So my Myth wizard--my first one, since I've only been playing a couple of months--reached DS about a week ago at level 42. A bit early, but not because of skipping side quests. Tabitha dutifully paused at every exclamation point in Mooshu, after having delivered her share of romantic missives, party invitations, and lost fashion accessories in Marleybone. So here she was, in a new, very exciting world that she'd only visited once before! And she loved the look of the place--very Medieval Russia meets Dante's Inferno. Uber-cool. But being a level 42 Myth, she was/is pretty underpowered there. Her Earthquake spell has been a bit of a disappointment, damage-wise. It takes several lucky rounds to power it up to do enough hurt to the bad guys--her friends' level 42 spells are cooler and more effective, in her opinion. She worked hard to level up to 45, so she could get better gear. But still the place is too hard to solo (um, please spare her the boasts about how easy it is for you, fellow wizards...perhaps you are just more awesome than she is. We will leave it there). And she has had to use henchmen on occasion, which seems to her like cheating. But there it is--it's that or die repeatedly, and Tabitha does not relish defeat. She is currently in the Drake Hatchery (cute name for scary place) hoping that her awesomeness will manifest itself soon... oh, and if you're wondering why she doesn't just get a bunch of other wizards to help, it's because mostly she plays at night, when the streets of DS are eerily empty, and all that can be heard is the bubbling of lava, the crash of falling monuments, and the occasional screech of a triumphant monster..... She is not sure if she will continue, in short. For she may be awesome in other ways (her clothes look pretty cool), but soloing these rank 8 bosses may be beyond her. If there are any Myth wizards out there who can offer advice or encouragement, she would very much appreciate it!
I usually don’t enjoy the long, drawn out questions, but you have somehow managed to pique my interest with such an eloquent request. :-)
My first suggestion would be that you stuff some Monstrous treasure cards in your backpack and stack them on Humongofrog or Minotaur, along with a Blade and Spirit blade to spike your damage. Earthquake as you have discovered just doesn't have enough bang for the pips unless you really need the shatter effect. Also, Ninja Pigs (myth) treasure cards are quite useful and can be picked up at the bazaar. The hit with good damage, leave a weakness on the target AND they play nicely with feint for a high damage hit.
As for the bosses the same general strategy applies to most any school, but of course everyone has their own unique strategy (or lack thereof) for fighting bosses. IMO you can survive 1v1 with any boss if you have the right shields, so target the minions and dismiss them first. They way you construct your deck, which cards and how many of each is an art unto itself and could be discussed for... well more time then we have here. Myself I overload the spells I want early like blades and shields and then just dump them if too many come up. I like to hit with a multi attack (Humongofrog) (or two) to deal with the minions first, and then finish with one or two strong attacks (Ninja pigs or Minotaur) on the boss.
Your own minions can sometimes be helpful, especially if they draw the attention of the boss away from you. When you enter a battle with a boss, walk into the boss rather than the minion to start the battle so the boss will be to the left in the first position. This is usually who your minion (or a henchman) will attack.
Good luck and feel free to ask any follow up questions, or even critique my advice... lol
My Balance wiz Finnigan is also roaming about in Dragonspyre so maybe fate will arrange a disruption to your late night solitude. :-)
@hp1055cm--thanks for that detailed and nuanced reply. I had no idea that it mattered which guy you run into first--I'll remember that for the future. I do make use of my two minions, Max and Bob (Minotaur and Cyclops, respectively--I decided naming them might increase their loyalty and valor :) ), and Max in particular has been a helpful taunter, but he tends to get killed about halfway through any encounter, despite his sprite-ing and tower-shielding. I did realize that treasure cards probably held the key to success--or at least fewer fails--but had been mostly loading up on towers (see: Poland, 1939), reacting defensively rather than aggressively. I shall try the opposite approach you recommend.
Should your Balance guy run into my Tabitha, by all means say hi. She needs all the friends she can get. Sartorially, she's stuck on purple these days, and is wearing a cool Wagnerian-style winged helmet. Very Ride of the Valkyries. As I said, she has the fashion thing down. Now if she could just stay alive....
I finished DragonSpire just yesterday, and it was a bit of trouble! But, I suggest that you level up in GrizzleHeim/WinterTusk or go do the quests that you have skipped, since I myself was a Level 47 in the Drake Hatchery, second, try to make it during the day, or make some friends who can help you, those towers are nearly hard to solo for a person your level, and pack up on those treasure cards, besides, if you don't do side-quests you may not meet the level restriction for Celestia which is Level 48. I battled Malistaire at Level 50! Anyways, I wish you luck, :) You'll get through those enemies in no time!
Thanks for all the encouraging words. Mason, I agree that spending more time in GH is probably a good idea. I just got to Ravenscar, so there's a lot yet to do there. Devin, how cool that someone on my friend list actually saw this post! I will definitely call on you if we're on at the same time and I need help. Please feel free to do the same. Two Myths are definitely better than one :) Re: treasure cards--I was disappointed to find out that Monstrous cards are as rare as honest politicians or phoenix feathers :? I have been unable to find any for sale at the Bazaar during the last two days. I know they are dropped in Mooshu, but I think I squandered the ones I had foolishly, unaware of their scarcity. Ah well. Thanks again, folks. I will soldier on! This is a great community.
Re: treasure cards--I was disappointed to find out that Monstrous cards are as rare as honest politicians or phoenix feathers :? I have been unable to find any for sale at the Bazaar during the last two days. I know they are dropped in Mooshu, but I think I squandered the ones I had foolishly, unaware of their scarcity.
Oh ya, :? I guess I forgot that the Monstrous cards are in short supply at the Bazaar... probably even harder to dig up after hours. Giant cards are also a bit rare. Strong and Tough cards (library) are more easily had although they don't provide quite the same pop. The Archivist in The District of Stars (Celestia) sells Monstrous cards so if you could arrange a visit to CL you could buy as many as your gold will get you.
