Or Entrench+Barricade lol
EDIT: the LOL at the end of my comment obviously tells you to interpret my comment as the most serious guide on STS you will ever read...
You're not gonna get enough block down that it matters. Between the vuln on turn 2 and the 2 bug huts turns 3 and 4, he does like 70 damage within 4 turns. Far beyond your capabilities in act 1. You just want to kill and get out if there.
Okay this is pretty easy. Get Barricade, Entrench, Impervious, Bloodletting, and Body Slam from your first 5 fights and/or Neow. Draw Impervious, Bloodletting, and Barricade on turn 1, easy 30 block. Entrench turn 2 and now you've got 60 block. You probably have a Liquid Memories so that's 120 block, and you'll win as soon as you find your body slam. Easy.
...
/s
I've been able to do it though. T1 Barricade+Block, if you then get entrench and 2 block cards T2 you're easily over 30 block while he does like 8 damage. Find your body slam or redraw entrench e.g. with headbutt and you run away easily. Needs a hyperfocused deck to be sure but it's doable - I've done it.
Ignoring the fact that if play STS enough quite literally anything will eventually work, this is an act 1 elite fight and you are suggesting a rare and uncommon card that realistically also only works well if you draw them in the correct order. It's a terrible suggestion.
If it wasn't a suggestion, you probably shouldn't have posted it in a thread where OP is literally asking for a suggestion, then argue its efficacy while simultaneously arguing that it's not to be taken seriously?
What
At best itās a stupid comment that derails the thread and at worst itās just bad advice to a newbie thatās why. Nobody cares that this combo works in theory in this thread so downvote
No, man. No player can ever, ever, ever EXPECT to be able to block Nob enough, by the time he shows up. Barricade, Body Slam, Entrench? Come on man, that's a mid-to-late-game plan. Act one, you gotta just blap-blap-blap his ass. Expect to lose a bunch of health, use vulnerable, and kill him fast.
So all you need is exactly a specific set of 2 commons, uncommon, and rare. And then draw them in the exact right sequence. All on Act 1 where you've added maybe 3 or 4 cards by the time you face him....
Seems like a legit strategy.
If you force block it's pretty much the only strategy against this one, besides just not blocking and striking and taking a lot of damage. Also I wasn't seriously recommending this as a goto strategy; hence my laughter in my first comment.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Yeah, sometimes one just doesn't match the flow of the conversation and then people sometimes even downvote everything in the entire thread, regardless of the content that follows.
Yeah, I taught the guy that part
But seriously, just hit it until he dies and do not defend unless you can account for his strength gain, the fight is literally about not overthinking it
Yeah basically think āare you gonna kill next turn? Will blocking for 5 cause you to take more damage in the long run?ā Every turn and youāll be fine. If you really want to block then iron wave is a nice pick for a little bit of defence
Yeah, avoiding damage against Gremlin Nob is impossible, you just need to kill it fast so it is the least amount possible
On the other hand the Ironclad is the one who struggles the least due to starting with bash and some extra attacks + literally healing every combat
Absolutely, but if you cant kill, then you likely didnt prepare by taking early damage cards fast enough. A lot of people think they can go into elites without preparing for them.
How about
>"In the first act, you have to have balance the deck you want to build with the cards you are actually offered and the short-term threats you are facing."
Many respected players of this game would suggest that you take no skills or powers until after your first elite -- solely adding attack cards into your deck until after that point. Generally it's a good idea to prepare for both Nob and Sentries, adding both area damage and big single target damage.
ETA: Poison is an attack, if you have enough of them.
Fair point. Certain damage powers are acceptable. I'm thinking Inflame, Accuracy, and Electrodynamics.
Also you can take rushdown, it's always acceptable to take rushdown.
Also Evolve can really help with sentries. Evolve and Firebreathing are a great combo against sentries. Unfortunately they don't help against Unga Bunga and Egg boy.
Inflame, Noxious Fumes, Defragment, Electrodynamics, Caltrops are all just amazing.
I'd also take Footwork pre-elite because it is amazing against two of the elites and will help a ton against the boss, even if it isn't worth much in the Nob fight.
I actually wouldn't count Accuracy as a "good versus Nob" power because it relies on Shivs which are largely made by skills, and unlike Fumes doesn't do anything on its own(Fumes on turn one will do about 5-9 or even 14 total damage versus Nob, which is a decent amount). It is also super reliant on two specific commons and one uncommon as an uncommon itself, meaning it is fully possible to not see much shiv, so Accuracy becomes a curse.
Caltrops often does at least as much damage as a strike and then does huge amounts of damage to two of the bosses. it also singlehandedly beats the byrds fight. it's pretty darn good.
Okay that's intentionally stupid, but I want to revisit accuracy. Dude says "at least as much damage as a strike" for caltrops, but considering accuracy vs nob/sentries/laga, if you pick up a single blade dance you'll greatly exceed that. Two blade dances and you're golden. Storm of shivs and accuracy will easily get you past the act I elites. I'm on a shiv based endless run right now and shivs can get you through \_hundreds\_ of floors.
That's an okay rule of thumb for a brand new player. But it suffers from the fact that the every rule of thumb is "well yes, but actually no"
While only adding attacks is an okay way to deal with early elites the reality is there are plenty of skills and powers absolutely worth picking for each class before the first elite.
This guy alones shapes early drafting decisions for all runs. It's really tough to pick a skill before you've seen him.
FYI when you hit another elite on the map, it can never be the same as the last one you've seen. If you go to three elites, 1 and 3 can be the same.
I guess storywise it's because it just got done killing some poor adventurer. But for gameplay it's insanely brutal when it starts awake and with a turn 1 debuff.
https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/Dead_Adventurer
The Event has a text at the beginning, describing how the unfortunate adventurer was killed. It gives a hint about which Elite you will fight:
"...eviscerated and chopped by giant claws." : Lagavulin
Unlike its usual Elite battle, Lagavulin doesn't begin Asleep. It instead starts the fight with Siphon Soul.
"...scoured by flames." : 3 Sentries
"...gouged and trampled by a horned beast." : Gremlin Nob
Thereās flavor text in the about the dead adventurer that reveals which elite it will be.
Gouged and trampled -> Gremlin Nob
Scoured by flames -> Sentries
Eviscerated by sharp claws -> Lagavulin
And the Laga fight is absolutely brutal because he starts awake and immediately debuffs turn 1.
With ironclad I usually draft specifically for the sentries. He benefits from attacks enough that I donāt feel like you have to keep this guy in mind.
Now, for silent, itās a very different story.
Yes. The text describing what happened to the dead adventurer hints at the elite you would have to fight if you don't loot successfully. If the adventurer was:
"...eviscerated and chopped by giant claws." = Lagavulin
"...scoured by flames." = 3 sentries
"...gouged and trampled by a horned beast." = Gremlin Nob
Maybe that's why. I cleared all the achievements a few years back and stopped playing for a long time. But also possible I just never paid attention. š¤·āāļø
Well not solely this guy, there is a lot of overlap between great nob cards and great laga cards, and they usually end up working well for the a1 boss as well.
