Orcs Must Die! Unchained – FAQ/Walkthrough

Endless

Introduction

I need to point out a few things for this section. First, I have not actually earned all 5 Stars on all Endless maps; it is actually extremely difficult (primarily due to the current time restraint) to earn 5 Stars on some maps. Some maps, such as Crogon Keep and Frostbite, are doable, but you really have to know what you're doing (and have the best equipment) to manage it in less than 40 minutes. Other maps, such as Avalanche, I have yet to complete because I cannot fathom a way to get to wave 25 in 40 minutes, given how strong the minions are.

Second, I'll say it again - Endless is almost entirely optional. There are only a few practical things that it gives for completing it (which, in this case is getting the 5 Star):

• There is a single Trophy associated with Endless - It is Toughing It Out, which requires you to complete 15 waves (meaning, you need to get to the beginning of wave 16). This should be very manageable to get on the first Endless map, even going in blind, by the time you start earning 5 Stars for Rift Lord Survival.
• There are other various in-game Achievements associated with it - Toughing It Out is actually part of an in-game "meta-achievement" for clearing 45 Waves, which is really tough. You get a title for your avatar for completing this, but that's about it.
• The 5 Star Chests are equivalent to the Survival Chests - This means that earning the respective 3 and 5 Star Chests will grant you the appropriate Chest for its difficulty; for example, The Baths is classified as Apprentice difficulty, thus, getting the Star Chests will reward Apprentice Chests.
  • To reiterate, this means that, for the maps classified under Master and Rift Lord, it is a significantly larger challenge to get the same reward you would get in Survival.
• New Hero Victory Chests will be earned at the end of wave 5 - At the end of wave 5, you earn your first Star, so if you're just looking for the Victory Chest, you can stop there if you wish.

That is pretty much it. You may wonder:

• Is Endless a good mode to earn Skulls in? - Yes and no. Although you can potentially earn upwards of 200 Skulls per match (and this is on the harder maps generally), keep in mind the time spent in order to do so. In order to earn this much, you pretty much need to make it past wave 25, which takes a significant amount of time to do. Even though you might earn...let's say 250 Skulls for a match, if it takes you 40 minutes to do so, that equates to a little over 60 Skulls per 10 minutes.

This is the reason that all of my videos will be done on my main account, at Account Level 100, with tier 7 traps (with all Parts).

As a result, this section mostly will be a guideline, showing others what to expect, and what are some decent ways to potentially set things up (if only to get some ideas). Hopefully, I want people to read it and say to themselves "Okay, so if he's at maximum, and he got to wave 35, then I should be able to get to..." and go from there.

One last thing to point out is that the Hero that I use is not required - on most maps, you should be able to perform fairly similar with each Hero. There are a few maps that I think Cygnus really shines with, which I will point out.

I do really think Endless is kind of your "practice mode" since it allows you to test out your traps in various ways to try to experiment with them.

The Baths

Hero used: Ivy

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Shield Guardian (x2)
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Arrow Wall (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T6 Web Spinner (Subsidized Parts, XP Siphon)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain (or Practices Witchcraft, depending on your Hero)
  • Smashing Deals

I set this up almost identically to how I do it in Rift Lord, as it's really difficult to use any real Barricade strategy (you get a ton of Fire Elementals). You should use 1 Great Wall as usual though, to block off one of the southern lanes.

In the north area, you should see some pillars at the edge of the areas with acid. These pillars kind of have very small overhangs where you can place a single Ballista (either Ceiling Ballista or Dragon's Lance) and I think that's really key to get further with this map.

I start out with the floor traps though, starting with my usual line of Floor Scorchers, Brimstone, and Viscous Tar. Remember that there's a slanted wall right above the gate, and you can use Boom Barrel Rollers, Arrow Walls, or Web Spinners there to help with the wave.

After a few floor traps (probably up until the Guardian spot), I start working on the Ballistas next to the pillars. Once those are done, I usually trap the floor south of the Guardian spot, then start working on placing a ton of Ballistas on the ceiling of that small corridor. You can place a lot of Ballistas here, and you'll probably spend the majority of your coin trying to fill out the entire ceiling.

If you do manage to get it filled out, then the rest is kind of up to you. You can either trap the floor/wall of that small corridor, or the lane that is open in the south. I always have the eastern lane open in the south, because I have a tendency to place even more Ballistas at the ceiling there (there are no ceilings in the west).

For minions, you'll get a pretty good variety at first, but eventually (pretty much post wave 20) you will see a significant amount of Trolls, and frequently, entire waves of them. You do get a couple of waves of Earth Elementals, a couple of waves of Fire Elementals, but Kobolds are not too frequent (they come in small groups on occasion).

Banquet Hall

Hero used: Bloodspike

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Cook Guardian, Shield Guardian
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Arrow Wall (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Grinder (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Subsidized Parts)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain (or Practices Witchcraft, depending on your Hero)
  • Smashing Deals

Another map that is set up almost exactly the same as I have it in my Rift Lord video.

The idea is to make a very long vertical long of Great Wall Barricades in the eastern room, to force them along the easternmost wall, in a single lane. This allows you to put down a long line of floor traps and Grinders, while at the same time, mostly keeping your most vital Barricades safe.

You do get Barricade-destroying minions here, but the only ones that are mostly dangerous here (if using this strategy) are:

• Kamikaze Kobolds on wave 3 (NW gate).
• Orfum on wave 6 (NW gate).

This is entirely due to the fact that they come from the NW, which puts the Barricades just NE of the Rift at risk, so you do want to make sure you either put a decoy down or kill them as they appear.

Fortunately, after Orfum, you won't see anything dangerous from the NW gate, but there will be Orc TNT Archers on occasion. Kamikaze Kobolds will start to appear from the NE gate, but they should just immediately go to your "line" of Great Walls, and not destroy anything that can't be replaced. To prevent the NE Kamikaze Kobolds from destroying your line of Great Walls, you can also just place decoys near the NE gate.

The Orc TNT Archers are the most frequent (from both gates), but they are fairly easy to manipulate; you simply have to ensure you don't engage them near any Barricades, and let the traps do the work. If they do manage to get all the way to the SE corner, you can even allow them to move all the way down to the southern Guardian spot, to further reduce the chance they'll destroy something important.

It should go without saying, but make sure to replace any destroyed Great Walls (obviously, including your line), or try to replace the partially destroyed ones while you can.

You should also be somewhat mindful of the regular Archers as well, because if you're killing minions as they walk down the eastern wall, there will be some that shoot at you from the west, which puts your Barricades at risk. If you see this happening, either hop over your Barricades and get into melee range of them, or just back down to the SE corner.

The Gnoll Grenadiers are also worth mentioning, because obviously you don't want to be fighting near your Barricades when they're up as well. Due to how they run towards the Rift though, if you have a Guardian there, you run the risk of them tossing a grenade near the Barricades. From my experience, this doesn't normally happen, but you may want to play it safe and try to kill them in the Rift room, before they reach the Guardian.

This isn't the only strategy for this map though, and you can set up your Barricades in a number of different ways. One way I've done it is to loop them all the way around the Rift room (they enter at the south, move east, then north, then back west). It's also possible to force the minions into the walls all the way through the "Kitchen" area. This can be problematic though, because if there is a Guardian there, the Orc TNT Archers will shoot at it, destroying your Barricades.

Shark Island

Hero used: Dobbin

Loadout:

• Gear - Teleportation Ring (Optional), Ring of Storms (Optional)
• Guardian - Cook Guardian, Weaponwright Guardian
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Power Generator (Bounty Generator, Stamped Parts, Bounty Generator)
    • Can be replaced with Grinder (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Subsidized Parts)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Coin Forge (Bounty Generator x3)
    • Can be replaced with anything
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain (or Practices Witchcraft, depending on your Hero)
  • Making It Rain (Optional, can replace with Smashing Deals or anything else)

For this map, I'm just going to post my video that I use for my coin farming method for Empty Pockets. It doesn't really make a lot of sense to make a whole new video, because even without Dobbin, the Power Generators, and the Coin Forge, I place traps the exact same way.

The only obvious difference is the Power Generators; just simply replace these with Grinders, and you'll have an easier time getting to wave 25. If you're not using Power Generators though, I wouldn't put Grinders at all near the west gate (as it's pointless), and I wouldn't put Grinders at the entrance to the Forge (as they won't be optimal). Instead, just add extra Ballistas wherever you feel they are more necessary.

That said, this is set-up almost exactly as it is in my Survival videos of Shark Island. The main differences are:

• I use a lot of Ceiling Ballistas. They are very helpful here, due to the nature of the minion's pathway. Minions have a tendency to walk back-and-forth on this map, and given the Ballistas long range, this allows them to be within range for an extended amount of time.
• I trap the Forge area. You do get a gigantic amount of Trolls from the east gate, as well as the west gate. The main reason why you don't want to bother trapping the west gate is because you're not going to be able to put down enough to overcome the Troll's HP in later waves. In turn, this means by the time they get to the Forge area, they're automatic self-healing will more than likely allow them to be healed to almost full HP. Thus, the traps around the west gate mostly get wasted. Therefore, it's much more efficient to trap where the lanes merge, and that way you're not wasting the trap limit.

