At the beginning it requires player to efficiently distribute his limited resource on several investments. Depending on how well this resource was distributed, the game will either progress swiftly towards the end with a constant acceleration, or drag slowly to the inevitable dead-end. After efficient resource distribution, game requires player to attentively observe several colored indicators at the left corner of the screen and promptly perform certain actions (fulfill potions mostly, but also raise skills and hire new heroes), while also observing his resource status on the right side of the screen and planning his actions accordingly. As the number of indicators grows, the attentiveness challenge becomes more complicated, since player has to manage several sources of information simultaneously, at increasing speed and with additional audiovisual noise (camera shaking, colorful popups, sounds, etc.) At certain moment in the game resource's profits outweighs heavily its drains (hiring heroes, spending money on skills and potions) and the game pretty much plays itself from this point on, only requiring player to claim rewards in shops and occasionally refilling potions slots for his heroes. Additional challenge is revealed at the end of the game and consists of competing with other players online for the biggest overall profit. This adds new layer to the game, as it justifies sacking mechanic by giving it an economical purpose.
Choosing of a looting skill at the beginning seemed as a dominant strategy to me at first, but after finding myself in a dead end with two dead heroes and one unable to progress due to the lack of money on potions, I've understood that this is ultimately the ONLY strategy to successfully progress in this game. After realizing this, game ceased to be of any meaningful challenge, and, especially on the later stages, played itself for me. Shops' goals seemed distant and unobtainable at first, but as soon as the game sets on its rails are achieved with no sweat. Hero hiring cost, again, only matters at the beginning of the game and later loses any requirement for meaningful consideration doe to the giant profits your other heroes are making. Online competition component may be adding some "spice" to the game, but ultimately challenge of gaining the most profit seems like that of stubbornness more than that of skill, since the hiring/sacking mechanic allows for potentially endless play. Overall this game seemed to me all about starting right and then just enjoying a short, fast ride to the end.
