How do you beat two bosses in a row? (A20 help)

[gongher]

Or just, ascension 17+ and further in general cuz half of the time I die in act 1, (Neow's lament, welcome!) and if I didn't die anywhere in act 2 the two bosses in act 3 do the job anyways. Surely all the bosses give me trouble but the Awakened One feels the hardest to me, not exactly because it counters power deck but cuz it attacks every single turn and it hits hard, making it impossible to preserve health if not dying right away lmao

So anyways...I figured you need a very solid deck to fight two bosses in a row - how do you achieve that? Do you have to fight a lot of elites to get relics? I fight like 3~5 elites in a run and while I know it's not very much, it's either dying to elites or act 3 bosses so...yeah.

I'm playing the Silent btw.

Sorry if the question feels vague - I know there's a lot of ways to win this game but the way I play certainly isn't the way lol. Just general advice on your pathing decisions, (how many elites you fight, etc) what you buy in shops, what you do in resting spot etc would be helpful. Thx in advance!

[LHGreen]

Pantograph. Aside from that, I wish I knew the answer to that question, too. But all I know is that sometimes, I successfully kill both Act 3 bosses, and more often than not I've killed the heart after that. Dunno how I do it, and for that matter I don't even understand how the ♥♥♥♥ I'm able to play at A20. (once again, I wish I had Khor's :conwayshrug: right about now)

And you should try to fight 3-5 elites per ACT, not per RUN. That's how I feel about it, anyway.

[gongher]

Yeah I've watched experienced players do a20 heartbreaker run like it's nothing and they do kill 3-5 elites per act...which I've never successfully done before and probably never will lmao. (I mean, if you meet Lagavulin or whatever the act1 elite is called early games it's an early run ender) At this point I'm not even sure how I managed to beat ~a19 considering how I'm still playing brainless haha. Thanks for the tips tho!

[LHGreen]

Originally posted by gongher:

(I mean, if you meet Lagavulin or whatever the act1 elite is called early games it's an early run ender)

Meeting Laggy within the first few rooms on A20 is pretty brutal, but it's not necessarily an instant loss. Not even with Silent. You can prepare and get some good stuff that can help.

[gongher]

Originally posted by LHGreen:

Originally posted by gongher:

(I mean, if you meet Lagavulin or whatever the act1 elite is called early games it's an early run ender)

Meeting Laggy within the first few rooms on A20 is pretty brutal, but it's not necessarily an instant loss. Not even with Silent. You can prepare and get some good stuff that can help.

Care to share those good stuff please? It's either back to Neow or barely surviving for me

[LHGreen]

Originally posted by gongher:

Originally posted by LHGreen:

Meeting Laggy within the first few rooms on A20 is pretty brutal, but it's not necessarily an instant loss. Not even with Silent. You can prepare and get some good stuff that can help.

Care to share those good stuff please? It's either back to Neow or barely surviving for me :stress:

Good damage, good block, something that increases strength or dex (unlikely, granted), something that causes weakness or vulnerable, Ancient potions, and so on.

Or, failing all that, Smoke Bombs! (POOF! Disappears in a puff of smoke) (ssshhhhh, I'm hiding under the traffic cone, you can't see me)

[mldb88]

Originally posted by LHGreen:

Or, failing all that, Smoke Bombs! (POOF! Disappears in a puff of smoke) :summer2019cone: (ssshhhhh, I'm hiding under the traffic cone, you can't see me)

Didn't expect Majima to follow me to the steam boards, he really IS everywhere....

