Dicey Dungeons – The Witch Episode 5: Parallel Universe Guide

魔女: AU

The thing about Parallel Universe Witch is that uh… she’s not very good. And more importantly, she’s incredibly complicated. So while this setup will be fairly reliable, it won’t be fantastic. If there is some secretly monumental skill ceiling I haven’t uncovered… 良い, I haven’t uncovered it. So feel free to find that if you will, but if you’re not too psyched about fiddling around with a currency mechanic being added to the Witch’s already complex kit, then this is your guide.

To Begin With: General Rules

1. We are ない spending mana.

It’s extremely difficuly for the Witch to balance mana gain and mana spending without sacrificing a sustainable damage output, so we’re just not spending it. The only spells we’re taking here don’t use mana, have a mana threshold to unlock an additional effect, or ideally, are mana-positive. Now you do in fact start with Fruit Bowl, 残念ながら, but we’ll be dealing with that ASAP.

2. Low dice are good dice.

On account of the spells we’ll be taking, results of 4-6 are actually kinda bad. They’re not reliable to acquire, and aren’t too valuable when we do have them. If you wanna take a spell that’s sort of a gamble, 信頼できない, or only useful in an edge case, put it in one of these slots. さらに, rolls of 6 are actually extra garbage. The only real function we’re gonna use them for are feeding Snapdragon- and that’s just in the early game. So really, feel free to ditch 6.

3. Prepared slots beat upgraded slots.

Most Parallel Universe Witch spells aren’t too much better when upgraded, particularly the ones we’ll be taking. そして, not to mention, getting your spells up-and-running can often make the difference between winning on your third turn, and dying on the enemy’s third turn. So absolutely take prepared the first time, and take either prepared or an extra dice the second time you’re given the chance. But remember to choose carefully there, as you may not have enough wiggle room to fight every enemy and reach max level. If you’re feeling safe, I’d suggest taking the extra dice. But four dice isn’t as good as two prepared slots. Just keep that in mind.

Floor One: Only One Option

Floor one is pretty simple, and therefore pretty scripted. There will be one chest, and it’ll offer a Vise Grip, an Enchanted Shield, or a Blue Ocean. If it’s a Vise Grip, we’ll take it, in either slot 4 または 5. Vise Grip is surprisingly useful in this run, given how much we actually prefer lower dice. If it’s either of the others, screw it, それらを無視するだけです. Throwing a dice is genuinely more valuable than using these spells 97% 当時の.

それから, there’s the most important part. After leveling up the first time, you’ll be offered two of the following options:

– ラッキー 7

– Sun Beam

– Cold Snap

今, if you’ve been paying attention, you can probably guess which one we want. Sun Beam costs mana, so we definitely don’t want that. And even though Lucky 7 is one of the highest single instance damage spells in this episode, it costs a net of 2 dice to place then cast, with a third you need lying around,very specific requirements, and little control over the outcome. 要するに, we want Cold Snap. Put it in your choice of slot 1 または 3. 1 is extremely risky, because that will overwrite what is currently your only form of dice correction, but may be better down the line if you took Vise Grip earlier. それで: if you have Vise Grip?

多分 take slot 1. But if you didn’t, or just don’t want to flip a coin on dying in the next two floors? Set it to slot 3. You’re not missing out on much. そして最後に, like I said, あるよ 1/3 chance you’re not offered Cold Snap here. こうなったら, restart the run. 真剣に. 心配しないでください, it’s only the first floor you’re restarting.

Spellbookkeeping: Options and Ideals

Going forward, I can’t account for what you’ll find nearly as much- less so with each passing floor. But as you go, I can recommend what spells you should search for, in chests, and at Yolanda’s shops. Now given that by floor 2, you have your damage covered by Cold Snap, I’ll divide the other spells you’re looking for into four categories, into descending order of importance.

1. CorrectionYou need something- really just one spell- to control your rolls. You’re going to want to trigger Cold Snap as much as physically possible, which means having as many odd rolls as you could possibly want. まず始めに, you will have Fruit Bowl, but as I mentioned Previously, we’ll be wanting to be rid of that. 例として, the shop on floor 2, and chest on floor 3, both have a chance of containing the gold standard of dice correction in this run. But uh, that’s sort of an anti-pun; because the spell you’re really hoping for here is a Bronze Cauldron. This only accepts even dice, and rolls them into odd dice. That alone would already be good enough to mention as ideal, but on top of that, it deals 2 plain damage per use, making it an extra source of damage. *And*, even better, it’s one of the Witch’s few reusable spells, meaning you can use it as many times in one turn as you have even dice, without needing to re-prepare your Bronze Cauldron. そうは言っても, it isn’t guaranteed that you’ll get this spell. So following this is a list of options for Correction, in descending order of quality:

– Bronze Cauldron

– Silver Cauldron

– Glass Cauldron

– Subdivide

– キャンドル (Arguably this could place higher, though it does cost HP to use, something you may not have much of to spare)

一度, or if you manage to find one of these spells, take it as soon as you can. If it’s Bronze Cauldron or Candle- つまり, 再利用可能- feel free to mark it in your spellbook in any slot above 3. If it’s any of the others, bind it to 1, 2, または 3, so long as you’re not overwriting Cold Snap. (And if your 1 slot is still occupied by Fruit Bowl, you should overwrite that here.) Once you’ve gotten a spell in this group, swap out your first prepared spell for this, to ensure you start every fight with a means of dice control. And as the fight goes on, try to avoid replacing this spell with anything other than a new copy of itself.

