HCCO/Guide: Difference between revisions

{{V|0.19}}

Thanks to everyone in #hardcore-mode-chat for making this possible. :)

=Preface=

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DEF should be your first combat skill that you level, as it greatly reduces the amount of damage that you will take from plants (roughly by half). ATK should be second and STR should be last (since you have a low chance to hit, it’s more important to level ATK rather than STR).

The style you choose will also give you experience towards the combat skill in question: Stabbing gives Attack experience, Slashing gives Strength experience, while Blocking is used to train Defence.

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'''The ENTER key repeats the last action you preformed in the game, so to make sure you eat as fast as possible be sure to click the potato and hold ENTER.'''

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     End: 4 steel pieces

You should get to about 10 in all melee combat skills (usually expressed as 10/10/10) by fighting plants and then it’s time to start getting your first gear.

==Chapter 0—I: Starting naked==

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After you kill the {{MonsterIcon|Zombie Hand}}, you should then move on to the regular {{MonsterIcon|Zombie}} for the {{ItemIcon|Steel Platebody}} (1 in 5 chance). It also drops {{ItemIcon|Steel Boots}} (1 in 5 chance), but you shouldn’t grind for them since {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight|Steel Knights}} are easier to get them from the {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight}}. (20/20/20 stats recommended)

You’ll end the first part of your HCCO journey with {{MonsterIcon|Steel Knight|Steel Knights}}. They drop the {{ItemIcon|Steel Helmet}} (15 in 67 chance), {{ItemIcon|Steel Shield}} (10 in 67 chance), {{ItemIcon|Steel Sword}} (10 in 67 chance), and {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar}} (4 in 67 chance). You should be using the {{ItemIcon|Steel Sword}} on ATK and DEF and the {{ItemIcon|Steel Scimitar|Scimitar}} on STR when killing most monsters, but again, daggers should be used on plants due to the fast attack rate. The {{ItemIcon|Mirror Shield}} is a useful item to get around here, but if you decide not to get it, you can avoid ever getting tasks in the {{ZoneIcon|Strange Cave}}

As mentioned, you will want to get the {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}} after getting full {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril armor}}, or even before getting the {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|platebody}}, as it is a really good upgrade at this point. It is practically a cold {{ItemIcon|Rune Sword}}, in stats, except it is slightly better defensively than offensively. The drop rate is 10% at the {{MonsterIcon|Ice Monster}} over at the {{ZoneIcon|Icy Hills}}. Huge. Because of variance, you might get it on your first kill or your 20th, but don’t be discouraged. Also, the {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}} is better at grinding {{Skill|Strength}} than all weapons from a lower tier, meaning that the next best strength weapon after.

==Chapter II—A: Looting Amulet==

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By using {{ItemIcon|Mithril Platebody|Mithril Armor}}, and having around 40 melee stats, it will take you around 5000 healing from food per run of the {{ZoneIcon|Spider Forest}}. Before you start running the dungeon, you should have a buffer of at least a thousand potatoes, just because RNG might be on your bad side.

It is quite possible to beat the zone without having any form of Auto Eat, and just make sure you time your manual eating right, since the damage of the spiders in the area is not too high.

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As soon as you have your hands on an Amulet of Looting, you can start to make money. A relevant point to make here, is that [[GP|money making]] at this stage is a compromise between risk and reward. Consider the time it takes to farm up the food you need, and the time it takes to farm the gold you want.

Assuming you’ve got the {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}}, the average gold yield per {{MonsterIcon|Cow|cow}} is 203 GP.

This chapter ends when you’re 40/40/40. Use {{ItemIcon|Adamant Dagger}} for idling {{MonsterIcon|Plant|plants}}, and {{ItemIcon|Ice Sword}} for tougher enemies.

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Each {{ItemIcon|Adamantite Bar|Adamant}} piece has a 1/48 chance of dropping, which, mind you, is much better than the drop chances of {{MonsterIcon|Rune Knight}}. Good luck on that! While you don’t really care about the {{ItemIcon|Adamant Boots|Green Boots}} nor the {{ItemIcon|Obsidian Cape}}, you may as well equip them once you get them. It will be a while until you replace the {{ItemIcon|Obsidian Cape|Cape}} for anything else, but there’s no point wasting {{ItemIcon|Silver Bar|Silver}}/{{ItemIcon|Gold Bar|Gold bars}} on the {{ItemIcon|Adamant Boots|Boots}}. You will get {{ItemIcon|Rune Boots}} quickly anyway.

'''BEWARE''': Do not Auto Eat {{ItemIcon|Potatoes|potatoes}} in the Arid Plains unless you have at least [[Auto Eat - Tier II|Auto-Eat II]]. You will lose all your potatoes instantly.

