Challenges, mindset and benefits of True Solo
Playing with a single investigator has a large impact on how the game plays out. I went into detail on the effect of investigator count on the game in this post. And the largest change occurs going from two to one investigator. For this reason, many players that play alone opt to control two investigators. The community uses the terms Two Handed Solo and True Solo to designate investigator count when playing alone.
This article will focus on what specific challenges a player can expect playing True Solo, in which mindset to approach deckbuilding and play strategy, and finally what are the benefits of choosing to play True Solo.
I will not yet go into the details of deckbuilding choices, card selection, investigators strengths and weaknesses, but they are all topics I intend to cover on this website in later articles.
Challenges of True Solo
At its core, Arkham remain the same going True Solo. To win, the investigator must reach a favorable resolution in the final scenario of a campaign. In other scenarios, the goals remains the same :
- Collecting XP
- Avoiding trauma and defeat
- Reaching a favorable resolution
These high level goals can be achieved by solving specific challenges the games throws on the player. Collecting XP is done by clearing clues in victory locations and defeating victory enemies. Avoiding trauma and defeat is done by mitigating the damage/horror dealt by encounter (including enemies) and scenario cards. Reaching a favorable resolution is tied to advancing the act deck to the end. Acts usually are advanced by having clues to spend, defeating a specific enemy, reaching a given location or performing skill test(s) on a scenario card. It also requires to get to the resolution before the doom clock runs out.
These challenges remains the same at every player count. However, with multiple investigators, the challenges can be shared among multiple investigators. Cluevers can clear victory locations and gather the clues to spend on the act deck, Fighters/Evaders can handle enemies, support can help passing treachery tests and heal other players. A skill test on a scenario card can be passed by the most proficient investigators.
In True Solo, the investigator must have answers to all of these challenges. Nobody will bail the player out of an enemy draw when unharmed. No one else is going to break a Locked Door. A single encounter card can be an insurmountable obstacle if you are not equipped for it. The investigator can stand in front of a scenario skill test of difficulty 4+ with only 1 in the corresponding stat.
To be prepared to True Solo play, the player investigator and deck should be able to :
- Gather Clues
- Deal with enemies, with a way of defeating some of them
- Prevent / Soak / Heal the damage and horror
- Move
- Pass a few difficult skill tests
- Be action efficient
This is the puzzle to solve in true Solo. How to construct the deck to enable the chosen investigator to achieve all of these point. In following articles, we will cover each of them, looking into specific cards, deck constructions options, and investigator specificities.
How does True Solo play out like?
The main thing a player can feel playing true solo is being action starved. The game is more demanding for True Solo players, that have to spend actions that could have been shared in a group. Every action spent has to be carefully evaluated. Is it worth to play this extra asset midway through a scenario? Can you afford backtracking to pick-up the last clue on this location? Everything that is not advancing the game feels more of a step-back than in multiplayer.
The second important aspect is how quickly things can turn bad if you don’t have the right answer at the right time. A turn lost because you could not evade or kill an enemy, a Frozen in Fear you cannot get rid off can lead you to defeat in a couple turns. This is true in Arkham in general, but even more True Solo.
Being close/at the finish line also feels different. In a group, being defeated close to the line might not be that harmful, as another investigator get to the resolution without you. In True Solo, it will not only cost you the trauma, but also the resolution. Having the information of whether or not you can rush to the line (possibly soaking one or two attacks of opportunity on the way) is more crucial when deciding whether you should greed for that extra XP point.
Benefits of True Solo, an eulogy
With all the harshness of playing True Solo comes a silver lining. It offers numerous benefits for the player.
Playing True Solo, compared to two investigators, halves the number of actions to perform. Some decisions, such as choosing which investigator should go first are also removed. This makes the game shorter to play, and easier to squeeze a scenario in a tight schedule.
It also means that you can play more scenarios. You will build and upgrade more decks, see more situations, play more investigators. It is a great way to gather experience in the game and improve yourself at a faster rate.
This is great! Looking forward to deeper content.
As someone who start playing Arkham Horror LCG with true solo, I will also added the fact that true solo require more luck then two-handed. Not quite sure about the furthur expansion, but for notz and dunwich, you can’t do anything if you fail a locked door 2 or 3 times.
Thanks for the comment!
I do agree that it’s harder to overcome bad streaks of chaos token pulls. The purpose of true solo being to be able to adress every issue the game throws at you, you are necesserly limited in how many times you can do a specific task. A couple consecutive misses on locked door or during a fight action for some investigators can certainly compromize success in a scenario.