You may wonder how many Ceiling Ballistas I have in each area:

• 12 near the NW gate.
• 20 near the north gate.
• 10 near the east gate.
• 16 in the Forge.

The west gate is probably the only thing to especially note - Around wave 18, you'll start to see a large amount of Trolls that come from this gate. You do need to keep an eye on those minions at pretty much all times, because the Forge Guardian (and the traps) will not be able to kill them by themselves. So as soon as you see them enter the Forge area, I would head down there and assist in killing them.

If you're reading this for advice on Empty Pockets, I use my Luck Potions on:

• Wave 1 - This is ideal because you want the passive buff granted by the Luck Potion for as long as possible.
• Wave 4 - I use it again when the east gate opens, because it combines well with the Coin Forge. Do remember that coin generation from kills decreases with each wave, and there are enough minions from the east gate on this wave that should last the entire duration of the Luck Potion.
• Wave 6 - Same reason as above, since there are a decent amount of minions that come from the east gate.

As for the last 2 Luck Potions, it's really up to you. You can either try to continue to use them for kills on the Coin Forge, but realize that the Luck Potions do stack with Dobbin's "Rich Vein" upgrade, which means that they are worth 600 coin per bag, with the Luck Potion active.

So ideally, it's best to use the Luck Potions (actually, this includes all of them, except the first) when you have a lot of bags around you. There are a couple of issues with this though, as not only as it's completely random when you get one, but they also disappear rather fast.

This means that you have to make your own judgement call - Do you run the risk and save them for when you see a lot of bags? What if you never see a good amount? Or do you use them early, but run the risk of losing out on a lot of high-coin bags later? It's difficult to say, but I usually err towards the side of using them instead of saving them.

Throne Room

Hero used: Oziel

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Cook Guardian, Shield Guardian
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Arrow Wall (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Wall Charger (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
    • Optional, as it doesn't get much use.
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain (or Practices Witchcraft, depending on your Hero)
  • Wall Building PHD

So like an idiot I used Oziel with Enjoys Pain, which doesn't work for Oziel (since he uses Arcane magic). Although, it ultimately didn't make a difference, but I could have been more intelligent with my Traits. Practices Witchcraft doesn't really do much for Oziel (because he can get HP back naturally), but I could have instead replaced Enjoys Pain with Wall Building PHD, getting the slot bonus, and taking either Smashing Deals or Fire Sale.

If you do use Oziel, you do have to be very careful not to fall into the acid around the level though (as you see me do on accident), otherwise you lose all of your Soul stacks.

This Endless map plays out almost identical to the Rift Lord version of Throne Room, and you'll see almost the exact same minions throughout the entire thing (just more of them).

The biggest threat here are the Firelings, as they are the immediate threat to your Barricades. However, unlike my Rift Lord video, they seemed to completely ignore my Barricades here. I truly have no idea what triggers this, and it could in fact be a bug. So the reality is, you may not even need Wall Building PHD, but it does offer some support if they do in fact decide to go after your Barricades.

If you are seeing that they are attacking them, you can also consider placing decoy Barricades (you can even replace Wall Charger with a regular Barricade in your loadout).

As for my set up, it's basically identical to my Rift Lord video. I block off the southern entrances so they're all forced to go into the corridor just west of the Kitchen Guardian. I then place my usual line of floor traps at the north gate; for the SW gate, I place it in the opposite direction, because that way I can get the Floor Scorcher to flip them into the acid.

I get Brimstone on both bridges at some point, and place two more Floor Scorchers just south of the southern bridge, again, to try to flip them into the acid while still doing damage. For the corridor, I use the same line of floor traps, placing Floor Scorchers first, because they will also get flipped into acid if they're placed just outside of the corridor.

For the rest of the traps, I just appropriately place Arrow Walls, Ceiling Ballistas (which I use a ton of), and Wall Chargers.

You do get a lot of Mercenaries here, and I would really recommend backing up to a safe spot if you get Bouncer Bear. Ideally, you want to always have your back to tangible ground if he comes after you, but sometimes he'll bounce you in really strange ways, tossing you into acid.

A lot of Fire Elementals, Earth Elementals, and Giants will show up as well, along with random small groups of Satyrs. Towards higher waves, you do get this odd addition of some random Ogres/Trolls here and there, but you barely see them. The "Uncle Killed By Giant" might be kind of useful here for the extra damage (if you can manage it in your loadout), because the Giants eventually will have 10k+ HP, which is pretty ridiculous.

Swiftyhooves does appear at wave 13, which I wasn't ready for in the video, as I forgot he even showed up. I do manage to get a really lucky kill on him, and he is really hard to kill if you're not right there at the SW gate when he shows up, since he has a ton of HP. It's not a gigantic deal if he gets to the Rift (as this isn't Survival), but obviously it does help to keep your Rift up if you don't come in with the same gear as I do.

Thuricvod Village

Recommended Hero: Cygnus

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Shield Guardian (x2)
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T6 Shock Zapper (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Web Spinner (Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Grinder (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Subsidized Parts)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Wall Building PHD (highly recommended)
  • Smashing Deals

This map will more than likely throw you off the first time you make a serious attempt at it. It is VERY difficult to get the 5 Star on this, and it's mostly because the design for the waves do not work well with the design of the map.

The very first problem is that Coin generation is extremely low. Compound this with two more problems; the first wave is extremely short, and offers virtually no Coin gain, and the second gate opens upon wave 3.

This makes it very difficult to try to trap both gates, which you may not be accustomed to, particularly if you're coming in from Survival. So what I ended up doing is foregoing traps at the gates completely, and instead focus on trapping around the Rift, because you can shrink the area, and thus, save some coin by putting down less traps.

However, this is complicated by one gigantic problem - This map will throw a lot of varying Barricade-destroying minions at you. You will get Kamikaze Kobolds from both gates (only on 1 wave that I know of though); you will get Fire Giants on multiple waves; you will get Orc TNT Archers on multiple waves; and you will get large groups of Fire Elementals on multiple waves.

So you may wonder - What about using a no-Barricade strategy like in The Baths? Well, it's difficult because unlike The Baths, the minions have a lot of room to move when they get near the Rift. The reason why it works better on The Baths, is because all minions were coming from a single gate, which you could trap accordingly. Here, since you have two gates (because of the Coin generation) it is extremely difficult to appropriately trap both sides.

But wait, there's more. What you'll also see in later waves is that the composition of minions is pretty brutal; you will get large groups of Shield Trolls, regular Trolls, Armored Ogres, and even Earth Elementals, all while still dealing with Barricade-destroying minions, and regular minions. There are about two waves entirely consisting of Earth Elementals, which makes a no-Barricade strategy very hard to manage.

Trap Strategy:

The idea is to start off by blocking off the Rift area, by initially placing a Great Wall so minions can't cut corners through the pillars. The other Great Wall (closest to the Rift) is placed in a manner that will ultimately allow you to place 1 floor trap between it and the next Great Wall (just place the next Great Wall and readjust accordingly). Then you want 1 more Great Wall blocking off the path through the pillars on the other side.

This works out really neatly because you end up making a "T" shaped lane, which allows you to place a row of floor traps, Grinders, and Shock Zappers along it. Put the Web Spinners, on both sides, so they're aiming down both lanes.

I would start with the side that has the opened gate first, but by the time wave 3 comes along, you want to make sure you have at least the Barricades up on the other side, and I would recommend at least 1 Viscous Tar.

At that point, you can prioritize whichever damage trap you want, but I usually start with adding the Floor Scorchers first (again, same as Web Spinner, point them down the lane), then add a few Grinders on each side, then put a couple of Shock Zappers on each side. After that, I try to evenly distribute the traps as best I can, but I would recommend trying to get the Shock Zappers and Grinders done first before putting up the Ballistas, because the Ballistas are so expensive.

You will also see me put 2 Web Spinners down, on each side of the map, just to try to slow minions down so I can attack them from the Rift. Web Spinners are decently cheap, so you can make the decision on when (if) you want to do that.

Once you are satisfied with your floor traps, Shock Zappers, Grinders, and Web Spinners, proceed to spend all your remaining Coin on Ballistas. It doesn't really matter much where they are placed, as long as they're in the area where the Shock Zappers are.

Combat Strategy:

Although it's pretty easy to see in the video, all you basically want to do with Cygnus is camp the Rift as much as possible. It is possible to hit minions at their respective gates from the Rift area, and you should try to do that as much as you can. You will have to readjust accordingly for the Shield Trolls though, as they can be really hard to hit in the back from the Rift area.

Since you should never really be using your Rift Shard, here are the upgrades that I take:

• Silver Streak (Level 2)
• Mana Miser (Level 4)
• Ornery Oldtimer (Level 7)
• Get Off His Lawn (Level 10)

Other than that just prioritize your targets accordingly (not necessarily in this order) - Shield Trolls, Barricade-destroying minions, and Mercenaries.