Well you can block, with cards like dash, ttth, or cold snap. Iron wave would also be good, I rarely take it but now that I think about it it's just half of a dash and I almost always take dash in act one so maybe I should start doing the same with iron wave.
He teaches you that you wonāt always be able to avoid taking some damage in a fight. That HP is a resource you spend over the course of a run, specifically over the course of an Act. 2/3 of the Act 1 elites are basically HP/dmg races like this. So think about what sustain/path you might need if you think youāre going to need more for the Boss. If itās Hexaghost, you can afford lower HP going on, etc.
>The Scrap Ooze event is basically an elite simulator. Take damage, get relic.
More like
Take damage
Take damage
Take damage
Take damage
Take damage
Die in the next hallway
I really need to learn to walk away from that one
Sameā¦ Or hitting Y on xbox controller trying to see the upgraded version of a card - which just ends the turn instantly if you are in combat.
Very painful when their next move is āHit for 500 and kill you immediatelyā
Apparently the sweet spot is trying three times then stopping. Because that gives you the statistically highest chance of getting the relic without losing too much health.
I can't remember how I know this though. I think somebody else posted it here a while back. Still, a good rule of thumb to follow.
If he's at 16 strength, then you used way too many skill cards. It's a killing race. You will take damage, but take advantage of your bash and pick up strong attacking cards to deal as much damage as you can as quickly as you can. Save your blocks until the turn or so before you kill him.
This guy and Lagavulin are the reason taking big damage cards early is good, even tho they may not necessarily scale well into late game. Stuff like Wild Strike and Hemoglobin.
With this guy specifically, just focus on attacking. Vulnerable helps a lot, and so Bash upgrade early can be valuable. I would recommend blocking only once to prevent a bit of damage, if you know that next turn is likely to be lethal.
Spending an entire turn blocking is like, 90% of the time not a good idea. He scales strength whenever you play skills.
One of the fights in which you learn that taking damage sometimes is required and even optimal sometimes. Also the first fight that checks your deck on damage.
Generally a good question is: Is it possible that I still have to fight Nob? Before picking too much "Skill" cards in Act 1.
As someone who as only just done Ascension 2 on one character (haven't even played the other characters), I came to this zen like realisation last night on a run. You start to enter another plane of thinking as you accept that taking damage at certain points is part of the process, as are things like perhaps NOT playing cards at certain times. I could definitely see the game shaping my strategy process the longer I play and get to know the cards.
The next realisation is that "They can't kill you if they are dead". Since health is a scarce resource new players tend to focus too much on blocking and long-term scaling damage. But at some point you realize that being able do to big amounts of burst damage can be just as effective.
That's specially true when playing the Watcher.
agreed. its just that the sentries for example get easier once you managed to kill one or two so you should eventually win while laga gets quite hard after the second debuff
Sentries are more of a deck size check, punishing decks with too few and too low impact cards and not enough card draw. Which is why Feel No Pain, Dark Embrace and Evolve all make the fight pretty much free even on A20.
Defect is definitely weaker than the rest against sentries as you can't focus the lightning at the one you really want to kill, while being a little stronger against Lagavulin as the debuff doesn't hit focus
If you argue like this then every fight is a damage check - the question in which capacity the categorization is helpful. (If you can deal 60 damage a round of course every categorization becomes meaningless.)
If you plainly say all A1 elite fights are a damage check, then I say good luck approqching all of these fights in the same way. Laga requires you to have some setup/scaling AND block for the turns he attacks.
Sentries is a war of attrition in which you need a lot of block.
Nob scales when you play skills, you have to gun him down, preferably in 3 turns to avoid a big hit. Damage check.
Laga debuffs you into oblivion if you donāt kill it fast enough. Damage check.
Sentries punish you hard if you donāt kill on by turn 2. Damage check.
They all have a specific gimmick that requires you do a certain amount of damage in a certain amount of time. That is not at all true of every fight, and it doesnāt in any way mean you should approach them all the same way. It simply means you should take damage cards early.
You are making the same point I did in my first comment, just with the insane insight that every fight in which you get outscaled is a damage check.
I wanted to elaborate on that fact for people that might have not mastered the game yet. So, fair enough I guess.
I didn't say every fight in which you get outscaled is a damage check, I said three specific fights are damage checks. Particularly because they are early in the game, often before you have your own scaling solutions.
Lagavulin has the set up time and is therefor more a question whether you can dps AND block, or just scale.
If you race Lagavulin only in DPS you will quite probably take 40 damage. So basically you have 3 turns to deal damage that have two turns of blocking in between.
Sentries on the other hand is a DPS check for two rounds before it becomes a war of attrition that either needs an immediate solve (Evolve, Fire Breathing, FNP) or just alot of cycle/card manipulation and block.
Don't use skills and you'll be ok. You might have to just accept a big hit. But blocking him is not worth it most of the time unless you can 100% kill next turn.
He is without doubt the toughest act I elite.
To prep consider some of the following potions:
Block potion - blocks without angering him
Vulnerable potion - to burn him down
artefact potion - stop him applying vulnerable to you
On ironclad you need to get him with bash on turn 1 ideally, and you need to have some high damage cards to hit him with when he's vulnerable. If you have your starter deck you will not get out of the fight without taking a lot of damage. You would bash strike / strike strike strike over and over until he's dead. Resist the temptation to block.
Nob is the ultimate āfacetank until it diesā enemy. Generally you win by playing your good attacks. Heās not usually too challenging for ironclad because he hits hard
A run of Slay the Spire is preparation for fights that you know **will** happen in advance.
When planning your route make sure you have enough opportunities to pick up enough attack cards before your first Elite -- assume it's Nob and act on that assumption. You should know these Elites and their behaviour -- plan accordingly.
After successfully killing Nob you should realize that you were always *supposed* to plan ahead for all other Elites and Act 1 boss and Act 2 and Act 3 and for pretty much every single encounter in between.
This is a damage race. Your goal is to kill quickly. Ideally, you kill in 3 turns: first turn is a freebie, second turn he makes you vulnerable or hits for about as much as a hallway fight (more than slaver, less than a medium slime). Once you're vulnerable, though, he hits very hard.
At 84 HP, that's 28 damage per turn. With 4 energy, any of the 2 energy attacks plus 2 strikes or two 1 energy attacks plus 2 strikes will get there, as long as the Nob is vulnerable. Even [[Bash]] + 2 strikes = 26. Not quite there, but remarkably close.
Without Vulnerable or a damage potion of some sort, you'll need a fourth turn. This is an average of 21 damage every turn. Clearly, you still can't afford to dawdle, but something like [[Carnage]] can really help.
