Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession Walkthrough

As I said in the first post for it, I'm not going to let my Impossible Hero Challenge series get in the way of doing other videos.  For one, I've still got a very long way to go with it, and the pace of completing maps is starting to slow considerably as I get into the harder maps.  To that end today we take a break with a different game.

I know it may seem like my blog and YouTube channel have become exclusively Kingdom Rush focused, but that hasn't been intentional.  It all started when I noticed they added a veteran mode to the original game, which prompted me to go back and do a new series covering it.  From there I just got really invested in the series and have stuck with it (to the detriment of my poor Baldur's Gate series).  I do plan to continue it - first finishing my Impossible Hero Challenge, then moving to Kingdom Rush Vengeance now that it is out on Steam - but in the meantime I'd like to return to my original intention - doing much older, classic games.

As I mentioned in my Castlevania post, I'm a big fan of horror, so of course I love Halloween.  So a few weeks ago I felt the desire to go back and play my favorite horror game of all time: Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession.

Now this game is not exactly a legend of the DOS era like the Ultima or Might and Magic series, but it is one of my personal favorite RPGs.  Its greatness doesn't come from its story or its gameplay, which are actually just average.  Its greatness lies in something you don’t often notice or think about in a game - its atmosphere.

The game takes place in Ravenloft, which is a gothic horror setting for AD&D.  Vampires, ghosts, and other things that go bump in the night take the stage here.  The game designers took this setting to heart and set out to create the appropriate atmosphere for it - and boy did they ever succeed.  Few games have ever actually made me scared, but this is one of them.

There are three main keys to the game’s excellent atmosphere - its soundtrack, its sound effects, and its visual effects.  The soundtrack is perhaps the best I’ve ever heard in a game.  I have the soundtrack (in MIDI format, which was par for games of that era) and still listen to it on a regular basis.  I’ve never heard music more perfectly suited to a gloomy, horror atmosphere, and I’m quite the connoisseur of horror.

Complementing the soundtrack are the excellent sound effects.  For example, whenever you’re in the general vicinity of a monster, even if you can’t see them yet, you’ll hear them give off a distinctive “roar”.  This is nothing new in gaming, but the designers took the time to create some very memorable and very scary roars.  The first time I heard a bone golem I practically wet my pants.  In addition to the monster sounds, the game is littered with random sound effects appropriate to the area you’re in.  When you first explore Castle Ravenloft, you’ll occasionally hear a sound effect of someone running up stairs and then slamming a door.  It sounds fairly innocuous, but it made my heart skip a beat the first time I heard it.  When you first enter the castle you’re not entirely sure what you’re there for or what you’ll find - is there going to be a confrontation with Strahd?  When I first heard it I wasn’t sure if it was just an atmospheric sound effect or if it was triggered by an actual nearby monster.

The final element of the atmosphere is the visual effects.  Now the graphics themselves were only so-so for their time.  However, when exploring areas you are treated to little effects that add that certain special feel.  Bats may randomly appear and fly over your head.  When opening a new door in a dungeon rats may scurry underfoot.  All these things conspire to create the unforgettable atmosphere I’ve been raving about.

Sadly the graphics and sound are so dated now that the effect is largely lost, but I can't overstate the impact it had on me way back in the day. It's one of those games that has largely disappeared into the mists of history, so I'm proud to present it to you now, just in time for Halloween, along with my Gameplay Guide:

Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession Walkthrough

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Grimmsburg Iron

So this map is very analogous to Grimmsburg campaign - it's trivial aside from the Gloomies.  And as with that map, the key is to put together a plan that takes care of them without relying on your hero.  And while the micro here is tricky and you do need to know exactly where to put reinforcements and when to use Venom Vines, ultimately it's not as challenging as the campaign mode.  I considered doing the same thing here as I did for that map - giving every hero whose Hero Spell doesn't help with the Gloomies a B - but once I had the micro down I didn't have nearly as many slip-ups as with that map, so we're just going to give everyone an A.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Grimmsburg Iron

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Grimmsburg Heroic

This is a decently challenging map, but not the kind I care for.  This is the kind of map that always has you back on your heels, feeling like you're just barely hanging on and like you're always one or two upgrades behind where you need to be to handle what's coming at you.  It does so by alternating hordes of enemies with the Bandersnatches, trying to make you use up your Thunderbolt and Hero Spell on one so you have nothing left for the other.  Not good for my blood pressure, honestly.

