by maxixe
Who is the intended target audience of this article?This article is intended for those who had played a couple of games of Descent 2.0. If you have never played Descent 2.0, you probably will not understand the content of this article. If you have already played many games of Descent 2.0, you may already know these. Or probably have even better ideas.
What is the purpose of this article?
I have played quite a number of games of Descent 2.0. And I love it. It's currently my number one game. I hope to share some of my insights of the game with new players. If at least one of these tips improves the gaming experience of one player, and make the session more enjoyable, I would have achieved my objective.
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6 tips to make Descent 2.0 more enjoyable
1. Overlord as game master
Give chanceAs an experienced Overlord, I had crushed newbie heroes in First Blood. At least 4 or 5 occasions. And by crush, I mean unapologetically, unmercifully, take-no-prisoners sort of crush. I felt bad about it. I still feel bad about it. It's just that when you're in game-mode, your animal instinct takes over your EQ.
Which is why now when I play First Blood, I always give chance.
And I feel this is the best point to begin this article. I play game to have fun. Crushing new heroes in First Blood is not fun. It's sadistic. If you think about it, the reward for both sides is exactly the same. Win or lose, both gets 1 XP. So why kill fun for new players?
The best method I use to moderate this is to control usage of your Overlord cards. If you find the heroes are one step away from feeling of devastation, hold on to your Overlord cards. You really do not need to use them. The heroes do not know what you have in your hand, so it's easier to get away with cheating this way. Have that Frenzy card? Hold on to it. Have Dark Charm? Put it face-down on the table. Have Dash? Pretend that its another useless card by shaking your head in frustration.
At the end of the day, think of the Overlord as a game master. And when you lose the encounter, have the quiet satisfaction that you let the heroes win.
Enjoyment of all outweighs enjoyment of oneNow lets get a little abstract. No, this section has nothing to do with Reiner Knizia.
Say you are playing a 5 players game. 4 heroes. 1 Overlord. Say you play a total of 10 games. Each player gains 1 unit of happiness when they win a game.
If heroes win 5 games, Overlord wins 5 games... You have 4 heroes multiply by 5 wins, plus 1 Overlord multiply by 5 wins. Total equals 25 units of happiness.
If heroes win 2 games, Overlord wins 8 games... You have 4 heroes multiply by 2 wins, plus 1 Overlord multiply by 8 wins. Total equals 16 units of happiness.
If heroes win 8 games, Overlord wins 2 games... You have 4 heroes multiply by 8 wins, plus 1 Overlord multiply by 2 wins. Total equals 34 units of happiness.
See? When the heroes win more, as a group, there is more total units of happiness.
What do you mean? Are you trying to tell me to throw my game? Yes, that is exactly what I am trying to say. Again, we play games to have fun. A campaign where the Overlord wins 80% of the time is not as fun as a campaign where the heroes win 80% of the time. Be the one to sacrifice for the greater good. The enjoyment of all outweighs the enjoyment of one.
But if I lose 80% of the time, I am not having fun! True. Which is why when I'm playing Descent 2.0, I'm in game-master-mode. When you're a game master, it is perfectly okay that the heroes win at the end of the game. Which sadistic game master kills his heroes repeatedly? I happen to know one, back in the days I was playing D&D. Dark memories.
Having said all these, if you are playing a 2 players game of Descent 2.0, all bets are off. Go all out. No holds barred. Kill kill kill!
Rule in players' favorNo matter how many times you read the rulebooks or the FAQs, there will come times of rule dispute.
Sometimes, it is easy to prove the correct rule. But many times, it falls into the gray area. What I find most effective, is to always think of the situation thematically first. And if that fails, rule in the players favor.
There are many advantages to this. One, you save time. This keeps the pace of the game going. Two, you earn cookie points with the other players. It's telling them that you are "fair". Three, it aligns with our previous two motto of giving chance to the players. Killing three (3!) birds with one stone. Not bad!
After the game session, you can then come to BGG to search for the correct ruling.
1. Overlord as game master wrote:
Give chance Enjoyment of all outweighs enjoyment of one Rule in players' favor2. Never give up, never surrender
Accept huge swingsThis is something that I find only after playing many games of Descent 2.0. It's that in a typical game of Descent, it will feel like the advantage swings heavily to either sides many times within a game.
I played the Overlord, I played the heroes. Same feeling, every time.
I thought about this for many days. I come to the verdict that Descent 2.0, more so than any other tactical skirmish game I've played, gives players the feeling of overwhelming swings of advantage. When something bad happens, it's like someone actually casted a Crushing Despair spell on you.