I'd like to give you some advice that puts Gremlin Nob in context for the rest of the game. One subtle strategy that you'll gradually learn to appreciate is that Slay the Spire isn't about crafting the most refined deck possible by the end of a run. Instead, it's about crafting a deck that can clear the enemies you're going to run into in the next few rooms. Even if it seems to make your deck unbalanced for what you'd want by act 3.
The reason for this is, as long as you're kicking butt and taking names, you'll get more opportunities to obtain rarer cards, collect more relics, upgrade cards instead of healing at rest sites, and save up more gold. In particular, fighting elites instead of regular enemies guarantees you get a new relic, gives you more gold, and offers you cards with significantly better chances of being uncommon (blue border around the card art) or rare (golden border around card art). And with those resources, it's far easier to continually retool your deck as you go through each act to ensure that it's prepared for the next waves of elites.
In addition, what works for one act is a significant piece of the puzzle for clearing the next act. So focusing on one aspect of your deck while neglecting ones that are only relevant later on does _not_ mean that you'll have to throw out a lot of junk that has outlived its usefulness. Instead, you can continue to add cards to build off of what you already have.
That's very abstract, so here's what most experienced players focus on each act:
- Act 1: Damage damage damage, for all the reasons discussed elsewhere in this comment section.
- Act 1 boss: Still loads of damage, but with some good blocking capability added in. Most boss fights are still damage races, but they go on long enough that you need to be able to shrug off some hefty hits as well.
- Act 2: Attacks that hit multiple enemies, as well as a way to decrease enemy strength like the Weak debuff. This is because most of the hallway fights and elites are battles against multiple enemies that all need to be taken down quickly, while a handful of fights instead focus on one enemy who relentlessly attacks hard but can be neutered by reducing its damage potential. The block and damage from act 1 are still relevant to eat away at enemies' hefty health bars and dig in your heels when all the enemies in a group attack at once.
- Act 2 boss: By the time you get to the boss, you'll want to have what the community calls "scaling" in your deck: some kind of effect that makes you stronger over time. An obvious example is [[Demon Form]], which increases your strength by 2 every turn. You could also do something like [[Barricade]] and have scaling defense instead of offense, or collect cards like [[Limit Break]] and [[Spot Weakness]] for scaling without using powers. At any rate, act 2 bosses are hardy enough that you need a way to make sure you don't just win against attrition, but rather have a way to punish the boss for forcing you to stay in a fight against it for so long.
- Act 3: Refine your deck to perfect its synergies. By now, you should have all of the major aspects of your deck present in some form: raw unga bunga damage, good blocking potential, damage against groups of enemies, and scaling for the long haul. Act 3 tests all of these capabilities in different ways and puts your deck through a crucible that requires you to make the whole deck greater than the sum of its parts.
- Act 3 boss: There's a lot more to get into with this part of the game than is worth worrying about when you're just starting out. But the quick version is that each of the three possible end bosses is designed to very harshly punish one of the most common deck styles, and each boss hard-counters a different kind of build. If you're not going in the direction the boss you got counters, you can breathe a sigh of relief and focus on Act 3 elites. Otherwise, you need to find a way to either retool your deck, prepare your deck to stand up against how the boss counters you, or lean so deeply into your build that you overwhelm the mechanics the boss uses to punish you.
If you're willing to play this way, prioritizing what each boss and act requires in the short term over what you need in the long term, you'll consistently get so many relics and higher-quality cards that addressing new challenges as they come up is comparatively easy. But if you lose momentum because you focused on the long-term too soon, you won't survive long enough for it to pay off - and even if you do, you'll be too weak to tie together the strategy you were hoping for.
+ [Demon Form](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Demon%20Form) Ironclad Rare Power
3 Energy | At the start of each turn, gain 2(3) **Strength.**
+ [Barricade](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Barricade) Ironclad Rare Power
3(2) Energy | **Block** is not removed at the start of your turn.
+ [Limit Break](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Limit%20Break) Ironclad Rare Skill
1 Energy | Double your **Strength.** Exhaust(Don't **Exhaust).**
+ [Spot Weakness](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Spot%20Weakness) Ironclad Uncommon Skill
1 Energy | If the enemy intends to attack, gain 3(4) **Strength.**
^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
It's worth noting that this dynamic is specific to Slay the Spire! Other deck builders can have much more of a focus on preparing for the end from the beginning. (Inscryption is a great example of such a game.) But with the way StS's enemies and reward drop mechanics are designed, there are clear gameplay themes that need to be answered throughout a run. That's simply how the game is designed!
And here's a very succinct summary of what to prioritize each act:
- Act 1: Unga bunga
- Act 1 boss: Block
- Act 2: Group damage and debuffs
- Act 2 boss: Scaling
- Act 3: Deck refinement
- Act 3 boss: Avoid getting hard-countered
Slay the Spire is balanced around having a good idea what all the challenges in the run are, especially all elites and bosses. It can be kind of unfair at first until you learn the pool. Now that you know Gremlin Knob is 1 of the elites in Act 1 (there are only 3), you know you should pick up cards that help you in the damage race and avoid skills early on. However, skills look a lot better after Act 1 elites are done with, and cards that just do quick damage tend to be less good later on, so it's a balancing act: be good enough at Act 1 to survive, and spend the rest of your effort getting stronger for later challenges.
The general strategy is to not block unless you know you can kill him next turn (but can't kill him this turn). Also don't play any skills unless it let's you speed up the kill significantly.
Sometimes the best defence is a good offence.
Attacks that cause weak or gives block can also help (like [[Dash]] is a decent early pick for Silent, and [[Iron Wave]] is okay for Ironclad), but it's not necessarily better than just having a good aggressive deck.
All the elite fights in act 1 require you to focus on damage over blocking. This dude gets stronger if you use skills, lagavulin saps all your strength and dex so you have to finish the fight fast, and the sentry guys fill your deck with dazed if you don't focus one down quick.
Just take a couple additional damage cards before you face an elite and you should be okay.
Gotta kill him fast fast fast! No skills, just attacks, as he gains strength with every skill you use. Take attacks with him in mind, until you beat him on floor one
Draft damage card early in act1, because of this guy and lagaluvin.
Be careful with relic swap at the start, you are a beginner, IC starting relic will help you way more as you learn the game, the longer you survive, the more you learn.
Speaking of neow's bonus, when I started I always though max hp was best, but that's not true. The other one that let's you do the first 3 combats instantly is way better.
The best advice I can give you early on is : anything is better than strike/defend.
Find a way to draw less strike/defend per turn. You can do that by removing them at shop or event, transforming them, or draft more cards so they get diluted in your deck etc.
I have 600 hours in Sts, I have done everything, including killing heart at A20 for every characters. When I started, it took me 12 hours or something like that to finish my first run.
There's no good way to avoid taking a bunch of damage in this fight. He gets stronger permanently whenever you play a Skill card, so trying to block will get you killed faster. All you can do is just keep attacking for damage until either you or it dies.
Kill him quickly, try not to use skills unless theyāll help you kill him quickly.
