by sigmazero13
Jan Tuijp wrote:
sigmazero13 wrote:
Jan Tuijp wrote:
Heroes do not play an important role in the game. IMHO that's not a drawback, it's just a given. If you want heroes to play with, buy Descent. Runewars is about conquest.
I couldn't disagree more with this :) They aren't the focus, but knowing the importance of heroes in the game and how to effectively use them is key. Early on, when learning the game, we found that the player who had less heroes (or zero heroes, if theirs died) ended up struggling in the late game. There are a lot of rewards, tactics cards, and even hero abilities that make using them wisely a key tactic.
Sure, they will never be the central focus of the game, but to say they don't play an important role is, in my opinion, blatantly untrue :) It's a very important role, but isn't always as obvious as some may want it to be :)
Of course, this is just my observation from many, many plays of the game (both old rules, with and without the expansion, and new rules).
OK, that was a bit harsh, I suppose... Sure, they definitely have a function and they do contribute to the outcome of the game, sometimes significantly even. But so do cities and tactics cards, to name a few. What I meant of course was that they're just another game mechanic and not the or even a central one. This game isn't about heroes or cities or tactics cards, though they all play "important" roles. It's perfectly possible to win the game while neglecting one of these mechanics. Which means they're all equally important. And so, by definition, actually not.
Fair enough, though I'm not sure I agree on that. Equally important, but important enough to not neglect. Players who neglect heroes usually, in my experience, tend to struggle in the game a bit more. Players who neglect cities tend to have issues keeping up with tactics and influence. Players who neglect tactics cards often end up getting subject to the whims of the other players, and those who neglect influence often fall short in controlling the major events of the board.
You CAN win by neglecting some of these, but I think doing so can make it more difficult than those who don't neglect any of them. I don't agree with your last part that having multiple equally important mechanics is by definition saying none of them are important. Quite the opposite in fact. :)