The non-guide guide to Bumbo the Dead

[JudorneEdward]

So let me preface by saying this is the first guide I've made for anything. I'm not confident enough with my guide writing yet to actually put this in guides, so it is a non-guide guide. I'm writing this because I've noticed people having trouble with Bumbo the Dead and I've never lost a run with him (Admittedly only done 7 runs with him), so I Figured I should offer my knowledge somewhere. See... Bumbo the dead is what we call Secretly OP. But, before we understand why, we need to understand something else first.... so time to explain game basics.

So, there are actually 2 methods to getting groups of 7 in legend of bumbo. Yes, a 7 in a row works, but there is something easier to do and harder to spot. Due to screen wrap, it's arguably easier to set it up so that you have 2 intersecting 4 in a rows. Those are what you'll need to focus on... and the first floors give you enough time to practice this. Whether you should be going for this immediately though, is arguable. You'll be wanting to make 7 of brown, yellow, or green mana first. Yellow for obvious reasons.... Brown and green allow you multiple turns to do the rest... but... let's rewind a bit.

So I mentioned there was an easy way to make those 7s... now, I may later come back and edit this post with pictures, but for now... Let's just try to explain things as best we can. You're going to be wanting up a screen wrap where there are 3 of a mana type on one side and 1 on the other. (Or 2 and 2) As soon as you would undo the screenwrap, it would be a 4 in a row. You'll also need to set up a vertical column where it is 1 away from being a 4 in a row vertically. That vertical column cannot be on the first or last column though, because otherwise the screenwrap is impossible. At that point, you just drag the screenwrap into the slot and boom. it counts as a 7 of a kind. I'll becalling this the cross 7 for sake of differentiating things.

But wait, before you do that, there are 3 things we need to talk about. Positioning, patience, and the attack fly. I'll start with the most important.

So about the attack fly. NEVER GET RID OF IT. But also, never use it... well, almost never. You may be confused, but let me explain. That is your attack spell. If you get another attack spell, yeah, you can ditch attack fly, but otherwise don't. You'll need it in case there are enemies that are immune to puzzle damage, but otherwise using the attack fly is mostly a waste of your time. If it kills the last enemy in the room... great. do it. no penalty. Otherwise, it uses up your precious mana, and sort of kills your infinite combo of moves. And believe me... I do mean infinite. If you use Bumbo the dead right, the enemy may never get a chance to move.

That brings us to our next topic: Patience. This isn't going to be a short run. Not something easy to speedrun. Every room is going to just be a brainscratcher, but it will all be worth it when you win the entire thing without ever taking damage. (done this twice before... but it doesn't happen every time) Before you go and get your 7 in a rows, you'll want to build up the limited mana you have. Don't use your 1 move for stuff that could easily be done with your mana moves.... unless you don't have the mana to make those moves. Keep an eye on your mana at all times. If something has reached 0, then make a play to refill that type of mana. repeat this process until you have around 5 of every mana type, just to be safe. Only then should you look for those 7 in a rows. It's very easy to misjudge how many moves it takes, so the more mana you have at this point, the better. Even then, make sure you plan all your moves out in advance before you make a single play toward making a 7 of a kind.

So now to talk about Positioning. Going back to what I said about the cross 7. If you have no moves left, you need that column to be the 4th column. That's because you'll be moving the horizontal screenwrap line in 1 space at a time, and you don't want either the horizontal or vertical line to go off before the other one happens. They need to happen at the same time, oh, and if you're lucky enough to have moves left at this point, it's even more important that you pay attention to positioning. You'll have a choice of 4 positions to put that horizontal 4 in a row in, and you need to make sure you're setting up for your next play in the process, so don't just take any positioning, be sure to think about which option you take before you take it.

Okay, so with all that out of the way, Let's talk about actual gameplay.... It essentially amounts to building up your mana then pulling off a bunch of 7 in a rows when opportunities arise. During the first floors, you'll be able to take multiple turns to set up, because the enemies don't attack often. Use the extra turns if you must, but... pretend they don't exist. Practice clearing every room without letting the enemy take a turn. It's best to practice now than to wait until that actually is the case, because later on enemies will be be taking multiple moves a turn, so you might only get one turn later.

So, already bumbo the dead is a bit OP but... When you get to an item room... you're going to be wanting to grab movement gaining stuff. That's the only thing you need to be extremely OP actually. If you have one of these, and it has a charge of 3, skip spinning the stat wheel. 7 yellows recharges to charges of something, so if you get 7 yellows in a row, you can immediately recharge anything with 2 or less charges... and if those give you more moves, then that's even better. If, however, something has 3 charges, you need to spend some coin to bring that down to 2 charges.

