Monster Slayers

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Tao
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Monster Slayers

Post by Tao »

So after reading all the really positive comments here I picked this up earlier today. I don't get it....am I supposed to just keep dying over and over to accumulate more fame?? I thought the point of rogue-likes was to try and stay alive as long as possible. After I clear the first board the monster power jumps exponentially almost to the point of ridiculousness. I like rogue-likes and I get dying is part of the game but is seems this is more Dark Souls than Rogue.
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coopasonic
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by coopasonic »

The second dungeon shouldn't be that much harder. Are you really clearing out the first? Do you grok deck-builders? Do you buy the early upgrades (health, xp), delete a couple basic cards? You can generally do that before the second dungeon and then you have a fighting chance. From memory you should finish the first dungeon at level 5 and have level 5 enemies to fight at the start of the second. There are a few enemies that are WAY harder than they should be but that's enemy type, not level.
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Baroquen
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Baroquen »

I haven't found the jump from first to second (and second to third) level "dark soul" hard, but I have had some runs be tough because of poor randomization. Meaning, my starting room had level 9 monsters to fight, rather than the more feasible level 6 battles. I think the progress curve has felt pretty good. With the fame/ability unlocks, it feels like nice increases in power, though I still need some luck/strategy to make it farther. But yes - your mileage may vary.
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

It sucked down a good chunk of my weekend and as far as I can tell, dying and accumulating fame is part of it and it seems like as you accumulate fame the monsters in the dungeons also get tougher. I'm trying the Dragon right now and I've yet to make to the third dungeon with one. I think I've bit it like six times now.
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

And the rogue tore tore through the game like it was nothing, even scoring a perfect on the final monster. That was a little broken. And if I have to play against that deck later, it's gonna suck.

What changes in when you move from normal to legendary mode?
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Smoove_B
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Smoove_B »

According to my wishlist, this is on sale now for $6.74. What are the opinions after this weekend's gaming bonanza?
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GreenGoo
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by GreenGoo »

Smoove_B wrote:According to my wishlist, this is on sale now for $6.74. What are the opinions after this weekend's gaming bonanza?
Thanks for the heads up.
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Smoove_B
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Smoove_B »

I live to enable. :wink:
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Zarathud
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Zarathud »

It's really good. Dying is part of the game, and sometimes inevitable to get a better engine.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

Smoove_B wrote:According to my wishlist, this is on sale now for $6.74. What are the opinions after this weekend's gaming bonanza?

That's cheaper than the 15+ games and DLC I had to get for $6.99.

I have to say don't do it. The game ruined my holiday weekend. All I did was yardwork and play the damned game. It's... addictive... If you start a dungeon, you end up really wanting to play until you die or kill a harbinger. That's easily a 90 minute + time synch a pop.

I must have made 5 or 6 runs at the harbinger with a Barbarian, yesterday. That and yardwork. A whole day gone.

Stupid barbarian. I need a different theory on how to win with him.

Also, why didn't anyone tell me to pay attention to what the alter is telling you. That it is not just generic filler text? I just figured out to read what it is saying half way through four days of playing.

Has anyone played legendary mode?
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Smoove_B
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Smoove_B »

Awesome. Thanks.
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

Gave up on the bleed barbarian and moved to the frenzied barbarian. Killed the harbinger on the first try.

Now I'm about to suffer the same fate with the cleric. Stacking damage with repentance, I think. Only, the clerics other option is to take on penance cards and get damage v undead. <blech> I think I'm at the 24th level of XP unlocks and unlocks are now going slow. I'm debating moving over to legendary, in the vane hope to do well and presumably inject some leveling back in to my xp gain. I wonder if this will have reputability for me after I've gone through all 14(?) characters and killed the harbinger with each.

In the meantime, if time was money my $7 was well spent. If time is time I should have been spending doing other, productive things for last six day, then whoops, that's way too much I've put in to a game that is essentially a time waster that I don't know how to put down when I pick it up.
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Smoove_B
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Smoove_B »

If I can get 5 hours out of it, I'd say that's money well spent for me. Sounds like that's possible.
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Sepiche
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Sepiche »

Smoove_B wrote:If I can get 5 hours out of it, I'd say that's money well spent for me. Sounds like that's possible.
I'm not generally a fan of deck building games (mostly because I suck at them), but I picked this up on sale, and I think it's well designed and makes the deck building a fairly seemless part of the gameplay.
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

Sepiche wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:If I can get 5 hours out of it, I'd say that's money well spent for me. Sounds like that's possible.
I'm not generally a fan of deck building games (mostly because I suck at them), but I picked this up on sale, and I think it's well designed and makes the deck building a fairly seemless part of the gameplay.
I love that you (de)construct your hero (and deck) one tiny decision at a time. You don't have to think big picture about making the ultimate deck... Until you a fail a few times and give the picture a chance to form...

You have to load these things frontier style...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9s2ayNU204
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Zarathud
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Zarathud »

Fun and I've found losing a character or beating the first boss a good break to go do something else. Endless Space 2 or Stellaris may be a more "productive" game but they suck you in for longer blocks of time.

There are times when you have a character who will make it to the second dungeon and is not strong enough to win. You then grind them to death for XP and gold.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

Zarathud wrote:Fun and I've found losing a character or beating the first boss a good break to go do something else.
This is not my experience.
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Baroquen
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Baroquen »

It's definitely a "short burst" game for me. Play a round or two, go find something more substantial. Great fun.
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GreenGoo
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by GreenGoo »

Any opinions contrasting this with Guild of Dungeoneers?

