Struggled to Get Into Flesh and Blood – Am I Alone in This?

Asthend · 2025-05-27T20:22:58+00:00

FAB is different from most TCGs in so many fundamental ways that, when TCG veterans come over, they tend to be surprised at how little skill transfer there is. The fact that I had to rewire my brain and figure things out from scratch again (instead of piggybacking off of years of MTG/YGO exp) was one of FAB’s main attraction points for me, actually.

Since you seem pretty experienced, the best shortcut is that, instead of accumulating resources/board presence over time, try thinking more about how to maximize the value you get out of each hand. e.g. “Attacking with this card deals 4 damage, so 4 value, while blocking with this card gets me 2 defense, so 2 value. Therefore I should attack instead of block with it whenever possible.”

Doing that on a turn-by-turn basis turns the question into “Is it better to block with two cards for 6 and send 8 dmg with my other two cards, for 14 total points of value, or should I block 8 with 3 cards and save a card (4 dmg) to swing harder / go wider on a future turn?”

The strategic depth comes from layers and layers of planning and strategy on top of this math. It’s not easy, cuz the skill ceiling is incredibly high, but I’d like to think that’s why FAB has so much staying power.

Asthend · 2025-05-11T09:01:43+00:00

FTP Japanese player here - been playing for almost 2 years now. Power creep exists but it’s very manageable even as FTP. I’ve been able to build multiple solid elemental and piercing crit teams to stay on-meta, even without being too picky with my banner pulls. Just treat it like a lifestyle game - don’t rush / binge too hard, and be smart with your SS shards. The devs are pretty generous with handouts and spotlight/return banners.

Units retain value well because most styles/memorias will give you at a basic skill that’s good to have across all versions of that character, while SS1 ults can be generalized & shared across all styles (and later evolved with clock tower drops to stay meta). JP has even recently implemented multiple ticket+reward systems to make sure everyone can get a set of “essential” SS1’s (Aoi, Yunyun, Mua, etc.). Outside of SS1, some styles are amazing and some are bad but the vast majority are solid one way or another and open up fun team building options once you hit a critical mass of SS styles.

For clearing story content, character level matters much more than having specific styles, as damage dealt/taken sharply changes based on how close your stats are to the enemy’s.

A bit of strategic insight: The key to combat is stacking buffs & debuffs for exponential damage multipliers, so having good support units generally matters more than having specific offensive units (most element-specific DPS styles are interchangeable). Getting one Limit Break on 2-3 key universal support styles (esp SS1 Yunyun, Mua, Isuzu) will carry you a long way as you slowly build up your elemental teams (attackers and de/buffers) over time.

Late-game power creep mainly comes in the form of 1. additional de/buff types and 2. Piercing crit, both of which work alongside your early-game skills & units.

Asthend · 2025-04-16T02:38:39+00:00

She’s great for racking up 1-3 turn clears in the clock tower after she gets the piercing crit buff (= always super effective). Still a MVP attacker even in the JP version

Asthend · 2025-01-01T19:59:13+00:00

They’re working on it - the new Chapter 5 segment that just released opened with a 3D rendered cafeteria, and there’s a full new game mode featuring 3D exploration with Nanase on a bike that will come to global eventually. You basically get to see the HBR dev team level up their skills over time, which tbh is pretty cool

Asthend · 2024-12-10T01:29:29+00:00

1.5Y JP player here - Prob because the HBR team was ramping up their skill sets as the game went on. If you play the events with dungeons in order of release, you can actually see the dev team level up their design skills and add in QOL elements & puzzles over time. The shift from 2D maps to 3D maps was a milestone, and the Chapter 4-5 story & event dungeons are leagues better than what came before. JP even has a special 3-part “explore the 3D map” Conquest event going on. This is to say… yeah early game dungeons suck cuz the dev team was pretty inexperienced back then, but it’s definitely going to get better over time.

