Quick Runs and Story mode Pochette questions

[TimeBound]

So in Story Mode, I just unlocked Pouchette yesterday, and manged to find the last needed part, the Robot Body for CR-8 during my Campaign Trail challenge, glad my build turned out to be good enough for that stupid amount of health Grandmaster that I ran into on my first time down in Magma Core.

So I've yet to do CR-8's tutorial challenge to learn about how to use him, what's the easiest challenge for Pouchette, since my attempt to see what Pouchette could do went bad on just the first two battles in the Reaper challenge.

I'm not really impressed with the artifical difficulty for Pouchette, her Pets don't heal automatically after each battle, and she magically starts the run with 2 Energy per battle, instead of 3 like everyone else minus CR-8 anyway. Does Pouchette have any challenges that end after Area 2 by any chance? I'd like to avoid having to make a build for Pouchette during a run to clear Area 2, only to find myself moving on to Area 3, and getting slaughtered because I'd passed on something that I might have been able to use in Area 3.

And during Quick run mode, when do the Quick Runs themselves Is it the full three/Areas Acts per character end for each Quick Run Acheveiement?

Als I have like 14 Lost Sparks, I've yet to unlock the Frozen Heart key, but as you can see by the number i don't need to fret about Lost Sparks. What can I use them for other than the random other challenges for Pouchette and CR-8? And yes I've used the 1 Lost Spark needed to make CR-8 active already.

Also what was with the Health spike from the 2nd boss, to the 3rd boss? I went from Enchanted Swamp as Purse to Magma Core that had the boss being Grandmaster with 100 temporary block first turn, and like 720 or was it 770 health? Thankfully he died without summoning more enemies to his aid.

And the Frozen Core is supped to be worse overall apparently for enemies, their poison, as well as the bosses.

[TimeBound]

I believe I read somewhere that I ONLY need to get past the boss of Frozen heart twice, once to unlock the Beacon blueprint that's needed for True Ending or whatever you can call it, and to complete 1 Run/Challenge with each character, is that correct?

[desolation0]

Starting out it's good to think of the pets as either the weapon or the shield depending which you take. Pochette takes on the other role. Pochette starts with two energy because the pets supply the third, fourth, and eventually fifth energy points to use on their own abilities, besides the two who put extra energy into Pochette. Like every other character, you ideally want to avoid all damage, both to you and the pets, while still hitting the enemy. Health is a resource pool that won't always be topped off unless you're doing especially well.

Personally I always run the first blocker pet that gives the 1 energy to Pochette each round. That energy bumps you to the normal 3 points per round, and when you've got a buffed attacker pet or good weapon you can put that energy wherever you want rather than having to buff each pet you want to attack with individually.

The zero cost to summon also enables bouncing builds for Pochette, where you play them each turn to generate block/haste onto another pet or Pochette. Combined with the pet that does fire when a pet is summoned for an easy combo. The legendary that causes sleep when summoned is an instant win.

[Bob April]

Extra Lost Sparks - they're pretty useless, but Matthew will still take them after you've unlocked all the areas and the few other things that require them. It doesn't really give you any benefit, but it DOES take them out of your "in-town" backpack.

Frozen Heart - you don't actually have to go there EVER, or even unlock it, though I personally find it easier than Magma Core for most situations. (CR-8, Satchel, and Archery builds are the main exceptions, because the Polar Bear ice hazards tend to block necessary items or empty space on those.) You have to beat EITHER third area (Frozen Heart OR Magma Core) once to prove you can with each hero, and again to rescue Louis and get into the fourth area. If you haven't already been down there with the other four heroes before you rescue Louis, you'll have to go a third time with Purse to unlock the fourth area.

Grandmaster's massive health is balanced by his frequent rest breaks. I generally find him easier to beat than King and his annoying anger issues.

[Bob April]

As for Pochette's missions - no, all of her Story Mode missions are full, three-area runs. I just finished a guide that may or may not be visible yet. If it isn't, apparently you can get to it through my profile. But it has the full list of missions for all the heroes in Story Mode. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3457379726

[TimeBound]

So I managed like yesterday or the day before to get to and clear Magma Core with Pouchette, she's the only one I've gotten to floor 9 and then clearing the boss. I literally just made the Beacon, after doing the Wiring Tutorial with CR-8.

