How to beat the bosses and the most dangerous fights

Floor 16 is always one of four boss armies, and losing there ends the run no matter how many lives you have. Getting there isn’t guaranteed either, since some regular fights are more dangerous than they look.

You’ll see which boss you face when you reach it, so build a team that can handle more than one. All the stats are on the enemies page.

The four bosses

Matriarch’s Court

Army: Gargoyle, Dragon Matriarch, Imp, Drake, Imp.

Often the hardest of the four, in our experience. The Dragon Matriarch and the Drake both use Thunderclap, which hurts your whole team every round, and the Matriarch also fires Bolts and Hexes at your back line. Low-health heroes melt quickly here.

What helps: Plenty of health across the team, not just up front. Healing helps too, as does ending the fight quickly. Illusionist’s Smoke Screen blocks all ranged attacks for the first 2 rounds.

Golem’s Vault

Army: Hollow Golem, Gargoyle, Mimic, Witch, Cultist.

The Hollow Golem has 40 health and 7 armor, restores armor with Brace, and answers melee with Riposte while armored. Normal melee attacks can spend the whole fight just chewing through armor while taking counterattacks.

What helps: Damage that skips armor and reaches the front, such as Cutpurse’s Flurry at level 3, Executioner’s Axe or Venom Vial. Hex and Ignite go to the back of the army, so they won’t touch the Golem until the units behind it are dead.

Lich’s Crypt

Army: Bone Knight, Wraith, Lich King, Cultist, Skeleton Archer.

The Lich King has 48 health, heals itself with Second Wind, and revives once. Many units in this army come back after dying, so fights can run long.

What helps: Steady damage that keeps growing, such as Bard’s Crescendo or Archmage’s Arcane Surge. Enough sustain on your side to outlast the army is also important.

Warlord’s Horde

Army: Ogre, Orc Warlord, Orc Berserker, Orc Shaman, Warg.

A wall of health up front. The Ogre soaks up attacks with 18 health, more at Peril 10, while its hits also slow your heroes. Behind it, the Warlord and the Berserker grow stronger as they take damage.

What helps: Strong front-targeting attacks, since Bolts only reach the back of the army while the Ogre keeps absorbing hits. A durable front line will also stand up to the Warlord’s power gains.

The fights to watch for

On floors 1 to 5

Lurking Mimic (floors 1–4). Armored, with Riposte, and it steals 10 of your gold at the start. Beat it and you get your gold back plus its own 15. Low-power heroes may be unable to get through its armor, so check what you have.
Goblin Sappers (floors 1–5). Fast enemies that use Thunderclap on your whole team. Very dangerous to a two-hero start, especially with armed enemies at higher Peril levels.

In the middle floors

Bandit Ambush and Bandit Warband (elites). The Bandit Chief is a tough opponent for its floor, and it can steal a trinket from your bag if you lose. Goblin Looters also steal gold with each hit, and you only get it back if you kill them.
Floor 10 is a common wall. Five-unit monster teams are common by now, and on ranked runs there’s also a duel. Try to have at least one level 3 hero by this point.

On floors 11 to 15

Dark Vanguard, Black Guard and Legion. Dark Knights have high armor, Riposte, and take 1 less damage from melee. All-melee teams can struggle badly against them.
Drake Nest. Two Drakes and a Witch deal heavy area and ranged damage. Low-health teams can fall apart fast.
Royal Taxmen and Toll Gate. Tax Collectors take 20% of your gold at the start of battle. You get it back if you kill them, so don’t lose this fight with a large purse.

General advice for late fights

Keep a mix of damage types. A team with melee, ranged and armor-skipping damage has an answer to nearly everything.
Spread out your health. Area damage punishes teams with one big tank and four fragile heroes.
Spend your gold while you can. There’s little point in saving it if you don’t expect another Shop, unless you’re using it as a resource in battle.
Don’t plan around one boss. You can’t count on facing the one your team is best suited to.