Tips for getting a Heart kill on Watcher?

[Atlas]

I finally got a couple Defect wins and all the other characters are around A10 so I figured I will try to kill the Heart for once! I never have. Any tips appreciated.

[LHGreen]

Well, as has been said in other topics, Watcher doesn't have the same kind of hard counters to the Heart that other characters do. But given her damage output, she doesn't need them.

Having a way to go in to divinity stance is always good. And you can use the Rushdown power to go infinite, with the proper balance in your deck, and she can block pretty well when doing that, so that can help if you can manage that. Getting Lesson Learned early and abusing it for the free upgrades is always helpful, provided you don't sacrifice too much health when doing that. Scaling her attack power and using her impressive multi-hit attacks (like Ragnarok and Expunger) is good for doing a lot of damage with only one card. Scry helps deal with the status effects you get afflicted with on turn 1, and she's decent at biding her time with blocks.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what to say. Practically speaking, she's the most powerful character, but she's also the one I'm the worst at. Someone else will have to help out more.

[Zu]

1. 🌊👋[slay-the-spire.fandom.com]
2. 👉✋[slay-the-spire.fandom.com]
3. 🤜🤜[slay-the-spire.fandom.com]
4. ?
5. 👌

Basically, grab any and all scaling (within reason since you can't always make it all work adequately, like deva form, wish, or fasting). That's it, really. Overall, Watcher's scaling options are both easy to proc and impactful when they do.

You get half a free turn with vault. Omniscience can target copies of itself and can end fights on turn 1 if you don't use them for scaling. You can go close to infinity with little effort thanks to rushdown. The only problem is that you might not have the best backloaded damage if you never found a source of strength or more ways to gain energy with calm.

So, go out there and fight all the elites. Your only strength reduction tool is dark shackles and only Defect can cheese the massive single hit with buffer, so (like the others, regardless of how many piercing wails you have), hope for specific relics. It's tricky managing wrath and knowing when to ignore minions in favor of setting up lethal, but your burst potential is so high by design that your matchup against half the elites is inherently favorable.

Just try not to neglect the bread and butter stances because you found damaru and devotion. Once in a while you can solve boss fights by entering divinity each turn but it's still worth it to sprinkle in the other two to proc mental fortress, rushdown, or just have even more energy to play all the wheel kicks and cut through fate and crush joints followed by whallop to gain a million block and then you leave wrath so you're safe but you probably don't even need to because you're grossly overblocking already.

Ye.

[Zu]

https://i.imgur.com/UNX2vyo.png

I tried to color code today's run. New file so I hadn't even unlocked mental fortress. I sold simmering fury later because it had served its purpose and was too clumsy for the whole "Energy from calm, draw with wrath, block by talking to za hando, all on the same turn."

Imo I overvalue just lucky. Can make for weak early turns with unfortunate draw order.

Don't let the turn 5 heart kill distract you. Once all the scaling was in play, I could've kept fighting for a while albeit probably not until turn 14 since I never found wave of the hand or bothered to pick up another sash whip or crush joints to clear artifacts and stack weak.

Note how I didn't mark anything as straightforward frontloaded damage since practically anything can do the job with wrath. Wheel kick+ does stand out as tons of damage if you feel like (almost) one-shotting exploders or jaw worms.

[HeraldOfOpera]

Like others have said, the Watcher is unique in not having any cards that specifically cripple the Heart... but is also the most powerful character in the game if played properly, so she doesn't need them.

[Atlas]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2813601638


Dang. -_-

[HAWAIIANpikachu]

Unceasing Top negative syn with meditate

[LHGreen]

Lol, oh, how I long for the days when the heart only did 6x12.

[Zu]

https://imgur.com/a/BHLHx6o

Lower damage but calipers meant I could've kept going past turn 14. I could add more hues to distinguish frontloaded damage, backloaded damage, debuffs, healing, meta scaling, whatever, but I hope you get the idea of how a common Watcher run looks like regardless.

PS:
What really stands out in both runs is interactions with entering or exiting stances. Run 1 gained a ton of block by spamming flurry. Run 2 stacked weak with wave of hand, swapped stances even more to turtle up with mental fortress, and gained tons of block at once by wrath walloping vulnerable foes.

[Domite]

I think I'm too dumb to play watcher effectively.
Trying to build them really hurts my head and I die fairly often before even getting to the heart.

[HeraldOfOpera]

Originally posted by Domite:

I think I'm too dumb to play watcher effectively.
Trying to build them really hurts my head and I die fairly often before even getting to the heart.

Oh yeah, I forgot to emphasize that caveat: she's the strongest if played correctly, but that's a bigger "if" than I remembered to credit it for.

[LHGreen]

Originally posted by HeraldOfOpera:

Originally posted by Domite:

I think I'm too dumb to play watcher effectively.
Trying to build them really hurts my head and I die fairly often before even getting to the heart.

Oh yeah, I forgot to emphasize that caveat: she's the strongest if played correctly, but that's a bigger "if" than I remembered to credit it for.

She's basically a glass cannon. You have to protect her 'til she goes off, unless you go infinite.

