Orcs Must Die! – FAQ/Walkthrough

Walkthrough (Continued)

• Ice>Fire - Using the ice amulet against any fire enemy is super effective, just like Pokemon!
• Archers used on the bridges are extremely effective.
• Don't equip ceiling traps to your loadout.
• As flying enemies appear, try using your alternative attack with your ice amulet. It may prove itself useful.
• Since the rift is in an easy line of sight to the enemy, go ahead and spam enemies with spells from there.
• Don't put archers on the bridge until you can put a lot on it, at least 5. They are likely to die if you just put one or two.

Loadout: Spike Floors, Arrow Wall, Barricade, Archer, Brimstone, Ice, Lightning, Coinforge, and Ballista.

Unlike the last few maps, this is much easier. 1 rift, 1 hallway, 1 entrance. The basic idea is to have lots of archers while you spam spells and add brimstone and spike floors, however, at the beggining you want to barricade the stairs so enemies can't get up there. You will not have enough money right away but this is important. Kill enemies with spells and your crossbow as you barricade off the stairs using 4 barricades. It should only take till after the first two waves to do so and they shouldn't be a problem without traps by this point. Lay brimstone down at the entrance, just one row for now as the third wave comes. The brimstone should help take care of the wave of kobolds. Just don't die from the hunter and don't forget about the bats and you will finally have a break. In this break add archers above, but not on the bridge. As many as you can. Unleash the horde.

Before wave 5 starts, it is time to start adding more traps. Do as the picture above for level 13 shows. One row of lava, a few rows of spikes, another row of lava, etc. The spikes will help remove any enemy that is on fire. By this point, the rest of the waves will be easy. Wave 6 is a bit long but you have a very strong defense. Your traps are amazing, the barricades narrow them and keeps them from going above, you have spells and the crossbow to use, and if all comes to worse, the rift is in a great location to just spam enemies with lightning.

Now you receive your last break. You should notice you have a bit of money to use. Use it by adding more than 5 archers on the bridge. Use your excess money to insert ballistas under that bridge. Unleash the horde. As enemies die and you gain money, add arrow walls at the entrance where possible, closer to the stairs. Everything else is downhill from here. Just don't be stupid and get hit by a hunter as that could attract the bats to kill you instantly. This should be real easy if you were able to receive 5 skulls in the last level.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Runners

Ogres

Brimstone!!!

1. [A]Orcs
2. [A]Orcs
3. [A]Crossbow Orcs & Orcs
1. Break
4. [A] Orcs, Kobold Runners, Orcs [B] Shield Orcs
5. [A] 1x Ogre & Orcs, Orcs [B] Shield Orcs, Orcs
6. [A] Kobold Runners & 1x Ogre, 2x Ogre, Crossbow Orcs & 2x Ogre [B] Crossbow Orcs
1. Break
7. [A] 3x Ogre, Orcs
8. [A] 3x Ogre, [B] Shield Orcs & Orcs
9. [A] Kobold Runners, 2x Ogres & Shield Orcs, 2x Ogres, 3x Ogres [B] Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs
10. [A] Kobold Runners, 1x Ogre & Kobolds, 3x Ogres [B] Shield Orcs, 1x Ogre & Orcs

• If you use a push trap, which is a viable strategy, watch our for orcs landing on the middle platform, they will be stuck there to kill off your archers you may have placed.
• The log trap can only be used once!
• Wall traps are your best friend on [A]. Arrow walls and grinders!
• You finally get brimstone! Use it. To make best of its use, add spike traps in between rows of brimstone.
• The rift is in an awkward spot. Don't fall back to it if you don't have to, unlike the last level. Still, do not feel too discouraged if you have to.
• Don't let ogres get to the top, use the ice amulet and freeze them in place!

Loadout: Spike Floors, Arrow Walls, Barricades, Brimstone, Archer, Ice, Lightning, Coinforge, and Ballista.

Start off at [A] adding a coinforge at the entrance. Focus on making money when killing the orcs in the fashion you enjoy. After the first wave, add 3 arrow walls on the side somewhat connected to the coinforge. Repeat what you did in wave 1 as the traps help you. Before wave 3, add brimstone at the beggining of the staircase to help prepare for later. Wave 3 should not be a problem either. Without money later, this level is very hard. You should have around 7,000 once you are allowed a break.

