Coffee Drip

[fheadx]

I won A17 Silent by taking Coffee Drip after the act 2 boss. After around 400 hours ! this was the first time I've used it. Had the Bird Face relic and 6 power cards in deck at that point, so it felt safe. And it was very safe until one turn, just after the mid act chest, it gave the old coin. Totally messed up my route to a shop and camp upgrade, it had an elite that wasn't safe to fight at 18 hp. So I fought hallway fights all the way to Time Eater, to get back hp. Finished with 550 gold. I'm not sold on this relic. It did make sense and worked out, but it got very uncomfortable. Will try it again when the stars are aligned for it.

Prove me wrong! Good luck.

[Romaki]

I don't like Coffee Drip either, but it seems like a staple amongst better players.

I suppose the "trick" is having a better deck that can withhold more and do more damage.

[fheadx]

Originally posted by Romaki:

I don't like Coffee Drip either, but it seems like a staple amongst better players.

I suppose the "trick" is having a better deck that can withhold more and do more damage.

Like I said, it was just one turn that made it scary. The deck gained back full hp but at unnecessary risk, plus wasted opportunities for gain. If this has happened in act 2, I would've steered thru the elite fight, instead. I have a sink or swim policy until I get closer to the finish line. It was a strong deck.

[viro94]

I like coffee drip. sleep is for the weak.

[srn347]

A winning run tends to have a lot more upgrades than rests, so coffee dripper will often not have a downside if you're strong enough. If you were brought down to 18 hp despite being able to heal 12 hp per fight, it's arguably the case that you were already on the weak side for act 3 and losing for reasons that had nothing to do with coffee dripper. Granted I don't know what was in your deck, maybe it beats time eater (in which case I guess you didn't need to get stronger, you needed to avoid danger).

[fheadx]

It did beat time eater, pretty easily. It might've even taken that elite, but how the fight ended at the fork in the path shook my confidence. And I took the possibly safer but longer route to the end. I even had the maw bank going, too, lol.

[Starwild]

Originally posted by viro94:

I like coffee drip. sleep is for the weak.

First of all, yes, StS aside who needs sleep live off coffee and nerves-shredding anxiety.


To the point, however,

I usually take Coffee Drip if I have a dependable way to heal at least... 10 hp per fight? 12?
Just being IC won't cut it, but IC with Reaper or Defect with Self Repair+ might. White Beast+Ornithopter might, too, because the potions themselves are likely to assist. Bandage Up is very likely to push me towards Coffee Drip, as are Bite cards - or the Eternal Feather and a larger deck, btw.

The times when that Boss Relic seems perfect with no downsides is when I can put a couple of the above together, or if I have insane healing potential like an IC with Reaper and dependable strength increases, or Defect with Creative AI and the aforementioned Bird-Faced Urn.

I think my least favorite character for Coffee Drip is the Silent, because I'm not good enough at making full use of her exceptional defensive abilities, and her deck's bad for healing. (I don't much play Watcher, but she's bad at healing, too.)

[1.2M | Missingno.]

Dripper is one of my favorite boss relics. The way I think about it is that if you're resting, you're losing. Having four energy is a good way to avoid needing to rest as much. And you can always take more conservative paths if you need to, ideally forked paths that let you defer the decision to challenge another Elite or not.

[Starwild]

Originally posted by Missingno.:

[...] The way I think about it is that if you're resting, you're losing. [...]

I friggin wish I had that confidence and the skill to warrant it.

It makes sense to me in theory, but in practice I haven't been able to implement that attitude. Still learning, though!

[1.2M | Missingno.]

Perhaps it helps to think of health as a resource to be spent. You do get healed after each act, so you can afford to take some hits as long as you never lose that last hit point.

[Banzai]

Ive always felt its one of the most minor downsides for a +mana relic and its pretty much a must pick on most runs especially if you have gained a bit of health recovery like self repair or whatever. That extra point of mana will allow you to win a whole lot of fights without taking any damage and massively reduce how much you take against elites etc.

[fheadx]

Seems that this relic separates the men from the boys. And I'm still a bit too young for this coffee habit. Smells great, tho.

[Banzai]

Originally posted by fheadx:

Seems that this relic separates the men from the boys. And I'm still a bit too young for this coffee habit. Smells great, tho.

Just as an experiment next time you are in the second act, have a look at what that extra point of mana would have done for you and how much less damage (if any) you would be taking in fights. As a worst case scenario that mana is worth +6 damage or +5 block every turn. Thats pretty major.

[fheadx]

Originally posted by Banzai:

Originally posted by fheadx:

Seems that this relic separates the men from the boys. And I'm still a bit too young for this coffee habit. Smells great, tho.

Just as an experiment next time you are in the second act, have a look at what that extra point of mana would have done for you and how much less damage (if any) you would be taking in fights. As a worst case scenario that mana is worth +6 damage or +5 block every turn. Thats pretty major.

It's a skill issue. Even with other energy relics I get significant-to-me damage and need/use camp rests. I still need that crutch. But in the future I will take coffee drip if the conditions are good for it, ie having healing options in deck and or relics. Or when my skill and confidence improves...

[Banzai]

Originally posted by fheadx:

Originally posted by Banzai:

Just as an experiment next time you are in the second act, have a look at what that extra point of mana would have done for you and how much less damage (if any) you would be taking in fights. As a worst case scenario that mana is worth +6 damage or +5 block every turn. Thats pretty major.

It's a skill issue. Even with other energy relics I get significant-to-me damage and need/use camp rests. I still need that crutch. But in the future I will take coffee drip if the conditions are good for it, ie having healing options in deck and or relics. Or when my skill and confidence improves...

Fair enough mate :) Solid yes from me anyway about taking it in preference to almost anything as your first boss relic pick. Let us know how u get on.

[LHGreen]

Coffee Drip is very much a relic that scales with the quality of your deck.