prismatic-trials

[haughty parrot]

well good luck sticking to it then i guess

[native mesa]

i like doing things blind

im just curious what others are doing.

[frozen kettle]

yeah the drone I didn't even look for once I saw fuel cell + preon available on stage2

thats like 4000 damage right there

[native mesa]

beyond that 4000 theres still 2000 left and one silly attack can end the run.

using drone eliminates rng so thats why i used it over the fuel cell.

my strat absolutly does not work for speedrunning though.

[drowsy grail]

I like your idea, but it requires getting money, and buffalo has been my most hated mob in the game. I die so often to buffalos charging me from the back hue. I will try some more after school later today

[native mesa]

i lost 1 run to the buffallo.

i find them easy to hear and thus avoud.

[haughty parrot]

id highly recommend investing in more brooches so that one silly attack stops ending your runs

[drowsy grail]

I did like 2 hours yesterday, first stage no hit is getting better for me, but stage 2 needs a lot of practice

[native mesa]

its not so much about keeping brooch, its getting it. once i have a few kills i dont have any issues.

dont really need two. its why i dont use it.

[nimble warren]

break the 2 crystals upon entering stage2, then get fuelcell and preon, rush to brooch printer in the cave area

ez mode afterwards

[native mesa]

drone is also a much more fun way to do it lol.

[nimble warren]

the challenge isnt fun to begin with

[native mesa]

exactly

i hope i dont seem like im being dismissibe.

[haughty parrot]

ur fine

[faint steeple]

Its your opinion, everyone thinks differently. Dw bout dat

[haughty parrot]

personally, i just hopoo never does another 100% health challenge after this

staying above 50%? yeah, thats fine, thats doable

asking players to abuse brooch or play like pansies isn't fun

[native mesa]

its only one of them, it seems intended to be the hardest achievment

[nimble warren]

it is a challenge after all, but i do agree that keeping above 100% is kinda ridiculous :v

[haughty parrot]

its 2, though merc's is definitely the harder one

[native mesa]

the game just isnt compatible with no hits.

[haughty parrot]

any trial seed after this without easy to access brooches will be hellish

[drowsy grail]

Locked behind specific seeds, unless they are planning to make it possible during most rotations

[haughty parrot]

p sure the seeds are random, theres no oversight

[nimble warren]

^

[haughty parrot]

we just got stupid lucky to have this many brooches available in a trial right after the update dropped

[native mesa]

99% of players probably wont get this acheivement. not without abuse.

[haughty parrot]

and yeah i do agree the challenges should be hard

and that theres always drizzle for the ones players cant do

but nohit/brooch abuse is asking too much

[drowsy grail]

Oh, are they?

[haughty parrot]

ive had 4 runs of the huntress nohit ruined by a wisp spawning and hitting me before i could kill it

usually after the boss dies, too

ridiculously frustrating

[frozen kettle]

"As <class>, start and complete one stage without falling below 100% health" would be FINE. Huntress's challenge is alright. Merc's is two stages in a row with often buffed bosses; it's silly

[native mesa]

Only time I have ever not played on monsoon was to get the pauldron lol.

[haughty parrot]

(i had a 5th run ruined by the magma worm's corpse deciding it wanted to jump into the air after dying, and the active hitbox it has for some reason hit me)

i think that, at best, challenges should be limited to staying about 75%

[native mesa]

It's so difficult to complete teleport with just 10% health

[haughty parrot]

gives room for error while still allowing you to take a stray wisp hit and not have your entire run of the stage ruined

[nimble warren]

just jump off the edge when you're about to charge it like at 95%

[faint steeple]

^

[haughty parrot]

honestly got that achieve by accident by just making a close call lol

[nimble warren]

ofc dont play as merc or someone with high regen

i did mine as mul-t

[native mesa]

I did rex and basically had to spam 2 and constantly fall off

No other character was easily possible at least to me.

[nimble warren]

i tried rex m2 spam

[native mesa]

I find the harderachievements so easy.

[nimble warren]

mfw i still havent done the gesture of the drowned achievement

its kinda annoying when u get shit like clover with the bands and whatnot and trying to clear that achievement

[haughty parrot]

lmao

[native mesa]

Neither, 8 can't be bothered with it.

[haughty parrot]

on topic of the prismatic trials channel

[native mesa]

Lol

[nimble warren]

ya

[haughty parrot]

i did it on a trial that had 2 combat shrines, both for crabs

pretty sure thats where most people got it

[nimble warren]

i should really look out for those

[haughty parrot]

it was titanic plains too

couldnt be luckier

[nimble warren]

dont really want to run through a loop without gathering many items

[haughty parrot]

trials are stupid good for challenges if theres a lucky seed

[nimble warren]

yeah

[native mesa]

This is the only achievement Im getting with trials

I might add blind speed runs to my streams. 8 am enjoying it.

[weary totem]

I like how everyone came here for evicerate strats with about everyone doing the main strategy that's quick, effective, and less luck based.

Then there's the few that brag about how great, unique, and talented they are and never do anything like everyone else.

[tough belfry]

i'm great and unique and talented

[weary totem]

*Eviscerate

Yes you are! Yes you are! Pats

[wise creek]

same

[tough belfry]

being great and unique and talented is about having enough time to waste

[weary totem]

People are dead ass talking like they fought overloading clay dunestrider without topaz broaches, fuel cells, or preon accumulater with a merc and got the achievement that way. I need to see this

[wise creek]

tbf even with those it's still a hard achievement

[quiet vector]

I followed the Reddit guide for the current trial Ethereal strat...even with that it took me a good couple hours to get a run that was perfect. I would be very interested to see how people managed that myself...

[weary totem]

It honestly was frustrating 😂. Hearing my steam friend grunt and slam his desk because of aim bot imps had me rolling

[wise creek]

Hahahaha

What I wish I knew sooner was not to waste the second preon accumulator right away

[weary totem]

And yeah, regal. It's sum bs but yeah. I gotta see this

[quiet vector]

The worst failures were taking damage during the dunestrider fight...like, I've done 99% of this, just let me finish...wanted my failures before I hit snow if possible

[wise creek]

I probably could of finish way sooner

[quiet vector]

wound up being 50/50 though...

[weary totem]

Jeez....

[wise creek]

Yea I think I took dmg to the dunestrider at least 3 times because I didn't know I needed to hold the preon until the boss had like 2000 hp

[quiet vector]

I had a couple runs where I just decided "standing on the dunestrider is totally safe while I'm waiting for my invulns to come up." ...forgetting that that's where the fast attack comes from. Admittedly I was running a mild fever last night, but still...

[weary totem]

I got lucky off of a runald's band and a crystal... I hate merc now because of that challenge

[wise creek]

I still love merc haha

I dont think his alt ult is that great tho

[weary totem]

I was hoping it would be like... Some counter or some anime sword beam, ya know?

