Did you know that “Lich” is actually an Old English word for a corpse? At this point, everybody playing Loop Hero knows that their first major obstacle is to beat the Lich, dropping it where it stands. The problem is, many haven’t yet had the pleasure of knocking the jerk off of his ever-so-high ivory tower.
Personally, it took me nearly 100 loops before I ended him for the first time. So, with that in mind, it’s high time to discuss some strategies for dispatching everyone’s favorite undead abomination.
The Key
One of the biggest factors that make the Lich so powerful is its palaces, which eventually spawn and encircle your base camp. In Loop Hero, palaces appear at the same time that the Lich’s crystal appears on the map to replace your campsite. At least in chapter one, and possibly in later chapters, every palace that is created adds an additional 5% to both the Lich’s health and damage.
What they don’t tell you in the game is that palaces can only spawn in unpopulated areas. For that reason, it’s critical to make sure the 3×3 grid surrounding the Lich’s crystal is completely occupied. You don’t necessarily need to take care of this early in your run, but be sure to keep a close eye on the Lich’s status bar. As long as you can get these in place before the spawning, you should be golden. And just in case you happen to miss a spot or two, Oblivions can still be used to clear out palaces after they’ve been erected.
Timing is everything
Did you know that the Lich’s power actually scales with the player? The earlier into a Loop Hero run that you face off against that diabolical bastard, the better chance you could have at whipping his lifeless ass. The problem with this is, it’s all dependent upon you leveling up your gear as fast as humanly possible. If you were planning on taking this approach, it would be best to place as many monster-spawning tiles on the map as possible.
While there are plenty of positives to this approach, it should be noted that this option tends to be a bit of a crapshoot. If you were to take your time when going into battle, you’d have the chance to have all of your gear “just so.” Unfortunately, the quick-shot method will require a little bit of luck to acquire the gear and stat boosts needed to be successful.
Mind those stats
In my personal runs, I found that focusing on evasion was the best tactic to take. I’ve heard that others have had just as high levels of success leaning more towards the Vampirism side of the spectrum. Regardless of whichever direction you decide upon, it is best to focus exclusively on one direction or the other very early on in the round.
I’ve found that anywhere in the 30% range should be sufficient enough to be able to dodge attacks, while still dishing out enough damage to bring the Lich to its proverbial knees. Well, it’s more like the Lich spills itself all over the floor, but you will get to see that first hand after putting these new tactics to use. Good luck and happy hunting!
Loop Hero is currently available for purchase via Steam. For more help with games, check out our other guides.
