Okay, I assaulted Secrets of the Elder Mind for the first time tonight. I lost the first battle mostly due to not knowing quite what to expect...I think I kept the same build for attempt number two and managed to win. The second battle I was a little surprised to see that the Mind Flensers kept moving in close but always used ranged attacks. Then I got the attachment that kills you. Ah. That would be why. Once everyone was dead, I stocked up on Purging effects and tried again. Eventually I beat them, and then it was on to the glorious final battle. The first time I lost before it had even fully registered that it was a huge winding path around the outside edge to reach the Elder Mind. Attempt number two I lost a couple of characters but kept my priest alive long enough to actually reach the Elder Mind and deal the killing blow...except that I stepped one square too far to one side, forgetting to make sure I should be behind him, and was killed by the reflecting block. Aargh. Attempt number three! Everyone is alive! Only the Elder Mind remains! We press valiantly on, winding our way around the path! I have my wizard on one side to ping damage and change the Elder Mind's facing as the priest stands on the other side with 2 HP and some stabbing attacks. If only my warrior could move in and make the kill! Oh, the tension! Maybe if I lose this time I should consider some kind of flight effects for my next try. Oh, wait...I have Telekinesis. Hey, doesn't that teleport rather than slide now? Let me just...yup, my warrior is now on the other side of the wall and can hack open the Elder Mind no trouble. Well. That was handy. I must say, it felt weird to be tweaking my build to minimize the number of Traits I had. That feels so backwards. (edited to correct formatting)
I've played that adventure about 4 times and pre-balance I always ran the whole way to the elder mind. Post-balance I included a wiz and teleported my chars over with him. Was handy, yeah
There's also one spot reachable by Nimble Strike. Though I usually just throw out a bunch of Volcanos.
I've beaten it with a triple (vamp) priest team, it makes the first two levels go real smooth, but the last level requires NS or teleport self.
Arrogant Armor is the best thing for this adventure. I also like using Volcano. Spoiler: current party Digger Level 21 Dwarf Warrior Bejeweled Shortsword Double-edged Sword Infused Greatclub Impervious Panoply Bullseye Shield Party Leader Hat Captain Cedric's Boots Perfect Toughness Novice Crushing 1 x Heavy Armor 1 x Sprint, Team! 1 x Backbiting Strike 2 x Pulverizing Bludgeon 2 x Vicious Thrust 1 x Toughened Hide Strips 2 x Catch Arrow 2 x Flanking Move 2 x Toughness 1 x Trained Bludgeon 4 x Bludgeon 1 x Dodge 2 x Impaling Stab 1 x Simple Strike 1 x Powerful Bludgeon 3 x Powerful Hack 2 x Dancing Cut 1 x Missile Block 1 x Rusty Armor 1 x Crusher 2 x Arrogant Armor 1 x Potent Stab 1 x Team Walk Grind Dwa Wiz 2 Level 20 Dwarf Wizard Mordecai's Staff Of Magma Searing Pain Azgul's Orb Magma Scepter Azgul's Orb Magma Scepter Robes Of Levitation Greenguard Boots Toughness Advanced Levitation 2 x Burning Fingers 3 x Hover 1 x Teleport Self 6 x Volcano 3 x Fireball 2 x Shrug It Off 5 x Flash Of Agony 2 x Arcane Burst 1 x Hard To Pin Down 1 x Desperate Block 1 x Squeamish 6 x Firestorm 1 x Thick Hide Armor 2 x Glob Of Flame Cheerwell Maker Level 21 Dwarf Priest Healing Hand Mace Purging Mace Holy Knight Armor Spellthwart Shield Captain Cedric's Boots Silver Healing Ring Silver Healing Ring Silver Healing Ring Perfect Toughness Advanced Piety 2 x Flanking Move 2 x Toughness 1 x Holy Armor 3 x Purging Burst 3 x Team Heal 2 x Altruism 1 x Predictable Stab 3 x Limited Heal 4 x Greater Heal 1 x Rusty Armor 2 x Mighty Bludgeon 3 x Help The Weak 3 x Missile Block 2 x Purging Strike 2 x Arrogant Armor 1 x Sundering Strike 1 x Team Walk
