Nudie Run Ultimate Edition

Discussion in 'Card Hunter General Chat' started by ClanCrusher, Jul 28, 2015.

  1. ClanCrusher

    ClanCrusher Hydra

    Nudie Run: Ultimate Edition

    Been a long time since I tried this and lots of changes have happened since then. I thought I'd give this another run to see if things have gotten worse or better since my last four failures.

    Rules:

    1) You may only equip what drops. Club rewards may be used.

    2) One module of each level must be completed and you can only complete each module once.

    3) The game is considered 'complete' when the Yellow Dragon is defeated.

    4) No shops or chests.

    5) No Loot Fairy

    The Party:

    Terra: Human Priest

    Kilia: Elven Wizard

    Steel: Dwarven Warrior

    Wizard's Workshop (Level 2)

    None of the golems managed to draw any armor cards on the first two floors, which is fitting because I didn't manage to get any weapons for anyone, save for a staff for Kilia. The final drop consisted of 3x Wizard Robes, none of which I'm going to use. We're not off to a good start.

    Caverns of the Troglodytes (Level 2)

    Got the exact same robe drop for my final chest in this level, along with a staff I'm never going to use. A couple pieces of minor armor but otherwise this level was a bust.

    Lair of the Trog Wizard (Level 3)

    More weak level armor, not a whole lot of options opening up. Finall got some luck on the last chest and Steel now has a Spiked Buckler and Terra has an Enervating Spear.

    Highway Robbery (Level 3)

    I've seen the same set of robes drop three times now. This run is doomed. Doooooomed! And if you don't believe me, my best option for Steel right now Perilous Ringmail. We're doomed and cursed. Was briefly tempted by Greasy Tome, but the day I actually equip a Demonic Revenge trait is the day I turn in my CH Badge.


    Dungeon of the Lizard Priest (Level 4)


    Steel picks up Gouging Helm. A nice find considering he's a Dwarf. Unfortunately my luck does not continue, as all three of the uncommon drops from the final chest were treasures. We'll be skipping over Ruby Demon Portal to head on to our next destination...

    Rescue From Shieldhaven Prison (Level 5)

    Most times when I'm running through the early levels, I'm using two priests and a warrior, so I've gotten pretty good at getting around Parry. Kilia just don't give a crap. She gives less of a crap than the RNG does about me and my drops. For the record, Steel is STILL waiting on another weapon or two, but this is a common problem I've run into in these runs. Against my better judgment, our next stop is...

    Slub Gut's Sanctum (Level 5)

    Traded out Spiked Buckler for Heavy Wooden Shield. Parry is going to be rather necessary in the future. Steel finally gets his second weapon in Lunging Glaive, giving him eleven step attacks and absolute s*** for damage.

    Diamonds of the Kobolds (Level 6)

    With fixed loot tables, I'm actually looking forward to this map for once. Things start promisingly with Advanced Guidance and Apprentice Sparking, and end decently with Hooked Chimalli. The party now faces a difficult choice. On the one hand, the level seven modules have gotten a bit easier thanks to Dropped Guard on the trogs. On the other hand...trogs. Ultimately we bypass all of that and head to...

    Forest of Souls (Level 7)

    I get painfully reminded that these guys are carrying Clubbing Branch now, and that its power has been upped after they one-shot Kilia. Fortunately, Steel is able to wail on them until they die.

    I learn quickly that they telegraph their hand a bit when they keep Clubbing Branch over their natural armor, and while Kilia had to run all over the map to avoid it on the final stage, she managed to eek out a win. As of this point, my party still has five slots left unfilled.

    Compass of Xorr (Level 8)

    Man the servants have gotten aggressive. Despite having been downgraded from their Bash attacks, they hit me more than the enemies in the first map. The final map is where the real battle is though. I'm not sure if it's a new programming thing, but it really does seem like all the enemies are saving their best attacks for my Elf Wizard, as she had to block two Impaling Stabs (Thanks Block, Solider!). Finally getting some use out of the power tokens but Steel still doesn't have a third weapon.