[quiet vector]

Merc is still my favorite group character...this just kinda reinforced why I don't enjoy him as much solo

[wise creek]

I have a hard time dealing with fire elite boss with him but I guess at least we got guilotine now

[weary totem]

I feel. I mean, i'm still trying to get used to the loader but... He's funny as helllll

All day , "WEEEEEEEE"

[nimble warren]

same

[tough belfry]

oof just had my first time failing because of accidentally killing a crystal

[daring junco]

i wondered why i kept failing, turns out i didn't realize that breaking the crystals without eviscerate damages you lol

[tough belfry]

@slim lintel just got a 3:33 no hit

[frozen kettle]

both Eviscerate and Blinding Assault have iframes

[tough belfry]

@weary totem i did it without brooches what next

[slim lintel]

why would you do that to yourself

[tough belfry]

speeeeeeed

okay i'll go for no items except preon

[slim lintel]

do it without preon

[tough belfry]

that is impossible

or maybe not but idk the strat

[slim lintel]

the strat is git gud now go out there and make all weaboos proud

[tough belfry]

i'll do it with preon before i try without

[austere eagle]

https://i.vgy.me/fqjq4V.png

how does one do it in a flat 2 minutes wtf

[tough belfry]

cheating

[austere eagle]

exactly what i thought

[tough belfry]

it's not possible from what i can tell

[austere eagle]

what if you got for absolutely no items and rush preon

[tough belfry]

stage 1 doesn't have enough damage to get a low time

unless i missed something

[austere eagle]

also, can the merc challenge be done here? the one where you don't go below 100% health

[tough belfry]

this is THE best trial for it

[austere eagle]

find it extremely difficult to do both no under 100% challenges when the bloody wisps exist

[tough belfry]

there's a brooch printer stage 2 which makes it way easier

yeah wisps suck you just have to ignore the boss to kill them

[austere eagle]

i can't even not get damaged in stage 1

especially when i have to actually attack the boss

[tough belfry]

stage 1 is arguably harder because of the wisps

[austere eagle]

so in stage 1, just kill all the wisps then go for boss?

still getting the hang of mercenary. unlocked yesterday

heard it was way harder to use him before this

0 leeway on your 3rd ability

[tough belfry]

if you hit an enemy with dash you can dash again

so that's good for killing wisps if you can aim fast enough

[austere eagle]

i feel like this trial can be done really really fast with loader

he obliterates bosses

[misty jasper]

She is very fast

[austere eagle]

yeah but sometimes i'm too far from a wisp to dash at them then they hit me

i did the speedrun challenge with 3 loaders and an engie

the engie got rid of all the wisps

[misty jasper]

I was at rank 102 last night with loader, but idk if people have beaten my time

[austere eagle]

we got some lilys and then stopped going for items after that

won at 19:something

[tough belfry]

what time @misty jasper

[misty jasper]

I dont remember specifically, it was somewhere around 3 minutes and 20 seconds or so

[austere eagle]

have the devs said anything about anti cheat yet? haven't been paying attention

[tough belfry]

probably nothing about anticheat

[austere eagle]

@misty jasper https://i.vgy.me/fqjq4V.png

[tough belfry]

nobody cares about trials

[austere eagle]

remy beat you with merc lol

[misty jasper]

Why you ping

[austere eagle]

probably cheating

[misty jasper]

I mean, im not good at prismatic trials anyways

Or loader for that matter

I kinda want to break into top 100 maybe but not if it takes an eternity of retrying

[tough belfry]

no chance

all cheaters except like 3 people

[misty jasper]

I mean, 102 is pretty close

[misty jasper]

Oh what the fuck

[tough belfry]

a lot of cheaters

[misty jasper]

Alright nevermind lmao

[clever mountain]

do you complete merc's challenge after beating the dunestrider or activating the tele?

[tough belfry]

after you teleport after the tele

[clever mountain]

I see, thanks

[tough belfry]

https://youtu.be/49QynTZr1F8

[clever mountain]

didn't know there was a focus crystal

will go for it next time

[feral coyote]

To get the focus crystal you have to give up a broach though. Makes the queen a bit harder

[clever mountain]

not that one, the one in delta

[feral coyote]

Ah yes, honestly the only thing you need in Delta is the prion and the energy cell

[rich locust]

Guess I'll just wait for delta for the merc challenge

/nick Axid

Rip

[tough belfry]

the current trial is the best for the challenge

[rich locust]

What is it

[tough belfry]

just watch the video

for the stages and bosses

basically on stage 2 there's a brooch printer which is great for the challenge

and 2 brooches on stage 1 which is pretty good

[rich locust]

So camp the cliff for queen and delete the pot with double preon

[tough belfry]

uhh about the preon, make sure the dunestrider has low enough health for you to one shot it before you do the second preon

there's a slower/safer route in pins

[rich locust]

Do you think it matters if i use uppercut instead of flip

[clever mountain]

flip is great to combo the cristals

[tough belfry]

uhh i don't have enough experience with uppercut to be able to say

i just prefer flip because it's what i'm used to

[clever mountain]

1 combo + m2 + R

in delta you are strong enough for a single m2 + R

[rich locust]

They do the same damage

One is 2 x 200% and the other is 400%

[tough belfry]

uppercut is better for dps against boss i think

it says 450%

[rich locust]

I like how it launches jellyfish

I guess it is stronger then. Nice

[inner glade]

how long is it to end of this prismatic trial?

[tough belfry]

33 hours

[obtuse otter]

does the focus crystal effect the prion damage?

[tough belfry]

i think so

[austere eagle]

i didn't know there was a fuel cell up there

if you can pay for the jumping fans in this prismatic trial you can unlock the 30 sec midair one too

just keep bouncing on them until you reach 30

[rich locust]

I got so close

I get by something as soon as i started the second teleporter though :/

[dreamy jungle]

i did it :>

[tough belfry]

nice

[dreamy jungle]

your videos were helpful, thanks @tough belfry

[tough belfry]

np

[jaunty wagon]

I'm so sick of trying for Merc no hit

[low rampart]

probally is the most hard challlenge...

[tough belfry]

ok i've kind of routed no items

with scorched acres hehe

[austere eagle]

this merc challenge is driving me nuts

at least with huntress challenge i have potential to build up shields and barriers

just one small hit and that's it. sometimes it's something that's behind my camera

[low rampart]

yeah but merch have more invicible frames

[jaunty wagon]

Literally had a won run, got hit last frame of the tp, pissed me off so much

[neon elbow]

I just can't do that shitty challenge

need the safest rute

I keep getting damaged by who knows what

[jaunty wagon]

There's two Brooches on the first level, rush for them

[austere eagle]

for me it's usually wisps or fireballs

[jaunty wagon]

The two brooches gives for a lot more shields and focus the wisps first, the overloading claypot is such a piss take, taking more than two shots of the preon

[austere eagle]

i think 50% of my runs are ending with the 4th lemurian i see hitting me with a fireball

on the first stage... i suck

[still ice]

Jump more

The fireballs miss way more often if you dodge in three dimensions rather than just running

[jaunty wagon]

Definitely, but is the queen gland worth it?

[still ice]

The wisps though... All I can say is to kill them asap, because their attacks are pretty cheesy on this challenge

Yes, take the queens gland. The imps and golems are just too difficult to deal with without the beetle guard

[jaunty wagon]

true, but it also steals kills removing potential shield

[still ice]

I tried it without the queens gland, and it just becomes way too difficult to even make it to the boss

[neon elbow]

I get hit by wisps mostly yeah

[jaunty wagon]

I AM SO MAD

i hate it so much

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

One message removed from a suspended account.

[pallid kraken]

i haven't done much prismatic trials but doing the merc challenge just seems ludicrous

is it worth waiting for a new trial?

[tough belfry]

this trial is the best

[pallid kraken]

how come?

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[cyan stratus]

@tough belfry your s1 time was slow because you grabbed focus crystal, you can kill much quicker with brooch

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

One message removed from a suspended account.

[orchid kraken]

what does the arm do?

[pallid kraken]

ah yeah theres a fuel cell on the second map, right?

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[frozen kettle]

yes, and if you pick up the fuel cell before you pick up preon you get two charges immediately

[pallid kraken]

amazing

[orchid kraken]

guys, what does the lunar arm thing do?

[pallid kraken]

okay thanks all, ill try again

[quiet vector]

Replaces your shift with a move that makes you go invulnerable, and heals you for the duration

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[quiet vector]

so you lose your utility skill for the rest of the game

but get that instead

[orchid kraken]

yuck

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[quiet vector]

I kinda like it honestly. It's better than, say, Commando's roll (imo). Not for someone like Merc or Loader who have excellent shifts, but for those with mediocre ones...

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

One message removed from a suspended account.

