Can't get invitations anymore!

[talino7]

I killed the baron, all the bosses have been dispatched for the different areas. I wan't to go for the viscount but no invitations left. I used my last one to start the quest and killed at least 6 gatekeeper in the court yard but no invites. I also killed at last another 5 in other areas but they are not dropping invites! Am I missing something? I don't want to keep redoing medium and long areas that I have done already.

[Original Gengar]

Invitations only drop from gatekeepers spawned by the courtyard curio, but outside of the courtyard area. The ones in normal corridor fights don't drop them, neither do the ones in the courtyard.

[RopeDrink]

You won't get any invitations from any DLC content of any description - only by defeating Gatekeepers in normal dungeons. Once infestation is at its highest (which increases the volume of CC-related encounters in normal dungeons), you'll end up swimming in a pile of invitations just by playing normally.

You don't have to interact with the bloody sacs -- in fact, I'd discourage it unless you're already walking around with a fully infected team -- which is double-discouraged because of the Fanatic.

[Original Gengar]

Rope is right, they do indeed spawn in normal corridor fights, the sacs just guarantee a Gatekeeper. And on second thought, he is also right in not bothering with them. By the time infection becomes a problem, you usually have enough invitations to cure your roster.

[Skinny Pete]

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

You don't have to interact with the bloody sacs -- in fact, I'd discourage it unless you're already walking around with a fully infected team -- which is double-discouraged because of the Fanatic.

Unless you've already eliminated him for this infestation cycle. Which you generally shouldn't bother doing unless you're playing some wacky full vampire roster strategy. Also you can bring a fully infected team to a boss fight or the Courtyard. Or Farmstead, but the need for Blood and the unpredictable behavior of Cursed heroes makes deep runs difficult.

[RopeDrink]

It should be verging on (or beyond) moderate or high infestation by the time he enters a cycle in most cases - so you can get plenty of invitations just derping about in any normal dungeons before even needing them for the first time. Thankfully, there's legitimately no reason to take on a Fanatic unless you just want to, and no reason to pop sacs unless you want to add more risk of unnecessary infections -- the only safe method being with an already infected team (re. not wise with Fanatic about).

Using the good ole 'patience' strat, it's not uncommon for people to start their first veteran CC mission when they already have 5 or more invitations (which is more than enough) and barely any infected heroes. Gives you all the time in the world to streamline the roster for the next tier long before you even need a cleanse for the first tier.

The first one (without speed mods) takes about an hour to complete from start to finish assuming you know the route - including the extra key/chest/croc. Best not to burn invitations willy-nilly with "I'll just use some herp-derp team and see how far I can get and dip if it goes sideways", though that is assuming people are playing with at least some knowledge rather than blind first attempts with no info.

Avoiding infection is a top priority as far as I'm concerned.

[Skinny Pete]

Originally posted by RopeDrink:

Avoiding infection is a top priority as far as I'm concerned.

And luckily, a strategy of killing the gatekeeper immediately, and preventing him from using his ridiculous attack where he runs away and summons more bloodsuckers, not only accomplishes this but gets you invitations.

[RopeDrink]

Indeed. Mosquitoes are one of the most annoying (even though they deviate from the gather blood attack once they've gotten a nibble). Fast but squishy, so probably the one's who'll catch you out.

Sycophants (or whatever - the stun-immune ones) can be played around a little bit seeing as they have to puke further back rather than gather the blood at the front. The catapult thingies can't even infect you. The rest usually use infection attack as a heal/transform, so not always first, such as those plate-holding guards or dancing bug wenches.

You'll get infected eventually but the volume really depends on what the player does. The patient approach has you in a good place to quickly reach max level for the story-missions (which in turn helps you beat all packs better, including court packs) before you even start gaining infections, whereas Joe Soap opening the Court immediately is in for a rougher time across the board.

Love the DLC overall. Didn't reinvent the wheel but all the little layers and factors worth considering are welcome in an otherwise SPD/ACC/STUN all the things game.

[No One]

I appreciate that in-court CC packs are genuinely threatening and you can't just roll in there with any LOLteam and expect everyone to walk away alive. Have to like, pay attention or something. Although, as I may have mentioned, once or twice, PD-JES-♥♥♥-OCC is still brutally effective in the CC.