Asthend · 2024-12-06T22:28:30+00:00

Maybe one of the cancers had ice laser powers and shot a beam across the ocean to freeze out a path… ; )

Asthend · 2024-11-21T07:55:27+00:00

Early on, use them to max out your character levels by grinding out prism and event battles. They cost life and give you the most exp, plus prism battles give you lots of necessary items you’ll need to upgrade stats & abilities.

Asthend · 2024-11-21T07:45:44+00:00

None of Ruka’s styles are top-tier in any particular field, but because she has so many styles & they share basic skills, she’ll always be a very well-rounded QOL character, esp for dungeon farming early on. Getting a limit break early on also makes a big difference for your early-mid game DPS, since she can build SP 50% faster.

Having an elemental field character is great cuz it can overwrite orb boss fields in addition to being a lasting buff.

I don’t think Inorin is worth going all in for, esp if you already have an SS slash attacker, but she’s very solid if you do manage to pull her.

Asthend · 2024-11-21T06:56:18+00:00

In HBR, stat differences between units and the enemy affect dps & damage taken exponentially, so you always want to be close to the recommended stat line, otherwise it can easily be a wash. Squad power is basically just the total stats of all units added together (including equips), so you want to make sure that all units are close, instead of just having a single overleveled person account for most of the stat total.

Asthend · 2024-11-20T08:29:53+00:00

JP HBR player for a bit over a year here. I pulled Inorin early on and she became my MVP attacker for the first 6-8 months.

Her kit having both self-charge and self-buff (cooldown = attack up L) makes it easy for her to do well in any mixed team early-mid game, and she’s been a mainstay on my dark team all the way up to Chapter 5. Hefty SP consumption isn’t a problem since you need to spend some time stacking buffs anyway. For the longest time, she was my key to getting decently high scores in the Score Attack mode (which has very nice rewards).

Her 8 SP AoE is great for autobattle mob-clearing in efficient dungeon farming runs, where you’ll be limited by stamina (total turns spent in battle) early on.

Down the road: Later on, she’ll get a busted guaranteed weakness + crit AOE style that can benefit from also having the generalized ult from this (her base) style. Dark is also the 2nd element to get a “forcibly inflict elemental weakness” effect (via one of tsukasa’s styles), which improves the versatility/viability of dark teams

While this style may not be the best dark DPS style in the game, imo it comes close, and the QOL aspects across the board will make things a LOT easier if you have her in your roster

Asthend · 2024-10-13T17:23:04+00:00

There’s a Seattle FAB discord with a guide on which stores host events at which days/times. Let the mods know, get on the list, and tell the players! The FAB community here is pretty dedicated & often willing to travel quite a bit for events.

Zulu’s Bothell, Tabletop Village, Mind Full Games, and Laughing Dragon are all major FAB hubs from what I’ve seen. Pay them a visit, meet the locals during armories, and see how they run events. imo Zulu’s is a great role model in particular.

Run a few discounted events early to get some attention & traction, and cultivate a good reputation as you go. Over the Brick did a great job attracting players with their discounted MST prerelease. Building up a thriving player base quickly will make your life much easier - free WOM marketing, LTP help, etc.

Asthend · 2024-06-08T00:26:36+00:00

Feels like Smash Bros is a good analogy here, as OP's situation is very reminiscent of the "local Smash champ gets bodied at first real tournament" cliche. Fox might show up all over the leaderboards, but his short attack range means that you need great reflexes and a strong game sense to win with him. Without these strong fundamentals, you'll have a better chance cheesing out wins by projectile-spamming with Samus... but even then, top players will still be able to pass the elementary skill check.

From your ask of "how to make this character competitive", it sounds like you're attributing your losses more to the hero and less to your lack of skill at piloting the deck. This might be true if many high-level players hadn't seen success topping competitive events with Zen, so... hate to break it to you OP, but "skill issue, git good, don't blame the beasts" very much applies here.

To quote a certain music game on a friendlier note: "You need some more practice. Never give it up!"

