View source for EE:All is Dust

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[[File:Heretic_Gold.PNG|right|510px]]

'''''All is Dust''''' is the {{EEC|Heretic}} gold [[Class Challenges|challenge]].  In this grueling run, you must take down the champions of the entire pantheon.

== Preparations ==
No preparations.

== Resources Available ==
This dungeon has the standard assortment of resources, but the only altar on the main floor is {{g|The Pactmaker}} and there are no shops.  There are eight subdungeons, which hold the other altars as well as the first eight bosses.

==Special Rules==

The map starts partially explored.  You have to defeat the eight subdungeon bosses to reveal the final boss (the Faithful Ascendant). 

==Monsters==

All common enemies except {{m|Bandit}} are guaranteed to appear.

Monster difficulty is 100%.

==Bosses==

'''Champion Ascendant''': {{m|Golem}} icon, 999 attack, 159 health, {{t|Magic Immune}}, {{t|First Strike}}

'''Archmage Ascendant''': {{m|Dragon Spawn}} icon, 75 attack, 477 health, {{t|Physical Immune}}, {{t|Magical Attack}}

'''Trickster Ascendant''': {{m|Bandit}} icon, 999 attack, 318 health, {{t|Blinks}}, {{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}

'''Deathmage Ascendant''': {{m|Zombie}} icon, 37 attack, 954 health, {{t|Undead}}, {{t|Magical Attack}}

'''Foreman Ascendant''': {{m|Goblin}} icon, 225 attack, 318 health, {{t|Magic Immune}}

'''Naturalist Ascendant''': {{m|Warlock}} icon, 75 attack, 159 health, {{t|Physical Immune}}, {{t|Retaliate: Fireball}}

'''Heirophant Ascendant''': {{m|Serpent}} icon, 75 attack, 636 health, {{t|Poisonous}}, {{t|Mana Burn}}, {{t|Curse Bearer}}

'''Madman Ascendant''': {{m|Goat}} icon, 75 attack, 477 health, 20% resists, {{t|Corrosive}}: 1, {{t|Weakening}}

'''Faithful Ascendant''': {{GnCr}} icon, 77 attack, 7777 health, 50% resists, {{t|Berserks}} at 50%.

== Strategy ==
This run is LONG and you will spend most of it at level 10, so {{r|Human}} is the best choice here.  You'll need careful planning to take down the first eight ascendants with enough resources left for the Faithful Ascendant.

Fortunately, you have access to all the gods essentially right off the bat, and the monsters in this dungeon are quite weak, so the only threat here is the Ascendants.  

You can start by making a plan to take on all the ascendants.  The '''Deathmage''' is easy - he has such low damage that a Human Heretic should be able to regen fight him with no problem.  

Try to leave all piety sparkles on the floor until you need them.

You'll want to make sure that both {{g|The Earthmother}} and {{g|Binlor Ironshield}} are easily available.  Start in {{g|The Earthmother}} - you don't want much from her besides {{s|IMAWAL}}, but you can take {{boon|Entanglement}} and {{boon|Vine Form}} on the first floor to get a bit of health, DR, and XP.  As you work towards reaching level 2, if you end up with extra piety you can get more vine form.

Once you reach level 2, worship {{g|Binlor Ironshield}}.  Use {{s|PISORF}} to farm up tons of piety, which you can use to get {{boon|Stone Form}}, {{boon|Stone Fist}}, and optionally {{boon|Stone Soup}}.  It's good to prioritize {{boon|Stone Fist}}, since then you can use health to farm piety faster.  Then, you can start using {{s|IMAWAL}} to convert excess piety to bonus damage.  It's up to you how much you want to do this - it's a tradeoff of blackspace for damage.  Using the main floor blackspace to farm damage (but saving the very edges where you can since you know it is just walls) and saving all the subdungeon blackspace is a good option - it ensures you will have massive damage for the rest of the run and you will have found all the items and boosters on floor 1, but you'll still have some blackspace to recover between ascendants.

After this, a good god for level 3 is {{g|Taurog}}.  You can convert glyphs you don't want (probably everything worth CP except {{g|BURNDAYRAZ}} and maybe {{g|CYDSTEPP}} if it spawned, you can probably ditch {{s|IMAWAL}} too if needed) and kill low level magic damage enemies to get 45 piety for the sword and the armor.  You may need to leave them on the ground for now - you will need a lot of glyphs ({{s|PISORF}}, {{s|ENDISWAL}}, {{s|PISORF}}, {{s|WEYTWUT}}) later.  If you have room, the sword can definitely be helpful though.