    Gladatorial Arena Qualifiers (Level 9)

    Yay. Power token divine weapons. Too bad they're all garbage. Second level nearly kills my party, but Kilia is great at outrunning walkers (pun very much intended...as in they all have walk cards...oh shut up). FINALLY got a third weapon for Steel (Burnished Blade) bringing his Step-Attack count up to sixteen. Only missing a Dwarf Skill and an Arcane Item from my loadouts now.

    Another hard choice ahead for the level ten module I need to complete. It's tempting to go for the Cockroaches, but Melvelous is probably too much for Steel to handle. Garnet Demon Portal would END my party no question about it, so that leaves us with...

    The Sinister Wood (Level 10)

    Level ten is about the time the game really starts pushing back at you. I'm losing party members pretty much every level now and just barely scraping by. Help the Weak is essentially, help Kilia right now. Fortunately, despite the collective HP of my party being 10 total on the third map, we manage to get a win.


    Pools of Slime (Level 11)


    I decide to go for this one since there are four crushing attacks total between all of my party members. For my decision, I nearly get wiped on the first level...and the second...and the third. I'm not certain how I got a victory here, but needless to say, running elf beats slow zombies. Steel upgraded to Swift Attacker but no other drops of note. The lack of weapons is going to hurt bad in the next level.

    Tomb of Tvericus (Level 12)

    God I hate this level so much. This level has ended my runs more than any other level and I've only ever gotten past it once...only to die on the level immediately after it. Unfortunately it's the best of the three, as Tree Forts is a nightmare to anyone without a Parrying Buckler, and Temple of Scales is just...no. Things haven't changed much since the big SP update so I'm not expecting this to be any easier, especially with my stab/slash heavy warrior.

    So, straight into it. The second level in this mix is the killer, and the three skeletons nearly spell my doom. Were it not for the AI passing at the wrong moment, my 1HP Kilia would have died. Thankfully we didn't and the third level gave Steel an Acrobat's Blade. Not much help against skeletons, but still better than the tokenless level three he's been carrying.

    The final map...we got lucky. Tvericus threw away his armor to keep his Mighty Bludgeon, which met the single Parry Steel had in his deck. Thanks to a well timed Memory Loss, the skeleton minions lost their armor as well, and the zombies were mopped up in short order.

    The question now becomes, where to go from here? Astral Shrine has killed me more times than I care to remember, but the alternatives are Alat Zhav and High Mountain Pass. Well, I got lucky once with the skeleton and zombie combo, so let's go for round two.

    The Jewel of Alat Zhav (Level 13)

    First two levels go as well as can be expected, though the combat time is dragging quite a bit. Oak Staff is acquired from the second level and thanks to numerous Arcane attacks, we have a surprisingly easy time of the next two levels. Now is the big one though. I've never gotten past the level fourteen hurdle, so lets see what happens.

    Return to the Astral Shrine (Level 14)

    I hate this level so much in this mode. It's manageable when you've got a party set up to deal with it, but it can be unforgivably brutal if you can't pull out enough damage to knock the pieces off their positions in time. Unfortunately, the alternates are Lord Batford's Manor and Citrine Demon Portal, also incredibly unforgiving levels, but let's see if the new party can deal with the updated enemies.

    The first level goes by smoothly thanks to a well timed Dissolve Armor, but that was the child's play level. The real one is the second map along with the updated pawns. The last level...was horrendously close. The 15 damage blast nearly wiped two of my party members, leaving them both at three HP, but we had all three of the victory points with two stars left for the enemy. We're officially off the map now people. It's time to go to the gnomes.

    Secret of the Gnome Lords (Level 15)

    I decided to go with this one because...well, both levels are essentially gnomes beating the crap out of you, and the one with spear flingers is mildly less dangerous. First level goes by nice and easy thanks to Mighty Hack and Raging Strike exploitation. Got a Polished Club and upgraded quickly due to Healing Rays being so damn good now.

    Unfortunately, the second level gives me my first loss after a brutal takedown by the shroom. Fortunately, the second battle goes a lot better and my priest walks away with a Lifesuck Spear. I'm officially off the map now though...I have no clue what I want to do next. What I do know, however, is just how brutal the updated Temple of Terror was and how painfully annoying Cliffs of the Wyverns is so...

