As far as I am concerned, there still isn’t really another game like Thea or Thea 2 out there. To me it has the one more turn qualities of the earlier Civilization games combine with the randomness of a story based game that also changes based on measures of chance and just choices you’ve made. I mean if you play with an elf character, suddenly the same event you’ve seen a dozen times before just feels different and you know it’s because of the elf because an option shows up that makes it clear that you are getting a choice here that you didn’t get before because you an elf, or a dwarf, or a demon or a ghost…and you’re wondering what kind of neat outcome there will be. 2 is hugely flexible when it comes to difficulty. I play at 139%, but it can be easily tweaked to be a lot harder or significantly easier.
I think Thea was a sleeper classic that Thea 2 builds on well. There will definitely be a segment of the gaming population that will find it repetitive. It’s designed to play again and again and again and get just enough chance, whether it’s your characters, your gods, the resources you get or choices you make to make it feel not entirely the same path. It’s also a game you’re meant to lose, like give up and start-over which some will hate, like really hate… but starting over still gives you those points for gods so it’s not really a waste at all.
Now Thea 2 does have a design flaws that might make it seem less worthwhile than 1.
I think the island approach was actually a mistake. The idea of building varying levels of rafts and tying it to weight makes the nomad option feel kind of… meh to me. I mean there is a fair amount of chance in the game and there was such excitement to find a rare resource early on in 1, even if going for it that early often wound up being a mistake. I just dislike this designated island stuff so much but… a couple of steps back doesn’t detract too badly from the game.
They’re still changing stuff, and if they support it like the last one, maybe a few new voices will be heard and they can make some shifts.
It really is a game you learn via playing, doing it right and wrong, learning for the next time. I think I am at around 170 hours now (400+ on the last one), and 90% of that is an MP experience which means molasses speed but… I get excited every time I see a new quest, every time I see an old quest with a new option, every time a kid grows up
some minor notes.
I don’t consider the auto-resolve a cheat, especially in MP. It speeds things up so much, especially for groups you know you will win, the easy ones. Even if I get a good result with auto-resolve, I often do manual if it’s not the best, especially for yellow. I still feel it’s off for yellow challenges (intellect/wisdom). If it’s a new group, it’s best to learn what you’re up against.
Most of the time, the +1 is a primary attribute and the +2 are secondary.
Leveling, not children, is usually focused on their class. Warrior can benefit from strength, primary, and perception, secondary. Hunter meanwhile is mostly focus on precision although sometimes I beef them up on yellow too and they wind up being heavy hitters there too (but sadly not too much life). And then it can be a little situational. I’ve given a hunter strength just so they can carry some armor, and a +2 Wits is often exciting to me. Getting my people upfront to bring something down fast can be the difference between a total wipe and victory.
Keep in mind your gear should show you what is being used to attack which can help you choose what to pick too… like the witch might be using destiny or mysticism depending on what item she is using.