Impressions

I officially rescind every bad thought I've ever had about Xin.  There was one point where I had a bad misplay and I was pretty sure I was done for, but somehow he pulled it through, and with an A no less.  I still don't understand how he's as good as he is, but I'm not going to argue.

Reg'son also gets a welcome A, as Vindicator simply removes the threat of the Bandersnatches altogether, and he's otherwise great at dealing with the hordes of smaller enemies.

I must say I was very disappointed with Durax, Lynn, Bruce, and Lilith, only being able to give them Bs.  I thought they would shine more here, mowing down the hordes or taking down the Bandersnatches.  They weren't bad, of course, hence the Bs, but they just weren't great either.

Final Grades

• Eridan - B
• Arivan - B
• Catha - B
• Reg'son - A
• Prince Denas - B
• Razz and Rags - B
• Bravebark - A
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - A
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - B
• Lynn - B
• Bruce - B
• Lilith - B
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

Reg'son gets a surprising Best Choice award for this map.  Don't look down on him despite him being an early-unlocking hero.  With Vindicator eliminating the Bandersnatches and an occasional Satyr Hoplite, and then Eldritch Heal making him virtually invulnerable when dealing with hordes, he has a powerful toolset to deal with maps like this.  Even towards the end when I was trying to use Vindicator to kill the last Bandersnatch, I accidentally clicked a Satyr Cutthroat who was in the way.  But it didn't matter - he just activated Eldritch Blade and went to town, tanking the Bandersnatch without problem.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Grimmsburg Heroic

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Mid-term Report Card

So I forgot to post this after finishing Gryphon Point, which is where it logically belongs, so sorry for things being out of order.

The game divides nicely into four sections - the elven forest, the enchanted woods, the ancient elven city, and the bonus levels.  As such, at the end of each I'm going to take the time to do a little retrospective on my experience and see how the heroes have done overall.

Using a scale of A = 4, B = 3, etc., we can calculate a GPA for them all and see what the rankings look like:

• Wilbur - 4.00
• Faustus - 4.00
• Phoenix - 4.00
• Vez'nan - 4.00
• Durax - 3.89
• Bravebark - 3.83
• Prince Denas - 3.56
• Lilith - 3.50
• Arivan - 3.50
• Xin - 3.44
• Eridan - 3.44
• Bruce - 3.39
• Lynn - 3.39
• Reg'son - 3.39
• Razz and Rags - 3.33
• Catha - 3.33

There certainly aren't any surprises with our straight-A honor roll.  Even before I began this project I could have told you that Wilbur, Faustus, and Phoenix were the three best heroes in the game.  I don't think it's coincidence that all three of them do true damage with their attacks, either, which is what will eventually cost Vez'nan his straight-A record when we get to maps heavy with magic-resistant enemies.

I am shocked to see Bruce and Lynn in the bottom five.  I know they're better heroes than this, and I think it's just a reflection of the type of maps in the first third of the game.  Their kits just aren't designed for Perythons and Hyenas, and later on when we start dealing with Razorboars and Twilight Golems I feel confident we'll see them shine and rise back up in the rankings.

I'm not surprised to see Razz and Catha in the bottom two spots.  Like I knew who the top heroes were before I even started this project, I also had a good feel for who the worst heroes were.  Unfortunately I have a feeling they're pretty much going to stay there.  I think there will be a handful of maps later that will play well to Razz's strengths and he might grab a few more 'A's, but I just don't see it happening for Catha.

Ultimately though no one finished with worse than a B average.  Obviously there was a lot of grade inflation in the first part of the game, with lots of trivial maps where everyone got an A.  The hardest map was, not surprisingly, Royal Gardens iron, where the average hero grade was 2.75.  I'm pretty sure we won't see any more trivial maps, and I expect by the time we finish the next set of maps the scale above will be quite a bit more stretched out.

