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So I haven't 100% acclimated to the Watcher yet, but after some teething pains I think I've at least got a handle on the basics. And also that Omniscience + Deva Form + Fasting is a really good trio of cards! 
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Sep 5, 2021 04:34
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SKULL.GIF posted:I played a lot of custom characters, including Marisa, and I didn't like most of them. Many of them are very "overdesigned", in the sense that there's a ton of stuff lining up to force their particular The Hollow Knight mods are good, lots of nice new artwork and decent balance. Not as good on game play as Downfall, but still solid. The few other ones I've tried felt like Jorb's mod which fell into the trap of adding as many god drat overly complex mechanics as they could. Trying to shove a page of unique rules text into each of 8 orb slots was loving awful game design.
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Sep 5, 2021 04:46
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headcase posted:wait what is so bad about ectoplasm? I almost always take it as long as i've offloaded enough strikes. I find there to be enough other resources. its trading like 1000 gold for an extra energy each turn. not worth it a lot of the time imo
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Sep 5, 2021 04:51
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headcase posted:wait what is so bad about ectoplasm? I almost always take it as long as i've offloaded enough strikes. I find there to be enough other resources. You can only get it in A1, so it has a massive downside compared to something like sozu or cursed key which you can pick up at the end of A2 and deal with. If you could get it at the end of A2 it would be a lot better.
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Sep 5, 2021 07:00
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Dyz posted:You can only get it in A1, so it has a massive downside compared to something like sozu or cursed key which you can pick up at the end of A2 and deal with. If you could get it at the end of A2 it would be a lot better. Wow, I did not know this. Just never noticed that it doesn't show up in act 2.
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Sep 5, 2021 07:15
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Yep, and then you have a 50% chance of being robbed in the act 2 easy pools. It's just cruel.
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Sep 5, 2021 07:16
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Yoshi Wins posted:Yep, and then you have a 50% chance of being robbed in the act 2 easy pools. It's just cruel. Thieves follow ectoplasm the same way birds follow philo stone.
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Sep 5, 2021 08:12
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Yoshi Wins posted:Yep, and then you have a 50% chance of being robbed in the act 2 easy pools. It's just cruel. Don't be ridiculous, it's not a 50% chance. After all... jetz0r posted:Thieves follow ectoplasm the same way birds follow philo stone.
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Sep 5, 2021 09:05
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headcase posted:wait what is so bad about ectoplasm? I almost always take it as long as i've offloaded enough strikes. I find there to be enough other resources. Gold is really valuable. Stores are pretty much the only place in the game where you're offered a huge array of choices that you can use to hammer out any weaknesses in your run. If you think of it like missing out on a couple of card removes and a random card, then it really isn't all that great. But shops can be a lifeline when you're desperately missing some essential card/relic/potion to beat the upcoming fights or the rest of the run in general.
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Sep 5, 2021 09:20
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jetz0r posted:The Hollow Knight mods are good, lots of nice new artwork and decent balance. Not as good on game play as Downfall, but still solid. Jorbs never wanted to design a good character, he just wanted to be the best at playing it. So he made a character that nobody else can play properly.
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Sep 5, 2021 09:33
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Jedit posted:Jorbs never wanted to design a good character, he just wanted to be the best at playing it. So he made a character that nobody else can play properly. It felt like when technical players design homemade magic cards. There's no consideration for someone reading the card for the first time, only for themselves, who was there from the start and already knows what the card is supposed to do without any text. They try to show all the weird rules interactions they know of, and cram weird overly complex triggers and effects on to every loving card. Usually for minor benefit. Resulting in an unfun, unplayable mess that requires 6x the mental processing to fully utilize the 10% better outcomes, so they can feel like they're outplaying others in their own custom hard mode.
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Sep 5, 2021 09:55
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lmao drat did somebody hold you guys down at gunpoint and force you to play it or something?
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Sep 5, 2021 18:50
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I had a bunch of fun with the Wanderer when I played with it. Sure it was complicated but that was a nice change of pace.
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Sep 5, 2021 19:20
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 Look where that Mark of the Bloom is on the relic list. I picked that poo poo up on floor 2 of Act 3. And by the way, Act three is a whole bunch more interesting when every potential hit point loss is permanent.
