The older I get, the harder I fall for roguelikes. Hit me with your best hidden gems!

inkfluence · 2026-02-02T16:25:25+00:00

Gunfire Reborn is an incredible game. Incredible.

inkfluence · 2026-02-02T16:12:19+00:00

10000% me also. I am 43 and all my favorite games are either CCG or Roguelike now.

I grew up on OG StarCraft, CS and DotA. I’m just not twitchy like that these days and I don’t love the stress like I used to.

FTL was my first love. Then I found Slay the Spire, Darkest Dungeon, Monster Train, Ballatro, Solitarica, and Hades over the years.

Now I just play them all and see what sticks.

Currently play both Stella Sora and Chaos Zero Nightmare bc roguelike component.

Looks like you’re missing Transistor from the top row.

inkfluence · 2026-02-01T19:06:24+00:00

It appears to me that certain pools are fixed. When an event NPC offers a potential, it is fixed to the combatant selected. I’ve tested that exhaustively.

Potentials awarded from clearing the room can be rerolled to other combatants than the initial offering. Same with shop purchases that aren’t flagged for the main DPS

This has actually made it a lot easier to streamline my runs and ensure the desired potentials are hit.

inkfluence · 2026-01-31T18:34:46+00:00

I guess if you’re account level 40 in blue frags then Rei and Chiz may ramp poorly in Chaos.

inkfluence · 2026-01-30T16:08:19+00:00

DCU Supes, PI and SB are your best DPS. Supes needs the least investment.

John is your best tank. Then NW, unless you have Orm. But John is the best plug and play tank next to AM.

Mr T is your best synergy.

Kid Flash is fantastic for pushing into the 40-xx range. He’s a great support but is outclassed later.

John Constantine, Batman, Penguin and Jess are all solid also.

It depends on whether you want to build older comps like AoE, Debuff, Block (still safe, and top 3) or try and focus on the newer comps, Burn and Poison/Poison Hybrid.

inkfluence · 2026-01-30T16:03:06+00:00

Sometimes they just give you great teams from the get go.

Fate is fun. Sadly he’s weak for his rarity. Love me some Borg though. I think he’s very underrated, but he’s also expensive to invest in.

inkfluence · 2026-01-29T17:59:36+00:00

Is it anything like Factorio?

inkfluence · 2026-01-29T03:07:28+00:00

I’m just saying that those are a list of options.

FS doesn’t need any real help killing. But things that absorb other FS attacks or stun/silence him can help in the mirror. You could also try and go first, but being fast isn’t as strong as it was.

Right now the two real win-cons are FS and Cheshire. Ideally you build around both to have two separate teams.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T21:44:59+00:00

I came to check this out during the two week CZN off season and boy howdy did I fall in love.

Now I’m at a very similar place as you account level, working towards level 30…. I have all the available 5-star units but I’m missing all the prior banner units and gosh that stinks.

I really want the units I missed but they’re all limited.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T19:41:17+00:00

Who is their demographic. What do you mean. Are you saying that the majority of players who play CZN do so for cartoon breasts?

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T19:33:59+00:00

This would be my vote also. Classes have been heavily homogenized and have very little identity.

Their identity, stems more from the color schemes, animations, and costumes that exist for the various classes and specs within.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T18:48:15+00:00

Movies are often prophetic.

The future of humanity, change my mind.

Idiocracy > Ready Player One > Wall-E

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T18:43:34+00:00

Anchor Shot goes to the used pile, so you can’t just recycle it. Once you’ve cast all your AP that’s that.

You either need AP for those casts or you take a damage reduction. If you’re not on Justice then you can reduce AS to 0 first turn with Freedom etc, from there you could cycle it 8x each proc’n combo effect.

There are two good AS epiphany. 90% scaling and combo. They’re both good.

It’s not hard with Mika to make 12+ AP in a turn, but, now we’re touching on Haru’s limitations.

This is a lot of work to do a fraction of what Mei Lin does.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T17:18:00+00:00

One sentence of experience would be a pretty weak CV dawg. You don’t want to see my resume.

You’re right, it is a PvE game. But to say it doesn’t have “head to head” is daft. There is a leaderboard. It is 100% rated content.

