Jump to content

A brief guide to card and deck information, types of cards and examples of best in class cards for each category.


ObsceneSociopath

Recommended Posts

With the confusion some players are experiencing with the card & deck system, I figured I'd put this out here to help explain cards & decks a little bit, especially for players new to the game considering the game itself offers very little in the way of explaining the card and deck system & there is no in-game tutorial.

 

When you first start the game, you'll only have access to a limited number of cards to build a deck with. You unlock more cards by spending points you've earned at the supply lines. All you have to do to earn supply points is to play missions in Campaign or play games of Swarm mode.

 

When building your deck, you can put up to 15 cards into it. A very important thing to remember that the game does not tell you is that the order you draw your cards at the start of a round is dictated by the order you put them in your deck when building it. This means you'll want to put the cards most essential to getting your build up and running earlier in your deck and the less essential ones later on to draw out later. When you start a round, the game will offer you 5 cards to pick a card from, these 5 cards are the next 5 cards from your deck so when you take one, the next time you can draw a card, the 5th slot will be filled from the next card you have in your deck.

 

There's a large number and variety of cards in the game (156 in total) of varying types and uses. Some are average, some are great, some are niche cards for specific builds and some are absolutely necessary for the harder difficulties.

What most players don't realise is that while we have to unlock the cards to use them, at present it's possible to view every card in the game by either going into create a deck for solo mode or by toggling locked cards in the deck creation screen so you can look ahead to plan how you want to build your decks if you want playstyle, character or difficulty specific decks.

 

Cards are split into 4 categories:

 

  • Reflex

These cards denoted by a white wing and blue background specifically offer bonuses to your stats that are always active, some offer straight bonuses, others offer a substantial bonus to a specific thing but have a penalty in return such as lowering a different stat or even removing an ability such as disabling ADS (aim down sights) or locking sprint so you can't use it.

 

  • Discipline 

These cards denoted by a red target and red background primarily permanently boost your combat abilities in a wide range of ways from increasing your damage to marking mutations for the whole team see (like the bots are able to) to even modifying your basic melee attack into a lethal combat knife stab. Like with other cards types, sometimes the bonus is substantial so you have to accept a penalty to another stat or ability to offset it.

 

  • Brawn

These cards denoted by a green barbel (weight) and green background mainly boost your health and defenses but also offer bonuses like causing Ridden to explode after a precision kill or cause more lootable offensive items to spawn. One card particularly of note let's you equip 2 primary weapons with a minor penalty in exchange.

 

  • Fortune

These cards are denoted by yellow dice and a yellow background offer a varying range of effects and abilities on a wide spectrum ranging anything from finding more copper to allowing you to sprint and shoot to granting to extra lives for a small cost. As with other card types, some of these have penalties in exchange for the bonuses.

 

Here are some examples of some of the best in class for each card type:

 

Reflex:

Breakout - Hold :square: to free yourself from Grabs. +50% Breakout Cooldown Reduction. (Base 60 seconds).

This card essentially gives every character Evangelo's character specific ability to free himself from any type of grab once every 60 seconds. Not only is this a fantastic ability, it's cooldown can be reduced and for Evangelo players, it even stacks with his character specific ability. This card can offset the need to carry a stun gun so you can carry more tools or defibrillators instead.

 

Rousing Speech - +225% Revive Speed. Team effect: +20% Reduced incap trauma. DISABLES: offensive accessories.

At first glance losing offensive accessories (grenade, pipe bomb etc) for whoever equips the card makes this card seem a bad pick but the bonuses far outweigh the penalties especially if your team has someone with a dedicated healer build. The revive speed gives almost instant revives which is essential on all difficulties and the team ability is fantastic. Ever noticed that when you've been revived after being downed your max hp decreases substantially? This card reduces that decrease for the whole team and it's not a single use, it's effect triggers every single time someone gets downed for the whole game.

 

Shredder - Each bullet hit causes the target to take 1% increased damage for 3 seconds (stacks up to 15%).

This card is amazing for killing bosses and armoured enemies. This essentially can stack a permanent +15% damage bonus for the whole team on any enemy as long as the person with the card equipped keeps damaging the target with bullets. Great with randoms, phenomenal with a co-ordinated team.

 

Combat Medic - +50% Use Speed. Heals teammates for an additional 20 Health when you revive them.

Using something includes using any Support or Quick items and interacting with items in missions such as loading the Howitzer at the end of The Sound of Thunder. The use speed bonus stacks with all other use speed bonuses including Karlee's character specific passive ability allowing for practically instant items uses and interactions. The bonus health on a revive is a welcome extra.

 

Discipline:

Down in Front! - While crouching you neither take nor deal Friendly Fire damage. + 10 Health.

Arguably one of the most powerful cards in the game and necessity for Veteran and Nightmare where friendly fire is enabled. Veteran has 35% friendly fire damage and Nightmare has a huge 60% friendly fire damage modifier. This completely negates that as long as you are crouched and even gives you a +10 max health bonus on top.

