Strategy

This page contains some info and tips on Gordian Quest's main mechanics.

## Modes

Both Campaign and Realm modes are decent places for a new player to start.

1 Campaign and 1 Realm can be stored simultaneously on each Save Slot.
Additional Save Slots can be accessed from the bottom right of the Title screen, although Renown is not transferred.

### Campaign Mode

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*Play through the Acts, a longform epic experience that spans across multiple continents. (15-30 hours)*

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Recommended for players who want:

* a longer narrative with a variety of locations + enemies
* permanent progression at a leisurely pace
* to experiment with multiple Heroes and strategies

In Campaign mode there are currently 4 Acts, which are unlocked by completing them in order.
Upon completing an Act the player may continue into the next while retaining their current progress.

All Heroes gain Experience/Skill points at the same rate, so a character can be swapped into a party with little downside.
This mode also happens to be an effective 'Sandbox':
In Acts 3 and 4 (2?) a player can buy a Stone of Virtue from Kyreal (an NPC at the Town) for 50 Renown. This lets a player reset a Hero's skill points, allowing them to redo their deck and stat distribution.

### Realm Mode

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*A quick and frantic mode that pits you against increasingly unfavorable odds to see how far you can go. (1-3 hours)*

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*In Realm Mode, your objective is to clear a series of realms.*

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*Monsters and Events get harder with each Realm. There are 5 Realms in Quick Mode, while there is no upper limit in Endless Mode.*

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*The more realms you clear, the greater your Renown bounty, which you will carry over into Campaign Mode.*

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*At the end of every realm awaits the Realm Boss, one of many powerful monsters that inhabit the world. Defeating a Realm Boss gives you a choice of the next realm, and a reward to help you on your journey.*

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Recommended for players who want:

* a rogue-like with lots of decision points
* to progress 1-3 Heroes at an accelerated pace
* test viability of Heroes throughout early/mid/late game

### Skirmish

> *A 1v1 online duel. May the strongest prevail.*
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## Heroes

*For a list of available Heroes and strategies for each, see Heroes.*

A player can choose one to three Heroes to form their Party.
In Campaign mode Heroes can be switched and Revived at a Town.
In Realm mode Heroes cannot be switched (except by retiring and starting a new run), and can only be Revived from a Boon after defeating a Realm level's Boss.

### Solo

At most difficulties Solo runs are viable with little effect on difficulty (some players may recommend running Realm Mode Solo for learning the game at a 'smoother' rate).

Pros:

* Faster combat and deckbuilding
* Better enables positioning to avoid attacks/harmful cells
* 150% Renown rewards in Realms

Cons:

* Vulnerability to Debuffs - harmful effects such as Root, Disarm and Exposed can end a run if a player doesn't have Purge Runes or Cleansing Consumables
* Lower flexibility against certain enemies
* Lower power 'Ceiling' - after hitting the Level 100 cap it's harder (but not impossible!) to go as far in Realms

### Team Composition

A player may opt to build a team with:

* 3 self sufficient heroes who can avoid damage through Guard/Avert/Positioning as required (like Hero's Starter decks)
* 2 damage-specialized heroes and a front-column tank/defensive support
* 3 damage-specialized heroes with some control to prevent lethal damage, then some healing once combat is stabilized.

Having each Hero specialize in each colour is a decent strategy for performing well in Events and meeting Item thresholds.
Having evenly distributed stats can also be desirable for unlocking certain Talents and pivoting into a Hybrid deck.

Alternatively, the Warlock's Strength/Dex/Int Totems reward 'mono-coloured' comps, especially ones that summon units (Druid/Ranger, Golemancer).

## Combat

### Enemy Intentions

An Enemy's intentions can be revealed by mousing over the icon above their health bar, and holding down Left Alt will reveal all enemy actions at once.
This will be orange if it will hit a Hero (anything?), and will grey out if there are no valid targets (and the action will cancel)

### Positioning

Most enemies use Melee attacks, which can be avoided by being 2 Lanes or 3 Columns away.
As a rule of thumb the Top/Bottom Left corners are usually the safest place to be against Melee enemies.

Positioning is especially important at the start of high difficulty Realm runs, as Guard cards are often insufficient for blocking everything + use AP that could be spent on attacking a high priority enemy.

### Keywords

*For list of Positive and Negative status effects one may encounter, see Keywords.*

## Progression

### Talents

*For lists of all available talents and tips about which ones to prioritize, see Talents.*

### Card Selection

Synergy

Artifacts

## World Map

Camping

Events

Shrines