I was wondering what the common strategy was to winning for this game. usually i try to close/seal gates but ive had terrible luck with that at times, lack of having clue tokens seems to be the main reason. fighting AO has never worked well. i dont think ive ever played a game that one was beat, close but that doesnt count.

so what is the way to do it? run around until you have 5-6 clue tokens(more?) then seal gates and repeat. fight monsters and cash in for clue tokens, then seal gates. or just start closing gates and using gate thropies to buy clue tokens.

ive noticed sealing gates can really keep the AO sleeping for a few turns if youre luck during the mythos phase and get the right gates that have already been sealed. so its always seemed to me that sealing atleast one gate early is the most important thing. later worry about upgrading or whatever...

PearlJamaholic said:

Hmmmm...sounds good to me. You speak like a new player, but I bet even the veteran grognards around here have the same strategy most of the time. (Coltsfan? What say you?) Some of the newer Ancient Ones tend to resist the basic strategies, but for the most part...go for it.

I'm sure other people will add far more comprehensive posts about Gate Opening Frequency or Ancient One Battle Preparation, but you'll figure that all out for yourself eventually anyway. Keep doing what you're doing, but don't be afraid to "stray off the path" and try something crazy, just to see if that works too. You're doing just fine.

ive been playing for about a year but not that many times. most games have 'a strategy' that works most of the time but i cant find one in this game. cant really count on the elder sign either to win games cause that doesnt show up every time but that thing sure is a game changer.

i did see and read the gate freqenices thing yesterday, about what the odds are of gates opening and all. i never even thought to disect the mythos deck. ive disected the item and spell decks and all.

like with runebound when i solo play, usually 3 green adventures will get me to a lvl to start hitting yellow without having to luck out on die rolls. i havent solo played arkham horror but im sure that will help clear some things up too.

I was wondering what the common strategy was to winning for this game. usually i try to close/seal gates but ive had terrible luck with that at times, lack of having clue tokens seems to be the main reason. fighting AO has never worked well. i dont think ive ever played a game that one was beat, close but that doesnt count.

For me closing or sealing is winning. Fighting the AO is a draw. But several of the AO are really easy to beat in the final, even without much preparation. Yep, clue generation can be a problem. You can dissect that problem at the Science Building. I think many folks spend too much time trying to seal ALL the gates. We try to seal just the three four or five main gates (Wizard's Hill) and then go for closing. It works most of the time. Investigators can also sit on gates to prevent re-openings, though I feel kind of dirty when I use that tactic. On the other hand, we are 3-0 vs Atlacha.

so what is the way to do it? run around until you have 5-6 clue tokens(more?) then seal gates and repeat. fight monsters and cash in for clue tokens, then seal gates. or just start closing gates and using gate thropies to buy clue tokens.

There no such thing as extra clues. We always go in with only five clues. To get that extra clue will take another turn or two and might allow a monster to block the way. We only fight monsters when absolutely necessary. I think they are the major distraction of the game. Killing monsters gets you points but doesn't win the game, unless you are willing to turn them in for other things (and have the time).

There's little purpose made by closing the 5 main gates. I always close the really minor gates. The medium gates usually get closed or sealing as needed. Of course this is all modified by the AO. If monster surges bring trouble it's better to close even the major gates sometimes. If the doom track is long, you can get away with it too. In addition, the gate trophies can be traded in for some good stuff as you point out.

ive noticed sealing gates can really keep the AO sleeping for a few turns if youre luck during the mythos phase and get the right gates that have already been sealed. so its always seemed to me that sealing atleast one gate early is the most important thing. later worry about upgrading or whatever...

Yes, sealing a gate or two early on will often result in some gate bumps. Those are really, really nice.

All this can be changed by your array of investigators, however. Be sure and use their skills wisely.

The number of investigators makes a big difference. With 3 or less, you are going to have a hard time winning by sealing, IMO. In a winning game, there's usually less than 20 turns per investigator. It takes 18 turns plus clue gathering to seal six gates. The game only begins with 1.7 average clues per investigator plus 11 or 16 clues on the board.

Did I mention that there's no such thing as extra clues?

fighting the AOO and beating him down is a legimitate way to win and sometimes it is the only way. it all depends on the setup. 90% of our wins are based on that because it can be easier.

::Shrug:: I also have a very high win ratio, but I use a somewhat different strategy (I tend to play more conservatively). I like stockpiling weapons, equipment, allies, cash and clue tokens and doing things at my leisure (well, as much leisure as one can afford in this game). I guess what I'm saying is I'm a materialistic Arkham player :')

Oh right, but strategy.

