"Orcs Must Die!" Catch-All

I'm nearing the end of my normal difficulty playthrough. I think if I get to the end and don't have enough skulls for what I want, I will simply redo the campaign and pick different upgrades for traps. There are a couple I found to be outclassed or just simply replaced by other traps later in the game.

Spoiler:

Dem crossbow autoturrets! o_O

EDIT: Argh I'm getting really burned out on the third last level. Same story every time. Big rush from one side of the map. Big rush from the other side. And then the third level is a big rush from BOTH sides. And no matter what I do I ALWAYS end up with 10 orks from each side making it into the rift.

I tried going melee heavy. I tried going spell heavy. I tried going trap heavy. Nothing works! I can kill orks until I'm knee deep in blood and they still make it to the rift every time.

Usually when the game gives you a new trap it works great on the next level. Grinders are terrible. They are like a weaker axe trap that the orks can escape just by walking past.

Tamren wrote:

EDIT: Argh I'm getting really burned out on the third last level. Same story every time. Big rush from one side of the map. Big rush from the other side. And then the third level is a big rush from BOTH sides. And no matter what I do I ALWAYS end up with 10 orks from each side making it into the rift.

That one is all about surviving that first double kobold wave without a leak. Here's how I did it:

Spoiler:

1. Throw down a swinging mace trap at the top side underneath the bridge (after the U shaped bend). Put down a paladin at the range such that when he walks up to engage, he'll engage at the mace trap. Put some archers down behind that, at the top of the steps behind the paladin. They will help with the speed runners.
2. If you have coinforge traps, put a couple at the top and under the swinging bridge. Start the level and crossbow/lightning down the fliers. As soon as you get 500, invest in the bonus gold for trap kills, then backpedal and run down to the paladin/mace trap. Try to let the archers, paladin, and mace get as many kills as possible.
3. Teleport to the lower door when they're about to finish up and put a mace/paladin at the bottom, a coinforge (if you have one), and archers on top of the bridge. If this is difficult to do during the wave, you can set up the archers ahead of time during the initial placement. Crossbow down the runners, let the traps kill as much as possible again.
4. On the next wave, when they come at you from both sides, you want to start at the bottom and kill the runners as fast as you can with crossbow and lightning storm. The moment the last runner dies, teleport ONCE and then run up the stairs and quickly kill any kobolds who ran the longer route from the top. The rest is cake.

From here on out you just put a second mace trap at each side, stack more archers and paladins, and put down sticky tar if you didn't have a coinforge. Once you have plenty of archers and 3 paladins at each bridge, start adding grinders, and put crossbow traps up at the top to help with flying creeps. At the start of every wave you need to stand at the top and look to see if there are fliers, because it will be your job to kill them until you have a huge number of archers/crossbows. You'll find it's very easy, just pump the upgrades on the left hand side (regen, flaming arrows, stun sword). The only thing you may have to intervene with other than flying guys is the occasional ogre, which your paladins will keep busy long enough for you to slay at your leisure.

Upgrade-wise, I had upgraded archers and paladins, the rest were default, so you don't need much to get by this one. With coinforges and the trap cash upgrade I was positively swimming in money. After I maxed my guardian count I went and made lunch and came back when I heard the victory music.

Hmm interesting...

Spoiler:

I never gave much though to the swinging mace traps because I found them so ineffective in previous levels. I've used paladins and they rock, but I never though of combining the two of them. All of my usual tactics with axe walls, arrow traps, lava pits etc. Just don't work on this map. Or at least you don't get nearly enough money to use them in the first wave. The first 3 waves really are key as you said. Will try again.

Tamren wrote:

Hmm interesting...

Spoiler:

I never gave much though to the swinging mace traps because I found them so ineffective in previous levels. I've used paladins and they rock, but I never though of combining the two of them. All of my usual tactics with axe walls, arrow traps, lava pits etc. Just don't work on this map. Or at least you don't get nearly enough money to use them in the first wave. The first 3 waves really are key as you said. Will try again.

Spoiler:

Oh man, the swinging mace worked wonders in the level you unlock it, the Library. Just played through it. If you can maximise the amount of time the orcs spend in the area the mace covers, it'll pretty much clear them all out without any trouble. Using barricades, I made it so the orcs had to walk through all three squares the mace covered, then layered those squares with tar pits to slow them down. Couple that with a blade wall trap on either side, and I could pretty much sit back and watch them all get chewed up.

Once again though, your high score is better than mine in that one, so whatever you did was clearly better. :P

Edit: for spoiler tags.

/tagged

Tamren wrote:

EDIT: Argh I'm getting really burned out on the third last level. Same story every time. Big rush from one side of the map. Big rush from the other side. And then the third level is a big rush from BOTH sides. And no matter what I do I ALWAYS end up with 10 orks from each side making it into the rift.

Spoiler:

This was the hardest level for me. On this level more than any other, you need to be willing and ready to use the log roll traps. You have two log rolls on each side that will steamroll the orcs and kobolds on that early rush. Timing is important but if you get it right things will fall together nicely for you.

