What I've Learned from the Purge/Tips and Issues

[Chris]

After 200 hours in the game in the past two weeks these are some tips for how to approach the new purge and a list of severe issues with it.

If you want the purge to simply work (hopefully) your best bet is to create a "hall" which is essentially a "gauntlet" that the purge enemies must travel through. A straight approach in and out. At least this way you're also not spending a lot of time making a really complex layout with twists and turns complicating it and risking a failed purge start. In my base I do have two large gates on both sides for the enemy to enter into. This allows it so that they aren't seen into they enter into the base and then are almost immediately engaged. A kind of choke point.

You want most if not all of your defenders in one small area so that they all attack at once. This means your melee thralls on the ground huddled together or in range so that most can attack at once. Your archers up above with no ability to move away from their positions (doors for example) but being able to walk around up there and reposition is fine. The crenulated walls "work", but regardless of which ones you use they will occasionally fire into them (as well as shoot their own feet).

Any doors between (place them only behind the defenders) ideally will have two guards right next to them set to attack at 5m so they won't move away from the doors and will keep it guarded. Do use at least one door between the enemies and the treasure. The door should cause the enemy to at least pause and give the door defenders a small (but sufficient) time to initiate and attack. From what I've seen when if they are being attacked they can't hit the door until the attack relents long enough. If you set the guards into the green positions at the door you won't be able to easily walk through it. It blocks the door. I don't use those positions. I move the defenders a bit further off that position.

Archers on your wall "can" be allowed to shoot at enemies approaching your base, but it will cause the enemy to congregate outside of your base and get "stuck" there. It will also mean that the enemy will just continue taking shots at your archers with no opposition from the outside. I wouldn't suggest it. Any archers high up need to be ideally blocked from firing outside of the base with a wall blocking shots and only allowed to fire inside into the gathered enemy groups that your melee thralls are taking care of.

Don't use cauldrons in a position where your thralls will be engaging. It causes trouble for them and for you. Place them in positions further out where your thralls and you won't be traversing (probably on the inside up above just as the enemy enters). BUT I will say: the cauldrons are useless honestly. They don't do any damage that I've ever seen (even the fire). The slow might help - if it works. Honestly it really doesn't do anything, it just creates a headache.

Tips:
- Set YOUR followers that you are currently commanding to 5m. 10m at MOST. As we know they don't listen to orders very well and setting them to 5m will make them a LOT more easy to manage and pull back by simply walking back in the direction of your treasure deeper into your purge base.
- Depends on your setup but you also don't want to setup most of your defending thralls to attack further than 10m. Helps keep them in line and managed.
- Setup two thralls at doors (5m attack) but NOT into the green door positions. Spread them out slightly further or you can't get through the door yourself.
- Place a thrall or golem in front of the door to your treasure to help block any enemy moving toward it or at least slow them down. Again, 5m so it doesn't move too far away.
- If you place the banners you can buy in the tavern from the NPC be aware you can NOT get rid of those until they finally despawn. It has a long timer.

Issues:
- Purge enemies stand outside your base in massive groups and don't move. They just stand around.
- Enemies will stand against walls outside and get stuck in large groups.
- Enemies will stand in your purge base looking up at cauldrons and archers as if they can attack them and ignore your thralls.
- Cauldrons are useless. They do not do any damage. Any slow that they might provide only serves to create a headache for you and for your thralls if placed in any position where your thralls might move to.
- The purge doesn't like any turns.
- The purge doesn't like corners and they tend to walk into them and stay there.
- Crashing to desktop during purges.
- Almost never any useful thralls gained from purges other than dancers and the Spellsword.
- Update/Warning: The banners you get from the spellsword apparently do NOT despawn and you can't get rid of them. Don't buy them.
- You might quit playing due to the headache MANY people have experienced with even getting purges to start.

Probably forgot plenty of things.

Good luck.

[Denninja]

When you make a chokepoint, make it narrow down to a single small door, as long as one enemy can simply walk through, it will check out. You can add several doors in a row without risking pathing failure. For the walls, a neat thing you can do is lower the foundation halfway into the ground just enough that a jump is required to get on top of it. This maximizes the line of sight of your archers and lets you place them lower. If they're firing toward the alley enemies run down, even better. Gas/fire bombs on the chokepoint are extremely effective.

[Seal Enthusiast]

The only real benefit I've seen from purges is that they are a great way to level thralls quickly, since the purge has no cool down. Other then that, everything else can largely and more easily be gotten through active exploration. I personally find it fun in the mindless sort of sense, but admittedly it needs a lot of work.

My personal frustration comes from the fact that a purge camp can spawn almost touching your walls if you didn't have the foresight to put down some blocking foundations, which can really decimate you.

[Chris]

Originally posted by Seal Enthusiast:

The only real benefit I've seen from purges is that they are a great way to level thralls quickly, since the purge has no cool down. Other then that, everything else can largely and more easily be gotten through active exploration. I personally find it fun in the mindless sort of sense, but admittedly it needs a lot of work.

My personal frustration comes from the fact that a purge camp can spawn almost touching your walls if you didn't have the foresight to put down some blocking foundations, which can really decimate you.

Funny thing is I had one spawn right up against the front door of my purge in the beginning with the camp entrance lined up to the door giving them a straight shot in immediately after spawning and it wreaked havoc. That's one reason I'd suggest putting the one turn in so they can't spawn just looking straight at you.

Also had to move some things around at one point to prevent them spawning up on the hill next to my main base.

Yea, not a lot to be gained from purges. There are some recipes you get from them for things like Stygian stuff. I've never gotten any useful thralls out of it. Unless you consider named Dancers... Never once seen a useful thrall in the tavern.

Loot is... ok. But yea like you said. 100x more efficient and quick to do any of it other ways.

Pretty big let down. It's way too much trouble to spend 20 minutes doing these.

[Nakos]

Cauldrons (slowing) combined with Poison Gas Arrows can be pretty effective. Though, obviously, you don't want to do that near where YOUR thralls are.

[Yewlin]

Is sad that what is described with in this post is still happening. I put the poison arrows on my archers and it seems to shut down. Is as if they need to win for it to finish. I had a good start up to level 3 then moved the coffer have had nothing but problems since.. As they decide they can not reach the coffer so it shuts down on level 4. I have gotten a few level 3 fighters, Dancers and about three named bearers. no turns ? I'll have to think on that for a bit. Wish they would fix it it.