TOPIC: TrueGrind ... what to expect

I was thinking about maybe trying to get into a run next year, and I was wondering what to expect. Thanks.

macXdmg wrote: I was thinking about maybe trying to get into a run next year, and I was wondering what to expect. Thanks.

I think it is usually about 12-15 monsters, usually three at a time. The difficulties are harder, so Hardcore Grind is about equivalent to Nightmare dungeon. There tends to be more environmental effects. It requires more strategy and teamwork. And you should bring a lot of consumables and expect to use them.

I personally love it!

Expect to die and have a great time doing it!

My girlfriend and I did our first grind this year and had a blast!

You only die whey you forget that you are wearing the Cloak of Shadowskin... ARGH!!!

Try to find a group on the forum to join. Any of the teams I saw this year would be happy to help you out. But I only saw half of them, so there could be a dud group out there... Doubt it though.

There is only one real reason to Grind: fun. You get one treasure chip, one completion token, and a badge on the off-chance you survive the boss fight. No XP, and no greed tokens. Everyone is playing for the fun and the challenge. There is no timer. When one monster dies, another appears. Very little time to stand around killing time waiting for something to happen.

Saying "Grind is like regular dungeons with more combat" is a little like saying "NASCAR is like commuting to work with more left turns."

Brad Mortensen wrote: Saying "Grind is like regular dungeons with more combat" is a little like saying "NASCAR is like commuting to work with more left turns."

LOL very well put!

True Grind is combat focused in that you are fighting lots of monsters. You won't see animatronic monsters (so if you are into the "haunted house" aspect of TD, then Grind probably won't appeal to you) and you won't see the types of puzzles or skill tests that you will in the normal dungeon.

On average there are about 5 rooms, and about 2-3 combat boards per room. This year's WYC had 11 combat boards while this year's GenCon had 14.

The adventure is designed to run for 1 hour long, but the event is 90 minutes so that the first 30 minutes can be used for coaching (recording the party card).

While you certainly can play True Grind as a mindless hack 'n slash, there are additional levels of depth. I put a lot of thought into designing the adventure and so there are often lots of cerebral puzzles or easter egg situations within the adventure. You can certainly plow through such challenges or ignore them, but they are there if you want to try and solve them.

I also spend a lot of time analyzing tokens to find creative applications for them. There are often benefits to carefully considering your build (instead of simply copy/paste from your normal TD build), though some people don't have the time for it. And carrying around some old, obscure, cornercase tokens can often help a lot (though it isn't strictly necessary).

Finally, teamwork and tactics is often crucial. There have been plenty of tokened out players who have been devoured because they couldn't work together or adapt to a monster's strategy. And there have been lots of players with relatively few tokens who have succeeded because they exceled in this area.

Incognito wrote: Finally, teamwork and tactics is often crucial. There have been plenty of tokened out players who have been devoured because they couldn't work together or adapt to a monster's strategy. And there have been lots of players with relatively few tokens who have succeeded because they exceled in this area.

By teamwork he means, kill the Ranger that is distracted looking for potions! Then yes this is the event for you!

All in all, team work is essential, I think the team work is more essential in this type of combat than a combat room.

As the NASCAR I like that comment, remember NASCAR you have to have great mechanics (building your character), great communication (knowing when to pass, hold position. etc.), pit stop crew (healing, spells, potions etc) and the ability to be agile enough to respond to different monsters coming at you.

This might be something to try at WYC

I was invited by someone to try it this year at GenCon, but it conflicted with the auction house.

Grind is meant to be challenging, and there is often a risk of character death.

And bear in mind that the monsters often target major threats (e.g. Bards, glass cannons) or look for easy prey (e.g. characters who seem vulnerable).

Incognito wrote: And bear in mind that the monsters often target major threats (e.g. Bards, glass cannons) or look for easy prey (e.g. characters who seem vulnerable).

Remind me:

1. Not to play a glass cannon (Ranger), but that will not happen!
2. Sit there and dig through a token carrier being distracted and just taking the damage! (e.g. characters who seem vulnerable)

Incognito wrote: and you won't see the types of puzzles or skill tests that you will in the normal dungeon.
.

Our Monk/Elf Wizard - Alan would beg to differ.

Am I correct in assuming Alan holds the record on:

Most number of Successful skill checks in grind.
AND
Most number of Failed skill checks in grind.

??