Any tips for beating Warrior episode 3?

[racknae]

I've tried this episode a solid 10 times and I haven't managed to win once. I avoid as many battles as possible (aside from the first floor, because I've found I always lose pretty early if I don't pick up the first piece of equipment) but I always end up dying towards the end.

Just now I had a run that I was confident would win but I got completely screwed right at the end because Drake showed up as the boss. Is there any other strategy to this episode or do I just pray that the RNG gives me good floor layouts?

Also, why is Curse of Greed the episode with a challenge attached to beating it when this one is about a hundred times more difficult?

[muchsarcasm]

The only thing I can say is to make the equipment as efficient in dealing damage as possible. With a low life total you can't last more than a few turns and because you're skipping some level ups you'll have less dice. I just played the level again and I used Bump in the early floors, but when I could fit in another damage dealing equipment I put it in the backpack.

Spiked shield is really good for this level IMO. On fights where the boss has high HP and you need to survive a while it's nice to shield up. I used Fury on a Spike Shield with a 5 a few times to stay alive. But then when you have something like Rat King where shield won't help it's set to deal damage.

With regards to that efficiency, I'd say with the exception of Venus Fly Trap stay away from equipment that takes up two slots unless it does double digit damage.

I hope that helps!

[flankattack]

I usually go for a really shield-heavy build in that episode and there are a few reasons why.

1.) There are lots of good shield items in that episode. Having a couple shield items mean you generally get away from battles without a scratch.
2.) You don't have to worry so much about loosing health each upgrade and so can go for maximum upgrades. I find myself swapping out Venus Fly Trap for something more damage focused.
3.) Shield Bump with a couple other shield items is super satisfying. Dealing 20+ damage to an enemy while only having to watch out for poison damage isn't something you can do in many other episodes.

There are a few enemies this approach won't work for, such as Rat King and Copycat, but you usually have enough options in your backpack to get through them.

[brickey.8]

I won this challenge in one try with the venus fly trap, a large shield+, and a Bump+, just going full tank. The bump and the rerolls ensured that I could get a pair of 6s on almost every turn for my two big items. The item in the remaining small slot could be anything that helps you turn your remaining die into extra damage or defense (in my case it was claw), but ideal would probably be Healing Crystal+ to stop poison from being as scary.

Losing max HP isn't as bad as it sounds because it makes your limit break charge faster, and your attack recovers HP, and the healing doubles when you use the limit break. By the end I charged my limit break every 6 HP lost (and I think that was skipping the last levelup). As long as you use your shield to ensure you're not losing more than 8 or so in the same turn, you should be able to recover from mild bad luck. (If you lose too much in one turn, you're only getting one limit break).

That said, most of the final bosses are capable of eventually getting a lucky turn that'll overwhelm your defences if you take too long. You can tank their average turn forever, but not their best turn. Buster got off a 3-attack turn and I only won by a slim margin. So you'd better make that last item slot count.

[dinovandamage]

I really struggled with this level. Thanks for the tips. I finally succeeded with Spiked Shield +, Healing Crystal, Chocolate Cookie +, Bump and Tazer +. I maxed out levels and used Fury and Cookie to get a big shield up for the boss.