Ever rolled two misses ("X") back-to-back? Ever had your master monster killed in one turn without having the chance to do anything with it? Ever had your lieutenant die so quickly its not funny?
On the heroes side, things can go "very wrong" very quickly as well. Ever rolled two misses ("X") back-to-back? Ever gotten into a knocked-out, stand up, knocked-out dance routine? Ever drew the Nothing card from the search deck? (Hehehehehe)
Each of these "set-backs" can make you feel an overwhelming sense of being put into a disadvantaged position. I have personally witnessed two consecutive misses literally triggered a player into a depression episode.
When you play Descent 2.0, you will feel huge swings of the game at various points. You must accept these feelings. And recognize these feelings. And tell yourself that somewhere around the corner, things will get better. Either that, or terrible things will eventually happen to the opposite side.
Ignore all "X"sNo single game element of Descent occurs more often, and triggers a more overwhelming sense of desperation than the sacred "X". The miss result on the blue attack die. Continuing on from the previous section, it will be ideal if you can learn to ignore the feelings from rolling an "X". Mathematically, you know it is a 1 in 6 chance of rolling an "X". Each time you roll an "X", contain your emotions first. Then secretly remind yourself of all the wonderful times when you rolled a 3 hearts plus a surge face. But remember to breathe. And smile.
It goes without saying that this extends to the second most devastating phenomenon... drawing a Nothing card from the search deck. This sucks. And if you drew Nothing two times in one act of a campaign, I hereby grant you permission to curse and swear and use foul languages.
What if you have a player who simply cannot handle rolling an "X"? Well, give the player a hero who has the ability to reroll misses. For example, Reynhart the Worthy, and Widow Tarha.
What if all your players are like that? Hmm. Maybe you can do this.
1. House rule that an "X" is not a miss, but simply a blank face. This means no heart, no range, no surge. Use the results of the other die to determine if you cause any damage.
2. House rule that a "Nothing" card grants the players 25 gold. Well... it's better than nothing.
Stay positiveI have seen many games where one side (Overlord/heroes) thought all was lost, but eventually came through and won the quest. On the other hand, I have seen a dejected player got affected by a set-back, and went into a downward spiral of negativity. Which eventually led to a loss.
The key message is this. Never give up. Never surrender. Stay positive. Because when you do, things will eventually turn around.
2. Never give up, never surrender wrote:
Accept huge swings Ignore all "X"s Stay positive3. Think during down time
Remember all your abilitiesIt happens all the time. I finished a turn, and realized I forgot to use a very useful ability which could have turned the tide of the battle. If I receive a dollar for every time that happened, I'll be buying a new Audi R8.
I've seen this happen very frequently, to all players. Sometimes, you don't realize it immediately after a turn. Sometimes, it's after a few turns. Sometimes it's after the quest. Sometimes, it's after a few days. But it sucks when you missed out one ability which could have made dramatic contribution to the game. And you feel bad about the session afterwards.
When it's not your turn, read all the cards in front of you. Read all your abilities. Read all the special actions that are available to you. And re-read them often. By the time you get to Act II, you will have so many skills and items it'll be easy to miss out an important one when the situation arises.
No APDescent 2.0 is such a well designed game that the tactical skirmish part of it can become very engrossing. It's almost like solving a puzzle. You can spend lots of time trying to figure out the best moves. How to min-max the crap out of every turn.
I have experienced games which are played fast and are completed in 30-45 minutes. I've seen games played for the exact same quest which took 2-3 hours. It's all the AP. Or analysis paralysis.
You gotta tell yourself. Come on, I'm playing Descent 2.0. It's supposed to be an ameritrash! I'm rolling dice here! Isn't it ironic that I'm having AP? What is this, chess?
For the greater good, keep the pace of the game going. This means you have to execute your turn as quickly as possible. Some tips on achieving this:
1. Think your moves during down time.
2. Know or at least be some-what familiar with all your abilities.
3. Know the quest objective.
4. Pay attention to what everyone else is doing. And especially how their actions will affect your plans.
5. When it's your turn, quickly share your plans with your teammates. If there are no
Let goNow I'm going to sound like I'm preaching Zen. Maybe I am. You have to learn to let go.
Accept that you need not make the most optimal move every turn. Accept that the outcome need not be perfect. Embrace imperfection.
Your plans are going to be affected by a dice roll. The best thought-out plans can end in disaster. By removing your attachment to the need of a perfect outcome, you are alleviating yourself from needless suffering.