During your first break, we gotta add lots of brimstone. Add a row of three at the entrance to [B]. Add a row to the top of the last staircase, the one closest to [A]. Also, add a row in the middle of the row heading towards [B]. See what I mean by having lots of money? Unleash the horde while standing by [B]. As enemies appear on both sides, mainly focus on [B] as enemies from [A] have to pass you to get to the rift anyways. The traps will kill many of them still making use of your coinforge. Add another row of brimstone a little farther than last time. Wave 5 should also not be too difficult but watch out for an ogre. Add a coinforge and arrow walls at [B] while leaving enough room to place a row of spikes inbetween. Wave 6, keep a sharp eye on the ogres. Use the ice amulet and crossbow to defeat the effectively. Your brimstone should be enough to kill the kobolds but be sure to kill the enemies coming from [B]. This is the part you may be overwhelmed at and may fall back to the rift, which is ok.

Break number two follows. Make use of it by adding Arrow Walls above that first staircase. You should be able to fit 6 before reaching [B]. Add 1 or 2 ballistas on the ceiling [B] walks out to. 3 ogres and some orcs come out of [A] this next wave. Use your alternative fire with the ice amulet to freeze them all in place at once, follow this by many headshots and focus on one at a time, this wave should be fairly easy. Think of it as a test for the next few waves. Before wave 8, finally add archers on that center platform. Wave 8. Focus on the ogres first then focus on [B]. Before wave 9, setup a few ballistas on the walkway between the log trap and [B]. Have it face towards the staircase and log trap. They work great to kill the ogres if they unfreeze and give you problems. Wave 9 should be no problem if you can take care of ogres just fine. There will be many of them in this wave. Wave 10 has lots of enemies so be prepared! Add traps with your excess money where you think will benefit at all. As the wave begins and you collect more money, get more stuff. Be sure to continue spamming spells and crossbow as you do so and you are set for a 5 skull rating.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Runners

Fire Ogres

Swinging Mace

1. [A] Archers
2. [A] Orcs
3. [A] Orcs [B] 1x Fire Ogre
1. Break
4. [A] Kobold Runners [B] Shield Orcs
5. [A] Orcs, Archers [B] Archers, Orcs
6. [A] Orcs [B] Orcs, Orcs
1. Break
7. [A] Orcs, Kobold Runners [B] 2x Fire Ogre
8. [A] Orcs [B] Archers
9. [A] Archers [B] Orcs
1. Break
10. [A] 1x Fire Ogre & Crossbow Orcs, Orcs, Kobold Runners (B) Orcs, 1x Fire Ogre, Orcs

• Blocking off both rifts will result in one or the other being attacked so only block off one.
• The north entrance [A] is farther than the rear [B], however, more enemies appear from there.
• Watch for kobold runners.
• Upgrade the Swinging Mace if you want any use of it at all.
• Kill Fire Ogres with the ice amulet + crossbow headshots.

Loadout: Spike floor, Arrow Wall, Archer, Brimstone, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Coinforge, and Ballista.

1st wave add a coinforge at [A]. Kill the archers on the coinforge to maximize money.2nd wave do the same. There will be enough orcs to keep you busy for a while, if you are overwhelmed and can't take care of them all on the coinforge, don't feel ashamed to fall back. Before you run to [B] for wave 3, add 2 arrow walls as close to the entrance as possible at [A]. In wave 3, take care of the fire ogre at [B] with ice plus headshot arrows and run back to [A] to kill the orcs.

During your break sell the coinforge as you add a row of brimstone at both entrances. [B] should get 3 and [A] should get two.

Focus on putting traps on one side as you manually defend the others. That's the strategy typically used to beat this level and is usually very effective. I find stacking the south side with traps and foccusing on the north side works the best. Wave 4 have kobolds so make sure none sneak past the brimstone. Wave 5 won't be that tough as long as you continue adding more traps. Add an autoballista looking down at the entrance you aren't defending as much. Wave 6 do the same. Add more brimstone, spikes inbetween rows, and autoballistas too if possible. Do this during the break as well and unleash the horde.

Wave 7 has 2 fire ogres coming out of [B] at once. Ice them, shoot them. Easy. Run back to [A] to make sure no kobolds pass your traps. Start adding archers looking down at [A] to secure both sides perfectly. Wave 9 and 10 are the hard waves to look out for. 9 will have many orcs, 10 will have many orcs plus 2 fire ogres coming from each side. This is when your ballista and archers will shine in conjunction with the traps you place. Once you've finished off the fire ogres, you are set for a hopeful 5 skull rating!