Also, you don’t even need to manual these two enemies! After getting these upgrades, you should keep on to your hat (literally!), because your next weapon upgrade comes from the {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Giant}} at the same area. You could also sell the hat, and rebuy it a bit later. The [[Slayer Coins|Slayer Coin]] cost is not too huge.

Farm up enough [[Gold Coins|Gold]] to upgrade your [[Auto Eat]] to Tier II at Master Farmer. With [[Auto Eat - Tier II|Auto-Eat II]] you can idle {{MonsterIcon|Turkul Giant|Turkul Giants}}, provided you have 23% dr and level {{Skill|Hitpoints|50 HP}}. With this, upgrade your weapon into the {{ItemIcon|Dragon Scimitar}} or, even better, the {{ItemIcon|Desert Sabre}}.

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     Start: 4x (G) Adamant Armour, 1x (G) Rune Boots, 1x Rune Gloves, 70/40/70

     End: 5x (G) Rune Armour, 1x Paladin Gloves, Elite Amulet of Strength. 70/80/80, Sunset Rapier / Ancient Claw, AE3

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You may wait to get the {{ItemIcon|Paladin Gloves}} until after getting {{ItemIcon|Rune Platebody|Rune Armor}}, or you may get it already. At this point you will use around 65 potatoes per {{MonsterIcon|Paladin}} kill, and the chance to get them is 1/171. Not too hard.

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==Magic Intro==

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Catalyst Runes are the runes you use to power up your spells, while Elemental runes select which element you’re using. You can remove the cost for Elemental runes with staves, which we will abuse to completely nullify the air cost, and thus only use air spells.

Keep in mind you will also need the Catalyst runes for each tier. Once you get to level {{Skill|Magic|30 magic}} you can start wielding {{ItemIcon|Air Battlestaff|battlestaves}}, and should therefore also cast Wind Bolts. No need for {{ItemIcon|Mind Rune|Mind Runes}} anymore, so sell them all.

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As with the {{ZoneIcon|Water God Dungeon}}, there are two ways to do the {{ZoneIcon|Earth God Dungeon}}: you can use a {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}}, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Skull Cape}}, and {{ItemIcon|Silver Diamond Ring}} and use the [[Surge I]] [[auroras|Aurora]] to just barely make your attacks fast enough to avoid being smacked while stunned and slowed, or use a {{ItemIcon|Magic Wand (Elite)}}, {{ItemIcon|Miolite Shield}} (or {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}} if you're lazy), {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Skull Cape}}, and the {{ItemIcon|Warlock Ring}}, which is fast enough to not worry about needing surge.

[[Ancient_Magicks|Ancient Magicks]] is not recommended, even with a {{ItemIcon|Mystic Air Staff}}, as while you can get 5.5 kills per hour with this gear, it also costs almost 600 ancient runes per kill.

== Into the Mist ==

{{UpgradeIcon|Dungeon Equipment Swapping}} upgrade is required to complete {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}}.  The minimum recommended gear is full {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}}, {{ItemIcon|Aeris God Platebody|Aeris}} and {{ItemIcon|Glacia God Platebody|Glacia}} god armor but it can be completed pre-Terran just with more active strategies (swap {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}} Gear for {{ItemIcon|Ancient Platebody|Ancient}} Gear and swap {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}} for {{ItemIcon|Dragonfire Shield}}.)  Recommended skill levels are {{Skill|Attack}}, {{Skill|Strength}}, {{Skill|Defence}}, {{Skill|Ranged}}, and {{Skill|Magic}} at least level 90, {{Skill|Hitpoints}} at level 99 and {{Skill|Prayer}} at least level 76.  Each of the 3 phases of the boss can only be damaged by an attack type that matches their own.  Melee vs melee, ranged vs ranged, magic vs magic.  The DR numbers provided assume a max hp of 1000 from level 99 {{Skill|Hitpoints}} and {{PetIcon|Finn, the Cat}}. (500hp max hp after affliction.)<br>

Hold Enter means that after you click on your food to eat manually once, which will target your equipped food. (You can see a bold grey box around your food to indicate it's selected.) Then you hold the Enter key on your keyboard, which will automatically try to eat each tick, and automatically eat when damaged. Do not let go until the attack is completed. This technique only works in browser versions of the game and is not required to complete the dungeon; it just makes it easier. Spam clicking your food can work as well.<br>

The most important thing to understand about {{ZoneIcon|Into the Mist}} is the [[Affliction|Affliction]] debuff, which lowers your max hp by 1% for every stack and stacks up to 50 times.  Every time an attack hits you, while in this dungeon there is a 70% chance to gain a stack of [[Affliction|affliction]].  This means that in long fights your max hp will drop to 500 which puts your auto eat threshold at 200.  The only way to remove [[Affliction|affliction]] is to defeat the current monster or run.<br>

