I have wanted to get this game for some time and now with the 2nd Edition coming out I am not sure which one to get.

I was thinking since I dont have the game at all just to start fresh with the 2nd Edition. What does anyone else think would be best?

Well, starting fresh with 2e is an opportunity to avoid a lot of known rules headaches and get into the game on the "ground floor", so to speak. Of course, 2e will have its own share of idiosyncrasies, but one hopes it will at least address some of the larger concerns from 1e.

On the other hand, it had been stated that none of the heroes or monsters in 2e will be repeats of those found in 1e, and there will in fact be a "conversion kit" (purchased separately) to convert the 1e figures over to 2e stats. So picking up the "vanilla" portion of 1e might be worthwhile, even if you plan on upgrading shortly thereafter. Not that we expect to see those figures used too much in 2e quests, so it's mostly a question of how much you want options for fan content or "completist" attitudes.

The completist in me would really like to get 1e and later all of the expansions, but I think I could be just as happy starting with 2e.

causeitwasfunny said:

If I were just getting into Descent now, I would probably start by forgetting about the Advanced Camapign expansions (Road to Legend and Sea of Blood.) From what we can tell, it doesn't look like anything will be converted from those expansions. On top of that, RtL is getting ridiculously hard/expensive to find and SoB is notoriously rickity in the rules department.

Being a completist, however, I would probably still want to get the 1e core and the three so-called "vanilla" expansions. The figures would transfer over and I'm sure I could find things to do with the spare tiles, effect tokens, trap bits, etc, even if there's no official way to convert them. That's just my opinion, of course. It's also worth mentioning that those four boxes (core + 3 exp) would still be pretty pricey. Descent was never really that cheap and now that it looks like it's going OOP, I imagine it will only get more expensive where it can be found.

Those who don't have around $200 to blow on an old edition of the game are probably better off just cutting their losses and starting fresh with 2e. It's true we don't know much about it right now, but FFG has shown a proven ability to learn from past mistakes and improve things in new editions of other games they've made. Again, in my opinion.

For me I'm going to start with the 2nd edition and see where it takes me. I can only hope FFG will release the same kind of expansions as they did for the 1st edition.

causeitwasfunny said:

As Steve-O mentioned, you might have a difficult time getting all of the expansions for 1e at this point, particularly if you aren't in the mode of "buy them all as soon as you see them." You can still get the base game in lots of places (though sadly, after the announcement of 2e it seems that fewer and fewer places are offering it at a discount from its MSRP), and you'd probably even be able to find Well of Darkness, Tomb of Ice, and Sea of Blood (with Tomb of Ice and Sea of Blood still widely available, and still frequently sold at a discount from MSRP). Altar of Depair is almost impossible to find, and hence when a copy pops up on eBay the asking price is on the extreme side (I saw a copy being offered for either US$199 or US$299--I forget which given that as soon as I saw it I thought "glad I bought my copy two years ago for $38" and clicked on something else). Road to Legend is also difficult to find (again, appearing now and again on eBay for a high price), and the related lieutenant figures are also getting hard to find (though at least with the lieutenants, I've heard rumblings that they may be included in 2e so you might still get those direct from FFG on another production run).

Bottom line, I guess, is that if you are getting the 1e stuff because you are a completist, then you might quickly be irritated by the fact that you'll never be able to complete your game at a reasonable price point (and I say that as a completist myself--someone who bought two copies of the base game so I didn't have to subsitute a giant for a demon or a regular figure for a master figure in certain quests ) .

Oh yeah, and I guess there's the Jonas, Tobin, and Kel figures (and Nara, assuming you can't find a first print of Sea of Blood with him/her in it), which I don't think you can get unless you find someone willing to part with them. If I were starting at this point, I'd probably think it would suck that I couldn't get all the great 1e stuff, and then just start with the 2e--particularly if your plans were to primarily play the 2e and just convert over the 1e stuff.

