As a bit of post-script to my rambling reflection on The Path to Carcosa cycle, I would also like to use this milestone to reflect a bit on the current state of solo investigators. Playing solo (1 investigator) is a truly special player count and captures a magic not found in multiplayer games; the “one-on-one” nature of solo play provides a liberating experience (in terms of mental bandwidth) while adding the weight of the world on your shoulders. So, today, I am going to talk about who I think are the 5 “most effective” and “least effective” solo investigators. First things first, however, I will discuss what I look for in solo investigators to evaluate who is most/least effective (besides play experience of course!).

Presumptions

Each campaign can impose different demands on an investigator. This means that, despite who I think is overall more or less effective, there will be times where said investigator faces challenges that are better or less suited to their talents. What I hope to provide is my general opinion of investigators regardless of campaign. There is an admitted colouring of The Path to Carcosa in that opinion, not just because recency, but because I think it’s the best balanced campaign for solo (if not overall).

Another note to keep in mind is that most of my playtime is on Hard. Hard is my preferring difficulty; I find it provides a reasonable challenge without constricting my deck design too much, and it adds a fair amount of flavour to the scenarios.



Solo Considerations

Solo is perhaps the most unique play format, and I wager there is a greater difference between one and two players than there is between two and four. There are two reasons for this. First, in solo, there is no one else you can depend on. If you encounter a problem there is no one to bail you out so you better come up with an answer; there isn’t even anyone else to share the experience of desperately finding (or lucking their way into) a solution. It’s just you.

Second, actions are at the highest premium that they will ever be. No level of balancing or design choices can cure the fact that solo players are inevitably under greater pressure. More players means not just the ability to divide and conquer (literally and figuratively), but also a greater chance that someone will have a spare action to spend on whatever the scenarios mechanics demand. A good example is Unspeakable Oath where, to advance to Act 3B, the investigators must successfully resolve 4 of 6 location abilities. This is obviously less burdensome at higher player counts, with solo players having to allocate over a full rounds worth of actions to do the same. Similar issues can also be seen in Miskatonic Museum and Lost in Time and Space to reveal locations. Then there are just times where the developers intentionally or accidentally fudged the scaling. Take Blood on the Alter, for example; due to its static clue locations, there aren’t four times as many clues in a four player game compared to solo, there are approximately 2.1x to 2.4x as many clues!

So with that in mind, what I look for is (1) consistency, and (2) efficiency. Investigators need to be able to respond to the various problems a scenario is likely to throw at them. I have outlined these problems below (in order of importance):

Scenario bottlenecks: these are your Where Doom Awaits Base of the Hill’s , your The Last King Parley’s, and even your “can you even make it out of the gate” Curtain Call’s. If you can’t handle these crucial moments then you’re going no where. Getting clues: invariably tied to the Act objective and a crucial “down time” task. Dealing with enemies: enemy engagement in solo is infrequent but requires an immediate response or you’ll face defeat. You need a plan. Resisting treacheries: you may only see 1/3 of the encounter deck in solo, and consequently there is no guarantee that you’ll draw X treachery. Additionally, some treacheries are awful while others are perfectly fail-able. You can read more about my thoughts on willpower and treacheries here.

Out of the gate, a solo investigator should have an at least respectable shot of achieving the above. We can look for answers in the below (in order of importance):

The investigator’s skills The investigator’s abilities The investigator’s permanent skill booster (ideally INT + COM/AGL) The investigator’s player cards

Note that the first three are things that are almost always available to you and cannot be lost. Player cards, meanwhile, are unreliable (you have to draw, play, and pay for them), finite (uses, discarded, etc), and transient (the encounter deck forces you to lose them). Consequently I prefer to use player cards to build upon an investigators strengths, rather than depend upon them to solve an investigators shortcomings.