    Attack of the War Monkeys (Level 16)

    Wow did I immediately regret this choice. Close shaves have happened pretty much once in every adventure so far, but getting my own Mighty Hack stolen and used against me was agonizingly painful. The second level proved to be worse though, and cost me two of my three lives with two maps to go. The level did reward me with Dancing Blade though, along with some Citadel tech for Kilia.

    The next level we managed to get pretty handily. Steel planted himself on the VP and didn't move. We were rewarded with a Warrior's Mace which immediately was equipped.

    Thanks to Dual Laser Beacon getting planted on the VP (8 Damage to everyone standing there), we manage to win the last level handily.

    Lair of the Yellow Dragon (Level 17)

    This is it. The final level. Everything has been building to this one stage. I've almost died several times and the monkeys nearly wiped my party. I don't like my odds. I've got one Morbo's Pendant which can slow ogres down, but not much else. Steel has shaped up nicely and Terra...well she still has heal cards. I'm already forecasting a rather brutal fight though.

    I wasn't disappointed. The first map killed my priest and nearly my whole party, but thankfully Steel can block quite well now. Kilia picked up a Laser Blunderbuss, a risky choice but one I'm all to happy to try considering the next two levels.

    Second level, Kilia dies, but we pull through thanks to a combination of Shimmering Armor and Reliable Mail. Sprites can't do much against that. Traveling Curse gets the final kill from the Perilous Ringmail Steel picked up way back at the beginning.

    Third level ends with Steel at 5 health and everyone else dead. You can probably guess how close things were.

    Final level...was ridiculously easy but immensely satisfying. The Yellow Dragon came up against Steel who had two 13-damage attacks in his hand, right after Kilia shot him with several lasers. It was quick, brutal, and incredibly satisfying after nearly dying on the three levels prior to this.

    ---

    And that's it. Holy hell I can't believe I actually managed to pull this off. I look back on this log to all the times I almost died, all the lucky breaks I got, it's amazing my rag-tag team of haphazard adventurers managed to stand before a dragon and beat him down. The gnomes nearly killed me, the chess pieces nearly killed me, the monkeys got close to taking all three of my lives...but damn was it satisfying to finally pull it off, especially after failing this four times before.


    The updated campaign was definitely a lot more friendly this time around, and the more compact maps gave my Dwarf Warrior room to actually be useful. The Citadel Tech was definitely a nice bonus when it started dropping in the monkey level, and a lot of equipment changes were made in the Yellow Dragon Lair right before the final confrontation thanks to some amazing drops.

    The Final Party:



     
    Master Goo, Krunail, Maniafig and 6 others like this.
  2. Robauke

    Robauke Guild Leader

    Certainly interesting to see what they evolved into after the campaign.
     
  3. Melancthon

    Melancthon Ogre

    Great read ClanCrusher, congratulations!
     
  4. Assassine

    Assassine Kobold

    Good read. Sounds fun, i might give this a try myself.
     
  5. Aerendhil

    Aerendhil Ogre

    that's a fun challenge !
    a few questions though :
    - how do you manage inventory when switching to other characters ? (for daily farming LF) Does that mean that you don't have spare items from previous adventure ?
    - Do you allow yourself some defeats ? or do you play Ironman mode ? ( 1 failure = game-over)
     
  6. Balor

    Balor Lizardman Priest

    Just save the party? I name the save so that I can remember the level they were at (eg "Nudie 12 Tree Forts"). When doing nudie runs, I don't keep count of the inventory - I only use the items the chars are currently wearing and replace them when I find something better.
     
  7. Aerendhil

    Aerendhil Ogre

    Hmm, ok.
    well, I just started one out of curiosity (Dwarf Warrior - Human Priest - Elf Wizard)
    First Battle, I loot a rare "peasant plate" but my dwarf warrior doesn't have the slot yet to equip it : what do I do with it ?
     
