Add difficulty settings.

I'm getting bored of spending hours on end trying to pass one mission and its starting to happen constantly because the levels are so poorly balanced later on. I get to Attack of the War Monkeys and suddenly theres not even a tactic to killing them, you just have to somehow hope to draw all your most powerfuil cards exactly when you need them? Because fighting them all at once is not workign and I cant pick them off because they ahve a victory location. Getting bored of this game fast now. I would invite my friend to come and gelp me but of course that just makes the game harder. Fantastic. Yawn.

 

I would offer to complete any modules(excluding the legendary level 18 ones) with a 1/1/1 party that only uses commons of the level or below to demonstrate that it is easily doable but you wouldn't care.

 

I was about to suggest you co-op with this guy, but noticed it was you.

 

Here's a suggestion based on your feedback:

Perhaps it's time for you to stop dwelling in the cellar and go take a long, relaxing walk outside. Clearly, this game isn't for you.

 

No perhaps they should add a difficulty setting so I can play the game without spending a ****ing whole day on each quest. Return to The Astral Shrine level 2 is completely ******ed. But what else should I expect. the last 10 or so quests have all been overpowered.

 

Don't you see a disconnect between your experience and the experiences of every other player who has replied in the various threads you've started?

You're the strong (virtually sole) minority in thinking that the game is unbalanced. Everyone else I encounter comes to realize that it's not a terribly difficult game, but it is tremendously enjoyable if its intricacies happen to be your cup of tea.

The thing with Card Hunter is that you have to stop and think about each adventure or treasure hunt. Plan out your battles. You can't just rush in gun's a blazin' and hope to overpower every enemy. If you find yourself struggling with a particular battle/quest, check out the wiki! Every adventure and treasure hunt is mapped out on the wiki. You can see what enemies you'll be facing and what cards they'll be holding. A majority of the time, there are even hints included. If you take the time to study this information, you can always head into a battle prepared to take on whatever the bad guys are going to throw at you. The key is: ADAPT! What worked in the previous battle is likely not going to work in the next.

Personally, I find the variability of CH to be one of its most charming attributes. If you don't feel the same way, then, again, I don't think this is the game for you.

 

May I ask how long you've been playing?

I'm far from an elitist, I assure you. I started playing less than a month or so ago. I'm only about halfway through the campaign (currently have a 1/1/1 party at level 12). Thus far, I've only played SP as I'm afraid I'll get owned in MP. I don't think we're too far apart in terms of familiarity with the game and/or skillset. I just think you'd enjoy the game more if you relaxed a little and didn't have such a negative outlook.

For what it's worth, I don't agree that a difficulty setting is necessary. The game never gets so hard that you absolutely cannot beat it unless you're some ungodly talented hyper-nerd with every card in the game at your disposal. It just takes patience.

 

Sorry folks, deleting posts with too much flaming/obscenity. Celladwella can post if he wants to be civil.

 

Patience? Spending 2 days on a level isnt patience? And how dare you flexative. All i want is a difficulty setting so i can continue playing the damn game but everyone here shoots down my idea so it will get no recognition and I will have to quit. So like i already said.... Thanks a lot for killing the game for me just because you lot find it personally easy enough yourselves. A difficulty setting wouldnt change anything for you guys but whatever keep the game elitist ill just quit. Every single level is taking me hours on end of constant retrys at this point. Its not challenging its just an uphill struggle. Games rigged anyway. I put tons of attacks in my decks but harddly draw any when i need them. To add to that my cards just dissappear for mo reason. Sometimes when i attack the game just steals another attack card from my hand for no reason. I'm done with all this cryptic rubbish and being talked to like a noob just for not being a dungeons and dragons master strategist.