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Sep 5, 2021 21:47
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Love to pick up Lizard Tail, Bird Faced Urn, Toy Ornithopter, Darkstone Periapt and Eternal Feather after Mark of the Bloom.
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Sep 5, 2021 22:05
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TBF the feather was after the Spear & Shield, so it would have been worthless anyways.
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Sep 5, 2021 22:22
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military cervix posted:Gold is really valuable. Stores are pretty much the only place in the game where you're offered a huge array of choices that you can use to hammer out any weaknesses in your run. If you think of it like missing out on a couple of card removes and a random card, then it really isn't all that great. But shops can be a lifeline when you're desperately missing some essential card/relic/potion to beat the upcoming fights or the rest of the run in general. OK I'll try to adjust my runs for this. I am usually going for 5 energy, or 4 + pyramid, and a ton of draw and just good value cards that i come across. A19 on all 4. It is getting harder though.
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Sep 6, 2021 14:45
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Todays daily is loving nuts haha. You get a dead branch and corruption early act 1 and it's bottled by early act 2. Plus fnp and juggernaut. It's fun to block enemies to death. metachronos fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 14:58
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I feel dumb posting this because he's like the default character but is there a trick for getting the hang of Ironclad? I feel like I can only ever do well on him if I get the perfect storm of block mechanics fairly early on (Entrench, Barricade etc.) and if I don't get those I fizzle out and die way quicker than I do with the other characters.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:29
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Pikestaff posted:I feel dumb posting this because he's like the default character but is there a trick for getting the hang of Ironclad? I feel like I can only ever do well on him if I get the perfect storm of block mechanics fairly early on (Entrench, Barricade etc.) and if I don't get those I fizzle out and die way quicker than I do with the other characters. Embrace the various exhaust based cards, they are pretty much all great and only get better when you start assembling synergies among them.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:41
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Also, with enough strength (which you want anyways) Reaper is a very very good block card.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:54
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Pikestaff posted:I feel dumb posting this because he's like the default character but is there a trick for getting the hang of Ironclad? I feel like I can only ever do well on him if I get the perfect storm of block mechanics fairly early on (Entrench, Barricade etc.) and if I don't get those I fizzle out and die way quicker than I do with the other characters. This is totally me too. Then again, I'm kind of like that with poison and the silent too.
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Sep 6, 2021 15:55
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Pikestaff posted:I feel dumb posting this because he's like the default character but is there a trick for getting the hang of Ironclad? I feel like I can only ever do well on him if I get the perfect storm of block mechanics fairly early on (Entrench, Barricade etc.) and if I don't get those I fizzle out and die way quicker than I do with the other characters. The all-star rares (Juggernaut, Barricade) are what makes your block deck great, but you can go pretty far as long as you have incremental advantage of some kind. Power Through is my favourite IC block card, it has insane efficiency and the Wounds can be fed to exhaust, and/or left in the deck for Fire Breathing which is a decent Jug replacement. Demon Form also works pretty well in a block deck, sit on your rear end spamming blocks until you finish them off with literally any attack (or just grab Inflames and wait to cycle them / use Headbutt which is my favourite IC common). Aggressive Ironclad is easier to build, it just takes a bit to learn to play it as you realize that a few ounces of blood will save you gallons of blood in the long run (but do prioritize grabbing, upgrading, casting, and duplicating Reaper aggressively if you can). Disclaimer: I'm very new to the game, but IC is my favourite char and I have plenty of past CG experience. NihilCredo fucked around with this message at 16:02 on Sep 6, 2021 |
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Sep 6, 2021 15:59
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Pikestaff posted:I feel dumb posting this because he's like the default character but is there a trick for getting the hang of Ironclad? I feel like I can only ever do well on him if I get the perfect storm of block mechanics fairly early on (Entrench, Barricade etc.) and if I don't get those I fizzle out and die way quicker than I do with the other characters. IC is deceptively complicated, don't feel down on it. Barricade is a fantastic card partially because it pairs well with almost any suite. The key is to learning the other suites and how to play them without barricade. My advice is to first focus on cards that are good by themselves, then pick cards that make those cards better. For example, let's say you find Battle France which is an absolutely fantastic pick all alone. So now you have bonus card draw, but need some energy to spend on all those cards! Look for Bloodletting and anger and other 0 cost cards. Stuff like that. If you want more detailed advice, post some runs that you don't understand why you lost along with the seeds so we can try them out.