[Wiggler-sempai]

step 1: beg for mercy.
step 2: goto 1

More realistically:
-Upgrading enrage makes it a one-cost, which is unexpectanly useufl
-if you can get both the 1/0 cost exhaust stances in hand (tranquilty and cresendo, I belive), it means you can get the calm and rage bonus on one turn.
-Tungestine rod is the GOAT for the beat of Death and the heart's mulitattack, as are bronze scales
-Fossil helix is nice for the heavier hits, but you can't rely on it- you need to be able to block or tank at least 1 60 damage hit without it.
- The various empty cards (empty fist, mind, body) are fantastic for scamming your way out of inopportune wrath, or getting additional energy at the best possible time. Fist in partualr does amazing damage for the cost and the benefit is all upside at the end of wrath.
-Mos divinity cards are kinda trash except for Worship, Prostrate and brilliance-and the former two are lackluster without upgrades, omni abuse or a divinity artefact. the ablity to retain Worship for when you have 5+ mantra is what makes it great, as going into divnity makes it pay for itself. Brillaince meanwhile is a doubl=strength strike even without the mantra upgrade.
-exceptions can be made if you can use blasphemy without dying...I can't
- Most card sthat give you insights, smites or safety are medicore, with the exception of scraw (1/game fill your hand) or the one with block (becuase it's a decnet amount of block, the insight is merely ok)
-you can ommnicience ommnicience, allowing you to instantly play 2 cards from anywhere in your deck, twice. I genrally used Omni->Omni->Woship (into Divnity)-> Brilliance or Talk to the hand
-Omni into Wish is merely ok, I guess- 12 plated armour does not get you as far as you'd like, though, sam with 6+ strength
-Talk to the hand is brillaint and stacks with itself- hard counters Beat of Death, In my winning run, I was getting 9 armour/hit
- Wallop is exordinatly powerful with wrath as it also doubles the block-gain.
-Scry cards are great because they let you customise your draw for next turn and bypass effect cards- Cut through fate is even better for this as it also draws 1.
-this is important because the heart goes Debuff-multihit or big slugger attack-self-buff-goto 2-you need differnt cards for diffent stages and avoid the debuffs is important.
-Forgin influnces is at worst medicore and at best can allow you to RNG your way to leathal. It's woth getting if you can upgrade it.
-energy boost are not as important as you think for watcher-the free mircal,e collect, and situsation energy buffs go a long way. Likewise, Deva form isn't the i-win card you'd think it is, at leats not without colored prism and the stronger X cards.
-A little strength/dex goes a long way for watcher, but conversly, a lot of strength/dexc does not.
-Don't give up. I beat heart with watcher literally today. took me AGES.

[Atlas]

Originally posted by Wiggler-sempai:

step 1: beg for mercy.
step 2: goto 1

More realistically:
-Upgrading enrage makes it a one-cost, which is unexpectanly useufl
-if you can get both the 1/0 cost exhaust stances in hand (tranquilty and cresendo, I belive), it means you can get the calm and rage bonus on one turn.
-Tungestine rod is the GOAT for the beat of Death and the heart's mulitattack, as are bronze scales
-Fossil helix is nice for the heavier hits, but you can't rely on it- you need to be able to block or tank at least 1 60 damage hit without it.
- The various empty cards (empty fist, mind, body) are fantastic for scamming your way out of inopportune wrath, or getting additional energy at the best possible time. Fist in partualr does amazing damage for the cost and the benefit is all upside at the end of wrath.
-Mos divinity cards are kinda trash except for Worship, Prostrate and brilliance-and the former two are lackluster without upgrades, omni abuse or a divinity artefact. the ablity to retain Worship for when you have 5+ mantra is what makes it great, as going into divnity makes it pay for itself. Brillaince meanwhile is a doubl=strength strike even without the mantra upgrade.
-exceptions can be made if you can use blasphemy without dying...I can't
- Most card sthat give you insights, smites or safety are medicore, with the exception of scraw (1/game fill your hand) or the one with block (becuase it's a decnet amount of block, the insight is merely ok)
-you can ommnicience ommnicience, allowing you to instantly play 2 cards from anywhere in your deck, twice. I genrally used Omni->Omni->Woship (into Divnity)-> Brilliance or Talk to the hand
-Omni into Wish is merely ok, I guess- 12 plated armour does not get you as far as you'd like, though, sam with 6+ strength
-Talk to the hand is brillaint and stacks with itself- hard counters Beat of Death, In my winning run, I was getting 9 armour/hit
- Wallop is exordinatly powerful with wrath as it also doubles the block-gain.
-Scry cards are great because they let you customise your draw for next turn and bypass effect cards- Cut through fate is even better for this as it also draws 1.
-this is important because the heart goes Debuff-multihit or big slugger attack-self-buff-goto 2-you need differnt cards for diffent stages and avoid the debuffs is important.
-Forgin influnces is at worst medicore and at best can allow you to RNG your way to leathal. It's woth getting if you can upgrade it.
-energy boost are not as important as you think for watcher-the free mircal,e collect, and situsation energy buffs go a long way. Likewise, Deva form isn't the i-win card you'd think it is, at leats not without colored prism and the stronger X cards.
-A little strength/dex goes a long way for watcher, but conversly, a lot of strength/dexc does not.
-Don't give up. I beat heart with watcher literally today. took me AGES.

Thanks for the informative comment =D