FAQ/Walkthrough - Guide for Orcs Must Die! 2
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__________________________________________
/ ORCS MUST DIE! 2 - FAQ/Walkthrough v1.00 \
\__________________________________________/
Author: Matthew Halverson, aka Edalborez or Seravi Edalborez
Steam ID: Edalborez
___________________
/ TABLE OF CONTENTS \ =========================================================
\___________________/
*Ctrl+F the (section number) to jump to a section*
== (1.0) Introduction
== (2.0) Version History
== (3.0) Features / Differences from Orcs Must Die!
== (4.0) Characters
== (5.0) Controls and Terms
== (6.0) Walkthrough
-- (6.1) Frequently Asked Questions
-- (6.2) General Tactics
-- (6.3) High Scoring and Combos
-- (6.4) Story
-- (6.4.01) The Edge
-- (6.4.02) Tunnels
-- (6.4.03) Chasm
-- (6.4.04) The Crossing
-- (6.4.05) Big Valleys
-- (6.4.06) Hidden Gulch
-- (6.4.07) Precipice
-- (6.4.08) Servant Entrance
-- (6.4.09) Passages
-- (6.4.10) Corridors
-- (6.4.11) Upstairs Downstairs
-- (6.4.12) Crunch
-- (6.4.13) Mirror Image
-- (6.4.14) Wind Up
-- (6.4.15) Twisted Halls
-- (6.5) Classic
-- (6.5.01) Twin Halls
-- (6.5.02) Lunch Break
-- (6.5.03) Sludge Hole
-- (6.5.04) Chaos Chamber
-- (6.5.05) The Arena
-- (6.5.06) The Library
-- (6.5.07) Hard Climb
-- (6.5.08) The Squeeze
-- (6.5.09) Stairs of Doom
-- (6.5.10) Finale
-- (6.6) Endless
-- (6.7) DLC: Fire & Water
-- (6.7.1) Traffic Jammed
-- (6.7.2) Double Decker
-- (6.7.3) The West Wing
-- (6.8) Weekly Challenge
== (7.0) Spellbook
-- (7.1) Traps
-- (7.1.01) Acid Sprayer
-- (7.1.02) Archer Guardian
-- (7.1.03) Arrow Wall
-- (7.1.04) Autoballista
-- (7.1.05) Barricade
-- (7.1.06) Bear Trap
-- (7.1.07) Boom Barrel
-- (7.1.08) Boom Barrel Dispenser
-- (7.1.09) Boulder Chute
-- (7.1.10) Brimstone
-- (7.1.11) Coinforge
-- (7.1.12) Dart Spitter *DLC*
-- (7.1.13) Decoy
-- (7.1.14) Dwarf Guardian
-- (7.1.15) Floor Portal *DLC*
-- (7.1.16) Floor Scorcher
-- (7.1.17) Grinder
-- (7.1.18) Haymaker
-- (7.1.19) Healing Well
-- (7.1.20) Ice Vent
-- (7.1.21) Mana Well
-- (7.1.22) Paladin Guardian
-- (7.1.23) Pounder
-- (7.1.24) Push Trap
-- (7.1.25) Shock Zapper
-- (7.1.26) Spike Trap
-- (7.1.27) Spore Mushrooms
-- (7.1.28) Spring Trap
-- (7.1.29) Steam Trap
-- (7.1.30) Swinging Mace
-- (7.1.31) Tar
-- (7.1.32) Void Wall
-- (7.1.33) Wall Blades
-- (7.1.34) Web Spinner *DLC*
-- (7.2) Weapons
-- (7.2.01) Alchemist's Satchel
-- (7.2.02) Bladestaff
-- (7.2.03) Bone Amulet
-- (7.2.04) Blunderbuss
-- (7.2.05) Crossbow
-- (7.2.06) Dwarven Hammer
-- (7.2.07) Flame Bracers
-- (7.2.08) Ice Amulet
-- (7.2.09) Polymorph Ring
-- (7.2.10) Ring of Lightning
-- (7.2.11) Sceptre of Domination
-- (7.2.12) Vampiric Gauntlets
-- (7.2.13) Wind Belt
-- (7.3) Trinkets
-- (7.3.01) Berserker Trinket
-- (7.3.02) Defense Trinket
-- (7.3.03) Freedom Trinket
-- (7.3.04) Healing Trinket
-- (7.3.05) Mana Rage Trinket
-- (7.3.06) Rift Defender Trinket
-- (7.3.07) Scavenger Trinket
-- (7.3.08) Trap Reset Trinket
-- (7.4) Vanity
-- (7.5) Environmental Traps
-- (7.5.01) Pits, Lava, and Acid
-- (7.5.02) Minecart
-- (7.5.03) Minecart (Lava)
-- (7.5.04) Hanging Bomb
-- (7.5.05) Portals
-- (7.5.06) Chandelier
-- (7.5.07) Rolling Log
-- (7.5.08) Boiling Oil
-- (7.5.09) Preset Traps
== (8.0) Enemies
-- (8.1) Orcs
-- (8.2) Kobolds
-- (8.3) Ogres
-- (8.4) Gnolls
-- (8.5) Elementals
-- (8.6) Trolls
-- (8.7) Fliers
-- (8.8) Mages
== (9.0) Wave Data *Incomplete*
-- (9.1) Story (War Mage, single)
-- (9.2) Story (War Mage, co-op)
-- (9.3) Story (Nightmare, single)
-- (9.4) Story (Nightmare, co-op)
-- (9.5) Classic (War Mage, single)
-- (9.6) Classic (War Mage, co-op)
-- (9.7) Classic (Nightmare, single)
-- (9.8) Classic (Nightmare, co-op)
-- (9.9) DLC: Fire and Water (War Mage, single)
-- (9.10) DLC: Fire and Water (War Mage, co-op)
-- (9.11) DLC: Fire and Water (Nightmare, single)
-- (9.12) DLC: Fire and Water (Nightmare, co-op)
== (10.0) Copyright / Contact Info
===============================================================================
============================== (1.0) INTRODUCTION =============================
===============================================================================
Orcs Must Die! is a half-tower defense, half-action game developed by Robot
Entertainment. It was released on October 5th, 2011 for the Xbox Live Arcade
and on October 12th, 2011 for PC. Orcs Must Die!, despite the simple premise,
was and is a very unique experience. The gameplay's pacing is quick compared
to many tower defense games, but only enough to create a challenge.
Orcs Must Die! 2 was released on July 30th, 2012 for the PC only. The basic
flow of gameplay is very similar to the original, but the sequel adds many new
features. Examples include 2 player cooperative play, an Endless mode, the
ability to refund trap upgrades, and more. PC owners of Orcs Must Die! also
have access to 10 Classic levels from the original game.
I intend for this guide to be a springboard for new players looking for tips,
but veterans may also find the enemy wave data and trap analyses to be of use
as they are updated.
===============================================================================
============================ (2.0) VERSION HISTORY ============================
===============================================================================
v1.00: (September xx, 2012)
-First version
-Differences, Characters, and Controls and Terms are complete
-Walkthrough created for Story levels.
-General Tactics and High Scoring / Combos need expansion
-DLC: Fire and Water additions noted and DLC level walkthrough complete
-Spellbook has unlock requirements and skull costs. Analyses and hard data
like range, effect radius, and combo effects need expansion
-Enemies mostly complete. Missing a few rift point and movement values
-Wave Data for DLC: Fire and Water (War Mage, single) complete. A handful of
(Nightmare, single) & (War Mage, single) levels for Story/Classic also done
Next version:
-Complete spellbook analyses
-Complete walkthrough for Classic and all Nightmare levels
Long term:
-Wave data
===============================================================================
============= (3.0) FEATURES / DIFFERENCES FROM ORCS MUST DIE! ================
===============================================================================
-15 Story levels, 10 Endless levels (5 are reused Story levels), and 10 Classic
levels (available to owners of Orcs Must Die! on Steam). Story and Classic
levels can be played on Apprentice (Easy), War Mage (Normal), or Nightmare
(Hard, unlocked after completing all levels on War Mage). Additionally, DLC
chapters have been announced. The first, Fire and Water adds 3 regular levels
and 3 endless levels.
-31 Traps, 13 Weapons, 8 Trinkets, and 4 costumes per character.
The first DLC, Fire and Water, added 3 additional traps.
-You can play any level on any difficulty either solo or with a friend. At this
time, there is no online matchmaking so you must invite or be invited by
friends and social group members on Steam.
-As with the first game, the 5 skulls you earn for completing a level are only
awarded the first time you achieve a certain rating. IE: If you earn 4 skulls
on a level and then earn 5 skulls on a replay, you would only earn 1 extra
skull. In OMD!2, however, you also earn bonus skulls for certain conditions,
the most basic of which is simply completing a level. You are guaranteed 1
skull for completing any level, and will often earn many more.
-2 playable characters: The War Mage and the Sorceress. Each has access to the
majority of the trap and weapon selection with a few unique items. The War
Mage has equal health and mana, while the Sorceress has more mana and less
health by comparison. Each gains a unique movement ability (Double Jump and
Feather Fall, respectively) after completing the final Story level.
-The Spellbook has been considerably updated. First, all skulls you have earned
can be refunded at any time as often as you want with no cost. Second, Each
trap and weapon has 3 levels of upgrades (improving damage, reset time, or
other factors), 2 unique (and mutually exclusive) upgrades, and some special
upgrades allowing traps to be placed on an additional type of surface (for
example, placing a wall trap on the ceiling). Finally, trinkets and costumes
have been added, trinkets providing a passive and active enhancement. Every
trap and weapon from the original OMD! returns.
-Weavers from the first game have been removed, but most of their enhancements
have been carried over to weapon, trap, and trinket upgrades. This trades the
coin investment per level to an investment in loadout slots and skulls.
-Nightmare mode offers one "Go break" before the first wave starts, unlike the
first game where the wave started the moment you exited the Spellbook.
-Rifts and how they heal players have been altered; rifts in the mines don't
provide any healing, and fortress rifts only restore health at a slower rate
than in the original. Some strategies that abused mana regeneration next to
the rift in the original are no longer possible.
-Fall damage has been removed for players.
-Wall trap placement is a little more lenient; some sloped walls can be used
(facing at an up/down angle), and most staircases allow wall traps to be
placed diagonally, level to the slope.
-"Physics" traps have more force; the Steam Trap in the first game was a casual
push upwards, while in this game it's practically a Spring Trap that points
upwards. Many effects put enemies into "ragdoll" states.
===============================================================================
=============== (4.0) CHARACTERS - The War Mage, The Sorceress ================
===============================================================================
You have a choice of two playable characters: The male War Mage and the female
Sorceress. When you select a character, you will be prompted to enter a name.
This won't appear anywhere except on your main menu and is only used to
identify your character's profile. Each character you create has their skulls
and level completion statistics logged separately; if you wish to play a War
Mage after starting as the Sorceress you will need to make a second profile.
You can switch between characters at any time from the main menu.
Both characters control exactly the same, only differing in base health, base
mana, a small pool of unique items (3 traps, 2 weapons), and their extra
movement ability obtained after completing Story mode.
Characters walk at ~2.5 tiles/second and run at ~3.3 tiles/second.
Characters regenerate ~5 mana per second naturally.
The War Mage has balanced health and mana, 100 each. He starts with:
-Blunderbuss: A shotgun-like weapon with grenade secondary fire.
-Arrow Wall: A wall trap that shoots arrows
-Tar: A floor trap that slows down enemies stepping on it
He can unlock:
-Dwarven Hammer: A strong melee weapon with a whirlwind mode secondary.
-Healing Well: A wall trap that restores health
And for completing Story he earns:
-Double Jump: Press Jump in mid-air to jump again. Must be used while rising.
The Sorceress has less health and more mana in comparison to the War Mage;
approximately 70 health and 130 mana. She starts with:
-Sceptre of Domination: A wand that shoots energy. Primary can be charged for
larger and more damaging shots. Secondary charms enemies for a while.
-Acid Sprayer: A wall trap that sprays acid at enemies
-Ice Vent: A floor trap that freezes enemies that step on it
She can unlock:
-Polymorph Ring: Primary transforms one enemy into another random enemy, a
potion, a chicken, or a coin. Secondary turns you into an Ogre, draining mana
while you do so.
-Mana Well: A wall trap that restores mana
And for completing Story she earns:
-Feather Fall: Press Jump while in mid-air to glide, slowing your descent while
active. Jump can be held to glide longer. Can be performed at any point during
a jump, and multiple times in the same jump.
===============================================================================
========================== (5.0) CONTROLS AND TERMS ===========================
===============================================================================
-Controls-
The default controls are pretty satisfactory, but you are free to remap just
about everything to up to 2 different keys or use a gamepad as a controller.
Controls assume a standard QWERTY keyboard.
Move Forward - W / Up arrow
Move Backward - S / Down arrow
Strafe Left - A / Left arrow
Strafe Right - D / Right arrow
Sprint - Left Shift / Right Shift
Jump - Space
Primary Attack - Mouse 1 (left click)
Secondary Attack* - Mouse 2 (right click)
Zoom - Mouse 3 (mouse wheel click)
Previous Loadout - Mouse wheel up
Next Loadout - Mouse wheel down
Push-to-Talk - Mouse 4
Action - E
Rotate gear - R
Large map toggle - M
Bloodmap toggle - L
Go - G
Spellbook - B
Pause Menu - Esc
Loadout 1 through 10 - 1 through 10
Toggle Loadout Type** - Tab
*When holding a trap, secondary switches to Loadout 1
**If holding a weapon/trinket, switches to last used trap and vice-versa.
Other things in options that may not be clear:
Gameplay > Gear UI
-Flat makes the next/previous loadout selection cycle through the whole bar.
-Split makes the next/previous loadout selection only cycle through
(weapons and trinkets) and (traps). Use Toggle Loadout Type (default: Tab)
to switch between the two, or select loadout slots directly (default: 1-10)
Gameplay > Space after load
-If "Yes", the loading screen will prompt you to press Spacebar to continue.
-If "No", the loading screen will automatically progress to the level.
Sound > Scenario Dialogue
-Turns on/off the dialogue at the beginning of Story levels. Does not affect
other voiceovers during gameplay.
-Terms-
-"Official" Terms
Rift:
The "tower" part of tower defense. Some levels have multiple rifts, but they
share the same total of Rift Points. If this number reaches zero, you lose the
level. Dying will subtract 3 points, and enemies who reach the rift subtract 1
to 10 points each, depending on size.
In the mines, these look like large doors. In the fortresses, these like like
large blue-white balls of energy, and restore health when nearby.
Spawns/Doors:
Enemies come out of here and head for the rifts. You can see their path between
waves represented by Wisps.
Wisps:
Blue streaks of light that travel from the orc spawns to the player rifts.
Shows the route enemies will take to the rift. Careful observation of the wisps
and how they change with Barricade placement can help decide how and where you
should set your traps.
Coin:
Currency used to create traps during levels. You start with a certain amount at
the beginning of each level, earn a certain amount from each enemy killed, and
some enemies drop coins that can be picked up for extra cash. Traps can be
refunded between waves, usually at full price. Does not carry over from one
level to the next.
Go Break:
A period in which no enemies will appear, can be used to set up or sell traps
and look around the level. Granted at the start of each level and usually every
3 waves thereafter. On Nightmare difficulty you only get the first Go Break.
Skulls:
Earned for completing levels. These can be spent to buy or upgrade traps in the
Spellbook. See also: "Base Skulls" and "Bonus Skulls".
Base Skulls:
Refers to the 5 skulls seen on the level selection screen. These cannot be
earned more than once, but you can retry the level as many times as needed to
earn all 5. See also: "5 skulls".
5 skulls:
Clearing a level without losing any rift points and within a par time (varies
between levels) earns 5 base skulls, displayed on the level select screen. Also
earns certain bonus skulls.
Bonus Skulls:
Awarded for certain conditions at the end of levels. Simply winning a level
earns at least one, enemies sometimes drop skulls that can be picked up, and
more are earned for career kill milestones, earning 5 skulls, and more.
Difficulty:
-War Mage: "Normal" difficulty.
-Apprentice: "Easy" difficulty. Has fewer, slower enemies and Go Breaks every
wave. Can only earn 2 skulls (shared with War Mage)
-Nightmare: "Hard" difficulty. Enemies are stronger and tougher, Go Breaks are
removed except for before Wave 1, and the break between waves is only 3
seconds long. Unlock by completing the campaign on Apprentice or War Mage.
