Central Guide To Unlocking Subclasses (Hopefully Sticky)

[Samseng Yik]

For any player who don't know there are Subclasses, now you should know about this and unlocking subclasses itself is a huge challenge and high gameplay value.

Wanted to have a topic which collect all guide of unlocking subclasses into one.

Generally, to shorten your subclasses unlock, please make sure you got all 3 keys at that scenario first.

The guide of this format should have
1) Subclass To Unlock
2) What subclass you are using
3) Your gear/card setup.
4) Your path in that scenario starting after the keys. This is important because not all setups suitable for all encounters.
5) Perk choices.
6) Extra remark and reasons about gear choices, and situational tactical advices.

[Bullfrog12]

How to unlock Changeling:

My Trinket: Dragon Whistle

Level Perks:
Good Eye(+Damage on Shot)
Forest Affinity(+Fey Magic)
Quick Reflexes(+Stamina Discount on Defensive Cards)
Modifed Quiver(+Max Arrows)
Quick Recovery(+Stamina Regeneration)

Strategy:
Generate as much Fey Magic as possible.
Don't play Grow/Fairy/Spliting Arrows if it means you'll exit the Fairy Realm.
It's okay to discard Grow/Fairy/Spliting Arrows to make room for more draws.
Try to inflict as much damage sensitivity on the Forest King as possible.

[scarcrow84]

Well, I just unlocked Enchantress. I got very lucky, and I think etiorm's setup is probably better, but here's the setup I used:

Lich subclass (On the one hand, I think +Energy from Storm Master is better, but on the other hand, without the +HP from Lich, I would have died)
Arcane School
Arcane Grimoire (I think book of arcana works better with more arcane generation, like wearing Arcane Robes)
Ward Scrolls
Illusion Robes
Ring of Shielding
Imp Familiar

The approach here is to take it slow; most of the damage is inflicted on the defence, with arcane ward and lightning charge - if you have 2 layers of arcane charge, a single Arcane Ward will stop a 12 HP enemy, and it's your most energy/arcane efficient way of doing damage. You need both Arcane Ward and Magic Circle to stop the Forest King's attacks, so you'll pile up a fair bit of damage just staying alive.

(Because of taking it slow, I also got a surprising amout of damage out of Imp Familiar, but be very careful with it - possible bug, but if you have the damage bonus from lightning charge active, the imp will consume it to do more damage to you on use)

Level up, the L8 arcane regeneration is pretty much mandatory, and the 1 shot shield is very good, for the same reason you take the Ring of Shielding - Magic Circle is very good, but requires an action to set up. It won't save you from charges. The Ring of shielding is there for the boss (2 attacks on the charge) and possible Giant Boars on the way.

Always try to have as many charges of Magic Circle up as possible; if it lasts the full round, you get needed Arcane recovery, and there are no hidden enemies that can break it.

I took the top path (Forgotten Ruins, Fairy Woods) - Reality Rip is perfect for taking out animated statues and fairy stones, and while getting enough attacks to break the fairy queen's defence is annoying, her summons are no real danger, being incapable of getting past a lightning aura.

[Censor]

Originally posted by Samseng Yik:

For any player who don't know there are Subclasses, now you should know about this and unlocking subclasses itself is a huge challenge and high gameplay value.

Wanted to have a topic which collect all guide of unlocking subclasses into one.

Generally, to shorten your subclasses unlock, please make sure you got all 3 keys at that scenario first.

The guide of this format should have
1) Subclass To Unlock
2) What subclass you are using
3) Your gear/card setup.
4) Your path in that scenario starting after the keys. This is important because not all setups suitable for all encounters.
5) Perk choices.
6) Extra remark and reasons about gear choices, and situational tactical advices.

VERY nice tricks. Just finished the game with the warrior, without the dwarven armor, and unlocked dwarven warrior. XD
You are great. Many thanks. By myself I would not have ever used the right gear.

Samseng Yik, you are a great player.

[Samseng Yik]

Originally posted by Censor:

Originally posted by Samseng Yik:

For any player who don't know there are Subclasses, now you should know about this and unlocking subclasses itself is a huge challenge and high gameplay value.

Wanted to have a topic which collect all guide of unlocking subclasses into one.

Generally, to shorten your subclasses unlock, please make sure you got all 3 keys at that scenario first.

The guide of this format should have
1) Subclass To Unlock
2) What subclass you are using
3) Your gear/card setup.
4) Your path in that scenario starting after the keys. This is important because not all setups suitable for all encounters.
5) Perk choices.
6) Extra remark and reasons about gear choices, and situational tactical advices.

VERY nice tricks. Just finished the game with the warrior, without the dwarven armor, and unlocked dwarven warrior. XD
You are great. Many thanks. By myself I would not have ever used the right gear.

Samseng Yik, you are a great player.

Great player is 1 thing. Community Fans Contribution is better

[thegrassyknoll]

I dont quite understand this thread? Don't the "subclasses" simply unlock from gaining levels? Or am i missing soimething?