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[quiet vector]

If you're running the alt M2 on artificer Snapfreeze isn't a terrible loss as well

if you're running base M2 then it's more of a loss

[austere eagle]

having the challenge end because i got hit with 1 hp worth of fall damage is great

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[quiet vector]

eh, it works on non-elites too though, which isn't trivial

[tough belfry]

i wasn't actually going for fast i was going for no brooches

[last storm]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[quiet vector]

You're not wrong, lategame it's not a bad trade. Early-mid, if you're running base M2 it'd be a loss

[cyan stratus]

oh i thought you were trying a speedrun of it

[tough belfry]

i might try later but first i'm doing no items

[cyan stratus]

since this channel is now dedicated to unlocking merc's skill i tried a speedrun of it and i think i can get 2:30 or so

[tough belfry]

that's faster than my run where i did take damage gg

[cyan stratus]

it's just an estimate

[wooden vortex]

Broochless any%

[cyan stratus]

could be anywhere between 2:30 and 3:00

[jaunty wagon]

If those crystals didn't exist it'd be so much easier

[tough belfry]

!?!?!?

[drowsy grail]

Crystals are the easiest part of the run

[tough belfry]

free money

[austere eagle]

LOL get a load of this:

[Yesterday, 23:24]
RemyTH:
Tbh rng luck on the crystals and item drops. Plus it's like...two stages.

in response to this https://i.vgy.me/fqjq4V.png

the crystals are always in the same plce

the items are always the same, too. wtf is he talking about

[jaunty wagon]

True, but they're annoying, and you'd get less enemies because you could rush to the tp

I want to cry

[orchid kraken]

where's the fuel cell on stage 2?

[wooden vortex]

Right above where you spawn

On that ledge with the stone golem

[deft onyx]

Aren't you supposed to be able to two-shot the overloading dune strider with the two-charge Preon guaranteed?

Or do I need to specifically be close enough to trigger focus crystals too?`

[tough belfry]

no?

you can just dash in after the first preon to do damage then preon again

[deft onyx]

I know, I did the two-shot with engineer yesterday yet suddenly I just can't do it.

[jaunty wagon]

3 damage

Run ruined

[deft onyx]

2 damage from a wisp, run ruined. Fantastic.

[jaunty wagon]

The worst is randomly criting the crystal and it exploding

[red kelp]

I must be bad because I just keep getting damaged by like 2 and failing

[deft onyx]

And I was now literally 50 HP away from killing the dunestrider and I got screwed out of it by it healing the frame before I could kill it...

Holy crap this challenge is infuriating.

It won't be looked on fondly in the future, that's for sure. It won't be "Man, I had to work hard for this but I feel good for getting better", it will be "Man, RNG sure was with me that day or I'd still be banging my head against that bloodstained wall."

[red kelp]

I just have no enemies to kill for the brooches to work and then get range attacked

[tough belfry]

how do you get attacked if there are no enemies

[deft onyx]

I think what he means is there being no enemies to kill, having no barrier then suddenly a wisp spawns half a mile away and does the customary attack when spawning even way out of range.

[tough belfry]

ok my route should work for no items but i can't get The Run™

[deft onyx]

And a wisp just ruined my run again.

If it keeps on being this shitty I'll just cheat the damn unlock in.

[pallid kraken]

for real this challenge isnt fun

like im just not having fun trying to do it

[deft onyx]

Won't be fun having done it either, the only thought you'll have regarding it will be "I AM SO HAPPY I DON'T HAVE TO KEEP TRYING FOR THAT!"

[red kelp]

@deft onyx yeah that's what I mean

is the unlock even worth it

[deft onyx]

It's a very strong wind-slash attack basically, has some range to it and does a lot of damage but only hits 3 enemies.

[tough belfry]

ok i did a stage 2 "no hit"

meaning i walked into blazing enemy's fire thing

no hit no items coming soon

[slim lintel]

this is some alpha weeb shit right here

[uncut tendon]

Part of me wonders if maybe they'll change it to make it a bit more fun to earn the achievements. But then the people who earned it the hard way would probably be upset.

[tough belfry]

no reason to be upset

they could have just not done it

[uncut tendon]

I mean I think some of them are reasonable, I got the artificer ones really easily. The Merc one is miserable though, goodness.

[slim lintel]

I failed the 20 floor commando one today because my dumbass thought it was a good idea to headstomp a malachite beetle guard

on floor 19

[uncut tendon]

Thaaaaat had to be frustrating...

[slim lintel]

meh I'll just drizzle speedrun it later it was my fault completely lol

[rich locust]

I did it

[slim lintel]

welcome to the cool club

[rich locust]

it was very stressful

[slim lintel]

this seed is really good for the challenge but I feel like a seed without a dune and at least 1 brooch could be easier. Esp if it had a crowdfunder

[rich locust]

it has fuel cell preon though

[slim lintel]

crowdfunder with at least 1 proccing item is anywhere from almost as good to better than a preon depending on the item

[viral carbon]

okay so if you use transcendence would merc go under 100% hp

[slim lintel]

trans doesnt work

only brooch

[viral carbon]

ah okay

thank you

[idle willow]

I actually thought Huntress' challenge was the same as Merc's

For no reason

I just completed it lol

That wasn't as bad as I thought

[rich locust]

all of the wiki things about the unlock suggest getting shield items which dont work

[quiet vector]

To be fair the way the trial is set up it works well for Huntress' as well...just you don't need to worry about the first stage at all

[idle willow]

All I've learned in my research is the people who play the game know what they're talkin about

I mean true

I just didn't read the challenge

But I got a pretty fast run as Merc, as of last night top 300 as of now top 500, 4:21

I didn't spam brooches because I was able to kill it with the preon

[rich locust]

is fastest speed loader

[idle willow]

I dunno

[rich locust]

prismatic trials locked to a character would make the times a lot more comparable

[idle willow]

True

[rich locust]

or at least showing ranks per character

[idle willow]

Most roguelites do the character daily thing

I don't know why they don't, but it makes my life easier

So I don't mind

[rich locust]

well since there are character specific challenges for trials

[idle willow]

Ranks by character would be nice though

[rich locust]

it would be pretty frustrating if there was only one run per week

[idle willow]

I don't think they're gonna tie dailies to characters

I was just sayin

[tough belfry]

oof wisps

[heady cave]

does the brooch help me with the prismatic trial with merc?

[tough belfry]

yeah

damage to the barrier from brooch doesn't count

[humble stratus]

I'm kinda proud of this, my route could probably be way more optimal

[heady cave]

I found the newt altar, I could grab the tonic to fight the boss and the other 2 brooches

But there are more brooches?

[tough belfry]

it's worth not going to the bazaar

[heady cave]

you sure?

[tough belfry]

since going to it changes what stage stage 2 is

and the normal stage 2 is really good

[heady cave]

I mean, the boss is overloading teapot

Can't do the new special with that boss

It will always hit and the 6 brooches I had didn't helped

[quiet vector]

I had a successful Ethereal unlock run with 5 brooches against overloading dunestrider so it is doable.

[heady cave]

How

[tough belfry]

check pins

[quiet vector]

@heady cave I followed this guide https://www.reddit.com/r/riskofrain/comments/d5ut6a/a_guide_to_mercenarys_ethereal_mission_prismatic/

[tough belfry]

just for the fight then this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49QynTZr1F8

[humble stratus]

I wonder what the fasted route to clearing this, merc challenge aside, is

[tough belfry]

rex teleporter rush as always probably

for merc it's pretty similar to the route in my vid but just not caring about taking damage

[humble stratus]

Yeah, that's what I was toying with last night, then I'd get cheesed in the teapot fight and run would be over. :,p

But that's also probably more on me

[heady cave]

nice one man

[quiet vector]

@tough belfry wow, super nice run there

[tough belfry]

ty :))

[austere eagle]

how do i aim the preon at the stage 2 boss in such a way that it doesn't just leave the boss with half health after 2 shots and actually gets close to killing it?