To sum up the later stages... The walls of poop from getting 7 poop in one go give you multiple extra turns, the green mana covers every enemy and gives you multiple extra turns. You essentially need to play defensively to give you enough time to go infinite, and then you're golden. It's quite easy when you get used to it. And don't hesitate to only get 6 yellow in a row if you can't get 7. That's still extra moves to set up that defensive wall of poop, replenish your colors of mana, or just cover everyone in green goo. Once you get to Halls, you'll need to use your attack fly every once in awhile, as some enemies there are immune to puzzle damage, but make sure to set up your defenses first. Against bosses, always go for 7 poop or 7 green mana first, just to be safe. That... about covers what I can think of to talk about here. I may come back and add more later, but hopefully this guide is helpful. I'm sorry the last part was a bit short. Got called away so had to rush it. Will probably edit in more information later, but hopefully this is enough to help people in the right direction when it comes to Bumbo the Dead.

Now... I originally ended this guide here, but.... I think something important has been brought up that I should cover. Quite a few things actually. So, here are a few tips for stumbling blocks for Bumbo the Dead.

Bosses. I'm just gonna cover them all in a lump here.

Loaf: your biggest worry here is the fact that he'll obscure your tiles. This makes it hard to make combos... and even though just moving a row unobscures what is on that row, that still requires more moves. There is, however a simple solution. You need to understand how this boss functions. When hit, he obscures tiles and when he runs over his little minions he obscures tiles. You're going to want to goo him up with Boogers. He only has 2 actions, so this will severely slow him down. As for hitting him. If you're good enough, you can hit him with a light shot, clear up most of the covered tiles, and in the process gain more mana to rinse and repeat. DO NOT use the attack fly on him. Even if you have the mana to do so, just don't. It could easily screw you if you're struggling here since it constantly attacks him, and thus will continually obscure tiles. With enough practice, this boss is easy. Just remember to get 7 of a kind poop if you feel you may have issues.

The Duke: Just treat him as your average room. Hitting him doesn't give you any sort of response. This boss is super easy to take out first turn.

Dusk: Okay. Real talk. Every time I see this boss on a Bumbo the Dead run, I panic a bit. Bad experiences. 7 poop in a row helps, but isn't actually enough. You need to make sure you're playing as defensive and well as possible here. If he gets up close, he can easily get 2 attacks off on you in a turn, and this tears through even a 3 high poop quickly. Keep him back, and use your Boogers to slow him down. He may take a little life from you, but you should be able to take him down easily As tempting as it is, don't use your attack fly. You'll need your mana for other moves

Shy Gals: Okay, so I feel like a broken record here but... 7 poop in a row and 7 Boogers in a row. Combine those two and you should be able to ensure victory. Attack fly CAN help, but only use it if you know you have enough mana. It's best to clear this before they have a chance to move, but if you can't, additional tip: Stack as much Boogers on the real one as possible. She won't teleport back immediately. I also think that attack fly locks onto the real one, but not sure. Don't quote me on that. Also, if you have a way of poisoning, the poison stays on the real one and makes it easy to figure out which is real... but that barely matters. 7 of a kind bone and a few other attacks makes quick work of this boss.

Gibs: Wait. who is Gibs again? Let me look it up and.... oh. oh yeah. um... So bad news. I've never actually faced Gibs as Bumbo the Dead... so I can only guess at the strategy.... but um... 7 of a kind snot and 7 of a kind poop? The usual defensive plays? I don't... think... gibs has anything too threatening. In fact, I think that if you have him wrapped up in boogers, he won't be able to summon defensive creatures when you hit him. This makes Gibs rather easy, in theory. Booger him once, then go for 7 of a kind bones is the general strategy, but again, before going for any sort of 7 of a kind, build up your mana first.

Sangre: Probably the hardest of the bosses to deal with, as boogering him keeps his heart closed. Still worth doing to stall for time if you need it though. Definitely go for the 7 of a kind poop setup first. (Will add more here soon as I think of it)

Pyre:HA! Does Pyre even KNOW who he's messing with? Bumbo the dead. In gathering mana so you can make moves, you'll just accidentally knock down the shield. This boss is essentially a no need to try type boss for BtD, but if you are having issues... remember the general rule. 7 of a kind Boogers, 7 of a kind poop

Peeper: Relatively easy, but keep the general poop and booger defenses up. same as before.

Gizzarda: Hoo boy... Okay, so remember that attack fly I said to never use? You're gonna need it here most likely. Gizzarda switches forms between weak to puzzle damage and weak to attack damage.... so for once, the fly is needed. If you got rid of the attack fly.... I'm afraid I can't help you. Well... unless you replaced it with another attack option. Anyway, be sure to set up 7 of a kind shield first. before you do anything else. Depending on which side it switches to, it will either shoot at you after switching, or summon an attack fly when switching... and you don't want to be caught off-guard.

And finally....

