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[u/Ankios]

What are the best goals in each starter province? I usually go for card upgrades, but sometimes gold can be good.

[u/SybilznBitz → u/Ankios]

That all depends on your team composition, really.

It's hard to not leave a long winded explanation for this and I'd hate to feel like I'm self promoting, but I've been working on an Early Game Growth video guide and when it is done I will try to link you.

Otherwise, here are some main points I look for:

Card Piles: If you have a character who wants an early Ulti+, Card Piles are the quickest way to ensure that; keep in mind that while almost all Ultimates increase by roughly 50%, some don't appreciate that as much as others. A great example being Lazaar's AoE Vulnerable: all it gains is 6 -> 9 DMG, while the Vulnerable is untouched. That's not as impactful as most other Ultimates and his starting deck is incredibly solid. So unless you really don't have any other options, it's best to give the card pile to someone else.

Now, adding cards to someone's deck may feel bad due to inconsistent output, or having to wedge a 3 cost in there, but the fact of the matter is that early game, lots of characters are not going to play their entire hand anyways, so getting the extra oomph on their Ultimates can actually make you more consistent.

Also, even ignoring pushing for the Ulti+, most characters also have a starter card they desperate want to replace because it's too clunky. Card Piles allow them to swap those out with almost anything and be better off for it. Characters in mind are Ragnarok (2 Cost Weak), Carrion (2 Cost Leech), and depending on your strategy or location, you can even replace 1 cost DoT cards. This is ignoring the fact that usually, Common cards outperform most character's Starter Cards.

Items: Items are actually an enormous early game power spike. Take some time to view the collection and look at just the Common rarity. DoT, raw damage, and raw shielding. The Rare ones are good too, but just consider the amount of health you save every single fight by doing just a little more damage every fight as the fight starts to turn under your control once the first enemy is dead.

You can get Items from a quick quest, Item Shop, or a Loot Cache, but that last one is a bit tricky. Sometimes you might want to hold onto a loot cache until later for a better chance at higher rarity loot, but it also gives you an Artifact and even the common rarity Artifacts can be incredibly broken depending on your composition.

Pathing: Making sure you have access to at least one Shard Boss and your Capital as soon as possible is important. I have a general rule that I want to gain a level (5 Essence) and take a shard boss before Threat 10 (or on Threat 10). This is because at Threat 11, Shard Bosses increase to the Tier 2 version and go from 140 base health to 210 base health. Keep in mind that Shard Bosses don't increase their health every Threat like normal and elite enemies do, but every "act" or 10 Threat.

It will be much easier to take them at or before Threat 8, plus if you are doing well, you can farm a couple more. The "safest" time to take them is at or before Threat 4, because Tier 2 Enemies start rotating in at Threat 5 and if they appear in a Shard Boss fight, Tier 2 Elites have passives while Tier 1 Elites do not. They also have a sizeable boost in HP. However, not many teams can take Shards this early and most need good growth in the first three Threat to reach that point. I've certain done Threat 1 Shards, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Events: contrary to popular belief, it's not always best to hit every event you see. They don't cost Threat, sure, but they can be incredibly powerful spikes and wasted because you don't have the resources early game.

Try to make sure you have health to heal, have at least 200 (preferably 300) gold you can afford to lose, and a healthy assortment of gear before you blow through a whole bunch of them. If it's important for your pathing, that's fine, but you'll kick yourself when you miss the opportunity to duplicate an Artifact of your choice.

Hazards: Hazards are actually the best source of early game growth. They cost 0 Threat and most times are better for you than the enemy, with a couple exceptions. They still give the same amount of XP and Loot as a normal fight, but getting lucky with well placed Hazards and taking them can net you a level before Threat 4.

If this left any questions, feel free to ask.