds me of 'Star Wars: Epic Duels' (a board game that I really dig) with a bit more complexity, character advancement, and a campaign mode. Awesome stuff. My hat goes off to all involved. 2.) Having said that, I'm finding the difficulty curve to be a little steep. This isn't my first rodeo. I go all the way back to the original X-COM (and all the way forward to the new XCOM) as far as turn-based strategy goes. Final Fantasy Tactics, Jagged Alliance, Fallout: Tactics... all favorites of mine. But after the tutorial modules, I find myself with three characters: a Level 2 Warrior, a Level 2 Wizard, and a Level 1 Priest. And I can't seem to get any traction with them on the available modules. In case anyone from Blue Manchu is reading this, and have an interest in what I've been trying to do for the purposes of play-balancing, here are the details: I've been trying to play through the Troglodyte Caves (the lowest level module available to me) and I just can't beat the final Trog Shaman. I've probably attempted it about 8 or 9 times, now, and I just get worn down each time. I've tried to use the pillars in the map to my advantage, and that's worked well for me to a degree (limiting the number of attackers that can target my characters on a given turn). I've also used the 'Pass Before Gary Does' trick when I suspect he's out of attack cards, and I want to ensure that I get to play the first card on the next turn. But the Trogs are just too agile with their 'Scramble' cards (which seem to allow them ALL to move at once) and they've got too much range with their spears. The best I've been able to do is kill all but three of them before my characters go down. A few more things I HAVEN'T tried... 1.) Buying Boots. I have armor in my inventory, but none of my characters have armor slots yet. So I COULD buy some boots in the store, which would confer armor cards on my characters. The problem is that by the time I finished the tutorial modules, I was left with 7 gold. This is in spite of the fact that I hadn't bought anything other than the shield that the tutorial asks you to buy. Still, if I sell a few of the weapons I've been keeping in inventory, I'd be able to purchase boots for two of my characters, and even the lightest of armor would probably help. 2.) Moving On to a New Module. The next lowest module level is 3rd. level. So I'd probably have some difficulty with it. But maybe my problem isn't the module level so much as it is the Trogs. I know that Blue Manchu is going for a 'pay what you want' model for picking up new cards and equipment boosts. So maybe THAT'S what's driving the difficulty. But I feel like a smattering of map areas used for the sole purpose of "grinding" your characters would be a tremendous help. In closing: awesome game guys! I'm really enjoying the beta!
By the way.... I'm now seeing a Beta forum, but I can't seem to access it. Anyone from the Beta/Blue Manchu have any hints on how to get in? I'd appreciate it!
I think you're just allowed in, Dog. (Dawg?) I don't have access to the Beta, but can still post. Strange that you who have Beta access would be denied this privelage.
I'm wondering if it's somehow related to the disconnect between my 'game login' and my 'forum login'. Both are tied to the same e-mail address, but apart from that, I'm not sure how they'd be linked (since the names don't match).
Have you...have you tried posting? I don't think there's any connection between game and forum accounts.
I can't even get in to post. I click on the forum link (which looks different from the others) and nothing happens. Maybe it's related to my 'Kobold' user status? I DID just sign up for the forums last night.
That's the case for me, I haven't beaten the Trog Caves, but have taken down both the Wizard and the Demon adventures. I got fed up with getting battered by that last level of the Caves, for sure.
I had the same problem, just play the level 3 modules, they are a lot easier to start with. And come back to this module once you have some armor yourself and some penetration attacks, then it actually becomes pretty easy. Having the right items for the job seems very important, which can be a problem in the beginning.
Phew. Glad to know it's not just me! Thanks for the input, guys. Guess I'll move on to the level 3 modules tonight after work.
Very odd. Is anyone else seeing this? The beta forums are supposed to be open to everyone who has a forum account.
We'll be doing a difficulty tuning pass once we've gathered a bunch of data. It does sound like the level two adventures need tuning down a bit.
You know what? My mistake. I just figured out that the Beta forums actually consist of the 'Questions and Feedback' and 'Bugs' forums, and the pinkish line that says 'Beta' isn't really a forum to click on, but rather, the header for those two forums. (Duh.)
I think a lot of the difficult is due to the monsters having less variety of cards, so they consistently get the same cards depending on the monster. Some monsters are just all offense and get a couple Stabs every draw, goblins always get there blocks and lizardmen netters always get nets and stabs. Right now i have an empty racial slot i havnt found anything to fill with and its giving me 3 walks i REALLY dont want but cant get rid of. Maybe if players could assign priority cards to each character, so that when my dwarf warrior draws 3 cards, at least one will be an attack card because thats his priority, and my priest will always draw at least one Heal, or one one Armor card. Drawing 3 movement cards hurts not that its always useless, but kiting enemies until you can end the turn isnt that fun.
No, that seriously goes against the entire concept of drawing cards randomly from a deck. Bad draws happen. They suck. Sometimes they happen multiple turns in a row. I've gone three rounds with my warrior drawing nothing but movement cards and worthless Flimsy Blocks that can't even activate against the attacks I'm facing. I know it's frustrating, but you're asking to completely abandon a core structure of the game. I really could not be more opposed to that.
Angry Bale Face emphatically (and quite angrily) agrees with you on this. The CARD aspect of CARD Hunter is one of the most appealling things about this game.
