I've been running a campaign for my girlfriend and my roommate, each controlling 2 heroes each for a standard 4 hero campaign. Last night that campaign, my first since I got my hands on this wonderful game, came to a close. We didn't ACTUALLY finish it all the way through, they conceded on the final mission when I told them what they had to do. I can't say I blame them... a brief recap.
Though they took a victory on Aftermath to kick things off, the momentum quickly swung my way as I went on to win the next 4 or 5 missions in a row. It wasn't until the double side missions after story mission 3 (going from memory here) that they were able to taste sweet victory again. Still, only winning the Introduction and 2 Story Missions does not make for powerful enough Rebel forces.
Many of the earlier games were very close, but a few of them were utter slaughters. I think the game is probably relatively well balanced, though that's hard to say having not yet played as the Rebels. I chalk up a lot of what to happened to the fact that I'm a seasoned gamer and they are relative "newbs".
These might be way off base, but I have a few tips for Rebel players based on what I saw across the table as an Imperial:
- Especially later in the campaign, as you start to get more gear/abilities, you must remember all your tricks. There were upgrades or gear that sat idle far too often. You spent the points/credits, USE IT!
- If you somehow end up in a completely hopeless scenario, make the best of it. Grab every crate you can get, sometimes 50 credits is the difference between the good gear and the great gear.
- Consider the abilities available to the TEAM and don't get too focused on your favorite hero. We nicknamed the campaign "Let the Wookie Go First" because my roommate was enamored with Gaarkhan and assumed that was also the best move.
...and finally, the most important one of all:
- The missions are NOT about killing Imperials, they are about completing mission objectives. Standing in your deployment zone doing double attacks is rarely the best course of action. Kill what you need to kill and KEEP MOVING.
I think we're starting a new campaign tonight, where they will each run one hero with the Legendary upgrade to see how it shakes out. Hopefully they have learned from going through it all once.