(Fixed template error.) Tag: Visual edit |
|||
| (43 intermediate revisions by 19 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''"Combat automaton which became self-aware. Ancient technology allows manipulation of Orbs."'' |
''"Combat automaton which became self-aware. Ancient technology allows manipulation of Orbs."'' |
||
[[File:Defect.png|thumb|right|224x224px]] |
[[File:Defect.png|thumb|right|224x224px]] |
||
| − | <span>The Defect is a playable character added to the beta build in [https://steamcommunity.com/games/646570/announcements/detail/1667898210977004105 Weekly Patch 22: Testing the |
+ | <span>The Defect is a playable character added to the beta build in [https://steamcommunity.com/games/646570/announcements/detail/1667898210977004105 Weekly Patch 22: Testing the Third Character]. It is an ancient automaton related to the [[Orb Walker]] that attacks foes with a high-tech arsenal, array of [[Power]]s, and elemental evocations.</span> |
| − | The Defect has a unique mechanic, the Orbs. Using cards and Relics, The Defect Channels these elemental spheres into a set of Orb slots, activating their passive effects each turn or Evoking them for a one-time burst. |
+ | The Defect has a unique mechanic, the [[Orbs]]. Using cards and Relics, The Defect Channels these elemental spheres into a set of Orb slots, activating their passive effects each turn or Evoking them for a one-time burst. The Defect starts with three Orb slots, though cards and relics can add or [[consume]] them. |
| + | The Defect's starting [[Relic]] is [[Cracked Core]]. At the start of each combat, it Channels 1 Lightning. |
||
| − | <span>The Defect begins each run with 4 {{C|Strike_B}}, 4 {{C|Defend_B}}, 1 {{C|Zap}}, and 1 {{C|Dualcast}}.</span> |
||
| − | [[Defect Cards|For the Defect's full list of cards, click here]]. |
+ | [[Defect Cards|For the Defect's full list of cards, click here]]. |
| + | |||
| + | == Basic Cards (Default/Starting Deck) == |
||
| + | * 4 {{C|Strike_B}} |
||
| + | * 4 {{C|Defend_B}} |
||
| + | * 1 {{C|Zap}} |
||
| + | * 1 {{C|Dualcast}} |
||
== Orbs == |
== Orbs == |
||
| − | The Defect begins with three Orb slots and considers the rightmost Orb to be the |
+ | The Defect begins with three [[Orb]] slots and considers the rightmost Orb to be the 'next' Orb to Evoke. Channeling an Orb inserts it into the rightmost empty slot. If every slot is full, each Orb will be shifted one slot to the right, popping the right-most Orb out of its slot and Evoking it. If The Defect loses every Orb slot, it can't channel Orbs at all! |
| − | + | [[Lightning]], [[Frost]] and [[Dark]] orbs have a passive effect that activates at the end of the Defect's turn, right to left, or oldest to newest. The passive effect of [[Plasma]] activates at the start of the Defect's turn. While these effects are initially weak, The Defect can increase Focus and channel additional copies to sharply increase their potency. |
|
=== Evoking === |
=== Evoking === |
||
| Line 20: | Line 26: | ||
=== Focus === |
=== Focus === |
||
| + | ''Main article: [[Focus]]'' |
||
| − | Focus is a stat unique to The Defect that affects Orbs the same way Strength affects Attacks and Dexterity affects Block. Increasing Focus increases the magnitude of both the passive and Evoke effects of each Orb, and decreasing Focus reduces them. It is possible to reduce an Orb's effect to 0 by decreasing Focus - the Orb will still activate, but will have no effect. |
+ | Focus is a stat unique to The Defect that affects Orbs the same way Strength affects Attacks and Dexterity affects Block. Increasing Focus increases the magnitude of both the passive and Evoke effects of each Orb, and decreasing Focus reduces them. It is possible to reduce an Orb's effect to 0 by decreasing Focus - the Orb will still activate, but will have no effect. [[Plasma]] is not affected by Focus. |
| − | |||
| − | Trying to Channel an Orb when you have no more Orb Slots open will result in the rightmost Orb being evoked to make room for the new orb. |
||
=== Orb Types === |
=== Orb Types === |
||
| + | ''Main article: [[Orbs#Orb Types|Orb Types]]'' |
||
The Defect can currently Channel four types of Orbs - '''Lightning''', '''Frost''', '''Dark''', and '''Plasma'''. The X in each description refers to The Defect's Focus. |
The Defect can currently Channel four types of Orbs - '''Lightning''', '''Frost''', '''Dark''', and '''Plasma'''. The X in each description refers to The Defect's Focus. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The starting limit for Channeled Orbs is 3, but it can be increased through various means - [[Inserter]], {{C|Capacitor}}, and {{C|Runic Capacitor}} will add more slots for Orbs, up to a maximum of 10. Notably, {{C|Consume}} ''decreases'' slots - useful for Evoking often. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Other classes have a hidden starting limit of Channeled Orbs of 1. They will display Orb slots if they have an Orb-related card in their deck. |
||
| − | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| − | [[File:Lightning.png|thumb|80x80px]] |
||
| − | '''Passive: '''Deal 3 + X Damage to a random enemy. |
||
| − | |||