The benefits are a faster game, a more enjoyable session, and better blood pressure levels.
3. Think during down time wrote:
Remember all your abilities No AP Let go4. Know everything
Know the rulesI have played games of Descent 2.0 with players who had apparently played the game before. But after a few rounds, we quickly realize he is not rock solid on movement rules. It's like he's not very sure if he can go diagonal. Even though he did move diagonally on his last turn, he still cannot be sure this turn. The result is a lot of "re-counting" of squares, and the rest of the players will have to tell him how he can actually achieve what he wants in a more optimal way, without having to pay fatigue. This sort of thing slows the pace of the game down.
Movement rules is pretty straight forward in Descent 2.0. And they are important. Because you have to move 99% of the time. Having a strong grasp of something as simple as the movement rules helps make your game better. How?
One. You are able to confidently plan the most optimal route.
Two. You can forecast available choices to you by maneuvering into favorable positions.
Three. You know how to block your enemies.
This extends to all the basic rules for the game. To make your game session of Descent more enjoyable, it really helps if you know the rules.
Know the questHow many times have you reached the end of the quest, only to feel let down because you forgot to account for something? This is also commonly associated with the oh-if-I-had-only-known-that-earlier-I-would syndrome.
Descent 2.0 is an awesome game. And one of the best design is in it's quest system. Almost all quests have two encounters. Encounter 1 will affect Encounter 2. As both Overlord and heroes, you need to know how Encounter 1 affects Encounter 2, what is the reward for the quest, what are the victory conditions and reinforcement rules, what are the special rules for the encounters, and what are the special actions that are available to you. All these before you start encounter 1. This is so important I'll repeat it again:
1. How Encounter 1 affects Encounter 2?
This will let you know what's at stake. If you achieve or fail to do "X" during Encounter 1, "Y" will happen in Encounter 2. And normally "Y" will have significant impact on increasing or decreasing your chances of victory. This varies from quest to quest. For the Overlord, if "Y" is not important, you can consider saving your Overlord cards for encounter 2. However, "Y" for many quests are important. In those cases, throw everything you have in Encounter 1.
2. What is the reward for the quest?
Know what you're playing for. In fact, if it is not attractive, you may even want to consider skipping this quest (if it's your choice of course). If it's a really game-changing relic for the enemy, you need to put your absolute best effort in to ensure victory.
3. What are the victory conditions and reinforcement rules?
Study the victory conditions and reinforcement rules. This will help you plan a high level strategy for the session. This can mean that sometimes it may be better to ignore your enemies and make a run for it. You don't want to waste your valuable actions to attack minions. You may not even want to waste your action to search! But sometimes, it can mean it'll help you best to drag out the game. You want to hold back and play defensive, let the enemies come to you. Yet sometimes, you will gain more advantage if you start to focus-fire on every minion and just try to take down as many as possible.
4. What are the special rules for the encounters?
This is often missed. Know the special rules and how they affect the map. Special rules for the quest are usually critical to success.
5. What are the special actions that are available to you?
Another commonly over-looked item. Know what special actions that are available to you. They are there for a reason. Group this together with the earlier point on remembering your abilities. On top of reading and re-reading all abilities, skills and items that are available to you, you must also read and re-read all special actions that are quest specific and available to you. Very important.
Know the weaknessesThis section is about conditions and attributes. Almost all heroes have weaknesses. Know all their attributes. Note their weaknesses.
Hero's weakness vs condition to use against him:
Willpower - Diseased
Might - Poison
Knowledge - Cursed
I'm suspecting that with the release of the next expansion, Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) - The Trollfens, we will have a new condition to deal with Awareness. But for now, you have quite a number of traps in your Overlord deck to throw at heroes weak in Awareness (and Might).
Weakness here means that heroes score for these attributes are either 1 or 2. If the score is 3 or more, it's not a weakness. You can still be effective against a 3. But 4 or 5, don't even try.
What happens if all four attributes of the hero are 3 or more (possible through items). Well, then you will have to take him down another way. If the quest allows, there are some abilities (usually lieutenant abilities) that affect the heroes when the Overlord makes the attribute test. In this case, prioritize usage of these abilities on this hero.
Knowledge is power. Know everything.
4. Know everything wrote:
Know the rules Know the quest Know the weaknesses5. Focus on the end game
Stand and fightAn experienced player once claimed that Descent 2.0 is all about running. Best to choose heroes who have speed of 5, and movement abilities.
