After 2.5 months, finally got the impossible badge--no hearts to spare! The update definitely makes it more possible than before, but still very hard. I had 7 cantrips, 4 shields (3 on cantripped cards), and an extra diagonal splash on a pawn. I recommend focusing on cantrips but stacking shields on those cards as well, since that's the only way you can build enough defense to survive late gauntlet levels. Also, diagonal splash on pawns is a great upgrade if you have extra coins, since you can take out multiple blight matrons diagonally and they won't spawn onto the square you occupy, saving you from both having to take out blight sacs and having to survive the blight they drop later. Plan carefully, look at your remaining deck cards when using cantrips, and even if you can't ensure success try to maximize the probability across drawing different cards that you make it out alive. Good luck everybody!
I agree with people saying the dependence on randomness is currently unfair. Here are some ideas on how to balance it with minimal modifications:
1. Make cantrips fully refill your energy (so you always have 2 moves after) rather than just not using an energy
2. Allow permanent energy upgrades
3. Continue with shops in the gauntlet
I just completed my first victory (Mage Robe wearin', bomb slingin', charm spell using, short bow+3 and greater fire staff+3 wieldin', charm of flames +4 usin' (it was… the best response to the icy depths + crystal golems I could come up with. bombs probably woulda worked too for the crystal golems huh…) super pyro ranger, with massive fire and ranged damage available;
my only complaint is that the end felt too easy, after I'd struggled so desperately to get through both side routes alive and received plentiful boons, I was expecting a fun Final Boss and instead it was just an army of free enemies. Also, are chakram really supposed to be that much better than all other ranged weaponry? Not that I remembered to use them, savin' up for a super boss as I was…
Badge tip: Even though it says to beat all 40 levels, you need only beat level 40. Since the boss fights seemed easier than the normal levels at the end (since the simple strategy is rushing with all the powerups) and my weapons were already maxed out, just do the final boss as soon as you unlock the area.
So if you have some units in a deep German trench and they send out a tank, what do you do to win? Obviously just send them running with a flag and -- WHOOP! I just conquered another battlefield!
Beautiful and well-designed game. However I think the impossible badge (3000) is a little unfair considering the "Dev High Score" is only 2940...
Also, probably redundant to ask for that $and$ 3-star everything
I get what you're saying -- I almost went with just 3k score by itself, but people on the forums convinced me to include both criteria. It is possible to get a 3k score without all 120 stars, though, and vice versa. Something with developer scores was considered, but those are pretty inconsistent in terms of difficulty.
Sometimes taking a a loss of morale by making a foolish decision can be better than getting hurt by your own zealousness. On my second run, I have spent almost all of my time with Lissara, so the first decision… I opted to cave, and in doing so, boosted my Charisma. Of course I'm never going to give up on the fox, but sometimes you're unprepared for a task, and so it can be better to understand that than to take the hit and lose morale.
my kid went from a ranger with a working-class background to a maxed combat attack + defense, near max magic defense dungeon clearing machine… and then spent his last three weeks trying to learn to tame dragons and failing. What the hell, dragon?
it's really something when you stumble upon sufficient bookshelves as a Necro in the early game to progress Talent -> Cloud -> Cannibalism, and also get Shoes of Speed. It's absolutely wonderful… until you screw up your spacing, get webbed, and get killed in one shot by two measly green spiders. I personally prefer the blitz approach of "let's just run super fast, kite the whole map, kill everything with staff bolts, and if it gets too much i can just buy some distance and Poison Cloud the whole thing," which works especially well in the undergrowth so long as you don't let any spider with more than your instant damage from your staff in hp web you.
 "Theory of Magic"){kind=icon}
 "Synergism"){kind=icon}
 "Pawnbarian"){kind=icon}
 "Idle Monster Frontier"){kind=icon}
 "Rogue Fable III"){kind=icon}
 "Shorties's Kingdom 2"){kind=icon}
 "Warfare: 1917"){kind=icon}
 "AntiVillain 1 - Welcome To Chaos City"){kind=icon}
 "Beam Ball"){kind=icon}
 "Castle Wars 2.5"){kind=icon}
 "Elements"){kind=icon}
 "Utopian Mining"){kind=icon}
 "Millika Village"){kind=icon}
 "My Pet Protector"){kind=icon}
 "Rogue Fable II"){kind=icon}
 "Home Story: 1971"){kind=icon}
 "Frantic 3"){kind=icon}
 "Line Game"){kind=icon}
I get what you're saying -- I almost went with just 3k score by itself, but people on the forums convinced me to include both criteria. It is possible to get a 3k score without all 120 stars, though, and vice versa. Something with developer scores was considered, but those are pretty inconsistent in terms of difficulty.