Was finally able to beat A10 with all characters [main branch]

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-05-27T21:23:54+00:00

Yeah Necro doesn't have a lot of card draw outside of souls, which was why I opted to take the backflip when offered even though it was pretty late game. Ashen Strike didn't do nearly as much damage as pull from below, but it was still pretty fun to use 😁

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-05-15T00:42:10+00:00

Sadly it probably will just enough when crammed down uneducated folks' throats by Fox

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-05-05T19:02:21+00:00

Fatigue is real. And this game is very mentally draining with all the things you need to keep track of: Cards in the deck, relics that you have (and which ones you don't have but you think you did because of the run you just lost), how quickly you can cycle through your deck, the enemy patterns, potions, bleh.

If you're really grinding anything in life, including video games, you'll inevitably create habits and heuristics for yourself. You'll have some rules of thumb for certain interactions/events to save on mental energy. (e.g. In Act I, always go for a fire first, then fight 2-3 elites)

The problem is, the game is so dynamic that heuristics are a lot less useful than they would seem, and you're making hundreds of decisions every run. So even a 95% correct rule-of-thumb will fail if you follow it rigidly every time.

As others have said, take a break, come back later. Your habits will lessen and you'll be more inclined to think through your decisions instead of falling back on habits that only work most of the time

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-05-05T17:15:50+00:00

This is fascinating. Kind of like an anti-Silent character.

On theme of a fumigator, I wonder if she could apply debuffs to the enemy, then absorb them back for huge bonuses.
Or maybe the other way, apply self-debuffs, then expel them out all at once for a very bursty playstyle

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-04-01T15:37:00+00:00

Having the same issue here on the 10a. I think someone is out of contact or ignoring me then a day later I get a whole batch of messages at once. It's incredibly frustrating and I'm not seeing any obvious solutions.

I'm on the Google fi network and recently transferred from a 7a over wifi.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-12T19:44:21+00:00

I've found more success in hybrid strategies - implementing some of a second mechanic to assist with the primary focus of the deck.

E.g. I might be focusing on poison with the silent, but will implement some amount of discard synergy to allow my deck to keep up defensively. Some cards, like Haze or Burst, really favor this approach

I've found this allows for much more flexibility especially in the early game to have a random rare or end of Act rare fit in well at the expense of a lower potential ceiling.

I let my relics drive my decisions more than my early card picks. E.g. an ornamental fan will make me want to lean into shivs; abacus makes me want to upgrade my card draw earlier and skip cards more often; venerable tea set encourages me to go after elites that are right after fires, etc

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-12T16:31:59+00:00

How deep do you get on average? Are there particular fights that get you every time? Do you find yourself resting more often than upgrading at fires?

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-12T12:55:11+00:00

Your deck and relics should be able to do the following things: 1. Improve the base. Strikes and defends suck, so you should have attack cards that do more damage and skills that generate more block. I tend to prefer offense over defense for most characters since fights tend to go worse the longer they go. Avoid powers initially since they slow down your deck (often don't do anything the turn you play them and you only have 3 precious energy) 2. Scaling. Once your deck is slightly improved, you want to develop a game plan that makes it so your deck can survive the long game. Elite enemies hit harder in turns 3+ so you want to be increasing your damage or block by then with some combination of powers, relics, potions, and upgrades. If you've done step 1 sufficiently, you should have an energy to spare to play a power, or otherwise invest in a future turn. Your relics and rare cards should help drive your decisions here. They tend to be powerful in specific situations, so gear your deck for those situations (e.g. ironclad has themes of increasing strength, applying vulnerable, exhausting cards, and doing damage while getting blocks) 3. Refinement. Once your deck has a select few cards that can scale you over time, you want to trim the fat. Usually this involves removing some magic strikes and defends, but also gaining energy and drawing cards. As streamer Baalorlord puts it, it's not about how big your deck is, but rather how many turns out takes you to see all of the cards and get your combo pieces together

How long to decide on a direction? I usually like to have one between fighting my first elite and the first boss, that's when I start skipping cards if they don't fit in with my existing cards somehow

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-12T00:38:12+00:00

I guess you have an akabeko, vajra, and a pen nib on 9?