The Woods, Independence Square, Unvisited Isle, and The Witch House are your top four priorities for sealing (as they are the high frequency gates). Never seal a low frequency gate in the early game, try to ignore the medium frequency gates unless you're desperate (play a bit, and you'll get a better sense of how desperate is defined in this context— or you could just do a rough calculation of how many turns you expect to have before you have too many gates open and try to plan all your actions accordingly with a little wiggle room for delays). While I will sometimes throw some ill equiped investigator into the first gate I want sealed, I usually send them in with a few extra clues and the best available equipment. I *hate* having investigators LITAS. The way I see it, you might spend an extra turn pulling in two more clues, but those two more clues might keep you from wasting two or three turns being knocked unconscious and losing a bunch of clues (or more reasonably, taking a madness or injury card so you can just go in and try again). *Don't* waste clues. If something isn't going to knock you out, take the hit unless it's extremely high (i.e. I wouldn't mind using a clue or two to kill a color out of space, but that's about it— I almost never use clues for fighting) and you have something to gain by not taking it. Basically what I'm saying is that while I think it's a good idea to stockpile the clues, that doesn't mean you should just use them. You shouldn't. Only use them if you will die or be knocked out otherwise. Or if there's something fabulously amazing ;'D like a deck search or more clues, or possibly (and this is only if you have a surplus) something that is equal to 5 or 10 trophies (this would also depend on how much danger you are in and if you are in early game or late).

Errr... You said you try to close/seal... Don't close. Seal. Every time you close a gate that is high or medium frequency, you're basically adding another doom token. You might as well just open your veins before the Ancient One comes out as a result of that strat ;') Closing is *only* effective if you're doing an end game simultaneous closing strategy, or if you're taking out a small gate and your a fast player (the odds are it won't reopen— and even then, I'd say you're probably better off avoiding a close— if only for the three turns spent doing so).

How many players are you playing with? Killing an AO shouldn't be *too* hard if you're playing 3 or less... I wouldn't recommend it though, unless you *must* it's not much fun once you get the hang of it (because it's fairly easy, especially if you prepare).

I usually send them in with a few extra clues and the best available equipment. I *hate* having investigators LITAS.

Isn't LiTAs, just two turns? And you get to go back to almost any location.

The way I see it, you might spend an extra turn pulling in two more clues, but those two more clues might keep you from wasting two or three turns being knocked unconscious and losing a bunch of clues (or more reasonably, taking a madness or injury card so you can just go in and try again). *Don't* waste clues.

Sometimes the bare minimum backfires but usually not. I guess its a judgement call. But drop your movement to its lowest and you're able to evade most monsters in the Other Worlds. If you always go out to get those extra clues,then its that many turns used up, always. And Madness and Injury aren't really as bad as folks think they are. There are some that are cruel. But I bet we get through the Other Worlds with only five clues way above 80% of time. What I've found, is that if the investigators have extra clues they'll use them and if they use them to fight or for other stuff, they don't have them for sealing.

If something isn't going to knock you out, take the hit unless it's extremely high (i.e. I wouldn't mind using a clue or two to kill a color out of space, but that's about it— I almost never use clues for fighting)

Exactly and with the rest I mostly agree.

I have to say I dive in pretty much as soon as I have 5 Clues (or ES + 1-2 Clues). These days I try to dive someone in on turn 3 at the latest and that has cut down on GOO waking from too many gates I used to get. It was that that leads me to think that if I wait until I get 6-7 Clues (hopefully someone started with 2+ Clues) there will be about 4-5 gates open and given the 3 turns standard to seal, it would put me at risk of too many gates open.

mageith said:

Feh... If they're using their extra clues for extraneous events, that's *their* problem. Not the extra clues' fault. They need to have discipline to defeat the Edler Gods ;'D

Dam said:

You shouldn't *always* go for 6-7 clues, the first gate's worth going for with only five if that's all you have when its defense is low. I probably should've been clearer earlier. When I said I usually send in investigators with an extra clue or two, I didn't necessarily mean the first gate. That one I usually go for with a character sans backup ;'D still, most of the gates I go for (excluding the first) are with extra clues.

I like to start off with everyone shopping for unique items, because often an elder sign or a King in Yellow pops up (plus other useful stuff). Although sometimes I'll send off a player that starts with high clue tokens to gather a couple extra so they can go for a seal by turn three or four (depending on if there is a gate surge).

My strategy in this game is to stay away from the thing with more teeth than brain cells. Also a random flamethrower is nice!

I agree with many of you reguarding the general strategy for winning the game. Trying to seal most of the games, killing some monster, using wisely the clues are probably the best way to enjoy the game in its entirety (even if this can be not the best strategy in some scenarios of the league). But what about dealing the AOO? I mean, we all had a terrible time everytime we play against Tsathoggua. If we manage to seal enough gates to win the game before he awakens, it's fine. But every time we have to face him after his awakening, there's no chance. Even with the guardian statue and a couple of good objects, his defenses are too high for any of us and we are all devoured every bloody time.

