Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - The Crystal Lake Heroic

This was a tough map, with a lot of the "back on your heels" feel I talked about in Grimmsburg heroic.  It was difficult to grade as well, as there's a lot that can go wrong even when you're playing right - the Webspitters can slip through by webbing a blocker at just the right time, or the Redcaps can get really good RNG and just mow down your blockers.  Because of the difficulty it also took a lot of practice to get my play right, and I didn't feel like I really had it down until I had done more than half of the heroes.  I almost gave Faustus - the first hero I did it with - a B until I went back at the end and redid my video for him.  With the extra experience I was able to do it much more easily and give him the A that he actually deserves.

The key to this map is recognizing that the left side is primarily armored enemies, while the right is primarily magic-resistant enemies, and then adjusting your strategy based on your hero's strengths.  It also calls for adjusting the build order too, which is something I normally don't think about doing.  But I realized that I needed to change whether I upgraded my ranged tower or magic tower first depending on whether my hero did physical or magical damage.  What damage type they do dictates which exit lane they primarily guard, and so the opposite lane needs the tower that most applies to it.  Anyway, enough with the theorycrafting, on to the grades.

Impressions

As said, grading was difficult, and there were some 'A's that could have been 'B's, and some 'B's that could have been 'C's.  But in the end I only handed out 'C's to Razz and Prince Denas.  Denas was a little surprising, as I was expecting him to get an easy 'B'.  Having enough blockers is a key concern on this map, so I thought Sworn Defenders would be a great Hero Spell, but I still had a lot of trouble with him.  As always it might have been bad RNG, and maybe he is more of a 'B'.

Razz is, well, Razz, and his 'C' is of course not surprising.  His kit is a bit of "jack of all trades", and I think the developers undertuned him because of it.  And Changeling is officially the hardest Hero Spell to really use well.

On the other end, Reg'son gets another 'A' for his ability to handle the Bandersnatch / horde mixup well.  Durax, Bruce, and Lilith redeem themselves from the very similar Grimmsburg heroic with 'A's, but Lynn is stuck in 'B' territory still.

Final Grades

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

Best Choice

After a brief vacation, Wilbur returns to his spot as default Best Choice hero.  Just park him in between the exit lanes and let him mow down enemies as fast as they appear.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - The Crystal Lake Heroic