Descent: the Betrayer's War | Playthrough and Impressions | With Mike | Review copy provided

Mike plays the first scenario of the new Act 2 expansion for Descent, and gives his impressions of the new gameplay.
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
0:00 - Introduction
1:05 - Set-Up
3:13 - Hero Overview
6:02 - Round 1
13:43 - Round 2
20:58 - Round 3
27:16 - Round 4
31:24 - Round 5
37:23 - Round 6
39:22 - Round 7
41:29 - Round 8
44:07 - Impressions
- - - - - -

[OneStopCoopShop]

0:00 - Introduction
1:05 - Set-Up
3:13 - Hero Overview
6:02 - Round 1
13:43 - Round 2
20:58 - Round 3
27:16 - Round 4
31:24 - Round 5
37:23 - Round 6
39:22 - Round 7
41:29 - Round 8
44:07 - Impressions

[arcubal]

THanks Mike! Really appreciate the voices when reading story! 🤩

[chrisdeutsch]

Fun video! Thanks for showing this off. Although not terribly clear, in the Act II faq, they explain that "gain" means put into play while "add to inventory" means it is available only in later games. For potions, this means that heroes can equip and use all potions that they find (but are not added to the campaign inventory for later games), even if they exceed the cap of 3 per player. I think in the first game, gained legendaries are usable immediately. The new act has longer and more intense games but fewer overall (which I think was the opposite of what most people wanted). I think 3 to 6 hours is a reasonable time block of this game to setup, play, and teardown. Good luck if you play more!

[shaneannigans]

I really wish FFG would reprint the older Terrinoth games.
I have all the ones I want, and their expansions, I just wish others could experience them like I get to.

I understand that FFG is a company that needs to focus on profit but perhaps they could utilise crowd-funding to mitigate financial risk. Looking at the prices on the secondary market, there must be some demand. Heck, I'd buy second back-up copies.

[Why-Ron]

Just saw your great review of Act1.
Did they improve the character leveling up, and the fatigue mechanic?

[braxin]

There's something missing about the gameplay for me. It looks great but I don't think I'll be getting this.
Thanks for the playthrough Mike!

[Vertrucio]

Hah, I notice Brynn's helmet is much less ridiculous now.

Curious about any gameplay and mission improvements. My group eventually found all the missions and gameplay rather boring. Not enough build crafting with the slow trickle of skills.

[Sem]

i have finally got around to playing the first act as i bought it a year ago and then it kind of just sat on the shelf of shame while i kind of painted the minis

loving act 1 though now that i have finally started getting into it, its much easier to deal with if you have a good organiser for all the prebuilt parts

act 2 though, still on the fence though if i want to spend that much time and money on it... it does look good though

[mattlowder]

Man, I'm glad I held on to my journeys into the dark second edition. When I bought it in 2015, I had no idea how much I'd like it, even with no expansions. Just started a campaign with my 8 year old and wife. The artwork and setup time seem better in that edition. I don't "hate" tablet-required games, but this feels more fiddly and much more expensive. I paid 75 bucks for that 2nd edition, a price we'll never see again for a box like Arcadia quest and the like. I feel very fortunate I'm not getting into fantasy gaming today. I love it, but it's so bloated and expensive now.

[pedros]

Are the pieces and tiles of act 1 necessary for act 2?

[tradenmyr]

I’m torn. I enjoyed the first act, although I think my desire to finish it meant I was just slogging through the last few scenarios. But the overall experience was fun (looting / building up / strategizing). I did finally preorder act 2 - mostly because I’m getting the Hobby Next stuff and I have $125 in store credit for it. At the very least, I will enjoy painting the models.

Thanks for reminding me of all the feelings I had for this game - the elation at critical hits and ability chaining, and the disappointment when the scenario just won’t end lol.

[BoardGamesUnLocked]

Did they integrate voice acting into Act 2 by any chance? Since the addition of Foreteller to a lot of narrative driven campaign games, I find it more difficult to go to these that don't have that or something similar? I'm very close to beating Act 1 but have found my last few sessions to be kind of difficult to get into because of how much reading there is from various viewpoints

[Ultimatelylate]

Idk why they waited so long finally start giving expansions to this game

[pcktpar]

App driven games go against everything I love about the hobby. I don't buy them as I don't want to contribute to a potential "app boom" in the future. That said, hope you guys have a blast with it.

[obiteljskitablet]

Why would anyone buy this game? If one wants screen interaction just buy any roleplaying video game - they're better and have more story. If one wants boardgame just get Descent 2nd edition or one of many similar dungeon crawlers.

[kraziel]

My god this game is such a slug-fest. A single dice roll and then so many clicking on the app, that is so freaking mediocre and boring. Second Edition is a thousand times better than this, we play it every week, and I'm relieved now thaat we own almost all of the expansions for 2nd edition, we can't get enough of it, instead of this 3rd edition pile of crap.