I can see whats happened here, the same thing that happens in EVERY F2P GAME EVER, it starts off simple and addictive and then suddenly the difficulty ramps up in an unreasonable curve and the player is expected to pay for some kind of advantage to win. Of course you guys are going to say its easy to make yourselves look "pro" and its completely childish. You guys know full well that not everybody is an expert as these games like yourself and you know full well that its not as easy for everyone else as it is for you. But you just want the game to stay really hard so you can feel big about the fact that you beat it.

I wouldn't mind paying some money for the game itself and then never having to fork out again but I'm not going to buy stuff to help me win a level and then have to buy more stuff again a few levels later. I highly disrespect that formula because the costs are re-occurring.

 

I would recommend reading the cards the enemy plays. Monkeys have one attack that does a ton of bonus damage if it hits you from behind, and another attack that steals cards from your hand if it hits you from behind. So, the strategy here is...don't let them hit you from behind. They're very mobile, so that can be tough (and they love to use Acrobatic Flip blocks to point your backs at them)...try to keep your characters bunched together and with their backs to a wall.

 

Yup. The randomness comes in rolls and in the ordering of cards in a deck -- not in things happening "for no reason".

War Monkeys do have the Pickpocket card, which operates how it sounds -- if it hits from behind the target (and it is very important to understand what the game counts as 'behind' vs. 'front'...), it will steal a card.

Using Savage Curse will boost your per-card-played damage, at the cost of sacrificing your oldest card per attack played. Using Controlled Overswing will cost you an additional card. Certain attachments like Mind Leak can cause you to lose cards under certain conditions. This is all explained in card text, so if you're not reading cards, you WILL miss critical mechanics (*). There's a reason the game will, by default, pause to show you a card when you encounter it for the very first time.

Rule of thumb -- if something odd happened like your character being moved for you instead of you being allowed to choose a destination, it was caused by a card (such as Maze Of The Mind in the hand of a nearby enemy, or a Hypnotic Beacon attached to a tile next to you).

(* ) although there are certain odd interactions, like Blind Rage apparently triggering the armor card Toughness, even though Blind Rage notes that its damage cannot be prevented by armor. Toughness is an immunity-to-everything card rather than a normal damage-reduction-by-fixed-amount armor, so maybe that's wy.

 

I kinda agree with this. Difficulty settings would help retain newer players with very minimal effect on more veteran players. Even something like a 75% hp mode with lesser rewards would help.

 

Hey cellar dwella fella

I used to have exact same frustrations as you. I even had games where I spent so much good on retries until i had no gold left when i got to last mission and died and had so much frustration I nearly broke my cheap mouse hitting it.

I didn't even know there was a CH forum. I just had to be patient and stick with farming lower levels for better items, and avoiding hard ones. Using the Forum here you can at least find advice and strategy for specific adventures, general advice for improving your play, and even strategy guides, like this excellent one:

http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/cardhunter-sp-and-co-op-101.7521/#post-92180

(The guy that wrote this is a bloody genius

Also I recommend taking breaks every so often, so you hit those hard adventures refreshed and with fresh beverage-of-choice at the ready.
Take it from me, Playing CH while angry is a recipe for more anger.

Or try watching various replays on youtube or through the forums here, I think Neoncat has some good ones of his low to mid-level sp pwnage. But whatever you do, don't be intimated by his high speed and skill, this game takes time to get good and even more time to master.

Re- F2P game ultimately beig exploitative- I've been playing this game for months at a high level without paying a cent, you can do same. But lately I chose to buy an expansion both for sweet items and adventures and to thank the devs for the game.

Finally Don't forget most of the folks here are friendly if a bit self-assured at times , but ultimately they write from experience to help. Good luck

 

I agree with the OP, Cardhunter is quite hard. But I don't think a difficulty setting will be the solution. Considering that difficulty settings don't affect the good player experience is a dream, we all have felt frustration on some levels. With a difficulty setting, we may have decreased it and miss the gaming experience. Also, a difficulty setting would cause issue with the loot: giving less loot would mean that you will end up under equipped, increasing the difficulty if you go back to normal one.