5 Most Effective Solo Investigators

“Ashcan” Pete

Hardly a surprise; since his release Ashcan has been widely considered one of the best solo investigators and it’s not hard to see why. Duke provides untold action compression (move + investigate) which in a campaign littered with 1 clue locations as The Path to Carocsa is, can be extremely powerful; when he’s not sniffing for clues, Duke can act as a weapon to dispense with enemies. Duke is so effective, of course, that he is jokingly referred to as the real investigator. That joke, however, can sometimes take away from what Ashcan’s card brings to the table. For starters, Ashcan’s ability ensures your player cards will always have an extremely effective use (readying Duke); this can guard against encounter cards like Whispers in Your Head (Dismay) that otherwise prevent you from using certain card types/traits.

It’s not just Ashcan’s ability though. His 3 agility is sometimes missed in favour of siccing Duke but it provides a strong alternative to evade and move on; doing so allows you to save Duke for his (more important) Investigate ability. Ashcan’s 4 willpower, meanwhile, provides a great starting point to resist willpower treacheries, trigger scenario effects, etc. The well rounded Survivor faction and top of 5 splash slots provides Ashcan a lot of flexibility to tackle the encounter deck. Some people criticize Ashcan for this; the plethora of cheap upgrades and lack of high octane XP player cards means Ashcan’s power curve can get out paced at the tail end of a campaign. This is true, but there are two ways you can put a positive spin on it. First, you can more freely take advantage of Exile cards (most notably A Test of Will(1), Flare(1), and Stroke of Luck(2)). Second, you can focus on defeating the scenario and not chasing XP, a temptation that has defeated many an investigator lured by promises of Hot Streak(4)’s and Shrivelling(5)’s.

Jenny Barnes

If you looked up “well rounded” in the Miskatonic Museum’s dictionary, there is probably a picture of Jenny beside it. However, her combination of resource acceleration and access to skill boosters allows her to allocate resources to punch above her weight as needed. Streetwise(3), in particular, is the best solo permanent booster in the game, but Jenny can also splash in Physical Training to round out her boosting potential. This is sometimes criticized as “forcing” you to spend your resources every turn to compensate for her average stats, but that doesn’t tell the whole picture. Resources are fungible, and you spend them to accommodate whatever situation you find yourself in. Tough investigate test? Check. Must pass test? Check. Play an asset? Check. Whenever Jenny’s in trouble, she can always count on her trust account to bail her out. Put differently, instead of having static strong/weak skills as most investigators do, Jenny’s strengths are fluid.

Having access to the Rogue card pool has also turned into a bit of a boon as the faction has improved significantly over the course of The Dunwich Legacy and The Path to Carcosa cycles. Sleight of Hand and Narrow Escape allow you to further conserve resources until needed, waiting to play a Weapon (from the Rogue’s vastly improved arsenal) until the situation demands it. This free’s up Jenny’s actions and resources to focus on what immediately matters (e.g. investigating) to get ahead of the Agenda deck. That all being said, Jenny can sometimes struggle until she acquires some XP. However, she does have the jack-of-all-trades Rogue card pool, her 5 splash slots, and Adaptable which allows you to pack your level 0 deck with specific answers for the specific scenario one challenges.

“Skids” O’Toole

Back in the core days, Skids was a laughingstock; between a wonky Rogue card pool and a campaign (Night of the Zealot) that emphasized willpower, Skids was, well, not good. Two cycles worth of cards later and boy has that changed, which shouldn’t be a surprise because his bones are solid. Whether it’s because you “unexpectedly” failed a skill test or looking to squeeze another action into your turn, did you ever wish you had just one more action? With Skids, you are only two resources away from that wish. While his ability is not something you can use every (or even most) rounds, activating it even just once two or three times can be a game changer. It has also been made more affordable through additions like Lone Wolf and “Watch this!” to compliment tried and true Hot Streak(4) and Emergency Cache. On a related note, like Jenny Barnes, Skids has access to arguably the best solo permanent in the game, Streetwise(3), a card that provides an immediate answer to both investigating and enemy management.

Skids’ other big draw is his stat line. 3 intellect is respectable but can be augmented with Streetwise(3), Flashlights, and Skill Cards. Special attention should be given to the excellent Lockpicks(1), a card that can virtually guarantee 1 successful investigate per round; considering you are likely to only investigate once per round, that is a powerful tool to have. While Skids needs a little bit of XP to truly get into his groove, he has enough tricks at level 0 to handle the rigors of scenario 1 investigating.

