Thoughts on the Expansion?

Which of course is the whole reason they're doing this. I assume no one is buying the old parties (or they regret it if they do).

 

Yes, when I was new I bought the Starter packs because I thought Epics were the highest you could get and therefore Rares were worthwhile. I spent 300 pizza buying all the Starter Packs and accidentally thought I deleted one so I bought it again... lol. Oh well... I just think selling specific (and OP) Epics with pizza is silly. Whiteglow Flail is the Priest's Lochaber...

 

The level 18s have some of my most favorite designs for monsters, but I personally dislike the levels.

Difficulty on some of these levels really seems to just come down to drawing the cards you need at the same time as having the AI not draw the cards it needs. After 10 defeats I beat the troll boss dues to the AI being dumb, still fighting the dragon and trying to draw just the right combination of cards to deal with blocks/armor/encumber all at the same time. I only draw 2 cards a turn, so eventually it just feels like the strategy drops away as I wait for the cherry's to line up on the slot machine.

I'll beat em, it won't feel like I solved anything, I'll just have gotten lucky or exploited the AI. And sadly I expect that I'll have little to no reason to every replay these. I'd put a wager down that a level like temple of scales probably had some of the lowest number of SP replays, meaning it essentially has the least return on investment for the development time. I guess i don't understand why that was the model for the new SP content?

 

Yeah, the level designs (like a lot of the levels before the expansion) feel really binary. Either you win by a lot or lose by a lot depending on the enemy draws. Having cards that give complete immunity (like Resistant Hide) just feel weird.

I've found that simply staying away from the enemy, passing a ton, and getting the right set of cards is the best strategy. Kind of lame that the best strategy is to stall and stall and stall, but that's kind of what happens in a binary scenario.

The scenarios themselves were very interesting and some of the battles were fun and unique (hooray for Mind Flensers), but a few of them (Rust Monsters, Stirges, Umber Bulks) were either so lopsided they weren't fun. I'd like to see the enemy's deck be smaller and thus more predictable. It would reduce the variance and increase the fun in building a team to counter the enemy instead of simply waiting to get lucky.

 

I would agree wholeheartedly with your comments Stexe. After beating my head against the dragon for 30minutes, I realize that I am just about done with this game. If the best that BM can offer is a critter with nothing but card wasting cards (toughness, perfect block, a breath weapon that removes buffs), then I think the game is about done for me. I was really looking forward to this expansion and I feel like I've set my sights WAY too high. From what I have seen, you just have to alter your build once or twice during each mission and you are on easy street again. With the exception of the dragon, due to the fact that he wastes your cards while he waits for 1 of his 2 almighty hacks. Not sure if I will fall asleep in bed or at the keyboard waiting for the "correct" draw so I never have to play these missions again....15 dollars I will never get back. But! I have learned that this is no longer a place I feel the need to spend time.

 

Eh, you got a lot more for the $15 than the missions. Also, I'm not sure it is as bad as you're making it out to be. You really do need specialized decks to beat these characters and you can't do it on your first try without insane luck, but I wouldn't say they are bad enough to completely quit.

Leagues are fun and the new items and cards will add a bit to multiplayer. Granted, I do think the missions and cards need a major balance overhaul, which might be enough to get someone to quit -- but hopefully Jon will be open to balances changes when the meta stabilizes again in a month? If not then I'll probably be quitting too... :-P

EDIT: I actually just beat the White Dragon on my first try with a new build. It is a Dwarven Adventuring Party consisting of: NS + Oblit Blud + Vibrant Plate Warrior, Armor Shred + Imp Nimbus + Team Heal Priest, Boiling Armor + Lightning + Acid Wizard.

First kill the stupid Hammer, it should take you a turn or two since it is easy. Then you need to bait the dragon in with an Imp Nimbus (wait until he uses his breath or until you have 2 of them ready). Then waste a weak attack on him (to pull Toughness and Blocks). Use Boiling Armor to remove all the armor and any additional Toughness. Then NS + Oblit Bludg over and over.

I had more problem with the Elder Mind (probably because I use too many attachments and Dwarves... so I had to switch everything to teleport to get near him) and with the Stirges (stupid Res Hide is so dumb in that it makes almost all Wizards useless) than with anything else.

 

I've just completed the last scenario, and I strongly disagree with the "drawing the cards you need and having AI not drawing the cards it needs". This game is a CCG, and the random draw will always matter, but if you build your decks better, your chances will greatly increase. I've enjoyed all the battles, even the hopeless ones with my current decks, since I always had the ideas how to defeat them, and did right that on the second or third run.
I've used my usual farming party of two Firestorm wizards and one supporting priest. Trolls were the most difficult for me, as I had some non-fire damage, especially Cone Of Cold. After I removed them and added more SPRs, I've defeated them. I hate Storges for their Resistant Hide and blood sucking, but I've put enough armor-dissolving cards and burned them to hell. Yes, I had to retry some scenarios three or even 4 times, but I've never was "stuck", and I cannot say that I've won due to the pure luck. Think a bit, and the luck will smile on you

I've enjoyed the new scenarios a lot, even those I've initially cursed and screamed at. Do you really want the weak scenarios without any serious challenge? I don't like the "living weapons" that I've received, but I've got a legendary treasure and a lot of other treasures for 1500 gold total, and the final battle provided me Shieldripper as a club reward!

