Kingdom Rush Origins (Steam) Impossible Hero Challenge - Galadrian's Wall Heroic

The heroic mode steps up the game versus campaign mode as usual, but our heroes prove adequate to the task.  The map tries to intimidate you through the large number of Blood Ogres (especially the sets of five on each lane at the very end).  However, Blood Ogres' DPS is pretty low, so really the only danger they pose is transforming lowly gnolls into Blood Gnolls.  The key is to know that Blood Ogres cannot use this ability while they're being blocked.  Once you have a blocking plan in place, managing the remaining hordes becomes much more manageable.  It's still a rather hard map - especially the final wave, which requires very good micro and getting at least non-horrible RNG.

Impressions

They are actually some notable things to comment on this time around.  I was seriously disappointed to give Lynn a 'C' for this map.  She's a personal favorite of mine and I hate giving her bad grades, but I really struggled with her here.  I wish her DPS was just a bit better.

While our Best Choice on this map was very clear, Reg'son, Bravebark, and Vez'nan all put into spectacular performances.  I would grade them A+ if I were doing that sort of thing, but I swore I wouldn't, as I fret enough already just assigning plain letter grades.  I was especially surprised at Vez'nan, considering he can barely damage the Blood Ogres, but it turned into an exercise of judicious use of Dark Pact coupled with stalling the ogres with reinforcements until Soul Burn came off cooldown.

Eridan, Catha, and Razz and Rags all earn 'C's, which should surprise no one, but the real surprise was giving Arivan a 'D'.  I really struggled to finish with him, and it truly was a matter of playing nearly perfectly (especially wave 6) and getting good RNG.  What I've realized is that while Catha and Razz have terrible DPS, they both have crowd control abilities that help make up for it.  Arivan's DPS is better, but he has much less crowd control ability.  Normally he does better than both of them as a hero's DPS is generally the most important thing they bring to the table, but there are certain maps like this one where the balance shifts, and having better CC is ultimately what makes the most difference.

Final Grades

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

Best Choice

Phoenix once again, and I'm giving her the nickname 'Lawnmower' from here on out for her ability to mow down hordes.  Using her on maps like this is just so terribly satisfying.

Kingdom Rush Origins Impossible Hero Challenge - Galadrian's Wall Heroic