| − | '''Evoke:''' Deal 8 + X Damage to a random enemy. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Lightning Orbs are straightforward damage-dealers that chip away at enemies' Health each turn and Evoke a big damage burst. Lightning Orbs' passives activate at the end of the player's turn, before the enemy's Block has worn off. This means it can't bypass Block, but it can push through some sneaky finishing damage if sufficiently worn down beforehand. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The random nature of these Orbs spreads the pain around, so reducing enemy numbers with Attack cards to focus the Lightning damage onto the most dangerous enemy is an ideal strategy. Alternatively, {{C|Electrodynamics}} will apply Lightning damage to all foes, allowing you to take on groups of foes effectively. |
||
| − | |||
| − | When building a Lightning deck, plan whether the Orbs' passive or their Evoke will deal the bulk of your damage. Increase your Focus and add more Orb slots to maximize the passive damage, or reduce Orb slots and add more Channel effects to Evoke more often. Trying to do both can make the deck inconsistent and unable to handle high-health enemies. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The damage dealt by Lightning is not affected by any effects except Focus, [[Intangible]] and Lock-On. It's not reduced by [[Weak]], isn't increased by [[Vulnerable]], ignores [[Strength]] and [[Thorns]], and doesn't count as Attack damage for effects like [[Gremlins#Mad Gremlin|Angry]]. |
||
| − | |||
| − | === Frost === |
||
| − | [[File:Frost.png|thumb|73x73px]] |
||
| − | '''Passive: '''Gain 2 + X Block. |
||
| − | |||
| − | '''Evoke:''' Gain 5 + X Block. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Frost Orbs are defensive tools that provide a small but relevant defense each turn and Evoke to counter stronger blows. Frost Orbs' passives activate at the end of the player's turn, but after effects like [[Orichalcum]] have triggered. |
||
| − | |||
| − | At the beginning of combat, Frost Orbs are the weakest of the bunch, the Block too minor to counter even feeble attacks. However, once The Defect has Channeled a few copies and boosted Focus, they form a line of defense that few enemies can penetrate, and regenerate it turn after turn. |
||
| − | |||
| − | When building a Frost deck, the challenge is surviving the early game until your Frost Orbs can fully defend you. One option is to bolster them with Skills that grant Block, accepting that those Skills will become useless once your Frost defenses are prepared. Another option is to simply tank the early-game damage and recover with {{C|Self Repair}}. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The Block granted by Frost isn't affected by Dexterity or Frail, which makes it particularly strong against enemies that use such effects to proactively reduce Block. The repeatable card-free Block is also relevant against [[Gremlin Nob]] and [[Chosen]]. |
||
| − | [[File:Dark.png|thumb|92x92px]] |
||
| − | |||
| − | === Dark === |
||
| − | '''Passive: '''Add 6 + X Damage (= Y) to this Orb's Evoke. |
||
| − | |||
| − | '''Evoke:''' Deal Y Damage to the enemy with the lowest Health. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Dark Orbs are beatsticks that trade Lightning's reliable damage for a bigger Evoke effect. The Dark Orb's passive has no effect on combat at all, and only serves to stockpile damage into the Evoke ability. Dark Orbs' passives activate at the end of the player's turn. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Dark Orbs are the most challenging Orb to build around. The Defect must Channel the Orb early, survive while it charges, and Evoke it at the appropriate time. The Dark Orb gains less from Focus than other Orbs - it's generally smarter to simply charge it for a few more turns. However, the payoff is massive damage that's more predictable than that of a Lightning Orb. |
||
| − | |||
| − | The key to mastering the Dark Orb is ensuring it can be Evoked at the right time, onto the right enemy. Dark Orb decks demand a high number of Evoke cards, and benefit the most from multi-Evoke cards like {{C|Multi-Cast}} that can multiply the hard-won damage. If evoked with Recursion, the channeled Dark Orb will retain the stockpiled damage. Use reliable Attacks like {{C|Melter}} to groom enemies' HP so the Evoked damage can land on a key target. Try to Evoke [[Cracked Core]]'s Lightning Orb as soon as possible, so the Dark Orb is ready for action. |
||
| − | |||
| − | A key decision in Dark deck construction is how many Orb slots to maintain. Increasing the count allows the player to charge more Dark Orbs at once, but reducing it makes it easier for Channel effects to Evoke them. In either case, minimize the number of Channel effects in the deck to avoid prematurely Evoking Orbs. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Like Lightning Orbs, Dark Orbs' damage is affected only by Focus, Intangible and Lock-On. |
||
| − | |||
| − | === Plasma === |
||
| − | [[File:Plasma.png|thumb|75x75px]] |
||
| − | '''Passive: '''Gain 1 Energy. |
||
| − | |||
| − | '''Evoke: '''Gain 2 Energy. |
||
| − | |||