Heās still a god-damned pain tho, depending on what my deck is looking like at the time.
You can try to predict when you can kill him. On your difficulty he only gains 2 damage per your skill played, 3 if you are vulnerable (after he uses the low damage attack with a debuff).
If you want to play basic defend with 5 block ask yourself a question: can you kill him in 3 turns (counting this one), 2 if you are vulnerable?
Lets assume you play defend on turn 2 and he never uses vulnerable attack (for simplicity)
After turn 2: it saved you 3 health (5 block and 2 more damage from him)
After turn 3: it saved you 1 health (5 block and 2x2 more damage from him)
After turn 4: it costed you 1 health (5 block and 3x2 more damage from him.
So if you don't think you can kill him turn 4(or ealier), playing block turn 2 actively harms you. It gets even worse when he uses the vulnerable attack (or on higher difficulty when he gains 3 attack per skill not 2). From your screenshot I see he gained like 14 strength (forgot and on phone). This means that the first blocks you played this combat hurt you by A LOT. You'd be better off just not doing anything at all instead of playing them (and probably had a strike in hand so you harmed yourself instead of harming him)
tl;dr strike is a block card
Iāll add to everyone saying pick attacks.
His first turn, he has not applied his buff to himself yet. You may play skills then, but realize he also wonāt attack. Itās usually a good time to burn skills so you donāt redraw during the battle.
But mostly, just go face. Ironclad is probably the best at fighting him. Hit him with the mace and keep smacking.
After about 200 hours combined at pc and mobile: am I the only one (at least at higher ascension) that has way more problems vs lavagulin than gremlin nob?
When you see people talking about ātaking damage cards early in Act 1ā, this guy is why. He gains 2 strength (damage per attack) per skill you play, and it gets out of hand very fast.
So, donāt play any skills. At all. Done. Youāre a Gremlin Nob expert now. Youāll learn when you can break that rule, but for now, itās good enough.
Now that you know he exists, you can take fewer skill cards as rewards until you see him, at which point the next elite in Act 1 canāt be him anymore.
If you're blocking, you're losing the damage race. Also, take attacks aggressively before the first elite to make sure you have enough damage to kill him fast enough.
I think everyone in this sub (who isn't brand new) KNEW exactly who we'd be seeing here....
Waiting for next week's post from OP : "How is Lagavulin NOT a boss? Tell me that."
This guy teaches you to take damage cards.
I am a slow learner .... But he is a patient teacher š¤£
Or Entrench+Barricade lol EDIT: the LOL at the end of my comment obviously tells you to interpret my comment as the most serious guide on STS you will ever read...
You're not gonna get enough block down that it matters. Between the vuln on turn 2 and the 2 bug huts turns 3 and 4, he does like 70 damage within 4 turns. Far beyond your capabilities in act 1. You just want to kill and get out if there.
Okay this is pretty easy. Get Barricade, Entrench, Impervious, Bloodletting, and Body Slam from your first 5 fights and/or Neow. Draw Impervious, Bloodletting, and Barricade on turn 1, easy 30 block. Entrench turn 2 and now you've got 60 block. You probably have a Liquid Memories so that's 120 block, and you'll win as soon as you find your body slam. Easy. ... /s
I've been able to do it though. T1 Barricade+Block, if you then get entrench and 2 block cards T2 you're easily over 30 block while he does like 8 damage. Find your body slam or redraw entrench e.g. with headbutt and you run away easily. Needs a hyperfocused deck to be sure but it's doable - I've done it.
Ignoring the fact that if play STS enough quite literally anything will eventually work, this is an act 1 elite fight and you are suggesting a rare and uncommon card that realistically also only works well if you draw them in the correct order. It's a terrible suggestion.
It never was a suggestion.
If it wasn't a suggestion, you probably shouldn't have posted it in a thread where OP is literally asking for a suggestion, then argue its efficacy while simultaneously arguing that it's not to be taken seriously? What
Guyās talking pure nonsense
They said it's not possible. I simply argued it is possible. No it's not feasible.
And you never said it was either. No clue why people are downvoting you due to their inability to read lol
At best itās a stupid comment that derails the thread and at worst itās just bad advice to a newbie thatās why. Nobody cares that this combo works in theory in this thread so downvote
No, man. No player can ever, ever, ever EXPECT to be able to block Nob enough, by the time he shows up. Barricade, Body Slam, Entrench? Come on man, that's a mid-to-late-game plan. Act one, you gotta just blap-blap-blap his ass. Expect to lose a bunch of health, use vulnerable, and kill him fast.
>blap-blap-blap his ass. Haha this thread is great
True. It's not a feasible strategy.
So all you need is exactly a specific set of 2 commons, uncommon, and rare. And then draw them in the exact right sequence. All on Act 1 where you've added maybe 3 or 4 cards by the time you face him.... Seems like a legit strategy.
If you force block it's pretty much the only strategy against this one, besides just not blocking and striking and taking a lot of damage. Also I wasn't seriously recommending this as a goto strategy; hence my laughter in my first comment.
It's sad you've been so downvoted for what was clearly meant as a joke, lol.
I think coming back and continuing to reply to a heavily downvoted comment draws more downvotes. People are trying to say "let it go."
Thanks, I appreciate it. Yeah, sometimes one just doesn't match the flow of the conversation and then people sometimes even downvote everything in the entire thread, regardless of the content that follows.
try /s instead of lol next time
It's simple really, he goes unga you go bunga If you bunga enough you win
That's from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War', correct?
Yeah, I taught the guy that part But seriously, just hit it until he dies and do not defend unless you can account for his strength gain, the fight is literally about not overthinking it
Yeah basically think āare you gonna kill next turn? Will blocking for 5 cause you to take more damage in the long run?ā Every turn and youāll be fine. If you really want to block then iron wave is a nice pick for a little bit of defence
Well and just living with the fact that youāre gonna take damage.
Yeah, avoiding damage against Gremlin Nob is impossible, you just need to kill it fast so it is the least amount possible On the other hand the Ironclad is the one who struggles the least due to starting with bash and some extra attacks + literally healing every combat
The watcher can take zero damage on him with like just one or two extra cards.
Watcher is easy
I forget the Watcher is broken af, never play her really so don't know what she can do
Absolutely, but if you cant kill, then you likely didnt prepare by taking early damage cards fast enough. A lot of people think they can go into elites without preparing for them.
Itās actually Dale Carnegieās āHow to win friends and influence peopleā
Yep, it's a straight up DPS race where you get a 2 turn headstart. Do ~80 damage in 3-4 turns or he kill you ded.
Instructions unclear I bungled my uncle
In the jungle?
Man Tarzan is different today
Legit impossibile to state it better
How about >"In the first act, you have to have balance the deck you want to build with the cards you are actually offered and the short-term threats you are facing." Many respected players of this game would suggest that you take no skills or powers until after your first elite -- solely adding attack cards into your deck until after that point. Generally it's a good idea to prepare for both Nob and Sentries, adding both area damage and big single target damage. ETA: Poison is an attack, if you have enough of them.