Problematic Waves:

Wave 15 - This is potentially going to end your match if you're not dealing enough damage, as it is an entire wave of Earth Elementals from both gates. Do keep in mind that it is okay if a few get through (as it usually happens to me), so don't feel like you need to quit if they manage to take you down to say, 15 Rift points or something.

Wave 18 - Here's a wave that has a decently large group of Earth Elementals that is mixed in towards the end. It's not nearly as much of a threat as wave 15, but it's important to mention because it may surprise you due to how late they come into the wave.

Wave 19 - This is a threatening wave, because you get all sort of Barricade-destroying minions, along with a lot of Trolls. The wave itself is also very long, so it takes a while to end. Orfum will come first out of the SE, but then you'll get a mixture of Fire Giants and Orc TNT Archers from the SW, who will trickle in separately.

Wave 20 - This is potentially even worse than the last wave, because it has a Mercenary (from the SE). I've had the Dwarf Priest show up on this wave, which is extremely dangerous because you also get a lot of Shield Trolls and regular Trolls. He's not only a gigantic problem in general, but he's even more dangerous because you're not going to be able to kill him by camping the Rift. It is possible to try to kill what you can as he makes his way up to the Rift. Once he gets to the Rift, immediately use Unchained and attack him while you're in his bubble, then very quickly try to take out all the nearby minions.

Wave 21 - Another large group of Earth Elementals show up here, but fortunately it's only from the SW. Unfortunately, the wave also adds the Earth Elemental boss, Gaeadin. I would recommend trying to focus on the SW gate as much as possible first, and try to ignore the SE until the majority of the Earth Elementals (and the boss) are gone.

Wave 25 - Whoo boy, this is the roughest out of all the waves. You get a serious mix of the worst things it's thrown at you; you get a Mercenary, Shield Trolls, regular Trolls, Earth Elementals, Fire Elementals, Fire Giants, and Orc TNT Archers. Make sure to have Unchained ready for this wave, as it's very difficult to get through it without it.

• There's a good chance that minions will overrun you on this wave. However, the next wave does start as this wave is still occurring, so your main goal is just to survive until you see the "Wave 26" notification show up. Once you see that, the minions can overrun you, and you'll still have 5 Stars.

Note: While watching the video, try to ignore the fact that I ended up falling into the lava at the start of wave 6 >_>

Frostbite

Recommended Hero: Smolder

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Jailer Guardian, Friar Guardian
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Web Spinner (Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator, Crowd Control Trigger)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Big Game Hunting Ballista (Unchained Resonator, Double Spring, Stamped Parts)
  • T7 Grinder (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Subsidized Parts)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Wall Building PHD
  • Smashing Deals

This map is pretty tough, but the fact that you can replace the Guardians makes it much easier than it used to be. Smolder I think is ideal here, because she gets the increased damage to almost all of the minions you'll see on the map.

You do get a TON of Mercenaries here - expect a couple of waves where there are 4 or 5 (yes, 5). This is the reason behind bringing in the Big Game Hunting Ballistas.

Trap Strategy:

Although the match plays out to the Survival version of Frostbite, I set up the Barricades differently. What I do is force all the NW gate minions to loop around into the Forge area, then to the NE, then try to snake them some in the room east of the Rift.

In the north, I only use one set of floor traps in the NW; this is mostly because the minions will take a ton of time to get to the Rift. In the NE, I use more floor traps for two reasons - One, there will be Satyrs from the NE, and both the NW and NE lanes merge in the NE. Therefore, it's best to try to put more traps where they merge to be more efficient.

I would also recommend trying to put a few floor traps in the "snaking" area just east of the Rift. There will inevitably be minions that get by, so at the very least, you want to try to slow them down.

In the south, I do what I usually do in Survival; I force the SW minions to take the long route through their first room (around the columns) and in the SE I place a singe Barricade to just west of the Guardian to force them around the little "island", extending their pathway.

In terms of damage traps, it's also set up the same in Survival - Floor traps in appropriate places, and Grinders along walls and pillars.

As for the Big Game Hunting Ballistas, just be wary of placing them on the ceilings that are right in front of the gates. The reason for that is that they will begin to aim at the Mercenaries before they have officially entered the map, which means that their shots are going to hit the "purple wall", wasting the shot. You'll see me place some like that in the NW, but it's just because there's not really any other place in the NW to place them.

Combat Strategy:

Once the NE gate opens, prioritize that gate first because the NW minions have such a long path. You may want to switch over to the NW gate for any Gnome Destroyers though.

Once the southern gates open, I find it generally best to do a loop of:

1. Clear SE minions
2. Clear NE minions (only NE, you can semi-ignore NW)
3. Clear SW minions
4. Clear up the rest

Of course, this kind of depends on Mercenaries, Gnome Destroyers, and just the overall size of each minion group (there are times when the SE only consists of 2-3 large minions). Ultimately, clearing the southern gates is generally the higher priority, because the SE has a very short route to the Rift, and the SW probably doesn't have much in terms of traps.

This is why the Guardians are so important in the SW and SE, and when you reach the Trap Limit, make sure to always place down a new Guardian when one falls. Coin generation is pretty good here, so you should be able to replace them 2 or 3 times.

In later waves (about 15-25) the gates become more difficult to juggle. SE still takes priority, but the NE will start to become extremely strong, and walk through a lot of the traps. The SW has a similar problem, and the path length is relatively the same for the SW and NE minions. This is also a reason why I choose to clear NE (generally) before the SW; the teleport allows quick travel to the NE when you're done in the SE.

With Smolder, I take these Upgrades:

• Flame Thrower (Level 2)
• Red-Headed (Level 4)
• Passionate (Level 7)
• Spontaneous Combustion (Level 10)

Wave Strategy:

Mostly, the problematic waves are the ones that either have Gnome Destroyers and Mercenaries. Outside of them, you're mainly just dealing with a lot of minions with high HP.

Wave 5 - Gnome Destroyers from the NW, which you may want to prioritize. If your traps are strong enough they may be able to take of them, and even if they don't, the Barricades that they'll target aren't vital, as if they are destroyed, it just means the minions get a shorter pathway. It's still something you want to protect though, and it's probably best to get practice in taking them out, because later it'll become more important to do so.

Wave 8 - You get Dwarf Grenadiers from the NW, so you can effectively ignore them if you wish. The Unstable Rift can be ignored as well if you remember to pick them off once it opens.

Wave 10 - Orc TNT Archers in the SW. I would recommend being at the SW to take care of them, otherwise they will pretty much destroy your Guardian there, which you don't want.

Wave 14 - Gnome Destroys from the NW. I would really recommend taking care of them, because they have large enough HP pools to potentially get by your traps.

Wave 15 - First wave of multiple Mercenaries (4 total); 3 will be from the NW, and the other from the NE. Prioritize Dwarf Priest, and Bouncer Bear before anything else. Chaotic Kobold is 3rd on priority, and all others can be killed in any order. I would recommend following that prioritization through the rest of the map.

Wave 19 - Wave of 3 Mercenaries, 2 from the NE and one from the SE.

Wave 21 - More Gnome Destroyers from the NW.

Wave 22 - Gnome Destroyers from the NE. These are very important to destroy, because you don't want them getting to the Barricades near the Kitchen Guardian spot.

Wave 23 - Single Mercenary from the SE.

Wave 24 - 5 different Mercenaries, and I believe they all may come from the SW. This is a very very difficult wave due to the Mercenaries, and truthfully I found Wave 25 to be not as bad. I would highly recommend using Unchained here if it's available.

Highlands

Recommended Hero: Cygnus

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Any 2 "Shield" Guardians
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Shock Zapper (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Combo Generator)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Wall Charger (Fire Resonator, Heat Activated Trigger); I would use a Charging Spring here if I had one.
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Wall Building PHD
  • Lightning Deals

This is the first map I am not able to 5 Star due to the 40 minute Time Limit. I do think it's possible with this strategy though, as I have gotten to about Wave 22 with it.

Credit goes to Varthftw of the OMD!U forums for showing this method (link is found in the Legal Information and Copyright section). My set-up is almost identical, but I do change a few things slightly.

It's not a difficult map in terms of minion make-up, but they do throw a lot of really strong minions at you, which can be hard to deal with. The only actual complicated thing about the waves is that they kind of alternate - Generally, one side will spawn Order minions, the other will spawn Orcs, and another will spawn Ogres/Trolls, or some sort of mixture of these. However, they change with almost every wave, so you can't set each pathway up with specific traps. Instead, they have to be distributed somewhat equally.

There are only a couple of problematic waves (that I've seen at least), one of which is actually Wave 3.

During Wave 3, the NE gate opens, and you get a gigantic group of Kobolds. Not only that, but you get an Unstable Rift, which can spawn in really terrible places (like at the winding area in the SW). This makes it very difficult to try to cover both, and for this reason, you want to try to at least have some traps down in the NE before Wave 3.

Towards the end of Wave 3, you also get a small group of Satyrs from the north. In the video, I actually got decently lucky with the Unstable Rift spawn, and it opened just to merge into the NE lane regardless, so I didn't have an issue. I normally do lose a few Rift points during this wave though, so don't worry too much if the same thing happens to you. It's just important that you don't lose too many, but a few should be fine.