| − | Plasma Orbs grant Energy. This simple effect powers greedy decks loaded with impractically-costed, absurdly powerful cards and fuels long chains of huge plays. Unlike other Orbs, Plasma Orbs are unaffected by Focus, and their passive effects trigger at the beginning of The Defect's turn. |
||
| − | |||
| − | A single Plasma Orb is a significant boon to The Defect, like a [[Velvet Choker]] with no downside. The key is making the most of the extra Energy without Evoking the Orb and losing the passive. Alternately, the Orb can be Evoked at the right time to access the 2 Energy and fuel a huge turn. |
||
| − | |||
| − | When The Defect can Channel multiple Plasma Orbs, the challenge is simply spending all the Energy. This is the time to jam all the {{C|Meteor Strike}}s, {{C|Sunder}}s, {{C|Echo Form}}s, and other flashy bombs that are too pricey for more sensible decks. There's nothing more satisfying than sinking a dozen Energy into a massive game-ending {{C|Tempest}} or {{C|Multi-Cast}}. {{C|Creative AI}} , {{C|Hello World}} , and other repeatable card-draw and card-generation effects are great ways to dump excess Energy, and [[Unceasing Top]] becomes hilariously overpowered. Draw effects in general are quite good with Plasma Orbs, especially if the deck is likely to Evoke them. |
||
== Strategy == |
== Strategy == |
||
| Line 94: | Line 40: | ||
As a consequence, The Defect struggles to win with a deck full of "good stuff". While it does have access to some individually strong cards, they don't present the sheer power that The Ironclad and The Silent enjoy. |
As a consequence, The Defect struggles to win with a deck full of "good stuff". While it does have access to some individually strong cards, they don't present the sheer power that The Ironclad and The Silent enjoy. |
||
| − | The Defect also has some chance-based RNG effects, like Lightning Orbs and {{C|Creative AI}}. These can salvage a weak deck by generating stronger cards, but clog up synergistic builds. |
+ | * The Defect also has some chance-based RNG effects, like Lightning Orbs and {{C|Creative AI}}. These can salvage a weak deck by generating stronger cards, but clog up synergistic builds. |
The class' strongly synergistic cards encourage some powerful and well-supported archetypes. Identifying and focusing on one is a key aspect of Defect strategy. |
The class' strongly synergistic cards encourage some powerful and well-supported archetypes. Identifying and focusing on one is a key aspect of Defect strategy. |
||
=== Zero Cost === |
=== Zero Cost === |
||
| − | The Defect has a high number of strong 0-cost cards, as well as unique supporting cards like |
+ | The Defect has a high number of strong 0-cost cards, as well as unique supporting cards like {{C|Scrape}}<div class="tooltip-contents"></div> and {{C|All For One}} and efficient card-draw Skills. Drown an enemy under {{C|FTL|FTLs}}, {{C|Streamline|Streamlines}}, and {{C|Beam Cell|Beam Cells}}. It's sort of like The Silent's {{C|Shiv}} builds, but way more back-loaded and visually impressive. |
| + | Damage comes from 0-cost cards that do damage: |
||
| − | |||
| + | * {{C|Claw}} |
||
| − | {{C|Rebound}} are handy in this deck. They allow you to recycle {{C|Streamline}} and {{C|Claw}} |
||
| + | * {{C|FTL}} |
||
| − | quicker. It is even better if you can bring {{C|Scrape}} and {{C|All For One}} back to the draw pile. |
||
| + | * {{C|Beam Cell}} |
||
| − | |||
| + | * {{C|Go For the Eyes}}{{C|Go for the Eyes}} |
||
| − | === Claw === |
||
| + | * {{C|Streamline}} - requires 2 plays before it reaches 0 cost. |
||
| − | A subset of the zero-cost archetype, the {{C|Claw}} deck simply jams as many copies of the eponymous card as possible, adds some draw effects, and removes everything else. With multiple copies of Claw and a shuffle every few turns, the damage quickly spirals out of control. Unlike {{C|Anger}} the damage of the claw actually scales as it is being used and can multiply in damage better if {{C|Echo Form}} is used beforehand - the only downside is that there are very limited chances to earn the latter card, which is Rare. |
||
| + | * {{C|Dualcast}}+ |
||
| + | * {{C|Zap}}+ |
||
| + | The Deck then also needs a lot of recycle/card-draw effects to get as many of the 0-cost cards in play per turn. The Defect has a lot of great support cards for this type of deck: |
||
| + | * {{C|All for One}} - the best one for this deck as it allows you to re-play all of your 0-cost cards you've played in your deck up until that point |
||
| + | * {{C|Rebound}} - allows you to double-play cards like {{C|Streamline}} and {{C|Claw}} to more quickly ramp up their effects. |
||
| + | * {{C|Hologram}} - replay a 0-cost card you recently played |
||
| + | * {{C|Scrape}} - good card draw that let's you immediately play any 0-cost cards it finds. |
||
| + | * {{C|Reprogram}} - good if you have other card draw in your hand; can more quickly cycle through your deck. Also pairs well if you already have {{C|Hologram}} in hand. |
||
| + | * {{C|White Noise}}+ - when upgraded it becomes a free power. |
||
| + | * {{C|Reboot}} - very good if you already have the core engine of your deck in place. |