I disagree. Descent 2.0 is not all about running. The ability to move quickly gives you huge game-winning advantages in many quests. Yes. But have you seen the finale?
What if you have to stand and fight? What if once you're knocked out, you are gone for good? In these cases, will it affect your overall enjoyment of the game?
Also, I've seen players basing his hero choice and skills build on the fact that there is no player elimination. No worries, I'll just revive if I die. Health and defense is not important. I'll just make my hero into a mean-ass damage dealer.
Ask yourself which do you prefer. Would you rather to win 6 out of 9 quests in a campaign, but lose the finale? Or would you rather lose 6 out of 9 quests in a campaign but win the finale?
I've seen players who won majority of the quests, but went berserk when they lost horribly at the finale.
Which brings me back to my point on your hero choice. We are looking at two types specifically. The utility hero. And the glass cannon. If you have to stand and fight, is utility hero a good idea? If you cannot be revived after you are knocked down, is glass cannon a good idea?
If you choose a glass cannon, don't go whining Why are you always picking on me? I keep dying. Why are you doing this to me? Why? I hate to break it to you. Focus-fire on the glass cannon is a common and viable strategy. If you play a glass cannon, be prepared to take lots of heat. If you are not prepared to be picked on, and you're not able to handle being knocked-out frequently, do not play a glass cannon. Choose a hero who can stand and fight. One who can hold his own.
Be aware of your choice. Take it like a man when you encounter a quest where your hero build is disadvantaged. Understand the significance and impact of your choice. When shit hits the fan, understand that it's partly your decisions that put you there. Don't blame the game. And hopefully, you will make better choices and have a more enjoyable time with Descent 2.0.
Well-rounded partyWhich brings us to the next topic. Have a well-rounded party.
By well-rounded, I do not mean the typical have-one-of-every-archtype party. No, in fact, I personally believe one-of-every-archtype party is not even a good rule of thumb.
Instead, have heroes that complements each other. By complement, I mean have heroes who covers each others' weaknesses.
Typically, when I play hero, I will never choose a hero with an attribute of 1. Never. Unless I know there is a hero who can easily remove conditions (say Apothecary or Disciple). And that player wants to play his hero that way. Don't assume that just because your fellow team mates play a certain class, he will behave a certain way. When in doubt, make your hero self-sufficient.
So what makes a well-rounded party? In my opinion, you need fire power. You need some movement. Speed of 4 is good enough. You need healer especially to remove conditions. Utility is good to have. But I will not place strong emphasis on these heroes, simply because I feel their value to the party depends on the player's play-style.
For example, if you play a treasure collecting class, you must ensure you collect as close to every search token every game as possible. This will help to build up the party's warchest (gold) for Act 2. If you choose a treasure collecting class, but instead play it like a range damage dealer, you might as well choose another class.
When you play damage dealer, you have two flavor. Melee or range. Melee are usually tough. Make sure you have at least 1 (if not 2). Because they are more durable. If you have 1 or 2 range damage dealer, ensure they have the necessary back-ups either from your own class skill tree, or from other members.
But do note that many instances of the game involve fighting in tight 2 squares wide corridors. Melee has advantage of being tough. But having too many melee heroes means you can potentially block Line-Of-Sight. An effective party should not get in each other's way. Ideally, all heroes should be able to attack the same monster at the same time.
So my opinion of a well-rounded party is 3 damage dealers plus 1 healer and condition remover. The 3 damage dealers should be 1 Melee 2 Ranged, or 2 Melee 1 Ranged. Choice depends on class selected and how they can move out of each other's way, or complement each other during combat. Healer and condition remover role is either Apothecary or Disciple.
Of course it is possible to play without the Apothecary or Disciple. But you must have some ways to handle healing and conditions. If you choose not to have any means of handling conditions, go in with your eyes wide open. Don't sulk when your whole party gets cursed, poisoned and diseased.
Act 2 itemsI had a hypothesis.
Hypothesis 1: Do not buy Act 1 items.
The first shopping spree happened at the middle of a campaign where just before Act 2 begins, the heroes have access to all items from Act 1 shop. One last shopping spree before Act 2. Yes!
Now this is all good, gearing up and all. But as soon as you go into Act 2, you realize Act 1 items don't do shit. I apologize for my language. Let me rephrase. As soon as you go into Act 2, Act 1 items don't do shit.
My hypothesis became a theory.
Theory 1: Do not buy Act 1 items.
Now let's test this theory. There are eight quests before finale. Ideally you want to be at the peak of your power by middle of Act 2. So let's say you have 6 or 7 quests to achieve that. To be generous, let's say 7.