[A goblin shaman.]

If you click on the character portrait at the gear select screen, you'll see the different subclasses. They're kind of hidden.

They require special challenges to unlock.

[Samseng Yik]

Originally posted by thegrassyknoll:

I dont quite understand this thread? Don't the "subclasses" simply unlock from gaining levels? Or am i missing soimething?

Yes. You missing a huge portion of the game.
Click on the hero "face" when you new game and customizing hero loadout.
You can see the requirement and bonus of each subclasses.

IMO this is the most important thing that the game don't point out obviously

[Frosty the Pyro]

how does unlocking a subclass work vis a vis the bard does it check what gear you start with, or only what you end with? He lets you chang out equipment between zones, so can you start with gear set A and then switch to gear set B for the last zone? This could make some things much easier as the forest crowns totem will persists even after you switch to a differnt item in that slot. Or you could build up an inventory of fruit of life with the forest cloak/oaken sheild.


edit: it checks at the end, just unlocked changeling starting with the bard and forest crown (and military quiver) and switching to the unlock gear at the final zone. Having the left over eagle (undogable attacks) totem from the forest king crown was a major help in not wasting arrows on enemy dodges.

[Samseng Yik]

Originally posted by Frosty the Pyro:

how does unlocking a subclass work vis a vis the bard does it check what gear you start with, or only what you end with? He lets you chang out equipment between zones, so can you start with gear set A and then switch to gear set B for the last zone? This could make some things much easier as the forest crowns totem will persists even after you switch to a differnt item in that slot. Or you could build up an inventory of fruit of life with the forest cloak/oaken sheild.


edit: it checks at the end, just unlocked changeling starting with the bard and forest crown (and military quiver) and switching to the unlock gear at the final zone. Having the left over eagle (undogable attacks) totem from the forest king crown was a major help in not wasting arrows on enemy dodges.

Ha, should this consider a bug?
Really nice finding. We can replace the Bard with other item during the "free change equipment? ?

[Frosty the Pyro]

Originally posted by Samseng Yik:

Originally posted by Frosty the Pyro:

how does unlocking a subclass work vis a vis the bard does it check what gear you start with, or only what you end with? He lets you chang out equipment between zones, so can you start with gear set A and then switch to gear set B for the last zone? This could make some things much easier as the forest crowns totem will persists even after you switch to a differnt item in that slot. Or you could build up an inventory of fruit of life with the forest cloak/oaken sheild.


edit: it checks at the end, just unlocked changeling starting with the bard and forest crown (and military quiver) and switching to the unlock gear at the final zone. Having the left over eagle (undogable attacks) totem from the forest king crown was a major help in not wasting arrows on enemy dodges.

Ha, should this consider a bug?
Really nice finding. We can replace the Bard with other item during the "free change equipment? ?

yes, though obviosly once you replace the bard you cant change out after the next zone

[Mr. Magnifico]

Unlocking the Lich

Subclass Used
None (I used the basic Wizard)

Gear
Necromancy School (required)
Book of the Dead
Guardian Scrolls
Necromancer Robes (required)
Death Ring
Homunculus

Route
High Town -> Castle

This route features mostly melee enemies, few of whom have dodges or status immunity. A fair amount of foes have armor, but your basic Revenant Attack and other damage over time effects ignore it.

Perks
Increase energy
Generate souls
Magic Ward (not sure this is necessary; it's not too hard to get a lot of Soul Armor going, and the extra 4 armor showing up can confuse you about how much armor you have available if you're not paying close attention)
Extra HP (you don't care about flame or arcane charges, so why not?)
-1 soul cost for spells for first 3 turns (very important!)

Tactical Advice
While the Guardian Scrolls and the Homunculus aren't strictly required, you will have a much rougher time without them. Accept no substitutes! Book of the Dead is also vastly preferable to the Book of Dread.

Your basic tactic is to hit enemies in melee range with a Revenant Attack and take advantage of the chain you started to cast a Soul Armor if you can. You may need to cast "extra" Revenant Attacks in order to cycle your deck to find them. Wraith Collector is another good thing to chain, ideally once you have already given most of the enemies the Fighting Revenant effect so they take extra damage. Once the enemies are suitably softened up, you can sit back and let them die to your Soul Armor and, if necessary, guardian defensive cards. Remember that you don't have to block most attacks if you have enough armor from Soul Armor.

The -1 HP cost for using the Necromantic Robes is a little scary, but if you're about to cast Life Drain anyway you heal it right back.

The final boss fight isn't all that different tactically than your other fights, except that the phylactery has 3 armor and is status immune, so you need to focus your Life Drains on it until you can take it out.

(Big thanks to 123 Casual Player, whose post here laid out succinctly what I say in a more longwinded way here.)

