Hey guyz,

these i feel will be trivial, i've looked through the manual, but cannot find the answer.

1. I encounter 'Hunter' ice of strength 4, and without 'end run'. If i dont have ice breaker of str. 3 i cannot go throught that ice, is that right ?

2. If i cannot beat a given Ice, subprograms are launched immediately, but can i prevent some of effects with 'ice breaker's: break ice subroutine' while 'retreat' to minimise the damge?

1. This is a very common thought to new players. If you don't have an icebreaker to break the ice, then you do what the card says--no more, no less. Something like Ice Wall or Tollbooth have "end the run" subroutines. Hunter doesn't.

This points at a somewhat deeper way of playing: the game is not solely about keeping the runner out and the runner trying to get in. The risk of taking a tag from Hunter may be too great, or the tempo loss of taking time and money to clear the tag can give the corp some breathing room.

2: this would be a good question to check out the "timing structure of a run" diagram in the official FAQ. There are an immense number of cards and strategic decisions that turn on the fine points of what happens when. But, to summarize:

--the runner approaches the ice and commits to continuing, does not choose to jack out.

--the corp can rez cards and use paid abilities; this is where the runner knows how bad he's getting screwed or not.

--encounter the ice. Break what you can with an appropriate icebreaker.

--unbroken subroutines go off. If they don't end the run, the runner may continue.

--the runner has passed that ice and the run continues if the runner chooses not to jack out.

So relating to Q1, if i do not equalize the strength ---> subroutines are started.

How about Q2 ?

It was a long post, I just wanted to get it up and in place even though I had more to cover.

Actually, that is not what i am asking about in Q2. I atttack HQ, having 'mimic'. There is unrezzed ice. Corp decides to unrez it. Occurs to be 'ichi 1.0'. Since may str is lower (3 < 4) i cannot pass that ice. So subroutines are started. Can i, however, pay for 'mimic' ability --> break ice subroutine, to prevent deletion of 1 program or tagging ?

Oh, another thing you can do--create a profile on Jinteki.net for online play. The interface is quite good. You put a decklist into the deckbuilder, save it, then either create a game for yourself or join one that doesn't have an opponent yet.

When you go to start a game, put "learning game" in the title of the room you create, and someone will come along who can explain things as you go.

Ok, thank you, will probably do so. For now do you know how does solution/answer to issue concernig last post look like ?

You can pass any piece of ice regardless of the icebreaker strength if that ice doesn't ETR, and are willing to suffer the ice's effects.

If you are unable to match the strength of the ice, your icebreaker cannot interact with it. If you have Mimic, which is fixed-strength (compare Pipeline or Ninja) and you don't have a loaded Datasucker to lower Ichi from 4 to 3, or you don't have enough spare clicks to break the subs without using Mimic, then you have a problem.

Any subroutines not broken resolve. Two programs will be trashed, and a trace happens that will tag and brain-damage you if you don't pay to boost your Link strength.

Then, since Ichi doesn't end the run, you pass Ichi and either encounter the next piece of ice or access whatever server it was protecting.

You cannot break subroutines with an icebreaker that doesn't meet the strength requirement. There are other programs, like D4vid, which can break subroutines despite not having the icebreaker subtype, which means they don't have to meet any strength requirements, but generally come with other restrictions (For example, D4v1d can only break subroutines on ice with strength 5 or greater, still no help for Ichi 1.0). Also, once you encounter a piece of ice, you cannot jack out until you've resolved all of its subroutines, either by breaking them or taking the punches they send your way. You could help minimize the damage you take with cards like I've Had Worse, Sacrificial Construct, or Plascrete Carapace. You could also pre-emptively use a card like Run Amok to make it more painful for the corp to rez their ice. But when all is said and done, the inherent risk of approaching unrezzed ice in pursuit of a facedown card that could win the game or just be a Snare is one of the core mechanics of the game and is what makes most of us enjoy playing it.