||
| + | * {{C|Seek}} - great for finding {{C|Claw}}, or even better, {{C|All for One}}. |
||
| + | There are also some extremely useful neutral cards that either help get 0-cost cards, or are 0-cost cards themselves (or both): |
||
| + | * {{C|Madness}} - can be difficult to get, but if you are able to acquire it, it will greatly speed up your deck by turning your strongest cards into 0-cost cards |
||
| + | ** 2 Madness + All for One + Hologram is an infinite. Use both madness to reduce All for One + Hologram to 0-cost, and use each one to put the other back into your hand. |
||
| + | ** Seek+ makes this easier to pull off. Double Seek+ is even easier, as it allows for 3 of the 4 cards to be put into your hand immediately. |
||
| + | ** [[Bottled Lightning]] also makes this easier to pull off |
||
| + | * {{C|Swift Strike}} |
||
| + | * {{C|Secret Technique}}+/{{C|Secret Weapon}}+ - both of these when upgraded will allow you to get your key cards faster |
||
| + | * {{C|Panache}} - as you will almost certainly be playing more than 5 cards every turn, this will be a guaranteed 10 damage to all enemies every turn |
||
| + | * {{C|Thinking Ahead}} - upgrade this ASAP so that you can re-use it |
||
| + | * {{C|Violence}} |
||
| + | * {{C|Metamorphosis}} |
||
| + | * {{C|Purity}} - can get rid of strikes/defends in-combat, which, depending on the state of your deck, may allow you to go infinite |
||
| + | * {{C|J.A.X.}} - a rare card as it only comes from the [[Augmenter]] event, but any source of strength is a huge benefit for a deck that aims to play many 0-cost attacks every turn. As an added bonus, the card itself costs 0 and so, if you have the health for it, can quickly ramp up your damage to high levels in this deck. |
||
| + | Key relics that will help the deck: |
||
| + | * [[Kunai]] / [[Shuriken]] - Both of these are mandatory if you have already established the deck |
||
| + | * [[Frozen Egg]]/[[Toxic Egg]]/[[Molten Egg]] - if you are able to get these early on, look to buy some of the strong neutral cards that don't exhaust when upgraded |
||
| + | * [[Ornamental Fan]] |
||
| + | * [[Gambling Chip]] - can help speed up the deck |
||
| + | * [[Ice Cream]] - getting this will allow you to stack energy to play your high-cost cards, such as {{C|Sunder}} or {{C|Meteor Strike}},or allow you to save up for a huge finisher, such as {{C|Tempest}} or {{C|Multi-Cast}} |
||
| + | * [[Prayer Wheel]]/[[Question Card]] - Either of these can help you get the right cards for the deck if you acquire them early on |
||
| + | * [[Unceasing Top]] - hugely beneficial relic for this deck, can allow you to go infinite |
||
| + | * [[Dolly's Mirror]] - can duplicate your key cards such as {{C|Claw}}or {{C|All for One}} |
||
| + | * [[Medical Kit]] - one of the biggest weaknesses for the deck are status cards, and this relic can get rid of them |
||
| + | * [[Prismatic Shard]] - very risky if you haven't already stabilized the deck, but if you have, this can give access to some amazing 0-cost cards from other classes |
||
| + | * [[The Abacus]] - as you will be cycling through your deck much faster compared to other archetypes, this can give some much needed block every turn. |
||
| + | * [[Vajra]] - strength is great as you will be playing many 0-cost attacks every turn. |
||
| + | Lastly, card-removal is disproportionately good in a 0-cost deck, and if you are able to remove all of your strikes/defends, you have the high possibility of "going infinite", which means you are able to continually play your entire deck until the combat is over. |
||
| + | * Merchant's card removal can get rid of some cards. The [[Smiling Mask]] can help with this as well. |
||
| + | * [[Peace Pipe]] is amazing here as it will let you remove an additional card at every rest. |
||
| + | * There are many events that remove cards for you |
||
=== Lightning DoT === |
=== Lightning DoT === |
||
| − | The Lightning Orb damage-over-time build tries to Channel many Lightning Orbs, boost Focus, and hold the fort with Block-granting Skills while the Lightning Orbs' passive wears down the opponents |
+ | The Lightning Orb damage-over-time build tries to Channel many Lightning Orbs, boost Focus, and hold the fort with Block-granting Skills while the Lightning Orbs' passive wears down the opponents. |
| + | |||
| + | * {{C|Loop}} speeds up the process, and {{C|Fission}}+ can Evoke the accumulated Orbs to finish off the weakened enemies.. {{C|Biased Cognition|Biased Cognition's}} extreme Focus gain, along with [[Potions|Focus Potions]], take this build to the next level. |
||
=== Lightning Evoke === |
=== Lightning Evoke === |
||
| − | This build tries to Evoke as many Lightning Orbs as possible, beating enemies down eight damage at a time. Unlike other Orb builds, smaller is better - one Orb slot is optimal to facilitate Evoking |
+ | This build tries to Evoke as many Lightning Orbs as possible, beating enemies down eight damage at a time. Unlike other Orb builds, smaller is better - one Orb slot is optimal to facilitate Evoking. |
| + | |||
| + | * {{C|Thunder Strike}},{{C|Tempest}}, and {{C|Bullseye}} are this deck's premier finishers, dumping huge volumes of damage onto the enemy. [[Static Discharge]] can also be effective. |