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Sappers

Ogres

Fire Ogres

Hellbats

Fire Babies

Paladin Guardian

1. [A][B] Orcs
2. [A][B] 3 Kobold Sappers, Shield Orcs
3. [A][B] 1 Ogre, Crossbow Orcs, Orcs
1. Break
4. [C][D] Hellbats & Fire Babies
5. [C] Hellbats [B] Shield Orcs
6. [A] Shield Orcs [D] Hellbats
1. Break
7. [A][B] Crossbow Orcs, 5 Kobold Sappers
8. [A] Fire Ogre, Orcs [C] Hellbats

[B] Fire Ogre, Orcs [D] Hellbats

1. Break
1. [A][B] Shield Orcs, Ogre
2. [A][B] 4 Kobold Sappers, Fire Ogre, Crossbow Orcs [C][D] Fire Babies
3. [A][B] Shield Orcs, Fire Ogre, Ogre [C][D] Hellbats

• If you want to make long term use out of push traps, use the steel weaver.
• Watch out for orcs landing on the middle platform, if you have archers there, they will die.
• Log traps may only be used once.
• Wall traps are very effective.
• Have the ice amulet! Ogres will be a pain without it on this level.
• The flying enemies will give more trouble than the land if you don't have enough archers. They are sneaky.

Loadout: Crossbow, Arrow Wall, Fire Braces, Archer, Brimstone, Ice, Lightning, Ballista, Paladin, and Coinforge

Start off by putting a row of brimstone at [A] and [B]'s entrances. For your information, C and D are the entrances on the side walls where the flying enemies will come from. You should only use 2 brimstone for each row, unleash the horde. Send lightning on one and manually attack the other side. Watch the radar closely. For the second wave, add another row of brimstone on [B] a few blocks farther than the first. The ogre will come out of B during the 3rd wave so it's good to prepare. The second wave shouldn't be difficult. In the third, just use the ice amulet + crossbow to finish off the ogre, add another row of brimstone at [A] as well.

During your first break, add as many archers as you can on the small balcony. If you only put up 4, the flying enemies will kill them with ease. Watch out for that.

4th wave, Manually kill the Hellbats and Fire Babies. Protect the archers. Use a mixture of the ice amulet's primary use and the crossbow. On the 5th, finish off the orcs at [B] and keep an eye on the radar to make sure no flying enemies are sneaking through. Check on your archers before wave 6. Put up 2 or 3 archers before falling back down. This wave is just like the last, only reversed.

During your second break, you should be rich with money. Add Paladins at [A] and [B]. Put them on the other side of the bridge. Try to have 2-3 on both sides. This will give you a very strong defense and Ogres will be easy to take care of. Ice em and watch the Paladins rip them to peices! Wave 7 should be easy. Wave 8, kill the Ogre with ice + Paladins + Crossbow. If everything has worked out so far, the rest of this level should blow over easily. Put up more rows of brimstone, autoballistas under the bridge behind your Paladins, more archers, and you should be set for at least these next few waves.

During your third break, simply unleash the horde. Add more archers as you gain more money, maybe even more Paladins too. You should be set for an easy win, especially if you continue to assist the archers and keep an eye on the radar.

The biggest mistake on this level when going for 5 skulls is forgetting about the radar. Those flying enemies may be tough at first. You really need to keep an eye on it.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Runners

Kobold Sappers

Fire Ogres

Armored Ogres

Gnoll Hunters

Decoy

1. [A] Orcs
2. [B] Orcs
3. [A][B] Kobold Runners, Crossbow Orcs, Orcs
1. Break
4. [A][B] Crossbow Orcs, Shield Orcs, 2 Gnoll Hunters
5. [A][B] Kobold Runners, Shield Orcs
6. [A][B] Shield Orcs, 2 Gnoll Hunters
1. Break
7. [A][B] Kobold Runners, Shield Orcs
8. [A][B] Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs [A] Fire Ogre
9. [A][B] Crossbow Orcs, Shield Orcs, 2 Gnoll Hunters
1. Break
10. [A][B] Shield Orcs, Crossbow Orcs
11. [A][B] 3 Kobold Sappers, Kobold Runners
12. [A][B] Crossbow Orcs, 1 Armored Ogre, Shield Orcs [A] 5 Kobold Sappers [B] Kobold Runners

• Take care of all enemies manually until the path is fully secured
• Enemies will use the stairs if able
• Watch for Kobold Sappers in the last two waves, they are sneaky and destructive.
• Have the ice amulet to deal with the gnoll hunters. There will be multiple of them and they will kill you easily if your caught off guard
• The ceiling catters to most ceiling traps on this level
• Using barricades to funnel all enemies to the stairs is a valid strategy. Just be sure to have archers behind the barricades instead of on top of the stairs

Loadout: Spiked floors, Arrow Walls, Barricade, Archer, Brimstone, Ice, Lightning, Ballista, and Coinforge

The knowledge weaver's magic recharge spell is crucial for this map.