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Sep 6, 2021 17:29
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Think of this in two ways. Damage mitigation and sustain. Damage mitigation is preventing damage. This is not done just by looking at the amount of damage coming in and playing cards in your hand that will block for that amount of damage. This is done in reducing the enemy's damage, through cards like Disarm and Clothesline and Shockwave. This is done in cards that generate block whenever you meet a particular condition, like Rage or Feel No Pain. You can combined Feel No Pain with Second Wind to exhaust a ton of cards and gain a ton of block. There are a lot of ways to keep incoming damage from reducing your HP. Barricade/Entrench is one, but Ironclad has a lot of others. Sustain is keeping your HP as high as possible. This can be done through healing, via relics like Burning Blood (Ironclad's starter relic), Blood Vial, Eternal Feather, Meal Ticket. It can be done with cards like Reaper. You can also increase your max HP with cards like Feed. If you get an early Feed and put in the effort to hit it as much as possible, you can end up with over 100 max HP, easily.
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Sep 6, 2021 18:33
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With IC I pretty quickly rocketed to ascension 20 by prioritizing strength and multistrike cards instead of looking for block generation (except for multibenefit cards like shrug it off) . The starting relic is great for offsetting little amounts of chip damage in act 1 and some of act 2, as long as you have the dps to close fights quick. Combined with a defensive relic like orichalcum or thread and needle you can keep health losses to a minimum while focusing on damage scaling. I honestly think I only had one block heavy deck ever work, and it was a perfect storm of barricade, body slam, multiple entrenches, and juggernaut. There's just too many cards you need to get block decks up and running on IC
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Sep 6, 2021 18:47
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Also really important to note-- one of the best forms of damage mitigation is just killing the enemy. Sometimes you'll end up in situations where you can block for 15 on a turn, or you can push in some damage. Eating 15 isn't ideal, but if getting the extra damage off allows you to end the encounter a turn or two earlier it can end up saving you a lot more health in the long run. This is really relevant to ironclad, starting with bash, since getting vulnerable applied to the enemy can let you end the fight way sooner than otherwise.
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Sep 6, 2021 18:58
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ereror posted:Also really important to note-- one of the best forms of damage mitigation is just killing the enemy. Sometimes you'll end up in situations where you can block for 15 on a turn, or you can push in some damage. Eating 15 isn't ideal, but if getting the extra damage off allows you to end the encounter a turn or two earlier it can end up saving you a lot more health in the long run. This is really relevant to ironclad, starting with bash, since getting vulnerable applied to the enemy can let you end the fight way sooner than otherwise. Which is why Bash is such an important upgrade, too.
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Sep 6, 2021 19:16
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Once I embraced the Exhaust mechanic, and stopped seeing it as, "I can't play this card again this battle? But what if I really need it again?", and started seeing it as, "This will power me up and let me end this battle quicker", Ironclad ran a lot more smoothly for me. I still need to let go of RPG Hoarding Syndrome when it comes to Potions, though. I tend to save them for the End Of Act Boss Fights, because, "This is really good so why should I waste it on this Elite?". Cpt_Obvious posted:Battle France This took me a moment to parse. Battle Trance? Nay! Battle France! 