Beyond intellect, Skids’ 3 combat and 4 agility gives him options: kill what you can, evade what you can’t. That fact means Skids need not worry about what happens if he engages an enemy unarmed, nor worry about a tough enemy that is easier to leave behind. On that note, Cat Burglar(1) is an extremely powerful ally in solo as it compresses enemy management into movement.

The elephant in the room is of course Skids’ 2 willpower, a point that has drawn no shortage of criticism since the core box. I’ve spoken at length on this subject before, but I think willpower has been reined in somewhat to the point that you are likely to only test willpower 2-3 times per scenario, and many such tests are fail-able. While you absolutely need a plan for treacheries, I’ve never been one to invest in Police Badge(2), Brother Xavier(1), etc for the feint hope Skids can compete; instead I prefer to stick with Physical Training and roll the dice, aka the Rogue way.

Roland Banks

Roland is easily the most combat oriented investigator in this list; having 4 combat and a measly 2 agility ensures he is more fight than flight. While this is not my preferred means of dealing with enemies in solo, Roland benefits from a fantastic card pool and an otherwise effective stat line. Between Art Student, Working a Hunch, Mysteries Remain, and his ability (more on that shortly), Roland need not worry about high shroud locations if not conventional investigating all together. For when he does need to worry, Magnifying Glass, Fieldwork, Scientific Theory(1), and Keen Eye(3) are all effective options to pick off 1-2 shroud locations.

Roland’s key strength, however, is just how effective the card pool works with him. I already mentioned the Art Student, a card that solves another problem, Roland’s low sanity. The fun doesn’t stop there however; Lab Assistant, Dr. William T. Maleson, Guard Dog, and Beat Cop(2) fill a similar role while all synergizing with Calling in Favours. Maleson himself is a fantastic card for Roland that not only stops game ending treacheries, but also synergizes with his ability, Inquiring Minds, etc. Complimented by the Guardian arsenal, Roland is an investigator whose deck can just sing.

Roland’s ability, unfortunately, isn’t the most effective in solo. Enemy engagement is an infrequent and unpredictable occurrence, and when you draw Locked Door or Obscuring Fog you will regret ending your turn on a clue location. Shortcut (including its level 2 upgrade) and On the Hunt provide the occasional work around, but looking forward Quick Study(2) will be a fantastic card for Roland. In short, Roland is a fantastic solo investigator and shows no signs of slowing down.

Wendy Adams

Of all the investigators listed here, I think Wendy may very well be the strongest solo investigator… with a few caveats. She has a high skill cap, both in deck building and piloting, and in that regard requires careful decision making in consideration of the campaign/scenario being played. With that out of the way, there is a lot to love about Wendy.

First, her ability is extremely strong for a number of reasons. First, it gives all your cards an additional use, which is important where the encounter deck shut them down (e.g. Whispers in Your Head), or you drew the card at a point where they aren’t otherwise useful (e.g. Desperate cards, Lone Wolf, Scavenging, etc). Second, for tests that you are invested in (cards/resources committed), it gives you a second chance in the event of failure. Third, you can “re-take” the test without using an additional action. Fourth, as long as you have cards to burn, you are automatically better positioned to take sub-optimal tests. Taken all together, Wendy’s ability is one that should never be underestimated.

Then we have Wendy’s stat line. While some attempt to compensate for Wendy’s 1 combat, I prefer to ignore it in favour of her 4 agility, a skill that along with Scrapper(3) provides an immediate solution to enemies. If that’s not enough, Wendy also has access to Cat Burglar(1), Close Call(2), Backstab, and even Gravedigger’s Shovel to squash a Swarm of Rats and grab a clue. Dealing enemies should therefore be the least of Wendy’s worries. I will say congested maps littered with Hunter enemies (i.e. Where Doom Awaits) can be an issue but those seem less and less common, particularly in The Path to Carcosa.

