Hildebrandt's Cellar - a tough nut to crack

[Talon Vader]

I have beaten all other aspects of the game - the last thing I am trying to do is get lower in Hildebrandt's Cellar. My current lowest floor achieved is 93.

Tried with various different party make ups and with some recognized techniques.
The main issue I'm having is complete lack of good items in the shop. Only basic items in shop after shop after shop. Even getting down to floor 70 - 90 still only basic items. Only gotten the anchor once for example (that might have been as a drop - not a purchase). The better armor just stops completely. In fact the lower the level seems to drop even worse gear.

I realize it is supposed to be tough but this is a bit ridiculous.

Also I noticed that much lower level monsters/creatures (harder ones) seem to be migrating upwards. In fact the second floor seems to have extremely tough opponents. Not always but I would say about up to 50% of the time you seem to get a chance to get higher level opponents much earlier then they should be. Guess that would give you a chance at some better drops but often at the expense of using up all your heals (godsbeards).

I was doing extremely well one run with like 9 godsbeard in the area of frost caves then got just a wickedly high level team against us that made us use up all godsbeard pretty much. We went on well for some time but that pretty much did us in because with the extremely poor gear we just could not damage fast enough.

I had the most success with Scholar - Monk - Minstrel. Best and easiest gear could find would be the goblin staff for party rush on the Scholar. Monk uses usually a one handed and shield with gear to give him high crit chance. Got Monk to the point he gives focus almost continually. The Minstrel uses the Barbet lute because one of the attacks is slow which does a bit of damage and slows the opponent - moves them lower on the action que. Just can't seem to get better gear just not dropping seeing really crap drops from level 70 - 90. Armor just the worse - most of the time my guys are fighting in non-class gear. The wizard and minstrel gear just never drops and is never in the store. Shouldn't it start showing up you think at 70 - 90 lol ?

I also tried Trapper - Monk - Hunter. I really like Trapper from the main campaign but even in mc finding a good awareness weapon and gear difficult. There seem to be a complete lack of good spears in game. There is other nice weapons. Usually easier to get speed up then awareness. Bows are better but still very difficult to find good ones. I can get speed and evasion up very high with the strategy that if they go first in initiative they don't really need much focus. It does work but can't find the weapons to do better damage so can't kill things fast enough once it gets tough.

These two strategies seem workable but it's the near complete lack of good gear that is causing failure. The gear should not get worse the lower you go in the dungeon lol. Which at this point at the levels I'm reaching I feel that it is. I have watched people playing at like level 150 to 200 and they are finding good stuff at that point they have gotten the infinite cellar going with the with the party rush technique.

To make other player character combinations viable please change the loot tables a bit for the other classes FTK! Not asking for a lot here just a bit more chance to buy at least in the store.

[Annizil]

Hello there!

First of all, do not take my word as gospel. I just want to share with you an interesting gaming experience that I've taken quite a while to get right. Other people might never consider playing how I'm currentIy playing through Hildebrandt's Cellar and that's perfectly fine. I'll admit that I do believe various teams are able to go very far in the Cellar under the right circumstances and I plan to find other viable options in future playthroughs.
Also, it's worth mentioning that I've unlocked every item from the knowledge store. Make sure you've unlocked all the important artifacts if you want a smooth Hildebrandt's Cellar experience.

That being said, I've gone remarkably far into this game mode with the team I'm about to present, so I hope you or others can in some way benefit from my experience.

I'm currently at room 1013 and still going strong with 150+ gosdbeard and a whole bunch of other good herbs in my inventory.
I have attempted to do a successful run of the Cellar over a dozen times before finding the right ingredients for a nice playthrough. It does requires the right classes but also, as you are well aware of, a fair bit a luck - you might just have to try and retry before you can get your hands on the right weapons that allow for killer synergies.

MY TEAM:
Busker - Hunter - Minstrel.

Slot 2 and 3 are a given.

The Hunter has to be in the middle to evade as many of the middle centered attacks as possible. Also, you absolutely need his speed in the first few floors to take out dangerous enemies in one shot before they get to play. Later on, his speed remains essential, but more on that when I get to the gear part.

The Minstrel's Encourage skill is incredibly powerful - it beats any other support class in this mode by far. Also, the Inspiration skill is actually very nice in the long run for helping your Hunter to level faster, because you need that extra bit of damage a level can give, especially in the early floors.

Now, the Busker.

