Strategies that help keep RNG from ruining your runs. Includes how to find Hidden Chests.
General Tips
Map enemies tend to be easier than enemies guarding areas (or maybe that’s just me).
2. Using ID Scrolls
Use them to find your lifting scrolls. After that, I tend to ID my scrolls first then potions.
3. Shops
ALWAYS buy all the keys until you have enough to get through the White Grave stage (3-1). If RNG grants you a key as a drop, make sure you still buy all the keys since some shops only offer 1.
Buy lifting scrolls so you have at least 1 per stage, and buy ID scrolls since they’re cheaper than using the shop ID. Also buy the white Skill Book if you have enough.
4. Important Lucy Skills
Effective Plan > Hasty Counter > 3 card draw skills > Character draw skills > Draw > Others
Hasty Counter is typically the best of the frequent skills. Effective Plan is pretty rare. Otherwise Fan Out, Ray of Light, and other character draw skills are pretty decent.
5. Altar of Greed (Pig Statue)
Get random items/gold for donating bread
Possible drops:
1g
Random gold
Potion
Scroll
Gear/Relic
Skill Book
I always use all my bread. Possible item drops and gold are worth it.
6. Jar of Abyss
Get a random scroll/book/gear or heal every ~2 inputs. I typically put in tablets, useless scrolls (ie transfer), and skill books if I don’t expect a library to show up. TBH I usually skip the Jar…
Using the Golden Apple will give you a random relic.
7. Forge
Combine gear to get new gear pieces. Combining gear of the same rarity will give you gear 1 rarity higher – (white -> green -> blue -> purple -> orange)
Combining 2 orange/legendary gears gives you 1 orange/legendary, so don’t do it
Golden apple can be used in place of a purple/epic gear
Try to get as many purple/orange gear due to their unique effects
Try not to pay for re-rolls… it’s easier to save gold for keys and gear pieces in the future. Just hope you get a forge again in a later stage…
If you somehow have the money though, save the 50% price for a legendary gear re-roll.
8. Library
I avoid upgrading gear due to better uses for gold. Good for re-rolling Lucy skills or for turning books into scrolls. Best place to get mapping and purification scrolls.
Golden Apple gives a black skill book and Lucy skill book.
Stage Guide
Maps:
1. Look for items/gold/unguarded events
2. Shop for keys
3. Hidden map chest (see secrets)
4. Open locked chests
5. Defeat all enemies
Campsite:
1. Revive incapacitated members (optional)
– Reviving before resting means more health
2. Rest/Recruit new members
– Recruiting available after Misty Garden 1 and Bloody Park 1
3. Angel Statue/Restore necklace uses (optional)
4. Relic Stand
SoulStone Priority:
Character Lv.2 > Card Draw 2 > Mana 4
Save 2 SoulStones for 3rd member Lv.2
Bosses:
Cerberus (Easy)
Relies on 2 attacks to deplete healing gauge
Living Armor (Easy-Medium)
1. Fountain of Oblivion – Replace Acceleration with another Lucy Skill
SoulStone Priority:
Mana 4 > Character Lv.3 = Card Draw 3 > Mana 5
Bosses:
Golem (Medium)
Uses a strong AOE or strong atk every turn
Using the blue orb skill creates a character skill with -1 mana cost
Not using the red orb skill causes the golem to use another atk the same turn
The Witch (Hard)
Summons a butler (+taunt) and maid (can cause bleed) if not in battle; heals/buffs one if they’re present
Creates a pain curse (5dmg/turn for 4 turns) or weakening curse (Atk/Heal -10%) you must apply to an ally each turn
SoulStone Priority:
Card Draw 3 > Character Lv.3 = Mana 5
Bosses:
Parade Tank (Easy-Medium)
Very strong AOE every ~3 turns, also applies received heal debuff
Joker (Medium)
Changes a deck skill to The Joker which causes 15 dmg per debuff to each ally
Inflicts stun to an ally for every 4th ally skill used
Summons a maid every few turns
SoulStone Priority:
Character Lv.3 = Mana 5 > Character Lv. 4 = Mana 6 > Card Draw 4
Bosses:
Ruby & Sapphire (Medium)
Shared health
Inflict 2 different debuffs that increase skill cost or cause dmg when a skill is used
When ~50% HP inflict AOE/debuff dmg and one boss gets a counter status
Time Eater (Medium-Hard)
First ally receives a 10% atk buff skill
Buff passes to the next ally when a skill is used and increases by 10%
All skills gain Countdown 9
Inflicts a debuff causing strong pain dmg to an ally if they have the atk buff
Bomber Clown (Medium-Hard)
Adds bombs to hand
Top skill is discarded at end of turn if not used
If bomb reaches top of hand, random ally receives 15 dmg
Inflicts dmg based on number of skills in hand with a certain mana cost
SoulStone Priority:
Mana 6 = Character Lv. 4 > Card Draw 4 > Mana 7 = Character Lv. 5 = Card Draw 5
(This is the last stage with SoulStone Drops)
Bosses:
Sacred Karaela (Medium-Hard)
One ally receives a debuff causing -100% heal received
Can be passed to another ally, and allows that next ally skill to be repeated by previous ally
Summons a burning cross each turn
Burning cross and boss have counter buffs which deal more dmg to allies without the heal debuff
Phaeros Leader (Medium-Hard)
One dmg skill must be inflicted on an ally each turn before usable on boss
When HP ~50%, inflicts mind control debuff causing the ally’s skill to be unusable
Controlled ally casts a skill on other allies unless damaged
The Reaper (Medium-Hard)
Inflicts a 3-turn debuff on the ally with the skill at the top of hand
If debuff is stacked to 2, all allies receive strong AOE pain dmg
Summons a Pharos High Priest if not present; if present, receives dmg buff
Map is split into 3 parts with a 1:2:2 event placement. The first location is unguarded; always use it. The next section has 2 locations guarded by 1 enemy. Only one location can be used. The third section is the same as the first and contains the merchant.