Wendy’s 4 willpower of course hardens her up to the encounter deck and gives her flexibility for scenario specific tests. Her intellect, much like the other investigators in this list,is decent but enhanced by her ability, Lockpicks(1), Lantern, Newspaper, Flashlight, and even Plucky(1).

As for the rest of her card pool, the marriage of Rogue + Survivor turns out to work really well in Wendy. Wendy is in the perfect position to take advantage of the recursion and ability to rebound from failure in Survivor combined with the resource/action generation and over achievement in Rogue. Adaptable(1) can be leveraged heavily to enable dream combos like Fine Clothes+Double or Nothing+Quick Thinking in The Last King, or subtle additions such as incorporating 2xElusive for scenarios where it can be leveraged like Curtain Call, Unspeakable Oath, and Pallid Mask.



5 Least Effective Solo Investigators

Agnes Baker

There was a time (The Dunwich Legacy deluxe) when I thought Agnes was among best solo investigators; while not perfect, her high willpower, deck options, and ability allowed her to cheat through Night of the Zealot and most The Dunwich Legacy. Most. Where Doom Awaits and the entire The Path to Carcosa cycle dragged Agnes back down to earth, and the truth is Agnes can’t handle the taxing nature of solo play. This isn’t to say she’s bad in general, indeed she is arguably one of the best investigators at 2+ players, it’s just that she lacks the tools to get the job done in solo.

Agnes’s problems really start with her stat line, much of which is at the expense of her 5 willpower. That high willpower skill makes her a confident Spell caster, but in their absence its… well… not the best skill. Willpower ordinarily doesn’t help you win games, it simply protects you from the approximately 3 willpower testing treacheries you will draw over the course of scenario. Of those 3 treacheries, not all are “must pass” tests, and resisting treacheries should not be your first priority; setting up and getting clues to end the scenario faster (seeing less encounter cards in the process) are your first priorities.

Returning to Spell casting, Agnes’s strength is of course to leverage her willpower through Spells to cover the games elements; Rite of Seeking for investigating, Shrivelling for fighting, and so forth. The issue is that you are now relying on drawing those cards, accepting the cost (actions+resources) of paying those cards, and hoping the encounter deck won’t force you to lose those cards. In their absence Agnes is, well, useless. 2 combat and 3 agility aren’t exactly reliable values which is a problem considering enemy management is where you need reliability the most. Spells of course aren’t her only options (Fire Axe and Blood Pact(3) exist) but that brings us back to the same problem. Even Agnes’s ability often demands player cards to assist in triggering it.

Where Agnes really hurts, however, is her 2 intellect. Having 2 intellect is a huge hurdle to overcome; acquiring clues is pretty dang important, and even on 2 shroud locations Agnes needs help. Agnes’s classic solutions are Rite of Seeking, “Look what I found”, and Drawn to the Flame which are all great cards… at getting 2 clues. The tempo they bring is balanced with added cost and/or risk which makes it far from ideal for 1 clue locations; unfortunately, in The Path to Carcosa 72% of locations are 1 clue locations. Even in The Dunwich Legacy and The Night of the Zealot where 2+ clue locations are more frequent, Agnes is only living on borrowed time until she runs into the Where Doom Awaits block. Instead, Agnes has to rely on Arcane Studies (sad trombone).

Akachi Onyele

Take everything I said about Agnes Baker and multiply it. Agnes can at least count on Survivor cards to round out her shortcomings, but Akachi lacks anything of the sort. In fact, Akachi’s out-of-Mystic options are currently both sparse and poor for her; the Archaic Glyphs are a wash, and Arcane Insight(4) is great but not ideal for her; only Suggestion(4) should really be drawing Akachi’s attention in solo, and even that faces stiff competition during deck building. Akachi’s minimal deck building options are theoretically compensated for by higher than normal stats, but that means very little to the current Mystic card pool. With a dearth of Weapons to facilitate combat or agility boosting to prop up evasion, Akachi enters the fray with no dependable options. Her 2 intellect is even worse; Rite of Seeking and Drawn to the Flame remain risky and/or costly options for solo investigation (i.e. 1 clue locations). Akachi is consequently left to the mercy of Flashlight, Perception, Arcane Studies, and the luck of the draw.