||
=== Frost Turtle === |
=== Frost Turtle === |
||
| − | The Frost deck Channels as many of the eponymous Orbs as possible to into an unbreakable wall of free Block. Once the shields are up, The Defect can devote every Energy to damage |
+ | The Frost deck Channels as many of the eponymous Orbs as possible to into an unbreakable wall of free Block. Once the shields are up, The Defect can devote every Energy to damage. |
| − | {{C|Barrage}} excels in this slot-oriented deck. If you have the [[File:Frozen Core.png|25px|link=Frozen Core]][[Frozen Core]] relic, it would fill your orb slots with Frost orbs. This would help you |
+ | * This archetype is supported by {{C|Blizzard}} and {{C|Glacier}}, and relies heavily on Focus and Orb slot buffs.{{C|Barrage}} excels in this slot-oriented deck. If you have the [[File:Frozen Core.png|25px|link=Frozen Core]][[Frozen Core]] relic, it would fill your orb slots with Frost orbs. This would help you quicken the weak early game. |
=== Dark === |
=== Dark === |
||
| − | The Defect can make the most of the tricky Dark Orb by defending for a few turns while it charges, then using {{C|Multi-Cast}} |
+ | * The Defect can make the most of the tricky Dark Orb by defending for a few turns while it charges, then using {{C|Multi-Cast}}, {{C|Dualcast}}, or {{C|Recursion}} to Evoke it multiple times. This archetype isn't as well-supported as the others, but the satisfaction of Evoking a 54-damage Dark Orb three times (or more!) makes it worthwhile. Keep in mind that the Dark orb will target the lowest health enemy. |
=== Greed === |
=== Greed === |
||
| − | The Defect has better access to Energy sources than other classes, and there's no better way to leverage them than a {{C|Meteor Strike}} |
+ | * The Defect has better access to Energy sources than other classes, and there's no better way to leverage them than a {{C|Meteor Strike}}, {{C|Aggregate}} and {{C|TURBO}}, and stockpile with {{C|Charge Battery}}. Dump your Energy into expensive bombs like Meteor Strike, {{C|Sunder}} and {{C|Tempest}}, draw cards with {{C|Skim}} and fling them at [[Monsters|enemies]], or make a good old-fashioned [[Unceasing Top]] wombo-combo. When you have 7 Energy, anything is possible. |
=== Powers Matter === |
=== Powers Matter === |
||
| − | The Ironclad likes Attacks, The Silent loves Skills, and The Defect completes the cycle with its affinity for Powers. Grab some {{C|Force Field}} |
+ | * The Ironclad likes Attacks, The Silent loves Skills, and The Defect completes the cycle with its affinity for Powers. Grab some {{C|Force Field|Force Fields}}, drop an {{C|Amplify}} or {{C|Echo Form}}, stack up some powerful effects, and bury the opposition under your cumulative advantage. The [[Bird-Faced Urn]] is the perfect Relic to recover life lost while setting up. |
| + | |||
| + | Card synergies: |
||
| + | * {{C|Creative AI}} is probably the best card for this deck. It scales amazing with itself and with all of the other power-synergy cards that The Defect can get. |
||
| + | * {{C|Amplify}} - doubling any of your powers can be a huge spike depending on what the power is. Good targets for Amplify are cards like {{C|Defragment}} and {{C|Capacitor}} |
||
| + | |||
| + | * Refine the deck by using Powers to fill the roles of Attacks and Skills - consider {{C|Static Discharge}} and {{C|Storm}} your damage-dealers, {{C|Buffer}} and {{C|Self Repair}} your Blockers. The Powers deck's win condition depends on the particular Powers you acquire. Most builds will stack up Orbs, but some use Attacks and others simply lean on {{C|Creative AI}} and let the Powers do the work. The [[Mummified Hand]] can become really useful with a power deck. |
||
=== RNGesus, Take the Wheel! === |
=== RNGesus, Take the Wheel! === |
||
| + | * Chaos randomly channels an orb for one cost, including Plasma, normally a two cost. Upgrade Chaos and pair it with defragment and draw cards and hope to envoke enough Plasma and Frost orbs to survive the next round. |
||
=== Tempo === |
=== Tempo === |
||
| − | This aggressive archetype deploys efficient cards with debilitating drawbacks, and attempts to end the battle before the consequences arrive. {{C|TURBO}} and {{C|Steam Barrier}} provide cheap resources, and {{C|Hyperbeam}} or {{C|Biased Cognition}} bring big damage, and each incurs a significant long-term cost. If The Defect can slam the door before the [[Status]]es overwhelm it, the player enjoys a quick, decisive victory that doesn't give enemies much time to deal damage. |
+ | * This aggressive archetype deploys efficient cards with debilitating drawbacks, and attempts to end the battle before the consequences arrive. {{C|TURBO}} and {{C|Steam Barrier}} provide cheap resources, and {{C|Hyperbeam}} or {{C|Biased Cognition}} bring big damage, and each incurs a significant long-term cost. If The Defect can slam the door before the [[Status]]es overwhelm it, the player enjoys a quick, decisive victory that doesn't give enemies much time to deal damage. |
| − | |||
=== Barrage === |
=== Barrage === |
||
| − | This deck centres around the three major cards of {{C|Barrage}} |