This is a harder level. Prepare yourself :)

Use 2 barricades and block off the rift that [A] would generally want to go for. Put a coinforge at [A] and unleash the horde. Use the mix between lightning and crossbow and try to maximize your profit. Do the same exact thing at [B]. For wave 3, add brimstone at the entrances to the first chokepoints. Should only need 2 for each side. Manage the runners on both sides as good as you can. Don't be surprised if you need to restart as this is challenging. As long as the runners are dealt with, getting to your first break won't be a challenge.

For your first break, add arrow walls looking towards the entrance to your stairs. Additionally, add a brimstone row on the stair entrance.

The waves with knoll hunters will make or break this level. Dealing with them is a challenge as it takes up a lot of time you should be using with the orcs. As you do your best dealing with the orcs and gain money, add more rows of brimstone around the stairs, finish those at the bottom and start them ontop. I'd say that waves 4-6 are the toughest as you do not have a lot of money.

4th wave, use ice and lightning and crossbow to deal with the hunters. The faster they die the better! Back off to your rift and use magic like crazy to deal with the excessive amounts of orcs. Make sure to keep an eye on both sides. A good strat is to have the spell for your rift to defend itself. This will save you numerous times, trust me. During the 5th and 6th waves, add to your defense as much as possible. Brimstone rows with spikes inbetween, archers behind barricades, then go back up to your rift to spam magic.

Alright! Second break. If you got to this point just fine, it's all downhill from here. But don't get cocky as this will still be a challenge... just not as bad as the last few waves. You won't see hunters till wave 9 and from experience you should know you will have all the time in the world. Before unleashing the horde, try to have 2-4 archers behind the barricades on each side and buff up your defense as much as possible.

The 7th and 8th waves won't be a challenge. Maximize your profit and add 2-3 autoballistas on each side under the bridge by the stairs by the time wave 9 starts. This will ensure that the hunters will be very weak by the time they get to you. Deal with the fire ogre like usual, Ice it and kill it with crossbow. Wave 9, the autoballistas will weaken the hunters allowing you to focus on the orcs much quicker than before.

If you get to your 3rd break and you still are looking good for a 5 skull rating, you'll be fine! Just add spike traps and whatnot. Blow your money and deal with the enemies as they come. Deal with the armored ogre like you would with any other ogre and you should see the well deserved 5 skull rating :)

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Hobgoblin Shaman

Gnoll Hunter

Ogres

Knowledge Weaver

1. [A] Orcs
2. [A] Orcs
3. [A] Orcs, Gnoll Hunters, Shahman, and more Orcs
1. Break
4. [B] Orcs
5. [C] Orcs
6. [B][C] Orcs, Shahman
1. Break
7. [A] Orcs, Shahman, Orc Archers [B][C] Orcs
8. [A] 4 Gnoll Hunters, 2 Shahmans
9. [B][C] Archers
1. Break
10. [B][C] Gnoll Hunters, an Ogre, Orcs [A] Orcs

• This is the beggining of the end of the game.
• The Shaman is very dangerous as he will revive ogres and hunters. Kill him. Setting enemies on fire or icing them will ensure they can't be revived when they die. The shahman can not revive shattered and incinerated enemies.
• The first 3 waves are from the north ( [A] ) so start there.
• Managing B and C can be difficult. Tar traps may be of some assistance on this level.
• The poison cauldrons at B and C will help thin the enemies.
• The wind belt may also be of some assistance on this map. Try it out if you want to.
• Paladins are effective on this level.

Loadout: Crossbow, Floor Spikes, Arrow Walls, Archers, Brimstone, Ice, Lightning, Ballista, Coinforge, and Flame Braces.

This is one of the funnest and easiest 5 skull ratings you'll get to go for. Why? The rift is in a perfect line of sight for [A]. Add a coinforge at [A] and unleash the horde. Use the crossbow, lightning cloud, and back up to the rift to spam magic. Do this for the first 3 waves. However, the third wave is a little difficult. The hunters are annoying as the Shahman will revive them once they die. There are multiple ways to deal with them as I mentioned in the general tips. If you keep an eye out for them, this level won't be that challenging.