Overall this project has been a lot of fun so far.  I feel like I'm really mastering the game far beyond even where I was when I finished my impossible mode walkthrough.  I didn't expect to plow through it this quickly, and really have been meaning to get back to Baldur's Gate, but I've just been enjoying it so much it's been hard to put down.  I suspect that will tail off as the maps get harder and I have to work a lot more to drag some heroes through with Cs or Ds, especially because I know I'm going to fight tooth and nail before resigning myself to handing out the first F.  But I'm still looking forward to it, and I hope you'll stick with me for the journey.

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Grimmsburg Campaign

So this map ended up being worthy of grading, but for slightly different reasons than normal.  This is an otherwise trivial map except for the waves of Gloomies.  Now it is completely possible to handle them solely with reinforcements, Thunderbolt, and the Venom Vines, not relying on your hero.  However, it is not uncommon to get bad RNG or misplay a Venom Vine by a second or two and have everything suddenly go down the toilet.  In that case, it's nice to have a backup in a Hero Spell that can deal with them.  So what I decided is to give Bs to every hero whose Hero Spell doesn't help with the Gloomies in any way.  I did go ahead and give Phoenix an A as well, because even though Ember Field can't affect them, her AoE is otherwise awesome enough to deal with them (Purification FTW).  So we'll skip the impressions this time since there's really nothing else to say and go straight to the grades.

Final Grades

• Eridan - A
• Arivan - A
• Catha - A
• Reg'son - B
• Prince Denas - B
• Razz and Rags - B
• Bravebark - B
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - B
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - B
• Lynn - A
• Bruce - B
• Lilith - A
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

Phoenix continues to shine as our all-star for the Faery Forest maps, which are built for her AoE capabilities.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Grimmsburg Campaign

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Rockhenge Iron

Finally a challenge again!  This is one of those maps that is pretty hard until you figure out the exact right build strategy.  Iron modes that don't allow melee towers often fall into this category, as you have to decide if it's better to spread DPS across the whole map or still try to put together a pseudo-choke point.  But once I found the right build, the map was manageable, if still intense.

Impressions

There's not a terrible lot to say about performances.  Razz and Rags pull in the only C here.  There just weren't enough opportunities to put Changeling to good use on this map.  A couple of other B heroes were borderline, but ultimately I guess I was in a generous mood.

I was a little surprised at Reg'son's B, as I was afraid he might slip into C territory, but even though his kit is not at all designed for swarm maps like this, he still handled things pretty well.  On the other hand, I was a little surprised to have to give Prince Denas a B, as I thought he would be A material.  It might have been bad RNG or just some misplays on my part.

I was really surprised to give Xin an A.  I've learned from past experience not to underestimate him, even though I still don't understand how he performs as well as he does, but I really didn't think he could rise above a B on this map just due to the mismatch between it and his kit.  But once again he surprises.

Final Grades

• Eridan - B
• Arivan - A
• Catha - B
• Reg'son - B
• Prince Denas - B
• Razz and Rags - C
• Bravebark - A
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - A
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - A
• Lynn - B
• Bruce - B
• Lilith - B
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

Like the campaign mode, this map is a Phoenix specialty.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Rockhenge Iron

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Rockhenge Heroic

We're just too good for our own good.  Another trivial map, all 'A's, yada, yada, yada.  I almost gave Arivan a B for the map, because he did have a bit of trouble holding back the tide, unlike every other hero.  I even did it twice just to make sure it wasn't just bad RNG, but he still had some difficulty.  I might have had bad RNG two times in a row, but ultimately I didn't feel it was bad enough to really give him a lone B in a string of otherwise trivial 'A's.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Rockhenge Heroic

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Rockhenge Campaign

Ugh, I really thought we were beyond this, but nope.  I don't necessarily mind trivial maps, but it's really annoying when it's the campaign mode and it takes over 10 minutes to complete even calling every wave as soon as possible.  This one was about three and a half hours of my life I'll never get back to record every hero face-rolling it.  On the plus side, it's a decently fun map, even if trivial.

Everyone gets 'A's, as even Catha can take on the hordes here without problem.  Phoenix does earn the honor of best choice, as this is the kind of map tailor-made for her strengths.  Wilbur may have awesome DPS, but he can still only kill one enemy at a time.  Phoenix's multiple AoE abilities incinerate the swarms of enemies as fast as they appear.