Bygone: This boss... has a unique and fun setup that you can do. But don't think this means it is easy. By now though, you're good enough where you can go infinite anytime you want, hopefully... but here's a fun tip. Skip the last part of this boss fight entirely. Just... Set it up so when it summons the ghost, you can do a 7 in a row bones and that's an instant win. Otherwise, just remember poop wall and plenty of boogers will get you far.

Okay, so that's it for bosses. Sorry if it all seemed sort of repetitive, but.... yeah. it just works out like that. If I figure out any more boss tips I'll add that, but.... I have some other things I want to cover.

By the time you get around to playing bumbo the dead, it is likely you'll have hit the point where everything becomes harder... This means less money. Oftentimes the stat wheel isn't worth it unless you can get movement from it. Focus on reducing the charges of skills that would increase your movement... and maybe play the cup game a few times for trinkets. Trinkets really help.... Just... unless the stat wheel has movement, it's my opinion that there are better uses for your money.

If bosses or other enemies are spewing too many curses, just... match them up and take the damage. You're seeking to go infinite with bumbo the dead anyway, so it's not like you have any plans of taking much damage.

Special thanks to eskatonia for bringing up this next point. KNOW YOUR ENEMIES! Some enemies have mana drain when you attack them or when they attack... and I'm sure that you can guess already, but mana drain for Bumbo the Dead is DEADLY. Although, funnily enough, the other curse enemies can put on you, BtD is essentially immune to. It can't -1 move to BtD when BtD only has 1 move. Game won't allow it.

I could probably put a list of stuff that helps BtD... Trinkets and whatnot, but... I feel that in a way, not listing them is smarter since you never know what you'll get in a run. In general though, anything that makes making 7 in a row easier or gives you extra mana or extra moves is worth it.

(Would update with pictures but can't figure out how to add pictures... only links. Stupid steam)

[JudorneEdward]

If anyone has any questions, or suggestions on things to add, please ask or suggest here. I'll update it as needed, and answer any questions I can.

[eskatonia]

Thanks this is useful. Had figured most of it out but didn't realise a cross 7 counted as a 7. I can usually get bumbo the dead to "go infinite" except the bosses that spew corn or curses mess me up, in that I can't "go infinfite" in time before they cover up too many tiles making matching much harder. How do you deal with those?

[eskatonia]

Also the enemies that mana drain you when they die are deadly to a run with BtD. Keep them slimed and kill them last. Another reason not to use attack fly in case it takes them out when you don't want to

Guide says "stamp" on the head mean mana drain on death but it looks more like a grey tiara to me. Also the "suck" enemies on the second chapter mana drain on their second attack. Plus the black blobbies in the basement mana drain you on every hit! Nasty

[JudorneEdward]

You bring up some valid points. This is part of why I posted it here instead of in guides. I knew I was forgetting some stuff. Yes. Mana drain enemies are deadly to BtD. Best way to deal with them is to either go infinite and kill them all immediately, or set up for a long grueling battle with plenty of green mana 7s and brown mana 7s to protect you while you slowly whittle them down. Spewing corn and curses is... thankfully not too hard to deal with in most cases... but sometimes the most simplistic answer is the most painful. For curses, sometimes you just need to make them in a row and take the damage. I'd actually reccomend going for 7 hearts in a row early on if you get the opportunity... Best way to do this is to kill all except 1 enemy in the first room, then stall until enough hearts come up... As for corn... is that the one where the enemy covers up tiles so you can't see what they are? If so, there's an easy solution. Once a row gets shifted one to the left or right, any covered tiles on that row will be uncovered. If that's not corn I'm thinking of, then please remind me what corn is.

[eskatonia]

Yeah the loaf boss spreads corn and they do vanish if you move the row but I've had it happen that I couldn't build up mana in time before he covered a third of the board and then once you have no mana on the spells for move right and down it's rapidly over.

The item that gives you 3 extra moves with a 3 recharge is really an essential for BtD, pretty much guarentees a win if you save that for the bosses.

Theres also a trinket lotus leaf that gives you 18 random mana one off usage, also a liefesaver for BtD

[JudorneEdward]

So, when it comes to Loaf, I believe that he mainly spreads corn upon being hit, and the more you hit him, the more corn he spreads. This leaves you with 2 options. One is easy, and one is hard. Either memorize the board or better yet screenshot the board... or if that seems too tough, take the battle slow. Keep loaf busy with the green mana and brown mana while you make a few extra moves to uncover the corn, then rinse and repeat.

Only reason I didn't list trinkets is I don't remember the name of all of them off the top of my head. I know there's a good one that causes more yellow mana to show up. I know there's another that makes it so you may gain extra moves and another where you may gain extra charges... but I feel that listing the effects would be a bit unprofessional, so I was thinking about looking into getting the names before I added that bit. Will probably play more bumbo tonight. I should be able to give my initial post an update then.

[JudorneEdward]

Guide has been updated. Oh, by the way, eskatonia, thanks for helping me realize where I missed some things in the guide.