War Mage: Depends on context
-The male playable character. ("The War Mage")
-The "normal" difficulty level. ("War Mage difficulty")
Level: (in the context of trap levels)
Weapons and traps have 3 levels of upgrades. The spellbook and loadout bar
reflect upgrade levels: level 1 has a bronze border, 2 silver, and 3 gold. A
shield in the upper right indicates a Unique and a gear in the lower right
indicates a Special upgrade. Level 0 traps are unupgraded versions.
High Scoring:
Playing with the goal of earning a high amount of points. The highest scores in
a given level may or may not also earn 5-skulls. See the High Scoring section.
Combo:
Earned when multiple traps hit an enemy as they die. Combos increase Coin
earned when killing enemies, and are invaluable for high scores. A "Combo x#"
bubble will appear over enemies' heads when killed.
Killstreak:
Earned when killing multiple enemies around the same time. Earns some bonus
Coin and score, but not as much as a Combo. "Killstreak x#" will appear on the
left side of the screen.
Combo Effects: See the High Scoring and Combos section for more detail.
-Slow: Makes enemies move at 50% speed and deal 25% less damage. Sometimes
called Snare to be distinct from other slowing effects. Tar has a similar
effect but is counted separately.
-Chill: Makes enemies move at 33% speed. Chilled enemies have a blue tint.
-Freeze: Enemies cannot move or attack, and take increased damage. Frozen
enemies are encased in a chunk of ice.
*Note that Freeze removes Burn and Stun.
-Burn: Makes enemies move at 66% speed and take damage over time. Burned
enemies will panic and be covered in flames.
*Note that Burn removes Chill and Freeze.
-Bleed: Makes enemies take damage over time. Enemies have a red aura.
*Note that Bleed is removed by the effect of the Coinforge trap.
-Stun: Enemies cannot move or attack. Stunned enemies look dizzied.
Damage Types:
Some enemies take more or less damage from certain types of damaging effects.
-Ice (Ice Amulet)
-Fire (Floor Scorcher, Flame Bracers, etc)
-Poison (Acid Sprayer, Alchemist's Satchel, etc)
-Explosive (Boom Barrels, Blunderbuss secondary, etc)
-Lightning (Shock Zapper, Ring of Lightning, etc)
*The following 3 need additional verification*
-Crushing
-Piercing
-Slashing
-Shorthand or game slang
Killbox:
Refers to a trap-concentrated area where a player plans on killing a large
amount of enemies. Usually set up at a chokepoint to target the largest amount
of enemies with the lowest amount of traps.
Chokepoint:
An area where a potentially large group of enemies can be funneled into a
less-wider area. Some levels have "natural" chokepoints; others can be created
or enhanced with Barricades.
Kite/Kiting:
Drawing an enemy's attention and leading it around with the intent to delay or
slow it down, as if flying a kite. Players can generally only hold the
attention of 1-3 enemies at a time and enemies will lose interest if the player
is too far away.
Physics/Ragdoll:
Refers to traps and effects focusing on throwing around enemies helplessly
rather than dealing damage. Examples include the Push Trap and Wind Belt.
Heavy enemies are only ragdolled by certain effects.
Checkerboarding:
Placing floor traps in a checker pattern, repeating in any given direction
___ ___
| A | B | A = one type of floor trap
|___|___| B = 2nd type of floor trap, or nothing
| B | A |
|___|___|
The purpose of checkerboarding is to maximize the area you can cover with
minimal coin. Sometimes enemies can trigger 2 traps next to each other at once
by walking between them. This can result in wasting a trap's reset timer.
===============================================================================
============================== (6.0) WALKTHROUGH ==============================
===============================================================================
---------------------- (6.1) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS -----------------------
Q: How do I get 5 skulls? / Why am I only getting 4 skulls?
A: Look at the "Stats" page after completing a level. It breaks down the base
skull distribution like so:
-Rift Points remaining: More skulls awarded for not losing rift points. 4 base
skulls awarded for losing 0 rift points.
-Par Time: Completing the level within the par time awards 1 base skull. The
starting Go Break does not count against you, but Go Breaks after do count.
Pausing (Esc) will freeze the timer.
Note that dying subtracts 3 rift points and the Rift Defender Trinket does not
make it easier to get 5 skulls. In short: don't die, note the par time (turn on
the timer display in Options), and don't let any enemies in.
Q: How do I unlock (X)?
A: If the item has a skull cost, it can only be bought with skulls.
If the item has a shield icon, you must complete a certain level to unlock
it. Hovering your mouse cursor over the shield tells you the requirements.
Q: Is the difficulty curve designed around co-op?
A: No. Waves are different between single player and co-op. Levels that defend
against multiple directions at once are more common than in the original
Orcs Must Die!, but single player is far from impossible.
Q: Can I use 2 Sorceresses / 2 War Mages in co-op?
A: Yes.
Q: How are traps and coin split in co-op?
A:
-In single-player, you can eventually use up to 10 loadout slots.
-In co-op, each player can only have 6 maximum, for a total of 12. You can both
choose a copy of the same item, but diversity is recommended.
-Starting coin is divided evenly in 2 for both players.
-Coin given for killing enemies is split in 2, rounded down, and given to both
players, regardless of who killed.
-Pickup Coins only award coin to the player who picked it up. Same applies to\
pickup Bonus Skulls.
-Trinkets only apply their passive effects to the holder but actives apply to
both players, if applicable.
Q: Can I play Classic / DLC co-op if only one of us has the content?
A: No, both players need the appropriate content to play co-op.
--------------------------- (6.2) GENERAL TACTICS -----------------------------
The 3 most important tips that I can stress for a new player:
1: HELP YOUR TRAPS KILL ENEMIES!
The player exists for a reason: your traps will rarely be enough to stop every
enemy by themselves. Even when they can, assisting your trap kills helps earn
higher combos, which award more Coin to place more traps. Bring a weapon you
can always rely on, like the starting weapon or the Crossbow, and maybe a
heavy-hitting magic weapon.
2: DON'T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE YOUR LOADOUT!
Bring different items if you need to. The Spellbook has a refund feature for a
reason. Many items you can only buy with skulls are surprisingly useful and can
be purchased at any time, such as Brimstone and Decoys.
3: DON'T BE TOO PROUD FOR APPRENTICE DIFFICULTY!
Some levels can be very difficult for first-timers and veterans alike. Beating
a level even on Apprentice will earn unlocks, which can greatly help you on a
retry. Don't feel bad about lowering the difficulty. It's there for a reason
and you can always try again later.
-Take a few minutes to study a level's layout before starting. Look for
potential chokepoints and take note of the rift locations, enemy spawns, and
the "wisp" trail showing the enemy path.
-The "wisps" showing the enemy route are, for the most part, very accurate. If
the wisps show that enemies will ignore a closer rift to run towards a farther
one, they will. Take that into account when setting up traps.
-Don't be discouraged if you don't 5-skull or even complete a level on your
first try. As you play a level more, it should gradually become easier.
-Some enemies have audio cues when they appear, such as Ogres grunting and
elementals making a gong-like sound. Get into the habit of recognizing which
sounds match which enemies, and prepare accordingly when they spawn.
-Areas where you can set up a floor, wall, and ceiling trap at the same spot
tend to make good killboxes.
-Generally, the further your killbox(es) are from your rift, the better. If you
set up right next to your rift and any enemies survive, they will likely get
through. Give yourself enough space to deal with any survivors.
-Don't take too many of any single kind of weapon or trap. As a general rule,
don't bring more than 2 Guardians and 2-3 wall, floor, or ceiling traps. Traps
that don't take up tile space (like Decoys) or can go 2 different surfaces
(like Floor Scorchers) don't have to strictly follow this.
-If you want to farm for skulls, pick an easy level you can beat quickly, like
The Edge, and try to 5-skull it without getting hit.
-When Barricades are available, see where you can block the Orcs' path and make
them go a longer way. This can save you a lot of Coin; rather than making two
killboxes, Barricade one side and just make one killbox!
*For more on Barricades, see the appropriate section in the Spellbook*
-In co-op, coordinate your loadout with your partner's. Try not to bring the
same trap twice, and consider how much Coin each of you needs to spend to
create your desired killbox. Giving one person expensive traps and the other
cheap traps will leave the first with too little and the other with too much.
-Any strategy that works in single player tends to work just as well co-op.
One person can hold a killbox while the other is free to kill potential threats
and provide general support where needed.
----------------------- (6.3) HIGH SCORING AND COMBOS -------------------------
First, and most importantly:
1: A HIGH SCORE DOES NOT ALWAYS GET 5 SKULLS
2: 5 SKULLS DOES NOT ALWAYS GET A HIGH SCORE
As discussed earlier, 5-skulls only depends on 2 things: not losing any rift
points and finishing under a certain par time. High scores and combos do not
directly relate to 5-skull play.
*If you're a brand-new player, feel free to skip this section for now until
*you get more comfortable with general gameplay.
Simply put, the highest scores are those that can get the largest number of
high combos in a given level. Many other factors also give score, such as
killstreaks, rift points, and player/trap kills, but combos are the biggest
contribution to a high score. See the table below:
______________________________________________________________
| Combat Kill 50 / 100 (Nightmare) |
| Trap/Minion Kill 100 / 200 (Nightmare) |
| Rift Points Remaining 100 per Rift Point |
| Rift Bonus |
| All Rift Points Remaining 10,000 |
| 99%-75% Rift Points Remaining 5,000 |
| 74%-50% Rift Points Remaining 2,500 |
| Completion Time +/- 1 point per second |
| over/under par time |
| Combo x3 200 |
| Combo x4 400 |
| Combo x5 800 |
| Combo x6 1,600 |
| Combo x7 3,200 |
| Combo x8 6,400 |
| Combo x9 12,800 |
| Combo x10 25,600 |
| ...etc ...x2 |
| Kill Streaks *Unknown at this time* |
| |
| Skull Score - Awarded with certain bonus skulls |
| Untouchable 50,000 per player |
| *5-skull without taking damage* |
| Every 5 waves reached (Endless) 10,000 per player |
| *Stops counting after wave 100* |
| Trapless 50,000 per player |
| *Complete a level without Traps or Guardians* |
| Money Score Total unspent Coin = score|
|______________________________________________________________|
Each Combo is worth twice as many points as the one that came before it.
Earning just one Combo x10 is worth as much as 128 Combo x3's or 512 combat
kills. And a x11 is worth twice as much as that. And that's just from one
enemy; there's hundreds more in any level to kill and combo. Combos also make
enemy kills worth slightly more Coin; a Light Orc Warrior, usually worth 10
coin, who is killed by a Combo x4 will instead give 14 coin. Combo xN adds a
N0% coin bonus, rounded down.
So then, what is a combo? Combos occurs when an enemy is killed by multiple
different traps, weapons, and/or effects within a short time.
For example: An Orc is hit and killed by the Crossbow, Spike Trap, and Acid
Sprayer at around the same time.
Crossbow (x1)
Spike Trap (x2)
Acid Sprayer (x3)
Total combo: x3
However, there are ways to get higher combos than simply hitting with 10
different weapons and traps. Some upgrades add extra effects that also count
towards higher combos. For example, if we add a Bleed effect to Spike Trap:
Crossbow (x1)
Spike Trap (x2)
+Bleed (x3)
Acid Sprayer (x4)
Total combo: x4
Let's also add the Crossbow's "sometimes set enemies on fire" and the Acid
Sprayer's "briefly slows targets"
Crossbow (x1)
+Burn (x2)
Spike Trap (x3)
+Bleed (x4)
Acid Sprayer (x5)
+Slow (x6)
Total combo: x6
Some general guidelines for combos:
-Weapons only count towards combos once, regardless of whether primary and/or
secondary was used. Example: Blunderbuss primary fire and grenades count the
"Blunderbuss" combo point only once.
-Weapon effects that generate a combo effect are counted separately. Example:
Crossbow primary + secondary = "Crossbow" combo point + "Stun" combo point.
-Combo effects like Burn and Bleed are only counted once, even if multiple
sources can give it.
-Most damaging effects only grant a combo point for 1-2 seconds.
-Ragdolled enemies are a special case: combo points are "remembered" as long
as an enemy stays ragdolled. When the enemy hits the ground and stands up,
all combo points for that enemy are immediately cancelled.
-Combo effects like Burn and Bleed last as long as the effect lasts.
-If a weapon or trap applies damage and a combo effect, both are counted
separately. For example, Flame Bracers deal damage and inflict Burn. The
combo point for Burn will last longer than the damage combo point.
-Some Combo effects overwrite each other; chill + burn results in x1, not x2.
Combo Effects: See the High Scoring and Combos section for more detail.
-Slow: Makes enemies move at 50% speed and deal 25% less damage. Sometimes
called Snare to be distinct from other slowing effects. Tar has a similar
effect but is counted separately.
-Chill: Makes enemies move at 33% speed. Chilled enemies have a blue tint.
-Freeze: Enemies cannot move or attack, and take increased damage. Frozen
enemies are encased in a chunk of ice.
*Note that Freeze removes Burn and Stun.
-Burn: Makes enemies move at 66% speed and take damage over time. Burned
enemies will panic and be covered in flames.
*Note that Burn removes Chill and Freeze.
-Bleed: Makes enemies take damage over time. Enemies have a red aura.
*Note that Bleed is removed by the effect of the Coinforge trap.
-Stun: Enemies cannot move or attack. Stunned enemies look dizzied.
------------------------------ (6.4.00) STORY ---------------------------------
*If you see an unfamiliar term, refer the Controls and Terms section*
Walkthrough strategies will not have exact loadout instructions. Rather, I
advise a few notable traps and setups and allow the player to use their own
discretion for other slots. Additionally, the Story walkthrough is designed so
that players can follow it even on the first playthrough. No need to grind for
skulls unless you want to, this was all done on a fresh War Mage and Sorceress
profile with no repeating levels, playing Classic, Endless, or DLC.
-Key:
Level type: Mines or Fortress.
Starting Coin: Coin available from Wave 1. Split in two for co-op
Rift Points: Number of rift points. Halved for Nightmare, rounded down
Coin Bonus: At the end of (certain waves), extra coin is granted
Enemies: Types of enemies. See the Wave Data section for more information
Enemies (NM): Types of enemies for Nightmare.
*Note Enemies assume single-player. Co-op sometimes has different enemies.
*See Wave Data section when co-op is updated
Waves: Number of waves
Par Time: Completing the level under this time awards 1 base skull
Advisory: Notes about when spawns activate, specific doors that certain
enemies appear from, and rifts each spawn will target, if notable.
Initial: Strategy for a first-time playthrough, mainly accounting for items
that are not available until completing later levels. Later Story levels won't
feature this; most relevant items are obtained by then.
Upgraded: Strategy for a retry that assumes the player has free access to any
trap/weapon required, if not also fully upgraded.
Nightmare: Special notes for Nightmare difficulty, if it is considerably
different from War Mage strategy.
-- (6.4.01) The Edge --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 4000
Rift Points: 20
Coin Bonus: 1500 (1/2), 1800 (3)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior
Enemies (NM): Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Gnoll Grenadier
Waves: 4
Par Time: 5:00
Advisory: None
Initial: Nothing fancy here, just cover the area close to the orc spawn with
your wall and floor traps. You can also pull back to the cliff and use the
minecart in your setup.
Upgraded: The area next to the spawn with the low ceiling makes for a good
killbox (with ceiling traps), but otherwise the same as Initial.
Nightmare: Only significant change is the addition of Gnoll Grenadiers, who
like to keep their distance from you.
-- (6.4.02) Tunnels --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 4000
Rift Points: 20
Coin Bonus: 1000 (1), 1500 (2), 1800 (3), 2000 (4)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior, Earth Elemental
Enemies (NM): Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Earth Elemental
Waves: 5
Par Time: 6:00
Advisory: East spawn opens on wave 2.
Initial: Set up on the upper level with wall/floor traps, ceiling if you have
any yet. Kill enemies as soon as possible. If large groups make it to the lower
level, retreat to the rift and fight the rest there.
You can also set up under the Boulder Chute to handle all enemies in one place,
but you'll want to attack them as they spawn and then run back to the bridge if
you use this approach.
When Earth Elementals appear, hit them with Blunderbuss grenades or full-charge
Sceptre shots depending on your character. If needed, you can kite the Earth
Elementals, but the Earthlings they crumble into will ignore you and run for
the rift.
Upgraded: With Barricades, you can block off most of the ramp and force both
spawns to come down one side. Use the corners and Barricades to group enemies
up and set up low ceiling and close-range wall traps, like Grinders and
Haymakers. You can also tighten the bridge chokepoint near the Boulder Chute.