1. Lucy’s Library
Pay 1000 gold to pick 1 of 3 Lucy skills. One use only.
2. Archangel Statue
Forget 1 skill. Pick a skill for that character to learn. Options are skills learnable by any teammate.
3. Revival Station
Heal team and revive allies.
4. Vault
Choose 1 gear to be in inventory on next run. Only works if you fail the current run (or forfeit)…
5. Relic Hermit
Pick 1 of 3 relics. Able to open relic display at any time.
6. Merchant
Sells 3 epic items at 1700g. Also sells 2 bread at 200g each.
Boss:
Forgotten King (Medium)
3 Phases
Phase 1:
Boss receives buff if certain skill is used
Can shackle an ally making their skills unplayable until a crystal is destroyed
Ally dies in 3 turns if not unshackled
Phase 2:
HP ~50%
Boss is shielded; dmg = 0
Summons 3 crystals; once destroyed, discards all skills of the ally who destroyed it
Create 2 Purifying Lightning skills each turn causing 40% dmg that scales if repeated on an ally
Phase 3:
Bleeding skills are used more often
Must choose 1 of 2 skills to exclude from deck (2 times/turn)
Fixed skills can are debuffed with once
nb. Phase 1 -> 2 is dangerous since boss attacks twice the turn it shields then uses a strong AOE the start of the next turn. This majorly depletes healing gauges and can even faint an ally at full health.
Character Rankings
As a note I typically choose to start with Sizz and Lian
Lian
– Passive: Grand Reflex (HP Protect + Armor + Increased Count DMG)
– Preparation (Low Cost DMG before Enemy DMG)
Preparation > Reposte > Stunning Strike > Barricade > Bring It On > anything else
Lian basically absorbs damage. Her natural Armor stats are high, especially with Grand Reflex. Since she covers for other teammates with parry and can preemptively attack with Preparation, playing without her on the team makes a run so much more difficult.
Sizz
– Healing Wave (AOE Heal paired with Status Heal)
– Eve, Guard (Strong AOE Chain Heal)
– Sacrifice (AOE Attack and Team Barrier)
Healing Wave > Eve, Guard > Sacrifice > Patch Up > anything else
Sizz is probably the most reliable AOE healer. Enemy AOEs typically don’t hit all characters so the incomplete AOE of Healing Wave is bearable especially due to its high Heal:Mana ratio and debuff removal.
Sacrifice makes Eve unusable, but a healing skill the next turn will bring her back. AOE dmg and a party barrier makes sacrifice useful.
Joey (DPS)
– Chemical Substance (Strong DOT)
– Weakening Smog (AOE DOT)
– Healing Support Skills
Chemical Substance > Weakening Smog > Healing Vapor > Healing Potion > anything else
Lol, apparently most people choose Joey as a healer. However, use him as a dps and at 5 stacks of intoxication he can do like 40 dmg/turn. Against bosses and annoying enemies like the wooden carousel horses, he works a lot better than other DPS characters. Also the best character to give the Rod of Faith ( +6/-3 ATK/Heal stats based on class)
Narhan
– Mental Shock (Max HP-based DMG)
– Cold Hearted (Heal when DMG)
Mental Shock = Cold Hearted > The Mentalist > Stand Together > anything else
When at a loss for the best 4th team member I just typically choose Narhan. Other characters typically take the ATK, Heal, and Armor items, so at least he can make use of HP items they don’t use. Mental Shock is decent DPS, and Cold Hearted practically nulls a strong AOE attack by bosses; even better, it’s only one-use, which allows DPS skills and Heal skills to be drawn more often. At high HP, The Mentalist can give like 30 barrier for 2 turns.