[tough belfry]

as long as you hit the boss it should be fine

[austere eagle]

i guess i'm missing when it gets high or low with its legs :/

[tough belfry]

it may just be that you're going there late and the boss has more health

[austere eagle]

or am i cancelling a previous shot by triggering it before the animation finishes?

[tough belfry]

idk

maybe

[austere eagle]

i'm getting 4 minutes in

[wise creek]

I dont think you can cancel it

[tough belfry]

okay yeah you're probably messing up the preon shots then

[austere eagle]

and when i DONT mess up the shots, i fuck up when i have to finish the boss off when it has very low health

i get hit

should i go for the focus crystal in stage 2 or just leave it be?

[tough belfry]

let the preon finish the boss off

you do the damage between the shots

uhh there's no reason not to take more items if you can afford it

[austere eagle]

between? so i shouldn't just fire both of them off at once?

[idle willow]

Yo there's a printer in the cave for brooches

[tough belfry]

fire one, do enough damage to get it to one shot range, fire again

[austere eagle]

ah, i guess that works

[slim lintel]

your s1 could be a lot faster if you picked up the berserker right next to the tele. Enough beetles/wisps stack up to easily proc it and its huge damage

[idle willow]

When I was doing the Huntress challenge I ended up stacking brooches

But I did basically use who's route, just collecting all the items S1

And then turning them into brooches for the Overloading Teapot

So I wouldn't get hit

Took like 7 minutes, but I got it

[austere eagle]

oookay a fire elite lemurian spawned at the first boss and ruined everything

[idle willow]

Lol

What even

Ok which challenge are you doing

[austere eagle]

oh yeah i should probably attempt the huntress challenge at prismatic

[idle willow]

Merc?

[austere eagle]

but i'm doing merc

[idle willow]

Ah yeah

Merc took me like 40 minutes last night

Got a run 4:21, very clean

[austere eagle]

i got the first boss down already. get hoof, get brooch, crystal crysta crystal, spawn boss, sit at cliff edge so 1 enemy can spawn at least, start murdering so fast that my brooch allows me to never disengage the boss. boss dead.

stage 2, crystal crystal, get fuel cell, get preon, get focus crystal, crystal, teleporter, fire preon twice, miss one shot, cry

[idle willow]

Consider:

Chest at the rock by the tele, gives you berzerkers, go up top of the bridge scaling the side, then pick up another brooch and gas

[austere eagle]

yeah, i forgot to mention i've been getting that, too

but it doesn't seem to be taking effect

[idle willow]

[austere eagle]

which is disappointing. i actually in normal run got that item with loader, used my charge punch to kill 3 enemies in a row every single time, and it never fucking works

[idle willow]

You have to just get the ball rolling

[austere eagle]

but it's so easy to kill 3 enemies at once with a charge punch. why isn't it taking effect?

does it have to be your m1 ability only?

[idle willow]

Idk man, I just did the challenges

[slim lintel]

idk berserkers does seem bugged atm

[idle willow]

I still need to unlock Loader

Really?

[austere eagle]

i'm finding the situation similar with merc. i use my dash attack to kill 3 wisps and the berserk doesn't take effect

[slim lintel]

I noticed as well killing 3 enemies isnt always proccing it

[idle willow]

Funny.

How odd

[austere eagle]

it's gotta be a bug

or only primary attack works

[idle willow]

Well, that sucks

[slim lintel]

jesus I'm trying to no brooch run but fast, these lemurians need to be put on an mlg team they're hitting some of the sickest airshots on me

[austere eagle]

does the boss have some kind of damage resistant state? i'm not missing my preon shots this time but one of the shots would barely deal any damage

[idle willow]

Lolrip

Also I don't know why sometimes two shots isn't enough to kill

[austere eagle]

literally my first shot dealt so little damage it physically hurts

it's like i just pinched him a little

[idle willow]

I just know that if you do the same thing enough times, it eventually works

[tough belfry]

i can't really tell without a video

[austere eagle]

fine. i'll record. i have barely any hard drive space tho

[slim lintel]

how many mins in to the run are you?

[austere eagle]

i finish at about 4:20 (wow ecks dee ell oh ell) if i just let myself take hits and am as reckless as possible. when i try not to take hits (and fail anyway) i finish at about 4:40

correction on my reckless run. it's 4:30

[muted cedar]

i've come accept the merc last ability will not be for me, as I get hit just as I kill the boss on rally point

[harsh lark]

has anyone mapped the current prismatic trial (possibly for the merc challenge?)

[austere eagle]

not only did i fail the run but i failed to demonstrate the preon not dealing proper damage https://youtu.be/qU8p7K2B6hw

AND the berserk proc'd properly this time

[tough belfry]

you can activate preon while doing other things

[slim lintel]

^ also you did it from far away so didnt get the bonus from focus crystal, that damage looks normal to me

[austere eagle]

oh yeah i should get closer

i did it without crystal once and i felt it did more damage though

maybe because lower health since i didn't wait for crystal

anything i could've done faster besides not missing all my blinding assaults?

[muted cedar]

😐

[cyan stratus]

where's the guy that said he was gonna get 1:30 with rex

i don't see a 1:30 yet

[rich locust]

also consider that getting to the boss at different times will effect how much damage it does compared to the boss's health

also its 4000% of your damage so its effected by level also

[slim lintel]

I hate it when I'm routing and as I optimize earlier parts the whole route falls apart because enemy spawns

[tough belfry]

okay i finally did it

[rich locust]

like enemies not spawning?

[tough belfry]

video coming soooooon

[rich locust]

whats your time

[tough belfry]

6 minutes

for no hit no items

[rich locust]

👀

[tough belfry]

could have been 5 minutes if enemy ai wasn't so bad

[rich locust]

as merc?

[tough belfry]

yeah

[rich locust]

how do you deal with pot suck with no items

[tough belfry]

using the bazaar to go to a different stage 2 without dunestrider

[rich locust]

oh

[tough belfry]

it would be really hard for dunestrider

especially overloading since they still hit you through your eviscerate

[rich locust]

what boss was it

[tough belfry]

blazing beetle guards

i just made them jump off the map

[rich locust]

is this easier than no hit on the other map

with items

[tough belfry]

yeah

stage 2 pretty similar

stage 1 had no brooches

wait no sorry i'm reading what you said wrong

i'm tired lol

making the beetle guards jump off is pretty hard since it takes longer than just preoning so there's more time for wisps to attack you

[rich locust]

but if you were using items do you think it would be easier than delta

[tough belfry]

no

[rich locust]

you could lure them to the launch pads and then stun them over the holes I think

[humble stratus]

Now this is more like it

[tough belfry]

you can drop at least 2 minutes off of that

[humble stratus]

I know I can but I'm baby

[rich locust]

rush tp and spam m2?

[tough belfry]

https://youtu.be/Kdi4bHxt6Eg

[tepid kestrel]

WAS THIS PAIN WORTH IT, THAT IS MY QUESTION?!

[austere eagle]

why'd the queen spawn back there

i tried the rallypoint huntress challenge in 1 attempt and fucked up anyway on prismatic lol https://youtu.be/btYkUPQlZVc

[rich locust]

I did rex and got 3:14

I also accidentally picked up brooch instead of focus

[cyan stratus]

i have a video of 1:45

if you want that route

[austere eagle]

i could only get 3:28 with loader... how the hell do you get that short of a run with rex

[pearl eagle]

Rex busted

[rich locust]

I did it again and got 2:50

I can't figure out if alt m2 is better than regular

[cyan stratus]

it's much worse

[rich locust]

isnt the dps higher?

[cyan stratus]

no?

[austere eagle]

the huntress challenge for rallypoint doesn't count for prismatic!?

