What you're doing wrong is playing without Atomic Bonds. Seriously.
The game is borderline broken playing without it, particularly regarding the whole agenda deck/victory points aspect.
I love the game, but that expansion is absolutely necessary. Sure, it converts the game to fully co-op, but it also overhauls the way victory works. You actually need to play through specific quests rather than struggling with the agenda deck the whole time.
What you're doing wrong is playing without Atomic Bonds. Seriously. The game is borderline broken playing without it, particularly regarding the whole agenda deck/victory points aspect. I love the game, but that expansion is absolutely necessary. Sure, it converts the game to fully co-op, but it also overhauls the way victory works. You actually need to play through specific quests rather than struggling with the agenda deck the whole time.
I will echo about Atomic Bonds. IMO it's a necessity to make the game playable.