 

Experienced EMT - When you use a Medical Accessory, the target gains +20% Maximum Health until the end of the level.

This is another card that at first look doesn't sound that great until you consider its effects, for example, if someone has 150 max health, if the player with this card equipped uses a healing item on them, it would increase their max health by a further 30 to 180hp, on the harder difficulties, that extra health could easily be the difference between being downed and just surviving a hit. The effect of this card can also offset the trauma damage you take from heavy hits or being downed and then revived.

 

Marked for Death - Mutations you ping are highlighted and your team deals 10% increased damage to highlighted enemies.

This card gives us an ability that it's surprising we don't have by default especially considering bots can do it. When targeting a mutation or a boss, press :down: to highlight it for the whole team to see. While highlighted the enemy takes +10% damage from all sources caused by your team. This also stacks with all damage bonuses including the Shredder card for a bonus + 25% damage.

 

Support Scavenger - You can sense nearby Support Accessories. More Support Accessories spawn.

This card while not so useful on Recruit due to the abundance of items is very helpful on Veteran and Nightmare where healing items are far more scarce and far more valuable. Nearby healing items are highlighted with a blue aura even through walls for whoever has the card equipped.

 

Brawn:

Two is One and One is None - You can Equip a Primary weapon in your Secondary slot. -25% Swap Speed.

Another of the most powerful cards in the game. This literally allows you to carry 2 Primary weapons drastically increasing your damage output and giving you more options in combat. Whichever weapon you have equipped in what would normally be your Secondary slot is what you will have equipped if you get downed. The -25% weapon swap speed can be noticeable but is a small price to pay for what you get in exchange and can easily be offset by equipping a stock on your weapon that increases weapon swap speed.

 

Confident Killer  - When you or your team kills a Mutation, gain 1% damage (up to 15%) until the end of the level.

This is basically a free damage bonus for the person who has the card equipped. On the harder difficulties mutations are almost constantly thrown at you so you'll get the full benefit of the damage bonus (+15% bonus damage from all sources) to all enemies very quickly.

 

True Grit - When you take a single hit for 15 or more damage, heal 8 health over 5 seconds.

This doesn't sound like much at first but as soon as you start playing on Veteran difficulty or higher you'll notice that all mutations and bosses consistently hit you for 15+ damage every time they hit you. This is a source of free healing to help offset the damage and it triggers after every hit of 15 or more, the ability has no cooldown.

 

Fresh Bandage - Heal 10 Trauma Damage at the start of each level.

Unlike on Recruit difficulty, on Veteran and Nightmare, outside of cards, the only way to remove trauma damage is to use an upgraded medkit or a first aid box. This card essentially allows you to recover an extra 10 max health at the start of each level at no cost. While it doesn't sound much, it's an extra source of max health which is beneficial over a long run and could be all the difference between surviving a big hit and being downed.

 

Fortune:

Life Insurance - +2 Extra Lives. Lose 50 Copper at the start of each level.

Another powerful card with very little penalty. Lives in this game are how many times you can be downed, each life is denoted by a little + above your health bar in game. This give you an extra 2 lives for your current run at the small cost of 50 copper per round. 50 copper is a very small price to pay for 2 extra downs and in the grand scheme of things, the only thing in the vendor cheap enough to buy for that same price is a small amount of ammo for one weapon type.

 

Saferoom Recovery - Your Team heals 5 Trauma Damage and refills 10% Ammo at the start of each level.

This is basically a team variant of the Fresh Bandage card from the Brawn card archetype. The bonuses from this card stack so if the whole team is using it, that's a whopping 20 Trauma Damage recovered and +40% ammo refilled for everyone at the start of a round.

 

Shell Carrier - +30% Shotgun Ammo Capacity. +10 Damage with Shotguns.

This card won't appeal to everyone but it's an essential for anyone who runs a Shotgun in their build. Not only does it provide some much needed extra ammo as you can carry far less Shotgun ammo compared to other weapons, the damage bonus stacks with all other damage bonuses in the game including Walker's character specific passive.

 

Fanny Pack -  +1 Support Inventory.

Pretty self explanatory, it allows you to carry an extra healing item, (medkit, bandage etc). Useful to have on the higher difficulties as there is no such thing as too many healing items on those.

 

These are far from all of the best cards, just some of the most useful. Part of the learning curve of this game is learning how to build a deck and what cards are the most useful to your character or play style. Some of you without a doubt will have other cards you feel are better or have better use than those I've listed, this thread is meant to be a source of help for everyone so please do share your suggestions and findings here.

