by srid on Sat Sep 29, 2018 7:44 am
@Nurator
I haven't played this dreadful quest, but from all the discussions and spoiling I've read, from what I understand if you want
to win the last boss without a Vampire Blade or Plate Mail, you probably need to enter at level 8 with a level catapult ready,
and as much momentum as possible.
Don't forget that you're playing a Crusader and that momentum can easily make your damage skyrocket. With a well-timed Reflex potion, you should be able to deal more than 250 damage (hence making it more efficient than Whupazz).
Also, I disagree with you saying that "the extra 5 damage is not THAT important". Of course, you don't want to get your damage getting too high, or you will one-shot your bloodcows, but with a crusader that already gets free +40% and can easily get +60% more (especially if you brought Byceps), we're talking +10 damage per strike. Compare that with what you get from corrosive strike (your enemies should be killable with ~12-15 strikes here, but you would only get +10 damage for your 11th strike).
Perhaps next time you could list all the items you saw in the shops and we could try discussing what you bought and why?
Same things for glyphs, what did you find, and what did you keep?
Don't underestimate what Byceps and Gettindare can do there.
Especially, Gettindare's dodge bonus means it will bring you several additional free hits. This glyph is probably worth 8 reflex potions: one free hit on each boss form + at least one free hit during the fight, given the length of the fight.
Of course if you get the Platemail the first strike advantage is gone, but the Platemail is even more worth it here, and Gettindare spamming to get free hits from dodge is still clearly worth it here (especially compared to pisorf).
Plus, it makes Fire Heart a very interesting buy, as it will give you free health refills throughout the fights.
Another item prep suggestion: Namtar's Ward. I didn't realise it until I checked today, but unlike TT that gets anger when DP is triggered, Dracul only gets angered by Cydstepp. He doesn't care if you get DP from other means (which is a bit weird thematically, knowing how pissed he was against Namtar).
Namtar's Ward is clearly one of the most powerful item in the game, overpowering Dragon Scale in a large set of circumstances. If you're not used to play with it, you should try some Vicious Dungeon rogue runs with a prepped Namtar's Ward just to get used to it.
Basically it helps tremendously for leveling up, allowing you to easily land 5-6 hits on an enemy, especially when combine with Gettindare and Byceps, which allows you to easily take on +4 lvl enemies. Which means easier level ups, which means more popcorn, which means more momentum and bloodcows for a Crusader of Dracul, which means more easier level ups, etc. Plus it will give you 1 more free hit per level up. against the boss.
Also, I keep insisting that taking Blood Shield there might not be the best strategy compared to taking a third layer of lifesteal. Overall, at level 10, 15% resistances brings you 5 damage less per strike on the boss, but one more lifesteal layer also means that you get 20 more HP regen per blood cow. With three cows, you're looking at a +60HP refill mid-fight, that can maybe even serve a second time (after all, being ensnared means that your cows will heal faster too), plus all the extra health you will get from your level 5 popcorn.
Knowing that form 3 has fast regen, you should probably not care that much about blackspace and instead use that to max your health at 150% and let your cows heal completely before engaging the fight. Perhaps keep a few blackspace to adjust just in case
After dealing your first round of damage, milk your level 7 cows, engage the boss again, then start killing some popcorn to heal and build momentum, use a reflex potion and a dodge potion when your damage is the highest, with overheal you should have enough health to take 2 or 3 strikes, and once your momentum is gone down, with some luck your lvl 7 cows will be back at full health and ready for another round.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
@theAvatar
I wonder if having Halpmeh there is a good move, since Dracul hate that glyph?
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