Heh speaking of the big logs. Don't stand in front of them! They don't hurt you but you act like a speed bump. If the log hits you it catches air and spins wildly out of control. Otherwise they are pretty reliable.

EDIT: Well I just finished the campaign. Tried the first mission again on nightmare and its incredibly hard. Don't stress too much about where you spend your skulls, you get to earn them all over again in nightmare mode.

From what I can tell the leaderboards do not carry over difficulties. One of you guys (I think its Elysium) has a score of 30k for the very first level. Mine tops out at 24k. The #1 high score in the world is over 70k!

You can only get so many points for a "perfect" run. Trap and champion kills are worth more. Having an untouched rift gives more points. If you finish below par for time you get a handful more. But the real key to getting maximum scores is killstreaks and combos.

Killstreaks are pretty straightforward, but how do combos work? Upgraded archers get them all the time. But I never get combos myself unless I do it by accident.

Tamren wrote:

Killstreaks are pretty straightforward, but how do combos work? Upgraded archers get them all the time. But I never get combos myself unless I do it by accident.

I think maximizing combos involves using lots of less-than-lethal effects in rapid succession. I'm on the last mission (cleared the last 8 or so mostly on apprentice) and I haven't really felt free to experiment too much with setups that don't kill as quickly as possible. It seems like a lot of the physics based traps are entirely too unpredictable to set up an efficient combo. I wish there was a decent breakdown of damage done per trap at the end of rounds.

So far my favorite combos involve the clockwork pendulum.

Spoiler:

The second to last level (two doors with two staircases parallel to each other) were made cake by using 9 tar traps under the bridge of each and setting 3 pendulum traps along the entire length with a couple of barricades to slow them up a bit and some archers and ballistas to take care of the explosive baddies.

Dumb question: is there a way to use more than one weaver? If not, why would anyone ever not use the Trap (bonus Moneys) option?

Rezzy wrote:

Dumb question: is there a way to use more than one weaver? If not, why would anyone ever not use the Trap (bonus Moneys) option?

I decided to try out the other weaver last night. It makes your crossbow twice as powerful (or at least seems that way) and shoots faster. Also, it makes the sword so much more powerful. Basically you become a one man killing crew. I recommend trying it out, because I was happily surprised to see how much fun it is to be able to just crush an onslaught of enemies almost all by myself.

Rezzy wrote:
Dumb question: is there a way to use more than one weaver? If not, why would anyone ever not use the Trap (bonus Moneys) option?
I decided to try out the other weaver last night. It makes your crossbow twice as powerful (or at least seems that way) and shoots faster. Also, it makes the sword so much more powerful. Basically you become a one man killing crew. I recommend trying it out, because I was happily surprised to see how much fun it is to be able to just crush an onslaught of enemies almost all by myself.

The knowledge reaver has a perk that gives you double coins for killing with a spell. Very helpful on the map where you acquire it.

Gdawg27 wrote:

The knowledge reaver has a perk that gives you double coins for killing with a spell. Very helpful on the map where you acquire it.

But you mainly use the money to buy traps... which don't get the double bonus... To my brain that seems sub-optimal.

But you mainly use the money to buy traps... which don't get the double bonus... To my brain that seems sub-optimal.

How so? Instead of getting 66% more coins for traps you get 100% more coins for spell kills.

Gdawg27 wrote:
But you mainly use the money to buy traps... which don't get the double bonus... To my brain that seems sub-optimal.

How so? Instead of getting 66% more coins for traps you get 100% more coins for spell kills.

In my setups the traps get more kills than I do since the orcs are in more places than I can be at once... though there are a few maps where going as a single death-bringer may be worth a try, especially with the manna boost traits.
The way I play my first instinct is to set up traps that deal terminal damage as quickly and consistently as possible, with my role being overflow mop-up and using the alt-fire to slow the orcs in the kill-zone.

EDIT to clarify last sentence.

Rezzy wrote:
Gdawg27 wrote:

The knowledge reaver has a perk that gives you double coins for killing with a spell. Very helpful on the map where you acquire it.

But you mainly use the money to buy traps... which don't get the double bonus... To my brain that seems sub-optimal.

Don't get hung up on min maxing the economy. The game should be balanced so that you don't need any money boost to succeed. When I first got the steel weaver I stopped using the crossbow entirely and spent all my time pushing orcs into traps because they gave more money that way. My success rate went down the toilet as a result and I got frustrated until I learned to rely on weapons and spells again.

If you are not trying for a total-trap victory the key to is to start killing the orks the moment they walk out of the gate. If the map has environmental traps like rolling logs a trapping player will want to use them to cover the initial waves so that they can build up money. A spellcasting player will want to save them for ogres and other hard targets later on in the round.

Here's how points break down for the leader boards:

IMAGE(https://img.skitch.com/20111019-q3gsdjbwjtfq9d44iqaanqhiyf.jpg)

I still don't know how to actually get a combo. And that list doesn't include killstreak bonuses.

The flaming arrows upgrade seems to give archers a lot of combos when I can set them up so that they "broadside" a group of orks running past in a line. If they just run towards the archers nothing special happens.