First break. A perfect setup on [B] goes like this. Add a coinforge at the corner to the north-eastern part of the little area. It should give you enough room to add brimstone at the entrance to [B], a row of brimstone at the stairs, and a row of spikes between the row of brimstone at the stairs and the coinforge. Add arrow walls around the entrance where you think will be the best placement. Unleash the horde.

Wave 4 will be very easy. Deal with some of the enemies and run to [C]. Start building the same thing you did at [B] there. You won't have enough money to do it all but you'll get there eventually. Manually deal with enemies as the brimstone will help you think out them during wave 5. Wave 6 has the shahmans. Deal with them swiftly and you'll get to your second break with ease.

Second break. Finish your defense at [C]. Use excess money to add ballistas at [B] and [C]. Unleash the horde.

The northern entrance still does not have traps. As you are killing all the enemies at [A], remove the coinforge and add a row of brimstone and a bunch of arrow walls. Watch out for the shahman. The next wave will have 4 gnoll hunters. Focus all your attention on them. Killing them with the ice amulet while standing at the rift so you can spam seems to be the best option. They will shatter so the shahmans can't revive them making their death easy too. Don't worry about the gnoll hunters getting close to the rift, they won't go in the rift. They solely want to kill you and that's it. The 9th wave will be easy. The traps will pretty much do everything for you. Just put a row or two of brimstone at [A] and beef up your defense at [B] and [C].

Your last break. Just add as much as you can to [B] and [C]. Remove the coinforge and add spike floors if you run out of space to add ballistas. Unleash the horde. Kill the hunter and focus on the ogre. Once they are gone, the rest of the enemies are easy. Spam magic at rift towards the north and let the traps do their thing against the orcs at [B] and [C]. Easy 5 skulls.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Runners

Hobgoblin Shaman

Fire Ogre

Hellbat

Fire Babies

Lightning Ring

The level is 3 gates condensed into one alleyway so all 3 gates will be treated as one. No need for [A], [B], [C].

1. Orcs
2. Archers, Orcs, Kobold Runners
3. Frost Ogre, Archers, Orcs
1. Break
4. Hellbats, Fire Babies
5. Orcs, Hellbats, Kobold Runners
6. Orcs, Hellbats, Kobold Runners
1. Break
7. Frost Ogre, Orcs, Kobold Runners
8. Orcs, Hellbats, Archers, Shahman
9. Orcs, Frost Ogre, Orcs
1. Break
10. Archers, Fire Babies, Orcs, Hellbats, Archers
11. Orcs, Hellbats, Orcs
12. Archers, Frost Ogre, Fire Babies, Shahman, Orcs

• If you haven;t already, upgrade the archers.
• Tar Traps and Barricades are useful, especially when Archers are doing their thing.
• Once again, keep a sharp eye on the Kobolds.They are tough to get if they pass the opening stretch.
• By wave 4, try to have lots of archers.
• Defend at the entrance. It distracts the enemy to get you instead of the rift and the setup is pretty good for an offensive approach.

Loadout: Crossbow, Spike Floors, Arrow Walls, Barricade, Archers, Brimstone, Ice, Lightning Ring, Ballista, and Coinforge.

The first 3 waves are very easy. Put up a coinforge and maximize your profit as you kill the enemy with magic and crossbow. When you can, add a row of brimstone on all 3 entrances, first cover the northern as that's where the enemies come out of first. No need for the flame braces in the 3rd wave as you have more than enough room to kill the frost ogre before it reaches the rift. Just headshot him and you'll be fine.

First break. Add 2 Arrow Walls at the gateway/chokepoint where enemies all meet up and move forward at. Add archers on the balcony, as many as possible. Unleash the horde.

Run down and cast lightning. Assist the archers with the crossbow. Once the flying enemies are done with, add 2 more arrow walls at the chokepoint. The next wave should also be fairly easy. Simply kill them with magic and crossbow and assist your archers. Put up a row of brimstone right in front of where you put the arrow walls at. The 6th wave is pretty much identical to the 5th, just a few more enemies to deal with. Do the same thing as last time and you should be fine.

Second break. Add a row of archers at the entrance to your castle. Around 5-6. Unleash the horde.

Just focus on the frost giant in wave 7. Don't let him get your new archers. Once he's out, the rest of the wave will be easy. For wave 8, add a row of spike floors in front of the row of brimstone by the chokepoint. For wave 9, you should have so much money to just spend so put up a few autoballistas by your newer row of archers.