At around wave 15 you'll start to see a lot of Giants, but if you have enough traps down (which you should) and if you're strong enough, they shouldn't pose that much of a threat. You do get a couple of waves of Trolls, and they'll throw an increasingly large amount of larger minions at you around Wave 20 and beyond.

Trap strategy:

As you can see in the video, the primary idea is to force the minions along all the various walls. This done by using Great Wall Barricades, and then couple with appropriately placed wall, ceiling, and floor traps.

The most important Barricades are probably the ones closest to the Rift, because you can't really set them up any other way. The Barricades that are located in between the 2 teleports (which I place on Wave 4), are also important, because it forces the minions from the north to path back and forth. However, all the other ones are very flexible, and you can set up different Barricade sets as you see fit.

The Barricades just north of the Rift (which I place during Wave 8) are questionable. The problem with them is that although it's great to snake the minions into the Guardian area like that, the Barricades are at risk. This is due to the Archers - they will sit back and shoot at the Guardian, missing him, but hitting the Barricades instead. It's really your call if you want to use Barricades at that location like I did.

Truthfully, I didn't really have much of a priority system in mind when I was placing traps - I just kind of placed them as I thought was necessary. The only thing I can recommend is trying to Barricade off the areas to the east and west of the Rift first, along with at least 1 Viscous Tar. At the very least this should help delay the minions, allowing you time to kill them yourself.

Other than that, you don't necessarily need to trap areas in the exact order that I do, just try to keep them equally distributed as much as possible. When you feel confident that you have enough down near the Rift, begin to move outwards and place traps further away, but again, equally distribute things.

Combat Strategy:

I recommend Cygnus to keep this very simple. Obviously your primary goal is to camp the Rift, but realize the Barricade placement is going to make shooting minions a little bit of a hassle. It's possible to shoot over the Barricades if you're standing right at the elevated platform where the Rift is, but it does take some getting used to.

You'll see in the video that the Rift Lord buff range is quite large, and you can get to certain spots to shoot at minions in the hallway. Do keep in mind this is risky though, because if Archers are along the path, they will start shooting you, and inevitably damage your Barricades, which you really don't want.

You may want to prioritize clearing the minions from the north first, as they should be the first to spawn the vast majority of the time. This is beneficial, because they will also probably have the least amount of traps to deal with. Just play as you normally would with Cygnus - Place a mini-Rift down and zap them accordingly, but start to retreat to the Rift as soon as you see the other gates getting further south.

Upgrades that I take are:

• Silver Streak (Level 2)
• Mana Miser (Level 4)
• Ornery Oldtimer (Level 7)
• Get Off His Lawn (Level 10)

Castle Gates

Hero used: Yi-Lin

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Jailer Guardian, you can bring in whatever you want for the second
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Power Generator (Bounty Generator, Stamped Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Big Game Hunting Ballista (Unchained Resonator, Double Spring, Stamped Parts)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain/Practices Witchcraft
    
    • Consider bringing in Wall Building PHD (in any slot) for this map if you have it
  • Smashing Deals

Sigh, so once more, like an idiot, I forgot to switch Practices Witchcraft for Enjoys Pain. It probably would have saved me a death, but my capture of this map was actually my best performance (I managed #4 on the leaderboard with it).

I opted to not bring in Wall Building PHD because I wanted to show it wasn't necessary if you were willing to replace your Barricades. It would help save you some Coin, but realize that there are a ton of Firelings here, and sometimes they'll manage to destroy your Barricades regardless if you have the Trait or not.

Big Game Hunting Ballistas are also very helpful, as you'll get a ton of Mercenaries; there are more here than there are in Frostbite, although you'll never see 5 at once (but you will see 4 at the same time).

This map is actually kind of interesting in terms of difficulty, and it seems like the developers actually gave it some thought in comparison to the other Endless maps. In the other maps, usually you just see the gates open and stay open, while increasing the size and strength of the minions that appear in each wave. On this map, you actually see gates open and close, while the minions kind of alternate in the types that show up.

This is also probably the fastest map to get to Wave 25 in, as I got there in roughly 20 minutes. This is really awesome, but minions do get significantly more difficult beyond Wave 20, and they can dish out some serious damage (you'll see me die a couple of times in the video).

Trap Strategy:

Pretty simple to understand, as it's basically the same as my video of the Rift Lord version of this map. I use Great Walls to block off the south and east, forcing all the minions to go the NE, forcing them into combat with the Jailer Guardian.

There are a couple of additions, mostly for decoy purposes:

• An extra Great Wall is placed in the south, for Firelings
• An extra Great Wall is placed in front of the east Great Wall Barricade. You want to place it slightly into the room (giving some space between it and the first Great Wall). If the decoy is right next to the important Great Wall, the Fireling's area-of-effect may still clip the Great Wall you're trying to protect.
• All of the other Great Walls are mostly used to extend the minion's pathway. The Great Walls just east of the Jailer Guardian (at the top of the stairs) also serve as decoys though, as it's not dreadfully important if they get destroyed.

I place a couple of Power Generators at the south, and one at the east gate. I do this because the Coin generation isn't too great on this map, and there will be a lot of Barricades to replace.

I would recommend at least 4 Big Game Hunting Ballistas at the east and south gates, for the Mercenaries. You should only see a maximum of 3 Mercenaries at the east gate, but the reason you want 4 on the south is because for whatever reason, they have a tendency to move down there a lot.

You don't really need many at the north (I only use 2), because there's never more than 1 Mercenary up there at any given time.

For the rest of the traps, get down some floor traps first in the area with the Jailer, then just fill out as much of the ceiling there with Ceiling Ballistas.

Combat Strategy:

Fairly easy to follow, as you just want to treat it like any other map. Stick around the Jailer as much as possible, because he's got a great lifesteal buff.

North gate minions should take priority, as they have the shortest route to the map. This works out well, because there are a ton of Earth Elementals during a few waves, but they mostly come from the north gate.

This map also has a lot of the mage minions, so you want to be careful if you see them up. Try to break line-of-sight as best as you can if you notice them firing at you.

Other than that, not a whole lot to mention. You don't necessarily need to track down the Mercenaries much if you have enough Big Game Hunting Ballistas put down. In the video, I do prioritize the Dwarf Priest a lot, but that's mostly because he showed up nearly all of the time. Don't let the Mercenaries distract you too much from the rest of the minions, as trying to hunt down a Mercenary may cost you Rift points if you ignore the minions at the NE.

Obviously you'll want to try to replace any damaged or destroyed Barricades as much as possible.

Crogon Keep

Recommended Hero: Midnight

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Cook Guardian, any "Shield" Guardian
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Flip Trap (Double Tank Accumulator, Double Spring, Light Pressure Plate)
  • T7 Web Spinner (Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator, Crowd Control Trigger)
  • T7 Big Game Hunting Ballista (Unchained Resonator, Double Spring, Stamped Parts)
    • May want to try a T7 Swinging Mace (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Subsidized Parts)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain
  • Fire Sale or Bear Hugs

This map is kind of a mess, and as a result I think it's probably the second most difficult Endless map to 5 Star. Avalanche and The Wall are more difficult in terms of minion strength, but Crogon Keep has just a ton of little things that combine to make it a gigantic headache.

Originally, at some point in OMD!U's patch history, it was possible to use Barricades in such a manner that blocked off the southern and eastern entrances to the Rift. This forced all of the minions to enter from the west, and made this map much more manageable. At least, I assume it was easier, because I never played that version of Crogon Keep.

After they patched the ability to do that, my guess is that the developers didn't really bother to play this map, assuming it was still possible to get the 5 Star in a somewhat manageable way without blocking off the Rift. In turn, I'm guessing they never bothered to look at the minion strength, nor the minion make-up that appears from each gate.

Simply put, there is just no way to adequately trap all of the gates. The "heavy" Orcs (the ones with a bunch of armor) are the main issue; they begin to literally have thousands of HP, and they consist of probably at least 50% of each wave. Then they also throw in a lot of other issues, from all directions - Massive groups of Ogres will come from the SE; Kamikaze Kobolds from the NW and north; Mercenaries (up to 3 or 4 at once) will come from varying gates.

In addition, the Coin generation is absolutely terrible. You'll see that by the time you get to Wave 15, even Ogres will only start to be worth 30-40 coin, which is extremely low. Then to top it all off, the Trap Limit is only 100, despite the fact that this map is relatively the size of Frostbite.

Rant aside, it is still possible to earn the 5 Star (the Time Limit is the only real problem), but it takes a pretty extreme amount of work. You'll probably find that Eventide Fortress, and possibly even The Wall, is easier to 5 Star in terms of strategy and actual effort.

Trap Strategy:

So first off, I don't really know how helpful the Big Game Hunting Ballistas are. This was actually my second run with Midnight, and I brought in Swinging Maces in the previous run. I was able to do better with the Swinging Maces (I missed finishing Wave 25 by about 2 minutes), but having Big Game Hunting Ballistas can help with a lot of annoyances, particularly Chaotic Kobold.