WTF COME ON

[pearl eagle]

It does

[austere eagle]

i guess i got hit at some point :/

[pearl eagle]

Probably, not exactly that noticable if you drop for a millisecond

I did it in the prismatic yesterday, so I can vouch for it working

You can also easily do the 5 sec engineer kill in the current prismatic with easy double preon

[whole echo]

the merc challenge must be impossible

like fug

[crimson sapphire]

i did it in like 30 attempts

after like 25 i found out about 3d printer

[austere eagle]

what a bullshit end to a no under 100% run... this happens WAY more than it should even in normal play: https://streamable.com/jnuky

[slim lintel]

🦀 delet rex

cabbage have you unlocked any of mults alts yet? I'm really curious about how much dps the chainsaw does

but I cant stand to play mult long enough to unlock them

[austere laurel]

Scrap launcher feels really off :c

[austere eagle]

i've seen it do more dps that any of mul-t's other weapons. it's an absolute boss shredder

[austere laurel]

I reckon it's the sound effects though

[austere eagle]

not the best for dealing with a crowd of small enemies if you don't like taking hits

[slim lintel]

well trials boil down to mobility and boss dps so if its somehow better than rexs broken ass we at least have options

[cyan stratus]

i haven't tried

[thorny pine]

lol rip used lunar portal and i didnt get a topaz printer on stage 2 fuck this im out

[dark cobalt]

i got ethereal 😃

[tepid kestrel]

Welcome to the club mate

Im still not sure how good is the new mercenary skill tho

[trail shard]

heyo, I'm sure this gets asked a ton now, but any general tips for getting ethereal?

[slim lintel]

dont get hit

[trail shard]

oh thanks why did I not think of that

[fervent stag]

Stack topaz brooches, use wisps and lemurs and exploding barrels etc get like 50% barrier before engaging harder enemies, iframe crystal explosions, try to be fast, wait a bit with 2nd preyon and make sure you use it before succ but also kill with it. Pick fuel cell before preyon if you want to be fast, strafing helps dodging fireballs from lemurs, be patient, 7-8 brooches is good

Remember fall dmg

[thorny pine]

would work?

[fervent stag]

You only really need the fuelcell and preyon and everything else is for your safety so you can try to go faster with less brooches

[thorny pine]

1 hp is 100% hp

[fervent stag]

No, barriers only

[thorny pine]

😦

[fervent stag]

Watch pinned video for item locations and an example run

[trail shard]

this is good help, thank you

[slim lintel]

@cyan stratus I...think this may be good

[tough belfry]

:o

[soft acorn]

yup

i was thinking of making some mul-t memes

devours boss hp faster than engi devours shrooms

[slim lintel]

nvm rex is still way faster lmao

I forgot rex has that armor breaking bullshit that makes him do like 2000 a second or some shit

actually my shoddy math and make believe numbers are putting rex at around 897% a second I must be off somehow

[pearl eagle]

Yo, have you gotten the new Arti secondary skill? the one where you have to kill a boss in a second?

[lapis edge]

If I get transcendence in a prismatic trial with merc and take damage, does that count as losing health?

[pearl eagle]

Yes it does, shield counts as health apparantly

use brooches to stack barriers

[lapis edge]

Kk

[snow garnet]

hopoo is a big fat cheater

[tough belfry]

hopoo flexing again

[modern trench]

Fellas

I heard today's trials is pretty good

[slim lintel]

@pearl eagle yeah I did, its super easy just speedrun to stage 3 while spamming newts get a couple glass and the speedrun preon and you're gold

[modern trench]

Would it be a good opportunity to go ethereal

[pearl eagle]

Aight, thanks for the tip

[slim lintel]

the new equip looks interesting for trials, good mobility idk about the damage though

[minor bison]

What makes today's prismatic trials easy for the no-hit runs?

I guess iforgotwho's post kinda explains it

[slim lintel]

lots of brooches and a preon with a fuel cell, only way it could be better is if the 2nd boss was a titan or beetle queen or somethin

[dark cobalt]

i got really lucky and killed the dunestrider with my first preon shot while doing it

my guess is it was walking away from the shot and took even more damage that way

that and maybe sticky bomb

[slim lintel]

mighta been a preon crit

[minor bison]

This challenge is just annoying and the reward doesn't feel worth the grind

but I'll do it anyway because it's my right to do so

[bold lantern]

Without actually getting up there in the Trials, is there a way to see a full global leaderboard?

[cyan stratus]

no

top times are all hacked anyways

[bold lantern]

Whats the general trend with top times then? I think i saw a 2 min time from earlier

Besides the hacked ones of course

[cyan stratus]

i have fastest legit with 1:45

pretty much every trial is sub 2 with rex

[wooden vortex]

top times are almost always 1:50 - 1:35 ISH

[rancid python]

trying to get ethereal achievement and everyone said to use the preon for the 2nd time when the dunestriders health is below 3000

but thats not been close enough both times now :(

[vast yacht]

I just stacked a lot of Topaz Broaches

Focus on wisps and work on boss when you have plenty of shield

[rancid python]

that's what ive been doing

[dark cobalt]

@rancid python "When the boss gets to around 1500 HP, use the second charge of Preon Accumulator to deny the HP draining phase"

[rancid python]

ah okay, 1500 health

so preon straight away, fight him down to 1500, then preon again?

[dark cobalt]

or maybe get lucky and oneshot

yeah basically you want him dead before he sucks

[rancid python]

yeah he gets me every time with it

[wooden vortex]

if he suck u lose

[rancid python]

if i manage it ill have got all the merc achievements and that would be real tasty, wish me luck

[dark cobalt]

gl, don't let him regen armour and don't let him succ

[drowsy grail]

Yay, finally got Ethereal

[minor bison]

I got the huntress one, merc time

[hoary estuary]

does this belong here

[rancid python]

I did it! thanks for the advice!

i dont think my hearts ever been beating that fast, i found it SO stressful haha

[minor bison]

Wish it was easier to tell if I got hit or not so I can just restart

cuz if I miss just 1 flippin health

[rancid python]

yeah i was super nervous about it at the end

[zenith plinth]

just grynn just make yourself cross eyed

have your left eye watch the hp bar

[minor bison]

maybe I should throw in a "pin challenges" suggestion or something, then it'll just say "challenge failed" and you know you can move on with your life

[zenith plinth]

😂

[hoary estuary]

thank god there were so many topaz brooches this trial

[rancid python]

i cant fathon how its supposed to be done without them

the current set up seems almost intentional? its going to be a god damn nightmare without them

[slim lintel]

its possible I've almost beat it without brooches

mycaastl beat it without any items

[faint venture]

without dropping below 100%? Jesus

[minor bison]

alls I know is I just finished it and now I'm never gonna play Merc again yeet

[scenic yoke]

First preon > Boom! Goes in for some dps to bring him to suck phase. Starts suck phase, issue is ive got 3 drones and Beetle with me, Im already charing the preon, it hits but doesnt kill him and he is getting hp back really quick. Im running low on Topaz so I retreat. The suck ends and I see a group of wisps pretty close, I charge in and starts stacking my Topaz, luckily this run I went for the printer and got 8 Topaz, Im back in action and fight this damn tea pot for what feels like an eternity, but it goes down and I complete the challenge, whew, finally thats over 😅

[slim lintel]

Y'all out here stacking too much brooch. 2 is enough and you can get it quickly s1. Sitting there printing all those items gives you more chances to get dinked and the bosses hp levels up

[zenith plinth]

managed to do that merc challenge, it took like 5 hours of just sitting down and fucking with the run till it worked

christ that was painful tho

[slim lintel]

can we go ahead and rename this channel #merc-challenge-guides

[zenith plinth]

im so sad cause i dont feel like the skill you get from doing it was worth that amount of effort :P

[slim lintel]

almost none of the skills are worth it

[cunning jackal]

I'm losing my goddamn mind with this merc challenge

Its not even fun, but I know this is gonna be one of the only pris trials that it will actually be possible in

[zenith plinth]

the only skill ive actually somewhat liked so far is artis new R

[cunning jackal]

The Spiked Fist one for Loader is a straight upgrade

[zenith plinth]

i unlocked it, but havnt used it yet

was too busy getting merc done 3:

[cunning jackal]

Fuck the merc challenge

[atomic cloak]

Im hating the challenge too

[cunning jackal]

Honestly, if the devs don't change it to something halfway reasonable, like just completing a stage without taking health damage, they should do a livestream to complete the challenge

[zenith plinth]

^ hopoo plz make a "git gud" post lmao

[cunning jackal]

Yeah, I'm pretty bad. Just got back into the game after not touching it since scorched acres

[zenith plinth]

im still pissed about acres, cause i spent 20 hours target farming grovetenders boss item, didnt get it once

then played 1 multiplayer (2 people) match after this update, and got it

[slim lintel]

am I rarted or is loader complete shit

[woven mica]

youre rarted

ok guys ive been trying to get the flawless merc achievement for a while and i just cant do it

no matter how many enemies i kill in stage 2 i just cant keep up the barrier, am i doing something wrong?