Hein – Decent DPS. Enough said.
Tear Up > Bloody Revenge > Mutilate > Rage Slash > Intimidation > ID Weakness > anything else
Miss Chain – Decent Skill Effects and Pain Debuffs. Burn effects are useful, but you have to use a skill to access them. Decent DPS, but kind of lacking as a tank.
Leave This To Me > Engine Burner > Combined Arms > Zoom > Engine Reload > anything else
Johan – Decent DPS and Burning Arrow. Good in beginning, but weak in end-game.
Burning Arrow > HookShot > Rain of Arrows > Sonic Blow > anything else
Trisha – Pain DOT and Pain Debuff Trigger. Pair with Joey or Charon for best results.
Illusion Strike > Heart Pierce > Mirror Image > anything else
Azar – Fair DPS. Requires planning to best use Hollowed Swords. TBH he basically eats cost.
Veiled Sword > anything else
Pressel – Standard Healing. Enough said.
Healing Coil > Healing Light = Blinking Heal = Double Heal > Shining Pillar > anything else
Charon – Useful DOT. Focus Encroachment DOT ratio is a little weak especially against bosses where it can’t transfer.
Focus Encroachment > Dark Heal > Dark Barrier = Soul Stigma > anything else
Helia&Selena – Decent DPS and Heal. Unfortunately they come as a pair and lunar curtain/solar flare effects can be difficult to coordinate. Seleneurion is a “1-cost” swift skill that deals 65 dmg (if you can even manage to get 2 specific rare skills in a single run).
Combustion > Sun Ring > Prominence = Black Sun = SolarBolt > anything else
Star Breeze > Lunar Ring > Healing Stars = Power of Full Moon > anything else
Ironheart – His Barrier/Mana ratio just isn’t worth it to me…
Silverstein – Never really tried to use him due to his high mana costs.
Huzz – I don’t even know how to use her. I feel like she’d just get my whole party killed off…
Phoenix – In a game where RNG matters, I don’t need a mildly useful character that can fail if I don’t have enough bread…
Finding the Hidden Chest
However, here are some tips that help tons.
Guidelines:
1. Look for areas surrounded by tiles
2. Look for paths blocked by enemies but can be passed if a hidden block shows up
3. 1 Hidden Chest per stage except for Misty Garden 1 and Final Stage
Bad
-No empty tiles surrounded on all sides
-No pathway would be made around the enemy
Fair
– Tile is surrounded on all sides
Very Good
– Several tiles are well-surrounded
– Tile above enemy would create a path around it
Throw a brick if the chest isn’t here
– Many tiles that are well-surrounded
– A hidden chest above the enemy or to the lower left would create a pathway
To reveal the chest use either a lifting scroll or purification scroll next to the tile. Thankfully it works from about 2-3 tiles away, so if there are multiple tiles in an area, use the scroll in the middleground.
If you don’t have those scrolls, teleport scrolls have a rare chance of teleporting you to the tile too. I feel like they have a better chance if you are right next to the hidden tile, but who knows…
Possible contents:
Golden Apple (special effect for different event tiles; best if used in forge as an epic gear piece)
1000 gold
Lucy Scroll
2 potions + 1 black skill book
Relic
Gear Piece
– A rare potion that randomizes an ally’s gear
– Save it for re-rolling Legendary gear
2. Purification Scroll
– Clears nearby enemy location without battling
– Receive normal enemy drops
3. Weakening Potion
– Use on an enemy to lower atk by 10%
4. Oblivion Potion
– Use on an enemy to stun
5. Credits
– You get about 20 credits for completing a run on casual
6. Secret Uses of items
Campground Items
– Scrolls: Heal all allies for a slight amount
– Bread: Heal all allies for a small amount
– Herb: Allies receive an EVA buff for the next stage (2/2 gives +5% EVA)
Library
– Black Skill Books: Receive 3 random scrolls
– Lucy Skill Books: Re-roll Lucy skill
– Golden Apple: Receive a Black Skill Book and a Lucy Skill Book
– Cursed Gear: Gives a rare enchantment?
Jar of Abyss
– Golden Apple: Receive a random relic
Forge
– Golden Apple: Substitutes for an epic gear piece (purple)
– Relic: Re-rolls relic