New patch incoming:

We're just about to release another patch for Orcs Must Die! It'll be submitted to Steam today and should be available tonight or tomorrow. Here's a look at what's in the new patch:

- Added a user.cfg option to limit your frame rate “forceFPS=X” where X is what you do not want it to run faster than (for example: forceFPS=30).
- Fix for the Tenderized achievement.
- Fix for the fireball achievement.
- Switch to a hardware cursor to help people with slower machines.
- Fixed up the cursor acceleration option slider to make it more useable.
- Fixed up pathing near the doors on Twin Halls.
- Fixed the bug where you could have both costumes on at the same time.
- Fixed an issue where some levels, like Gatway, would crash the game.
- Fixed the text for the costume weapons if you had a particular weaver set selected

You know, I gotta say, this game is really fun. It does everything right. The graphics are super-polished, the mechanics are great, and the (fairly limited) story and voiceovers are pretty darn funny. And it takes a fair bit of noodling to get through some of the harder levels. I've thrown my hands up on several levels, "no WAY can I handle that!" only to come back later and figure it out.

It's a real gem. Worthy of your gaming dollar.

Costume weapons?

Tamren wrote:

Costume weapons?

Probably means the Warhammer that replaces the Bladestaff if you use the preorder costume.

Oh that probably means the elemental weaver perk referring to it as a "holy sword" instead of a "holy hammer".

Tamren wrote:

Oh that probably means the elemental weaver perk referring to it as a "holy sword" instead of a "holy hammer".

Hadn't noticed that, but it would make sense.

Also, just started nightmare mode. If that first level is anything to go by it could get interesting!

I also just started nightmare mode. The first level was easy. I can't figure out how to stop the damned armored ogre on the second level. I have tried several strategies and they all work fine until the ogres bust out and open a can on my ass. The only thing I can think of that I haven't tried is to set up the spring traps and select the weaver skill for physics traps and try to fling them into the acid.

I'm kinda stuck on him too. So far I've tried a lot of "slow" deathtraps that rely on things like arrows and spells to wear down each wave. But because the ogre is there and you get such a short time to deal with him, I think physics traps would be the only way to do it.

That said, I suppose you could use the magic mushrooms on him...

EDIT: Okay I finally figured out how combos work. Combos count the different types of damage stacked onto the same enemy and tallies them up when that enemy dies. So for instance if shoot an orc with my crossbow after he gets hit by an arrow trap and THEN a spring trap throws him into acid. That counts as a 3x combo and I get 200 points.

This is why the game mentions that archers with fire arrows get more combos. Since they set enemies on fire before finishing them off. Any orcs that survived a previous trap will trigger a combo when the archers get to them.

Killstreaks are not worth a whole lot. So I think the way most people are getting those super high scores are to lead ogres through as many traps as possible before finishing them off.

I'm pretty sure this has some sort of timer attached to it. All of the damage must be dealt within a short period. Or a least a short period after the previous damage.

Played a few levels on Nightmare, got 5 skulls on the first three. That armoured ogre wasn't too bad on the second level. I had my usual zig-zag pendulum trap series going on which took a fair chuck of his health away and dealt with is mates, finished him off with help from the paladin and liberal use of the freeze spell and crossbow headshots.

Been dabbling with the demo over the last few days and finally hit the purchase button. Great game, really enjoying - levels are starting to ramp up but satisfying when completed. Just need to work on getting my combos beyond 3 Also need to try and get the kills done by the traps rather than me - is their a bonus for headshots? Also for the par time does it include setup time (when you have to press G to start and midway?)

Tamren wrote:

I still don't know how to actually get a combo. And that list doesn't include killstreak bonuses.

The flaming arrows upgrade seems to give archers a lot of combos when I can set them up so that they "broadside" a group of orks running past in a line. If they just run towards the archers nothing special happens.

I'm struggling with this as well. I can get combo 3's but i'm not sure how i'm actually doing it and want 4's and higher. Does the orc actually have to take damage for it to be counted as a combo and if its an outright kill like the satchel or a head shot does the combo element get lost. I have some traps that knock the orcs about but still don't seem to get me a combo.

Wooo. Just picked this up in a Steam sale. Someone tried to gift it to me but he was one second too late. I feel bad. Now I have this guest pass/gift thing I don't know what to do with. Hopefully, by hitting the Ignore gift button he can send it to someone else.

Strangeblades wrote:

Wooo. Just picked this up in a Steam sale. Someone tried to gift it to me but he was one second too late. I feel bad. Now I have this guest pass/gift thing I don't know what to do with. Hopefully, by hitting the Ignore gift button he can send it to someone else.

As long as you don't redeem the code (and you can't), the gifter should be able to send that code to someone else.

Tyrian wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

Wooo. Just picked this up in a Steam sale. Someone tried to gift it to me but he was one second too late. I feel bad. Now I have this guest pass/gift thing I don't know what to do with. Hopefully, by hitting the Ignore gift button he can send it to someone else.

As long as you don't redeem the code (and you can't), the gifter should be able to send that code to someone else.

Oh goody. I'd feel bad if this code was lost to the Steamy winds of Steam.