[slim lintel]

says im rarted cant beat the merc challenge lmao

[woven mica]

im rarted too

help me

[slim lintel]

big tip of the day: don't get hit

enjoy your new ability

[woven mica]

oh ok

ill try that

[brisk shard]

@foggy star plz fix challange decrese brutal quest next updat plz

[slim lintel]

I absolutely hate how loaders momentum carries, it feels like you have no control. And how is the grapple at all useful? I just sends me spinning around shit and I cant hit anything

[woven mica]

sounds like she's just not your playstyle then

[slim lintel]

no I love mobile chars but her everything feels like shit

[woven mica]

sounds like she's just not your playstyle then

ok but like

[green breach]

I can already tell this is going to be one of the most annoying things I do tomorrow.

[jagged shore]

For the Merc, there's an topaz brooch printer on stage 2 that's super handy. That and the preon blaster and a fuel cell. Just 2 shot the boss towards the end to avoid taking damage. As for keeping the barrier up, I try to solo out a lizard or 2 and just "R" them and work from there shifting all around until it's off cooldown. Finally got it done myself last night 🙂

[woven mica]

is there something special i need to do to kill the stage 2 boss without getting hit or do i just try do to it the same way as the stage 1 boss

theres a brooch pritner? wow

[slim lintel]

like am I doing something wrong or is the grapple just spin happy

[woven mica]

it is spin happy

[slim lintel]

also feels like it randomly disconnects sometimes and other times I can dash a mile away and it stays connected

[woven mica]

if you think thats garbage then yeah loader is garbage

oh yeah that sucks too

[jagged shore]

Go for the timed chest for the BFG Preon Accumulator, think its in one of the big storage containers left of spawn, if the prismatic is the same as yesterday anyway. A fuel cell (To give it 2 charges) is on the top of that spiral cliff thing near spawn as well. And the printer is in the caves at the side of map. I recommend exploring a little to get bearings, and when you're comfortable go for it! 🙂

[woven mica]

yeah ik all that im following the map

[slim lintel]

is she super buggy rn? I had basically no items and her pylon kept random coming off cd when it had 15+ seconds left

[woven mica]

yeah ive seen that too, weird

ok so theres another brooch on the middle cliff next to the caves

good to know

[faint venture]

yeah theres another brooch in the HP chest nearish to the TP

[stable torrent]

I don’t how to avoid the mortar ball spam that dunestrider does, feel like the moment it flips open it’s spewing explosions all over me and my barrier goes down in seconds

[faint venture]

how many brooches do you have when fighting the dunestrider? I usually print one or two and grab the other 2 on the map

usually my first BFG shot on the dunestrider gets me enough shield to go in hard for a second. Then I have to fade back a bit and dash through wisps

[stable torrent]

6 normally

Maybe I’m just playing too aggressive? Might need to wait out his motar spam attack before going back in, rather than trying to dodge straight through it

[zenith plinth]

FML played the same map for like a hundred times but still cannot finish that challenge is so frustrating

[stable torrent]

Watch the next seed be even easier with something dumb like a stage 1 preon and a gold portal seer in the bazaar

[sudden pond]

Are there any other challenges that can be done on this trial besides Merc, Huntress, and Engineer?

Is artificer possible?

[autumn shoal]

do a quick obliteration run to get some lunar coins, and hope you get a transcendence in the bazaar

once you get transcendence, just try not to die and you win

thhats what worked for the hunter rally point delta one. but i forgot if trials had newt altars

[woven mica]

thats not how it works

sheilds are counted as max health

if you take shield damage, you fail the challenge. only taking damage to barrier doesnt fail it

also i got the achievement finally

[zenith plinth]

@slim lintel you can't adjust your momentum without using a skill or having additional jumps, this is common for alot of the characters but its more noticeable on loader because of her graple causing it

[slim lintel]

it reminds me of the geysers/jump pads which I hate

after spending years playing source games being in the air and having no say in what direction you're going just cant be done

give me air strafing or give me death

[zenith plinth]

my main game is TF2, with like 700 hours on soldier at least

beggars is op, dont @ me

[slim lintel]

I probably have a bit more than that. I have a legit gardener with over 20k kills on it

[sinful kite]

i just restarted my 200th ethereal run

i think im done for now :' )

you win ror i cant do it

[zenith plinth]

f in the chat for our fallen bretheren

[muted wharf]

For ethereal I couldn't do it with fewer than 8 topaz brooches

[sinful kite]

the route i took in the beginning was get 2 topaz zone 1, take the portal to select acres and try to get the beetles to jump off the bridge

except that didnt last too long as i ran out of coins

then i did it normally and lost my mind

theres always 1 damn silent wisp who sneezes on me when i dont expect it

[late basin]

yeah, I did the same pretty much

got to six brooches from the printer, then collected two more throughout Delta (one from the heal chest by the TP, the other left of the cave entrance that's to the right of spawn)

[zenith plinth]

Damn it I am not gonna to play any prismatic trial any more, I'm done with it

[balmy pawn]

wisps spawning and immediatly shooting you is a bit annoying for the two no damage challenges

[zenith plinth]

And the overloading elite is also annoying

[proud pike]

So as merc how many brooches do I need from the printer to be worth it?

Cause I know the path to take on the 1st world

and I refuse to use my coins

Also how much dmg does the preon do to the overloading clay pot of death

without dmg items

[last sentinel]

If you somehow find a transcendence during a prismatic trial, does taking that type of damage count against the no hit challenge for mercenary?

[proud pike]

shield will count as being hit

cause its part of health

barrier however is not

[rich locust]

I didn't use the printer and only had 2 when i did it

But it was very close a few times

So maybe like ~4?

[still ice]

Personally I just turned all the items from stage 1 into brooches as well as the items near the printer. Went up to 8

[zenith plinth]

Yesssssss

Omg I finally finished

the double preon really helps

[still ice]

On the run where I beat the challenge, I got flung into the air by whirlwind right as I was using the first preon shot. I was so salty, thought my run was doomed, but I managed to pull through

[proud pike]

Question where do you get the battery? @zenith plinth

[zenith plinth]

@proud pike this chest

[proud pike]

ty that will help me murder that horrible clay pot faster

[still ice]

Remember to save the second shot until you can kill him with it. Try not to let him succ you.

[zenith plinth]

Ya, don't let him succ otherwise everything would be wasted

Just have a look on my playing hours on steam, I have spent like about 4hours for that merc ethereal challengr

[still ice]

It took me around 5 or 6 hours total, but I had a break in the middle.

Then I did the Huntress one right after (start and finish rallypoint without falling below 100% health) using this same trial, and got that on my second attempt (first attempt was ruined by me being just a little too close to the time crystal as I destroyed it)

Doing it as huntress just puts it into perspective how hard mercenary no-hit really is

[zenith plinth]

I am going to do the huntress one later as well

[still ice]

The same route as Merc works fine. It's also nice since the "challenge" portion doesn't start until the second stage, so the first stage is pretty chill

[zenith plinth]

Ya

And huntress is not melee

At least can clear those wisp quicjly

[orchid kraken]

I have to do both today or im screwed

[uncut tendon]

@still ice so wait are you saying you only don't need to get hit on the second stage? Or that the second stage is just the harder part?