So you're saying I have to clear floor 9 with each character? So it doesn't HAVE to be Frozen Heart, I can just ignore that zone? And can I go find Louis and fight Disorder in a single Run as Purse, while traveling through Magma Core after clearing floor 9 and it's boss with each character before doing so with Purse?

[TimeBound]

Also does each character's Easy Mode mean I can use that mission to clear the path to floor 9 boss slightly easier for each character? Or does some characters clear conditions end on Area 2? And now I need to look on the Bounty Board for CR-8's Easy Mode now.

[Bob April]

All correct. You can actually complete the story without even OPENING Frozen Heart, and yes, an Easy Mode run that gets you all the way down to Floor 9 AND where you beat that boss counts.

I didn't have trouble with CR-8 - as long as I can get three corners and a Heat Switch to set up a loop, I can generally beat anybody. But if you have trouble with Tote, try Matthew's Item Set (there's only one for Tote), then look for all the Saps you can get, especially defensive (block or dodge). If you can find a Wiz Buckler, that helps a lot, too.

[TimeBound]

So I did my Campaign Trail challenge with Purse, cleared it while getting Pouchette final fight, and Robot Body.

I then did Pouchette to Magma Core, cleared it. Then did the CR-8 Wiring Tutorial, then made the Beacon. I then did Satchel with Instruments to Magma Core, cleared that as well. I then did CR-8, I struggled a bit, got to Magma Core and found King, got slaughted because I apparently didn't have enough damage and block, even though I was doing 40 something in damage and getting 55 block a turn, with a Shield Spirit Relic, and Humble Offering. I quit it to start over.

I cheesed it with Belt of Knives, thankfully it worked. When I got back to Havensack Hill, Mathew cam up and talked to me about how King would come back endlessly. He also said that you FIVE have gone deeper than he ever have. Biut you need to go deeper to the corruption to cure the Dungeon of it.

Is this my conversation marker saying the Door to the Deepest level is going to be open when I get there with Purse again? Because I've only cleared the Floor 9 runs with everyone now except for Tote so far. Her Mosy Mace is good, I just don't know about how I'm supposed to build her carvings for getting and clearing Floor 9's boss, especially if it ends up being King again? Maybe if I could find a phyiscal shield with Tote on my run that isn't a Swamp Buckler?

So to the Final Boss, I was thinking if I could get Double Poison Potion and dupe it with Coral, I could then use it for Floor 9 Boss if needed, and also the Final Bosss.

So during Phase 1, does the boss deal Poison damage during that stage? If I just dump my Double Poison Potions onto them on Turn 1, will they purge it during the change to Phase 2? I know I'll need 7 minimum to kill them in a reasonable amount of time.

1. +3 x2 equals 6
2. 6+3 x2 equals 18
3. 18+3 x2 equals 42
4. 42+3 x2 equals 90
5. 90+3 x2 equals 186
6. 186+3 x2 equals 378
7. 378+3 x2 equals 764
If this is all correct, and that's only the Double Poison Potion itself.

Sorry to beat a dead horse over and over again with asking about the same question over and over again, but I'm kinda feeling zapped, with the needless grind it feels like to me right now at least.

So for my Tote run, I'd think I'd take the Mossy Mace item set, farm boss 1 for Reversal Hourglass, then farm boss 2 for Ice Cream, and then hope that Magma Core isn't King as the Boss I end up with? I pretty much completely focus only on gathering Oak hatchets and Acorn Caps for that build.

[Bob April]

Originally posted by TimeBound:

Is this my conversation marker saying the Door to the Deepest level is going to be open when I get there with Purse again?

I thought it was, but you said you haven't made it with Tote yet. Go talk to Constance, the NPC who gave you blueprints for the Beacon. She'll give you a hero-by-hero rundown of which have made it and which have not.

Originally posted by TimeBound:

Because I've only cleared the Floor 9 runs with everyone now except for Tote so far. Her Mosy Mace is good, I just don't know about how I'm supposed to build her carvings for getting and clearing Floor 9's boss, especially if it ends up being King again?