Last break. Add more archers on the balcony. Waste money wherever you think is effective. More ballistas, arrow walls, whatever. You're set for an easy win by this point.

The last waves are easy. You rarely have to do anything. Autoballistas, brimstone, spikes, and archers will do your job for you. The only thing you need to worry about is the frost giant in the final wave. Still an easy kill.

So there you have it. Besides the frost ogres, this level is easier than the previous!

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Gnoll Hunter

Ogres

Hellbats

Autoballista

1. [A][B] Orcs
2. [A][B] Archers & Orcs
3. [C (window)] Hellbats
1. Break
4. [A][B] Ogre [C] Hellbats
5. [A][B] Orcs [C] Hellbats
6. [A][B] Orcs, Archers, 2x Gnoll Hunters [C] Hellbats
1. Break
7. [A][B] Ogre [C] Hellbats
8. [A][B] Archers [C] Hellbats
9. [B] Orcs, 1x Gnoll Hunter [C] Hellbats
1. Break
10. [A][B] 2x Ogres [C] Hellbats
11. [A][B] 3x Gnoll Hunters, Orcs
12. [A][B] Orcs, Archers [C] Hellbats
1. Break
13. [A][B] Ogre, Orcs, Archers, Gnoll Hunter [C] Hellbats

• Block off one side with barricades
• Hellbats appear in nearly every wave. Get lots of archers on the top center balcony.
• There's little place for traps so upgrade your gaurdians.
• Gnoll Hunters come in bulk in some waves and will kill archers. Watch out for them.
• This is a straight forward map but a bit complex. It's hard to find placement for traps. Just focus on your gaurdians.

Loadout: Spike Floor, Arrow Wall, Archer, Coinforge, Lava, Ice, Lightning, Autoballista, and Paladin.

Start with adding Brimstone at [A] and [B]. Add archers to the top center balcony as you gain money. Buy upgrades and kill the enemies with your spells. Do not be afraid to back off to the rift to get health and magic back. It's that simple but beware for the 11th wave; the Gnoll Hunters could be a major pain.

The first 3 waves aren't challenging. The 4th wave could be a challenge though. Add autoballistas during the break. I put them on the pathway to the rift as it has a dead on sight to where the enemy comes out of. Put up a row of brimstone at the end of the stairs leading to the rift. It should take only 4 to do it. Add archers at the top balcony and add more in the lower to prepare for many hellbats.

As you gain more money, add more archers under the autoballistas (to the side of the lower balcony) and add even more autoballistas. The ogres and gnoll hunters will have to be defeated manually. Just freeze them. Wave 11 will be challenging as you will have 3 gnoll hunters to deal with but I'm sure you can at least freeze them and let your guardians and traps do the rest! Remember, if you hear the voice saying "An archer has fallen", you'll know it's a gnoll hunter.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Runners

Hobgoblin Shaman

Hellbats

Fire Ogres

Armored Ogre

Grinder

1. [A] Orcs, Hellbats
2. [B] Orcs
3. [A][B] Kobold Runners [A] Orcs, Shahman [B] Shield Orcs
1. Break
4. [A] Hellbats, Orcs
5. [A] Hellbats [B] Archers, Orcs
6. [A] Armored Ogre, Shahman, Orcs [B] Archers, Orcs, Fire Ogre
1. Break
7. [A][B] Kobold Runners, Orcs [A] Hellbats
8. [A][B] Archers, Shahman
9. [A][B] Shield Orcs [A] Hellbats
1. Break
10. [A] Shield Orcs, Archers [B] Fire Ogre, Kobold Runners
11. [A] 2x Fire Ogres, Hellbats, Orcs [B] Orcs
12. [A] Kobold Runners, Hellbats, Shield Orcs, Fire Ogre, Armored Ogre, Shaman [B] Orcs, Fire Ogre, Armored Ogre, Shaman

• Focus one side manually and the other with traps while keeping an eye on the radar.
• Preferably, use traps on the bottom. It's easier to trap.
• Use blockades to make a maze that manages itself while they are forced to walk through a row of wall arrows and spike floors. Muahahahaa!
• The arial enemies are real tricky here. Freeze em and deal with em or they will sneak into the rift quickly.
• If you are trying the blockade maze strategy, use push traps to push them back to redo the whole maze.
• Be prepared for lots of shield orcs.