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Gryphon Point Iron

So the developers may have leaned a little too hard on the hyena gimmick to make difficult heroic and iron modes early in the game.  I'm glad that we'll be leaving them behind for good after this map.  The trick here is to withstand the constant stream of them for the first half of the map.  Once that's done, the rest is a cakewalk.

Impressions

I was disappointed to have to give Lynn a C here (which I thought was her first, but Royal Gardens iron actually was), since she's one of my favorites, but there was no way around it.  While her skill set is pretty awesome, it's just not geared to dealing with hyenas.  I even flirted with giving her a D, as it took me many tries to get a win with her, but in the end I chalked that up mostly to me still getting the build strategy right for a non-ranged hero.

Bravebark continues to impress as a hero who can handle swarms of enemies well, as he easily cleared out the packs of gnolls that try to clog up your defenses so the hyenas can get through.  I'm really liking his surprising versatility.

Of all heroes, Razz and Rags earns their first non-trivial A here!  There are some heroes I've been afraid would never earn a non-trivial A, and Razz was one of them, but he took care of this map no problem.  The versatility of his combination AoE melee attack and ranged attack is perfect for the gnoll / hyena mix, and there were some perfect opportunities to exploit Changeling for maximum effect.  I suspect I also just had really good RNG, as it seemed like his abilities always came off cooldown at just the perfect moment, but I'm not going to slight him an A for it.

Reg'son gets a C, but it was very close to a D.  Like Lynn his kit just isn't suited to hyena waves, and by the time I was doing him I didn't have the excuse of still getting the build right.  I ultimately erred on the side of C, but it might have been a pity grade just because I like him.

Eridan follows in Razz's footsteps to also earn his first non-trivial A.  If you're keeping score at home, that just leaves Catha as the only hero without one.  I'm not sure she's ever going to get it either.  Her DPS is just so low, and her other abilities just don't quite make up for it.  But we'll hold out hope.

Final Grades

• Eridan - A
• Arivan - A
• Catha - B
• Reg'son - C
• Prince Denas - B
• Razz and Rags - A
• Bravebark - A
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - C
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - B
• Lynn - C
• Bruce - B
• Lilith - B
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

Wilbur again.  I think I'm just going to rename this section "Best Choice Besides Wilbur".  In that case Phoenix would take the top spot.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Gryphon Point Iron

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Gryphon Point Heroic

This map is very reminiscent of Redwood Stand heroic, where the only real challenge is keeping the hyenas from slipping through your defenses while they're dealing with other enemies.  I considered handing out some Bs here, as occasionally I did have problems with a hyena slipping through, but on reflection those instances were more due to bad RNG or mistakes on my part than weaknesses with the heroes themselves, so everyone gets an A.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Gryphon Point Heroic

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Gryphon Point Campaign

I considered giving everyone an A for this map, as no one is really a bad choice for it, but I decided I did want to distinguish the good from the excellent, so some Bs were handed out.  However, it's really more like the difference between an A and an A+, but I said I wasn't going to get into pluses and minuses and over-complicate this.

I did change one thing about my methodology on this map based on my experience with the last map.  Previously I had been working through the heroes in the order they appear on the hero screen - Eridan, Arivan, Catha, etc.  I'm now going to work in reverse order, starting with Faustus and working backwards.  That way when I get to the last (and weakest) heroes, I have the most experience with the map and am more likely to be able to pull them through.  It made no difference at all on this map, but there are some very hard ones later where I suspect that it will.

Impressions

Nothing really to say since it was an easy map, but I did learn something new - Catha's Faery Dust ability does in fact work on bosses.

Final Grades

• Eridan - B
• Arivan - B
• Catha - B
• Reg'son - B
• Prince Denas - A
• Razz and Rags - B
• Bravebark - A
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - B
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - A
• Lynn - B
• Bruce - B
• Lilith - B
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

No one truly stood out above the others on this map (even Wilbur!), so I'm going to call it an seven-way tie between all the A-grade heroes.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Gryphon Point Campaign

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Royal Gardens Iron

I did it.   I freaking did it.  I thought for sure this would be the map where I had to hand out my first Fs, but I managed to finish with every hero.  Of course I did have to hand out some Ds, but I'll take it.