With Feather Fall or Double Jump, you can cross the gap between the west and
east walkways near the enemy spawns.
Nightmare: No significant changes.
-- (6.4.03) Chasm --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 3600
Rift Points: 20
Coin Bonus: 1500 (1), 1800 (2), 2000 (3/4)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior, Kobold Runner
Enemies (NM): Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Kobold Runner, Gnoll Hunter
Waves: 5
Par Time: 5:30
Advisory: East spawn opens on wave 2.
Initial: I strongly advise using the wall Push Trap with extra range. This can
cover most of the cliff-side, making the hordes of Orcs much easier to handle.
You can also use the Minecart to help whichever side needs an extra hand. Shoot
the minecart switch to change its path.
Kobold Runners ignore you and only care about getting to the rift. They're fast
enough to avoid most traps, so keep your eye out for them and try to kill them
yourself.
Upgraded: Not much change. You can use Barricades to make the Bridge a 1-tile
chokepoint to make Kobolds easier to handle. The cliff walls are big enough to
support Void Walls, so physics traps and Wind Belt can be effective. If you can
handle the Kobolds, anything works.
Nightmare: Gnoll Hunters are added, but otherwise no significant changes.
-- (6.4.04) The Crossing --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 4000
Rift Points: 20
Coin Bonus: 1200 (1/2/4/5), 3000 (3/6)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner,
Earth Elemental
Enemies (NM): Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner,
Earth Elemental, Gnoll Hunter, Ogre
Waves: 7
Par Time: 9:00
Advisory: West spawn activates on wave 2. Kobolds only appear from east.
Initial: Again, I advise using the Push Trap for the top level, but you can
also use the newly-obtained Spring Trap on both levels to toss enemies off the
edge. Checkerboard your Springs at first; fill the gaps with either more Spring
Traps or Tar/Ice Vents. Most enemies on the west side just land on the east
bridge, but they will often go the long way around, back through their spawns.
Keep the minecart on whichever side needs the most attention, but the bottom
will probably need it more than the top.
Upgraded: The recommendation for Push and Spring Traps still applies here.
There are no low ceilings and only the top level walkway has walls, so options
are otherwise limited. Due to the minecart tracks, Barricades aren't effective.
The Sorceress can use Feather Fall to jump from the top level to the bottom.
Nightmare: Tougher enemies, otherwise no significant changes.
-- (6.4.05) Big Valleys --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 4000
Rift Points: 25
Coin Bonus: 2000 (1/2/4/5/7), 4000 (3/6)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner/Sapper,
Earth Elemental
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 8
Par Time:
Advisory: Wave 1 only goes west. East rift opens on wave 2. Sappers come at
the beginning of most waves starting with wave 2.
Initial: Refund your skulls; physics traps won't be useful here. Instead,
Brimstone is highly recommended. Upgrade it to level 3 if possible.
There's a large number of pre-set Barricades that create chokepoints on each of
the 3 sides, but if you want to keep them you'll have to be quick about killing
Sappers. Placing Brimstone and long-range Wall traps at the left/right side
corners thins out those sides, but the center Barricades will usually break.
Barricades block the rift, so this can buy you a little time if a few enemies
make it past your defenses. If you have to choose between enemies at the rift
and enemies in your killbox, try to go for the rift-side enemies.
By this point you should have a decent amount of practice against Earth
Elementals, but they come in greater numbers than previous levels. As the War
Mage, Blunderbuss grenades and Arrow Walls will be your best option. Kite if
you need to to preserve mana. As the Sorceress, charming them works especially
well if you have the "extra damage to charmed enemies" Unique on your Sceptre.
A full-charge shot while charmed should kill Elementals in a single hit.
Upgraded: With Barricades, you can finish blocking 2 sides and focus on the
third as your killbox. You'll still need to defend against Sappers,
but you'll also be able to replace the weaker preset Barricades with
your own if they are destroyed.
With enough coin, you can funnel into one of the low ceiling areas to abuse
ceiling traps. The corners near the rift are also large enough for Void Walls.
The War Mage can Double Jump onto the lava Minecart track if you start from on
top of a Barricade, but the only use of this is to be out of reach from melee.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.06) Hidden Gulch --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 4000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus: 1000 (1/2/4/5/7/8), 2500 (3/6)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc Kobold Runner/Sapper,
Earth Elemental, Bilebat
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time: 17:00
Advisory: Fliers start from wave 2.
Initial: Refund skulls again if you need to; level 3 Barricades are highly
recommended, with "reduced damage" Unique if you can afford it. Brimstone is
also still useful for anti-Kobold purposes.
There are 4 pre-set Archer Guardians, 2 at each half, that can help handle
fliers and ground enemies, but they won't survive too many fliers.
Use 3 Barricades to block the left or right path and 2 more to block the center
ramp. You can choose to set this up at the north half or the south half; south
half gives you more time to thin out fliers, Sappers, and other enemies, but is
very close to the rift. You should be able to make the par time even from the
south, so I recommend that.
Either way, make your killbox on the left/right, whichever you didn't block.
For the first wave you probably won't have the coin to set traps unless you
skip the 2 center Barricades at first.
Eventually you want to have a funnel set up at the exit of your killbox.
Shortening a 3-tile wide hall into a 1-tile wide point may not seem like much,
but it really does help. See diagram:
|__ __ __ __ / / = Ramp-side wall
| | | |/ A = Archer Guardian, on raised platform
A |__|__|__|/ B = Barricade funnel
| | | |/
|__|__|__|/ Enemies coming from the north group together in the
| | | |/ 1-tile space left by the Barricade, making area of
__|__|__|__|/ effect attacks like Blunderbuss grenades and charged
| | |B |B |/ Sceptre more effective.
|__|__|__|/
Upgraded: The above strategy works perfectly well on subsequent playthroughs.
There are a few high ceilings and you can add your own Guardians. The side
walls can support Void Walls.
The War Mage can Double Jump up to the center ramps and Archer platforms from
ground level. From the center ramps, Double Jump and Feather Fall can be used
to jump to the Archer platforms.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.07) Precipice --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus: 2000 (1/2/4/5/7/8), 4500 (3), 5500 (6)
Enemies: Light/Medium Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner, Ogre, Earth
Elemental, Bilebat
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time: 18:30
Advisory: West ground and flier spawns open on wave 2.
Initial: Upgrade your new Haymakers as high as you can. Take the "stun" Unique
if you want to, but prioritize more damage over stun. Dwarf Guardians are also
useful here. If you're using the War Mage, Blunderbuss with "knocks down heavy
enemies" Unique can be a big help against the Ogres.
My preferred approach is to make your killbox at the low ceiling areas just
ahead of each spawn. The default position of the minecart travels between both
of the ground spawns and is especially potent on the east side. With Haymakers,
Arrow Wall/Acid Sprayer, and your floor trap of choice should either wipe out
or make a large impact on enemy groups. Funnel barricades (into the minecart
track for the east side) are also recommended. The West side will probably be
the more difficult one to handle, so prioritize Dwarves there.
An alternatate approach is to set up near the rift, Barricading one side and
setting up on the other. If you place them diagonally, you only need 3 touching
corner-to-corner, using the wood pillars as a guideline. This is a much safer
approach and allows you to only focus your coin into one area, but be careful
not to ignore the fliers.
Near the end of wave 8, 2 Ogres will come from each side. You may lose some
Guardians if you have them at the forward killboxes. Wave 9 has lots of fliers.
Upgraded: The same 2 strategies still apply. Archer Guardians will be much
better suited for simultaneous killbox/flier duty than Dwarves. Weapons like
the Ice Amulet make fliers easier to handle as well.
Nightmare: The additions of Gnolls and Sappers make using Barricades more
challenging. I would recommend the alternate strategy next to the rift, but be
vigilant to protect your Barricades and Guardians.
-- (6.4.08) Servant Entrance --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 25
Coin Bonus: 1000 (1/2), 1500 (3), 1200 (4/5/7/8), 1800 (6)
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner/Sapper,
Gnoll Hunter, Ogre
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time: 13:30
Advisory: North spawn opens on wave 2.
Initial: You can skip Barricades for this level, so refund if you need to.
Recommended: Arrow Wall/Acid Sprayer, Haymakers, Brimstone
South of the north door, there are 2 staircases that lead up to a 4x2 tile
section of floor with a low ceiling. Set up your killbox on the east staircase.
Space is limited, so there's not much more to add to it. Guardians, Decoys, and
Boom Barrels can be added on top of floor tiles. You can repeat this killbox on
the west staircase if you're overflowing with coin.
Par time can be an issue if you wait for the south door enemies to get to the
killbox. Shoot the chandeliers if needed, and don't wait for the south enemies.
Upgraded: Archer Guardians at the bottom of the stairs, firing up into the
killbox is effective. The raised platform between the two staircases can also
be used, but Crossbow Orcs will stop to shoot.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.09) Passages --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus: 2000 (1/2), 3500 (3), 2400 (4), 2000 (5/7/8/10/11), 4500 (6/9)
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner/Sapper,
Earth Elemental, Gnoll Hunter, Ogre, Troll
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 12
Par Time: 23:00
Advisory: Sappers usually travel along the upper level. East door opens on
wave 2. Northwest door opens on wave 3.
Initial: Ice Amulet will be helpful for virtually all future levels; frozen
enemies take much more damag, making it especially good on bosses.
Bring level 3 Barricades, Haymakers, and floor/wall traps of choice.
You don't need to use Barricades on wave 1, but eventually you want to block
the left and right side staircases. You can block each side with 2 if you place
them on the "catwalk" area. Block the east side on wave 2 and west side wave 3.
The lower area under the Boiling Oil pot makes for a good killbox. Use funnel
barricading when you have the coin. Add Guardians as well.
Upgraded: Add Archer Guardians.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.10) Corridors --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 5000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner, Earth
Lord, Gnoll Hunter, Ogre, Troll, Hellbat, Fire Babies
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 12
Par Time: 23:00
Advisory: For the first 3 waves, enemies only come from the North spawn.
Southeast spawn opens wave 4. Southwest spawn opens on wave 5. Fliers only
spawn from the north.
*From this point on, "Initial" will no longer be listed*
Upgraded: Recommended to bring Barricades, Archer Guardians, and Haymakers.
The north walkway has no low ceilings and limited wall space. 2 strategies can
work here. First, you can make a Barricade funnel at the archway just north of
the Rift, using the walls and Archers for the horde. This has a tendancy to get
overwhelmed by larger enemies and fliers, though.
Another option is to set a Coinforge right at the north spawn. With long-range
wall traps, Floor Scorchers, Guardians, and/or Decoys you can abuse the
Coinforge's "extra damage" Unique to brute-force the enemies as you keep them
standing on the Coinforge with Paladins or Decoys. Space the Decoys enough that
enemies won't hit more than 1 at a time. Set more as you go.
With 2 Barricades, you can block off one of the 2 south hallways. Use the 3x3
tile area (with plenty of wall and ceiling space) and Guardians as you see fit;
nothing should survive this way once the killbox is strong enough.
If a wave doesn't end after all enemies are dead, don't panic. There's a long
"mini-break" time on some waves when the next set of enemies is coming from the
opposite direction. If you end up with ~10 seconds or more of no enemies, it
means you're killing very efficiently.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.11) Upstairs Downstairs --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 7000
Rift Points: 40
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner/Sapper,
Fire/Frost Ogre
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 12
Par Time: 14:30
Advisory: For the first 3 waves, enemies ignore the bottom rift. South spawn
opens on wave 2.
Upgraded: Recommended: High-ceiling trap, Decoy, Grinder, and Archers.
The best way to handle this level is to make your killboxes at the spawns. Any
enemies that survive will either take the long path to the top rift, with a lot
of space to catch up to them, or the bottom rift, where you should be most of
the time. Boulder Chutes are a decent option for the ceiling here, if you have
the loadout space. Place Grinders on the walls right next to the spawn. For the
floor, Tar (War Mage) or Steam Traps work well, and you shouldn't need much
more than the 3x2 tile area for them. Flame Bracers (after completing the
level) or Ring of Lightning secondary at the doors is also effective here.
If Kobolds survive the killboxes, prioritize killing them over anything else.
The War Mage can Double Jump to the "catwalk" area near the bottom rift.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.12) Crunch --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner, Earth
Lord, Gnoll Hunter, Ogre, Fire/Frost Ogre, Troll, Frostbat
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 12
Par Time: 27:00
Advisory: South door opens on wave 2. West and East doors open on wave 4.
Fliers begin on wave 5.
Upgraded: Recommended: Archers, Barricade, Decoy, long-range wall trap.
For the first 2 waves, you should kill most of the enemies yourself as they
come out of the doors. Coinforge with extra damage is helpful for this phase,
if you also plan to use it later.
Eventually, make a setup like this on both sides of the rift:
_________________
A // \
A // D \
A _// B |_____
| | B _ West/East
| * | B|_| Spawn
RIFT | * | _____ / = Stairs
| * | | * = Acid/Lava
A| * | | A = Archer groups
A | * | _____/ B = Barricades
____/ | X | D = Decoy
| |
Place your floor traps and long-range wall traps as you get enough coin to do
so. You can eventually expand in the low ceiling area marked "X" on the map or
inside the West/East spawn area, but most of your firepower should be focused
around the Decoy area. Don't forget about the central "pillar" near the
Barricades; this is a great spot for Arrow Walls, Acid Sprayers, Shock Zappers,
or Boom Barrel Dispensers.
The group of Archers away from the stairs should prioritize fliers, but you may
have to assist them. If you don't have enough coin to add to both sides at
once, it's usually better to make one side strong and help more with your
weapons on the opposite side.
The War Mage can Double Jump across the acid/lava gaps. The Sorceress can also
do this, but not from a lower elevation to a higher elevation.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.13) Mirror Image --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 7000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner, Ogre,
Troll, Swamp Troll
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time: 9:30
Advisory: West/East doors open on wave x. Only Trolls and Kobolds spawn from
West/East doors. Kobolds go straight under the center of the map and go up the
stairs opposite of their spawn.
Upgraded: On the north/south side of the rift, set up like this:
__________
/ North/South enemies
/ from this direction
| B ____
| B B/ / = "stairs"
| | B = Barricade
|//////|
__| |__
The Barricades are set so the enemies have to hug the wall to approach your
rift, slowing them down slightly and allowing use of short-range wall traps.
Haymakers recommended for the ceiling and Archers.
On wave 3, jump down to the area underneath the rift and place 5 Archers.
These should be enough to kill most or all Kobolds by themselves. Prioritize
the Trolls when they show up; they climb the stairs relatively quickly.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.14) Wind Up --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 10000
Rift Points: 25
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner/Sapper,
Gnoll Hunter, Fire Ogre, Cyclops Mage, Hobgoblin Shaman
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 12
Par Time: 16:30
Advisory: East spawn opens on wave 2. South spawn opens on wave 3.
Upgraded: 3 killboxes for this level. Barricades not recommended except for
funnel use. Try not to spend all of your coin on the first killbox on wave 1;
the East/South spawns will need more attention.
North/top spawn: The "corner" next to the portal is a good spot. Haymakers and
your floor/wall traps of choice. Guardians aren't recommended for this location
as Cyclops Mages will stop to shoot at them from outside the killbox range.
East/middle spawn: 3x3 tile area at the top of the stairs. Again, Haymakers and
floor/walls of choice. Archers at the bottom of the stairs can be used also.
South/bottom spawn: Set up inside the archway, hitting enemies before they
reach the stairs. Haymakers and floor/walls of choice.
Focus more on the East and South spawns. Enemies that survive the North killbox
walk a long way before they get to the rift, so you have plenty of time to
intercept them if needed.
Nightmare:
-- (6.4.15) Twisted Halls --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 10000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner, Earth Elemental/Lord,
Gnoll Hunter, Ogre, Troll, Swamp Troll, Cyclops Mage, Hobgoblin Shaman,
Thunderbat
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 12
Par Time: 16:30
Advisory: Fliers begin spawning on wave 3, and aim for the rift opposite of
their spawn (North fliers go to south rift and vice-versa) The doors closer to
the rift staircase open on wave 4.
Upgraded: Warning: Twisted Halls is arguably the toughest level in the game.
To 5-skull it, you will have to be very mobile and assist in killing large
enemies and fliers.