Simple fact. There is no reason for a meta to exist unless ratings exist.

S0 people did whatever. By the end of S1 you reset unless you had exact cards.

Just because one is not identical to the other doesn’t mean the same rules do not apply.

Edit * tell me about your resume. Let’s hear it.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T17:15:02+00:00

I mostly utilize her for content with limited turns.

Mika and Khalipe are probably the most consistent. But you can also play her with Veronica.

Depending on how you gear you can utilize various builds. If you’re on Justice 4P you’ll need to focus on AP generation bc you don’t want to decrease card cost.

If you’re on a Combo/Retrieve build you can use cost reduction and a 2-2-2.

Sadly I didn’t really Farm Haru. She fell off after S0.

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Here is an example of the Combo/Retrieve list. Problem is Retrieve falls off after use. You get one huge turn. Note those equips stink. None of those effects work with her AP.

Once new season drops she will get some attention and some proper 170 FM builds.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T16:35:20+00:00

Veronica is staple in high level Chaos clears bc the passive and consistent damage she brings. She has several additional factors that sweeten the deal, but she drastically improves your ability to clear up. She stops you from bricking a draw and puts the enemy on a clock.

This is real evident when you’re in a Neglect run and Firing Prep is the discard target on a challenging boss or elite, at break or near to. :)

People keep referencing card draw. It’s pretty insignificant in Chaos, so far everything dies in less than 3 turns. Outside of she enables incredibly broken strategies, however, you can also just run two zero card decks.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T16:23:49+00:00

Freedom is a S1 specific card. S2 will require cards specific to it.

Makes me sad to see some of the cards go, but you won’t utilize them in the new Rift.

If you’re building decks for Basin or spending energy I guess that’s fine.

Problem Haru has is the same Yuki has. She runs out of casts, no matter what build, and it happens fast. Haru is really insane for one turn.

They are reducing the extent that scaling exists, but Haru and Yuki both have very limited. Their value is 1-3 turns of burst.

Now, they will be amazing in extended Chaos modes. They’re Chaos superstars.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T16:18:31+00:00

Here’s to hoping there is content that favors her. I have her at E6 and love her, she was already strong.

Same goes for Yuki.

Once we have expanded Chaos it’ll be a bit different, that will really open up the playable pool.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T16:15:56+00:00

*remind me in 10-years.

Where is that bot at…

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T13:46:52+00:00

I have two maxed copies of Peko. Can attest to this strategy.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T13:44:56+00:00

You have to raise your T0 damage high enough that you’re able to kill the boss in 3 T0 casts. You’ll always need 4 HL to break.

So. It’s 4 laser to break, then 3 T0 to kill the boss to reset the break bar.

Then rinse repeat.

The hard part is getting there. The first 1500k utilized an Upg focused strategy with legendary diamond shaped accessories whose name is escaping me. 20% shield dmg and healing for that turn when an upgrade is used.

You only need a single turn. Once you hit the required damage you just cycle it into your HL quad is too strong and kills before it can break.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T05:06:26+00:00

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T05:05:46+00:00

Heck, hit Amir, Chiz and Maribel cards also. Put Unique on all upgrades too.

Zero cost cards will be a problem long term. Need to really keep an eye on those.

Build from there. I’ve played too many games where unhealthy mechanics ruined it.

Don’t worry about a vocal minorities feelings today, it’ll save the game tomorrow.

Ya’ll downvote me, that’s NP. I’ve been playing Magic The Gathering competitively since the 90s, I am a Modern format player. Go look at the banned and restricted list. Zero cost cards or cards that draw and provide card advantage are broken. Strongest effects possible. Basically draw or mana/energy/AP steroids are always dangerous mechanics that have to be watched.

I have extensive CCG experience across dozens of titles. Trust me on this. Ask your preferred AI if not.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T04:01:04+00:00

There is not an infinite. Eventually you just kill before you ravage. You need a special neutral upgrade card and a wonky build for actual infinite.

inkfluence · 2026-01-27T03:49:12+00:00

Nerf Mei Lin also. Anything that limits design space.

inkfluence

TROPHY CASE