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Steve Shepherd
United States
Lehi
Utah
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Hi guys.
I was hoping you could help answer a few questions I have about the quest phase since it's kind of confusing. I've only played two games and we're still getting used to the rules.
1) If nobody decides to commit any characters to a quest, do we still draw encounter cards and place them in staging?
2) If you do not commit any characters, does that mean you have a 0 willpower against the threat and you have to add the difference to your threat level?
3) If both of these answers are yes, how the heck can anyone win against difficult quests like Anduin? It seems so brutal if this is the case. It seems the threats constantly pile on (Like in the Anduin quest) and there's not enough characters and heroes to manage it all, so if you end up commiting all your characters to the quest because their pitiful 1 and 2 willpowers need to be combined for any hope of victory, engaging enemies slaughter you because everybody is exhausted.
Thanks for any advice.
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Mr. D
United States
Oneonta
New York
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Quote: 1) If nobody decides to commit any characters to a quest, do we still draw encounter cards and place them in staging?
yes
Quote: 2) If you do not commit any characters, does that mean you have a 0 willpower against the threat and you have to add the difference to your threat level?
yes
Quote: 3) If both of these answers are yes, how the heck can anyone win against difficult quests like Anduin? It seems so brutal if this is the case. It seems the threats constantly pile on (Like in the Anduin quest) and there's not enough characters and heroes to manage it all, so if you end up commiting all your characters to the quest because their pitiful 1 and 2 willpowers need to be combined for any hope of victory, engaging enemies slaughter you because everybody is exhausted.
There are lots of strategy articles in the forum about Anduin. Keep in mind that in stage 2, there is no engagement check. So the mobs do not attack you unless you choose to optionally engage one.
Suggestion - Try using Eowyn, Dunhere and a Leadership hero.
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Richard Morris
Scotland
Harrogate
North Yorkshire
Join the BGG Folding @Home Team !!
This user had more :gg: than sense
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If you look around, you will find lots of threads on here from noobs saying the game is unplayably difficult. So you are not alone in having that reaction. But it is perfectly playable, and winnable, once you have more experience. Wander round the forums looking for help - you will soon find things that will help you.
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Yes and yes to your first two questions.
As for the third: Anduin is hard with two and very hard with one player. One part of the answer is certainly to get enemies out of the staging area quickly. You know you can engage them even if your threat level is too low for them to engage you.
And you should get the locations out of the staging area by traveling.
Apart from that there are dozens of cards that help you solve the problem in their own small way: Protector of Lorien and Faramir can for example boost your willpower quite a bit. Eowyn is a natural quester. Gandalf and the Galadhrims' Greeting can lower your threat level. Gimli and a Feint or Quickstrike can take out the Troll almost singlehandedly. Henamarth Riversong will tell you exactly how many characters you need to commit to questing etc.
With a little thought you will build a deck that can beat Anduin from time to time. And then you go and tweak and perfect it until your odds improve. No deck will ever come anywhere near a certain win against Anduin let alone Dol Guldur.
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Bart Rachemoss
United States
Silver City
New Mexico
Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.
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gholin wrote: 3) If both of these answers are yes, how the heck can anyone win against difficult quests like Anduin? It seems so brutal if this is the case. It seems the threats constantly pile on (Like in the Anduin quest) and there's not enough characters and heroes to manage it all, so if you end up commiting all your characters to the quest because their pitiful 1 and 2 willpowers need to be combined for any hope of victory, engaging enemies slaughter you because everybody is exhausted.
Questing characters is like paying off interest on a credit card. After you are done, the amount you owe is still the same and in this game the amount of threat in the staging area is still the same. Engaging enemies and traveling to locations (or getting progress tokens on them in other ways) is like paying off some of the balance so you actually owe less. You know that expenditures are likely to get made and the balance has a tendency to go up almost on its own.
You need a good deck to beat Anduin. If you are going in solo then you really want a good mixed sphere deck. You also need to be as aggressive as possible without killing yourself. You want to plot out sneaky ways to engage and kill enemies ASAP. Try not to engage them if you don't have a solid plot to kill them. Leaving an enemy in the staging area is usually better than leaving it engaged but you have to engage them in order to kill them. This is one of the basic dynamics of the game.
Quote: The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. But hope remains, if friends stay true.
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David Moeller
United States
Missouri
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Fwiw, I have had extremely good success with Eowyn/Dunhere/Theodred deck against Anduin. Keep the deck size around 30 cards or less. Hang around stage one for 6-9 turns and keep threat below 30 so you don't have to engage the Hill Troll till you are ready. If you get out Faramir, a couple Northern Trackers and a few other allies (Lorien Scounts are best) before leaving stage one you will whip right through stage 2. I typically am able to go through stage 2 and 3 in one or two turns depending on what I have in my hand.
But a lot is just getting more experienced and getting a better feel for the game. I myself used to think Anduin excesssively difficult and couldn't out how in the world I could beat it. Now I am trying all different sorts of decks and beating it with various combinations more often than not.
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Karl
United Kingdom
Bedford
Bedfordshire
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I am new to this game too, only got it a few days ago and have really struggled to complete Passage Through Mirkwood. However, I am still on a bit of a high after finally getting my first win on my fifth attempt.
I was struggling mainly due to confusion over a number of rules, well and the fact it aint no pushover either. I was really helped by Watch It Played, see the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab_y6pFAF5s
These videos answered so many questions. The guy plays through a game explaining all his moves showing when and where actions can be taken. Also, it was good just to see someone actually complete the game too, as I really needed proof it was possible after my pathetic efforts.
Hope it helps.
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