As you can see in the video though, I would have still made the 5 Star if I just had some more time, so consider using something else instead of the Big Game Hunting Ballistas. I wouldn't really recommend Ceiling Ballistas, because their cost is way too high for this map, and you won't be able to place many for them to be really effective.

My trap placement mostly mirrors my videos for Crogon Keep in Survival. Great Walls are placed west of the Rift (although not until Wave 4, since there's no point initially). Another Great Wall is placed at the makeshift bridge just south of the ship in the NW, to force the NW minions to path back and forth.

Two Great Walls are placed at the stairs that are just SW of the teleport. Two are used here, one as a decoy, and the other to try to merge the north and NW lanes. Although one of these Great Walls is meant as a decoy, realize that the second isn't exactly vital, and can be potentially destroyed.

The last Great Wall is placed near the Kitchen Guardian spot, to force the minions into a single lane. I generally choose to force them into the western lane, so I can potentially use a ceiling trap.

The main difference between this map and my Survival videos is the addition of the Flip Traps. These are really nice for all the Heavy Orcs, and I place them in front of the NE and NW gates. I start off with Viscous Tar first, to gather minions, then place 2 rows of Flip Traps, then place another set of Viscous Tar.

Flip Traps can be used in various places, but just keep in mind where the minions are going to be launched. Obviously you want to ensure that they'll be launched off the map, and not into a pillar or something similar. I place a few Flip Traps around the ship in the NW, and eventually some just north of the westernmost Guardian spot. I also eventually place some along the southern path, just west of the southernmost Guardian spot.

The rest of the traps are just placed in appropriate places, but eventually you may want to opt to using more Web Spinners and Viscous Tar over the Fire traps. More damage is probably the most useful for the NE gate minions, but eventually they all become so strong to the point where I think it's better to just try to slow the minions down. If you can manage that, you can just try to take care of the minions yourself.

Combat Strategy:

It's difficult to develop a strategy here, but the general idea is the same as Crogon Keep in Survival - Once all gates are open, the SE takes priority because it has the shortest route to the gate. Once cleared, you can work counter-clockwise, clearing the NE, then either going north, or meeting the rest of the minions at the southern part of the map.

The problem is this is difficult to do, because you constantly have to adapt to what is currently up. Kamikaze Kobolds, and Tubifore (for a single wave) will show up to potentially destroy your Barricades, so you have to make the decision to either clear the majority of the SE first, then try to protect your Barricades, or vice-versa.

I put Guardians at the SE, south, and the Kitchen in the SW. Guardians are very helpful here, so try to replace them if you feel you can spare the Coin. I think the SE Guardian is the most important one to try to replace.

The Mercenaries are also clearly a problem, but of particular note is Bouncer Bear. Since his behavior has changed, he will sometimes just charge towards another group of minions, and you cannot tell which one he'll move to. It's entirely possible he'll end up running over all of your Barricades, which is obviously a huge problem.

So Mercenary priority should probably be:

1. Bouncer Bear
2. Dwarf Priest
3. Chaotic Kobold
4. The rest

Dwarf Priest can be left alone most of the time, but this also depends on where he spawns. If he spawns in the SE, this is a potential problem, but sometimes he'll just camp the gate, making him mostly irrelevant. If he's in other gates, it's less problematic, because of the minion's longer pathway.

Chaotic Kobold is also a potential problem, but it's extremely unwise to try to chase him down if you can't kill him quickly. Although him messing up your traps is an obvious issue, you can't prioritize him over the minions approaching the Rift. Keep in mind that if you leave him up after a while, try your best to pay attention to which gate he spawns in, and keep an eye on the map to determine where he runs to. You're going to need to quickly check the area he was running in to potentially destroy any crystals he put down.

The rest are just an annoyance, but can certainly mess you up by how much damage they deal. You can try to pull the Human iMage towards a Guardian to hopefully have it attack instead, and the Gnoll Breeder (or rather, the Gnolls he spawns) generally ignores you unless you're close to him, so try to stay away from him until you're ready to kill him.

Wave Strategy:

Wave 3 - First Unstable Rift spawn, and it'll be in the western area. This is the only one you should probably go get, as you probably don't have anything placed in the western area yet. For all intents and purposes, the rest of the Unstable Rifts can be ignored, as they will all spawn in the exact same spot. Since you'll eventually have the western entry to the Rift blocked off, the minions they spawn are mostly irrelevant.

Wave 4 - NW gate opens, and although you don't necessarily need to trap it very well, or prioritize it, keep in mind there is a pack of Kobolds that appear from it towards the end of the group.

Wave 7 - North gate opens. It may be tough to really trap this at the moment, because of the Coin generation. You will want to place some traps here though, because there will be a decent amount of Kamikaze Kobolds that come from this gate in future waves. At the very least, try to have one Great Wall at the stairs to the south, forcing them to move westward. If you have some Flip Traps down in the area just north of that westernmost Guardian, they can at least get hit by those somewhat.

Wave 8 - Kamikaze Kobolds (3) from the north gate. I would recommend staying at the north gate initially to take care of them, then move over to the NE. Try to save your Coin from this wave for the SE gate.

Wave 9 - SE gate opens. You'll want to trap this decently, because at first it'll be helpful. Later it becomes much less useful, because the minions will not only be really strong, but some Hobgoblin Shamans get mixed in with a few waves as well. Consider using Viscous Tar and Web Spinners more here to slow them down.

Wave 11 - Kamikaze Kobolds, 2 sets of 3, come from the north gate. I would recommend being there to take care of them as quickly as you can, then immediately leave for the SE. Ignore the Mercenaries as much as possible until the majority of the SE is cleared. Try to get another Great Wall at the staircase near the teleport before Wave 14.

Wave 14 - This can be rough. Tubifore appears at the north with 3 Kamikaze Kobolds, which is extremely dangerous if there are not 2 Great Walls at the staircase. If you don't have 2 Great Walls down there, I would recommend being at the north gate first, to try to take care of them quickly. The problem is by the time you do, the SE minions will be at the Guardian in the SE.

Wave 19 - First wave of 4 Mercenaries. Again, try your best to prioritize the SE, and you're just going to have to gamble with things if Bouncer Bear and Chaotic Kobold are running around causing problems. Once you feel the SE and NE are mostly taken care of, consider taking out the Mercenaries.

Wave 21 - Another really rough wave, because you get another 2 sets of 3 Kamikaze Kobolds from the north. You should have replaced any destroyed Barricades at the staircase, but if you haven't, consider being at the north gate initially, take care of the Kamikaze Kobolds, then immediately run down to the SE and use Unchained to clear the minions there.

Wave 23 - This will potentially cause a problem as well, because you get 2 more sets of 3 Kamikaze Kobolds, but from the NW this time. You can't really be there to clear them because the second group takes a little while to spawn, and it'll be too far to get back to the SE gate. In the video, you see me use Unchained because I noticed how the first set of Kobolds destroyed the Barricade on the bridge, and then I noticed that the second set of Kobolds spawned. I realized that the second set was going to go after my Barricades west of the Rift, so I wanted to use Unchained to clear most of the minions in the SE, then head over to my Barricades to protect them. Unfortunately this was a waste, because the Kobolds were killed by my Flip Traps instead.

Wave 24 - A very tough wave, because chances are there are still minions up from Wave 23 when it starts. It becomes very difficult to juggle the minions from the south as well as the SE minions, so I would really recommend using Unchained to clear the SE as much as possible (if available). Although my video ends here (due to the time), from what I saw of Wave 25 in my prior run, I think it's probably easier than Wave 24.

Eventide Fortress

Hero used: Deadeye

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Any "Shield" Guardian, Rumrudder Guardian (optional)
• Traps -
  • T7 Great Wall Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Grinder (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Subsidized Parts)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Power Generator (Bounty Generator, Stamped Parts, Bounty Generator)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Enjoys Pain/Practices Witchcraft
  • Smashing Deals

This actually is not too bad of a map, but it's still tough to 5 Star just due to the Time Limit. I think I have managed it once within 40 minutes, but you have to dish out really good damage to make it.

It's almost exactly the same as the Survival version of Eventide Fortress, but the minions get incredibly strong (particularly the Trolls). Happily though, since the map is so gigantic, it's possible to loop the minions in all sorts of ways to extend their pathway.

You will still see some Kamikaze Kobolds, and of course some Fire Giants, on a few waves. Overall though, the Barricade-destroying minions are not as frequent as they are in other Endless maps.

Trap Strategy:

Just like in the Survival version, the minions are forced all the way into the SE corner. This is done by placing Great Walls to block off the path south of the easternmost gate, and a Great Wall that blocks off the entrance to the "Forge" area.

Eventually, you want to block off the western entrances to the Rift room (it's done in kind of a backwards "C" shape, surrounding the Guardian spot), and then the last two Great Walls block off the path directly north of the southernmost gate (it blocks off the bottom of the small set of stairs, look for the "burlap sacks" along the wall to place them).

