Unlock hero talents quickly (Meta Progression)

[dusky wagon]

Do multiple really short runs. Each run should take under 2 minutes and you should get from lvl 1 to lvl 9 in about 12 runs.

• choose highest difficulty you have unlocked
• activate custom mode
• set negative modifiers: Berserker Foes, Angry Birds, Blood Lust, Disease and Inflation/Dried-up Wells (do not pick Oppressive Nightmare or Shadowy Fog)
• start the run
• immediately head towards the boss
• defeat some minor enemies on the way to gain xp
• start the boss fight by standing inside the boss area once you're there
• once the boss fight started, abandon the run using the menu

More details:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3451333701

[elder coral]

better way is to pick easiest difficulty with all 15% modifiers and just run to the first vision tower you see. repeat that for a while and you'll be level 9 in no time

difficulty doesnt seem to matter that much

[lament cape]

I tried this last night and it worked really well!

The approach recommended by @dusky wagon is much faster than vision tower runs. Vision tower nets you around 168points per run. Killing 1 monster (10exp) and then running to the boss nets you 268points per run. If you can also pick up a vision tower on the way you’ll net 368points for that run. Each run was taking less than 90seconds.

[dusky wagon]

interesting approach, could you tell me how much xp you get for these runs and how long they take? fighting camps with corruption modifier sounds like it would take some time, but maybe adventure diffiiculty offsets it

[elder coral]

about 2-3 mins for around 140 xp

[dusky wagon]

thanks for the quick reply! the method i described should be better then. if i may ask, how much xp/time did you get with "my" method?

[elder coral]

didnt try. not sure how you're supposed to beat the first boss within 5 minutes with modifiers on at level 2

youd have to do it with less time spent than doing vision tower runs

[dusky wagon]

oh now i see the issue. you're not supposed to beat it. just start the fight, open the menu and give up ("abandon"). the game (for some reason) does not punish you for losing/giving up

[elder coral]

starting the fight gives you xp? that seems like a bug

[dusky wagon]

honestly the entire xp system feels like a bug, but that's the way it works

[elder coral]

then yeah grab a vision tower and then rush to the boss

[dusky wagon]

i think vision towers are only worth it if you can clear them very quick. so pig spots (because its day at the start and they'll explode) or sneaking them with carmilla/scarlet.

[elder coral]

if theyre green they should always be easy to clear

[dusky wagon]

you lose out on a lot of xp from "early awakening of the boss" if you clear a poi. i dont think its going to work out most of the time. but maybe im wrong. feel free to test and tell me how it went!

[elder coral]

a single camp clear removes that bonus? seems silly to have that bonus then

should be if you start the fight before day 3

[dusky wagon]

"early awakening of the boss" gives more xp the earlier you start the boss. so by spending time on clearing a poi you reduce the xp you get from it.

[elder coral]

ah

well you shouldnt be spending more than 30 seconds to get to your first vision tower, and clearing it shouldnt take more than a minute

you should be able to do both within 3 minutes

doubt youd lose that much xp with 3 mins

[dusky wagon]

honestly, just give it a try. There might be a green eye poi layout that can be cleared quickly enough.
But also keep in mind that extending the run duration makes the xp farming slower (e.g. if you get 450 xp in 3 minutes when taking a vision tower and 300xp in 1:30 minutes without, is taking the vision tower really worth it?)

[dusky wagon]

thanks for the feedback and testing the vision tower strat! someone's also commented on the steam guide saying the method didn't work anymore, so I was starting to wonder if I forgot to cover something in the guide.
(on a different note, I think you should be able to get a bit more xp by killing some additional monsters, closer to 300xp)

[lament cape]

Yeah with some heroes I could get 300 each run. Also oppressive nightmare surprisingly hurts your xp gain. I only use 15% modifiers and get to 300/run easily, less than 90 sec

[dusky wagon]

yup, thats why I don't recommend taking it. Oppressive nightmare reduces time until awakening boss and by that reduces the "early awakening of the boss" bonus

[lament cape]

yeah

[dusky wagon]

not sure if I understand correctly, what did you mean by only using 15% modifiers? do you have emtpy slots instead of using 10% (since both oppressive nightmares and shadowy fog are detrimental)?

[lament cape]

I was trying to also follow the other advice about doing vision tower with 15% modifiers only. (some hybrid approach)

the only hybrid is to do the vision tower if its on the way, but its not worth the time

[dusky wagon]

ah makes sense, thanks

[lament cape]

45seconds 264exp...vision tower will get you no where close

[dusky wagon]

thanks for testing so extensively! much appreciated

[lament cape]

this is with vision tower + boss. if its on the way its worth it, but if it isn't exposed in the map, i dont bother and go for the former.

thanks for finding this!

[hasty grove]

for those not trying to spend a bunch of time doing this, you can also just download a save file with all of them unlocked [here](#ravenswatch message)

[viscid arrow]

It's called Early awakening of the boss not Early killing of the boss in score details. So it make sense and I wouldn't call it a bug.