Long post already, so thoughts -
I feel happy and fulfilled for completing it. Will I do it again? I thought not, but now that I know the “winning strategy” that works for me, probably. I will probably need at least 1 Energy Flask every time though as there is precious little room for error - I needed 3 Flasks this time. And it also takes time, so it depends how busy I am… definitely do not do this unless you have lots of uninterrupted time AND a very steady internet connection!
Thoughts on what made me win:
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Keeping all heroes alive until Boss Wave is a must. Except for impossible floor 19, which I cleared with 4 live heroes after losing Skittleskull in the first wave; I fled a couple times after unluckily losing a key hero in first wave (as @ApollosEmpire mentioned above – sometimes you just have to flee if you lose a key hero early!!). It just didn’t seem doable to finish with some dead heroes, especially with only one Miracle Scroll. Use a mana pot or tornado if you must, to charge a healer if it looks like you are going to lose a key hero.
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Reflect/Riposte, especially as nearly every floor has at least one healer. It’s crucial to let the bosses suicide. thanks to @PlayForFun for suggesting Titanium Shields – I would usually wait until a boss was gonna do a 3x charge special to use them. It caused a lot to suicide after already taking some damage.
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Stalling, my strategy was to unload Time Stops/Freezes early on (yes, I know they have a chance to not work, but they usually worked on 2/3 - and not having the bosses all fire together is critical to surviving). This lets you weaken the bosses before using Reflect/Riposte to finish them off
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Dispel is critical too, especially versus bosses that boost attack (they already hit hard enough!!!) or that horrible resurrecting Yellow boss. Xiahou Dun’s minions were gold in this regard, dispelling even when he was not charged up
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and of course, Overheal. Yay Azmia! If you have enough boosted health, you can safely ignore a few Soul Grasps and still live.
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but Vivica’s contribution is not to be underestimated - Cleanse/defense buff is necessary to counter any def down ailments. .
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sometimes you should use a Miracle Scroll even when you feel safe. I needed it on floor 24, to bring Leonidas back; I was not doing enough damage with Joon and Xiahou specials so needed Leo’s additional damage to finish that last Blue healing boss off.
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take out the damaging bosses first. once only healers were left, it really took the pressure off… and especially after 10 minutes of playing, I found I was not as sharp as I was at the start!
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Preparing for boss wave – I would finish mobs off one at a time, as those slash attacks hurt. Then sometimes I would ghost tiles up to recharge for next wave… more importantly, I would spam Azmia’s special + match as many Grasps as I could, to build up my heroes’ boosted health. This took more time, but stocking up really helped vs. the bosses!
Honorable mentions go to my twin C-Kash and Franz, who helped me clear floor 19 (and I believe Franz’s +50% damage is not reflect-able by the Styx passive, unlike normal defense down). Also Kiril and C-Richard, whose defense buff and attack debuff together helped me finally clear floor 18 (but next time I’m definitely Titanium-shielding that one!)
whew, now to put some rum in my coffee and relax a bit…