Now I'm off to get a copy of DungeonQuest so that I can get six more Descent figures for my collection.

aeroguru said:

I suppose we don't really know what their 2e incarnations will be like, but having seen the hero cards for these four, I don't think it's any great loss to be without them (except, of course, in the sense of "collecting them all.") Kel and Tobin are known to cause headaches for the OL (particularly in SoB, from what I hear), Jonas's ability sounds cool but is really only sometimes useful. Nara's ability is the only solid one of the bunch, and she's also conveniently the easiest one to get ("easy" being a relative term, you understand.)

Frankly, above all else I hope for 2e, the thing I'd like most is to NOT see any more promos figs. All they manage to accomplish is to make an inordinately large number of people feel left out because they can't get a small set of ultimately not-so-great figures.

Steve-O said:

I've read about Tobin in campaign mode; I still have to start an advanced campaign, but I see the point of being able to one-shot the Level/Dungeon leaders from distance when at Silver/Gold Level. He proved to be only average on Vanilla Quests, where his poor Speed doesn't help a lot with huge maps.

I suppose Kel won't be any better, especially if you read her ability as working ALWAYS, including spawning LoS. Combined with Shadowcloak immunity on Islands is enough for any SoB OL to give up.

Jonas and Nara look more balanced. Jonas has the chance to get around the Undying ability and he's immune to Crushing Blow, besides being very quick. 0 Armour is a little bit strange for a Hero COVERED in full plate, but perhaps that is just bronze with little protective function. I think he makes up for a decent Runner in a campaign group. Nara looks like a balanced Melee Hero, but I never saw her in play.

Steve-O said:

My only chance to get those figures was the German version, since I live in Italy and have easy access to that market. I like the minis and the Runebound cards, but I admit that some of them feel very imbalanced in their Descent incarnation. I hope there won't be promo-elements like these in future Descent editions. Missing a card, e.g. a bonus Treasure Item, is something I can tolerate as a game fan and collector. Missing a miniature that expands 3 different games (I don't own Runewars, but who knows...) is simply... frustrating. Please don't release such promo figs again, they will become an headache for most fans.

Steve-O said:

I agree with you wholeheartedly on this point. Apparently there are far too many of us who want to get all of the heroes (even if some of them aren't very good--I've played with Jonas and it was a pretty rare occasion on which you could do damage that reduced an enemy down to just one wound, particularly given the ease with which even very large monsters can be dealt with in one shot later in the dungeons; although I do like Tobin notwithstanding that he isn't exceptional in vanilla Descent), which I suppose is a way to get people to visit booths at game conventions--but it does tick the rest of us off who can't make it to all such conventions.

I am just starting my board game collection and have only played a few times in the past (Twilight Imperium 2nd Ed. and Citadels and stuff like that). To me the only real option is to go with the new stuff onward because I personally can't afford all the older stuff now that it is out of print.

ive been trying to get the first one myself.did they stop making it? all the online shopping sites want $2oo plus.................and if its used they're asking for its original retail price............the game looks really cool.....id like to play it ...............$200 is to much, ive got a family.............i could of swung $90 for it but it looks like they're not making it anymore............what a shame,i just found out about this past week.................without the first one,the second seems pointless to me

danse mcabre is talking about decent'journey in the dark......first edition

danse mcabre said:

Yes, they've stopped making the first edition. Sorry about the timing of your discovery. =P

Second edition is an entirely separate game, for what it's worth. There are options for converting parts of first edition into second edition stats, but the base box of 2e will come with everything you need to play, if you're that interested in the concept. Getting first edition at this point is only useful if you really feel the need to have an extra 48 heroes (or so) to use in a game that caps at 4 (hero) players. 2e comes with 8 brand spanking new heroes all by itself. (Or if you absolutely hate what little information exists for 2e and have decided you are ONLY interested in playing 1e.) If you're not interested in 2e without 1e, that's your decision to make, of course. Frankly if it was choice between only 2e or no Descent at all, I'd still choose only 2e.

Two things to keep in mind:

1) the prices on 1e are crazy right now, but that may change after 2e is actually out. Keep watching the market.

2) the only things from 1e that will be officially converted to 2e are the miniatures. If you're interested in 2e, but only if you also have 1e, then a used copy that at least has all the minis should do you fine.