[Mr. Magnifico]

Unlocking the Hitman

Subclass Used
Adventurer

Gear
Assassination School (required)
Cursed Dagger
Throwing Knives
Shadow Cloak
Spider Poison
Poison Kit (required)

Route
Dwarven City -> Dwarven Fortress

You definitely want to avoid the Fallen City, which is difficult for rogues regardless of build. Mountain Peak can also be tricky, since the giants can summon rockslides and as an aspiring hitman dodging lots of unaware-immune enemies is not your strong suit. Going with dwarves gives you the opportunity to pick up a bomb or two from chests, the end-of-level store, and/or a foreman (if one spawns). Bombs are good to have as a stun of last resort.

Perks
Increase stamina
Efficient Ambusher (first card costs -4 stamina)
Swift Attacker (first 3 attacks -1 stamina)
Armor Penetration
Combat Training (increase stamina)
Strategist (start battles with 1 tactics)
Shadow Strikes (extra damage vs. unaware)
Poison Maker
Increase stamina

Tactical Advice
You live or die based on your opening draw, so using mulligan aggressively is the key to surviving fights. A strong opening move is to use your Poison Kit or Spider Poison so that Multiple Throw stuns three enemies. Since Distraction is expensive to play and gets worse in chains, you can really only dodge one or at most two enemies, so keeping the rest stunned is vital. This is especially key when you are fighting several dragons at once. Since you have multiple sources of poison kicking in when you do this, especially as you add in Poison Maker, most stunned enemies will die from the poison before they recover from the stun, so you can ignore them and turn your attention to other foes. The poison items both recharge a full charge after every fight, so while you can't use this move with abandon you don't have to be stingy with it either.

Cursed Dagger is a little tricky to use, but it hits harder than the Assassin's Blade when your enemies are aware and MUCH harder than the Dagger.

You get two turns of enemies being unaware at the start of fights, so you will often be able to kill everything before any of your foes notice you. Tough, stun-immune monsters like golems and enemies hit but not killed by Multiple Throw are exceptions. Remember that in an emergency you can use your Shadow Cloak to make all enemies unaware, but you can only do this every other fight, so try not to do it the fight before a boss fight. You almost always want to save your tactics for Vanish, since you rarely need Killing Blow except maybe for golems.

For the final fight patience is key. Remember when the boss summons dragons they start with a dodge, so don't waste a stunning Multiple Throw on them by mistake. If the boss is close to hitting a damage threshhold where it will summon more dragons, be sure to time your Vanish or Shadow Cloak use so it also gets the newcomers. It's often best if poison damage pushes the boss over the summoning threshhold, since if it summons more dragons on its turn you don't have to worry about dodging them that round. Just be careful to keep an eye on the boss dragon's poison level, since that will make its HP will tick down even if you're not doing any new damage to it.

[dholland]

Another suggestion for Storm master, using end-adventure items (so you'd have to complete the relevant adventures first).

First, I start with my favourite set-up with ordinary wizard, arcane, book of storms, mirror scrolls, thunderstones, supplemented with the end-adventure items Forest crown (armor) and Iolo the bard (bag).

I activate forest crown with owl aspect (extra card draw for 1st 6 cards). Not sure how helpful but it can help avoid too many mulligans. Edit: it also gives +2 max arcane, 8 arcane is enough for my style (card rotation with minimum risk).

Next stage, switch gear using Iolo to replace the forest crown with runecrafter's mask. The point is, you keep the activated animal aspect even when you replace the crown, so it's a permanent benefit (but you can't switch to another aspect without the crown). I buy a couple of free extra cash runes with the mask each stage (lose 2 health each) and get one of the other 2 runes (shuffle cards and redraw 5 cards, restart the combat, which I didn't use).

Perks: all the health boosts and otherwise stamina boosts and the 4 damage shield.

I went the usual route to pick up 2 bombs and the dwarven king (who can be annoying to kill, be patient and hit him with 12 damage lightning strike when you have lightning charge or storm pulse to recover arcane). Bought all the health potions I could and one stamina boost.

In the last stage, switch to the required gear, lightning scrolls (meh) and arcane robes (double meh, terrible defense). I use the 2 arcane lightning on minion dragons to stun and use the rune for a redraw if it looks bad, and of course try to get blink and stormshield up.

Edit: I used vampire familiar in place of Iolo.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1569305280 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1569305552

[dholland]

Thanks to Samseng Yik for the great guide to unlock the Amazon! Yes, I'm still only on the fairly easy subclasses, but at least this time I didn't use any end-adventure items! I seem to be great at kiting, but the rogue subclasses scare me. One step at a time!

[Samseng Yik]

Originally posted by dholland:

Thanks to Samseng Yik for the great guide to unlock the Amazon! Yes, I'm still only on the fairly easy subclasses, but at least this time I didn't use any end-adventure items! I seem to be great at kiting, but the rogue subclasses scare me. One step at a time!

The subclass unlock is pretty much "end game" and self impose challenge.