There are many more ways to extend the minions pathway at that point, but the only one I use is a Great Wall near the SW Guardian spot, to force them along the southern edge of the area.

The rest of the Great Walls function as decoys. I would recommend keeping at least 1 Great Wall at the NE gate, and at least 1 at the easternmost gate. At the east gate, I utilize the decoy further by placing a Viscous Tar next to it, then a Power Generator at the wall next to that. This at least helps with additional Coin generation, but it's mostly optional. I do this with a second Great Wall further on, and that's just in case I can't manage to replace the first one, if it gets destroyed.

If the time limit wasn't there, I would recommend further extending their pathway by placing Great Walls just west of the "Temple" Guardian spot. By doing that, it would be possible to loop the minions into the NE corner, and if you block off the south path, you can even loop them around the NW edge, and even put in a long line of floor traps, as well as wall traps.

The only traps to mention (in my opinion) are the Power Generators and the Ceiling Ballistas. Although I don't use many of them, the Power Generators were placed in that small corridor just west of the northernmost Guardian spot. This helps to afford all of the Great Walls, and I would recommend keeping them until you get closer to the Trap Limit. When you feel you have plenty of Coin, feel free to get rid of them if you wish.

The Ceiling Ballistas are almost entirely used in the southern area, primarily around the southernmost gate. There are a ton of ceilings that you can place Ballistas on in this area, so feel free to use them as much as possible.

The rest of the floor and wall traps are just in areas that seem to make sense. You may need to understand how the minion's path, to identify proper places to use floor and wall traps. You don't necessarily need to follow my exact placement, because there are a ton of different areas that would work just as well.

I would still recommend setting up the "Temple" area with Grinders and Viscous Tars though, because you'll want to try to damage and slow down the Fire Giants that will occasionally come out of the NW gate.

Combat Strategy:

Not much to mention, as it will depend on who you are playing as. Again, as the Endless version is just a slight variation of the Survival map, you'll want to approach it the same way.

Kamikaze Kobolds come from the NE and east gates, so you want to make sure you place (and replace) decoys in those areas. Fire Giants will appear from the NW, so you want to prioritize those if you see them show up.

Trolls come from the west gate (and Orfum during a single wave), but usually they shouldn't too much of a concern if you've placed enough Viscous Tar down.

Since all gates are funneling into the SE, the gate with the shortest path is the southern gate. Fortunately, the southern gate minions generally consist of weaker minions, so usually they're not much of a concern, but you still want to keep an eye on them just in case.

Wave Strategy:

Wave 5 - East gate opens, so try to have the western entry to the Rift room blocked off before this wave. Kobolds will appear from the east gate, just like in Survival, so that's why it's so important to have those western Barricades up prior to this wave. Kamikaze Kobolds also appear from the NE at the start of this wave, so you also want to have a decoy up in the NE before this wave (you can also just be there to kill them if you want).

Wave 6 - First Unstable Rift, so you may want to hover the Rift room so you have quick access to wherever it spawns. Chances are you don't have a lot of traps up, so depending on where it spawns, you probably don't want to let it open.

Wave 10 - Second Unstable Rift, and I would really recommend blocking off the southern area (forcing minions to path SE) because the southern gate will open on the next wave.

Wave 11 - Southern gate opens, and you also get another Unstable Rift. Depending on the location, you may just want to let it open, but if you have enough Viscous Tar down in the south, you should be able to leave the southern gate momentarily if you want to go destroy it.

Wave 12 - Tubifore will appear in the NE, but it's not until about midway through the wave, so you should have enough time to kill the south gate minions, which should appear first. I would still recommend having a decoy up in the NE prior to this wave though, just to be safe.

Wave 14 - First with Fire Giants from the NW, so make sure to take them out first before they get to your western Barricades.

Wave 15 - Not as threatening, but 2 more Fire Giants from the NW again.

Wave 16 - Orc TNT Archers from the south, so be very careful about where your positioning yourself when (if) you decide to engage them. Try to engage them from the ship in the SE so they're aiming in that direction, and not aiming at your southern Barricades.

Wave 18 - Orfum from the west gate. You may want to use Unchained (if available) for him, because he will very quickly reach your western Barricades. The additional Trolls along with him are a problem, because he'll be difficult to single-out within that small corridor at the west gate.

Wave 19 - Another Unstable Rift, and Orc TNT Archers from the south.

Wave 20 - Fire Giants from the NW.

Wave 21 - Kamikaze Kobolds from the east (1 pack of 3) and another Unstable Rift.

Wave 22 - Two Fire Giants from the NW, but realize that the southern gate minions are becoming strong enough to get through more traps down in the south, so you do have to watch the mini-map and adjust appropriately.

Wave 23 - Another Unstable Rift, with Orc TNT Archers from the south again.

Wave 24 - A very large group of Fire Giants that come from the NW.

I can't quite remember what Wave 25 consists of, but as long as you have decoys up at the eastern and NE gate, you should be able to manage it, if you have enough time.

The Wall

Hero used: Zoey

Loadout:

• Gear - Mending Root, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Quartermaster Guardian, any "Shield" Guardian
• Traps -
  • T7 Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Flip Trap (Double Tank Accumulator, Double Spring, Light Pressure Plate)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Brimstone (Bounty Generator, Fire Resonator, Charging Spring)
  • T7 Big Game Hunting Ballista (Unchained Resonator, Double Spring, Stamped Parts)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Power Generator (Bounty Generator, Stamped Parts, Bounty Generator)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Wall Building PHD (highly recommended)
  • Smashing Deals

First and foremost, this Barricade strategy is not my original creation. This is a variant of a strategy of a video posted on Youtube by terry song (the link to his video is in the Legal Information and Copyright section).

I truly have no idea how anyone can manage wave 25 on this map in 40 minutes. The issue is that the map will send you gigantic waves of Ogres (and Trolls in later waves), and they will all have literally thousands of HP to deal with. This makes clearing waves extremely time consuming. The highest I normally get is around Wave 19 or 20.

It is possible to get an interesting set up with Barricades though, and if it wasn't for the minion's gigantic amount of HP, it actually makes it somewhat easy to complete (once you get some practice with it). The biggest issues are the Kamikaze Kobolds, which you desperately need to make sure you use decoys to prevent them from destroying your vital Barricades. However, if you just make sure to always replace the decoy Barricades, they become much less of an issue.

The second problem are the Unstable Rifts. They almost always come in pairs, and what is worse is that they usually spawn at about the same time. Depending on where they spawn, it might be easy to destroy the first Unstable Rift, but it may be very difficult to traverse the entire map to get to the second one before it opens.

• You may think to yourself - So why not just them open? You certainly can, and I let it happen myself in my video (on a couple of waves). Problem is, it can be a little problematic because they will always spawn either a boss (which is usually Urza or Gaeadin) or another group of Ogres. You really don't want to have to deal with even more large minions with tons of HP than the waves already give you.

If you watch my video, you may wonder - Why aren't I using Cygnus? Despite the fact that you're going to be around the Rift a lot with this strategy, Cygnus is not as optimal as you may think. The major issue is that, when you get around Wave 15+, the minions will be entirely too strong and chances are you won't be able to kill them before they path away from the Rift area. The pillars that surround the Rift also make it somewhat difficult to target them appropriately. Once they leave the immediate vicinity of the Rift, Cygnus certainly starts to lack in his damage output, which makes him fairly equivalent to any other Hero.

I like Zoey here because Feebee's Wrath does a great job in dealing damage to large groups of Trolls and Ogres. No matter who you bring in, you do have to be extremely careful about taking damage, because even the normal minions will hit you extremely hard.

Trap Strategy:

So for the first few waves (until Wave 4) you have to build up some Coin, which is what the Power Generators are for. The way to do this is to place a few Barricades blocking off the north gate, forcing the minions along the wall, where you should have some Power Generators. Place some Viscous Tar as well to keep them all slowed down, as I personally don't use any damage traps.

Continue to extend the Barricade as much as you can, all the way to the Guardian spot, coupled with Power Generators. At Wave 4, you get a Go break, at which point you want to sell all of your traps. Keep in mind that Power Generators will refund you 0 Coin if they're not at full "HP" when you sell them. Ideally you want around 35,000 Coin at Wave 4.

It is extremely difficult to describe the exact placements of the Barricades in text. But here's the idea - you want to try to force all of the minions around the Rift area, into the SW corner. Simple enough for the north gate, but the NW gate is tricky:

• You have to make a diagonal line of Barricades at the end of the long hallway just NW of the Rift. You can't block off the western side though, because that will block off the minion path completely (which you can't do).
• The westernmost room needs to be blocked off as well (at the bottom of the northern staircase), because you need to be able to force the NW minions into that aforementioned long hallway.

The set up will force the NW minions to merge with the north minions in the area directly east of the "Shield" Guardian spot (which is directly north of the Rift). The NE minions will also merge around this area, with no extra set up.

This is very beneficial because it extends all of the minion's pathway by a pretty extreme amount, allowing you to have some time to deal with all of them. This also means that any destroyed Barricade is absolutely disastrous though, and chances are if you lose one, you're going to lose the match soon after.