I actually own both but I haven't played Guild in a long while. They seem like pretty much the same game, at least superficially.

I was hooked on Slayers last night though. I wanted to move onto something else but I couldn't tear myself away.
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

GreenGoo wrote:Any opinions contrasting this with Guild of Dungeoneers?

I actually own both but I haven't played Guild in a long while. They seem like pretty much the same game, at least superficially.

I was hooked on Slayers last night though. I wanted to move onto something else but I couldn't tear myself away.
I found the Guild of Dungeoneering felt done the first time you completed it and you crafted your deck as you pleased. It was a longer campaign which I liked.

However, Monster Slayers seems to be rooted in more choices. The classes are meaningfully different and individually, there choices to make within each class and then you make the best with decisions presented to you as you go. So I still have 5 classes I haven't even explored making a run with yet.

The fights are meaningfully different and there is a lot of variety in cards.

I've also yet to be beat the Harbinger with any class I've tried and see what happens next in legendary mode, so I'm kinda obsessed at the moment.

I'm not in front of my Steam Client right now, but I'm pretty certain GoD got less than 20 hours play. It was OK for what it was but you played it and then put it away. MS has me compelled to want to best it and given the long weekend two weeks ago, I put in a lot hours. Though after two weeks I'm starting to slow down.

For me, aside from the narrative, which is great in both games, MS wins in just about every other category. GoD had the premise that you were building the town for advancement, but the MS experience to unlock characters abilities is even better IMO.
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LordMortis
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by LordMortis »

Beat the Legendary setting for the first time with the Rogue. And it was a cakewalk. I recommend not forming your opinion of the game based on that character.
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Fretmute
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Fretmute »

I just want to say that the OOFE got me into this and I am a big fan. I will play any deck builder that you throw at me.
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Paingod
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Paingod »

LordMortis wrote:Beat the Legendary setting for the first time with the Rogue. And it was a cakewalk. I recommend not forming your opinion of the game based on that character.
Amen. The Rogue was the first I beat the game with on normal, and the card spam is staggering - a long as the enemy doesn't have an "Enough!" you're golden. The second is a well-trimmed Cleric deck - +Repent/Dexterity Sword, +1 AP/Card & Thorns Armor, 2 +1 Shield/Card accessories - 19 cards with lots of Card Cycling, 4 Repents, 2 Shields, 2 Dodges, and 2 Heals. I tossed every last Attack card and had no way to do damage aside from Repent. The Cleric was damn near invincible - ending most rounds with 230+ health and 100+ shielding, with the last Boss getting up to 95 Repent damage per turn before dying.

The Rogue earned 193 points on Survival, the Cleric got to 234 before being incinerated by a Red Dragon that poured on heavy Ignite - 54 points per turn. My last round was 61% dodge with 6 HP - but I did get hit after 5 dodges. I just couldn't heal the Ignite damage, and it bypassed shields. The dragon only had 1 turn left to live, too. Damn close fight.

I haven't filled out all the skills yet, and I've not beaten the game with the other classes. I've come close with the Wizard, and only touched the Ranger, Warrior, and Barbarian once each so far.

This game is awesomely absorbing. Easy to play, easy to put down, but can be nicely complex if you build around combos. My Cleric, for example, had an Indomitable that worked well with the two cards I had that discarded cards of my choice - so I could discard it deliberately for 35 points of healing and a card draw.

*Edit 2017-07-07 - I've beaten the game with a few characters now and its interesting to see how each plays out. Universally, every character benefits from "... and draw a card" effects. Any option to take that should be grabbed as quickly as possible. Using two "+1 to Block when playing a card" accessory items can soften incoming attacks substantially, especially if you burn through a lot of cards.
  • The Rogue is about Chains, Daggers, Backstabs, and Dodge.
  • The Ranger is about massive Critical Hits and Dodge. Ideally, have at least one Retaliate and Enough! to stagger enemy chains.
  • The Cleric is about Shields, Healing, and Repent - you basically pile up damage and outlive your opponents.
  • The Wizard needs mountains of Mana, lots of card draws, duplication, and hard-hitting spells. Piling up Ignite damage helps.
  • The Necromancer puts the Rogue to shame for chewing through decks. Grabbing two "Undead Horde" spells and a couple duplicators turns this deck into a massive juggernaut that cut the Harbinger in 1/2 on turn one and killed him on Turn 2.
Currently, I'm #82 for "Survival" score at 492 points (Necro deck) ... the only reason I died was a bad card draw two turns in a row - random luck. Survival is mostly about avoiding enemies that stack Ignite/Poison and don't do a lot of "Enough!" to break your killer chains.
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Baroquen
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Re: Monster Slayers

Post by Baroquen »

Arise thread.... I have need of you....

Well, I started playing this again when I needed something quick and light during quarantine times. Actually, my son started playing it again before me, and it reminded me that I liked the game.

Anyway - I finally beat it for the first time, also with a rogue. The deck was working so well after a while, I think I was at level 11 before the lvl 10 boss, and I left about 5 or 6 mobs on the final map, and didn't have to heal up before tacking the final boss. A hugely effective draw deck with backstabs, a Raven card, an upgraded Execute, and whatever card doubles the next attack made it a very smooth run.

Next up... other classes, more unlocks, and trying to finish Slay the Spire for the first time. (Seem to be running in place on that one).

Ok, carry on with your shiny new games. :D
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