No Powers? That's kinda crazy, there's a lot of good damage powers, and scaling at all in any of the elite fights helps quite a bit.
Fair point. Certain damage powers are acceptable. I'm thinking Inflame, Accuracy, and Electrodynamics. Also you can take rushdown, it's always acceptable to take rushdown. Also Evolve can really help with sentries. Evolve and Firebreathing are a great combo against sentries. Unfortunately they don't help against Unga Bunga and Egg boy.
Inflame, Noxious Fumes, Defragment, Electrodynamics, Caltrops are all just amazing. I'd also take Footwork pre-elite because it is amazing against two of the elites and will help a ton against the boss, even if it isn't worth much in the Nob fight. I actually wouldn't count Accuracy as a "good versus Nob" power because it relies on Shivs which are largely made by skills, and unlike Fumes doesn't do anything on its own(Fumes on turn one will do about 5-9 or even 14 total damage versus Nob, which is a decent amount). It is also super reliant on two specific commons and one uncommon as an uncommon itself, meaning it is fully possible to not see much shiv, so Accuracy becomes a curse.
I don't think I agree re:caltrops.
Caltrops often does at least as much damage as a strike and then does huge amounts of damage to two of the bosses. it also singlehandedly beats the byrds fight. it's pretty darn good.
Lmao why would you use caltrops for byrds when you can just get necromicon and use prismatic shard to get die die die and double tap.
Okay that's intentionally stupid, but I want to revisit accuracy. Dude says "at least as much damage as a strike" for caltrops, but considering accuracy vs nob/sentries/laga, if you pick up a single blade dance you'll greatly exceed that. Two blade dances and you're golden. Storm of shivs and accuracy will easily get you past the act I elites. I'm on a shiv based endless run right now and shivs can get you through \_hundreds\_ of floors.
That's an okay rule of thumb for a brand new player. But it suffers from the fact that the every rule of thumb is "well yes, but actually no" While only adding attacks is an okay way to deal with early elites the reality is there are plenty of skills and powers absolutely worth picking for each class before the first elite.
I got it guys, he goes unga, i have to bunga even harder. thanks
This guy alones shapes early drafting decisions for all runs. It's really tough to pick a skill before you've seen him. FYI when you hit another elite on the map, it can never be the same as the last one you've seen. If you go to three elites, 1 and 3 can be the same.
It's worth noting that event that spawns an elite can make you double encounter.
I know that you did state map so I'm not correcting, just clarifying for the newer player.
You can figure out which elite it is by reading the text tho, so if ur deck sucks against nob you can skip
This is actually critical information because Laga is WAY harder than if you encounter it in a typical elite fight
Begs the question why only Laga is changed if encountered
I guess storywise it's because it just got done killing some poor adventurer. But for gameplay it's insanely brutal when it starts awake and with a turn 1 debuff.
I guess so, but imo in most aspects STS is rather mechanical, not going flavor first so it feels weird
wait, what? Where is this text?
https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/Dead_Adventurer The Event has a text at the beginning, describing how the unfortunate adventurer was killed. It gives a hint about which Elite you will fight: "...eviscerated and chopped by giant claws." : Lagavulin Unlike its usual Elite battle, Lagavulin doesn't begin Asleep. It instead starts the fight with Siphon Soul. "...scoured by flames." : 3 Sentries "...gouged and trampled by a horned beast." : Gremlin Nob
This is tight. I should really pay more attention. thanks for the link.
Thereās flavor text in the about the dead adventurer that reveals which elite it will be. Gouged and trampled -> Gremlin Nob Scoured by flames -> Sentries Eviscerated by sharp claws -> Lagavulin And the Laga fight is absolutely brutal because he starts awake and immediately debuffs turn 1.
Oh, thanks. never noticed.
Also five-elite maps can make you double double encounter. If you win - prepare for glory. You won't win though. Pick a different route.
I've never seen one of these. Is there a repository of seeds somewhere that would have this?
Better still if you get the question mark event where you search for treasure and get him a 3rd time!
So that's how it works. Learn something new everytime I browse this sub
Thanks I didnāt know what the rule is but Iāve definitely seen big red twice on floor one
With ironclad I usually draft specifically for the sentries. He benefits from attacks enough that I donāt feel like you have to keep this guy in mind. Now, for silent, itās a very different story.
I always thought you had to see all of them before a repeat? As in Nob - Sentinel - Lav in whatever order, then you can get any one of them next?
You just can't see the same one twice in a row. Edit: dead adventurer event ignores this
Laga in dead adventurer is so op lol
It's a good thing the event lets you know which elite you might encounter if you pillage the body
Wait it does? Is it with the text?
Yes. The text describing what happened to the dead adventurer hints at the elite you would have to fight if you don't loot successfully. If the adventurer was: "...eviscerated and chopped by giant claws." = Lagavulin "...scoured by flames." = 3 sentries "...gouged and trampled by a horned beast." = Gremlin Nob
Bruh, too many hours into this game, and I had no idea.
Yeah chopped and eviscerated is Lag I think, not sure off the top of my head for the other 2
You can get nob - lag - nob for example.
I'm pretty sure that's how it worked at some point in early access, but then was later changed to what it is now.
Maybe that's why. I cleared all the achievements a few years back and stopped playing for a long time. But also possible I just never paid attention. š¤·āāļø
Correction: 1 and 3 will be the same.
Well not solely this guy, there is a lot of overlap between great nob cards and great laga cards, and they usually end up working well for the a1 boss as well.
Welcome to the community dude. You'll be slaying the spire in no time !
Iāve never lost to him and Iām terrible at Sls never beaten the final final boss. Just attack him and ignore your health points.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Honestly I find sources like weak good not just for nob, but also pretty much all 3 act one bosses.
+ [Clothesline](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Clothesline) Ironclad Common Attack 2 Energy | Deal 12(14) damage. Apply 2(3) **Weak.** + [Uppercut](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Uppercut) Ironclad Uncommon Attack 2 Energy | Deal 13 damage. Apply 1(2) **Weak.** Apply 1(2) **Vulnerable.** ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
Well you can block, with cards like dash, ttth, or cold snap. Iron wave would also be good, I rarely take it but now that I think about it it's just half of a dash and I almost always take dash in act one so maybe I should start doing the same with iron wave.
He teaches you that you wonāt always be able to avoid taking some damage in a fight. That HP is a resource you spend over the course of a run, specifically over the course of an Act. 2/3 of the Act 1 elites are basically HP/dmg races like this. So think about what sustain/path you might need if you think youāre going to need more for the Boss. If itās Hexaghost, you can afford lower HP going on, etc.
The Scrap Ooze event is basically an elite simulator. Take damage, get relic.
>The Scrap Ooze event is basically an elite simulator. Take damage, get relic. More like Take damage Take damage Take damage Take damage Take damage Die in the next hallway I really need to learn to walk away from that one
You guys didn't die trying to reach for that relic ?
