Ancient Writing

Ancient Writing is an event found exclusively in Act 2. You discover a wall covered in the writing of Ancients.

Options

• [Elegance] Remove a card from your deck.

• [Simplicity] Upgrade all Strikes and Defends.

Dialogue

Encounter
Scaling the city, you notice a wall covered in the writing of Ancients. As you try to wrap your head around what the puzzling symbols and glyphs could mean, the writing begins to glow.
Suddenly, the message becomes clear...
Elegance
The answer was elegance.
Of course.
Simplicity
The truth is always simple.

Strategy

• [Simplicity] is more commonly the stronger choice. Upgraded Strikes and Defends are vastly improved from their base form, and can help you get through Act 2 more easily, taking on more Elites.
  • This choice is more powerful with Strike Dummy. It increases Strike+ damage to an amount comparable to a moderately powerful attack card.
  • This choice is less powerful if you have already removed a good amount of Strikes and Defends.
  • This choice also help eliminates Strikes and Defends from being upgraded by Whetstone, War Paint, Warped Tongs, Lesson Learned, and Designer In-Spire.
• [Elegance] will help you thin your deck, or if you have a particularly nasty Curse you wish to remove such as Pain, Regret, or Normality
  • This choice is more powerful if your deck can already easily get through Act 2, or if you are aiming for a deck with an Infinite Combo

Trivia

• This event internal name is "Back to Basics".

Update History

• Weekly Patch 50: The Final Act
  • Fixed softlock caused if you can't remove cards in: Back to Basics, Cleric, and Living Wall events.
• Weekly Patch 17: Patched in the Face
  • Ascender's Bane can no longer be removed by Back to Basics event.