+ | * This deck centres around the three major cards of {{C|Barrage}}, {{C|Capacitor}} and {{C|Defragment}} if you want to get more value off of your orbs. The point of this deck is to acquire as many orbs as possible using cards such as {{C|Glacier}} and {{C|Chaos}} and then unloading a ton of damage using {{C|Barrage}}. |
| + | |||
| + | * Other cards that are useful are {{C|Trip}} or {{C|Beam Cell}}, to do maximum damage with {{C|Barrage}} and also {{C|Hologram}} or {{C|Seek}}, to find {{C|Barrage}} more consistently. |
||
| + | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| + | * The defect has several extremely powerful but expensive cards like [[Plasma]], [[Echo Form]], [[Sunder]] and [[Meteor Strike]]. By taking [[Snecko Eye]] early enough, you can focus on these cards for absurdly high-value turns. Many of these effects will generate more energy than they spend. |
||
| + | * [[All for One]] and [[Hologram]] can fetch cards which had their cost set to 0 the last time you saw them, even if they would normally be quite expensive. |
||
| + | * Most of the Defect's 0-cost cards are dead weight in this archetype, so it is important to home in on it as early as possible. If you don't get Snecko Eye from Neow or the first boss, pick a different strategy. |
||
==Unlocks == |
==Unlocks == |
||
| Line 143: | Line 147: | ||
|- |
|- |
||
|1st |
|1st |
||
| − | |{{C|Rebound}}, |
+ | |{{C|Rebound}}, |
| + | {{C|Equilibrium}}, |
||
| + | {{C|Echo Form}} |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|2nd |
|2nd |
||
| − | |{{C|TURBO}}, |
+ | |{{C|TURBO}}, |
| + | {{C|Sunder}}, |
||
| + | {{C|Meteor Strike}} |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|3rd |
|3rd |
||
| − | |{{C|Hyperbeam}}, |
+ | |{{C|Hyperbeam}}, |
| + | {{C|Recycle}}, |
||
| + | {{C|Core Surge}} |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|4th |
|4th |
||
| Line 157: | Line 167: | ||
|[[Data Disk]], [[Symbiotic Virus]], [[Emotion Chip]] |
|[[Data Disk]], [[Symbiotic Virus]], [[Emotion Chip]] |
||
|} |
|} |
||
| + | |||
| + | ==Gallery== |
||
| + | <gallery> |
||
| + | defect1.jpg|The Defect in-game |
||
| + | defect2.jpg|The Defect appearing in its Steam Background |
||
| + | BiasedCognition.png|The Defect featured prominently in the card art for [[Biased Cognition]] |
||
| + | defect4.png|The Defect as he appears in some official artwork for the game |
||
| + | defect5.JPG|The Defect's character select screen |
||
| + | Gallerypiece.JPG|The Defect seen in the Launch Trailer alongside the [[Ironclad]] and the [[Silent]] |
||
| + | </gallery> |
||
[[Category:Class]] |
[[Category:Class]] |
||
| − | [[Category:Relics]] |
||
Revision as of 18:30, 18 September 2019
"Combat automaton which became self-aware. Ancient technology allows manipulation of Orbs."
The Defect is a playable character added to the beta build in Weekly Patch 22: Testing the Third Character. It is an ancient automaton related to the Orb Walker that attacks foes with a high-tech arsenal, array of Powers, and elemental evocations.
The Defect has a unique mechanic, the Orbs. Using cards and Relics, The Defect Channels these elemental spheres into a set of Orb slots, activating their passive effects each turn or Evoking them for a one-time burst. The Defect starts with three Orb slots, though cards and relics can add or consume them.
The Defect's starting Relic is Cracked Core. At the start of each combat, it Channels 1 Lightning.
For the Defect's full list of cards, click here.
Basic Cards (Default/Starting Deck)
Orbs
The Defect begins with three Orb slots and considers the rightmost Orb to be the 'next' Orb to Evoke. Channeling an Orb inserts it into the rightmost empty slot. If every slot is full, each Orb will be shifted one slot to the right, popping the right-most Orb out of its slot and Evoking it. If The Defect loses every Orb slot, it can't channel Orbs at all!
Lightning, Frost and Dark orbs have a passive effect that activates at the end of the Defect's turn, right to left, or oldest to newest. The passive effect of Plasma activates at the start of the Defect's turn. While these effects are initially weak, The Defect can increase Focus and channel additional copies to sharply increase their potency.
Evoking
Evoking an Orb shatters it and unleashes a high-powered effect. Unlike the passive effects that activate at a preset time, Evoking an Orb activates instantly. Orbs can be Evoked by Channeling too many Orbs or by cards that specify Evoking them. After Evoking an Orb, each orb to its left shifts to fill its slot.
Focus
Main article: Focus
Focus is a stat unique to The Defect that affects Orbs the same way Strength affects Attacks and Dexterity affects Block. Increasing Focus increases the magnitude of both the passive and Evoke effects of each Orb, and decreasing Focus reduces them. It is possible to reduce an Orb's effect to 0 by decreasing Focus - the Orb will still activate, but will have no effect. Plasma is not affected by Focus.
Orb Types
Main article: Orb Types
The Defect can currently Channel four types of Orbs - Lightning, Frost, Dark, and Plasma. The X in each description refers to The Defect's Focus.