Loadout: Spike Floor, Arrow Wall, Archer, Brimstone, Ice, Lightning, Autoballista, Coinforge, Paladin

This is a very long level. Start out by heading to [A]. Unleash the horde as you place some brimstone at the entrance. The strategy we will use is to focus manually on the south and spend more on traps in the north. You should have 2 rows of brimstone spread out by a few blocks at both A and B after the 2nd wave. The first 5 or 6 waves are going to be very difficult to kill all enemies before they reach the rift area. This is a level which rift is in a terrible location. Before you know it, you will be stuck in the 3-4 skull range just because some kobold runner ran past the brimstone and made it to the rift alive. Keep a close eye to the radar, especially during the third wave.

• With the knowledge weaver, get the upgrade that adds lightning to the rift. It's extremely effective on this level.

During your first break is a great time to buff up the north side's defense. Add arrow walls, 2 more rows of brimstone, and unleash the horde! Waves 4 and 5 will be easy. Just manually focus on the south as you keep a close eye on the radar. Wave 6 shouldn't be a major challenge if you know how to deal with the enemies. Kill the shamans first. It's that simple. Freeze em, arrow em, and finally attack the armored ogre.

If you feel confident that your north side is well buffed, focus on trapping the south side the same way you did before. The north will soon be much more hectic so add Paladins and Archers in the south as time goes by. The final 3 waves will be difficult in the north if you aren't prepared.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Runners

Kobold Sappers

Gnoll Hunters

Fire Ogres

Frost Ogres

Spore Mushroom

1. [A] Orcs [B] Kobold Runners
2. [A] Kobold Runners [B] Orcs
3. [A][B] Kobold Runners, Sappers, Orcs
1. Break
4. [A] Archers [B] Shield Orcs [A][B] 2x Gnoll Hunters, Orcs
5. [A][B] Kobold Runners, Sappers [A] Fire Ogre [B] Frost Ogre
6. [A][B] 2x Gnoll Hunters [A] 2x Fire Ogre, Shield Orcs [B] 2x Frost Ogre, Shield Orcs
1. Break
7. [A][B] Kobold Sappers, Shield Orcs
8. [A][B] Shield Orcs, Archers
9. [A][B] Shield Orcs, 2x Gnoll Hunters
1. Break
10. [A][B] Kobold Sappers, Kobold Runners
11. [A][B] 2x Fire Ogre, Archers
12. [A][B] Kobold Runners, 1x Gnoll Hunter, 2x Frost Ogre

• Use the rift defense with the knowledge weaver
• Decoys and guardians are effective as reassurance. There is no way to teleport from one rift to the other.
• You should try your hardest to keep all the action under the bridges using tar, maces, and brimstone.
• Both fire and ice ogres are on this level. Bring both fire and ice amulets.
• Tricky kobold runners are tricky. Kill them as quick as possible.
• Don't jump the gaps. You'll eventually die trying.
• Wave 3 and wave 6 are very hard as you aren't perfectly prepared for it. Use the logs and chandeliers after the kobolds and gnoll hunters are taken care of.
• Unlike other levels, you can't block a path or else the orcs will destroy the barricades.

Loadout: Spike Floor, Arrow Wall, Archer, Flame bracers, brimstone, ice amulet, lightning, ballista, paladin

The 2nd to last level is tough, especially when going for a 5 skull rating. Start out by putting a row of brimstone at the beggining of the stairs where the orcs split off from. You can't barricade these paths at all or else they will be destroyed. Unleash the horde. The first wave shouldn't be a challenge as usual. Just make sure to kill the runners quickly as your rift doesn't have much of a defense to kill them all. Make sure to upgrade the rift with the knowledge weaver as soon as you can too. On the second wave, do as you did on the first, just in reverse. I find using the lightning against the kobolds kills the majority off and usually the brimstone will finish the rest off too. The orcs can be a challenge if your crossbow aim is terrible but you should have enough money to purchase a set of arrow walls for [B] for the second wave. After the 2nd wave, put up a whole row of brimstone at the end of the stairs right by the enemy entrances. I know this is very costly but it is very important and extremely effective.

After you got everything I stated above set up, it is literally downhill from there. The 2 rows of brimstone is very effective and by the time you are going for 5 skulls on this level, you should have enough experience to be able to manually kill lots of enemies quickly. Still though, watch out for the runners and hunters.

With excess money, setup autoballistas and archers on the top of the stairs where you first setup the 2 rows of brimstone. You may want to put the archers a bit higher so they focus on enemies who escaped all the traps. This way, it's harder for them to get killed, especially with your radar skills. Once you got around 6 archers and 3-4 ballistas on both sides, add arrow walls and spike floors all over the place between the rows of brimstone. Now by this time, no enemy will get through except for the excessive fire ogre wave but you can just freeze them and kill them manually.