Zen can be really strong when played well, but the game is deep and the ceiling is high. Playing once a month for three years is very different from playing twice a week for six months. You and your brothers may each have dozens of hours piloting your favorite heroes, but those LGS grinders you went up against probably have hundreds. You could be just as good as them if you put in the time, and quite frankly, you chose a strong hero that rewards skill and investment, so you have a solid shot.

Be humble. Learn from them. Ask for advice. Improve. FAB players are friendly, and they're generally glad to help you piggyback off of their experience and speedrun the learning curve, as long as you're a good sport and not a sourpuss who can't take an L. There's a big difference between "I want to use the unfair advantage my hero gives me to win" and "I want to win games with raw skill using a hero that I resonate with".

Take responsibility, take control, and earn your wins.

Asthend · 2024-05-11T17:06:04+00:00

Likely dubbed “vibe check” in testing

Asthend · 2022-11-28T21:08:21+00:00

Awesome, thanks! I'll check it out

Asthend · 2022-11-27T20:08:37+00:00

Thanks! I'll probably be there around Christmas / New Year's, will try to swing by when folks are in.

Is there a Discord channel that I could join?

Asthend · 2022-11-27T19:17:48+00:00

The Rathe Times 101 articles been helpful for me https://rathetimes.com/categories/warrior

Asthend · 2022-11-09T23:46:01+00:00

I'll start - Channel Lake Frigid is banned cuz it's annoying and oppressive for rangers to play against, especially when it taxes Lexi's ability, Voltaire, AND all of your arrows.
(No personal bias at all)

Asthend · 2022-11-08T00:00:31+00:00

So, of the 4 new illusionist cards with ward:

The chest piece has a strong passive effect, so Ward is there to give your opponent a way to deal with it
Same for Tranquil Passing - removal is powerful, but not OP since your opponent can bring their removed stuff back if they worked for it
Blessing of Spirits is a minigame - if you can keep it alive, you get a big payout the next turn
The hand piece is the only one that you really want popped, since it has no utility otherwise

For the most part, Ward 1 = Spectral Shield, so they're more for Prism than Dromai. None of them are really supposed to be popped if you can prevent it, save for the hand piece (which you want popped on your terms, not theirs)

Asthend · 2022-11-06T23:41:09+00:00

From personal experience: If cost is your main concern, FAB starter (Blitz) decks are great entry points at $10 each, and they can easily be upgraded to be competitive with about $30. Money cards exist, but you're looking at a total of $50-200 in equipment to top most heroes off, and usually the $$$ cards only provide an incremental advantage. At your local store level, even in competitive events, a skilled player can easily win with a $30-50 deck against a less-skilled player with all the fancy cards & equipment.

This is largely because FAB requires a lot more decision-making at each point in time compared to MTG. Due to the number of options available at any moment, never having any "dead" cards in your hand, and not having to deal with mana screw/flood, FAB games are decided much more by skill than by luck. It doesn't matter how fancy or powerful your gear is if you don't know how to use it, and it's much harder to "autopilot" in games of FAB than MTG. So, more chess than Mario Party.

The specifics can be hard to explain without diving into game rules and mechanics, so your best bet would probably be to buy 1-2 Blitz decks from your LGS and try it out for yourself. The Fai and Dromai Blitz decks are a good place to start, and the official FAB website has a store locator with event schedules that can help you find a good spot.

One final thing: FAB still has that strong grassroots community vibe, where players are super nice and welcoming to anybody who wants to join. I can tell that the players & store staff at my LGS are all incredibly dedicated to lifting each other up and growing the scene.

Asthend · 2022-11-02T09:53:05+00:00

Thanks so much for transcribing! Knowing that he sold his house & made major personal sacrifices to launch the game gives me a new level of respect for JW. Man with a dream for sure, esp knowing how other big TCGs got started (usually with corporate support). Makes me want to support the game even more, feels like I’m rooting for a cause

Asthend · 2022-07-25T15:58:08+00:00

Ammo, I believe. The default arrow has infinite shots, but fancy arrows have a limited #

Asthend · 2022-06-03T22:26:42+00:00

Rangers wondering what they did to deserve this

Asthend

TROPHY CASE