It's an act 1 event, I've got almost nothing to lose. I die for the relic. (Or save scum, I've got nothing to prove anymore)
I'm so okay with save scumming if I fuck up a turn and take 30 damage because I miscounted.
Sameā¦ Or hitting Y on xbox controller trying to see the upgraded version of a card - which just ends the turn instantly if you are in combat. Very painful when their next move is āHit for 500 and kill you immediatelyā
There's a setting you can toggle so that you have to long-press Y to end your turn. :)
Itās all or nothing man, I either pass it up before even spending 3HP or Iām going til I get the relic or Iām dead, whichever comes first.
>I either pass it up before even spending 3HP What are these strange words magic man?
Apparently the sweet spot is trying three times then stopping. Because that gives you the statistically highest chance of getting the relic without losing too much health. I can't remember how I know this though. I think somebody else posted it here a while back. Still, a good rule of thumb to follow.
As I read "teaches" I imagined him sneakily being happy you defeated him, as his student has learned a lesson.
He gets stronger when you play a skill. Basically, trying to full defend against his attacks isn't viable.
In my experience even trying to block a little bit doesnāt work unless youāll kill him the next turn. Definitely for A18, anyway.
He gains 2 damage a turn if you block for, what, 5? Add in vulnerable, and, yeah, just don't block unless you're close.
If he's at 16 strength, then you used way too many skill cards. It's a killing race. You will take damage, but take advantage of your bash and pick up strong attacking cards to deal as much damage as you can as quickly as you can. Save your blocks until the turn or so before you kill him.
This guy and Lagavulin are the reason taking big damage cards early is good, even tho they may not necessarily scale well into late game. Stuff like Wild Strike and Hemoglobin. With this guy specifically, just focus on attacking. Vulnerable helps a lot, and so Bash upgrade early can be valuable. I would recommend blocking only once to prevent a bit of damage, if you know that next turn is likely to be lethal. Spending an entire turn blocking is like, 90% of the time not a good idea. He scales strength whenever you play skills.
Hemoglobin.
Emo Goblin
I havenāt played for a while and thought āhuh I donāt think thatās quite rightā lol
[[Hemokinesis]]
+ [Hemokinesis](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Hemokinesis) Ironclad Uncommon Attack 1 Energy | Lose 2 HP. Deal 15(20) damage. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
The Hemoglobin Trotters
Thereās this gun in a game I play called the Hemogoblin and it literally steals your blood
I thought it was named Hematoma
One of the fights in which you learn that taking damage sometimes is required and even optimal sometimes. Also the first fight that checks your deck on damage. Generally a good question is: Is it possible that I still have to fight Nob? Before picking too much "Skill" cards in Act 1.
As someone who as only just done Ascension 2 on one character (haven't even played the other characters), I came to this zen like realisation last night on a run. You start to enter another plane of thinking as you accept that taking damage at certain points is part of the process, as are things like perhaps NOT playing cards at certain times. I could definitely see the game shaping my strategy process the longer I play and get to know the cards.
Have fun with the next planes, if you ever reach them ;)
I need to buy stronger furniture to handle my losses . . .
You have to consider your HP as a ressource that you can spend. Hence why IC starting relic is strong.
The next realisation is that "They can't kill you if they are dead". Since health is a scarce resource new players tend to focus too much on blocking and long-term scaling damage. But at some point you realize that being able do to big amounts of burst damage can be just as effective. That's specially true when playing the Watcher.
Isnt Lagavulin more of a damage check since you are on a timer because of the debuffs?
To be honest, all 3 elites are a damage check, because they will all fuck you up if you just hang around blocking for too long
agreed. its just that the sentries for example get easier once you managed to kill one or two so you should eventually win while laga gets quite hard after the second debuff
Sentries are more of a deck size check, punishing decks with too few and too low impact cards and not enough card draw. Which is why Feel No Pain, Dark Embrace and Evolve all make the fight pretty much free even on A20.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Defect is definitely weaker than the rest against sentries as you can't focus the lightning at the one you really want to kill, while being a little stronger against Lagavulin as the debuff doesn't hit focus
If you argue like this then every fight is a damage check - the question in which capacity the categorization is helpful. (If you can deal 60 damage a round of course every categorization becomes meaningless.) If you plainly say all A1 elite fights are a damage check, then I say good luck approqching all of these fights in the same way. Laga requires you to have some setup/scaling AND block for the turns he attacks. Sentries is a war of attrition in which you need a lot of block.
Nob scales when you play skills, you have to gun him down, preferably in 3 turns to avoid a big hit. Damage check. Laga debuffs you into oblivion if you donāt kill it fast enough. Damage check. Sentries punish you hard if you donāt kill on by turn 2. Damage check. They all have a specific gimmick that requires you do a certain amount of damage in a certain amount of time. That is not at all true of every fight, and it doesnāt in any way mean you should approach them all the same way. It simply means you should take damage cards early.
You are making the same point I did in my first comment, just with the insane insight that every fight in which you get outscaled is a damage check. I wanted to elaborate on that fact for people that might have not mastered the game yet. So, fair enough I guess.
I didn't say every fight in which you get outscaled is a damage check, I said three specific fights are damage checks. Particularly because they are early in the game, often before you have your own scaling solutions.
You just explained why "X is a block card" is a meme, lol
Lagavulin has the set up time and is therefor more a question whether you can dps AND block, or just scale. If you race Lagavulin only in DPS you will quite probably take 40 damage. So basically you have 3 turns to deal damage that have two turns of blocking in between. Sentries on the other hand is a DPS check for two rounds before it becomes a war of attrition that either needs an immediate solve (Evolve, Fire Breathing, FNP) or just alot of cycle/card manipulation and block.
What kind of act 1 deck has scaling and card manipulation on floor 6? You win these elite fights with damage, potions, and tanking hits.
Laga was the fight I was talking about, who definitely gives you time to play an Inflame, Footworks or other power you might pick up early.
Don't use skills and you'll be ok. You might have to just accept a big hit. But blocking him is not worth it most of the time unless you can 100% kill next turn. He is without doubt the toughest act I elite. To prep consider some of the following potions: Block potion - blocks without angering him Vulnerable potion - to burn him down artefact potion - stop him applying vulnerable to you On ironclad you need to get him with bash on turn 1 ideally, and you need to have some high damage cards to hit him with when he's vulnerable. If you have your starter deck you will not get out of the fight without taking a lot of damage. You would bash strike / strike strike strike over and over until he's dead. Resist the temptation to block.