Ground killbox: Repeat this on both sides of the rift
_________
/ HH ////
/ XB //// / = Stairs
| X B //// B = Barricade
| B_______ H = Haymaker+floor traps
|D | A = Archer squad (optional)
| | X = Funnel/snaking Barricades (optional, later waves)
| | D = Decoy (optional)
|AA |
| |__
| Rift this way
When choosing wall/floor traps, keep in mind that this needs to be able to take
down large enemies most of the way while also ensuring no Kobolds survive.
Sorceresses may want to bring the Polymorph Ring, especially for Earth Lords.
Anti-air: 2 approaches to dealing with fliers once wave 3 starts.
1 - You can try handling the fliers by yourself, without traps or Guardians.
Ice Amulet and Crossbow/Sceptre/Vampiric Gauntlets are recommended. You can use
Decoys to slow down fliers and bunch them up for Ice Amulet or Flame Bracers.
2 - With some specific placement, Archers + a Decoy can handle most of the
fliers. The placement is such that the chain lightning from Thunderbats won't
chain onto the Archers. For this reason, it's better to add more Archers than
to make a second Decoy here. Add more Archers as the waves go by, but start
with 3 per side.
_______
___/F F\ F = pot of fire
D \ x and () = Rift "platform"
x x AA |
(Rift) A | A = Archers
x x | D = Decoy
___ /
\_______/
In general, just keep a close eye on your mini-map and help each side when
necessary. Gnolls can be especially persistant about killing your Archers.
Nightmare: Fire Babies start spawning from wave 1, so either a single Archer
for each side or your personal contribution will be needed for fliers.
------------------------------ (6.5.00) CLASSIC -------------------------------
*Only available if you own the original Orcs Must Die! on Steam
*To play co-op, both players must have the appropriate content
Walkthroughs will generally assume you have Barricades available
-- (6.5.01) Twin Halls --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 5000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Ogre
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time: 17:00
Advisory: East spawn opens on wave 2.
Upgraded: For those who haven't played the first OMD!, this was the first level
where Barricades could be used. It should be no surprise when I say: Barricade
one side, trap the other. 2 Barricades should be enough. Use the low ceiling
area just before the rift on the non-Barricade side.
If for some reason you hate Barricades
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.02) Lunch Break --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.03) Sludge Hole --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.04) Chaos Chamber --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.05) The Arena --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.06) The Library --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.07) Hard Climb --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.08) The Squeeze --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.09) Stairs of Doom --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-- (6.5.10) Finale --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin:
Rift Points:
Coin Bonus:
Enemies:
Enemies (NM):
Waves:
Par Time:
Advisory:
Upgraded:
Nightmare:
-------------------------------- (6.6) ENDLESS --------------------------------
In Endless Mode, you keep fighting wave after wave of enemies until you lose
all of your rift points. Go Breaks are given every 3 waves, but after Wave 25
the game shifts to Nightmare rules: no Go Breaks, and the time between waves is
reduced to 3 seconds. Completing wave 1 awards 1 base skull and wave 40 awards
5. After wave 10, enemies become stronger and more duable after every wave.
Endless requires a different mindset compared to most regular levels. Enemies
eventually become durable enough to survive most damaging killboxes, so physics
traps in combination with pitfalls or Void Walls are a popular strategy, as are
Spore Mushrooms and Floor Portals. Note that Spored or charmed enemies don't
seem to keep their strength bonuses from later waves.
Coin bonuses after each wave are not awarded in Endless, and coin awarded for
enemy kills gradually decreases as the waves progress. However, every 5 waves
spawn a golden ogre named Mr. Moneybags. There's no rift point penalty for
letting him through and he won't attack, but killing him drops a 1200 coin.
Endless has 101 unique waves for each map. The 102nd wave and every one after
just repeats the 101st wave while making the enemies more and more powerful.
Despite that the game says all enemies appear in Endless, some maps don't allow
for flying enemies. This will be noted below.
Earning at least one skull on an Endless map unlocks the next, and completing
Story unlocks all of them.
-- Tunnels --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 5000
Rift Points: 20
Flying enemies: No
-- Hidden Gulch --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: Yes
-- Precipice --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 8000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: Yes
-- Crunch --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 12000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: Yes
-- Wind Up --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 10000
Rift Points: 25
Flying enemies: No
-- Crossfire --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: No
-- Close Cliffs --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 8000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: No
-- The Quarry --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 8000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: No
-- Caldera --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 12000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: No
-- King of the Hill --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 14000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: Yes
-- The Library --
*Requires Fire and Water DLC*
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 7500
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: No
-- The Crossing --
*Requires Fire and Water DLC*
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 7000
Rift Points: 20
Flying enemies: No
-- The West Wing --
*Requires Fire and Water DLC*
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 8000
Rift Points: 30
Flying enemies: Yes
-------------------------- (6.7) DLC: FIRE AND WATER --------------------------
*To play co-op, both players must have the appropriate content*
Walkthroughs will generally assume you have Barricades available
-- (6.7.1) Traffic Jammed --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 4000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Kobold Runner, Fire
Elemental/Lord
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time:
Advisory: Enemies go for the rift farther from their spawn.
Upgraded: The middle of the level is a good place for a single 2-way killbox.
Haymakers are recommended as always, and Barricade funnel mazes slow enemies
considerably here. Soften up Fire Lords/Elementals, as they are likely to choke
up your killbox.
You could also choose to make killboxes in the hallways leading to the middle,
either instead of or in addition to the middle one.
Fire-based traps and weapons aren't recommended. Ice Amulet, despite not
freezing them, deals high damage to Fire Lords and Elementals.
Nightmare: More Fire Lords and tougher Orcs spawn earlier. Virtually the same.
-- (6.7.2) Double Decker --
Level type: Mines
Starting Coin: 6000
Rift Points: 25
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Crossbow Orc, Gnoll Hunter, Ogre,
Waterling
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 9
Par Time: 13:00
Advisory: North spawn opens on wave 2.
Upgraded: Push Traps, Void Walls, Spring Traps, and the Wind Belt are very well
suited to this level. The whole north cliff face covered in Push Traps will
take care of all non-Ogres, while the south "S" before the minecarts is perfect
for lots of Void Walls. Weapons that hold enemies in one place, like Vampiric
Gauntlets, Crossbow, or Sceptre are good complements to the Wind Belt.
Nightmare:
-- (6.7.3) The West Wing --
Level type: Fortress
Starting Coin: 8000
Rift Points: 30
Coin Bonus:
Enemies: Light/Medium/Heavy Orc Warrior, Kobold Runner, Frostbat, Thunderbat,
Fire Elemental/Lord, Waterling
Enemies (NM):
Waves: 11
Par Time: 24:30
Advisory: Enemies walk straight; south enemies go to north rift, north enemies
go to east rift. Fliers start from wave 2. North spawn opens on wave 3. Fliers
from the south only.
Upgraded: Barricade chokepoint next to the rift:
|/////|
|AAAAA|
| | / = Stairs
|S | A = Archers
| | S = Floor Scorcher, facing south
__|HB |__ H = Haymaker + Grinder + floor trap
B // B = Barricade
N XXX B // X = Optional Barricades to slow down enemies (later waves)
__ B _/ N = North/west enemies, heading east
| | S = South enemies, heading north
| S |
Due to the wide area of the space leading to the killbox, Dart Spitters can be
effective. Dwarves can be used in addition to Archers. Immobilizing weapons
(Crossbow, Vampiric Gauntlets) recommended.
Par Time can be an issue on this map. Try to kill Waterlings and Fire
Elemental/Lords quickly, as Firelings and bigger Waters move faster. Using the
optional Barricade positions allows you to place more Grinders (or other
close-range wall traps).
Nightmare:
--------------------------- (6.8) WEEKLY CHALLENGE ----------------------------
Beginning on August 17th, 2012 Robot Entertainment began to release weekly
challenges, with a new one available every following Friday. Each challenge is
available until the next one begins (7 days) and forces players to tackle a
certain level with an enforced loadout and character. Each map gives a free
chance to earn more skulls every week, and some can prove to be difficult.
Due to the nature of the event, this guide won't cover how to deal with each.
Instead, the list of previous challenges will be chronicled.
Weekly Challenge levels limit what you can bring, but levels are otherwise
exact copies of their appropriate map on War Mage difficulty. Enemy waves,
rift points, initial coin, and coin bonuses are all identical. Upgrades to
spellbook items are pre-set, and do not reflect those of your own spellbook
upgrades. Characters will always be in their default outfit, and Double Jump
and Feather Fall can't be used.
1) August 17th, 2012 - Flip 'Em Off
Character: War Mage
-Blunderbuss level 2
-Spring Trap level 1, sometimes flips heavy enemies
Level: The Crossing
2) August 24th, 2012 - Fire Valley
Character: War Mage
-Flame Bracers level 2, fire wall lasts longer
-Brimstone level 3
-Arrow Wall level 2, fire arrows
-Floor Scorcher level 2
-Archer Guardian level 3, fire arrows
Level: Big Valleys
3) August 31st, 2012 - Trap-less Bra
Character: Sorceress
-Sceptre of Domination level 0, larger radius
-Ice Amulet level 1
Level: The Edge
4) September 7th, 2012 - Dance For Me
Character: Sorceress
-Sceptre of Domination level 3, extra damage to charmed
-Spore Mushrooms level 3, stronger kobolds
Level: Servant Entrance
5) September 14th, 2012 - Traps Are So Cool
Character: War Mage
-Bladestaff level 2, shielding
-Barricade level 2, reduced damage
-Haymaker level 2, more force
-Tar level 3
-Arrow Wall level 3
Level: Passages
===============================================================================
======== (7.0) SPELLBOOK - Traps, Weapons, Trinkets, and Vanity items =========
===============================================================================
From the top page of the spellbook, you can access My Gear and the 4 item
categories. You can also refund you skulls at no cost as often as you want.
"My Gear" shows all of the spellbook items you currently have unlocked and
their coin costs. You can drag around item icons to swap places with another
item, allowing you to put often-used traps and weapons in convenient spots.
Total skull cost to max out spellbook: 1651 + (108 DLC)
Most traps have a size of 1 "tile". Examples include Haymakers, Tar, and Acid
Sprayers. Only a handful of traps are larger or smaller:
-1/4th tile: Bear Trap, Autoballista
-2x2 tiles: Void Wall, Boulder Chute
-3x1 tiles: Swinging Mace
-3x3 tiles: Coinforge
-Free placement*: Archer Guardian, Paladin Guardian, Dwarf Guardian, Decoy,
Boom Barrel
*Can be placed on top of "tile" floor traps
Guardian Limit: You are allowed to have any combination of up to 25 Archer
Guardians, Paladin Guardians, Dwarf Guardians, and Autoballistas. Dead
Guardians continue to count towards the limit of 25, but are revived at full
health at each Go Break. Since Nightmare doesn't have Go Breaks, dead
Guardians are permanent on that difficulty.
Here's an "at-a-glance" look at unlock requirements for all spellbook items:
TRAPS
Acid Sprayer Default (Sorceress)
Archer Guardian Story: Passages
Arrow Wall Default (War Mage)
Autoballista Buy (13 skulls)
Barricade Story: Big Valleys
Bear Trap Story: Crunch
Boom Barrel Buy (3 skulls)
Boom Barrel Dispenser Story: Corridors
Boulder Chute Story: Precipice
Brimstone Buy (7 skulls)
Coinforge Buy (5 skulls)
Dart Spitter DLC: Fire and Water
Decoy Buy (11 skulls)
Dwarf Guardian Story: The Crossing
Floor Portal DLc: Fire and Water
Floor Scorcher Buy (16 skulls)
Grinder Buy (12 skulls)
Haymaker Story: Hidden Gulch
Healing Well Buy (12 skulls, War Mage)
Ice Vent Default (Sorceress)
Mana Well Buy (12 skulls, Sorceress)
Paladin Guardian Buy (12 skulls)
Pounder Buy (10 skulls)
Push Trap Buy (8 skulls)
Shock Zapper Story: Mirror Image
Spike Trap Story: The Edge
Spore Mushrooms Buy (15 skulls)
Spring Trap Story: Chasm
Steam Trap Buy (6 skulls)
Swinging Mace Buy (14 skulls)
Tar Default (War Mage)
Void Wall Story: Wind Up
Wall Blades Buy (14 skulls)
Web Spinner DLC: Fire and Water
WEAPONS
Alchemist's Satchel Buy (14 skulls)
Bladestaff Buy (8 skulls)
Bone Amulet Buy (12 skulls)
Blunderbuss Default (War Mage)
Crossbow Buy (8 skulls)
Dwarven Hammer Buy (13 skulls, War Mage)
Flame Bracers Story: Upstairs Downstairs
Ice Amulet Story: Servant Entrance
Polymorph Ring Buy (13 skulls, Sorceress)
Ring of Lightning Buy (12 skulls)
Sceptre of Domination Default (Sorceress)
Vampiric Gauntlets Buy (14 skulls)
Wind Belt Buy (10 skulls)
TRINKETS
Berserker Trinket Buy (10 skulls)
Defense Trinket Buy (5 skulls)
Freedom Trinket Buy (7 skulls)
Healing Trinket Story: Tunnels
Mana Rage Trinket Buy (13 skulls)
Rift Defender Trinket Buy (12 skulls)
Scavenger Trinket Buy (9 skulls)
Trap Reset Trinket Buy (11 skulls)
VANITY WAR MAGE
Miner Default
Classic Order Story: War Mage
Knight of the Order Story: Nightmare
Orc Slayer Buy (50 skulls)
VANITY SORCERESS
Exiled Default
Classic Order Story: War Mage
Knight of the Order Story: Nightmare
Summertime Buy (50 skulls)
------------------------------- (7.1.00) Traps --------------------------------
-Key (for ambiguous entries):
Trigger Range: Tile range in which the trap will automatically trigger.
"Manual" means the trap does not activate automatically.
"Step" means the trap activates when stepped on (Floor Traps)
Effect Range: Tile range in which the trap's effect will hit enemies, if
different from Trigger range.
Reset Time: *Accuracy within ~1 second*
-- (7.1.01) Acid Sprayer --
"Sprays acid when enemies pass by; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Default (Sorceress)
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 600
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Acid deals additional damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Acid shoots out further (3 tile range increases to 4)
Unique 2: Acid briefly slows targets (+Slow effect)
Trigger Range: 3 tiles
Effect Range: 3 tiles
Reset Time: 12 seconds
Other: -Deals Poison damage
Acid Sprayer is the Sorceress's basic long-range wall trap. Its combination of
decent damage with a 3 tile range makes it suitable for a variety of levels.
Unlike its Arrow Wall cousin, the Acid Sprayer fires continuously while
active, leaving no room for enemies to sneak through. Additionally, its 4 tile
range Unique upgrade allows it to cover some wider hallways that the Shock
Zapper and Arrow Wall cannot. Its damage output is a bit lower than either
though, and does very low damage to Trolls.
The Unique of choice depends on the map. Use slow when you don't need the
increase in range, and vice-versa when you do.
-- (7.1.02) Archer Guardian --
"Fires arrows at distant enemies"
How to obtain: Story: Passages
Type: Guardian
Coin cost: 750
Size: Free placement
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/5/11
Level 1/2/3 effect: Archers cost 650/575/500 to place.
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Arrows sometimes set targets on fire (adds Burn effect)
Unique 2: Archers regenerate health
Trigger Range: ~7 tile radius
Effect Range: 1 enemy
Reset Time: See Other
Other: -Fires arrows in volleys of 3 over 2 seconds
-After firing a volley, waits ~1 second before the next
-When Unique 1 flaming arrows trigger, applies Burn and does not apply
arrow's combo point
Archers are the cheapest and usually the most reliable of the 4 Guardians.
They make good contributions to killboxes at a distance and can handle most
fliers if you use enough of them. They are very vulnerable to Gnolls, dying
in 2 or 3 hits, so make sure you can protect them. Aside from killing Gnolls
directly, you can use Decoys to help your Archers for a few seconds.
When positioning Archers, note that their arrows can be blocked by you, traps,
and other Guardians. Placing them in a line (horizontal or diagonal) or in
staggered rows is best.
Regenerating Archers are the safest option, but in most levels flaming arrows
are usually more efficient. Keep in mind that the Archer has to survive to be
able to regenerate, which mostly just helps against fliers and stray Crossbow
Orc shots. Make sure to protect them on Nightmare difficulty, as dead Archers
are dead for the rest of the level and continue to count against the Guardian
Limit. Archers are highly discouraged in Endless.