[still ice]

For the huntress challenge, only rallypoint delta matters

The merc one has to be the whole trial

[magic roost]

Any dice on improvements I could make on my time here?

[turbid perch]

I helped him play by play the run and can detail his steps

mostly upset because I did a 3:24 merc run and he really knocked my time

[harsh lark]

what route do people do for the first area of the prismatic trial? (merc challenge)

[latent stag]

jfc that was hard

was is it worth grinding for the new merc skill? imo not really

I wasted more time than most people

finally have a chance to sleep

[nimble warren]

ez clap

[latent stag]

there are a couple routes @harsh lark . The first way is to take your time getting all the items and immediately rush the printer in area 2 for brooches. This method will take longer but the extra brooches give you more safety. The second way is to grab the two brooches in area 1, berserker's pauldron and whatever other items you can get and bum rush the overloading dunestrider with 2 preon shots. This method is faster, you're less likely to get tagged by a wisp since you spend less time in the stage overall, but is much more rng during the boss fight.

[harsh lark]

Was having a hard time beating the boss in the first area

[latent stag]

ah

[harsh lark]

Though I also don't play Merc so that may be another issue.

[latent stag]

well get 2 brooches first and use your shift on killing wisps and small enemies when you run out of shield

dw you'll get the hang of it if you play a lot

[zenith plinth]

You can grab the two topaz brooches and hide under the cliff where the beetle queen spawns using your secondary to negate any possible fall damage while your other skills cooldown until you get a decent overshield

Then you can kill it pretty easily from there

The first preon shot you get on dune should get you enough overshield to decently damage it until the second shot is fatal

[latent stag]

You need the 2nd shot to be fatal or the dunestrider will S U C C and you'll fail

[zenith plinth]

Yeah, dealing with the suck and having it recharge it's shield is

You can also grab the band from the damage chest by dune's spawn to help get him down if you find a comfortable opportunity

But by far getting berserker to trigger is important

[proud pike]

So... while doing this trial (have failed in everyway possible and still haven't completed merc challenge) I've figured out that ice elites go through barrier for some reason

everytime I have barrier and a ice wisp shoots me it goes through the barrier directly to my health pool failing the challenge

[crude fable]

How would you go about doing Ethereal for merc?

[marble robin]

cry

and scream

[crude fable]

Where even is the preon?

And the brooch printer?

ah I'm guessing the map changed

it's on distant roost now

[silver hare]

printer is in cave to your right as you spawn in area 2

preon is in timed chest in upper shipping container

[gritty pebble]

@crude fable nothing changed, preon is just on the 2nd stage.

[silver hare]

the map changes up only if you go through the bazaar

[crude fable]

ah

and you can't take damage in both stages?

[silver hare]

yep

welcome to hell

[crude fable]

ugh

[gritty pebble]

Not that hard once you learn the maps

just stack brooches

you get 2 on the first stage and print most of your items on the 2nd stage

[crude fable]

there's only 1 brooch in roost

2?

[gritty pebble]

No there is 2 one down the cave on a trishop

[crude fable]

ah

[latent stag]

I copied this person's route to unlock ethereal https://streamable.com/o56n0

has lots of valuable info on where to go

there is also another alternate way where u spam the brooch printer in the cave on RPD

[thin bronze]

Im trying to make a path for the merc challange on the current prismatic trials. I haven't completed it yet but this is what I got so far.

At the start, us your double jump and dash to get jump across the gap to get to the tri-shop as soon as possible. Buy the broach for the temp shield on kill. Advance down the hallway to kill the crystal and to get the War banner from the chest (useful at a later printer). Continue out the tunnel and to the right to get another crystal. Make your way across the map into the underground area and buy another broach from the tri-shop (Should have gotten enough money from ad's spawning on the way to the tunnel). Kill the crystal while there and make your way towards the portal. Activate the portal and kill the ad's immediately w/ R in order to get some shield to prevent an unlucky hit. After the boss is killed grab the chest and boss item, then teleport out. Upon entering the snow area, immediately go right towards the tunnel area, stopping only briefly to get the money barrel and chest w/ the white item. Inside the cave there is a printer for Topaz Broaches. Print everything into broaches. Proceed to the boss and hope for the best.

As a reminder I haven't actually completed it yet, so some re-routing advice is welcome

[latent stag]

You shouldn't immediately go for boss

there is a chest with kjaro's band

at least try to pick that up it'll help with your damage significantly

[kind path]

A good option is scraping money for a chest with Fuel Cell directly above rallypoint spawn and getting the preon inside the container in the middle

[latent stag]

that too

[kind path]

i almost completed it

[latent stag]

and a focus crystal as well

[kind path]

just as i was about to hit the teleporter i got rammed for 1 (!) damage by bison

[latent stag]

that's a F moment

[kind path]

yes

[latent stag]

I spent way too long trying

more than I should have tbh

like tbh it's all rng u just need the perfect run

but in order to get the muscle memory you need to do so many runs

[kind path]

yeah

also why do crystals must deal damage upon death

i have to focus my E/R abilities to kill mobs AND to kill crystals

[latent stag]

there has been times when I activate tele and a blazing wisp spawns and tags me immediately

not even a chance to kill a small mob

I learned a strategy to just destroy all the explosive barrels before u start tele

rack up that shield

iirc your 3rd slash can outrange them slightly

[kind path]

can we have F in chat

[thin bronze]

F

[latent stag]

what a tragedy

[thin bronze]

this challenge is super rng based, I've been cucked on the final stretch of the challenge so many times now just by a flying skull. You think they might change the level of difficulty for unlocking in the future?

[native glacier]

No fire, no

[thin bronze]

Le tear, back to grinding then

[kind path]

thankfully it will be still available when im back from work

[tough belfry]

from my experience it's much less rng than people say

enemy spawns tend to be the same at the same times if you take the same route

like a lesser wisp would always spawn with the s1 boss for me

s2 boss always had a few wisps and an elite wisp

during the fight it was much less consistent since i was being less consistent so i wouldn't die

[thin bronze]

does anyone 1 know if when using the newt alter, there will be trancendance in the lunar shop, and if you still go to the snow biome?

[tough belfry]

transcendence doesn't work for the challenge if you mean that

[zenith plinth]

how's the seed today, optimal for the merc challenge?

[tough belfry]

yeah

[zenith plinth]

when does it reset?

[tough belfry]

i'll check

11:49:41

[vapid basin]

Takes time, but acquires Mercenari's new skills relatively safely
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxvyB3Ar_YM&feature=youtu.be

[topaz garnet]

Hell yeah I got "Ethereal"! Thank you for all the tips

[tough belfry]

nice

[night badger]

how do I even get ethereal

and is it worth it

[carmine willow]

someone wrote a guide further up

i just did it

[reef igloo]

I'm working on it with a slightly adjusted route

Still pretty tough, sometimes you just get RNG'd with no weak monsters spawning near the boss

[carmine willow]

took my about 15 attempts

probably a good bit more i just dont wanna admit to it

[reef igloo]

If we count full runs

I'm currently at like 6 probably

[carmine willow]

full runs?

you mean finishing the trial?