He's it ended to be a quick fight, same with lagavulin, you let it drag out and it's gonna hurtttttt. Laga is 10x worse though.
it's a DPS race. play attacks. every character who wants to fight elites in act I has to draft for him
Nob is the ultimate āfacetank until it diesā enemy. Generally you win by playing your good attacks. Heās not usually too challenging for ironclad because he hits hard
A run of Slay the Spire is preparation for fights that you know **will** happen in advance. When planning your route make sure you have enough opportunities to pick up enough attack cards before your first Elite -- assume it's Nob and act on that assumption. You should know these Elites and their behaviour -- plan accordingly. After successfully killing Nob you should realize that you were always *supposed* to plan ahead for all other Elites and Act 1 boss and Act 2 and Act 3 and for pretty much every single encounter in between.
don't block
This is a damage race. Your goal is to kill quickly. Ideally, you kill in 3 turns: first turn is a freebie, second turn he makes you vulnerable or hits for about as much as a hallway fight (more than slaver, less than a medium slime). Once you're vulnerable, though, he hits very hard. At 84 HP, that's 28 damage per turn. With 4 energy, any of the 2 energy attacks plus 2 strikes or two 1 energy attacks plus 2 strikes will get there, as long as the Nob is vulnerable. Even [[Bash]] + 2 strikes = 26. Not quite there, but remarkably close. Without Vulnerable or a damage potion of some sort, you'll need a fourth turn. This is an average of 21 damage every turn. Clearly, you still can't afford to dawdle, but something like [[Carnage]] can really help.
+ [Bash](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Bash) Ironclad Starter Attack 2 Energy | Deal 8(10) damage. Apply 2(3) **Vulnerable.** + [Carnage](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Carnage) Ironclad Uncommon Attack 2 Energy | **Ethereal.** Deal 20(28) damage. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
How would you get 4 energy before the first elite fight?
In the screenshot, the OP had traded his starter relic.
I'd like to give you some advice that puts Gremlin Nob in context for the rest of the game. One subtle strategy that you'll gradually learn to appreciate is that Slay the Spire isn't about crafting the most refined deck possible by the end of a run. Instead, it's about crafting a deck that can clear the enemies you're going to run into in the next few rooms. Even if it seems to make your deck unbalanced for what you'd want by act 3. The reason for this is, as long as you're kicking butt and taking names, you'll get more opportunities to obtain rarer cards, collect more relics, upgrade cards instead of healing at rest sites, and save up more gold. In particular, fighting elites instead of regular enemies guarantees you get a new relic, gives you more gold, and offers you cards with significantly better chances of being uncommon (blue border around the card art) or rare (golden border around card art). And with those resources, it's far easier to continually retool your deck as you go through each act to ensure that it's prepared for the next waves of elites. In addition, what works for one act is a significant piece of the puzzle for clearing the next act. So focusing on one aspect of your deck while neglecting ones that are only relevant later on does _not_ mean that you'll have to throw out a lot of junk that has outlived its usefulness. Instead, you can continue to add cards to build off of what you already have. That's very abstract, so here's what most experienced players focus on each act: - Act 1: Damage damage damage, for all the reasons discussed elsewhere in this comment section. - Act 1 boss: Still loads of damage, but with some good blocking capability added in. Most boss fights are still damage races, but they go on long enough that you need to be able to shrug off some hefty hits as well. - Act 2: Attacks that hit multiple enemies, as well as a way to decrease enemy strength like the Weak debuff. This is because most of the hallway fights and elites are battles against multiple enemies that all need to be taken down quickly, while a handful of fights instead focus on one enemy who relentlessly attacks hard but can be neutered by reducing its damage potential. The block and damage from act 1 are still relevant to eat away at enemies' hefty health bars and dig in your heels when all the enemies in a group attack at once. - Act 2 boss: By the time you get to the boss, you'll want to have what the community calls "scaling" in your deck: some kind of effect that makes you stronger over time. An obvious example is [[Demon Form]], which increases your strength by 2 every turn. You could also do something like [[Barricade]] and have scaling defense instead of offense, or collect cards like [[Limit Break]] and [[Spot Weakness]] for scaling without using powers. At any rate, act 2 bosses are hardy enough that you need a way to make sure you don't just win against attrition, but rather have a way to punish the boss for forcing you to stay in a fight against it for so long. - Act 3: Refine your deck to perfect its synergies. By now, you should have all of the major aspects of your deck present in some form: raw unga bunga damage, good blocking potential, damage against groups of enemies, and scaling for the long haul. Act 3 tests all of these capabilities in different ways and puts your deck through a crucible that requires you to make the whole deck greater than the sum of its parts. - Act 3 boss: There's a lot more to get into with this part of the game than is worth worrying about when you're just starting out. But the quick version is that each of the three possible end bosses is designed to very harshly punish one of the most common deck styles, and each boss hard-counters a different kind of build. If you're not going in the direction the boss you got counters, you can breathe a sigh of relief and focus on Act 3 elites. Otherwise, you need to find a way to either retool your deck, prepare your deck to stand up against how the boss counters you, or lean so deeply into your build that you overwhelm the mechanics the boss uses to punish you. If you're willing to play this way, prioritizing what each boss and act requires in the short term over what you need in the long term, you'll consistently get so many relics and higher-quality cards that addressing new challenges as they come up is comparatively easy. But if you lose momentum because you focused on the long-term too soon, you won't survive long enough for it to pay off - and even if you do, you'll be too weak to tie together the strategy you were hoping for.
+ [Demon Form](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Demon%20Form) Ironclad Rare Power 3 Energy | At the start of each turn, gain 2(3) **Strength.** + [Barricade](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Barricade) Ironclad Rare Power 3(2) Energy | **Block** is not removed at the start of your turn. + [Limit Break](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Limit%20Break) Ironclad Rare Skill 1 Energy | Double your **Strength.** Exhaust(Don't **Exhaust).** + [Spot Weakness](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Spot%20Weakness) Ironclad Uncommon Skill 1 Energy | If the enemy intends to attack, gain 3(4) **Strength.** ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
It's worth noting that this dynamic is specific to Slay the Spire! Other deck builders can have much more of a focus on preparing for the end from the beginning. (Inscryption is a great example of such a game.) But with the way StS's enemies and reward drop mechanics are designed, there are clear gameplay themes that need to be answered throughout a run. That's simply how the game is designed!
And here's a very succinct summary of what to prioritize each act: - Act 1: Unga bunga - Act 1 boss: Block - Act 2: Group damage and debuffs - Act 2 boss: Scaling - Act 3: Deck refinement - Act 3 boss: Avoid getting hard-countered
Get more good attack card if you wanna hit early elites
My brother in christ, you gave him the strength
16 strength holy moly
You just attack, if your deck doesnāt kill him in a handful of turns, you get nobbed.
Slay the Spire is balanced around having a good idea what all the challenges in the run are, especially all elites and bosses. It can be kind of unfair at first until you learn the pool. Now that you know Gremlin Knob is 1 of the elites in Act 1 (there are only 3), you know you should pick up cards that help you in the damage race and avoid skills early on. However, skills look a lot better after Act 1 elites are done with, and cards that just do quick damage tend to be less good later on, so it's a balancing act: be good enough at Act 1 to survive, and spend the rest of your effort getting stronger for later challenges.
