Rising to Mid-Game in V Rising

V-rising continues to dominate my game time lately. Since I've posted last about it, I've caught the elusive Twilight Snapper . . . twice (more about that later), built a throne, captured some minions, mined for iron, made a forge, killed a handful of bosses, outfitted myself and my minions, and have died and been reborn in a bat-filled whirlwind of a bloodbath A LOT. Basically, yeah, I've been having a great time! It continues to be the best $20 purchase I've made in a long time.

When you finally reel in that Twilight Snapper . . . whew

First off, let's talk a bit about that Putrid Rat boss.  Holy crap I was not expecting that rat to be that tough the first time around.  For a level 20 boss, he sure felt like he was 8 levels higher than that. He attacked fast, summoned a horde, and had a really small tether.  Some fights I'd have to restart it just because I had accidentally backed up too far from his spawn point!

Since it spawns from your vermin nest as a crafted boss, what really helped win the fight was not only having my minions in my castle help me kill it, but outfitting them with good gear to have them fight with me and not just instantly die. Sapping its essence then gave me the power of becoming a rat so I can sneak around and past big groups of enemies.  It's super helpful when you're trying to get to a boss while it's still night time.

Living my best ratty life

Eventually I was able to start mining some Iron because I had Merciless grade weapons, but I had absolutely no way of smelting said iron.  That meant downing the Bandit King.  

The Bandit King is probably the hardest of the bosses found in the southern map, and it took me a bit before I figured out the perfect skills to take him down. Basically the Blood Shield and the Blood Counter skills coupled with the Chaos Magic sprint skill and several axe swipes to the face.  Done!

That same Blood Shield and Blood Counter strategy also worked great against the Bear Boss. In fact, my practice defeating the Bear Boss with this strategy is what lead to me taking down the Bandit King with the same strategy.  I was raging pretty hard on those two bosses until I figured that out.  Repair costs and frustration from running back to the bosses were not good for my blood pressure.

Learning to Grin and Bear it in Bear Form

Having downed the Bandit King, NOW I could smelt that iron and do all the good stuff that comes with that, which includes unlocking Steel weapons, and WOW . . . what an upgrade getting those steel weapons is.  Once you have those weapons you have access to an extra weapon power and a couple of new weapon types, including the Scythe, which is my new favorite weapon type by far.

Now I'm looking like a friendly necromancer

The scythe can be thrown out and spins in an area slicing and dicing everything for a second or two. It's great and also does extra damage to undead, which was a plus since this morning's target was Nicholas the Fallen, a very UNFRIENDLY necromancer that excelled at casting poison bolts and summoning a horde of undead.

It took a few attempts. He was really good at lagging my computer tbh

I'm starting to really feel powerful in the game now, and having fun dominating lower level enemies. After today's rampage, I'm ready to start to crack into what seems to be the mid-game? I may have to build a second base up North now though. It's starting to become cumbersome if I die in the North and have to repair down South first. Plus I'm running out of room in my castle and need to start building out "rooms" that have floors that match the room's purpose for crafting bonuses.  Things are getting kind of cramped.

It's essentially one big room full of everything at this point

Happy Dueling!