12 Essential Tips for Beginners in Monster Train 2

Welcome! If you’re venturing into Monster Train 2 without any prior experience with the original game, you may be feeling a bit daunted. Don’t worry—you’re not alone, as I similarly dove into this sequel without the foundation of its predecessor.

Having spent over 200 hours playing Slay The Spire, I assumed that experience would give me an edge in Monster Train 2. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that my familiarity with other deckbuilders didn’t fully prepare me for this game’s depth and intricacies.

While Monster Train 2 may not be the most convoluted deckbuilding game available, it is certainly more complex than many beginner-friendly options. The game successfully introduces its systems and mechanics, yet there is a considerable amount of information to absorb right from the outset.

For those who enjoyed the first Monster Train, transitioning to the sequel should present minimal obstacles. However, for newcomers, I highly recommend reviewing the following tips to ensure your initial journey is as smooth as possible, leading you toward celestial victories.

All aboard, Champions!

12 Embrace Learning From The Start

Engage In a Cycle of Learning

Entering Monster Train 2 with an eager mindset to learn is the crucial first step in your deckbuilding adventure. The game is filled with unique mechanics and terminology that may initially feel overwhelming—but that’s perfectly okay.

Feel free to take risks by experimenting with different builds, card placements, and upgrades. You will encounter failures, but since this is a game steeped in numbers and strategy, analyzing your results will help you understand what works and what doesn’t.

As a roguelike, don’t shy away from treating your initial attempts as valuable learning sessions.

11 Stick With The Default Primary Clan Initially

Leverage Fel For Your Preliminary Runs

In each run, you’ll choose a primary clan along with an allied clan. Each clan boasts unique cards, units, and a Champion that integrates into your strategy from the get-go.

At the outset, you’ll only have access to two clans—The Banished and The Pyreborne. Picking your primary clan determines the Champion that will lead your battles. Choosing The Banished grants access to Fel, and selecting The Pyreborne gives you Lord Fenix.

To put it simply, Fel can be significantly powerful if you maximize her ability by stacking Valor whenever possible, often outperforming Lord Fenix in early encounters.

With her multi-strike capability, adequately enhanced with Valor, Fel can deal over 200 damage per attack, which is remarkable at Covenant Zero difficulty.

10 Remain at Covenant Zero Until You Master Wins

Focus on Practice Before Progressing

Following the often inevitable failure of your first run, you will be prompted to adjust the game’s difficulty, known as Covenant Level. Options range from Covenant Zero to Covenant One, with increased rewards for choosing a higher difficulty.

However, I strongly advise against selecting Covenant One just yet. Covenant Zero provides enough cards for you to eventually secure victories while allowing you to familiarize yourself with the game’s mechanics. It’s wiser to earn a few wins at this level before considering a more challenging environment.

9 Master Your Unit Placement Strategies

Position Tanks In Front and Glass Cannons In Rear

During unit deployment, it’s quite easy to feel overwhelmed. Here’s a recommended layout:

• Level 3: Your Champion (Fel or Lord Fenix, based on your Primary Clan)
• Level 2: Back: Spear Steward; Front: Shield Steward
• Level 1: Back: Spear Steward; Front: Shield Steward

In most scenarios, your front line will absorb damage, so it’s essential to position units with high health here—your Shield Steward fits this role. Place your Spear Steward in the back to maximize their damage-dealing potential without the threat of direct hits.

I’ve consistently found it effective to position my Champion on the top level. For Fel, this approach also allows for sufficient time to buff her Valor, making her a formidable adversary by the time enemies breach the third floor.

This fundamental placement strategy remains applicable as you acquire more powerful units throughout your run.Always key to remember: Tanks in front, glass cannons in back.

8 Proactively Attack From Your Hand To Prevent Damage

Take Initiative In Defending

Unless your units possess the Quick modifier, enemies will always hit you first. Thus, gaining an advantage during the card-playing phase is essential.

Typically, you should have a Firestarter card available, which inflicts 1 damage and adds 2 Pyregel—a combat advantage—onto an enemy.

This damage may seem minimal, but it can often eliminate weaker enemies before they engage your units. While some foes may deal little damage, their cumulative attacks can be significant, making early elimination a smart tactic.

7 Don’t Hesitate To Restart Or Undo Actions

Utilize Available Mechanics Freely

One of Monster Train 2’s beginner-friendly features is the ability to restart any battle through the pause menu. Additionally, if you wish to redo a turn due to a misplay or momentary lapse in focus, there is an “undo”option readily accessible.

While some hardcore gamers might dismiss these mechanics as a form of “save scumming, ”it’s important to recognize that the developers included these features for a reason. As long as it doesn’t affect your enjoyment, use these opportunities to refine your strategy.

6 Limit Trials To Early Encounters

Pursue Early Financial Benefits

In each non-boss battle, you’ll occasionally have the option to add a Trial to your battle, providing one debuff in exchange for extra gold for a victorious outcome.

For those who may feel hesitant, avoid these Trials for now. While extra gold is advantageous, it’s not crucial during your early learning experiences.

Once you become more confident, consider activating Trials only in the early battles of a run. The additional gold can lay a solid foundation for your journey, as these initial encounters are often manageable.

Beware, however, that later Trials can become extremely challenging and jeopardize your progress—so hold off until you feel equipped to handle them.

5 Spend Your Gold Wisely During Intermissions

Embrace Strategic Spending

Following each encounter, you will be able to select a route for your train, visiting merchants, repairing your pyre, and adding more units, among other tasks. Spending gold with merchants is essential.

However, resist the urge to spend immediately. Purchasing upgrades before assessing your other options could waste valuable resources that might have been better allocated to stronger unit acquisitions.

You have the flexibility to choose the order of your route visits, so prioritize evaluating all available options first. Once you’ve determined your next steps, then visit merchants to ensure your investments are wise.

I also encourage spending liberally during each intermission. You never know when a run might end unexpectedly, so take advantage of every opportunity to stock up.

4 Prioritize Routes Featuring Artifacts and Unit Enhancements

Pathways to Power

Monster Train 2 allows you to chart your locomotive’s course after every battle, with varying paths leading to different rewards, perks, and enhancements.

Whenever possible, opt for routes that offer (Herzal’s Hoard) or allow for purchasing (Merchant of Trinkets) an Artifact. For those familiar with Slay The Spire, Artifacts function similarly to relics, providing permanent buffs and enhancements.

These bonuses might include doubling the effect of Valor, augmenting health or damage for your units, or increasing the number of cards in your draw pile. Such Artifact selections can quickly make you overpowered during Covenant Zero encounters.

If no Artifact routes are available, search for paths that include the Merchant of Steel, where you will find valuable unit upgrades like enhanced health, increased damage, and multi-strike capabilities.

3 Streamlining Your Deck is Beneficial

Less is More in Deckbuilding

As gamers, we often find ourselves collecting everything in sight, but this mindset can hinder your deckbuilding strategy.Overloading your deck is rarely beneficial.

Most merchants will allow you to pay a small fee to remove cards, and some locations along your route may even offer free removals. Thoughtful consideration of card culling is generally a wise approach.

For instance, once you’ve acquired several higher-tier units, it’s often advantageous to remove entry-level cards like the Spear and Shield Stewards, enhancing your chances of drawing your superior cards more frequently.

As your collection grows, it’s prudent to eliminate cards that you find less useful. A leaner deck increases your chances of cycling through essential cards, enabling you to deploy your most effective strategies more often.

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