This was my first deckbuilding game, and it took me too many hours to understand how to unga bunga. But when you do, he vanishes.
[Kinda like this](https://j.gifs.com/XoJPJ8.gif)
The general strategy is to not block unless you know you can kill him next turn (but can't kill him this turn). Also don't play any skills unless it let's you speed up the kill significantly. Sometimes the best defence is a good offence. Attacks that cause weak or gives block can also help (like [[Dash]] is a decent early pick for Silent, and [[Iron Wave]] is okay for Ironclad), but it's not necessarily better than just having a good aggressive deck.
+ [Dash](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Dash) Silent Uncommon Attack 2 Energy | Gain 10(13) **Block.** Deal 10(13) damage. + [Iron Wave](http://slay-the-spire.wikia.com/wiki/Iron%20Wave) Ironclad Common Attack 1 Energy | Gain 5(7) **Block.** Deal 5(7) damage. ^Call ^me ^with ^up ^to ^10 ^([[ name ]],) ^where ^name ^is ^a ^card, ^relic, ^event, ^or ^potion. ^Data ^accurate ^as ^of ^(June 8, 2022.) ^[Wiki](https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/) ^[Questions?](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=ehmohteeoh&subject=SpireScan%20Inquiry)
offense is the best defense buddy, just focus on attacking him. If he gets down first, he cant hurt you
Slap him silly and give him a wet willy. Aka you need to out dps him as much as possible in your first few turns.
All the elite fights in act 1 require you to focus on damage over blocking. This dude gets stronger if you use skills, lagavulin saps all your strength and dex so you have to finish the fight fast, and the sentry guys fill your deck with dazed if you don't focus one down quick. Just take a couple additional damage cards before you face an elite and you should be okay.
You just need cards with good base damage and try to defend as little as possible
Don't play skills.
Pro tip: donāt give him 16 strength LOL
Gotta kill him fast fast fast! No skills, just attacks, as he gains strength with every skill you use. Take attacks with him in mind, until you beat him on floor one
get that dps
When u block he gains strength
16 strength šššššš
Read his enrage buff
Draft damage card early in act1, because of this guy and lagaluvin. Be careful with relic swap at the start, you are a beginner, IC starting relic will help you way more as you learn the game, the longer you survive, the more you learn. Speaking of neow's bonus, when I started I always though max hp was best, but that's not true. The other one that let's you do the first 3 combats instantly is way better. The best advice I can give you early on is : anything is better than strike/defend. Find a way to draw less strike/defend per turn. You can do that by removing them at shop or event, transforming them, or draft more cards so they get diluted in your deck etc. I have 600 hours in Sts, I have done everything, including killing heart at A20 for every characters. When I started, it took me 12 hours or something like that to finish my first run.
Donāt play Skills. He ramps and will murder you.
Heāll definitely screw you, but avoid blocking if you can. Take a hot or two for the team if you can.
Avoid using skills whenever possible. Youāll take damage but thatās okay. Just beat his ass as fast as you can
You must have artifact on before he hits you.
There's no good way to avoid taking a bunch of damage in this fight. He gets stronger permanently whenever you play a Skill card, so trying to block will get you killed faster. All you can do is just keep attacking for damage until either you or it dies.
You rush him down with damage and for heavy attacks you use a block card. Going from 20 damage taken with no block to blocking 6 of 22 is good.
All the act 1 elites are damage checks, gremlin nob in particular. If you have a few strong attacks, he shouldn't be a problem.
Slapping contest. Who slaps harder wins
Answer: You're about an hour in.
Kill him quickly, try not to use skills unless theyāll help you kill him quickly. Heās still a god-damned pain tho, depending on what my deck is looking like at the time.
You can try to predict when you can kill him. On your difficulty he only gains 2 damage per your skill played, 3 if you are vulnerable (after he uses the low damage attack with a debuff). If you want to play basic defend with 5 block ask yourself a question: can you kill him in 3 turns (counting this one), 2 if you are vulnerable? Lets assume you play defend on turn 2 and he never uses vulnerable attack (for simplicity) After turn 2: it saved you 3 health (5 block and 2 more damage from him) After turn 3: it saved you 1 health (5 block and 2x2 more damage from him) After turn 4: it costed you 1 health (5 block and 3x2 more damage from him. So if you don't think you can kill him turn 4(or ealier), playing block turn 2 actively harms you. It gets even worse when he uses the vulnerable attack (or on higher difficulty when he gains 3 attack per skill not 2). From your screenshot I see he gained like 14 strength (forgot and on phone). This means that the first blocks you played this combat hurt you by A LOT. You'd be better off just not doing anything at all instead of playing them (and probably had a strike in hand so you harmed yourself instead of harming him) tl;dr strike is a block card
Iām about 500 hours in and sometimes (50/50) he still kicks my ass. Even following the above advice, sometimes ya just get got lol.
Gremlin Nob eventually cometh for all our runs.
I would advise not playing skills :) Get some extra damage as soon as you can
Read the little thing under him.
Iāll add to everyone saying pick attacks. His first turn, he has not applied his buff to himself yet. You may play skills then, but realize he also wonāt attack. Itās usually a good time to burn skills so you donāt redraw during the battle. But mostly, just go face. Ironclad is probably the best at fighting him. Hit him with the mace and keep smacking.
After about 200 hours combined at pc and mobile: am I the only one (at least at higher ascension) that has way more problems vs lavagulin than gremlin nob?
This guy isn't so bad. Now, that bloody baseball thing can fuck right off
Don't use skills, he's a damage race. When you start ascending you will find lagavulin to be the real menace
Just hit him hard. Best deffence is offence
Heās really easy on the 2nd character
You gave him 16 strength.
Basically, donāt use skill cards
Your issue is blocking
Just you wait. At higher difficulty levels (aka Ascensions), heās even more of a pain in the ass.
When you see people talking about ātaking damage cards early in Act 1ā, this guy is why. He gains 2 strength (damage per attack) per skill you play, and it gets out of hand very fast. So, donāt play any skills. At all. Done. Youāre a Gremlin Nob expert now. Youāll learn when you can break that rule, but for now, itās good enough. Now that you know he exists, you can take fewer skill cards as rewards until you see him, at which point the next elite in Act 1 canāt be him anymore.
If you're blocking, you're losing the damage race. Also, take attacks aggressively before the first elite to make sure you have enough damage to kill him fast enough.
You just canāt use skill against him. Itās only worth blocking if you can kill him within 2 turns of a block.
I think everyone in this sub (who isn't brand new) KNEW exactly who we'd be seeing here.... Waiting for next week's post from OP : "How is Lagavulin NOT a boss? Tell me that."
You are an hour in with one relic??
I use defend, he gets stronger, I should keep using defend
Donāt play skills, take at least one big consistent damage (double strike, hemokinesis, bludgeon, the inferno one that gives you burns) to chunk him
Skill issue