Strategy
The Defect's game plan almost always involves implementing a long-term plan each battle. By developing Orbs, Powers, and cards with escalating effects, The Defect sets up an insurmountable late-game position and then destroys its enemies. This is a radically different style from The Silent and The Ironclad, which tend to apply bursts of damage to take enemies out opportunistically.
As a consequence, The Defect struggles to win with a deck full of "good stuff". While it does have access to some individually strong cards, they don't present the sheer power that The Ironclad and The Silent enjoy.
- The Defect also has some chance-based RNG effects, like Lightning Orbs and Creative AI. These can salvage a weak deck by generating stronger cards, but clog up synergistic builds.
The class' strongly synergistic cards encourage some powerful and well-supported archetypes. Identifying and focusing on one is a key aspect of Defect strategy.
Zero Cost
The Defect has a high number of strong 0-cost cards, as well as unique supporting cards like Scrape
and Lua error in Module:Cards at line 108: attempt to index local 'theCard' (a nil value). and efficient card-draw Skills. Drown an enemy under FTLs, Streamlines, and Beam Cells. It's sort of like The Silent's Shiv builds, but way more back-loaded and visually impressive.
Damage comes from 0-cost cards that do damage:
- Claw
- FTL
- Beam Cell
- Lua error in Module:Cards at line 108: attempt to index local 'theCard' (a nil value).Go for the Eyes
- Streamline - requires 2 plays before it reaches 0 cost.
- Dualcast+
- Zap+
The Deck then also needs a lot of recycle/card-draw effects to get as many of the 0-cost cards in play per turn. The Defect has a lot of great support cards for this type of deck:
- All for One - the best one for this deck as it allows you to re-play all of your 0-cost cards you've played in your deck up until that point
- Rebound - allows you to double-play cards like Streamline and Claw to more quickly ramp up their effects.
- Hologram - replay a 0-cost card you recently played
- Scrape - good card draw that let's you immediately play any 0-cost cards it finds.
- Reprogram - good if you have other card draw in your hand; can more quickly cycle through your deck. Also pairs well if you already have Hologram in hand.
- White Noise+ - when upgraded it becomes a free power.
- Reboot - very good if you already have the core engine of your deck in place.
- Seek - great for finding Claw, or even better, All for One.
There are also some extremely useful neutral cards that either help get 0-cost cards, or are 0-cost cards themselves (or both):
- Madness - can be difficult to get, but if you are able to acquire it, it will greatly speed up your deck by turning your strongest cards into 0-cost cards
- 2 Madness + All for One + Hologram is an infinite. Use both madness to reduce All for One + Hologram to 0-cost, and use each one to put the other back into your hand.
- Seek+ makes this easier to pull off. Double Seek+ is even easier, as it allows for 3 of the 4 cards to be put into your hand immediately.
- Bottled Lightning also makes this easier to pull off
- Swift Strike
- Secret Technique+/Secret Weapon+ - both of these when upgraded will allow you to get your key cards faster
- Panache - as you will almost certainly be playing more than 5 cards every turn, this will be a guaranteed 10 damage to all enemies every turn
- Thinking Ahead - upgrade this ASAP so that you can re-use it
- Violence
- Metamorphosis
- Purity - can get rid of strikes/defends in-combat, which, depending on the state of your deck, may allow you to go infinite
- J.A.X. - a rare card as it only comes from the Augmenter event, but any source of strength is a huge benefit for a deck that aims to play many 0-cost attacks every turn. As an added bonus, the card itself costs 0 and so, if you have the health for it, can quickly ramp up your damage to high levels in this deck.
Key relics that will help the deck:
- Kunai / Shuriken - Both of these are mandatory if you have already established the deck
- Frozen Egg/Toxic Egg/Molten Egg - if you are able to get these early on, look to buy some of the strong neutral cards that don't exhaust when upgraded
- Ornamental Fan
- Gambling Chip - can help speed up the deck
- Ice Cream - getting this will allow you to stack energy to play your high-cost cards, such as Sunder or Meteor Strike,or allow you to save up for a huge finisher, such as Tempest or Multi-Cast
- Prayer Wheel/Question Card - Either of these can help you get the right cards for the deck if you acquire them early on
- Unceasing Top - hugely beneficial relic for this deck, can allow you to go infinite
- Dolly's Mirror - can duplicate your key cards such as Clawor All for One
- Medical Kit - one of the biggest weaknesses for the deck are status cards, and this relic can get rid of them
- Prismatic Shard - very risky if you haven't already stabilized the deck, but if you have, this can give access to some amazing 0-cost cards from other classes
- The Abacus - as you will be cycling through your deck much faster compared to other archetypes, this can give some much needed block every turn.
- Vajra - strength is great as you will be playing many 0-cost attacks every turn.
Lastly, card-removal is disproportionately good in a 0-cost deck, and if you are able to remove all of your strikes/defends, you have the high possibility of "going infinite", which means you are able to continually play your entire deck until the combat is over.
- Merchant's card removal can get rid of some cards. The Smiling Mask can help with this as well.
- Peace Pipe is amazing here as it will let you remove an additional card at every rest.