Edited by ObsceneSociopath
Typos & grammar corrections.
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great idea! It's a bit overwhelming at first glance. I came across this card compendium yesterday which has a very detailed list of all the cards and which supply lines to complete to unlock them (link below). Might help a few people out. Also, the three supply lines will each benefit a different playstyle with the first row being an offensive style, the second row is for a healer, and the third row focuses on speed and movement abilities. That might not be obvious to people right away.

 

B4B Card Compendium

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, PeachyJacobs said:

Great idea! It's a bit overwhelming at first glance. I came across this card compendium yesterday which has a very detailed list of all the cards and which supply lines to complete to unlock them (link below). Might help a few people out. Also, the three supply lines will each benefit a different playstyle with the first row being an offensive style, the second row is for a healer, and the third row focuses on speed and movement abilities. That might not be obvious to people right away.

 

B4B Card Compendium

Thanks! I've helped talk a few random people through it in game & seen people on social media & a couple of websites expressing their frustrations at it so I figured there was no harming in posting something to attenpt to help.

 

I will admit to not having noticed that each supply line offers bonuses for different styles but I put that down to the fact I've been clearing them willy-nilly trying to find cosmetics for Holly, I've got to have cleared at least 30-40+ lines now & still don't have a single cosmetic for her yet have multiple for Hoffman & Karlee.

 

That link is fantastic, I imagine it will help a lot of people although I recommend people use it on a tablet or laptop/PC, I loaded it on my phone & my browser didn't do a great job with it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, ObsceneSociopath said:

Thanks! I've helped talk a few random people through it in game & seen people on social media & a couple of websites expressing their frustrations at it so I figured there was no harming in posting something to attenpt to help.

 

I will admit to not having noticed that each supply line offers bonuses for different styles but I put that down to the fact I've been clearing them willy-nilly trying to find cosmetics for Holly, I've got to have cleared at least 30-40+ lines now & still don't have a single cosmetic for her yet have multiple for Hoffman & Karlee.

 

That link is fantastic, I imagine it will help a lot of people although I recommend people use it on a tablet or laptop/PC, I loaded it on my phone & my browser didn't do a great job with it.

Google Docs can be awful on mobile, so hard to navigate.

 

Here are the cosmetics I could find for Holly.

 

Top Supply Line
Fort Hope (2) - Softball Star (Body Piece)
Paul's Alley (6) - Total Apocalypse (Head Piece)

 

Middle Supply Line
The Clinic (6) - Total Apocalypse (Body Piece)

 

Bottom Supply Line
Bridge Town (4) - Kinda Camo (Legs Piece)
Knuckle House (4) - Banner, Death's Head (Body Piece)
The Crow's Nest (5) - Neon (Legs Piece)
Bridge Town (5) - Tie Die (Body Piece)
Knuckle House (5) - I'll Live (Legs Piece)
The Crow's Nest (6) - Total Apocalypse (Legs Piece)

Edited by PeachyJacobs
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/14/2021 at 11:56 PM, PeachyJacobs said:

Google Docs can be awful on mobile, so hard to navigate.

 

Here are the cosmetics I could find for Holly.

 

Top Supply Line
Fort Hope (2) - Softball Star (Body Piece)
Paul's Alley (6) - Total Apocalypse (Head Piece)

 

Middle Supply Line
The Clinic (6) - Total Apocalypse (Body Piece)

 

Bottom Supply Line
Bridge Town (4) - Kinda Camo (Legs Piece)
Knuckle House (4) - Banner, Death's Head (Body Piece)
The Crow's Nest (5) - Neon (Legs Piece)
Bridge Town (5) - Tie Die (Body Piece)
Knuckle House (5) - I'll Live (Legs Piece)
The Crow's Nest (6) - Total Apocalypse (Legs Piece)

 

I had chance this evening to have a proper look at that compendium you linked. Even on a mobile, if we you switch your browser to desktop view it displays everything great. You're not wrong without the amount of work & detail that's gone into it, it's impressive to say the least.

 

And it's no wonder I was thinking something odd was going on that I wasn't getting any cosmetics for Holly, I'm on line 13/16 in the middle supply line & her single cosmetic in that line is in the very last one ? To think, if I'd gone down the bottom line instead, I'd have most of her cosmetics by now, both funny & frustrating in equal measure.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, ObsceneSociopath said:

 

I had chance this evening to have a proper look at that compendium you linked. Even on a mobile, if we you switch your browser to desktop view it displays everything great. You're not wrong without the amount of work & detail that's gone into it, it's impressive to say the least.

 

And it's no wonder I was thinking something odd was going on that I wasn't getting any cosmetics for Holly, I'm on line 13/16 in the middle supply line & her single cosmetic in that line is in the very last one 1f606.png To think, if I'd gone down the bottom line instead, I'd have most of her cosmetics by now, both funny & frustrating in equal measure.

I decided to go down the first one to get "Two is One and One is None" as I think it will come in handy. I'm now going the last row and think I'll main Karlee. Being able to sense sleepers etc. is really helpful! Plus both her starting weapons are good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...