Walkthrough: Dungeon Defender, level 9 (Wizard/Hard)

Skill allocation: Three points into the manticore tree, and everything else into the avatar tree (abilities and treasure skills only).

Finally. The best of the best the humans have got. And it is not even THAT difficult. Assuming that you manage to get a solid defense up in time.

To do so, dig out the areas where the demons and elementals are placed first (see the screenshot below). Move your avatar as shown to a place near the left spawning point and keep him around, unless the enemies threaten to overrun the other path.

Try to place a demon to right soon, because your melee units will be outnumbered vastly in the beginning. Also get at least some manticore lairs up fast to be able to stop the enemy valkyries.

On the left, you can hold out with two minotaurs and one manticore lair for quite a while, so focus on building up defenses on the right.

Place lairs as shown and throw in some traps in between. If you have some money to spare, buy some depots, but usually you need most of the money for the lairs and traps.

If everything goes well, you should not have much trouble. Watch out for the boss enemy, though. If it breaks through, the game is lost.

Congratulations, you've made it! Let's all hope there will be a Dungeon Defender 2 soon!

Walkthrough: Dungeon Defender, level 8 (Wizard/Hard)

Skill allocation: Three points into the centaur tree, all other available points go to the avatar tree.

With this skill settings and some nice lair placement, this level is a lot of fun!

Keep your avatar near the left spawning point most of the time, and move it away only in case you need to help out elsewhere and the enemies are threatening to overrun one of the other paths.

Immediately issue dig orders for the more important spots. Start with some of the minotaurs and centaurs, as they are the cheapest. For the left spawning point, you will need only one minotaur and your avatar for a while.

Make sure to place those lairs first which will have the most contact with the humans. For example, the Centaurs on the bottom lefternmost corner (where the enemies turn around the corner) will be active almost constantly. Another example is the demon lair immediately to the right of the bottom spawning point.

Try to conserve money: Build only as much as necessary to survive. If you have about 500 to 1000 gold coins of trease, buy one or more depots, as they will greatly increase your income.

Enjoy and stay tuned for the final level!

Walkthrough: Dungeon Defender, level 7 (Wizard/Hard)

Skill allocation: Three points into the manticore tree, everything else goes to the avatar.

Pause the game, and issue dig orders covering most of the treasure squares. Also, dig out the altars and temples as fast as possible.

Keep your avatar near the left spawning point, as seen on the screenshot. Start out with only a minotaur lair and your avatar on the left, and with an elemental and some minotaurs on the right.

Build the lairs as depicted below and focus on the demons (because the really hit hard) and the lairs around the bonus-providing squares (altars, temples).

Good luck!

Walkthrough: Dungeon Defender, level 6 (Wizard/Hard)

Skill allocation: Three points into the Centaur tree and all other points into the avatar tree.

I found it easiest to complete this level relying mostly on Centaurs and a couple of minotaurs to engage the enemies who make it through the rain of arrows your centaurs let loose. Also, one or two liches on the exit of the long paths on each side are somewhat mandatory, since the enemies will pool up there and make a great target for the liches area attack.

Just check out the screenshot below for the lair placements... Enjoy it, and let me know if you need additional advice.

Walkthrough: Dungeon Defender, level 4 (Wizard/Hard)

Skill deployment: Put three points into the manticore tree and the rest (1 point) into your avatar tree. By the way, the screenshots can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Timing is very critical in this level, because you will want to get the treasures as soon as possible. On Hard mode, it is near impossible to make the level without digging out at least some of the treasure chests. Whenever you are not attacking treasure guardians, help out your troops at the bottom of the stone walls.


Start out with five Minotaur lairs and place them as seen on the above screenshot. Immediately place dig orders for the two squares next to your home tile and the door and treasure behind the goblin cave to the right. Head for the goblin cave and stop over your minotaur lair, triggering the goblins and centaurs attack while letting your Minotaur take the on the Goblins and catch the Centaurs' arrows.

As soon as the goblins are dead, position yourself over the goblin lair, protecting the peon and at the same time attacking the centaurs. With the 100 gold coins from the treasure, buy three manticore lairs and place them centered below the stone pillars as seen on the next screenshot.

Buy two more manticore lairs when you can afford it and place them left and right of the other three you already have. Next, go for the minotaurs guarding the second treasure lair: Place a minotaur lair as shown in the next screenshot and lure the enemy minotaur out with your avatar. It will be engaged by your creatures as well as your avatar and should not last long.



The enemy manticores will (or already have been) taken care of by your troops, because they have a big patrol radius and will move out on your rightmost manticores usually. The liches are quite weak so you can just kill them with your avatar without much risk.



When you can afford it, place elementals and manticores as shown above to destroy the guardian demons, hydras and dragons. The elemental guardians can be opposed best with your own elementals, or a couple of minotaurs if elementals are not yet available.



Repeat the above for the guardians on the left side of the screen and you should finish the level with lots of gold.

That's it for level 4. Stay tuned for level 5, and please let me know if there is anything missing here.

Strategy and tips: Dungeon Defender

One of my all-time favourite flash games, Dungeon Defender, is a unique Tower Defense game with some RPG elements. It was created by Greyhoundgames.com.

In this chapter, I will explain basic tips and strategies which apply to all levels. I am also going to post walkthroughs for levels 4 and 6 to 9 (but not for levels 1-3, since they hardly require any serious thinking). Here is a quick overview linked to the walkthroughs:

Level IV

Level VI
Level VII
Level VIII
Level IX


Skill deployment
During the first three levels, I recommend putting everything into avatar development (i.e. attributes). It gives you a lot more damage output and lets you survive better.
From level 4 on, it really depends on the level what to choose. The right skill allocation can make the difference in winning a level. Usually, you want to have three points in either the manticore or the centaur tree, and the rest in the avatar tree. I will point out the optimal skill deployment for each of the levels in the corresponding walkthrough.

Lair Placement
Two rules make for maximum effect when placing lairs:

1. Place lairs first where there will be the most contact with enemies:
Ranged created should be placed close to the spawning points so that they can engage the enemies immediately. But keep at least one and a half sqaures distance because otherwise the "explosion of good" that occurs when your creature is too close to a spawning enemy will wipe out all your troops inside its radius.
Melee fighters can be placed a long distance away, as long as their patrol radius covers the enemy path. Generally, it is best to always set the patrol radius to maximum. Althought this means that your troops will die more frequently, they will gain much more experience that way and kill the enemies earlier.

2. Avoid placing lairs in the path of enemies:
Doing so implies the risk of the enemies running over and destroying your lair.

Save money!
Try to conserve money: Build only as much as necessary to survive. If you have about 500 to 1000 gold coins of trease, buy one or more depots, as they will greatly increase your income.


Check your inventory frequently
Usually, it is a good idea to change the inventory control from auto to manual. That is because the AI just prefers the newer items, even if the currently equipped item is superior. For the Wizard, e.g., you will want to have as much Haste and Magic bonusses as possible.


Lairs
Goblins: They are the basic creatures. I am not a big fan, although they might be of some use when you place them in large numbers. Usually, after level 2 I do not buy goblins at all.

Minotaurs are very useful melee fighters, especially with their first upgrade which gives them a 30 percent speed increase. Even in the later levels where elementals are available, it is good to have some minotaurs for the sake of numbers.

I am going to finish this chapter soon. In the meantime, enjoy this truly great game!