29 May Design Spotlight The Hunter

Last time, I talked about the Acolyte, a hero we have been trying to make a little more challenging to play. This time, I talk about one we wanted to make a little easier. The Hunter has always taken a bit of time to set up, but once she gets there, she does a lot of damage. We wanted to keep this feeling but make it a little clearer to new players.

Watch the video below or read on for the full details.

Moving Mechanics Around

One of the great advantages we have with our new design is the ability to move important hero-specific mechanics to the Hero Board itself. In the past, the Hunter’s Trophy mechanic was detailed on the cards themselves. The effect of this for new players is that they did not always understand the importance of getting Marks onto their Action Spaces as soon as possible. Now, however, the hero information section of the Hunter’s board makes it clear that Trophies are an essential part of play:

For convenience, this also allows the trophies to be placed directly on the board rather than on individual cards.

Gaining and Using Marks

Some of the reasons new players might not have realized the importance of the Trophy mechanic were that gaining them was difficult (with only two cards in the main deck) and only a few cards referred to them. To make Marks more prevalent, we are adding the Mark keyword to a couple of other cards (one Novice, one Journeyman). Note that all Mark cards – including Mark of the Hunter – now can be stacked in a single space.

In addition, we know that we want to differentiate the Hunter more from the Archer in Dawn of Heroes. Although we haven’t locked down all of our plans for the Archer yet, one of the ways we are already doing this is by including the Trophy mechanic directly in the Hunter’s ammo cards.

As you can see, the Hunter’s Ammo does not care what monster type your trophies are, only how many trophies you have. The other cards that refer to the Trophy mechanic vary similarly – some focusing your attacks on the monster types you have collected, and others giving benefits for collecting many trophies regardless of type.

Another thing we are now doing is creating different types of ammunition with different effects. You’ll find the first new ammunition variant – the Doom Arrow – among the Journeyman cards. I am excited to develop even more as we move forward with the Hunter and continue to broaden her arsenal.