I'm transitioning from the The Gathering to The Midnight Masks scenario and would appreciate advice on how to spend experience points. I did pretty well with Roland and Wendy on my last run through The Gathering. Each of them can spend 6 points on upgrading their deck.

I'm guessing there is no "typical" rule on how to spend experience points. So for the Midnight Masks, is it wise to spend all my experience points? Or should a save a couple points for my next upgrade?

So if ten players gave their views on exactly how to upgrade decks, I think you'd get twenty answers (and that's a good thing). That said, there's a few suggestions one could make. First things first, though, what is your card pool like? My suggestions would be different if you're playing with a single core set (there's some pretty bad cards in the "starter" decks that should be replaced as a priority) than if you're playing with a few more cards to choose from.

Generally speaking, I'd suggest spending as many of your experience points as you reasonably can. If all you want is a single specific upgrade, you might well want to save up a few spare exp, but it's also worth considering that you'll hopefully get a decent amount of exp after the next scenario as well - and having a better deck will help you get them!

For general advice with the core set only - Wendy doesn't have access to the best range of upgrades, though having two copies of Leo de Luca (one of them being the level 1 version, one being the level 0 version) can be a good idea as he's a really solid ally. Aquinnah isn't very good, but Lucky (2) is a solid upgrade in value, and Close Call can be a great way for her to get rid of enemies despite her terrible Combat skill. Will to Survive can be incredible to have a turn where you guarantee passing everything, especially if you're taking Leo de Luca to have an extra action, but her ability already goes some way to making the Chaos Bag less scary so it's not as good for her as most other Survivors.

For Roland, if you really want to lean into blowing enemies away, the Shotgun is an obvious choice - probably with Extra Ammunition as well, since it only has 2 ammo by itself - but you can also get by with just his pistols and the Machete just fine. The level 2 Beat Cop can be a very good idea as well. He doesn't benefit all that much from the Seeker upgrades, though Magnifying Glass (1) can do solid work because you can pull it back when you don't need it - but it doesn't work well alongside the Shotgun because that's 2-handed. The Elder Sign Amulet can be a really good choice for Roland as well, because his sanity is his big weakness.

if you want to maximize your bang for buck, also considering low cost cards with great mileage. i love the shotgun and bought it right away too, but it's expensive and won't help you if you have no resources to use it. having some smaller low or no-cost cards to boost your weaker stats or gain resources will really help in a pinch.

Great feedback--thanks!

I forgot we're allowed to have the base level-0 card plus an upgraded version in the same deck (unless prohibited by card). Two copies of Leo de Luca and/or two copies of Lucky sounds like a good choice for Wendy.

For Roland, he suffered 1 mental trauma so that Elder Sign Amulet is seeming like a must, perhaps with Extra Ammunition as his second card. Then hopefully I'll be able to afford the Shotgun after completing the Midnight Masks scenario.

Welcome to the game Sir_Blacksoutalot!

I'd recommend a Dynamite Blast card. Comes in handy for the third scenario. But overall, any upgrades won't hurt. get an upgraded weapon, or some better investigating cards.

Just about to start Midnight Masks scenario, but first need to spend experience points (8 points each for Roland and Wendy = Woot!!).

Is it truly rules compliant to include both a level 0 card plus an upgrade of same card in an Investigator Deck? For example, a level 0 and a level 1 upgrade of Leo de Luca.

I ask because the Rules Reference says to remove the lower level version of the card (pg. 5). Similarly, the Campaign Guide (pg. 3) for NotZ states: "If a player has a lower-level version of a card and wishes to purchase the higher-level version, he or she may upgrade that card by spending experience equal to the difference in level between the two. The new version is added to the deck, and the older version is removed."

ALSO: The rules state that all cards cost at least 1 experience point, such as for adding a level 0 card to your deck. But when calculating the difference between a level 0 card and say a level 3 card, the math is 3 - 0 = 3, right? And not 3 - 1 = 2?

1 hour ago, Sir_Blacksoutalot said:

Is it truly rules compliant to include both a level 0 card plus an upgrade of same card in an Investigator Deck? For example, a level 0 and a level 1 upgrade of Leo de Luca.

Yes, by default you may include two copies of any given card by title in your deck. So you could have two level 0 Leo de Luca’s, a level 0 and a level 1 Leo de Luca or two level 1 Leo de Luca’s. This is in the Rules Reference under “Deckbuilding”. If you only have a single level 0 Leo de Luca in your deck (e.g. if you only have one core set) then you could replace any card in your deck when you buy the level 1 version, you wouldn’t have to remove the level 0 copy.

Upgrading is specifically for when you replace a lower level card with a higher level card of the same title , possibly reducing the amount of xp you spend, but as you correctly point out there is no benefit to doing this when the card you are upgrading from is level 0. Your calculations are accurate: it would be 3 - 0 = 3 if you were to upgrade a level 0 card into its level 3 version. And yes, to swap out a card in your deck for a level 0 card costs 1 xp.

Ahhhh...I think I get now.

So I can choose to either buy a second copy for straight-up experience point cost on card, OR I can choose to upgrade same named card for the benefit of spending fewer experience points.

I love it when you guys explain things and the lightbulb in my head suddenly clicks on. THANKS!!!

It's worth noting that the word "may" always indicates an optional effect. It pops up on quite a few cards.