Delve Faction Team Strategies

Gameplay Chat (PC/Mobile)
1

The purpose of this topic is to cover the best strategies for Faction Delve teams. It is not to complain about how difficult Faction Delves are. There are other topics for that, so I will flag as off-topic any complaints.

Faction Team Basics: First off, you want to make sure Puddling is your equipped pet. One look at that little guy’s smile should give you enough encouagement to overcome any challenge. Well, that, and a sizeable treasure hoard. But how large should your hoard be?

For faction delves done without potions, my hoards for Primal Rift, Silver Necropolis, Amanithrax, and ASE were 167, 155, 134 and 353, respectively. Some players did them cheaper, some did not. It’s all about finding the right fit for your strategy.

Edit: Sorry to edit this post after some people have liked it. Hopefully I don’t do anything to cause them to regret it. I suppose they could just unlike it tho. I plan to include one link to the other thread, the first time I learned of it was thru this Link: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1201 by TheIdleOne

Instead of reposting links again, which I sometimes mess up and stuff, I will post the individual player’s name and their post number, which out of 1440 plus will take sometime to locate. If I fail to notice a post with applicable faction team strategy, I apologize.

All Seeing Eye

Banner: ASE
Troops: Ocularen Leech, Ocularen, Xerodar, Watch Mother
Hoard: 199

Strategy: @theidleone post 749 uses a different strategy than I did. At first I resented someone questioning my judgement in this thread:
Pure Faction for All-Seeing Eye
But after reading his reasoning, I learned that his way better protected the Watch Mother from danger. The fact that he did it with 154 fewer Hoard levels is evidence of that. Now, I often mimic his recommended strategies from the start.
Avoid: I try to avoid rooms such as Fell Nest and Worm Tunnels on all factions, so those will go without saying. (Rock Worms are resistant to Hunter’s Mark, I need to remember that). Lord Ironbeard does bonus Skull Dmg to Monsters, so I’d avoid The Iron Gate room as well.

Amanithrax

Banner: ASE
Team: Gobtruffle x4 (I had the Tank, but he died 1st room anyway)
Hoard: 100 Allegedly. I didn’t have Anu medal. 134 worked for me.

Strategy: Equip medal of Anu if you have one, get 2 Troops full of mana, and loop enemy to death.
Rooms to avoid: If you see the Legendary Submerge Room in your path, or the Leviathan Room, it’d be best to run a non-faction team.

Primal Rift

Banner: ASE (for Treant)
Troops: Red Thorn, Golem, Dark Dryad, Alderfather
Hoard: 100, but I used 167 to help Dark Dryad’s survivability.

Strategy: The Delve Layout has changed since I completed it, but the basic success factor remains: summon a Treant and buff the heck out of it. @Spectrum completed it recently (post 1366). He used Red Thorn, Dark Dryad and Alderfather x2.
Avoid: The Usual Suspects.

Silver Necropolis

Banner: Unicorn/Silverglade
Troops: Bone Golem, Draugr, Vanya x2
Hoard: Whatever is needed to survive two casts from Vanya. For me, that was 155. Remember that she can get +12 dmg from 3 blessed allies.

Strategy: @TheIdleOne (post number to follow) posted the initial strategy I followed. @OnTheCan posted a video link in his post 1266.
Avoid: Undead. (Deathmarks help clear middle room faster.)

More is on the way…taking longer than I thought…that other Thread is so cluttered tho. Please be patient. And remember to equip yer Puddling.

16 Likes
2

I guess y’all can call me Colonel Jessup, cuz don’t I feel like an A-hole. I don’t know how I missed this post from @Texugo-928:

I bet that took a long time to research and compose. Many thanks, and respect.

I'll leave with a link to @Timeknight's Hoard Optimization Thread

Before I read the post by @TimeKnight Hoard Optimization , I once used 32 Brass Rings, 20 Cups, 3 Crowns, 8 Lamps, and 2 Sacred Treasures to get a Hoard to 100. Total cost was 789k. The next time, I used 25 Cups, 26 Crowns, 3 Lamps and 1 ST. 580k. Time’s optimization showed it was possible to do with just 353k gold, which is a significant bit o’ savings to most players.

Thanks for reading, and happy delving. Time to bash some Elves.

6 Likes
3

Please disregard the first Paragraph of the OP. I will not flag off-topic posts. I’ve only flagged one post in the history of ever, and if I remember correctly, @discobot deserved it.

1 Like
4

Hi! To find out what I can do, say @discobot display help.

5

@EliteMasterEric added a great guide for Primal Rift in the main thread, post 1478. It also includes a Crypt Keeper link at the end to his other guide, post 1447. Definitely worth reading.

