My team for this trial has been steadily improving… but it is still one of my worst.
- Rigard + 7
- Boril 4^70
- Li Xiu 4^34
- Leonidas 2^60
- Hawkmoon +20
Compared to last time, I switched in my current yellow leveling project (Li Xiu) for Bane +20, Rigard is now maxed, and I took Leonidas to the mat wall at 2^60. I debated whether to switch in Li Xiu for Bane or Hawkmoon. Ultimately, I decided on Bane, trading out Bane’s damaging and blinding special, but leaving Hawkmoon for another healer and a red hero against the green moblings (vs. triple stacking yellow against at least one yellow boss in each wave). Not sure the choice would have made much difference, but if anyone has thoughts, I’m all ears.
The good news is, I managed to finish off the second wave without items this time. That Vivica/Boril boss wave just gives me fits because this lineup is so light on damage dealers, so to be able to finish that with tile damage (and basically just Leonidas’ special) made me happy. The bad news is, the third stage was still an absolute pill. Li Xiu is far more hearty than either Bane or Hawkmoon, but her damage and mana cut are embarrassing. Is she really just a mid-level tank and that’s all?
On the last mob wave of stage 3, I was trying to thin the numbers, but the uniform damage from Li Xiu’s special left them all pretty low on health, and a horribly timed cascade left me going into the boss wave with only Rigard’s special charged (which I unfortunately needed immediately) and Boril’s riposte close to expiration. Leonidas caught the business end of Joon’s special before I could even charge him, and Hawkmoon fell to regular attacks soon after. I was really wondering if I would even be able to complete, but I soldiered on, thinking I’d see how the carpet bombing would go just before Friar Tuck fired. I checked his HP, and it was at 3600+, but his mana was maybe 80%. Looked at the board and didn’t see much cascade potential, so I ripped off one more tile attack. Naturally, I set off a cascade, but Joon and Boril took most of it. Friar Tuck was sitting on the “S” (full mana) by the time it was my turn again. (Apparently, I like to live dangerously.) On the plus side, the extra tile damage probably saved me a dragon attack, so that’s something. Took 5 axes, 5 bombs, and 3 dragons to finish the fight. Trainer hero goes to Li Xiu. Cleric emblems reserved for Rigard (needs 40 for his next node). Monk emblems gathering dust with Bane already maxed and no one else eligible right now.
I have so many questions with this lineup. Is Li Xiu really that much better than Bane for this trial? Should I give my monk emblems to Li Xiu when she is maxed, and if so, on what path? Do I strip Bane’s emblems for that, too? (I have 4 reset tokens, so that isn’t really an issue.) Which yellow should I work on after maxing Li Xiu? Should I go back and take Leonidas to 3^70? (Won’t have darts for a while, but he’s my only hitter for this trial, so upping his damage and survivability significantly would be a big help.) Or should I go with my original plan of taking Ranvir to 2^60 (and hopefully 8/8) first to see if he boosts my Titan damage appreciably and trying him out on the Trials of Fortitude in place of Hawkmoon? (I want to take Hawkmoon’s emblems for Rigard, but I’m still using her in too many trials right now.) Should I work on my 1^1 Wu Kong? Another yellow with a passive special and add in a chance to miss? Who else is it even possible to draw that could help me on this trial? Just Wilbur, who I will probably never get, since I’ve already finished Atlantis and used all the coins. Ugh!