- There are many events that remove cards for you
Lightning DoT
The Lightning Orb damage-over-time build tries to Channel many Lightning Orbs, boost Focus, and hold the fort with Block-granting Skills while the Lightning Orbs' passive wears down the opponents.
- Loop speeds up the process, and Fission+ can Evoke the accumulated Orbs to finish off the weakened enemies.. Biased Cognition's extreme Focus gain, along with Focus Potions, take this build to the next level.
Lightning Evoke
This build tries to Evoke as many Lightning Orbs as possible, beating enemies down eight damage at a time. Unlike other Orb builds, smaller is better - one Orb slot is optimal to facilitate Evoking.
- Thunder Strike,Tempest, and Bullseye are this deck's premier finishers, dumping huge volumes of damage onto the enemy. Static Discharge can also be effective.
Frost Turtle
The Frost deck Channels as many of the eponymous Orbs as possible to into an unbreakable wall of free Block. Once the shields are up, The Defect can devote every Energy to damage.
- This archetype is supported by Blizzard and Glacier, and relies heavily on Focus and Orb slot buffs.Barrage excels in this slot-oriented deck. If you have the File:Frozen Core.pngFrozen Core relic, it would fill your orb slots with Frost orbs. This would help you quicken the weak early game.
Dark
- The Defect can make the most of the tricky Dark Orb by defending for a few turns while it charges, then using Multi-Cast, Dualcast, or Recursion to Evoke it multiple times. This archetype isn't as well-supported as the others, but the satisfaction of Evoking a 54-damage Dark Orb three times (or more!) makes it worthwhile. Keep in mind that the Dark orb will target the lowest health enemy.
Greed
- The Defect has better access to Energy sources than other classes, and there's no better way to leverage them than a Meteor Strike, Aggregate and TURBO, and stockpile with Charge Battery. Dump your Energy into expensive bombs like Meteor Strike, Sunder and Tempest, draw cards with Skim and fling them at enemies, or make a good old-fashioned Unceasing Top wombo-combo. When you have 7 Energy, anything is possible.
Powers Matter
- The Ironclad likes Attacks, The Silent loves Skills, and The Defect completes the cycle with its affinity for Powers. Grab some Force Fields, drop an Amplify or Echo Form, stack up some powerful effects, and bury the opposition under your cumulative advantage. The Bird-Faced Urn is the perfect Relic to recover life lost while setting up.
Card synergies:
- Creative AI is probably the best card for this deck. It scales amazing with itself and with all of the other power-synergy cards that The Defect can get.
- Amplify - doubling any of your powers can be a huge spike depending on what the power is. Good targets for Amplify are cards like Defragment and Capacitor
- Refine the deck by using Powers to fill the roles of Attacks and Skills - consider Static Discharge and Storm your damage-dealers, Buffer and Self Repair your Blockers. The Powers deck's win condition depends on the particular Powers you acquire. Most builds will stack up Orbs, but some use Attacks and others simply lean on Creative AI and let the Powers do the work. The Mummified Hand can become really useful with a power deck.
RNGesus, Take the Wheel!
- Chaos randomly channels an orb for one cost, including Plasma, normally a two cost. Upgrade Chaos and pair it with defragment and draw cards and hope to envoke enough Plasma and Frost orbs to survive the next round.
Tempo
- This aggressive archetype deploys efficient cards with debilitating drawbacks, and attempts to end the battle before the consequences arrive. TURBO and Steam Barrier provide cheap resources, and Hyperbeam or Biased Cognition bring big damage, and each incurs a significant long-term cost. If The Defect can slam the door before the Statuses overwhelm it, the player enjoys a quick, decisive victory that doesn't give enemies much time to deal damage.
Barrage
- This deck centres around the three major cards of Barrage, Capacitor and Defragment if you want to get more value off of your orbs. The point of this deck is to acquire as many orbs as possible using cards such as Glacier and Chaos and then unloading a ton of damage using Barrage.
- Other cards that are useful are Trip or Beam Cell, to do maximum damage with Barrage and also Hologram or Seek, to find Barrage more consistently.
Snecko Eye
- The defect has several extremely powerful but expensive cards like Plasma, Echo Form, Sunder and Meteor Strike. By taking Snecko Eye early enough, you can focus on these cards for absurdly high-value turns. Many of these effects will generate more energy than they spend.
- All for One and Hologram can fetch cards which had their cost set to 0 the last time you saw them, even if they would normally be quite expensive.
- Most of the Defect's 0-cost cards are dead weight in this archetype, so it is important to home in on it as early as possible. If you don't get Snecko Eye from Neow or the first boss, pick a different strategy.
Unlocks
The Defect itself is unlocked by completing a run with The Silent.
| Unlock Number | Prizes Unlocked |
|---|---|
| 1st | Rebound, |
| 2nd | TURBO, |
| 3rd | Hyperbeam, |
| 4th | Gold-Plated Cables, Turnip, Runic Capacitor |
| 5th | Data Disk, Symbiotic Virus, Emotion Chip |
Gallery
The Defect in-game
The Defect appearing in its Steam Background
The Defect featured prominently in the card art for Biased Cognition
The Defect as he appears in some official artwork for the game
The Defect's character select screen