6

Thanks for the hard work. Will post my The Warrens video here for level 500 no potions. Really as everyone said it is luck on status effects and I got entangle and then silence so that worked out!

Thanks again for pulling this together.

Video is here, just last room The Warrens Level 500 no Potions Delve Team - YouTube

2 Likes
7

@TheIdleOne’s post 1103 dealt with Sunken Fleet. Maraji Queen, Elemental, Maraji Queen, Drowned Soldier. 7 potions, hoard 199, before medals and Kingdom updates.

Drowned Grotto is a nuisance. I’m not too fond of Murky Deep either. I have had some paths with neither of those, but often hit one if not both.

I haven’t seen a post without potions. I’m not saying one doesn’t exist, merely saying I haven’t seen it.

8

With the Sunken Fleet team, keep the first The Maraji Queen full and spam Water Elemental. Use the 3rd slot The Maraji Queen when something shows up and use the 1st slot The Maraji Queen if clean up alignment is necessary. The banner was the Sorrowful Banner.

A mainly Water Elemental team also works, but typically needs more potions to increase the damage to make it work.

1 Like
9

I think Sunken Fleet can be done without potions with 300 True Hoard. I’ve reached boss room without losing any troop, but the board didnt help me in the end =/

  • 1st Battle (Crab Man - 2x Drowned Sailor - Water Elemental) [Use your DS to counter enemy’s DS. Always use WE before TMQ and before DS (when you are safe) to stun everyone. Deathmark is good to kill enemy’s WE.]

The main path only have 5 different rooms:

  • 1 Tier II = Smuggler’s Den (3x Pirate - Bonnie Rose) [Kill the BR asap and dont let the pirates cast more than 3 times (if they do it, every skull is instakill). Deathmark helps a lot in this battle to kill BR.]
  • 1 Tier III = Dark Wave Pool (Hammerclaw - Troglodyte - Mermaid - Sea Troll) [Always use WE before TMQ to stun Hammerclaw.]
  • 1 Tier IV = Coral Cave (Coral Golem - Nyx - Mosasaurus - Vodyanoi) [You need to kill Vodyanoi before he cast a spell. Its spell is instakill on TMQ and WE. Always use WE before TMQ to stun Coral Golem. Deathmark helps a lot in this battle to kill Vodyanoi and Mosasaurus.]
  • 2 Tier V = Murky Deep (Coral Golem - Sea Troll - Merlion - Leviathan) [You need to kill Leviathan before he casts a spell. After you kill it, try to avoid Merlion takes mana. If the board let you, try TMQ+DS Combo to deathmark both 3rd and 4th troops. Deathmark kills help a lot in this battle to kill Leviathan and Merlion.]
    Drowned Grotto (Siren - Sea Witch - Azura - Nimue) [You need to kill Siren asap. If your true hoard is 300, your troops survive 3 Siren’s spell damage and 1 skull damage from SW (Elemental Slayer Trait). Then if the first troop (SW or Azura) isnt enraged, use your WE and DS’s deathmark (if the board helps you) to kill the others while avoiding Nimue takes mana and SW takes skulls. Or if the first troop (SW or Azura) is enraged, kill it asap. Deathmark helps a lot in this battle to kill Nimue]

If your true hoard is 300, you can survive 5 skull damage in Tier V battles.

The easiest path is the one that has both Smuggler’s Den and Dark Wave Pool

The worst ones are a combination of these rooms: Coral Cave, Murky Deep and Drowned Grotto

  • Boss Room (CM - TMQ - WE - DS) [Use your DS to counter enemy’s DS. If the board let you, try TMQ+DS Combo to deathmark both 3rd and 4th troops. Deathmark kills helps a lot in this battle to kill everything you can, but if it kills WE :heart_eyes_cat:. Use your TMQ wisely to counter enemy’s TMQ. Always use WE before TMQ to stun CM and TMQ.]

Im using TheIdleOne’s team variation:
TMQ (107 - 199 - 236 - xxx)
TMQ (107 - 199 - 236 - xxx)
DS (101 - 207 - 224 - xxx)
WE (100 - 188 - 224 - 66)
Sunken Banner

Use 2-3 Cedric Medals in 1st (deathmark, stun), 4th (deathmark, stun, curse) battles, against Merlion (silence) and Vodyanoi (entangle).

There are 2 videos (with potions) in my playlist, you can see it if you want to.

4 Likes
10

CRYPT KEEPERS by @EliteMasterEric

1 Like
11

PRIMAL RIFT by @EliteMasterEric

1 Like
12

Thanks, I’ll start taking shots at it. I’ve finished all of the delves that have been completed no-potions with a sub-200 delve, so this will give me something to shoot for besides amassing gold.