-- (7.1.03) Arrow Wall --
"Fires a volley of arrows at enemies that pass; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Default (War Mage)
Type: Wall Trap (+Ceiling Trap)
Coin cost: 600
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Arrows do additional damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Arrows sometimes set enemies on fire (+Burn effect)
Unique 2: Arrows sometimes chills enemies, reducing their movement speed
(+Chill effect)
Special skulls: 11
Special: Arrow Walls can now be placed on ceiling
Trigger Range: 3 tiles
Effect Range: ~7 tiles
Reset Time: 12 seconds
Other: -Fire 4 waves of arrows over 2 seconds
-Arrows sometimes ragdoll light-weight enemies
The Arrow Wall is the War Mage's basic long-range wall trap. It boasts good
damage, a decent reset time, and elemental-themed Unique upgrades. This makes
it a good wall trap for combos. It's a bit more potent on large enemies, since
more arrows will hit.
Arrow Walls are more damaging to a horde of enemies if you can make them fire
parallel to their path, as the arrows extend farther than their 3 tile trigger
range. Example:
Example A Example B
_____________ _____________
\ AW AW \ E = Enemies, going east then south
E AW| E | AW = Arrow Wall
_______ | _______ |
| | | |
| | | |
In Example A, the first enemy to trigger the Arrow Wall will also cause it to
shoot other enemies coming down the path to the west.
In Example B, the arrows tend to only hit the first few enemies in a group.
The right Arrow Wall has slightly better positioning. Of course, this applies
more to offensive capability than combo utility.
As a ceiling trap, they are somewhat useful. Compared to the Shock Zapper,
another 3-range, 1-tile ceiling trap, it is much cheaper to use. But ceiling
Arrow Walls suffer from the lack of parallel firing, as illustrated above.
Low ceiling traps like the Haymaker tend to be more useful, so I only advise
using Arrow Walls as a ceiling trap if you need extra loadout space or for
high ceiling areas.
Fire arrows are usually better for both comboing and general utility, but the
extra movement speed reduction from chill is sometimes more beneficial.
-- (7.1.04) Autoballista --
"Automatically attacks the enemy; limited arc of fire"
How to obtain: Buy (13 skulls)
Type: Ceiling Trap (+Wall Trap, +Guardian)
Coin cost: 1000
Size: 1/4th tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Autoballista fires faster (from 16 seconds to 14/12/10)
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Autoballista attack breifly stuns enemies
Unique 2: Autoballista range increased (from ~8 tiles to ~11 tiles)
Special skulls: 12
Special: Autoballista can now be placed on walls
Trigger Range: 180 degree arc, ~8 tile radius
Effect Range: 1 enemy, but can hit others
Reset Time: 16 seconds
Other: -Counts towards Guardian limit
-Shots can hit multiple enemies
No, that's not a typo. Autoballistas do count as Guardians. Keep in mind that
while they fire slower and cost more than other Guardians, they cannot die.
Additionally, they have a very large attack range.
When placing Autoballistas, be sure to consider their large firing arc. Having
them face the enemy spawns seems logical, but consider this
| E | E = enemies
| | A = Autoballista, facing north
|B A | B = Autoballista, facing east
| | R = rift
| R |
A is only getting one shot at the enemies in front of it. Any enemies that run
through it won't get hit. B, on the other hand, gets to shoot enemies along
the entire lane. Essentially, you want the front of your Autoballista to be
facing as much enemy pathway as possible, and the back to be facing floors,
walls, and corners that won't see much, if any, enemy traffic.
For Uniques: the range is already good so only take it if you don't want
enemies to be stunned, for whatever reason.
-- (7.1.05) Barricade --
"Obstacle that blocks the enemy's path"
How to obtain: Story: Big Valleys
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 900
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Barricade cost reduced to 800/700/600
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Barricades take reduced damage from attacks
Unique 2: Barricades self-repair shortly after taking damage
Trigger Range: N/A
Effect Range: N/A
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Enemies treat the Barricade as a wall, seeking another path
-Gnolls can walk over Barricades
-If Barricades completely block access to a rift, enemies attack them
Barricades are one of the most useful traps in the spellbook, despite the fact
that they don't deal damage. Instead of defending your rift from 2 sides, you
can block one side with Barricades and force all enemies into one direction.
Similarly, you can make wide hallways into chokepoints.
For these reasons, Barricades are highly recommended in almost all levels.
As soon as you are able, upgrade them to level 3. The less coin you have to
spend on Barricades, the more you can spend on traps that focus on damage.
Pay close attention to the wisps when using Barricades. If a wisp curves
away from a path the Barricade is blocking, your Barricade is usually safe.
But if the wisps stop in front of the Barricades, enemies will attack them.
Barricades don't have to be fully connected to block off a path; simply being
connected from corner-to-corner is enough. This can save you the cost of an
extra Barricade here and there if you're willing to experiment. There are also
places where Barricades can redirect enemies even if they aren't completely
blocking off a path. This is called "Advanced Barricading" by the Orcs
community, and is mostly discovered through trial-and-error placement.
When using Barricades, be wary of Gnolls and Kobold Sappers. Gnolls act as if
they don't exist and walk over them freely. Sappers will attack Barricades if
there are no other players, Guardians, Decoys, or charmed enemies nearby, and
around 3 are enough to completely destroy one. They will usually destroy more
than 1 due to their explosion's radius.
One effective way to handle Sappers is to use "dummy Barricades", which is
simply putting a single Barricade in a place where Sappers will target it
instead of your primary Barricades. It's less costly than replacing main
Barricades and, unlike Decoys, won't draw attention from non-Sappers.
Note that charmed enemies can cause other enemies to unintentionally damage the
Barricades, since their attacks hit an area in front of them.
For Uniques, both have their uses. Reduced damage allows Barricades to survive
almost twice as many Sappers and also last longer when hit by enemies on
accident, making it the Unique of choice for most occasions. For levels without
Sappers, self-repairing Barricades can also make a good choice and make using
charmed enemies near Barricades a bit less stressful.
-- (7.1.06) Bear Trap --
"Stuns and damages an enemy; breaks when triggered"
How to obtain: Story: Crunch
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 150
Size: 1/4th tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/6/12
Level 1/2/3 effect: Bear trap damage increased
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Bear trap freezes targets instead of stunning them
Unique 2: Bear trap burns targets instead of stunning them
Trigger Range: Step
Effect Range: 1 enemy
Reset Time: N/A, destroyed after triggered
Other:
Not an often-used trap, since it is destroyed after hitting a single enemy.
Despite this, it does trigger fast enough to hit Kobolds and Gnolls, even
killing Gnolls in one hit with upgrades. It only knocks the shields off of Orcs
that have them, making it less useful against later level hordes.
-- (7.1.07) Boom Barrel --
"Blows up when damaged"
How to obtain: Buy (3 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 200
Size: Free placement
Level 1/2/3 skulls:
Level 1/2/3 effect: Explosion damage increased
Unique skulls: 4
Unique 1: Boom barrels cost reduced to 150
Unique 2: Increases explosion radius
Trigger Range: Manual
Effect Range:
Reset Time: N/A, destroyed after triggered
Other: -Can be destroyed by enemies, weapons/traps/Guardians, and "fall damage"
-Deals explosive damage
As a one-time use trap, Boom Barrels aren't very cost efficient. With the
addition of the Boom Barrel Dispenser, its use is even more questionable. Over
time, the Dispenser will probably make more than 5 Boom Barrels on its own,
making up for its natural cost.
That said, Boom Barrels do have advantages over their Dispenser counterpart.
It's faster to place multiple Boom Barrels than to wait for a Dispenser to
spawn multiples. You can also place Boom Barrels wherever you want on the floor
and even inside your killbox, where it can be detonated by other traps. With
enough spare coin, it becomes a sort of primary weapon in its own right.
Lower cost unique is probably the better choice. Radius shouldn't be much of a
concern with manual placement.
-- (7.1.08) Boom Barrel Dispenser --
"Automatically creates Boom Barrels"
How to obtain: Story: Corridors
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 1000
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Spawn boom barrels faster (min+max reset time range -5)
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Spawned boom barrels automatically explode near enemies
Unique 2: Spawned boom barrels also get all Boom Barrel upgrades
Trigger Range: Automatic
Effect Range: See other
Reset Time: 40-50 seconds
Other: -Doesn't spawn Boom Barrels during Go Breaks
-Reset time is semi-random, but always within a certain time range
-Spawned Boom Barrels take fall damage; falling from a 2 tile height
or higher causes them to explode as they hit the ground. From a 1.5
tile height, one Barrel falling on another will make both explode
-Barrels roll out at a down-forward angle. From ground-level, barrels
land ~1 tile distance from the wall. From 1 tile up, ~2 tiles
-Spawned barrels act as level 0 Boom Barrels unless Unique 2 is used
A long reset timer makes Boom Barrel Dispensers of limited use as a single wall
trap. However, the Boom Barrels they spawn are like any other in that they can
be moved to another location. Additionally, you can place the Dispenser above
other wall traps and still have it contribute to a killbox.
Unique 2 is usually preferred over Unique 1, but it depends on how you want to
use the Dispenser. Exploding near enemies isn't as useful in a killbox, as you
or your traps can detonate the barrels anyways, but as is more effective as a
unmanned "automatic" trap.
-- (7.1.09) Boulder Chute --
"Shoot to drop boulders on enemies; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Story: Precipice
Type: Ceiling trap
Coin cost: 800
Size: 2x2 tiles
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/14
Level 1/2/3 effect: Boulder chute reset time reduced (from 20 sec to 17/15/13)
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Boulder chutes sometimes drop coins (worth 100)
Unique 2: Boulder chutes sometimes drop bombs
Trigger Range: Manual
Effect Range: Rocks fall until they hit the floor
Reset Time: 20 seconds
Other: -More distance between the Boulder Chute and the floor = more damage
Boulder Chutes are the cheapest way to cover a 2x2 high ceiling. Its
competitors, Arrow Walls and Shock Zappers, cost 2400 and 4000, respectively,
to cover the same area. Additionally, there are a rare few ceilings where only
Boulder Chutes have enough range to actually use naturally.
To help use Boulder Chutes more effectively, it's advised that you put floor
traps under it to remind you of its hit area. The rocks don't hit outside of
the 2x2 range under it, so it's easy to over or undershoot the distance.
One method to automate a Boulder Chute is to make a chain reaction with your
other traps, aka a Rube Goldberg device. For example: Steam Traps, Archer
Guardians, and the Boulder Chute. As the Steam Trap pushes enemies up into the
Chute, the Archers shoot the rising/falling enemies and trigger the Chute.
Between the 2 Uniques, there's not a clear superior option. Bombs seem to drop
more commonly than coins, for what it's worth.
-- (7.1.10) Brimstone --
"Burns enemies; fades out after doing damage; recharges over time"
How to obtain: Buy (7 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 700
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/6/12
Level 1/2/3 effect: Burns 3/4/5 enemies before running out of heat
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Brimstone heats up faster
Unique 2: Enemies set on fire burn longer
Trigger Range: Step
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time: 30 seconds, see Other
Other: -Constantly regenerates "charges" for triggering, regenerates 1 charge
every 30 seconds. Reset time to maximum varies depending on max charge
-Uses 50%/33%/25%/20% of progress bar at level 0/1/2/3 per use
-After empty, cannot fire again until it has enough charge for 1 use
-Unique 1 speeds up charge rate to 1 charge every 25 seconds
Brimstone is one of a few traps that triggers quickly enough to hurt Kobolds
(including the Grinder and Shock Zapper) and is the cheapest among them. If you
plan on using Brimstone, be sure to upgrade it to level 3 as soon as possible.
Because of the way its reset works, Brimstone is less and less effective over
time in very high traffic killboxes.
"Heats up faster" is preferred over "burns longer".
-- (7.1.11) Coinforge --
"Enemies that die on a Coinforge drop more coins"
How to obtain: Buy (5 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 200
Size: 3x3 tiles
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/5/11
Level 1/2/3 effect: Enemies that die on the Coinforge are worth more coin
(from +50% to +55%/+65%/+75%)
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Coinforge effect persists briefly after enemies leave the Coinforge
Unique 2: Enemies affected by the Coinforge take additional damage
Trigger Range: N/A, always active
Effect Range: Step
Reset Time: N/A, always active
Other: -Coinforge effect removes Bleed
-Does not add a combo point
-Level 0 coinforge effect raises coin worth by 50%
Despite its massive size, the Coinforge is extremely cheap to create. While
it reduces the ability to use other floor traps in combination with it, Decoys
and Guardians can still go on top of it. Holding a horde of enemies on top of
your Coinforge while hitting them with wall/ceiling traps and Guardians will
earn a lot of coin, more than enough to make up for its own cost. If desired,
you can sell it later and put other floor traps over it.
Unique 2 is usually a better option than Unique 1. The Coinforge is large
enough that persisting isn't necessary, and dealing more damage helps ensure
that you get boosted coin and kill enemies quicker in one swoop.
-- (7.1.12) Dart Spitter --
"Spits darts filled with acid; resets after firing
How to obtain: DLC: Fire and Water
Type: Ceiling Trap
Coin cost: 900
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Darts do additional damage
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Darts sometimes freeze enemies
Unique 2: Darts sometimes charm enemies
Trigger Range: 3x3 range around trap, 2 tiles down
Effect Range:
Reset Time: 15 seconds
Other: -Darts fire at a downward angle; doesn't hit smaller enemies under it
-Darts have a chance to ragdoll light enemies
-Darts deal Poison damage(?)
The Dart Spitter's main strength is its large effect area; it's the only
ceiling trap able to hit enemies around it rather than just directly under it.
As such, it enjoys greater freedom and synergy alongside other ceiling traps.
Dart Spitters don't tend to deal much damage to single targets on their own,
so don't rely on them as a standalone trap.
No current opinion on Uniques.
-- (7.1.13) Decoy --
"Looks oddly like a War Mage; explodes if destroyed by enemies"
How to obtain: Buy (11 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 700
Size: Free placement
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Decoy health increased
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Decoy will reappear after being destroyed, but no longer explodes
Unique 2: Enemies that attack the decoy are chilled and sometimes frozen
Trigger Range: N/A
Effect Range:
Reset Time:
Other: -Heals self over time if not being attacked
-On death, deals explosive damage to enemies in range
-With Unique 2, death also freezes enemies in range
Decoys are an extremely cost-efficient way of keeping enemies in one place and
are quicker/cheaper than building a Barricade funnel/maze. Placing Decoys in
the middle of your killbox is a good way to slow down most enemies, especially
if you lack slowing effects like Tar.
Unique 1 essentially turns the Decoy into a reusable Guardian that doesn't
fight back, which is better than it initially sounds. Rather than replace the
same Decoy multiple times, you can just place 1-3 Decoys spaced slightly apart
and have them share the burden. Unique 2 (or no Unique) is better when coin
isn't a concern and the dead Decoy can be easily replaced; the explosion is
sometimes as valuable as the Decoy itself.
-- (7.1.14) Dwarf Guardian --
"Throws explosive bombs at enemies"
How to obtain: Story: The Crossing
Type: Guardian
Coin cost: 900
Size: Free placement
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Dwarf attacks do increased damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Dwarf bombs sometimes cause targets to bleed
Unique 2: Dwarf melee attacks sometimes knock back foes
Trigger Range: ~5 tile radius
Effect Range: ~1 tile radius (Bombs)
Reset Time: See other
Other: -Bombs deal explosive damage
-Melees when enemies are close
Dwarves are usually outclassed by Paladins and Archers, but can work well in
combination with them. Durability-wise, Dwarves fall somewhere inbetween
Paladins and Archers. Bombs make them a bit more potent against Elementals, but
their low rate of fire and inconsistant aim can disappoint as a lone Guardian.
Dwarves are short enough that Archer shots go over their heads.
Bleeding bombs are the better unique. If your Dwarf is in melee range, they're
essentially dead.
-- (7.1.15) Floor Portal --
"Teleports enemies back to the start; resets after firing"
How to obtain: DLC: Fire and Water
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 1200
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Floor Portals reset faster
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Enemy catches on fire when teleported
Unique 2: Enemies sometimes leave coins behind when teleported (worth 20)
Trigger Range: Step
Effect Range: 1 enemy
Reset Time:
Other:
Floor Portals are unremarkable for regular play but are amazing for Endless.
Their reset time is relatively low and it's very easy to get enough coin to
force any number of heavy enemies through a killbox again and again.
No current opinion on Uniques. Coin drop rate seems fairly common.