Two dwarf vamps and a human fighter. This is the build for the final battle: Spoiler Kurt Straker Level 20 Dwarf Priest Lifesuck Spear Scouring Axe St. Temrun's Chainmail Parrying Buckler Winged Track Shoes Flax's Thirsty Vial Hand Of Melvelous Spellstripper Relic Superb Stoutness Advanced Cleansing 2 x Duck 3 x Purging Burst 1 x Devastating Blow 3 x Parry 2 x Purge 2 x Crafted Mail 2 x Lunging Strike 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Healing Rays 2 x Flight Aura 1 x Strong Chop 2 x Obliterating Chop 3 x Spear Of Darkness 1 x Sprint 1 x Chop 3 x Enervating Touch 2 x Consuming Spear 1 x Holy Presence 1 x Holy Armor 1 x Impaling Stab 1 x Cleansing Burst Jesse Hooker Level 20 Dwarf Priest Lifesuck Spear Scouring Axe St. Temrun's Chainmail Parrying Buckler Winged Track Shoes Flax's Thirsty Vial Hand Of Melvelous Spellstripper Relic Superb Stoutness Advanced Cleansing 2 x Duck 3 x Purging Burst 1 x Devastating Blow 3 x Parry 2 x Purge 2 x Crafted Mail 2 x Lunging Strike 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 1 x Healing Rays 2 x Flight Aura 1 x Strong Chop 2 x Obliterating Chop 3 x Spear Of Darkness 1 x Sprint 1 x Chop 3 x Enervating Touch 2 x Consuming Spear 1 x Holy Presence 1 x Holy Armor 1 x Impaling Stab 1 x Cleansing Burst Spiky Bastard Level 20 Human Warrior Master's Battleaxe Vibrant Pain Thornhill Sword Vinorkin's Cuirass Parrying Buckler Quigley's Cap Goat Boots Untrained Flexibility Advanced Chopping 1 x Dash, Team! 4 x Strong Chop 1 x Slicer 3 x Parry 1 x Powerful Hack 2 x Obliterating Chop 1 x Weakened Armor 2 x Arrogant Armor 1 x Clumsy Chop 1 x Weak Chop 1 x Skillful Strike 1 x Dangerous Maneuver 1 x Flanking Move 7 x Nimble Strike 2 x Chop 1 x Strong Hack 2 x Chain Harness 1 x Retreat 1 x Slowed 1 x Immovable 1 x Leather Harness First battle, swap out the Lifesuck Spear for a Huetotl's Firebrand on each vamp, swap in Mail Of The Martyr on the armour and flight off the boots. Second battle, swap out the Lifesuck, swap in a purging weapon - I've got Scouring Axe on, but Ripping Mace would be even better. Third battle as above (swap out the Huetotl's and Martyr Mail, swap in flight/nimble strike), make sure to tease out the Elder Mind's reflecting blocks with low damage attacks. The Goat Boots on the fighter were a mistake, replace with good trait-free tokenless boots. It's still very possible to lose a battle in this module if the Flensers catch you at the end of a round with a couple of psychic blasts, or Riptide gets a ridiculous draw and you can't clear the flensers before he gets to you.
The only problem with everyone's decks are that its not easy to get lvl 19/20 characters, so if anyone have suggestions on how to level up characters fast or what dungeons to "farm xp" in please tell me that too.
I found the Gnome Lords modules the best for farming XP fast, especially Secrets of the Gnome Lords (only two battles, lots of space for maneuvering). The gnomes are vulnerable to a variety of party builds, especially when they draw Raging Strike. Cardstock II Secret Preview is by far the easiest Level 17 adventure, as long as you equip enough armour removal, and Battle on the Bridge is a soft intro for learning how to deal with Cardotron in MP. I tend to build 90% of my SP loot runs around the dwarf vamps (with either a human fighter or mage), so concentrating on a party build like that for Loot Fairy means they'll level up as they tackle the L17 and 18 modules. Otherwise, I use elf vamps + an elf fighter for the Core and Demon Portal levels.