Edit: fixed Storges

 

It's Storges, by the way. Let's keep those invented fantasy names straight .

 

Thanks Jarmo, I've fixed that.

 

Yeah, Storges! Not Stirges at all, nope not at all.

And I do think the final boss wasn't THAT bad. It is kind of annoying due to the duration of the slows and the sheer number of redirecting blocks, but outside of that I didn't really find it to be that bad.

 

I've defeated the dragon at my 2nd attempt, and that was much easier (to me) than Trolls or Storges. Redirecting blocks were wasted on my Dissolve Armor, then I've discarded all dragon's cards with SPRs and killed it with combined burning, terrain effects and melee attacks of my priest. I've played Bless and Inspiring Presence that provided me tremendous card advantage.

 

I enjoyed the new monsters quite a lot, and was was forced to change my deck constantly, but that is what we should expect, shouldn't we? I agree that it can come down to luck, but as you build a tighter deck with the correct tech, the luck factor will decrease. I honestly thought there was a bug when on the second part of Black Plume I got blasted for 24 damage, then I read the card again and just sacked up and adjusted. After tweaking my team I did just fine.

I remember way back when I first started playing that Compass of Xorr was similarly frustrating until I had an "ah-ha!" monent and packed some Firestorms into my deck. It is nothing new that the higher-level single player modules are serious deck-building challenges. I think maybe we have become complacent after getting to know the original modules through repeated replays, and are now suddenly frustrated that we can't beat these new ones on the first play through. I am scared to face any "quest" versions of these nasty level 18 modules.

I also think that with the new cards it's just too early to tell. I hear talk of power creep, but I have yet to see anything more powerful than Vibrant Pain. I don't know if it's power creep when under-powerd cards get new versions that suck less (I have long thought that the problem isn't so much that VP is so good, but that there were not comparably powerful items to compete with VP and its archetypes). I am curious to see if someone can build a top-tier flame deck with the new cards. I do see an attempt in the new cards to make fire decks more viable and therefore bolster the usefulness of armor (notice the accompanying anti-armor tech). I am excited to see what happens next!

 

Couldn't agree more. The new 7-9 adventures are for the unwashed masses , the level 18 stuff is meant to be a serious challenge. They are doable after all, I'm sure people will come up with party setups winning them 90%+.

 

I like how opponents firestorm eats up my clock. So much for stall tactics as a chance to win in waterways

 

You can click through firestorm.

 

There is massive levels of power creep right below the best of the best (like Lochaber and VP). I have a list of the old vs. new and their color / rarity / availability... it is totally power creep no question about it.

I am curious to see how some of the Elf cards change up the meta a bit. I never did get to test them on the test server, but I did test the rest of the content and really only Sliding Boots and Twisting Shield were things to change the game at the highest tier.

 

Wait, have you changed your mind and the old color/rarity/availability of the original cards are all correct and balanced? Seems like you can't really compare them, and you wanted to buff a bunch of cards not too long ago (hard to see how that is not power creep), but now it's a problem?

I am going to hold out hope that your few weeks of playing on the test server is not enough time to give us a definitive judgment on the new cards. How many weeks after release of the older cards was 3DC built? Divide & Conquer? I am an optimist and hope that in time someone clever will come up with something new. I have also wondered if there are still undiscovered archetypes in the old cards. Seems unlikely, but who knows what is enabled by the new cards? I am gonna wait a while before I declare the sky is falling, or is the floor rising when it's power creep?

 

It is power creep because instead of fixing the old content it is releasing new content that is the same but better. Why not just buff the old stuff instead of forcing people to re-collect things to get the newer, better things?

And I came up with the "Divide & Conquer" strategy in the beta with WW/WWE and Axes (didn't have access to NS, Vicious Thrust, or Dancing Cut). So who knows.

I'm still holding out on seeing how things will change and what new stuff might become popular, but so far I haven't seen anything except a slight rise in Elf and Twisting Shield use. I've gone through essentially every item and every new card by now and nothing has jumped out.

 

You may well be right, too. I'm just hopeful that there's something else ahead. I'm also curious about the mini-metagames that will develop around the BYOD leagues, especially as more of the new cards filter into the game. I'll be looking to do some testing soon...

 

I'm hopeful there is something to mix up the meta and bring diversity back to builds... but I don't see it yet.

And I definitely love the mini-metagames with Leagues. That's really the most interesting thing that will keep the game fresh at this point.