I really think that the Mossy Mace set plus Saps is the way to go. Get all the Acorn Saps and Vine Saps you can, and add in damage saps (especially Sunsaps and Root Saps which stack poison and burn) in smaller numbers. Save as many Manastones as you have room for in hopes of getting a Wiz Buckler. Second best is a Wooden Buckler, but that requires you to leave a column open, which means it maxes out at 21 shield per energy. Whichever shield you get, forge it to make it Natural, and then - this is the key - NEVER TOSS ITEMS. That's why you want saps - they remove themselves into the discard pile where they boost Mossy Mace damage. Once you get enough saps to reliably get shielding and dodges, start getting rid of the Acorn Caps. Then just keep collecting saps - the more the better, because each turn they'll make your discard pile larger and your mace more effective. The shield - whichever it is - is just there for emergencies, when the RNG puts your short on blocking saps.

With this build, your relic priorities are Spare Glasses and Reverse Hourglass. Wasp Honey isn't bad, and Mortar can help in the 2nd area, where you might still have some Acorn Caps to clear out. For other items...as few as possible. Animated Textbook and Pot Carvings can help you get more saps in your hand. If you've got enough room for them without messing up your basic sap-based strategy, Sun Card, Wooden Shiv, and Thorn Shiv can get played into your backpack and then just sit there, getting stronger every turn while not taking any energy. Green Hearts are your preferred healing items, since they also remove themselves. Keep those to a minimum, though, as they tale up space in your hand that you need for more saps.

This build is very Frozen Core-friendly. You should have a fair amount of room to place ice hazards. You can even put them on top of your manastones - they will keep you from using the mana for your Annotated Textbook, but they will NOT reduce the effectiveness of your Wiz Buckler, as long as you don't place the ice right next to the Buckler, breaking the connection.

One last tip - don't forget that you can link up to five saps at once. Play two next to each other, then another two next to each other but one space away from the first pair, then the last one between the two pair to activate and remove all five at once. (You can do more, theoretically up to nine - but anything more than five you could do as two separate sets, so there's no point.)

If King is giving you problems, I strongly suggest you open up the Frozen Core and thus avoid him entirely. But the key to beating him is getting lots of burn or poison on him, and hitting him as few times as possible to keep his Rage down to reasonable numbers.

[TimeBound]

Ok, Tote is now done, I managed to find a Buckle minigame and snagged a Willow Shield carving from the minigame for the block and energy. After a few saps I cleared 3 of the 4 Acorn Caps from my deck. Then I also cleared the Oak Hatchet from my Deck. I also got lucky enough to snag a Token of Energy from a Wheel minigame. Then I grabbed a Disgusting Food, a Cool Drink, and a Overgrown Axe after the 2nd Boss, and before the 3rd Boss.

It wasn't the Dark Lady thankfully, since she apparently has a Transision phase. So with Farseerer, I toook m Cool Drink, used my 2 Acdicic potions, empied my Energy with Mossy Mace which was 8 or 9 at the time since I used Mossy Carving for some Health, and then dropped from 83 Gold to 25 Gold to Kill Farseerer first Turn, thank you Easy Mode.

I guess I should run with Purse now, Constance only comments about Louis right now, since I haven't been down there yet since Building the Beacon. Hopefully I can just automatically go into the final section of the Dungeon now. Now I just need to sit at the start farming for Coral Relic, then farm for Double Poison Potion on 1st or maybe 2nd Floor.

[TimeBound]

Ok, and done with the Defeat Disorder achievement, had to drop my Ice Cream on Floor 2 of Frozen Heart, if not for my Swamp Buckler, my Large heart Ring with +1 Regen, my Tilted Sword, and Shield Spirit. I also managed to get a shield that wasn't a Sweaty Shield, a Knight's Shield on that floor.

The Frozen Heart Boss was Poisoned to Death, thank you Double Poison Potions. The Door was able to be opened, and Disorder was Double Poison Potioned to death as well. Thankfully, because my armor was poor, between a Right Glove, and a Shoe Hat that gave me 12 block a turn, it was poor as you can imagine. Though I did get the Story Mode Credits bug.

All I have left now is the Quick Run achievements, and the Hardmode one as well.

Thanks for your help.