Send them into adventures two levels above them (so they get 20 XP per adventure) until they're ready for CardStock. The Songsword Tavern sells level 10 chars if you want to skip straight to CS.
Arrogant Armor works very well in all 3 maps. A simple Wall Of Fire or somesuch usually kills the Elder Mind easily but here is my current WWP deck for the whole adventure: Lizard Hide Boots to Leap over to the Elder Mind, Untrained Toughness for extra nastiness removal. Spoiler: Party Like It's 2012 Mormo Level 20 Dwarf Warrior Bloodchopper Axe Of The Titans Quornic's Battleaxe Impervious Panoply Spiked Shield Captain Cedric's Helm Lizard Hide Boots Untrained Toughness Frenzied Slicing 1 x Lunging Thrust 1 x Parry 1 x Weak Chop 1 x Heavy Armor 1 x Run 1 x Bloodied Block 3 x Perforating Strike 1 x Shrug It Off 1 x Frenzy Aura 1 x Reliable Mail 1 x Ouch! 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 2 x Arrogant Armor 7 x Obliterating Chop 2 x Officer's Harness 2 x Leap 3 x Strong Hack 4 x Surging Shield Block 2 x Slicer Bombo Level 20 Dwarf Warrior Bloodchopper Axe Of The Titans Quornic's Battleaxe Impervious Panoply Spiked Shield Lt. Buckwell's Strapping Lizard Hide Boots Untrained Toughness Frenzied Slicing 1 x Lunging Thrust 1 x Parry 1 x Weak Chop 1 x Heavy Armor 1 x Run 1 x Bloodied Block 3 x Perforating Strike 1 x Shrug It Off 1 x Frenzy Aura 1 x Ouch! 1 x Reliable Hide Armor 2 x Chain Harness 7 x Obliterating Chop 1 x Officer's Harness 2 x Leap 3 x Strong Hack 4 x Surging Shield Block 2 x Arrogant Armor 2 x Slicer Gorgo Level 21 Human Priest Healing Hand Mace Healing Hand Mace Old Saint's Armor Ichabod's Buckler Lizard Hide Boots Crespin's Shroud Purging Charm Crespin's Shroud Bloody Command Trained Cleansing 2 x Wounded Block 1 x Sprint, Team! 1 x Run 1 x Bloodied Block 2 x Leap 1 x Flanking Move 1 x Healing Pulse 1 x Invigorating Touch 6 x Team Heal 1 x Enervating Touch 2 x Arrogant Armor 1 x Purging Burst 2 x Sundering Strike 4 x Purge 1 x Holy Presence 4 x Mighty Bludgeon 1 x Defender's Block 4 x Cause Fumble
can anyone give me any hints i just can't pass the first map. i have some arrogant armor on my warrior and priest and several purges, also some telekinesis but if i go for the dolphins the other guys kill my mage, if i ignore them they debuff me and score victory points but in generall i totally lack the damage to do anything usefull here. either my mage sucks or the discard form the dolphins sucks don't know....
Have the warrior/priest load up on blocks. The slugs have some ugly attacks, but they can only attack once each, so blocking is the key. Even on 1hp quest you can tank your way through the first map if you carry enough blocks. Mage could smoke bomb the dolphins if they are irritating you.
Nicely played OP, I think I had a similar experience the first time I tried beating this level. Poisoned to death the first run, insta-killed the second map, and Brainhooked to death the third (although I think Riptide did more overall damage to my party). Nowadays when I go through the map, I tend to have two priests backing up a single warrior with lots of scrubbing charms and arrogant armor.
As mentioned, Arrogant armor is absolutely critical to have for the first two maps. You negate the poison and stuns and card destroying dolphins on the first map, negate instant kill brain scramble and more dolphins on the second map. As for the third map, well this is my solution. http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/rocket-charge.7624/
After my first impression of holy sh** how i'm gonna do this was over i was finally able to beat the adventure. Have to say the 3. map was kind of the easiest one. The first one took me many tries.
