Author:
Simulacrum
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Date:
11/22/2012 1:29:58 AM
Subject:
Report on The Tower (for ILA - OMD2 related)
The Tower originally appeared in OMD1 (actually, in one of the OMD1 DLCs) and has been redone in the Yeti DLC as an endless-exclusive map. In the OMD1 version, one of the biggest problems was bats. Thankfully, they have been removed in the OMD2 version. I guess Robot figured that bats along with all the cheap new OMD2 enemies would be too much.
The layout goes like this: there are three levels and a lot of stairs. The single rift is on the top level. One spawn point is on the first level; another is on the second level. Orcs spend most of their time climbing stairs and running along broad landings. On the first level, you have a huge pool of lava, over which is suspended a fairly large platform that is disconnected from the other geometry, so nothing can cross over to it. However, ranged enemies can hit any archers you put on it. This is not a huge deal if you have the guardian rez trinket, and a crap ton of archers is almost a necessity.
My loadout:
Stone Staff
Mana Rage Trinket
Windbelt
Spike Traps with slow (which I never used -- should have replaced with spike walls or something)
Scorchers
Spring Traps
Void Walls
Archers
Floor Portals (which I never got to use)
Spring traps work fairly well in conjunction with void walls and as lava pool launchers (however, you have to be careful not to launch enemies onto the archer platform). The problem with spring traps is that they don't fire often enough. Also, as waves get higher, fewer enemies are affected by them (same goes for void walls). Scorchers pretty consistently flipped gnolls into the lava and did decent damage to everything for quite a while.
The enemies are pretty traditional except for yetis and goblin sappers. I saw no goblin shamans or healers. Gnoll grenadiers and cyclops mages will kill the archers if you can't deal with them fast enough. Trolls of all kinds are numerous but pretty manageable. The biggest problem is earth lords. They're spammed pretty constantly. In wave 32, they're a nightmare. This is where I bit the dirt. I just didn't have enough damage to handle them.
Things I would change if I did this map again:
1. Replace windbelt with dwarven rocket launcher.
2. Put archers in more places than the platform -- want to reach the guardian limit. I was far short of this limit.
3. Use spike walls to stun and possibly toss heavies. Would like to use boom barrel dispensers and ice, but would need decoys to help set off the boom barrels, and ice conflicts with fire.
4. Get a bro mage to use tar in co-op. Tar is so nice. The sorceress has nothing like it.
This is not a hard level to 5-skull. The main thing is to figure out how to turn a big group of earth lords into small chunks as quicly as possible.