This may take a few tries as you need to focus on setting this up before the waves get very tough (wave 5-6) but once that is done, it's easy to reach a 5 skull rating.

Orc Warriors

Crossbow Orcs

Kobold Sappers

Gnoll Hunters

Fire, Frost, and Armored Ogres

Coinforge

[A] is north, [B] is east, [C] is south, [D] is west

1. [A] Orcs
2. [B] Orcs, Sappers
3. [C] Orcs, Archers
4. [D] Orcs
1. Break
5. [C] Fire Ogre, Frost Ogre, Archers
6. [A] Sappers, Gnoll Hunters [B] Sappers, Gnoll Hunters [C] Sappers
7. [A][B][C][D] Orcs
8. [C] Gnoll Hunters, Archers [B] Orcs, Archers
1. Break
9. [A]Orcs, Armored Ogres
10. [A] Lots of Sappers [C] Fire Ogre
11. [A][B][C][D] Archers [B][D] Frost Ogre
12. [A] Fire Ogres [C] Frost Ogres [B][D] Armored Ogres

• Use the barricades effectively to focus all enemies into one path.
• Autoballistas are very effective on this level.
• The rift upgrade for the knowledge weaver is even more effective.
• The waves featuring sappers will often make or break the round.
• Paladins are also very useful, same with archers too.

First off. Get the rift upgrade, it's very important. You should also get the money upgrade and running upgrade as usual.

Loadout: Arrow Wall, Archer, Flame Braces, Brimstone, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Autoballista, Paladin, Coinforge

The first wave is at [A] so go there and set up 2 rows of brimstone at the end of the stairs. Unleash the horde, use lightning and kill em all. Run back to the rift to regenerate before going to [B]. Repeat what you did at [B] with the brimstone. Use lightning and kill all the enemies, once again. Repeat the process for the 3rd and 4th wave as well.

Finally, you recieve your first break. Waste all your money on paladins at each opening to the rift at the top of the staircases. Unleash the horde.

Wave 5 features lots of ogres. Finish them manually. You should be fairly quick by now. Wave 6 could be a challenge. You need to be quick on your feet to deal with the hunters and sappers. Fall back to regen when needed. For wave 7, add as many paladins as you can all around the rift like you did earlier. You should have 2 paladins guarding each opening to the rift now. The immense amount of ogres shouldn't be too difficult of a challenge as the brimstone does lots of damage, you kill them manually, and paladins kill them too. Wave 8, look out for the hunters and kill the rest off to finally reach the 2nd, and last, break.

For your final break, add as many paladins as the game allows you to. With excess money, put up arrow walls at all openings till you run out of money. Unleash the horde.

Wave 9, you will have 2 armored ogres. They have a lot of health but take advantage of your paladins by freezing the ogres in place for your paladins to kill.

Wave 10, Kill off the sappers without them damaging your paladins or yourself. Use lightning and regen at the rift like a madman. This is why I suggested the running upgrade.

Wave 11, you should be fine. The paladins will act as a barrier so you can assist kill all the archers. The frost ogres come out of the west and east sides.

Wave 12, an ultimate ogre showdown to finish the game! The best way to deal with these guys is to shoot the logs down on em. Of course, you can't visually see them so use the radar to assist you. It's the most effective way to finish them off. You should only have four ogres, at the very most, if done properly. Use the ice amulet and let your paladins have fun and you should have obtained a solid 5 skull rating!

This level is the toughest but a few tries should be enough. You may want to go with the barricade version but I find this the best way for both normal and nightmare difficulties.

Thanks for using this guide :) If this has helped you and you think it can help others, click the button to recommend it for other players! Thanks a ton for reading!

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

This list is what I plan to do for future updates

• Trivia Section
• Add walkthrough/FAQ for DLC's

This guide can not be used for profit in any way. Anything in the basic information section can be reposted somewhere else without my permission. Anything in the rest must have my permission.

• Credits to me for creating this guide
• Credits to John Drawdy & Todd Schlickbernd from XBLAfans for compiling the basic information into text
• Credits to GameFAQs for allowing me to publish the guide here
• Credits to Vael Victus and UrCa1988 for peer editing and criticism of this guide

You can contact me by:

1. PM = Private Message (here at gameFAQs)
2. Steam - steamcommunity.com/id/thebestichiban
3. Email - jonathanwam@gmail.com