Deathless. Tales of Old Rus Beginner's Guide | Tips & Tricks

Deathless. Tales of Old Rus is a fun roguelike deck-builder that offers a different experience each run, with different builds forming during each run. This is due to the game giving out cards and relics randomly, and with the sheer number of relics and cards, you're unlikely to be able to repeat builds. The game does a good job of introducing you to each of the mechanics, but there are a few things that'll help you improve. This guide will look at those tips and tricks for beginners.

Don't Get Too Many Cards

One of the key things to remember is that you shouldn't strive to get a giant deck. This usually means that you should avoid having too many cards in your deck. A good number is around 25-30. But even 30 is stretching it. The main reason you don't want too many cards is because of the reshuffle mechanic.

See, most of your cards are probably pretty important, with certain ones being a core part of your run. So, when you get too many cards, you'll have to wait 2-3 turns before you get to your important ones. It also means that with each round, there is a lesser chance of you getting the cards you need for that round.

This will result in hilarious, if annoying, situations where the enemy monsters are all incapacitated in one way or another, but all you have in your hand is a bunch of skill and boon cards. Optimization is key, so you shouldn't rely on throwing cards at the enemy until you win. This also matters when you have the opportunity to discard cards. You shouldn't just try to get rid of curses; if you have a card that you rarely use in battle, get rid of it when you can. The saved space will benefit you a lot down the line.

Remember to Balance Cards

Alright, moving on to the next unrealized concept. You shouldn't always stack one type of card. To jog your memory, the game has four types of cards: universal, boon, attack, and skill; now, there are also the special cards you might have for Vasilisa or Alyosha, but overall, they all follow the same pattern. You should always try to have a 1:1:1 ratio between attack, defense, and movement cards.

This means that statistically, at least, you are bound to get at least one of each in your hand each round. This balance gives you a lot of versatility and lets you survive long enough to dish out all your attacks.

Don't Hold onto Consumables

Consumables are very useful, and more often than not, you might be inclined to save them for a boss battle. However, more often than not, you'll find that you are discarding them more than using them. 

This applies especially to the mid-tier consumables, the ones that don't do much. Hoarding them won't get you anywhere, so you should instead use them whenever you can. This doesn't mean wasting them; however, don't hold onto them for no reason. You'll get plenty of opportunities to get more.

Losing Health is Fine

Health is ultimately your most important resource. There are very limited opportunities to regenerate, and there are fewer moments you'll actually get them. However, don't worry too much if you lose a few hit points per battle. It is sort of given in most scenarios. This especially applies to boss battles, as not only do you get the chance to regenerate HP before the battle, but you also regenerate up to full HP afterward.

Always Try to Get Relics

Relics are the most important items in the game. They wildly change how you approach your current run and maybe what gets you to victory. Since they are basically just randomized, you should always aim to get as many relics as you can. This increases the chances of getting better relics, thereby increasing the chances of getting.

Boons are Useful but Expensive

Boons are cards that get used up every battle once you play them and generally don't have effects themselves; instead, they grant modifiers that give certain card types effects. Some boons are right; others are downright broken.

They are, however, expensive, and generally, you don't really have the means to spare 2-3 action points for a card that doesn't show any value until at least the next round. So, you should not rely on them. They are useful, wildly so, but they are not to be relied on.

Check out our Deathless. Tales of Old Rus Review and other guides below:

• Deathless. Tales of Old Rus | Leshy Boss Guide