This is the first really hard scenario in the game, and the enemies are relentless and brutal.  It was a challenge for me both in my veteran and impossible mode playthroughs, and I expected the same here.  I managed to get through originally on impossible with Phoenix, as really good AoE is needed to handle the ridiculous number of enemies, but I shuddered at the thought of taking this map on with, say, Catha.

Impressions

And then Catha goes and gets a freaking B.  How did that happen?!?  And how did Xin get a B as well?  There were definitely some surprises here.  Now I will chalk some of it up to experience.  Xin and Catha were some of the last characters I did the map with (because I was dreading doing it with them).  When you complete a map 16 times, you get really well acquainted with it.  So by the time I was playing them my micro was mostly perfect and I knew when best to use my cooldowns to within a few seconds.  There's also RNG to consider, and it may be that I beat the map with Catha on my first try because of it.  Of course that makes assigning grades a little dicey, but we have to go on what we see.

Our usual A students make the grade here still, but I was somewhat shocked by Bravebark pulling an A.  Granted he's almost made straight As so far, but usually you think of him as a heavy tank, and thus not suited for a swarm map like this.  But between Rootspikes and Nature's Wrath he had more than enough AoE, and Oakseeds definitely helped by adding extra blockers.

I was sad - and a little surprised - to have to break Durax's straight-A record here, but I just couldn't justify giving him higher than a B.  Based on his past performance I was just sure going into it he would ace it, but I struggled more than I expected, hence the B.

We may not have handed out any Fs, but we did have to give our first Ds, with Razz and Rags and Bruce gaining that infamy.  I will say there were some Cs that could have easily been Ds if RNG had been a little worse though.  I'm not terribly surprised that Razz and Rags earned a D, but I'm kind of shocked that Bruce did.  Now granted his kit is geared more towards single, powerful enemies, but his DPS is usually good enough that he can still keep up with swarms somewhat.  Nevertheless it by far took me the most attempts to get a win with him, and then only by good RNG, and that is what a D is by definition.

Final Grades

• Eridan - C
• Arivan - C
• Catha - B
• Reg'son - C
• Prince Denas - C
• Razz and Rags - D
• Bravebark - A
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - B
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - B
• Lynn - C
• Bruce - D
• Lilith - B
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

Wilbur, of course.  I'm thinking of retiring this section if he keeps taking the top spot every time.  A special honorable mention goes to Vez'nan for his demon, however.  The demon absolutely obliterated the swarms of Gnoll Burners that appear in the middle of the map, and earns the award for Best Use of a Cooldown.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Royal Gardens Iron

Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Royal Gardens Heroic

At last we get somewhat of a challenge again.  This map is decently difficult, and it's also a bit hard to grade, as it is one of those maps that requires careful planning of Thunderbolt and hero spell usage.  Ultimately I only handed out one C, but some heroes with Bs just barely squeaked by with them.

The line between a B and a C here was hard to differentiate.  If it takes me two or three attempts to clear the map with a hero, does that mean they automatically deserve a C?  Or is it just that some heroes need practice to refine their strategy?  If a hero allows a major leak through my choke point that I have to scramble to clean up, does that automatically deserve a C?  Ultimately I decided to be lenient, on the assumption that once I nailed down how to use the hero effectively, future attempts would generally feel be B-like.

Impressions

There were some very pleasant surprises.  I dreaded doing this map with both Razz and Rags and Xin, but both surprised me by handling it very well, earning solid Bs.  Lynn continues to impress as well, showing that she can handle both single, powerful enemies as well as swarms of lesser ones.  But the biggest surprise was Lilith, who earns her first non-trivial A.

Catha earns the only C here, as again her special abilities simply do not make up for her pitiful DPS, which struggles to keep up with the constant stream of enemies.

Final Grades

• Eridan - B
• Arivan - B
• Catha - C
• Reg'son - B
• Prince Denas - B
• Razz and Rags - B
• Bravebark - A
• Vez'nan - A
• Xin - B
• Phoenix - A
• Durax - A
• Lynn - B
• Bruce - B
• Lilith - A
• Wilbur - A
• Faustus - A

Best Choice

Wilbur again, who left my choke point idle for most of the map.  Honorable mentions go to Phoenix and Faustus.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Royal Gardens Heroic