 

More precisely, while players in their first run through do sometimes find it hard adjusting to Melvelous, then to the mid-level ooze stages, then to Black Forest/Gnome stages, after a few tries they managed it fine.
[We'll exclude Treasure Hunts from that list, since they appear to be intended to be more challenging, and aren't relevant to campaign progression.]

Which leads to three facts:

1. Most players complain about modules being *too easy*, which is one of the several factors that has PvE-oriented players pushing for challenging, repeatable content.
   
2. What's with this assumption you have to be able to beat a stage the first go-through? Nevermind the need to adjust strategy and builds is core to a tactics game, but where the heck is the sense of achievement if you don't have to put effort in?
   Heck, I'd have preferred the modules have been more challenging the first run through, but I totally respect the current, more accessible setup
   Besides, I had AotA2, that definitely gave me a nice challenge the first run through!
   [Or, rather, the first 7 runs through, for the last stage of Troll Tyrant. >.>]
   As much as people half-gripe about AotA2, and while it's not a chain I'd like to run repeatedly, it WAS really fun to work my way through, the first time.
   Which brings me to:
   
   
3. At some point you need to review how you're addressing tactics. Either start adjusting how you play, or start [respectfully] asking advice and learning from what you're given.
   Tactics games are all about learning and adjusting
   
   If you want an easy game, then it becomes less a personal preference matter, and more of a 'the entire genre of tactical-RPGs is overwhelmingly going to disappoint you'.
   [You'll definitely never want to play a Shining Force game, in any case ]
   
   The genre is primarily based around adjusting tactics ['cause, y'know, it's in the genre name and all, so I guess the developers feel obligated or something. Silly developers.] to respond to new encounters, threats, and situations.
   
   It's FINE to have trouble doing that, at first.
   And heck, it's fine to have trouble doing that LATER.
   The thing is, though, griping about something we can't change, only troubles us, and doesn't accomplish anything.
   Moreover, if you're not having fun with elements core to the genre, you should probably consider another genre.
   [especially since CardHunter is one of the easier tactical-RPGs I've played :X]

 

As a player who's only been playing on Steam, since just before Aloyzo 1 (3 months?), I've already beaten the level 19 place (Metal Monstrosity). None of this was because I paid money. I haven't put a single cent in. (Just too broke until Xmas).
Main thing with this game us same as any rpg: when you're dtuck, go back and grind. The first time I fought skeletons, I was mad! I'd built a stabbing elf warrior, and a buff human priest. My dwarf wiz was the only thing that could do damage!
I was forced to replay levels until I got a few Rotting Clubs, etc to get me through. It was annoying, but expected in games like this. It's why we're given such a variety of loot!

 

You can also build up the non-damagers as blockers and use them as distractions/sacrifices, and then just use positioning and movement on the character able to do damage.
That'll get you through most maps without needing to grind

[It's also why the earlier comment Cella made about co-op being harder is flawed; 2-player co-op is considered easier to run on most maps, due to the improved ability to maneuver. :X]

AotA2 aside, Black Oaken Heart and Riddle of the Gnomes were the two main campaign maps that both gave me a bit of trouble my first few attempts on them
I think everyone has a handful of different stages that- by chance of their loot drops, or by their playstyle preference- is harder on them, their first run in.

Which is also a strong point toward the 'maps aren't imbalanced, they just need people to adapt differently' points made by others in this thread

 

Exactly my point. I learned that my stab elf didn't work against skeletons, so I adapted. Of course, getting the loot you want can be a hassle, at times.

 

DunDunDun mentioned modules actually being "*too easy*" which also recommends a difficulty level (to make the game harder). There could be an easier mode and a more difficult mode with some currency/token to distinguish between them (but not by loot rewards).

 

The current quest system acts as a more difficult mode. While some aren't necessarily harder (no-death quests are probably on the easier side, generally) some are brutal (like the "every player character has 1 hp" quests) and are likely to challenge even very skilled players.