13

To my knowledge, Werewoods pure faction has yet to be done at 500 without potions. The Idle One had a strategy for 200, and completed 300 with the same team. (Post directly after the one underneath), and describes his logic in greater detail in post 1429. (I’ve noticed there is a difference in the Post numbers in the website bar, and those on the side bar, perhaps due to post deletions, or something. It’s off by 18, depending on how far up the posts are.)

I will look through for any additional more information and strategies, but for point of reference/comparison, I did just today complete it at 300 with no troops with medals, Hoard at 133, and Urskaya at 15. No faction pet bonus, which would change if I make it to 500, and I’ll edit tomorrow when I can check my other pets.

Edit: I found my pets are both 29 away from becoming Mythic. Plus a bunch of food. Here are my stats for them:

Screen Shot 2020-02-21 at 1.21.46 AM
Screen Shot 2020-02-21 at 1.21.46 AM862×506 431 KB

I also had Guild Bonus of +4 Life and +4 Armor. Someday we’ll finish all basic tasks again.

I went topside because Legendary room was Dark Cabal, and Sacrificial Priest, and he did sacrifice Dokkalfar for me. I did lose a troop in the second room a month ago at Horde 100, and it took me this long to save the gold to get Horde to 133 (+18 Magic).

The final battle I entered with the Bird, the Bear and a Torbern. Strategy kind of goes out the window when the troops change form several times per battle, but whatever. I got lucky that the enemy never shape shifted, and then with the last troop ready to cast, I set up the board so his cast would give me a four match.

Cedric Medal and two Yasmines, because those are the only ones I have. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I should’ve taken a screenshot so I could remember what the other 2 rooms were. My Bird killed the Bear with a Torbern cast, and wounded the enemy Bird, but then died the next turn. The Bear killed the next two, and it’s explosion set up a favorable outcome for me.

In Conclusion: It will be some time before I am ready to tackle this delve with a Faction team at 500. By then, perhaps my two pets will be Mythic, the Hoard will be 300 plus, and I will have a favorable path to navigate.

If the top path has Tangled Path, that is an obvious avoid. But if it has Sacrificial Priest in the Epic Room and one of the Ultra Rare (Corrupted Altar), that would be lucky indeed. If the Bottom Path has Dark King’s Hoard, it might be worth doing. 10% Deathmark could work out about as well as anything. Although surviving that room with 4 troops is not guaranteed. Probably best avoid that. But I’ll avoid rooms that have 50% skull reduction as well, such as Bulette Lair.

Upon further reflection, maybe I’ll just avoid the whole endeavor. Good luck to those who try.

3 Likes
14

I said in another thread that i “half-assed” this Stategy guide. Expected levels for Delves - #16 by ChunkyMono
In some respects that may be true. For example, this:

I could take the time to review all references to posts I made previously, to ensure future readers get to the correct posts in corresponding threads. But I just don’t care enough to do so. Still, I normally try not to swear. So, moving forward, instead of saying “half-assed”, I will just say I “505’d” it.

For Pure Faction Breakdowns that were put thru an actual Beta process, then polished prior to release, please refer to: Pure Faction Breakdowns - A Level 500 Faction Guide

Thank you. 505’d it again. :axe::rage::shield:

15

It’ll be here, whenever you feel like giving it another go (or so I tell myself on all my half-finished projects!).

1 Like
16

I’m saving Tinkertown strategy here. Easier than remembering a bookmark.

I’m still on Lvl 20. GW and Factions not a good mix right now.

Cheers.

Adding a few others while I’m at it…

Sea of Sorrow: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1870 by xolid99
Lyrasza’s Lair: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1863 by xolid99
Werewoods: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1805 by xolid99
Fang Moor: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1688 by xolid99
Sunken Fleet: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1781 by xolid99

Only other one I haven’t done is Stonesong Eyrie, but I hate that too much to list here.

Link to a nice spreadsheet by @TimeKnight: Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1890 by TimeKnight

Edit: I have a lot of real life stuff on my mind these days, but not a lot of stuff in my mind. Not an excuse, just, apologizing in advance if I offend anyone. It’s easier for me to have all these items located in one of my posts, than to remember where they all were in a mega thread. Thanks for sharing your ideas, and allowing me to share as well.

Final Edit: I found my rambling post for Illithia…hard to believe that was only 26 days ago. Others explained the delve better. I wouldn’t have been able to do it if they hadn’t. But I added a few things I learned as well. I should edit that post as well, but it’s time to eat. gl hf Delves: Strategies, tactics and tips - #1844 by ChunkyMono

9 Likes
17

There is currently an issue with the links in this thread not going to the desired locations. While there is an option to use an older forum format, I do not know if that work-around would fix this issue, as the older format irritates my eyes more than the broken format does.

Apologies. gl hf