The real issue is that the tempo and consistency called for in solo is contrary to Akachi’s design. She is supposed to setup and invest into Spells (or anything with “charges”), that’s her whole thing. She requires even more setup than Agnes Baker to “work”, and desperately needs the breathing room even 2+ player games provide. That may be hunky dory in multiplayer, but not in solo.

Lola Hayes

Lola is the embodiment of dysfunction and inconsistency; not being able to play a large swath of your cards at any one time will do that to you. I have faith that Lola will one day come into her own, but that day isn’t today. She theoretically has a large card pool but this is narrowed by (1) cards that don’t work well with her (of which there are plenty), and (2) cards that don’t work well in your deck strategy. Her deck building requirements, that is, 3×7+ cards from 3 different factions, is almost a weakness in itself; more often than not, I find myself adding sub-optimal cards just to have a legal deck. The end result of course is being unable to play half the cards in my deck. What do I get in return? No bonus ability, below average health/sanity, and average skills. Know what other investigators imposes the same? None, that’s who.

To paraphrase what Ian from Mythos Busters said during their Lola Hayes episode, you need to be able to turn her ability into a power. We just don’t have the card pool to do actually make it work well.

William Yorick

As his ability suggests, Yorick is the kind of investigator who thrives on enemies. The problem is that enemy encounters are few and far between in solo; much like willpower testing treacheries, you are likely to only draw 2-3 enemies during a scenario which makes his ability rather unpredictable. Let’s see, you have to be (1) in a position to kill enemies, (2) have something in your discard, and (3) that asset will have a meaningful impact on the game if played. Theoretically possible? Of course; theoretically you can commit a Gravedigger’s Shovel to kill a Swarm of Rats, play Evidence to grab a clue, play Gravedigger’s Shovel using Yorick’s ability, and then discard it to grab another clue. Rarely do things work that smoothly.

That returns me to another problem: Yorick’s 2 intellect. Yorick needs help, and much like Agnes Baker he can only turn to Plucky(1), Flashlight, and a scattering of double pip intellect cards (of which he has several). He still finds himself among the most poor off 2 intellect investigators; Mark Harrigan, for example, at least has access to Sophie: In Loving Memory and Keen Eye(3). Yorick has… Scrapper(3)? Sorry Bill, but don’t quit your night job.

Daisy Walker

There is a debilitating condition that undercuts our deck building dreams; I call it scenario-one-itis. Daisy is an investigator who desperately needs some XP to acquire answers, but boy is she going to have problems getting there. A barely capable spellcaster despite being a sub-class Mystic, Daisy is among the least physically capable investigators with 2 combat and 2 agility. With skills that don’t even scare Swarm of Rats and the lowest health value in the game (tied with Sefina Rousseau), Daisy is extremely fragile. She does have a few solutions to enemies, most notably Mind over Matter and Anatomical Diagrams, but that’s not much. Her other solutions either require a lot of work/luck (Blinding Light, Shrivelling), or are just not that reliable in solo (“I’ve got a plan”).

Daisy does of course enter the fray ready to investigate from the get-go, but her other weaknesses are many and the tempo cost to fix them immense. Even when you finally have experience, it’s not as if Acidic Ichor will solve all your problems; you still need to find it, play it, and hope it doesn’t run out.



Closing

And that’s it! I look forward to how The Forgotten Age will change the landscape for solo investigators; indeed, I can already see how Ursula Downs and Finn Edwards could compete for the most effective solo investigator spots. If I didn’t mention your pet favourite or worse, lambaste your favourite, have no fear; not only is every investigator just a few cards away from radically moving up the ranks, but this is an article about optimization for a game that’s about fun. If you enjoy the pacing of solo Daisy Walker then keep at it, this is a game for you to experience the way you want to experience it; there are no tournaments or fake reputation points to be earned, just heaps of tentacle tokens and the tears that follow (Father Mateo says hi).