The first wave of Kamikaze Kobolds comes from the north on Wave 5, and it's a gigantic amount of them. I would highly recommend at least 6 decoys placed in the northern area before Wave 5. Also keep in mind that they need to be decently spread out. What I do is I think of each area as a "square" shape, and try to put my decoys in the corners. I do put a couple near the teleport, simply because there's not many other places to put them.

You will also want to place decoys in the NE/NW sections, because Kamikaze Kobolds will come from the NE/NW gates as well. Again, notice the NE/NW are kind of square shape - Try to put a decoy in each corner.

You may want to place some Barricades between the wooden pillars around the Quartermaster at some point, because if you don't, all of the minions will just walk right by him.

To afford all of this, you still want to use Power Generators, which can be placed along the pillars that surround the Rift. Couple them with Viscous Tar to help gather minions next to them.

The extra floor spaces, in between the pillars that surround the Rift, are used for Flip Traps. Flip Traps are extremely useful here, because you do get entire waves of normal sized minions, and they really help to clear those waves quickly. Of course, they still won't do anything to the Ogres and Trolls, so I think it's very important to have the "Light Pressure Plate" Part equipped to the Flip Trap for this.

Big Game Hunting Ballistas are helpful for the Unstable Rifts. Two places for Unstable Rifts to spawn are in the western area (just north of the Quartermaster, in the big open area), and in the eastern area. In the west, the only real place to put Ballistas is just at the exit of the Quartermaster area, but they should be able to reach the potential Rift there. In the east, there's plenty of ceiling room to place them, just try to keep them close to middle, as the Rift spawns more towards the middle of the room.

Combat Strategy:

Not much to say here, as the wave make-up isn't really complicated. The Barricade-destroying minions are the only ones worth mentioning, as the rest of the waves consist of just a ton of minions with a ton of HP.

The only thing to really point out is how the Ogres do a "Rift Rush"; they get an increase in movement speed whenever they're near the Rift. So this is a little odd here, because you'll see them do this, but only occasionally, and this is just due to how the Barricades are placed. You do have to be mindful of the Ogres for this reason, because sometimes they'll just rush right through the Quartermaster area and it may cost you some Rift points if you're not paying attention.

As for the Barricade-destroyers, the Kamikaze Kobolds should always be taken care of with preemptively placed decoys. You also get three others - Gnoll Grenadiers, Fire Giants, and Fire Elementals.

Gnoll Grenadiers just need to be ignored, but you need to make sure you stay away from them. Given how every Barricade is vital, and they're all fairly close to each other, you cannot run the risk of having them toss a grenade your way. Due to this, try to keep to the southern part of the map when you see them, so they'll just run into the Rift instead of engaging with you.

Fire Elementals are really strange here. They're not too frequent, but you do see Urza a few times. The Firelings are also a bit of a risk, but I've never had any problems with them personally; they should follow the usual line of minions here, and not stray towards your Barricades. I think you need to make sure you have that extra space for the Barricades in between the pillars - If you line them up exactly with the pillars, I think you might run the risk of the Firelings going after them.

Fire Giants are also frequent here, but if you have Wall Building PHD, they're mostly not an issue. With Wall Building PHD, they shouldn't be able to chip away too much at the northern Barricades; in the south, just as long as you made sure to give that extra space while placing them in between the pillars, their aura shouldn't reach them as they walk along the outside of the pillars.

Wave Strategy:

Wave 1 - Place a Guardian just south of the north gate, and start building a line of Barricades to force the minions into one of the walls (where you should also place Power Generators). You're only going to be afford 3 or 4 Power Generators, so just use enough Barricades in accordance to that. This wave is somewhat tough to start out with, but try your best to ensure minions are getting to the Power Generators (in other words, let them progress a bit before you start killing them).

Wave 2 - Continue to build your line of Barricades, and hopefully, it's pretty much completed with their respective pairing of Power Generators. This is a much more difficult wave, so feel free to start clearing minions earlier in comparison to the first wave.

Wave 3 - If your Barricade line stretches down to the Guardian (more or less), either use some more Viscous Tar or just put down some Ceiling Ballistas. You could also put down 2-3 Big Game Hunting Ballistas instead, because it'll be useful for later waves. This wave is mostly like the first, and shouldn't be too bad to get through.

Wave 4 - Sell everything (minus the Big Game Ballistas if you put them down), and start placing all of those Barricades to block off the Rift. You should have enough for all the Barricades, plus 1 or 2 more traps. I would recommend putting down at least 1 Power Generator along the eastern/southern pillars just to start generating some coin again. MAKE SURE you have at least 4, ideally 6, decoy Barricades spread out around the central area, by the time this wave ends.

Wave 5 - A lot of Kamikaze Kobolds from the north gate, I think there's around 12-15 total, and you get about 3/4 at first, then the last 1/4 right after. The decoys are extremely important here, and you may want to cover the central area just to try to defend those decoys as best you can, to ensure they're not going to blow up anything else. If you haven't already, at the end of this wave, start putting down Flip Traps in the south (aiming south to flip them off the map). If you have the Coin, try to put down more Power Generators and/or Viscous Tar as well.

Wave 6 - First Unstable Rift, which you should have time to go destroy. Tubifore will also be from the north, so get him afterwards. You may want to try to replace a couple of the decoys at the north once he's down. You should have a decent amount of Coin after this wave, so try to get some decoys in the NW section; again, notice the area is kind of like a square, and try to get 1 in each corner.

Wave 7 - Not much to say as the only thing that spawns is a ton of large minions.

Wave 8 - 3 Kamikaze Kobolds from the NW, which is not a big deal as long as you had decoys down.

Wave 9 - 2 Unstable Rifts spawns. If they spawn in the eastern/western sections, and if you have the Big Game Ballistas placed on the nearby ceilings, they should be able to take care of them. My Unstable Rift spawns (in the video) were in the NW/NE corners, and I was more worried about the wave, so I let them open. Either try to get them or let them open, it's up to you.

Wave 11 - 2 Unstable Rifts again, but nothing else really worth mentioning. At this point, you really should have 4 decoys in the NE section, and ideally 4 in the central area, as well as the NW section.

After that (from what I've seen), the map doesn't really throw anything at you that you haven't seen. You just need to keep your priorities in how you spend your Coin:

1. Always replace destroyed decoy Barricades.
2. Add Flip Traps, Viscous Tar, and/or Power Generators in the south.
   • If that is done, add Ceiling Ballistas/Viscous Tar/Brimstone in the SW corner, where the Quartermaster is.

That's pretty much it. I certainly would recommend keeping your Trap Limit at 118 or 119, just in case you want to place another decoy Barricade. You'll find that the large minions will start to get a ridiculous amount of HP though, so that's really the main issue in seeing some progress before the 40 minutes run out.

If I got to see what was beyond Wave 20, I can foresee myself potentially getting rid of the Power Generators (and possibly the Viscous Tar) down towards the south. This would allow me to place more traps in the SW corner, because the extra damage would more than likely be very necessary for the last few waves. But for now, for me at least, Wave 19/20 is the best I can do.

Avalanche

Recommended Hero: Oziel

Loadout:

• Gear - Mage's Clover, Fire Wall Bracers
• Guardian - Jailer Guardian, any other Guardian you wish
• Traps -
  • T7 Barricade (Reflective Armor, Subsidized Parts, Double Struts)
  • T7 Viscous Tar (Bounty Generator, Subsidized Parts, Bounty Generator)
  • T7 Floor Scorcher (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Wall Charger (Fire Resonator, Charging Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T6 Boom Barrel Roller (Braided Coil, Stamped Parts)
  • T7 Ceiling Ballista (Fire Resonator, Double Spring, Heat Activated Trigger)
  • T7 Big Game Hunting Ballista (Unchained Resonator, Double Spring, Stamped Parts)
• Traits -
  • Feeling Fierce
  • Has Ultimate Set of Tools
  • Wall Building PHD
    
    • May want to replace this with Enjoys Pain/Practices Witchcraft if you are not using Oziel
  • Lightning Deals
    • May want to replace this with Wall Building PHD if you bring in Enjoys Pain/Practices Witchcraft

Again, much like The Wall, this is very rough. Even without the 40 minute Time Limit, this is very difficult to do, as there really isn't a lot of good ways to manipulate the multiple gates (that I know of at least).

I like Oziel here for a few reasons - His natural lifesteal makes it possible to bring in different Traits. His abilities are useful as well; Desecrated Ground is very efficient because the trap strategy forces minions into a really small path, making Desecrated Ground very easy to use successfully. And of course, Ectoplasmic Explosion really goes a long way in dealing damage to groups.

Regardless though, realize this is going to be tough no matter which Hero you decide to bring in. Cygnus is an option, because for a good portion you'll be camping the Rift area; Ivy is another option because Warden's Wrath is very beneficial here. Personally I feel melee Heroes get shafted here, due to how hard minions hit and the fact that they'll apply the Chill effect, which means that they'll potentially Freeze you, increasing the likelihood of you dying.

