So I can was buying a whirring contraption, and I think I may have discovered some of the next update. So, first of all, the contraption option is only available in the Season of Dares, so next season it will not longer be available. However, when you buy it, you get a cryptic message from Hell, proposing a “game-within-a-game”, which also mentions the “Fool of Hearts”. What I think is that in the next season, one of the four new characters will be this Fool of Hearts, and will significantly alter the gameplay somehow. How will this affect anything? I have no idea, but I just thought it was interesting.
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Well, the unlock condition only listing “Season of Dares” is probably a red herring. Each accomplice’s first season, that’s what the unlock looks like, but then the list grows for later seasons. I think the name for next season just isn’t in the game yet.
Now the text, that’s interesting and I hadn’t considered looking at all of that yet. “Fool” could be a new rank, but it’s also suspicious that there would be X of Hearts in Hearts’ Game. Perhaps our role in the Fool. I’m not sure what to do with “game-within-a-game,” that may or may not provide more insight than what we see with the Shames.
There was also one more word that was partially elided, which I think was Metamorphosis. Now this is coming from Hell so it could be their whole larval stage thing. But also could be a hint at what the targets are trying to accomplish by trying to participate. “Both killer and killed emerge changed,” well that’s sure reassuring for us.
The Season of Dares has ventured its last, and the atmosphere within the parlour becomes one of quiet reverence. Players of the game come and go, but there are those whose love of the game never wavers – a love that can only be called ‘obsession’.
They await you in the Gamekeeper’s Cottage: the Queen of Cod and the three Priests – of Smiths, Magpies, and Briars.
Hearts’ Game begins the Season of Devotions.
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Goodbye, fair Page of Gambits. We hardly knew ye, but when we did, you were really broken.
Also new wounds reduction and watchful home comfort.
Oooo, and it looks like you can draw four accomplices in the prep phase now.
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But they will return, I hope. I never managed to read all the related echoes to any of them.
Now this looks like a major improvement with all these accomplices!
EDIT: Uuuuh, we even got a new item which requires 7 wins: Ichorous Alarms - Home Comfort that increases your Watchful and Dreaded, and reduces Wounds build-up.
The Priests.
Man, the Priests. Yeah this is a big curveball. The Priests!
Just played a game with the Priest of Briars. Had an opportunity to pick a second Priest but elected not to.
Each Priest is associated with another Rank. Like the Priest of Briars is associated with Kings. Both of his cards grant a Boon which increases the damage of Kings. For Briars in particular, all four of his actions can potentially increase Preparation (depending in Boon). I don’t know if that’s universal to Priests, but my gut is that’s specific to him so he synergizes with Kings.
It’s fun.
Tried Magpies. He is not good for me. Might be useful for players with not maxed stats / gains / skills. He lowers checks for Pages. Other options give very little progress or clear hand. I would say he is worse than Loins, which is not good either.
Got lucky and won my first run this season 7/8 with King of Tallow as attacker, and Queen of Cod and Priest of Briars as supports (mostly quick preparation advancement). I had an outfit that gave 100% on Tallow’s KT checks, 83% percent ish on the shadowy and persuasion checks of the other two, once their boons activated. Do note that Briars has only persuasion checks in his cards despite being summed up as checking shadowy in the wiki table. I don’t know how to do anything on the wiki except read it but it could be confusing or downright bothersome for those who rely on it.
Though on the most recent run I started, I got only three choices for accomplices again.
I don’t know I am a white fly here, but honestly I am not enjoying the Game. While the text are interesting, it’s becoming too grindy/random/long. I am playing just for the rewards, but it’s a bit of a pain every time I havve too.
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If it’s any consolation, while I do find the Game marginally more fun than some other grinds I could name (it’s a far cry from my old method of stacking Mysteries items, requires less thought than building skeletons, is MUCH more efficient than ParaWar campaigns at this point and has a lower risk threshold of visiting the Boatman and needing to gently remind him about my Cider diet than piracy) I have to admit it’s greatest appeal for me is the rewards.
For me only downside is that winning does not matter much, outside of first streak in season.
I tried Queen of Cod and I don’t like her. Her boon is almost useless for me and her Shadowy affiliation does not fit well with anything.
My favorite team so far is triple Watchful (skin, lures, flames). With four cards hand it’s much easier to draft.
Knuckles was nerfed a bit. He is still strong at 6-7 elusiveness, but weaker before that. Result is very long hunts, which is inconvenient.
Wait, Knuckles was nerfed? Huh, he’s been my favourite. With Ribs/Knuckles/Skin I can just turn my brain off and rack up progress/preparations with a good check, or ammo to arm Knuckles with on a bad one. Haven’t checked in the past few days since I’m antsy about catching up with Feast of the Zee after some impossibly bad diving rolls.
I did fairly well with Roses, Knuckles and Briars. It took a few turns to set up, but typically I’d absolutely obliterate a target. I think I even hit 9 on poisoning once (certainly I came pretty close to it a couple of times). That said I still think this is once or twice a season for me. I have an excessive amount of prize tickets and can’t decide what to spend them on.
In the last season I spent a lot of time converting rewards into Leviathan frames, farming sharks → fins → amber fins and building fish skeletons in appropriate weeks.
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Ivory Organza is in the Rat Market right now, so if you don’t want to bother with the complexity of the bone market then Organza is a viable option.
Boon of Cod gives +1 Shapeling Arts. Strong indication that we might get SA accomplices next season.
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Interesting. I tried a team of her, Loins and Spines and found it very easy and quite fast and powerful. Would be even better with Livers instead of Loins, but I guess you could slot any Shadowy card in there as long as you have her and Spines.
Queen of Cod is interesting because she thins your deck in a way that no other Accomplice does. For this reason she’ll always be a good third accomplice if your other two make a good team. But she’ll also make you overflow with Prep, which is good for Kings (and potentially the Page of Lures?).
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Exactly. You burn her first card, the second card does good setup, and then the 5-card deck you’re left with means you can hammer Spines for the rest of the round with improved reliability. It’s a good combo.
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