I have posted the same post in the past forums and now I post it here where all the people are. ;-)
Here is the link to the original thread. I recommend to read it before you start commenting my post. Thank you.
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POST #1
I just played vanilla Descent with my friend. I was the overlord and he played all 4 heroes. We had a speculation about full melee party (do they get enough good items, how about sharing the starting items etc.) before so he give it a try... and it worked like a dream.
There are more advantages in full melee party than in any other combination. Melee characters are not weak and it is more problematic for the overlord to choose a good target. They deal much more damage than ranged heroes and don't have to take care about line of fire.
Disadvantage is that they get less useful items but it really doesn't matter since they are **** hard to kill anyway and deal more damage right from the beginning. On the other hand, if they get a good spell or bow they can use it with a power potion (in expansions) and still use it if necessary. In addition, you get almost all the necessary melee skills since you can draw so many melee skill cards.
We have played only once with full melee party but it looked clearly easier and I hardly even had a chance against him in any moment of game.
What kind of experience do you have about full melee parties? After the game I had a bit sad feeling because this really removes some variety from the game since there is no really idea to use anything else than melee heroes.
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POST #2
After playing a few games with full melee party, it looks like the best combination is the next:
1) Nanok (because he don't armor in the beginning)
2) Tahlia (pure melee unit)
3) Varikas (ability works nice with Ghost Armor)
4) Suprise, suprise: Battlemage Jaes (this is actually the only useful mage because his armor value is 2 and in addition he can wear armors)
Equip the heros this way:
1) Axe, save money so you can buy better skill faster
2) Axe, Chainmail
3) Sword, Shield, Leather Armor, Ghost Armor and/or Ring of Protection
4) Chainmail, Immolation
It really doesn't matter what skill cards you draw because this group will rock your enemies so heavily anyway. Of course, the more suitable skills you get, the easier it get.