[reef igloo]

If you include early resets because I stupidly take falling damage or get sniped by a lumerian

20 smt probably lmao

[carmine willow]

oh i was including those, it was mostly a random fireball out of nowhere

the imp that spawned near the brooch printer gives me anxiety

[reef igloo]

Yeah screw those imps

Whew, got it

And that is with one of my accumulator charges exploding on something for no apparent reason

Instead of connecting with the boss

[carmine willow]

im gonna cry, trying to do this with huntress is somehow harder than merc

[reef igloo]

Less i-frames

Still, same trick should still work right

Damn I almost had it

Not having a stun is pretty yikes

[gleaming grove]

i feel achievement

[reef igloo]

damn that's fast

I got the huntress achievement on my 2nd try

[wicked creek]

man my hands are so sweaty from trying that merc one

got it though

First try, but only thanks to the help I got here

[reef igloo]

Damn first try? Sick dude

[plush lion]

I FINALLY DID IT

please, no more challenges like this

[fluid garden]

That challenge can seriously go fuck itself

[fervent stag]

if you didn't do the huntress one I suggest you complete it the same way

[runic forge]

do you need to charge the tele or just kill the boss for prismatic trials

[plush lion]

Just kill the boss

[fluid garden]

How did you even do it? There’s just so much random damage from wisps and shit that ruins it

[plush lion]

Lots of Topaz Brooches

[runic forge]

i see

[plush lion]

Also drones to distract them

Completed the Huntress challenge before this too, first try lol

[fervent stag]

I know it sounds weird but if you know how to do it, its not hard or rng in current seed

[fluid garden]

“It’s not hard”

[runic forge]

i think you can cheese it with missile launcher or BFG if the boss isn't overloading

[fervent stag]

well it is hard, but once you learn to do it, you can repeat it quite easily

[fluid garden]

Do you like ever left click? Seems like ctrl spam and ult spam is the way to go

[quiet vector]

It’s not hard on the current seed relative to any seed that doesn’t allow for brooch spamming and two Preon shots

[fervent stag]

oh yea I cant even imagine doing it in another seed xd

[plush lion]

There probably won't be another trial like this one for quite a while

[green breach]

I still get hit by the most random shit when i suddenly dont have a barrier

[quiet vector]

Oh yeah. It’s super relative. Took me 2-3 hours to get the perfect run even knowing my exact route

[fluid garden]

I haven’t been past the first level, only gave it a few tries, but where is the preon?

[fervent stag]

when you see barrier running low enough to drop from one hit you need to stop doing what you are doing and focus on building it again

[quiet vector]

Preon is in the usual timer chest crate spawn location

[plush lion]

It's in the top container

[fluid garden]

Oh, is it 3rd stage? I thought one of the modifiers was random stage order right?

[plush lion]

No, 2nd stage

[fervent stag]

first level is harder than 2nd

[fluid garden]

Gotcha

How many topaz can you get up to?

[quiet vector]

It’s random in the sense that they aren’t in usual order. But it’s always roost into Rallypoint

[plush lion]

I got up to 11

[fervent stag]

2 on 1st map and printer on 2nd

[quiet vector]

There’s a 3D printer on Rallypoint in the lower cave

My runs got 4-5 total depending on if I got the chest on the way to it

[fluid garden]

PRINTER ON 2ND? Not bad, gonna try again in a few hours lmao

[green breach]

we have what, 8 hours left?

[quiet vector]

Yeah, seed goes away tonight

[fervent stag]

with 7-8 brooches you can have full hp of barrier after killing a couple wisps

[fluid garden]

F u c k

[plush lion]

That is why I don't like Ethereal

You have to wait for a good seed for it to have a good chance at completing it

[quiet vector]

I don’t like that it’s locked to Prismatic specifically. Doing another one like Huntress’ 100% level would’ve been fine.

Huntress’ challenge is cheesable at least

[fervent stag]

well so far I am not aware of any alternative skills that are superior to the original counterparts so not completing them is alright too just I know how much you just want to get it unlocked to have the option

the merc one from ethereal is kinda cool tho

[quiet vector]

Main issue I see is most of the skills are sidegrades so it comes down to preference. Superiority is harder to gauge than “I think this works better.” Case in point I abhor Arti’s alternate ult but some people swear by it

[lean brook]

The Loader's second grapple thing is pretty much an upgrade in by far most cases

The only time it's not is if you're trying to dash away and grab a small minion

[fervent stag]

oh yea I have not looked into that one, you are probably right

[lime oar]

that challenge is so dumb and unrealistic and is basically asking for you to print brooch

[rigid lintel]

That merc challenge was a tough one

Took me like 10 tries

[ivory sapphire]

I made this if anyone wants a guide for the Merc's Prismatic Trials challenge

It's a bit wordy, but it covers a lot of detail because there are a lot of variables to a challenge like this

https://www.reddit.com/r/ror2/comments/d6wzq6/guide_to_mercenary_ethereal_challenge_obsolete_in/?st=k0sbl9ra&sh=f7e6b406

[somber bridge]

Worst part of Merc Prismatic Trial is it unlocks the downgradiest of downgrades

[fervent stag]

have you played around with it tho? its not THAT bad... I agree that it's probably little bit worse if you look at the whole big picture, but it gives some nice reliable aoe early game and option to ranged kite lategame and good proc chance, normal R needs a lot of attackspeed to be totally superior to it too

its playable enough to be used if you like it unlike some alt skills

[sinful kite]

I like it because it lets you move more

[fervent stag]

for example bandoliers and brainstalks make it work quite well since you are not locked into the animation, the lack of iframe is pretty big but on the other hand for mercenary a ranged attack isnt much worse than an iframe

[sinful kite]

Eviscerate keeps you in 1 place pretty boring

[somber bridge]

lul, okay

[fervent stag]

I am not saying its better than normal R

its worse, but its not downgradiest downgrade in my opinion but each to their own

[sinful kite]

The challenge is pretty wack for something that isn't any better than regular R though

[fervent stag]

sure, the alt skills are not ment to replace normal skills tho

[sinful kite]

Ya I know, but at least it lets you change up your play style

I think that's pretty cool

[fervent stag]

I dont think it would be too bad if they let it benefit from attackspeed too

[formal field]

guys i can't do the merc challenge

someone either motivate me or tell me to give up, either one is fine

[quiet vector]

You can do it. I was about ready to quit for the night when I suddenly got the run, so multiple bad runs don’t mean anything

[sinful kite]

I did more than 200 resets yesterday so you can keep going

[formal field]

Alright one last push

my twitch is tnakman19

[sinful kite]

Go and get em

[formal field]

about to go live

[obtuse nexus]

ok what I got from the dev thoughts was that the devs acknowledge that the Merc challenge is both very difficult and pretty seed/luck-based and they literally put a smiley face next to that statement

Which is fair, but that's a skill...

[zenith plinth]

Oof

Second area spawned an Overloading

There goes 1% of my health

[slim lintel]

I think they made this challenge just to give us trial veterans something to do

[lavish mason]

good god I hate this merc challenge

[errant jasper]

is there a way to guarantee not getting hit by the beetle queen spit

[lavish mason]

the worst part is I have a strat that absolutely should work if I could just stop choking

and if I had more time to play ...

[zenith plinth]

No but there's a way to guarantee not taking health damage

[sinful kite]

It comes down to you really

What's been working for me is frantically running around in circles and using m2 immediately after cd is over

[loud grotto]

Does today's prismatic trial have Siren's on stage 4?

[zenith plinth]

Nope it's Distant Roost Stage 1 and Rallypoint Delta Stage 2

[loud grotto]

Ty😂

[slim lintel]

she does an inhale/charge thing before she spits, make sure you are either above her body or have a dash ready when that happens

[zenith plinth]

One (1) question

Is the skill worth the trouble

[ivory sapphire]

It's a very high-damage ranged skill that pierces, but provides no iframes and doesn't dash you forward.

I'm sure it has its uses, as does basically any skill in the game.

[slim lintel]

For the most part the skills are only worth it if you're a completionist

[ivory sapphire]

Does that outweigh what you're losing? I personally think iframes and mobility are superior, but I'm sure some would disagree. It changes Merc's playstyle, so assuming he plays the same is obviously silly, and calling it bad for that reason is also silly. It's just different. I think iframes is a bit better, but I'm sure there's a way to play a very high damage ranged ability well also.

[lavish mason]

I'm giving up on this