-- (7.1.16) Floor Scorcher --
"Flips up and burns groups of enemies"
How to obtain: Buy (16 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap (+Wall Trap)
Coin cost: 800
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Floor Scorcher damage increased
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Floor Scorcher burns targets longer
Unique 2: Flames cover a larger arc
Special skulls: 13
Special: Floor Scorcher can now be placed on walls
Trigger Range: Step + 2 tiles in one direction (can rotate)
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other: -Light enemies standing on top of it can be ragdolled
-Deals fire damage and Burns enemies
Floor Scorchers have a unique quality among floor traps: horizontal attack
area. Being able to attack 2 tiles in front of it allows you to use it
"outside" of your killbox, freeing up tile space for other floor traps.
No current opinion on Unique.
-- (7.1.17) Grinder --
"Sucks in enemies that get too close; runs constantly until it jams"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls)
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 1000
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Increased damage; clears jams faster
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Grinder unjams much more quickly
Unique 2: Grinder sometimes makes monsters bleed for a short time
Trigger Range: N/A, runs constantly
Effect Range: 1 tile
Reset Time: (does not display on progress bar)
Other: -Deals damage constantly to enemies in range when active
-After unjamming, becomes active again at 50% "health"
-Level 3 unjams after ~20 seconds
Grinders are an essential part of high score and comboing as well as a very
effective countermeasure against Kobolds. As a standalone trap it jams up
quickly so it's best to support it with other traps and weapon effects.
Unique 2's bleed is what makes it valuable for combos, but if those precious
few seconds while jammed are more important you should use Unique 1.
-- (7.1.18) Haymaker --
"Spins and knocks around enemies; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Story: Hidden Gulch
Type: Ceiling Trap
Coin cost: 700
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Haymaker deals more damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Haymaker throws enemies with more force
Unique 2: Haymaker sometimes stuns heavy enemies (+Stun, heavy only)
Trigger Range: 1 and 1/2 tiles down
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other: -Ragdolls light enemies
-Runs for x seconds, continues to reset while active
Haymkers are arguably one of the best traps in the game. Its combination of
traits (moderate damage, relatively low reset time, relatively cheap, remains
active for a while after triggering) allow it to be used in almost any scenario
you can think of. A must-have for any level with low ceilings.
Unique 1 is usually more harmful than helpful, as enemies can fly in random
directions (such as the wrong side of a killbox) and live. Unique 2 is better
but can sometimes make combos on heavy enemies more difficult, as it stops them
before they step onto the tile under the Haymaker.
-- (7.1.19) Healing Well --
"Restores player health; takes time to recharge"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls, War Mage)
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 600
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Additional stored health
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Healing Well cost reduced to 400
Unique 2: Healing Well recharges more quickly
Trigger Range:
Effect Range:
Reset Time:
Other:
-- (7.1.20) Ice Vent --
"Freezes enemies; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Default (Sorceress)
Type: Floor Trap (+Ceiling Trap)
Coin cost: 400
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Ice Vent reset time reduced
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Ice Vent freeze lasts longer (from 3 seconds to 4)
Unique 2: Chills enemies after freeze wears off
Special skulls: 11
Special: Ice Vent can now be placed on ceiling
Trigger Range: Step
Effect Range: 1 tile
Reset Time:
Other: -Base freeze duration of 3 seconds
The Ice Vent is, alongside the Steam Trap and Tar, a floor trap that focuses on
slowing down enemies rather than killing them. Unlike the other 2, Ice Vent
suffers from costing the most coin, firing delay that limits the number and
speed of targets it can hit (usually no more than 3 enemies), and the fact that
Freeze is a difficult combo effect to synergize with.
Longer freeze isn't a dramatically large increase, so you may prefer chill.
-- (7.1.21) Mana Well --
"Restores player mana; takes time to recharge"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls, Sorceress)
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 1500
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Additional stored mana
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Mana Well cost reduced to 1250
Unique 2: Mana Well recharges faster
Trigger Range:
Effect Range:
Reset Time:
Other:
-- (7.1.22) Paladin Guardian --
"Sturdy melee Guardians"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls)
Type: Guardian
Coin cost: 1200
Size: Free placement
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Paladins have more health
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Paladin attacks sometimes stun targets
Unique 2: Paladins slowly regenerate health
Trigger Range:
Effect Range: Sword attacks ~1/2 tile area in front
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Deploys a blue "bubble" shield to repel ranged attacks when idle
-Vulnerable to Crushing damage (most heavy enemies)
Paladins are expensive but reliable against the basic Orc hordes. With health
regeneration, they are usually in no danger of dying and 2-3 can hold back an
entire lane of Orcs alone. On War Mage, Paladins can be considered like a more
expensive reappearing-Decoy.
However, Paladins like to pick the nearest target and pursue it relentlessly,
even if the Paladin is too slow to catch it. This can result in them wandering
away from their intended position, though they will walk back when their target
is dead. Additionally, Paladins can't stand up to most heavy enemies like
Elementals, Trolls, and Ogres unless they use the stun Unique, which impairs
their longevity unless you take the Healing Trinket. Either way, a dead Paladin
in Nightmare is a big loss in coin, so either make sure you can protect them or
just leave them behind.
Uniques, as covered above, depend on what you're fighting and what you want
from your Paladins. Stun is better for big enemies, regeneration for longevity.
-- (7.1.23) Pounder --
"Smashes enemies; resets after firing
How to obtain: Buy (10 skulls)
Type: Ceiling Trap
Coin cost: 500
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/14
Level 1/2/3 effect: Pounder deals more damage
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Pounder briefly stuns enemies
Unique 2: Trolls and Ogres struck by Pounder sometimes drop coins (worth 100)
Trigger Range: 1 and 1/2 tiles down
Effect Range: same
Reset Time:
Other:
Except for lower cost, the Pounder is almost universally inferior to Haymakers
for general killing power. Pounder does make itself more distinct with its
Uniques though; Stun from Pounders affects all enemies, not just heavies like
with Haymakers, and extra coin is never a bad thing. In some areas, Haymakers
may unintentionally send an enemy in a direction you don't want them to go,
skipping past your defenses. Pounders are more preferable in these examples.
Stun Unique is preferred.
-- (7.1.24) Push Trap --
"Pushes enemies away from the trap; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Buy (8 skulls)
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 300
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Push Trap reset time reduced
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Pushed enemies are briefly stunned
Unique 2: Push trap range increases (from 1 tile to 2)
Trigger Range: 1 tile
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other: -Ragdolls light enemies
The usefulness of Push Trap varies from level to level, but it truly shines on
those with lots of pits to throw enemies into. Very quick reset time and low
cost accentuate that strength. Even on levels without pits, you can use some
creativity with Barricades to force enemies through a maze of traps again.
The extra range Unique makes it much easier to use on some wider hallways. Stun
is sometimes more useful as a regular killbox wall trap.
-- (7.1.25) Shock Zapper --
"Electricity-flinging turret; adept at frying fliers"
How to obtain: Story: Mirror Image
Type: Ceiling Trap (+Wall Trap)
Coin cost: 1000
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Shock Zapper holds more charge for zapping enemies
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Shock Zapper briefly stuns targets
Unique 2: Shock Zapper chains to an additional target but uses more charge
per attack
Special skulls: 12
Special: Shock Zapper can now be placed on walls
Trigger Range: 3 tiles
Effect Range: same
Reset Time:
Other: -Deals Lightning damage
-Charge system similar to Brimstone (testing for later version)
-- (7.1.26) Spike Trap --
"Does damage when stepped on; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Story: The Edge
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 300
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/4/9
Level 1/2/3 effect: Spike Trap resets faster (from 15 secs to xx / xx / xx)
Unique skulls: 4
Unique 1: Damaged enemies are briefly slowed
Unique 2: Damaged enemies bleed, taking additional damage
Trigger Range: Step
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time: 15 seconds
Other:
Spike Traps are inexpensive, though not particularly damaging, lending to their
usefulness in early levels and for combos alike.
Unique choice depends on what you need more for combo effects. Slow is more
useful for regular play.
-- (7.1.27) Spore Mushrooms --
"Converts the first enemy that steps on it"
How to obtain: Buy (15 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 1200
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/8/17
Level 1/2/3 effect: Controlled enemies have extra health
Unique skulls: 7
Unique 1: Spore Mushrooms reset much faster
Unique 2: Kobold Runners converted by spores are extremely dangerous to the
enemy (becomes stronger and has more health)
Trigger Range: 1 tile
Effect Range: 1 enemy
Reset Time:
Other: -Selling the Spore Mushroom kills any enemy it has converted
-Can only convert one enemy at a time, per trap
-Does not start resetting until converted enemy has died
Spore Mushrooms are difficult to use as a set-and-forget trap, since there's no
guarantee on whether you'll get a plain Orc or something better like an Ogre.
When used in a more active role, placing it under your desired enemy, it's
essentially a "permanent" charm. Great for tough enemies like Ogres and Trolls.
Most enemies will stay next to the Spore that converted them, but Gnolls will
actively pursue any enemies on the map, making them extra handy as Spore bait.
Try to have most or all of your Spores near wherever you plan on being during a
level. When the wave ends, sell any used Spores and replace them with fresh
ones. You'll get a full-price coin refund when selling them and it's often much
faster than waiting for the natural reset time. If you want to keep a certain
Spored enemy, don't sell their "used" Spore.
"Stronger Kobolds" essentially turns Kobolds into mini-Gnolls. They won't chase
enemies they can't see, but they about as fast and tough as Gnolls. Whether you
choose it over a quicker reset is largely a matter of personal taste.
-- (7.1.28) Spring Trap --
"Throws enemies; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Story: Chasm
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 700
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Spring Trap cost reduced to 600/525/450
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Spring Trap sometimes flips heavier enemies
Unique 2: Spring Trap reset time reduced
Trigger Range: Step
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other: -Ragdolls light enemies
Spring Traps are essential to Void Wall setups as well as simply flinging
enemies into pits. Keep your surroundings in mind when placing Springs; heavies
only get flung ~1 tile, but light enemies like Orcs will usually be catapulted
2-3 tiles upwards, which can give them an unintentional shortcut.
Unique 1 is virtually required to use this trap, due to the sheer number of
levels with heavy enemies.
-- (7.1.29) Steam Trap --
"Blasts steam and levitates enemies; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Buy (6 skulls)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 400
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/5/11
Level 1/2/3 effect: Steam Trap cost reduced to 350/300/250
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Steam Trap chills enemies for a time
Unique 2: Steam Trap reset time reduced
Trigger Range: 1 tile
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other: -Ragdolls light enemies
-Unique 1 Chill also affects heavy enemies
A cheap way to slow down enemies, Steam Trap flings enemies up ~3 tiles when
triggered. This has somewhat unique applications, allowing for high walls to be
utilized.
-- (7.1.30) Swinging Mace --
"Smashes into enemies; constantly in motion"
How to obtain: Buy (14 skulls)
Type: Ceiling Trap
Coin cost: 1500
Size: 3x1 tiles
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/8/16
Level 1/2/3 effect: Swinging Mace damage increased
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Swinging Mace swings faster
Unique 2: Swinging Mace stuns enemies it hits
Trigger Range: N/A, always active
Effect Range: 1 tile down
Reset Time:
Other: -Ragdolls and tosses light enemies
-- (7.1.31) Tar --
"Slows down enemies"
How to obtain: Default (War Mage)
Type: Floor Trap
Coin cost: 450
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Tar trap cost reduced to 400/350/300
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Enemies move slower (50% slow increases to 66%)
Unique 2: Slow persists (2 seconds after stepping off of Tar)
Trigger Range: N/A, always active
Effect Range: Step
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Slow effect, 50% (counted separately from other Slow effects)
Tar is one of the best traps in the game due to its combination of low cost,
potent effect, and that it's always active. The application is simple: apply
generously to killboxes, slowing down enemies in range of your other traps.
Fast enemies like Kobolds become slow enough to be caught by any trap and
enemies that were already slow now move at a glacial pace.
For Uniques, let's consider the average Orc moving at 1 tile per second. Unique
1 makes him take 3 seconds to cross the tar. Unique 2 makes him take 2 seconds
to cross tar, then 2 more seconds to cross the tile beyond that. Unique 1 keeps
him in one place for longer, whereas Unique 2 lasts a little longer.
-- (7.1.32) Void Wall --
"Anything thrown in dies instantly"
How to obtain: Story: Wind Up
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 300
Size: 2x2 tiles
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Increases coin drop chance
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Throwing enemies into the void heals the player
Unique 2: Enemies thrown in sometimes return as skeletons to fight for you
Trigger Range: N/A
Effect Range: N/A
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Enemies killed by Void Wall can randomly drop potions or Coin (100)
-Potions created by Void Wall kills disappear after 2 minutes
-Enemies must be ragdolled and tossed into the Void Wall to be killed;
does not trigger automatically
-- (7.1.33) Wall Blades --
"Chops enemies apart; resets after firing"
How to obtain: Buy (14 skulls)
Type: Wall Trap
Coin cost: 800
Size: 1 tile
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/8/16
Level 1/2/3 effect: Wall Blades deal increased damage
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Wall Blades breifly cause enemies to bleed
Unique 2: Wall Blades reset time reduced
Trigger Range: 1 tile
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other:
-- (7.1.34) Web Spinner --
"Sprays webs on enemies; fire will burn the webs off"
How to obtain: DLC: Fire and Water
Type: Wall Trap (+Ceiling Trap)
Coin cost: 900
Size: 1 tile
Level 1 / 2 / 3 skulls: 3 / 8 / 16
Level 1 / 2 / 3 effect: Webs slow enemies longer
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Burning webs deal damage
Unique 2: Webs weaken enemies, causing them to take increased damage
Special skulls: 13
Special: Web Spinner can now be placed on the ceiling
Trigger Range: 3 tiles
Effect Range: Same
Reset Time:
Other:
Very short reset time, functionally close to Tar on walls.
Unique 1 when playing with fire, Unique 2 otherwise.
------------------------------ (7.2.00) Weapons -------------------------------
-- (7.2.01) Alchemist's Satchel --
"Primary: places acid bombs
Secondary: remotely detonates them"
How to obtain: Buy (14 skulls)
Primary mana cost:
Secondary mana cost: None
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/8/16
Level 1/2/3 effect: Alchemy bombs have increased damage/area of effect
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Acid bombs slow enemies for a few seconds
Unique 2: Acid bombs destroyed by traps or weapons deal additional acid
damage over a brief time
Other: -Deals poison-type damage
-- (7.2.02) Bladestaff --
"Primary: Attack the enemy up close
Secondary: Knock enemies away"
How to obtain: Buy (8 skulls)
Primary mana cost: None
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Bladestaff deals increased damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Dealing damage with the bladestaff briefly increases run speed
Unique 2: Dealing damage with the bladestaff grants a shielding effect
Other: -Secondary deals explosive damage
-- (7.2.03) Bone Amulet --
"Primary: Bones of dead orcs explode from the ground doing damage
Secondary: Summons bone golem"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls)
Primary mana cost:
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Increases bone golem health and attack damage
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Bone amulet primary attack goes further
Unique 2: Bone amulet primary attack deals more damage
Other: -Primary deals explosive damage
-Bone golem constantly loses health over time
-- (7.2.04) Blunderbuss --
"Primary: attack the enemy at a distance
Secondary: launch grenades that throw enemies"
How to obtain: Default (War Mage)
Primary mana cost: None
Secondary mana cost: 25
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/5/11
Level 1/2/3 effect: Blunderbuss grenades deal more damage, cost less mana
(mana cost from 25 to xx/xx/20?)
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Primary sometimes causes targets to bleed (+Bleed effect)
Unique 2: Primary sometimes knocks back heavy enemies
Other: -Primary has a chance to ragdoll light enemies
-Unique 2 adds a chance to ragdoll heavy enemies
-Secondary ragdolls light enemies
-- (7.2.05) Crossbow --
"Primary: Attack the enemy at range
Secondary: Launch a stun bomb"
How to obtain: Buy (8 skulls)
Primary mana cost: None
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Headshots deal extra damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Primary attack sometimes sets targets on fire
Unique 2: Headshots generate mana
Other: -Primary can be held for rapidfire
-Rapidfire shots are less accurate
-Can only headshot while the aiming reticule is green
-- (7.2.06) Dwarven Hammer --
"Primary: attack the enemy up close
Secondary: whirlwind mode that drains mana"
How to obtain: Buy (13 skulls, War Mage)
Primary mana cost: None
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Whirlwind attack does increased damage
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Take less damage while using whirlwind
Unique 2: Primary attack stuns enemies (+Stun effect)
Other: -Secondary can be held for continuous use.