Once I found a task that should lower his defenses by 2 points, making the last fight easier, but... you cannot base your strategy on a single task. In case of crowded parties (7-8 investigators) maybe would be easier, but we usually play with four characters, so... any suggestions?

Depending on how your game plays out Mythos-wise depends on whether you've got time to screw around with tasks/missions. The tasks like that you've got to prioritize - do you need it or not? If you need it, do it. There are always ways to get it done if it is that important to you.

I had one game where I (playing 3 investigators) managed to finish 3 tasks and 2 missions. Every quiet moment I had I'd head off to another location to advance my quests/missions, especially when three of them ended up needing the same location at the same time.

Turambar said:

Tsathoggua final combat easier with 7-8 investigators??? Man, that's some cool weed smoke floating around your area . Even completing Sealing the Beast's Power (Mission reducing the combat mod by 2), you'd need 91-104 successes against -4 modifier, while Tsat's attacks require 1 gate trophy + 2 monster trophies. At most I see people getting 2-3 attacks in before getting devoured. And since Tsat shuts down Ma's and Church, you're hard-pressed to get allies + blessing.

Turambar said:

::Laughter:: my suggestion against Tsathoggua is rush— try to get some elder signs, have random encounters at locations that are likely to give you clues. Other than that, there's not much to say. Maybe go for sealing four gates and then closing the rest?

Dam said:

I thought it could be easier because of a greater amount of attacks. I've never tried with such a great deal of characters, but with 4 investigators we were able to remove 6 doom token from his doom track before being devoured. So it was just a speculation (not with a math basis, anyway)

And yep, even imho, the best thing to do is not to let him awaken (and so sealing gates, and do all the possible to avoid the final fight). I'm quite new to arkham, and I was wandering whether Tsath was really tough just for me or for anyone else. That's all! but thx to everyone for their suggestions!

Our general strategy is as follows:

At the beginning of the game, decide if we are going to try to kill the GOO, or win by sealing gates (winning by closing gates is tough, and not usually discussed).

If it's GOO killing, we create a strategy based on his/her/its stats.

If it's gate sealing, we elect 2-3 official gate sealers, and let everyone else kill the monsters in their way, even at the cost of their physical well being or sanity. This really helps, because in games with more players, it doesn't work to have everyone grabbing clue tokens.

If we're dealing with Kingsport, someone heads up there after doing something useful like sealing a gate. That person usually kicks around up there for the rest of the game. (I, for some reason, enjoy this relaxing job)

Sometimes, it looks like we aren't going to make our six seals in time to win the game. If that's so, we switch to GOO killing and do our best to prepare with what time we have left.

I hope that helped!

Turambar said:

Best bet would probably be to get your hands on those Unique Items that block an Ancient Ones attack for 1 round. Can't remember how many of them there are though, maybe 3? If you have Dark Pharaoh exp, grab The Messenger ally (if he's in the game). Of course, there is also the added option of using Call Ancient One, preferrably with a 7 Sanity investigator, burning off trophies to make Tsat wake in a weakened state.

That is IF you want to "win" by final combat. I never prepare for it, certainly would never even bother setting up the game if my idea was to just use the time before the GOO wakes to prepare for final combat, not even trying to close/seal.

But yeah, Tsat in final combat is hard. No Clue Tokens plus need 1 gate + 2 monster trophies for the attacks. Generally, the most gate trophies I'll have in a normal game is max 2 on an investigator and unless someone gets into a groove or tackles Terrible Experiment solo, most monster trophies seem to be max 5.

I have found it very benificial for all players to meet at the Curiosity Shop on turn 2. This allows us to trade, buy, and equip some characters for gate closing and others for supporting roles like clearing monsters. When using this strategy, we usually win.

mageith said:

Huh? What are you talking about? How can Investigators sit on gates to prevent re-openings? The only one who can do that is Kate Winthrop; for any other Investigator the gate will reopen whether they're sitting on the unstable location or not.

Solan said:

I think he means they sit on gates without closing/sealing them, until all can zap the gates together.

Is there an up-to-date Gate Open Probability/Seal Priority reference that includes Dunwich and Innsmouth?

For IH, I want to say, going by memory:

D.Reef/EOoD: 12 each

Marsh Refinery: 7

Y'ha-nthlei: 2

(leaving 1 Strange Sightings and 2 double-doomers to make up 36 Mythos)

DH:

Wizard's Hill: 12

Gardner's: 8

Other three: 2 each

Dam said:

Also a handy tactic when "No One Can Help You Now" Surfaces.

Dam said:

Ah, I see. Thanks, Dam.