  8. Aerendhil

    Aerendhil Ogre

    Ok, I'll use this post as a journal to my Ironman Nudie Run.
    All rules mentionned above apply, plus :
    - I'll write in here spare loot that I will allow myself to equip, either because my toons don't have the level yet, or because it could be usefull later - this spare equipment is only dropped loot, nothing from collection.
    - Only one try. a defeat ends the run.

    [THE TEAM]
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]


    [SPARE EQUIPMENT]


    [JOURNAL]
    1) Caverns of the Troglodytes
    No trouble , my team of evil-doers sliced 'em up, and the loot looks good.
    Loot :
    Slippery Sword
    Buckled Boots
    [RARE] Peasant Plate
    Soothing Relic

    2) Wizard Workshop
    Armored Golems are a PITA...
    Hoppefully a violet staff dropped after 1st battle, making it slightly less annoying (2 pen. zap)
    The cleric went down at boss. - being undead, it was easily raised by the team :rolleyes:
    Loot :
    Violet staff

    3) Lair of the Trog Wizard
    A good trog is a dead trog. Those were the best. - team reached level 3.
    Loot :
    Untrained Teleportation
    [RARE] Trembling Staff , my wizard has some real spells now.
    Berserker's Bones

    4) Highway Robbery
    "Weak Block" becomes quite effective against an undergeared team.
    Those filthy goblinses died quickly enough though.
    Goblin Hulk did surprise my wizard flat-footed with a bull rush and one-shooted him. on 2nd map. Vengeance followed quickly.
    Loot :
    Thick Club, 2nd warrior weapon, and a decent one.
    Hide of the Frenzied
    White Orb, happy about those "Big Zap"
    Burning Spark Novice

    5) Ruby Demon Portal
    Despite warning of impending doom, I decide to face the tiny puny demons.
    My team suffered several flesh wounds, and final battle got me nearly wiped, but demons were kind enough to not focus on 1 target. Odd of them. Team reached level 4
    Loot :
    Plain dagger
    Novice Cleansing
    Heirloom Assegai
    Thin Poignard, replaces Slippery sword
    Untrainded Slicing
    Enervating Spear, Cleric finally have a weapon
    Staff of flames

    6) Dungeon of the Lizard Priest
    Nothing to see here, move along adventurer. Team reached level 5
    Loot :
    nothing worth mentionning

    7) Slub Gut Sanctum
    Another easy victory - Lizardman flesh ain't tasty
    Loot :
    Banana shield, 1st decent shield
    Robe of lightness, 1st Robe

    8) rescue from Shieldhaven Prison
    Wizard is squishy , died a few times, no real difficulties. Team reached level 6. Levelling will become slower from now on.
    Loot :
    [EPIC] Torching Staff
    Red Circlet

    9) The white Star
    urghhh this one was tedious, kobolds have a special weapon : boredom :confused:
    Loot :
    Coward's Shield
    Holy Axe, 2nd cleric weapon
    Armorvbane Pendant
    Rusted Angel Mail
    Crude polearm
    Firebrand Mantle

    10) Diamonds of the Kobolds
    This one actually scared me a bit, 1 death per battle. Team reached level 7.
    Loot :
    [RARE]Skipping boots
    [RARE]Midnight Shroud
    Helmet of thorns

    11) The Defense of Woodhome
    2nd battle was hard, Fireball nearly destroyed the team.
    Loot :
    Wyvern Hide Helmet
    Apprentice Footwork
    [RARE] Spreading Flame
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2016
    ParodyKnaveBob likes this.
  9. Robauke

    Robauke Guild Leader

    You arent allowed to sideboard items. You either take/equip them or leave/sell them.
     
  10. HisRoyalHygiene

    HisRoyalHygiene Guild Leader

    I'm sure he can make up any rules that he feels are fun - isn't that the point of a game?
     
  11. Balor

    Balor Lizardman Priest

    Here's my team after finishing The Yellow Dragon. I played every adventure once, including the treasure hunts. No Club membership. I remember having better luck with items in previous runs - this final team uses 0 Legendaries, 1 Epic and 2 Rares.

     
    ParodyKnaveBob and Vholes like this.
  12. Robauke

    Robauke Guild Leader

    As long as he doesn't claim he did a
    Nudie Run Ultimate Edition [Thread Title]
     

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