-- (7.2.07) Flame Bracers --
"Primary: Throw fireballs
Secondary: Summon a fire wall"
How to obtain: Story: Upstairs Downstairs
Primary mana cost: ~30
Secondary mana cost: 75
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/13
Level 1/2/3 effect: Fireballs cost less mana and burn targets longer
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Fire Wall lasts longer (from x seconds to 8 seconds)
Unique 2: Fire wall briefly stuns enemies
Other: -Fireballs have a small area of effect, around a half tile.
-- (7.2.08) Ice Amulet --
"Primary: Freeze enemies at range
Secondary: Area frost attack freezes nearby enemies"
How to obtain: Story: Servant Entrance
Primary mana cost: ~20
Secondary mana cost: 75
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/14
Level 1/2/3 effect: Adds an additional ice projectile to primary attack
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Enemies frozen by secondary are chilled after they thaw
Unique 2: Enemies frozen by secondary take additional damage
Other: -Primary shoots 3 ice beams, 1 centered and 1 each left and right
-Level 1 / 2 / 3 add an additional beam on each side at progressively
further angles to the left/right, to a maximum of 9 projectiles
-- (7.2.09) Polymorph Ring --
"Primary: Randomly transforms enemies
Secondary: Transform yourself into an ogre"
How to obtain: Buy (13 skulls, Sorceress)
Primary mana cost:
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Primary attack has less chance for monster
transformations, increased chance for chickens
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Secondary transforms you into a frost ogre. Deals ice damage,
resists ice, chill, and freeze.
Unique 2: Secondary transforms you into a fire ogre. Deals fire damage,
resists fire and burn.
Other: -Primary can turn enemies into a Coin (100), potion, chicken, or any
other enemy (except Mr. Moneybags).
-Chickens are considered "friendly", enemies will kill them in one hit.
-Larger enemies have less chance of being turned directly into chickens
-When an enemy is transformed, it is treated as being the enemy it
turns into, not the enemy is used to be (for the purposes of Coin
worth, Rift Point worth, and further transformations).
-- (7.2.10) Ring of Lightning --
"Primary: Cast chain lightning at enemies
Secondary: Summon a storm of lightning"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls)
Primary mana cost:
Secondary mana cost: 75
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/7/15
Level 1/2/3 effect: Primary attack chains to an additional target (1/3)
Primary attack mana cost reduced (2)
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Lightning Storm now also chills some enemies
Unique 2: Lightning Storm duration increased
Other: -Primary initially can hit up to 3 targets, maximum of 5 at level 3.
-Secondary has a range of around 1-2 tiles up/down, hits through walls.
-- (7.2.11) Sceptre of Domination --
"Primary: Fast ranged attack; can be charged
Secondary: Charm an enemy for a time"
How to obtain: Default (Sorceress)
Primary mana cost: None
Secondary mana cost: 45
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 2/5/11
Level 1/2/3 effect: Charm lasts longer and charm death causes more damage
Unique skulls: 5
Unique 1: Fully-charged primary attack has a larger radius
Unique 2: Primary attack deals extra damage to charmed enemies
Other: -Primary full-charge deals explosive damage and ragdolls light enemies.
-Primary becomes half-charged in 1 second, full-charged in 2 total.
-Enemies who die while charmed explode, dealing damage and stunning
other enemies around them.
-- (7.2.12) Vampiric Gauntlets --
"Primary: Drains enemy health
Secondary: Trades health for mana"
How to obtain: Buy (14 skulls)
Primary mana cost:
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/8/16
Level 1/2/3 effect: Primary does additional damage and healing
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Enemies are immobilized for a short time (2 seconds after last hit)
Unique 2: Secondary health to mana conversion rate improved
Other: -Immobilized enemies can still attack enemies in range; does not stun.
-Primary has a very small area of effect; hitting multiple enemies at
once drains health from all of them.
-- (7.2.13) Wind Belt --
"Primary: Throw enemies backwards
Secondary: Pick up and drop enemies and objects"
How to obtain: Buy (10 skulls)
Primary mana cost:
Secondary mana cost:
Level 1/2/3 skulls: 3/6/14
Level 1/2/3 effect: Primary attack has increased range, increased
strength, and decreased mana cost
Unique skulls: 6
Unique 1: Picked-up enemies explode when thrown
Unique 2: Picked-up enemies take damage while slowly healing the player
Other:
------------------------------ (7.3.00) Trinkets ------------------------------
-- (7.3.01) Berserker Trinket--
"Passive: Deal bonus damage when low on health
Active: Spend health to activate berserk mode"
How to obtain: Buy (10 skulls)
Active mana cost:
Special 1 skulls: 5
Special 1: Active berserk ability lasts 9 seconds, up from 6
Special 2 skulls: 13
Special 2: Berserk grants 33% damage, up from 25%
Other: -Passive only applies to the holder
-- (7.3.02) Defense Trinket --
"Passive: Increases player health
Active: Shield player from damage"
How to obtain: Buy (5 skulls)
Active mana cost:
Special 1 skulls: 3
Special 1: Reduces damage taken
Special 2 skulls: 10
Special 2: Penalty to attack while shielded halved
Other: -Passive only applies to the holder
-Passive increases maximum health by 50%
-- (7.3.03) Freedom Trinket --
"Passive: Resist stuns
Active: Break other players out of stun and briefly grants stun immunity"
How to obtain: Buy (7 skulls)
Active mana cost:
Special 1 skulls: 4
Special 1: Passive and active abilities apply to being frozen as well
Special 2 skulls: 11
Special 2: Active ability also clears chill and slow effects
Other: -Passive only applies to the holder
-- (7.3.04) Healing Trinket --
"Passive: Slowly regenerates health
Active: Heal self and allies"
How to obtain: Story: Tunnels
Active mana cost:
Special 1 skulls: 4
Special 1: Passive heal rate increased
Special 2 skulls: 11
Special 2: Active healing mana cost reduced
Other: -Passive only applies to the holder
-- (7.3.05) Mana Rage Trinket --
"Passive: Higher mana capacity
Active: Mana rage regenerates mana quickly for a short time"
How to obtain: Buy (13 skulls)
Active mana cost: None
Special 1 skulls: 5
Special 1: Increased base mana pool (from +35% to +50%)
Special 2 skulls: 15
Special 2: Mana Rage lasts longer
Other: -Passive only applies to the holder
-- (7.3.06) Rift Defender Trinket --
"Passive: Increases rift points
Active: Stun all enemies"
How to obtain: Buy (12 skulls)
Active mana cost:
Special 1 skulls: 5
Special 1: Doubles additional rift points (from +5% to +10%)
Special 2 skulls: 14
Special 2: Active ability stun lasts longer (from xx seconds to xx seconds)
Other: -Passive rounds down for decimal numbers
-Extra rift points do not act as a "buffer" for 5-skull ratings
-- (7.3.07) Scavenger Trinket --
"Passive: All enemies have a chance to drop coins
Active: All enemies worth extra coin"
How to obtain: Buy (9 skulls)
Active mana cost:
Special 1 skulls: 4
Special 1: Increased chance for coin drops from orcs and kobolds
Special 2 skulls: 12
Special 2: Active ability generates extra coin (from +50% to +70%)
Other: -Passive only applies to kills the holder contributes to
-Enemies drop small coins (20 coin value)
-Base active coin bonus is +50%
-- (7.3.08) Trap Reset Trinket --
"Passive: Traps reset faster
Active: Reset all traps for a mana cost"
How to obtain: Buy (11 skulls)
Active mana cost: 80
Active reset time: 60 seconds
Special 1 skulls: 5
Special 1: Traps reset even faster
Special 2 skulls: 14
Special 2: Active ability mana cost reduced (from 80 mana to 50)
Other: -Faster reset does not apply to traps with "charges"
-Active only restores 1 charge to appropriate traps
-Active restores 50% power to Grinders
--- (7.4) Vanity ---
(For War Mages)
Miner: Unlocked by default
Classic Order: Complete Story on War Mage difficulty
Knight of the Order: Complete Story on Nightmare difficulty
Orc Slayer: Purchase with 50 skulls
Alienwear: Awarded from a promotional giveaway with Alienware
(For Sorceresses)
Exiled: Unlocked by default
Classic Order: Complete Story on War Mage difficulty
Knight of the Order: Complete Story on Nightmare difficulty
Summertime: Purchase with 50 skulls
Alienwear: Awarded from a promotional giveaway with Alienware
--- (7.5.00) Preset Traps ---
*Not in the Spellbook, placed in some levels from the start*
-- (7.5.01) Pits, Lava, and Acid --
Trigger: Automatic
Effect Range: N/A
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Kills anything that falls in
Functionally, all 3 are the same: push an enemy off a cliff or into lava/acid
and they die. Physics traps, normally not very damaging, become lethal when
they fling enemies into these areas.
-- (7.5.02) Minecart --
Trigger: Automatic
Effect Range: Along the mine track
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Ragdolls light enemies when hit
-Ragdolled enemies cannot be hit
-Minecart breaks when it hits a heavy enemy but still deals damage
-On some levels, path can be switched by hitting a switch
-When it reaches the end of the track, another minecart starts over
-Can't lay traps on top of minecart tracks
These run automatically in most mine levels. Though you don't have complete
control over them, Minecarts are good at defending levels with multiple paths.
-- (7.5.03) Minecart (Lava) --
Trigger: Manual
Effect Range: Hits the floor under it as it moves
Reset Time: ~2 seconds
Other: -Lava stream lasts 4 seconds, after which it resets
-Burns and deals fire damage
These travel slowly on high tracks in some mine areas. When shot, a stream of
lava flows down to the floor, burning and damaging enemies. Like regular
Minecarts, you don't have total control over when they appear.
-- (7.5.04) Hanging Bomb --
Trigger: Manual
Effect Range: Area underneath
Reset Time: N/A, one-time use
Other: -Deals explosive damage
Functionally, it's a very large hanging Boom Barrel.
-- (7.5.05) Portals --
Trigger: Manual
Effect Range: 1 player
Reset Time: N/A
Other: -Orange portals go to orange portals, green to green
-Players always exit the portal with it behind them
Portals are used on some maps as a shortcut between 2 faraway locations. Not
always useful, but can save a few seconds of running or allow you to battle
2 distant groups of enemies at once.
-- (7.5.06) Chandelier --
Trigger: Manual
Effect Range: Area underneath
Reset Time: N/A, one-time use
Other:
Deals a decent amount of damage to enemies it hits.
-- (7.5.07) Rolling Log --
Trigger: Manual
Effect Range: Rolls until it hits a wall
Reset Time: N/A, one-time use
Other: -Kills any enemy it rolls into
Tremendously powerful, but can sometimes roll in odd patterns. Kills even the
toughest enemies in one hit, so note where they are and use when needed.
-- (7.5.08) Boiling Oil --
Trigger: Manual
Effect Range: Area undeneath
Reset Time: 8 seconds (4 seconds after pouring)
Other: -Pours boiling oil in area under it for 4 seconds
-Burns and deals fire damage
Like Minecart (Lava), but stationary and in fortress areas.
-- (7.5.09) Preset Traps --
Some traps that appear in the spellbook may be pre-placed in the level. These
do not gain upgrades from your own spellbook versions and can't be sold.
Functionally they are all level 0, unupgraded versions of the trap in question.
Preset traps include: Archer Guardian, Barricade, Boom Barrel, Boulder Chute,
and Paladin Guardians.
===============================================================================
==================== (8.0) ENEMIES - Behaviors and tactics ====================
===============================================================================
-Key
Enemy Name
Movement speed: Expressed as the amount of tiles an enemy walks per second
Behavior: How the enemy acts in regards to the rifts and player
Weight: Light enemies can be ragdolled by trap and weapon effects.
Heavy enemies cannot be ragdolled, except by Spring Trap (Unique 1).
Note that flying enemies cannot be ragdolled by the Wind Belt.
Rift Value: The number of Rift Points deducted when an enemy enters a Rift.
Coin Value: Coin given by killing an enemy. Multiplied by Combos.
------------ (8.1) ORCS - Light, Medium, Heavy, and Crossbow Orcs -------------
-- Light, Medium, and Heavy Orc Warriors (aka "Orcs") --
Movement speed: 1 tile/sec
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Weight: Light
Rift Value: 1
Coin Value: 10 (Light), 15 (Medium), 20 (Heavy)
Sometimes carry shields, which can take one damaging hit before breaking,
protecting the Orc carrying it from any damage.
-- Crossbow Orc --
Movement speed: 1 tile/sec
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Stays a certain distance away from targets
Weight: Light
Rift Value: 1
Coin Value: 15
--------------------- (8.2) KOBOLDS - Runners and Sappers ---------------------
-- Kobold Runner (aka "Kobolds") --
Movement speed: Fast
Behavior: Does not attack unless charmed or rift path is blocked
Weight: Light
Rift Value: 1
Coin Value:
-- Kobold Sapper (aka "Sappers") --
Movement speed: Fast
Behavior: Ignores rifts, seeks+attacks player-associated creatures/Barricades
Explodes when killed; attacking kills self
Weight: Light
Rift Value: N/A
Coin Value:
--------- (8.3) OGRES - Regular, Fire, Frost, Armored, and Moneybags ----------
--Ogre, Fire Ogre, Frost Ogre, and Armored Ogre --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second, increases when pursuing targets
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Resistant to Fire damage and Burn, Vulnerable to Ice (Fire)
Resistant to Ice damage and Freeze, Vulnerable to Fire (Frost)
Drops Coin (100) when killed
Weight: Heavy
Rift Value: 5 (Regular, Fire, and Frost), 10 (Armored)
Coin Value: 50 (Regular, Fire, and Frost), ?? (Armored)
-- Mr. Moneybags --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second
Behavior: Does not attack unless rift path is blocked, cannot be charmed
Drops Large Coin (1200) when killed
Weight: Heavy
Rift Value: 0
Coin Value: 0
Interesting quirk in Endless: If a Hobgoblin revives Mr. Moneybags, he drops
an additional 1200 coin.
--------------------- (8.4) GNOLL - Hunters and Grenadier ---------------------
-- Gnoll Hunter --
Movement speed: Fast
Behavior: Ignores rifts, seeks and attacks player-associated creatures
Drops Coin (100) when killed
Weight: Light
Rift Value: N/A
Coin Value:
-- Gnoll Grenadier --
Movement speed: Fast
Behavior: Ignores rifts, seeks and attacks player-associated creatures
Stays a certain distance away from targets
Drops Coin (100) when killed
Weight: Light
Rift Value: N/A
Coin Value: 30
------------------ (8.5) ELEMENTALS - Earth, Fire, and Water ------------------
-- Earthlings, Earth Elementals, and Earth Lords --
Movement speed: Slightly fast (Earthling)
1 tile/second (Earth Elemental)
Slow (Earth Lord)
Behavior (All): Cannot be Burned
Vulnerable to explosive damage
Behavior (Earthling): Does not attack unless charmed or rift path is blocked
Behavior (Elem/Lord): Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Does not generate combos or coin
(Elemental) Breaks into 2 Earthlings when killed
(Lord) Breaks into 2 Earth Elementals when killed
Weight: Light (Earthling)
Heavy (Elemental/Lord)
Rift Value: 1 (Earthling)
2 (Earth Elemental)
4 (Earth Lord)
Coin Value:
-- Firelings, Fire Elementals, and Fire Lords *(DLC: Fire and Water) --
Movement speed: Slightly fast (Fireling)
1 tile/second? (Fire Elemental)
Slow (Fire Lord)
Behavior (All): Cannot be Burned or Frozen
Behavior: (Fireling) Ignores rifts, seeks and attacks player-associated
creatures
When attacking, charges up and explodes, killing self
Attack causes Burn for 2 seconds
Behavior (Elem/Lord): Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Does not generate combos or coin
(Elemental) Breaks into 2 Firelings when killed
(Lord) Breaks into 4 Firelings when killed
Vulnerable to Ice damage
Weight: Light (Fireling)
Heavy (Elemental/Lord)
Rift Value: ? (Fireling)
2 (Fire Elemental)
4 (Fire Lord)
Coin Value: 20 (Fireling)
-- Waterlings, Water Elementals, and Water Lords *(DLC: Fire and Water) --
Movement speed: Slow (Waterling)
1 tile/second? (Water Elemental)
Fast (Water Lord)
Behavior (All): Vulnerable to Fire damage
Takes reduced damage while Frozen
Creates a puddle for 15 seconds on death
Behavior (Waterling): Does not attack unless charmed or rift path is blocked
Seeks out nearby puddles, becomes Elemental on touch
Behavior (Elem/Lord): Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
(Elemental) Seeks out nearby puddles, becomes Lord on touch
(Lord) Drops Coin (100) when killed
Weight: Light (Waterling)
Heavy (Elemental/Lord)
Rift Value: 1 (Waterling)
2 (Water Elemental)
4 (Water Lord)
Coin Value: 20 (Waterling)
30 (Water Elemental)
40 (Water Lord)
----------------- (8.6) TROLLS - Regular, Swamp, and Mountain -----------------
-- Troll, Swamp Troll, and Mountain Troll --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second? (Regular, Swamp)
Slow (Mountain)
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Regenerates health, Swamp and Mountain regenerate faster
Does not regenerate while Frozen
Vulnerable to Fire and Lightning damage
Drops Coin (100) when killed
Weight: Heavy
Rift Value: 5 (Regular and Swamp)
10 (Mountain)
Coin Value:
--------------------- (8.7) FLIERS - Bats and Fire Babies ---------------------
-- Hellbats, Frostbats, Bilebats, and Thunderbats --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Stops when attacking
Does not stop attacking until targets in range move or die
(Frostbat) Freezes targets
(Bilebat) Targets are slowed
(Thunderbat) Attack can chain to 2 additional nearby targets
Weight: Light
Rift Value: 1
Coin Value: 20
-- Fire Babies --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Stops when attacking
Does not stop attacking until targets in range move or die
Weight: Light
Rift Value: 1
Coin Value:
--------------- (8.8) MAGES - Cyclops Mage and Hobgoblin Shaman ---------------
-- Cyclops Mages --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second
Behavior: Attacks player-associated creatures enroute to rift
Stops when attacking
Does not stop attacking until targets in range move or die
Drops Coin (100) when killed
Weight: Heavy
Rift Value: ???
