This was the best version you ever made of this, simply because you didn't start the player off in a dungeon, so it feels more meaningful to move through the world.
I used to spam this game for weeks when I was a kid. I didn't notice the 10% per round reward - thought it was a reward for skipping, so placed as many turrets as I could. D= I think I'm past that now: https://www.kongregate.com/games/DuelsDotCom/duels-defense
@MrMephisto, what you describe is how pretty much all PC games I've grown up with are like; and I'm no DOS-kid who basically had to be able to code in order to game, I grew up in the 2000s. Why would you want Normal to be effortless? That's what easy is for. And if you check the highscores you'll see that your issues with Hard are definitely just a matter of picking the right approach.
How would you finish level 20, if the square-like thing in the center had a channel going away from it through the thin oblong, connecting it with the outer border?
@Developer, if you keep making these, consider binding a key to resetting the whole speedrun (Not a button; it's great to be able to play on the keyboard only!)
Ohhh, and in 14, you can avoid going back-and-forth by going human first, jumping onto the right edge of the box, and pushing it onto the bat, which lowers it enough to reach it in mouse form. Could be another 5 seconds.
Okay, I've found one exploit now. You can finish level 13 from left to right, rather than left-middle-left-right-middle-right, if you push the box as the human from the left, and jump on or over it mid-air (push as long as it goes and jump close at the last possible few frames of pushing). But this shaves off maybe around 5+ seconds; still nowhere near 137 second territory for me.
Yeahhh, no, 165 and I'm totally stuck trying to go beyond maybe 155. Someone tell me your secrets. =§ I'll trade you my notes on starting directions per level: 1 - Right, jump
2 - Left, right - Single Jump
3 - Right, jump
4 - Right
5 - Right, left, - skip top level
6 - Right, instant left jump
7 - Left, right - Early jump
8 - Left, right
9 - Hold left, go top
10 - Left - Short push - End with short jump onto box
11 - Right
12 - Right, lefttop - Short box push
13 - Left, right, - Fast jumps
14 - Left, right
15 - Right, circle down
Okay, never mind, it looks like it's possible with just optimisation. I guess I underestimated what I thought to be a fast reset on the run before, or something.
How is sub-140 possible? I'm at 180 after practicing for a few minutes, and I feel like the the absolute best any further optimisation could get me is sub-150 at a stretch. Has anyone found any skips?
@DemonicDuckling, city guards turn hostile to you if you attack civilians within their view range. As for the party itself, it has its own objectives. Who knows what that priest's past is. He might be a crazed dogmatist "punishing" everyone who's not abstaining from material luxury.
@Previous commment: Never mind, Landor Quest wasn't the game I was thinking of. I can't find that Desert Roguelike anymore. It was a more action-oriented fighting style, but the game pace was very similar to Wondrous Lands.
@Serwyl, you can wishlist the creators' new project on Steam, "Ragtag Crew". Besides that, I agree that I also can't think of a game that combines the genres found in Wondrous Lands in quite the same way, however "Landor Quest" on Kongregate does have a very similar charm and RPG/Roguelike style.
VoiZod - Why? If you want to beat the game on Normal, learn how to - it's very much possible, as evidenced by the highscore board. If you don't want to learn how to do that, play it in Easy if you want to finish it; that's what the easy mode is for.
@tangtang You have to understand that the optimisation you want is not what the everyday user cares about. If you want hardcore performance, you need to commit to hardcore strategy - and you should expect it to be that way. The comment section on this game sorted by "highest rating" will give you the answers to all your question. Here they are: Bow damage scales with the Strength attribute; Dexterity only adds Dodge and Accuracy. Fortitude prevents CC (Fear, Knock-Down, Stun, etc.) Energy is only for Arcane (and raises Mana pool, but you don't need that if you have the Mana Regen Skill), Divine scales with Willpower. Heals always hit, just watch the animations ingame, lol.
@jasondeegan , regarding choosing your battles: 1) You do get to choose. I can walk on average around half the map without fighting any encounters at level 1. There are some maps where everything is blocked, but they are the exception (The direct path to the desert is always blocked, but there are two more ways there). And (2) in fact, as I said in my earlier comment, picking your battles is a huge part of the challenge. | Regarding death happening too quickly: 1) Perma death games don't make sense if it's easy not to die - then you might as well add a reload option. You are meant to take some replays to figure out how you need to play to progress safely. 2) If you just want to experience the game's atmosphere and experiment with the classes, that's what Easy mode exists for.
@Arus51, this is probably a "glitch", but the game only saves on successful battles (or deaths) and some rare quest events. When you retreat, you can reload the browser to reset the retreat counter. Just make sure you wait until the retreat is finished first, so it doesn't count as "reset during battle", which would halve your glory score.
 "Wondrous Lands"){kind=icon}
 "Forgotten Dungeon - Raise undead"){kind=icon}
 "Duels Defense"){kind=icon}
 "Four Color Theorem - Coloring Puzzle Game"){kind=icon}
 "A Grim Love Tale"){kind=icon}
:)