It might seem like an odd choice - and to be frank, I chose it as a joke at first - but it's truly the one "strength" character (because f those damn doors man) that ended up working out the best for me.
Before that I tried the Monk, Woodcutter and Blacksmith.
The strength based weapons of the Woodcutter and Blacksmith are not good for the lower levels because they don't offer much in terms of interesting synergies - your main, if not only, damage dealer, is going to be the hunter no matter what. Any other source of 'raw' power would just deprive you of life saving utility skills and spells.
The Monk is OK, and I see why people are attracted to his Discipline skill. You can make it work if you play him as a mage character with a tome of storms or sth like that but if you get bad RNG - and you are going to get bad RNG - and you get 3 dangerous enemies all immune to shock then you're done with.
With the right weapon, a Busker can prevent you from getting hit by any enemy easily and without worrying about stupid immunities. I also find Distraction to be more useful than Discipline in the long run, because when you're fully geared with top notch stuff and you've almost maxed out your main stats, the focus points become kind of irrelevant.

In any case, a musician is mandatory in any team for the Rubato (interrupt those demons before they incinerate your invaluable godsbeards).
Another very important point is that all musical instruments give a very nice gold multiplier (and you absolutely need to be able to buy at least ALL the herbs at the end of every floor).

GEAR:
Obviously, equip whatever armor/trinket you can drop/buy that helps you keep your main stat above 85 on every character. Keep in mind that the damage of the musicians doesn't really matter, especially the Minstrel's, so focus on just giving them as much accuracy as possible. Get rid of that magicka dmg trinket asap for something more useful like the Bellowing Horn on your Busker for even more Encourage!

The Hunter is the easiest to get good equipment for, because you'll drop a goblin bow in no time, as well as a goblin helm (very often found in the store for a fair price if you really can't manage to drop it) that'll give him a lot of speed.

The musicians' instruments are where you'll need a bit of luck. One of them, preferably the Minstrel because he has more talent, is going to need a barbat asap - and later a theorbo, before finally getting your hands on the amazing royal lute - to stop that pesky acid jelly from ever playing.

In the early floors, just give your Busker whatever instrument you drop and don't worry about it too much. The ukulele is nice for the party calm to get your focus points back but whatever lute with splash damage is nice too in case an annoying fairy tries to perma-protect her buddies.

Your Rubato Minstrel is here to help you avoiding group heals during battles. Keep that white lute or that gathering bonnet that you're bound to drop early-ish and equip them only for heals when you are out of battle.

END GAME WEAPONS AND IDEAL SYNERGY:

I dropped all my OP weapons with relative ease (even had multiple ones of each), so you shouldn't have much trouble getting your hands on them.

Hunter: Royal Bow. Your Hunter will outspeed almost every enemy even in the lowest levels - apart from small, insignificant enemies like bats, that deal a ridiculously low amount of dmg anyway - so he can slow them all down before they get to play.

Minstrel: Royal Lute for the group Rubato. Yay!

Busker: Golden Lute for either Prestissimo if your Minstrel had a bad dice roll or Fortissimo to get your Hunter to kick some serious ass. You even have the luxury of finishing off an enemy from time to time thanks to the armor piercing attack.

And there you have it: a very efficient, painless team composition/weapons combo that will prevent even the most dangerous enemies from ever touching you.

SIDE NOTE:
My Busker wears a Royal Crown for the Encourage skill - that allowed me to give him a trinket with a gold multiplier to be able to buy Black Candy for my Hunter every other floor, but if you are not able to drop or buy the crown, the Bellowing Horn as a trinket will suffice.

This team with these weapons will make even a 1500-health points Royal Droll look like a fool - pun intended.

I hope this was somewhat useful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask
Good luck on your future endeavours in FTK!

~ Annizil

[squirleybob]

Nice ideas! I'll have to try them sometime.

Are either or both playing with the DLC? I've heard that it makes the celler harder, though haven't checked it out for myself.

[Talon Vader]

Thank you for the great posts. Really love this game. Going to try some of your suggestions and combinations.

I just did another room 93 with a new first time party: Scholar - Monk - Gladiator. Was quite impressed. The constant focus gain from the monk just so handy. It triggers a lot. When I failed at room 93 I was still using a goblin staff lol. Just no luck getting anything better. My monk had a Water Wand and shield and Gladiator was dishing out huge damage with the War Hammer. Did manage to get an Inferno plate for the Gladiator at the last shop before room 93. All in all since that was my first run with that group I was quite impressed. With the two aforementioned ultimate weapons for the Scholar and Monk would ensure a successful deep delve.

The only lore items I don't have unlocked are the ones from going low enough in the Cellar. That's why I'm doing Hildes but I think I may be getting better lol. I like the Busker as outlined above I will try your party combination next. I tried the Hunter before and could not get any good bows. The Minstrel early on just dies a lot and eats up your life pool not sure how your able to keep them alive. Perhaps the Busker - Minstrel combo will help. Don't knock the Busker I have been very successful with them in all the other campaigns.

[squirleybob]

Hunter doesn't need only bows, any perception weapon (such as spears) work well with him. It is also easy to work towards a speed build, which I usually eventually go towards.