Obscure Yakuza reference aside though, double bosses is definitely pretty rough. I haven't quite done it as Silent yet (still climbing with her) but managing it on chad definitely took some planning. The main thing you have to keep in mind is that you have to plan for ALL the act 3 bosses. So for Silent, that means making sure your deck can function playing at a rate of 6 or 12 cards per turn for Stop Having Fun Snail, isn't too reliant on powers for Chicken God, but has other ways to scale to handle The Breakfast Club. Since the three bosses essentially have strategies that counter decks that would deal with the others (multi-card scaling spam to deal with deca donu countered by snail for example), A20 REALLY forces you to learn how to make the most of your relics. As for how to actually prepare:

-With the exception of Act 1, focus on building a more defensive deck that uses skills to its advantage. Flechettes is great for this.
-Make good use of the skip option. You don't HAVE to take something every time a card is offered, so if the choices ultimately add nothing to your deck, skip. Bonus points if you have a relic that lets you do something else instead of taking a card (like the one that lets you gain 2 max HP).
-Plan out your upgrades. A20 can beat you down hard, so always assume you'll only be able to upgrade one card per Act. If you manage more, great, but keeping that mindset of I can only upgrade 3 cards in my deck with fires, it'll help make the absolute most of it.
-Try to get a panic button (not the card) by the time you hit Act 3 boss. This includes things like lizard tail, fairy in a bottle, wraith form, maybe the actual card Panic Button, SOMETHING that'll save you during that 'oh ♥♥♥♥' moment when you're staring down 50 damage from Chicken God and you just drew the last 3 strikes, an accuracy and neutralize.

I know these aren't super specific, but I find that looking for 'specifics' in this game usually leads to trying to force situations and missing out on some actually useful stuff. Since you're at A20 you probably already know that though lol. Hope this super general advice helps, and a lot of it might be things you're already doing just out of habit, but that little bit of extra mindfulness and awareness on top of the muscle memory and habit can go a long way.

[gongher]

Thanks for the great tips! A17 and onwards I was too busy surviving the current situation to be able to plan for future boss fights. (Well it's messy for sure but it worked, at least at the point you had only one boss to worry about...) Whether I'd be able to put this advice into practice with my tiny brain is...questionable...but it still means a lot. Thank you!

[gongher]

Gods, I somehow managed to win A20 after whining on this thread - I didn't exactly go for a lot of elites (cuz black star did the job and dropped the right relics anyways) like suggested but whatever gets the job done I guess. I can't thank you guys enough!

Now Imma sit on top of the spire and rest for an eternity...and never try A20 again lmao I mean it's been fun but a bit too much for me haha

[Khor]

Originally posted by LHGreen:

(once again, I wish I had Khor's right about now)

Ikr?

Luckily, thanks to the power of
you too can buy https://store.steampowered.com/app/206190/Gunpoint/
and finally being able to

But seriously, it`s on sale for a pittance and it`s totally worth playing

Originally posted by gongher:

Gods, I somehow managed to win A20 after whining on this thread - I didn't exactly go for a lot of elites (cuz black star did the job and dropped the right relics anyways) like suggested but whatever gets the job done I guess. I can't thank you guys enough!

Now Imma sit on top of the spire and rest for an eternity...and never try A20 again lmao I mean it's been fun but a bit too much for me haha

I`m late to the party
but cheers and praise Snecko!

[LHGreen]

Wait, that's from a game called Gunpoint? Damn, for some reason I thought it was from this:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/368390/The_Darkside_Detective/

Originally posted by mldb88:

Originally posted by LHGreen:

Or, failing all that, Smoke Bombs! (POOF! Disappears in a puff of smoke) (ssshhhhh, I'm hiding under the traffic cone, you can't see me)

Didn't expect Majima to follow me to the steam boards, he really IS everywhere....

Obscure Yakuza reference aside

Lol, never played Yakuza, but I hear good things. Happy to unintentionally, unknowingly, and unexpectedly set you up for what sounds like a pretty good reference, though.

Originally posted by mldb88:

SOMETHING that'll save you during that 'oh ♥♥♥♥' moment when you're staring down 50 damage from Chicken God and you just drew the last 3 strikes, an accuracy and neutralize.

Neutralize IS the panic button, though. Especially if you've got paper krane. And yeah, beating both Act 3 bosses and then the heart is rough, but I honestly had a harder time doing it with the Watcher. I just can't seem to get the hang of her. Managed it eventually, though. Lol, so the best character is also my weakest character, which just about ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ figures.