Search tokens and quest rewards are your source of income. Not all quests give gold, and you don't win every quest. Relics can't be sold for gold. So let's take quest out of the equation. For search tokens, sometimes you have Nothing, most of the time, your party will not be able to pick up all search tokens. So let's average out to say each search token is worth 25 gold. The number of search tokens in each encounter is usually the number of heroes. So say by end of quest 7, you have looted every search token along the way and split evenly among all heroes. 7 quests is about 12 encounters. 12 multiply by 25 gold is 300 gold for each hero. Say you get to sell your starting item, say average of 2 items. 25 multiply by 2 items equal 50 gold. So your total wealth by the end of the 7th quest is 350 gold.
Ideally, you want a kick-ass weapon and a good armor. Two items. 350 gold divided by two is 175. What is the average price of a kick-ass item in Act 2? 200. What is the average price of a kick-ass item in Act 1? 175. Without spending your money buying Act 1 items, you are already short of getting two kick-ass items in Act 2. How can you spend any money on an Act 1 item? When you sell that 175 gold Act 1 item, you only get back 75 gold. If you only buy one Act 1 item, your disposable income drops from 350 to 250. With 250 gold, how are you going to buy two kick-ass Act 2 items?
Monsters in Act 2 stepped up considerably in Act 2. To keep up with the firepower, Act 1 items are not going to cut it.
Top this up with scarcity of gold. You cannot afford to buy Act 1 items. Not even one Act 1 item.
Together, these points backed up my theory. Do not buy Act 1 items.
So how do you get by? Trust me. You can get by. If you choose your hero class skills well, play fairly well, and have a good working team, you will be able to get by Act 1 with more than 50% win rate without the need to buy any Act 1 items. An occasional Treasure Chest draw from the search deck helps. A relic won from a quest helps. But even if you don't get them, bite the bullet. Because trust me, you will wish you have the money to buy those fancy Act 2 items when the time comes. You don't want to be the person whining Oh my God, Act 2 monsters are so IMBA. My weapons can't do shit.
So I present to you...
Law 1: Do not buy Act 1 items.
Now of course, there are exceptions to this. But I bet you, this is a pretty good rule of thumb. When in doubt, do not spend your money on Act 1 items.
Oh, and since we're at it, I might as well share another one.
Law 2: Search as much as you can.
Take all my advice in this section with a pinch of salt. These are my opinions. The key takeaway is when you're choosing hero, discussing party composition, or buying items, please take note of all these issues. Hopefully, you'll get a much more enjoyable session out of it.
5. Focus on the end game wrote:
Stand and fight Well-rounded party Act 2 items6. Have fun now
No rules-lawyeringThis is inline with the basis that we play games to have fun. Rules are rules. When rules go into the gray area, they are exactly that, gray area. There is no need to go into an endless debate over what's right or wrong. Just go ahead with one and move along. If your Overlord is nice, he may rule in your favor. But if the majority vote against you, don't go sulking. Resolve these conflicts quickly. Get back into the game.
Role playSo you put some thoughts into your hero selection. Your friends discussed and agreed on an awesome party composition. You read all your abilities. You familiarized yourself with all the quest details. You know the statistical probability of rolling an "X". You are mentally ready.
Then shit hits the fan.
You are inches away from losing it. I have a tip for you which may work. When you're put into an awful situation and you feel like screaming at another player, try role-playing. Instead of shouting "Hey you a$#-h#$%, I'm going to f%$#*%& cut you down!!!!", try this.
Hold and wriggle your hero figure, say "Arghhh, you foul beast! Justice will be served! I'll be back!". Then quietly remove your figure from the board and replace it with your hero token.
And if you're the Overlord, try this, "Arghhhh puny humans... I'll cut your b@lls!!! Just you wait!".
Feel free to substitute these with even more creative and funnier quotes. It helps to break tension, and keeps the atmosphere of the table friendly and lively. Role-playing also helps to remind everyone that this is just a game. There is no need to take anything personally.
SocialAt the end of the day, remember why are you doing what you are doing. You are playing boardgames. It is a social thing. So socialize. Make jokes. Laugh and have fun with all the players. Remember you are playing an Ameritrash. You are rolling dice. It's random. Don't be obsessed with winning. Have fun.
6. Have fun now wrote:
No rules-lawyering Role play Social--------------------------
Check out my review:
RPG in a box (An extremely long-winded review of my #1 game)
Check out my guide:
Heroes Quickstart Guide to Descent 2.0 (comic-style)