If you want to make a really serious attempt at this, bringing in Consumables will help. In my video I do not use any, and I managed to get up to Wave 19 before the time ran out. The video is actually my best attempt on this map though, as I normally get around Wave 16.

What is important to note is that I don't feel nearly as confident in my trap strategy as I do in The Wall. In other words, I can see potentially getting to Wave 25 without the Time Limit on The Wall (with that given set-up), but here, I don't know if the strategy will work for Wave 25. There are a few waves that are very difficult to get through (Wave 10 comes to mind), and this is entirely due to how many minions that are thrown at you, and given how much HP they have.

Trap Strategy:

First and foremost this trap strategy is nearly identical to one proposed by Varthftw of the official OMD!U forums. If you wish to see his video, check out the link in the Legal Information and Copyright section.

East gate opens first, and the ultimate goal in the east is to slow the minions down. To do this, it's possible to set up a "Mickey Mouse" Barricade formation to force them along the walls, coupled with appropriate Viscous Tars, Floor Scorchers, and Wall Chargers. Boom Barrel Rollers can be placed above the Wall Chargers for much needed extra damage.

You will also want to place 2 Barricades at the top of the east stairs, forcing the minions to go into the SE room, where the Guardian is. This is ideally done at the end of Wave 1, but it can potentially wait until the end of Wave 2. I would also recommend 1 Big Game Hunting Ballista at the square overhang right at the gate, before Wave 3, since you'll be getting a boss at that wave.

The north gate opens on Wave 4, and you'll want to block off the NE corner (the entrance to the Barracks). However, extra Barricades need to be placed here, because you will get Kamikaze Kobolds on Wave 11. This forces the minions to enter the Rift room via the west entrances.

2 more Barricades will need to be placed in the Rift room, on the east side. This is required to get the minions into a single lane on the west side.

The majority of the damage traps will be placed on the west side of the Rift room. Place Wall Chargers, Boom Barrel Rollers, Viscous Tar, and Floor Scorchers in appropriate places. Be careful of the Boom Barrel Rollers though; ensure that the barrels are appropriately landing along the pathway, and not into the gigantic hole in the floor.

I would recommend 4 Big Game Hunting Ballistas on the ceiling where the minions first enter the Rift room, to deal with bosses and Mercenaries. The rest of the ceiling can be filled out with regular Ceiling Ballistas.

Although the Rift room is your primary focus of traps, realize that there are other places to put down things. For example, I place a couple of Viscous Tar and a Floor Scorcher outside of the Rift room, just below the stairs, where the northern and western minions merge. The nearby western ceiling can be used for even more Ballistas if you wish.

The east gate actually closes upon the end of Wave 5, so you don't need to focus on it much initially. However, it does open up again at the start of Wave 11. For this reason you need to be mindful about the Coin you spend, because you will need to place more traps down in the east at some point prior to the start of Wave 11.

What is done further in the east is extend their pathway by forcing them along the wall in the SE room, then blocking off the south so they are forced into combat near the Guardian. Place damage traps appropriately here, but you shouldn't place too much; remember that the east only has to deal with a single gate, and the Rift room has to deal with 3 different ones.

The last thing you'll see me do is place some odd Barricades near the Rift. There is a single one that might make you think "what is that for"; the single one that's placed kind of in the corner. This is placed here to try to force the minions to the right slightly. What is an option here is to use all of the ceiling space available for the Ceiling Ballistas; if I had Ceiling Ballistas directly east of that single Barricade, they would aim appropriately. Without it, the minions (from what I remember) are just barely out of range. As it turns out, that single Barricade was in fact useless with how the map played out, but it really just depends on how you set things up.

The rest of the Barricades around the Rift are simply to force the minions into a single lane for control purposes. Without them, you'll see it's very difficult to get control over the minions as they approach the Rift.

Combat Strategy:

The primary idea is to clear the east gate first (when it's open) before moving back into the Rift room to clear the rest.

You do have to be very mindful of the map though, and I would recommend leaving the east area as soon as you see the western minions get close to entering the Rift room. Wave 4 is incredibly important to be mindful of, because the north minions will also consist of Kobolds, so it's important to leave the east gate earlier to clear them out.

Fire Wall Bracers are great here, due to the extra damage to the Frost minions, so I would recommend using them as much as possible. With Oziel, I was considering bringing in the Ring of Storms as well, since he can manage it with his Mana, but even with Oziel, you'll be kind of Mana starved. Therefore, the Mage's Clover helps keeping your Mana up (just remember it cancels if you use Mana while its active).

Unstable Rifts are important to destroy here, as they do mix in Earth Elementals, which you certainly do not want. The only positive thing about the Rifts is that they're generally fairly easy to get to, and in the waves that I've seen, there's never more than a single one.

The only other thing to mention is to not underestimate the minion's damage. Archers in particular can potentially kill you in only 2-3 hits, which means you have to be very comfortable breaking line-of-sight whenever you start to get shot. If you're ranged, you get a little bit of reprieve from the Chill effect, but you do have to keep it in mind whenever you start to engage things at a closer range.

Wave Strategy:

Wave 1 - Start out with the "Mickey Mouse" Barricade placement right in front of the east gate. Place at least 1 Wall Charger, and 1 Viscous Tar; you can use whatever Coin is left for anything else you want.

Wave 2 - Place 2 Barricades at the top of the east stairs. Place 1 Big Game Hunting Ballista on the overhang near the east gate, use the rest of the Coin however you want. Make sure you have your Jailer down in the SE room.

Wave 3 - The boss Snowflake appears, who will throw large snowballs at you, so remember to hide around corners and walls. When the wave ends, don't spend any more Coin in the east area, as the north gate will open next.

Wave 4 - North gate opens, so you need to place 2 Barricades to block off the Barracks, then place another 2 Barricades a little further west (slightly separated) as decoys. Remember that the north gate has two different paths that the minions can enter from - There will be 1 Kamikaze Kobold from the left path, and 2 from the right, so try to place your decoys accordingly. Also remember to place 2 Barricades on the eastern side of the Rift room, to force them all onto the west side. Afterwards, you want at least 1 Viscous Tar on the west side of the big hole in the floor, and whatever else you can afford.

Start out on the east side clearing minions, then move over to the Rift room as soon as you start seeing the north gate minions move southward. It starts out with a group of Kobolds, so you should move over there fairly quickly in order to catch them. At that point just clear whatever is in the Rift room, but keep an eye on the minions from the east.

Wave 5 - Continue to build up the west side of the Rift room. This wave is rough because you'll get an Unstable Rift (which you want to destroy), and 3 Kamikaze Kobolds will appear at the east gate, which will destroy your first Barricade. It's not vital, but it does make things hectic - The east gate minions will thereby bypass the majority of your traps. You're going to want to try to clear them as best you can, but you can't leave the Rift room alone for too long either, because the north gate minions will need your attention as well.

Wave 6 - North and east gate both close, and the NW gate opens. Not much to say about it, as it's pretty normal outside of some Satyrs. Continue to build up the Rift room. I highly recommend having 4 Big Game Hunting Ballistas up in the Rift room, at the ceiling where the minions enter, by the time you're done with this wave.

Wave 7 - Iceberg is in this wave, and from now on you'll see Ice Elementals more often. Iceberg is very tough if you don't have those 4 Big Game Hunting Ballistas down. Just remember that the Elementals split like any other, so be prepared to take care of those runners when you see them.

Wave 8 - West gate opens, and you get 1 Unstable Rift. Nothing new to see here, just more tough minions.

Wave 9 - Almost identical to the last wave, with the addition of a Mercenary. Remember to fight them near your Big Game Ballistas.

Wave 10 - Extremely difficult wave due to the immense amount of minions you get. Consider using Unchained here, as it's one of the toughest waves you'll face.

Wave 11 - East gate will open back up, so try to get some more traps down and begin to extend the minion's pathway as best you can in the SE room (force them along the walls and into combat with the Jailer). One Unstable Rift will appear, as well as 3 Kamikaze Kobolds from the north gate, so I hope you have some decoys down.

Wave 12 - One Mercenary from the east, and 2 TNT Archers will come from the north, so just be careful about standing next to Barricades.

Wave 13 - Not much to mention about the minions, but you can start to block off the Rift as best you can (to force the minions into a single lane) at the end of this wave.

Wave 14 - Just a repeat of the last wave, but try to have your northern decoy Barricades replaced by the end of this wave, as well as having at least 1 (probably 2) Big Game Hunting Ballistas at the ceiling near the decoys, as it'll help with the next wave.

Wave 15 - Tubifore will come from the north, so hopefully you have at least 1 decoy to distract him. Big Game Hunting Ballistas will certainly help get him killed quickly, and if you didn't place them before you can try to quickly put them nearby as he's destroying your decoys.

Wave 16 - Unstable Rift will spawn, along with a Mercenary. If you haven't been struggling with the minions yet, chances are you'll start to on this wave.

Wave 17 and 18 - Not much happens on these waves beside the groups of minions you've already seen.

Wave 19 - One Unstable Rift and one Mercenary on this wave. You will also get a few TNT Archers from the NW later on. This is the furthest I've been, as I got overrun near the end on this wave.