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Sep 6, 2021 19:48
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Lmao Yeah battle trance
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Sep 6, 2021 19:59
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Coincidentally, I have apparently lost my knack for IC because I've just been doing dogshit on A0 out of nowhere. Maybe it's just down to playing at 4am on a bad ADHD day, but cripes. "I have Fiend Fire and lots of exhaust synergy/FNP/block stuff I've got this easy *dies to a random Act 3 hallway fight out of nowhere*" My only guess is that my pathing has been hosed and I've been too aggressive against elites or shying away from resting a little too much. Oh, and of course, the all time classic "gently caress you Time Eater, now time for Act 4....wait...why did I face plant?" because I blanked out and forgot to Recall at the last fire like a dumbass
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Sep 6, 2021 21:36
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Pikestaff posted:I feel dumb posting this because he's like the default character but is there a trick for getting the hang of Ironclad? I feel like I can only ever do well on him if I get the perfect storm of block mechanics fairly early on (Entrench, Barricade etc.) and if I don't get those I fizzle out and die way quicker than I do with the other characters. Nah i think ironclad is the most complicated to learn cuz nothing really makes too much sense when you are learning the game but i enjoy him the most now after idk 800 hours. I really the like strength YOLO builds he can do and they feel more achievable to me than barricading (which is amazing and better to be fair). Exhaust decks esp with dead branch is the most fun thing in the game. Just play him a lot and try different poo poo and he'll start to click lol
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Sep 6, 2021 22:18
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Am I correct in thinking that Asc1 is arguably easier than Asc0? More Elites = more relics and uncommons = better builds. Yeah they're hard fights but generally the worst case scenario is that I have to rest to recoup, which is kinda like trading a card upgrade for a random relic, which isn't bad at all - and that's the worst case. Though it might be because I'm currently trying to get to my first Heart kill (I got it low health 4-5 times but keep dying to the 6x12 attack), and I really want every possible chance to roll a Tungsten Rod. Kheldarn posted:I still need to let go of RPG Hoarding Syndrome when it comes to Potions, though. I tend to save them for the End Of Act Boss Fights, because, "This is really good so why should I waste it on this Elite?". The way I think about it in StS is that a healing potion will give you 15HP or so (20% health or regen potion), so if whatever potion I'm holding is likely to save me 15 or more HP I will use it and consider it well spent. Of course if I can foresee some specific uses (e.g. power or cultist potions for prolonged battles) I will hoard them for an act or so.
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Sep 6, 2021 22:27
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Yes, Ascension 1 is generally agreed to be easier than 0 for exactly that reason. More elites make it much easier to build a better deck/collect more resources.
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Sep 6, 2021 22:30
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John Murdoch posted:Coincidentally, I have apparently lost my knack for IC because I've just been doing dogshit on A0 out of nowhere. Maybe it's just down to playing at 4am on a bad ADHD day, but cripes. "I have Fiend Fire and lots of exhaust synergy/FNP/block stuff I've got this easy *dies to a random Act 3 hallway fight out of nowhere*" My only guess is that my pathing has been hosed and I've been too aggressive against elites or shying away from resting a little too much. If you have a good deck but die randomly you probably need more card draw. Offering, Evolution, Dark Embrace, Battle Trance and Burning Pact are the standouts for IC, try picking up more of those imo.
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Sep 6, 2021 22:48
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I've come to realize that I just don't like Ironclad. He's very energy starved compared to the other characters and I just don't find him fun to play.
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Sep 6, 2021 23:16
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OctaviusBeaver posted:If you have a good deck but die randomly you probably need more card draw. Offering, Evolution, Dark Embrace, Battle Trance and Burning Pact are the standouts for IC, try picking up more of those imo. These decks all had some combination of those. One of them I lucked into *two* Offerings. I do also feel like I've been more getting screwed on boss relics and maybe iffy block generation. Like endless Barricade + FNP + Metallicize type stuff...with not a single goddamn Entrench showing up all run.
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Sep 6, 2021 23:21
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Thats why you gotta hit up shops, transform strikes whenever you can etc. At the end of the day its still an rng game and it will try to gently caress you over as soon as it can. Personally i think impervious or power through are some of the best bad boys you can get. Especially impervious + exhume
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Sep 6, 2021 23:56
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NihilCredo posted:The way I think about it in StS is that a healing potion will give you 15HP or so (20% health or regen potion), so if whatever potion I'm holding is likely to save me 15 or more HP I will use it and consider it well spent. It's more common to peg it at 12HP, because that's the value of a block potion. It's almost always an unnecessary risk to not finish a fight ASAP for the sake of healing up the last 2 or 3 points from a regen potion, so those are usually valued at 12HP also.
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Sep 7, 2021 00:15
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| # ? Jun 9, 2024 17:33 |
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I think Ironclad is tricky to learn, because your first win with him is often some Barricade + Entrench thing, and those are actually pretty marginal cards, and that combo is pretty tricky to pull off. So it's very easy to develop bad habits around him.
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Sep 7, 2021 00:30
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