Then you can start levelling and fighting the '''Deathmage Ascendant'''.  During the levelling process, you can worship {{g|Mystera Annur}} at some point, probably around level 6.  She is the least important god here - you can take {{boon|Magic}} a few times for some extra max mana, but otherwise she doesn't do much for you.  Alternatively, you can slot her in later and take {{boon|Refreshment}} to help with the {{t|Magic Immune}} bosses, but then you risk locking yourself out of worshipping every god if you aren't careful with XP.

At level 7, you can worship {{g|Jehora Jeheyu}} and take one of each boost.  Wait till the end of the level so you don't get suprise mana burned or poisoned.  After taking out the deathmage, your next target should probably be the '''Madman''' - you can fight it around L7 with a catapult.  You'll get a few stacks of weakening and corrosion, but it isn't a huge deal for now.  Don't worry if you need to catapult from 8 to 9 to take it out.

Now that you've killed two bosses, you should have some gold.  You can worship {{g|Tikki Tooki}} and dump all your gold into piety.  Take {{boon|Dodging}} - in long fights it provides a lot of value.  You should also try to get as many stacks of {{boon|Reflexes}} as you can.  You can use the first set along with either {{s|WEYTWUT}} from {{g|Jehora Jeheyu}} or the free {{s|GETINDARE}} to take out the '''Trickster Ascendant'''.  Ideally that won't level you up so that you can get even more potions from the gold that gives you.

Now you have some options for your next ascendant.  If you can kill another boss without levelling up, you can either take on the '''Foreman''' or the '''Champion''' next.  For either of them, you can use {{s|PISORF}} and, if needed, {{s|WEYTWUT}} to set up some damage on them with indirect knockback.  For the foreman, you may then be able to finish it off with just {{s|GETINDARE}} if you built up enough resists before the fight using {{s|ENDISWAL}}.  For the champion, you will probably need a reflex or quicksilver potion to kill it, unless you have a layer of death protection.

Once you are near a level up (this can be before or after either of those ascendants), you can target the '''Hierophant'''.  You may want to precast {{s|ENDISWAL}} if it gets you an extra hit.  You can catapult it using popcorn, and then worship {{g|Glowing Guardian}} to finish it off and then clear the debuffs with {{boon|Cleansing}}.  This boon has an additional advantage - it gives you magical attack.  This should make the '''Naturalist''' a pushover.  

After killing the naturalist, you should get near a level up threshold again, killing the Foreman and Champion during the process if they are still alive.  Once near the threshold, you can use more {{boon|Cleansing}} to damage the '''Archmage''' ascendant.  It has a lot more health, so you probably won't be able to kill it with these.  Make sure to save at least 15 piety.  Then, you can take {{boon|Humility}} and catapult it, and finish it off with mana potions if needed.

With the eighth ascendant defeated, the '''Faithful Ascendant''' will reveal himself.  He spawns in the very center of the map, so if you want to use your knockback damage on him you'll need to hold on to {{s|WEYTWUT}} until this point.  

This fight is a straightforward one, but a strong test of your resources.  First off, if you aren't L10 yet, get to L10.  Then, you can worship the last god - {{g|Dracul}}.  You should have enough piety to take {{boon|Blood Hunger}}, and if you left lots of sparkles on the floor you can probably pick up {{boon|Blood Shield}} as well, especially if you kill some popcorn.

Then, you can start fighting the boss.  You can use {{g|ENDISWAL}} here for several purposes - opening up extra blackspace, accessing more sparkles, taking less damage, and eroding resistances (in case you aren't knocking the boss into walls).  You can use additional {{g|Dracul}} piety in a few ways - you can either dump it all into blood tithe for some extra base damage and tons of health spike, or do that but save 45 for more lifesteal after you are done using {{g|ENDISWAL}}.  The first option is probably stronger.  Keep in mind you can use {{boon|Consensus}} for 50 extra piety (and you have no reason not to take {{boon|Scholar's Pact}} as well, in case you need another level up).  

Try to prioritize regen fighting the boss, and save your spiking resources (catapults, bloodpools, popcorn to steal health from, potions) for after it starts berserking.  If you have high enough damage and enough blackspace to get the boss's resists to 0 you should be fine - there are a LOT of bloodcows here to get a huge health spike from.  Keep in mind you will desecrate {{g|Dracul}} on level up, so save your catapults as long as possible!

{{EENav}}