Coin Value:
-- Hobgoblin Shaman --
Movement speed: 1 tile/second
Behavior: Does not attack unless charmed or rift path is blocked
Revives nearby dead enemies
Follows behind other enemies unless only other Shamans remain
Weight: Heavy
Rift Value: 1
Coin Value: 75
===============================================================================
======= (9.0) WAVE DATA - All maps, War Mage and Nightmare difficulties =======
===============================================================================
All wave data was obtained by simply playing through the level and recording
the type and numbers of enemies as they appeared. The exact numbers of "horde"
enemies (Orcs, Kobolds, and fliers) is not recorded (assume a group of 5 to 20)
but all others are noted. Due to the method of collection, I can only speak
with ~90% accuracy on levels with 2 or more distant spawns. If you see any
errors, please inform me of it and I will confirm and correct.
About notation used (example):
-1st: Orcs + Ogre x1...
-2nd: Orcs + Gnoll Hunter x2...
This indicates that the first set of enemies will be a group of Orcs and an
Ogre. After a noticable pause, more Orcs and 2 Gnolls spawn. The time between
sets of enemies isn't exact, but this should be enough of a general indication.
When enemies are grouped together by +'s, assume the order of their appearance
doesn't matter. For example, Orcs, Ogre, and more Orcs would simply be Orcs +
Ogre x1.
Directions given (left door, right door) assume YOUR left/right as you face
the spawn. If (each) is given, then the set of enemies is spawned twice, one
for each spawn.
*Endless has 101 pre-set wave patterns but collecting the relevant information
*"by hand" is beyond my current skill/patience level.
*Waves on Apprentice difficulty will not be recorded at this time
When looking for a specific level, search for the level's name and (WMs) for
War Mage single, (NMs) for Nightmare single, and replace "c" for "s" for co-op.
--------------------- (9.1) Story (War Mage, single) --------------------------
-- The Edge (WMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: Orcs
2nd: Orcs
Wave 2:
1st: Orcs
2nd: Orcs
3rd: Orcs
Wave 3:
1st: Orcs
2nd: Orcs
3rd: Orcs
4th: Orcs
GO BREAK
Wave 4:
1st: Orcs
2nd: Orcs
3rd: Orcs
4th: Orcs
-- Tunnels (WMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: (Left) Orcs
2nd: (Left) Orcs
3rd: (Left) Orcs
Wave 2:
1st: (Right) Orcs
2nd: (Right) Orcs
3rd: (Right) Orcs
Wave 3:
1st: (Left) Orcs
2nd: (Both) Orcs
3rd: (Both) Orcs
4th: (Right) Orcs
GO BREAK
Wave 4:
1st: (Left) Orcs
2nd: (Left) Orcs + Earth Elemental x1
(Right) Orcs
3rd: (Right) Orcs
4th: (Left) Orcs
5th: (Right) Orcs + Earth Elemental x1
6th: (Left) Orcs
Wave 5:
1st: (Left) Orcs
2nd: (Left) Orcs + Earth Elemental x1
(Right) Orcs
3rd: (Both) Orcs
4th: (Both) Orcs
5th: (Right) Orcs + Earth Elemental x1
--------------------- (9.2) Story (War Mage, co-op) ---------------------------
*To be added*
--------------------- (9.3) Story (Nightmare, single) -------------------------
*To be added*
--------------------- (9.4) Story (Nightmare, co-op) --------------------------
*To be added*
--------------------- (9.5) Classic (War Mage, single) ------------------------
*To be added*
--------------------- (9.6) Classic (War Mage, co-op) -------------------------
*To be added*
--------------------- (9.7) Classic (Nightmare, single) -----------------------
-- Lunch Break (NMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: (Top) Orcs
2nd: (Top) Orcs
Wave 2:
1st: (Top) Orcs + Crossbows
2nd: (Top) Gnoll Hunter x2
Wave 3:
1st: (Both) Orcs
Wave 4:
1st: (Top) Orcs
(Bottom) Orcs + Crossbows
2nd: (Both) Kobolds
Wave 5:
1st: (Top) Orcs
(Bottom) Kobolds
2nd: (Top) Crossbows
(Bottom) Gnoll Hunter x1
3rd: (Top) Orcs + Gnoll Hunter x1
Wave 6:
1st: (Both) Orcs
2nd: (Bottom) Crossbows
3rd: (Both) Orcs
Wave 7:
1st: (Top) Orcs + Kobolds
(Bottom) Orcs
2nd: (Top) Orcs
(Bottom) Orcs + Kobolds
3rd: (Top) Mountain Troll x1
(Bottom) Ogre x1
Wave 8:
1st: (Both) Orcs
2nd: (Both) Orcs
(Top) Kobolds
3rd: (Top) Ogre x1
(Bottom) Kobolds + Mountain Troll x2
4th: (Bottom) Orcs
Wave 9:
1st: (Top) Orcs
(Bottom) Orcs + Kobolds
2nd: (Top) Orcs
3rd: (Both) Orcs
4th: (Top) Mountain Troll x1
(Bottom) Orcs + Ogre x1
-- Finale (NMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: (North, left door) Orcs
2nd: (North, right door) Orcs + Fire Ogre x1
Wave 2:
1st: (East, right door) Orcs + Kobolds
2nd: (East, right door) Sappers
3rd: (East, left door) Orcs + Sappers
(East, right door) Orcs
4th: (East, left door) Kobolds
Wave 3:
1st: (South, both doors) Orcs
2nd: (South, both doors) Crossbows + Gnoll Grenadier x2 (each)
Wave 4:
1st: (West, both doors) Orcs + Troll x1 (each)
2nd: (West, both doors) Swamp Troll x1 (each)
Wave 5:
1st: (South, left door) Frost Ogre x2
(South, right door) Fire Ogre x2
2nd: (South, left door) Crossbows + Frost Ogre x2
(South, right door) Crossbows + Fire Ogres x2
Wave 6:
1st: (North, left door) Kobolds + Gnoll Hunter x2
2nd: (North, right door) Kobolds
3rd: (East, left door) Sappers + Gnoll Hunter x1
4th: (East, right door) Sappers + Gnoll Hunter x1
5th: (South, left door) Sappers + Gnoll Hunter x1
6th: (South, right door) Sappers + Gnoll Hunter x1
Wave 7:
1st: (All 4 directions, left door) Orcs
Wave 8:
1st: (East/South, right door) Crossbows + Gnoll Hunter x1 + Cyclops Mage x1
2nd: (East/South, right door) Orcs + Cyclops Mage x2
Wave 9:
1st: (North, both doors) Orcs
2nd: (North, both doors) Armored Ogre x1 (each)
3rd: (North, both doors) Orcs
4th: (North, both doors) Armored Ogre x1 (each)
Wave 10:
1st: (North, left door) Kobolds
2nd: (North, both doors) Sappers
3rd: (North, right doors) Kobolds
4th: (South, left door) Sappers
5th: (South, left door) Kobolds
(South, right door) Sappers + Fire Ogre x1
Wave 11:
1st: (All 4 directions, left door): Crossbows + Cyclops Mage x1 (each)
2nd: (West/East, right door) Frost Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2 (each)
Wave 12:
1st: (North, left door) Fire Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2
2nd: (North, right door) Fire Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2
3rd: (East, left door) Armored Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2
4th: (East, right door) Armored Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2
5th: (South, left door) Frost Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2
6th: (South, right door) Frost Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2
7th: (West, both doors) Armored Ogre x1 + Hobgoblin Shaman x2 (each)
---------------------- (9.8) Classic (Nightmare, co-op) -----------------------
*To be added*
---------------- (9.9) DLC: Fire and Water (War Mage, single) -----------------
-- Traffic Jammed (WMs)
Wave 1:
1st: (South) Orcs + Fire Elemental x2
Wave 2:
1st: (North) Orcs + Fire Elemental x2
Wave 3:
1st: (Both) Kobolds + Fire Elemental x2 (each)
GO BREAK
Wave 4:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
Wave 5:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Crossbows + Fire Lord x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
Wave 6:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
GO BREAK
Wave 7:
1st: (Both) Kobolds
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
Wave 8:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
Wave 9:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
4th: (Both) Fire Lord x2 (each)
-- Double Decker (WMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: (South) Waterling x4 + Gnoll Hunter x1
Wave 2:
1st: (South) Orcs + Waterling x4
(North) Orcs + Waterling x2
2nd: (North) Orcs + Gnoll Hunter x1 + Waterling x2
Wave 3:
1st: (South) Orcs + Waterling x2
(North) Orcs + Waterling x2
2nd: (South) Waterling x4
(North) Orcs + Waterling x2
GO BREAK
Wave 4:
1st: (South) Crossbows + Ogre x1 + Waterling x2
(North) Orcs + Waterling x3
2nd: (South) Waterling x4
(North) Orcs + Waterling x3
Wave 5:
1st: (South) Orcs + Waterling x2
(North) Crossbows + Ogre x1
2nd: (South) Waterling x4 + Gnoll Hunter x1
(North) Orcs + Waterling x3 + Gnoll Hunter x1
Wave 6:
1st: (South) Orcs + Crossbows
(North) Orcs + Waterling x3
2nd: (South) Waterling x4
(North) Crossbows
3rd: (South) Waterling x4
(North) Orcs + Waterling x3
GO BREAK
Wave 7:
1st: (South) Orcs + Crossbows
(North) Orcs
2nd: (South) Waterling x4 + Crossbows
(North) Orcs + Waterling x4
3rd: (South) Orcs + Waterling x4
Wave 8:
1st: (South) Orcs + Crossbows + Waterling x4
(North) Orcs + Waterling x2
2nd: (South) Waterling x6
(North) Orcs + Waterling x2
Wave 9:
1st: (South) Ogre x1 + Orcs
(North) Orcs + Waterling x3 + Ogre x1
2nd: (South) Waterling x6
(North) Orcs + Waterling x5
-- The West Wing (WMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: (South, left door) Orcs + Waterling x2
(South, right door) Orcs + Waterling x3
Wave 2:
1st: (South, fliers) Frostbats
2nd: (South, right door) Fire Elemental x2
(South, fliers) Thunderbats
-3rd: (South, left door) Fire Elemental x2
(South, fliers) Frostbats
Wave 3:
1st: (North) Orcs
2nd: (North) Orcs + Waterling x2
GO BREAK
Wave 4:
1st: (North) Orcs
(South, fliers) Thunderbats
(South, right door) Waterling x2
2nd: (North) Orcs + Waterling x2
(South, fliers) Thunderbats
3rd: (North) Orcs + Waterling x2
Wave 5:
1st: (South, right door) Fire Elemental x2 + Fire Lord x1
2nd: (South, left door) Fire Elemental x2 + Fire Lord x2
(South, fliers) Thunderbats
3rd: (South, both doors) Kobolds
Wave 6:
1st: (South, left door) Fire Elemental x3 + Orcs
(South, right door) Waterling x3 + Orcs
(South, fliers) Frostbats
(North) Orcs + Waterling x2
2nd: (South, left door) Fire Elemental x4
(South, right door) Waterling x4
GO BREAK
Wave 7:
1st: (South, both doors) Fire Lord x2 (each)
2nd: (South, both doors) Kobolds
3rd: (North) Fire Elemental x2, Fire Lord x1
(South, both doors) Kobolds
Wave 8:
1st: (South, left door) Fire Lord x2
(South, right door) Fire Lord x1
(South, fliers) Thunderbats
2nd: (South, right door) Fire Lord x1
(South, fliers) Frostbats
3rd: (South, fliers) Thunderbats
4th: (South, fliers) Frostbats
Wave 9:
1st: (South, both doors) Orcs
(North) Orcs
2nd: (South, both doors) Fire Lord x1 (each)
3rd: (North) Fire Lord x1, Waterling x2
(South, both doors) Waterling x4 (each)
4th: (North) Orcs
(South, both doors) Orcs
GO BREAK
Wave 10:
1st: (South, left door) Orcs + Fire Lord x1
(South, right door) Orcs + Waterling x2
2nd: (North) Orcs + Waterling x2
(South, left door) Orcs + Waterling x2
(South, right door) Orcs + Fire Lord x1
3rd: (South, left door) Orcs + Fire Lord x1
(South, right door) Orcs + Waterling x2
Wave 11:
1st: (South, left door) Fire Lord x1
(South, right door) Waterling x3
(South, fliers) Frostbats
(North) Orcs
2nd: (South, left door) Fire Lord x2
(South, right door) Waterling x5
(North) Orcs
3rd: (South, left door) Fire Elemental x2 + Fire Lord x1
(South, right door) Waterling x7
(South, fliers) Thunderbats
(North) Orcs + Kobolds + Waterling x3
4th: (South, left door) Fire Elemental x3 + Fire Lord x1
(South, right door) Waterling x9
---------------- (9.10) DLC: Fire and Water (War Mage, co-op) -----------------
*To be added*
--------------- (9.11) DLC: Fire and Water (Nightmare, single) ----------------
-- Traffic Jammed (NMs) --
Wave 1:
1st: (South) Orcs + Fire Elemental x2 + Fire Lord x1
Wave 2:
1st: (North) Orcs + Fire Elemental x2
Wave 3:
1st: (Both) Kobolds + Fire Elemental x2 + Fire Lord x1 (each)
Wave 4:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x2 (each)
Wave 5:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Crossbows + Fire Lord x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x2 (each)
Wave 6:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 + Fire Lord x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
Wave 7:
1st: (Both) Kobolds
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 + Fire Lord x1 (each)
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
Wave 8:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 + Fire Lord x1 (each)
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
Wave 9:
1st: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 (each)
2nd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Elemental x1 + Fire Lord x1 (each)
3rd: (Both) Orcs + Fire Lord x2 (each)
4th: (Both) Fire Lord x2 (each)
--------------- (9.12) DLC: Fire and Water (Nightmare, co-op) -----------------
*To be added*
===============================================================================
====================== (10.0) COPYRIGHT / CONTACT INFO ========================
===============================================================================
Copyright 2012 Edalborez (Matthew Halverson)
This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private
use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly
without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or
as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of
copyright.
-- Credits --
-Robot Entertainment for creating the game and its predecessor.
-Various users on Robot Entertainment's official forums (including but not
limited to: Fryedegg, Nananea, WarDrake, and Rogotin) and community
representatives for sharing strategy and game mechanics information testing
with the community, some of which has been incorporated into this work.
-- Contact Information --
If you wish to use this guide or an element of it as part of your own work,
please send an email with "Orcs Must Die 2" as the subject line to
zeroblade@comcast.net
If you have a correction or addition to make to the guide, here are a few ways
to get in contact, in order of preference
-Send me a private message on GameFAQs
-Send me a message on Steam (Edalborez)
-Sent an email (listed above, please put "Orcs Must Die 2" in the subject line)