2. Mana GenerationSo about level 4. The third time you fill your XP bar, you’ll be offered a choice between Magnifying Glass and Daffodil. The former is nothing in comparison to the later. Take Daffodil as soon as possible, and bind it to anything higher than 3. Fill your second prepared slot with Daffodil, and if you can get a third prepared slot, that one too. 事は, this entire build relies on Cold Snap. So by extension, it relies on you always having 2 or more mana. It doesn’t matter if we have 3 または 26, we just want to get to get at least 2, and never spend any. When cast with at least 2 マナ, Cold Snap inflicts Freeze 1. And depending on the enemy, this can mean anything from hindering them constantly, to completely denying them the ability to hurt you. That’s why mana generation is so crucial. そうは言っても, although you only really 必要 two daffodils on turn one, (または 1 on your 1st and 2nd turn, failing that) you’ll need to bide your time making mana for the first couple of floors. もちろん, you could use your Snapdragon for this, though obviously that’s not ideal. So for the interim, I’ve got for you a list of spells that keep you nice and chilly, for the duration that you don’t have your Daffodils:

– Flower Pot (Like Daffodil, doubles as okay dice correction)

– Gladioli (Doubles as secondary damage output)

– Honeysuckle (Healing ain’t bad here)

3. Auxiliary SpellsNow technically, you can stop reading here.If you have dice correction, マナ生成, and Cold Snap, you’re really good to go. 具体的には, if you’re going into a fight with a Bronze Cauldron and two Daffodils prepared, then swapping out everything but your Cauldron for Cold Snaps that you barrade the enemy with for the rest of the fight, then your build is absolutely singing. そうは言っても, this setup still leaves your spellbook half-empty. And with all that coin lying around, it’s not a bad idea to invest in some back-up spells. Here are some spells I think can be worth it:

– Enchanted Bolt (If you’re willing to only dedicate two spell slots to Cold Snapping, and one to your dice correction, Enchanted Bolt can make for a nice quaternary pick, lending more to your damage output)

– Vise Grip (Already mentioned in the section on Floor One, but needless to say, it’s an unexpectedly powerful means of controlling your rolls, especially when you keep your most important spells in lower slots)

– Northern Lights (In the event of an unfortunate round one roll, or if you’re trying to setup some wacky B-Plan, Northern Lights can take advantage of your spare mana for some stellar dice generation)

– Spring Equinox (Can make better of a situation where your dice are sparse, by some means or another)

4. Hubrisうん, I see you eyeing Moonlight Spear. It’s fully warranted that, given I’ve left you with so much room in your spellbook, you’re going to want to take some big, flashy, frankly silly spells. Because who doesn’t love smacking the boss with a hefty 30 ダメージ. So in the event that you want to fill a spare slot like 4 または 6 with something exuberant and unlikely, here’s a list of okay spells for that:

– Moonlight Spear

– Harvest Scythe

– Moon Beam

– Winter Solstice

– Winds of Winter

Spellslinging: How to Win Your Battles

Now you’d really think this section would be the longest. But I suppose that’s how the Witch is; the real difficulty is setting yourself up for success, while actually getting it done is just placing your dice in the applicable spaces.

Every round one, you want dice correction first, mana generation second, and Cold Snaps third. If you can get to 2 mana now, どうぞ. さもないと, no sweat, but try to have that much by your second turn. その後, or as you’re doing it, you want to fill everything other than dice correction with Cold Snaps. That means two instances at first, and once you’ve hit 2 マナ, three slots taken up by Cold Snap. その時点で, the process is simple. Cast as many dice from even to odd as you can, then unload them all into Cold Snap. If you have the dice to spare, re-prepare a new Cold Snap over top of an expended one, use it, etcetera. それでおしまい!

おお, and Also: Dealing With Conditions

Parallel Universe conditions are different, and with the Witch especially, so are the ways you need to deal with them! 今, most are pretty straightforward, but before you’re gone, I wanted to give some suggestions on the matter.

初めに, curse is even more wretched than normal. It triggers the same way, but instead of causing your spells to fail, it’ll cause them to swap target. そのような, when cursed, I strongly recommend you do ない use Cold Snap, or any spell that needs two dice to cast, until you’ve triggered the curse. いつもの, that means using your method of dice correction to clear your curse.

そして二番目に, poison and fire can be largely circumvented by the Witch, if handled correctly.

毒 is easy. Instead of damaging you at the start of your turn, it will replace one of your spells with a cooldown equal to your stacks of poison. If you don’t clear it, not only can you not access the spell, but you’ll take the damage at the end of your turn. ありがたいことに, preparing a new spell on top of the poisoned one will prevent the damage from triggering, avoiding the damage entirely. 言い換えると, be a little careful, and the Rat King will be completely incapable of damaging you.
火, similarly, messes more with your spellbook than it does you. If you use a dice to cast a spell, it will stay expended. しかし, you can always prepare a fresh one on top of it. その間, dropping a burning die into your spellbook to prepare something new will block out that part of your spellbook- which isn’t so easily fixed. So if you’re going to use burning dice, make sure to cast with them, and not use them for preparation.最後に, it’s worth noting that a shocked spell can just be prepared on top of, just like a poisoned one, just like a burnt one.