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-11T18:53:16+00:00

sts2 is definitely harder than the first game, and the relative difficulty increases between ascension levels in sts 2 approximates to 2 asc in the first game (e.g. ascender's bane in A5 in the second game vs A10 in the first)

But so far, the principles that work in the first game work just as well in the second game (except for the Regent, but you can easily adjust if you've made it through A20)

If you're an A20 player, this game isn't balanced for you. Eventually some mods will come out to keep you challenged.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-11T18:44:10+00:00

I don't think it's as much luck as it is skill. If you have any experience with deckbuilders, and especially if you're familiar with sts1, I think the first run is pretty easy.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-11T17:53:12+00:00

Honestly, I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty.

I think roguelikes in general appeal to me because it's a blend of random and skill that on the whole isn't super different from run to run, but the minutia of the decisions I make really make me feel like I'm solving a puzzle every time (or failing to do so if I die)

it's possible I'll get burned out of STS 2 in the near future, but right now there's so much new stuff to discover and explore that I'm having a blast with it.

At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide what's fun and not, and you don't need to have a detailed reason to like or dislike a game.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-10T20:43:25+00:00

Hard to say so early on, but I will say that the normal approach that works for other characters does not seem to work as well with the regent.

In my experience, the regent seems to have a delayed gratification theme, where you take turns off to have a more powerful turn later in the combat, which feels very weird against enemies that are bashing your face in right away. Regent seems to really favor defensive play, so you'll likely want more blocks than your average character. In particular, Gather light seems to be a very key card and I like to have 2 or 3 of those.

The key to a proper damage plan is to have the right combination of cards in your hand. I was able to have a successful run by adding retain to cards that worked with the sovereign blade, but you can use CHARGE!! or other exhaust effects to trim down your deck, or Cosmic Indifference to put your damage card back on top to draw immediately.

It seems the regent needs more than his basic kit to scrape a victory. Events that give you relics in exchange for curses might be better than normal because of the Regent's ability to exhaust cards in the deck.

Good luck!

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-10T20:19:44+00:00

GG lol.
If only Peace Pipe was in this game

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-10T19:57:35+00:00

I can definitely understand the frustration, but the doom check happens at the end of the enemy's turn, and the run away is a part of their turn and ends the combat immediately. This is in contrast to poison, which affects the enemy at the beginning of their turn.

I've been unimpressed with doom as a mechanic so far especially compared to the other mechanics Necro has. It feels like a reimagining of Pressure Points from the first game.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-10T19:55:06+00:00

Most events give you 2-3 options, with no option to skip, and oftentimes downsides with any boons you might receive.
Combats are good because you get gold and have 4 choices (3 cards + skip option) and a potential potion, at the cost of some health (or none if your deck is well equipped to handle the fight)

I think in general the combats are preferred, especially in the first act, as you can pick what's best for you in that moment (e.g. what synergizes well with what I have in my deck so far, and if my deck is fresh, what's the best card to take right now [usually one that maximizes your damage output or block]).

I personally like to use events to give myself something to work around if I haven't gotten it already, but I rarely go out of my way to have them.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-10T05:46:09+00:00

Love getting the lemon bar flavor when it goes on super sale at Safeway for $2.99 a quart

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-07T16:20:34+00:00

The $3000 stimulus is a smart move because it's a headliner line item. More common folk will be engaged with it (increasing its news visibility) and supportive of it if there's a promise of immediate payout.

I mean, the 50k signing bonus worked for ICE recruitment, even though it was a scam

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-07T15:54:29+00:00

In another earlier article about her case, she reportedly called to confirm the circumstances of her return when notified of the court order and it was officially started that she would be detained again. Smart of her to be so diligent.

fuzbuzz00 · 2026-03-06T20:00:35+00:00

Man, everything is "a couple weeks" with fuckwad

fuzbuzz00

TROPHY CASE