===[[Into the Mist#Afflicted_Monsters|Afflicted Monsters]]===

For the afflicted monsters you will want to be using your strongest melee, ranged and magic sets.  Swap sets according to the attack style of the monster to gain [[Combat Triangle|combat triangle]] advantage.  Due to the variability of the monsters you face this phase can either be very easy or very hard.  Keep your eye on your current {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} threshold (which will drop from 400 to 200 as the fight continues) and the max hit of the monster you are currently facing (keeping in mind status effects like [[Sleep|sleep]], [[Stun|stun]] and [[Freeze|freeze]].)  You will likely need to eat manually in this section.  Alternatively you could hold enter to eat either some or all of the time. This phase is not a race against time like phase 1 and phase 3 so there is no need to rush.

==={{MonsterIcon|Mysterious Figure - Phase 1}}===

Recommended Gear: {{ItemIcon|Terran God Platebody|Terran}} or {{ItemIcon|Ragnar God Platebody|Ragnar}} Armor, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Guardian Ring}} or {{ItemIcon|Fighter Ring}}, {{ItemIcon|Darksteel Dagger}}, {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}}<br>

Recommended Prayers: {{PrayerIcon|Protect from Melee}}, {{PrayerIcon|Chivalry}}<br>

Combat Style: Stab<br>

====Attacks====

[[Mysterious Figure - Phase 1|Mark of Death]] (50%) (Auto Eat req 34DR)<br>

-An unavoidable attack that deals 300 damage, and applies +1 stack of Mark of Death to you (Maximum 3 stacks). Mark of Death gives 50% decreased damage reduction regardless of number of stacks. One stack is removed after each of your turns.<br>

[[Cursed Edge]] (35%) (Hold Enter/Spam Eat)<br>

-An avoidable attack that slices at you 2 times, dealing 600 damage each.<br>

[[Reap and Return]] (15%) (Auto Eat req 56DR)<br>

-An avoidable attack that hits 7 times, plus an extra time per Mark of Death stack applied to you. Deals 450 damage each and heals the enemy for 100% of damage dealt. Removes all Mark of Death stacks from you after attack.<br>

====Strategy====

For this fight it is very helpful to use a weapon with attack speed lower than 2.6.  This means that you can avoid getting hit while you have a stack of the [[Mark of Death]] debuff.  [[Mark of Death]] is survivable with {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at max [[Affliction|affliction]] provided you have at least 34DR. [[Cursed Edge]] can kill you through {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at high [[Affliction|affliction]] stacks so hold enter to eat for this attack once its max hit is higher than your {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} threshold.  With 56 DR you can survive [[Reap and Return]] using just {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} even at maximum [[Affliction|affliction]] stacks.  This fight is a race due to the healing the boss receives from [[Reap and Return]]. For this reason we use {{PrayerIcon|Protect from Melee}} to limit the amount of healing the boss can do.  It is important to not use {{ItemIcon|Sandstorm Ring}} since the special attack will stop you from clearing the Mark of Death stacks before being hit.  {{ItemIcon|Darksteel Dagger}} is very strong here due to how the bleed scales with monster max hp.<br>

Recommended Prayers: {{PrayerIcon|Eagle Eye}}, {{PrayerIcon|Sharp Vision}}<br>

Combat Style: Rapid<br>

====Attacks====

[[Mysterious Figure - Phase 2|Mark of Death]] (50%) (Auto Eat req 34DR)<br>

-An unavoidable attack that deals 300 damage, and applies +1 stack of Mark of Death to you (Maximum 3 stacks). Mark of Death gives 50% decreased damage reduction regardless of number of stacks. One stack is removed after each of your turns.<br>

[[Concealed Danger]] (35%) (Auto Eat req 56DR)<br>

-An avoidable attack that hits 1 time(s), plus an extra time per Mark of Death stack applied to you. Deals 450 damage each. Removes all Mark of Death stacks from you after attack.<br>

[[Shadowstep]] (15%) (-)<br>

-The enemy is surrounded with mist, gives the enemy +20% Global Evasion,+40% Damage Reduction and -20% Attack Interval for 1 of the enemy's turn. If buff is already active, perform a Normal Attack instead.<br>

Normal Attack (Instead of repeating Shadowstep while the effect is already active) (Hold Enter/Spam Eat)<br>

-772 Ranged Damage<br>

====Strategy====

For this phase we are once again avoiding the [[Mark of Death]] debuff by using a fast attack speed weapon.  In this case our attack must be faster than 1.75 which {{ItemIcon|Ancient Throwing Knife|Ancient Throwing Knives}} with the rapid attack style allows us to do.  [[Mark of Death]] is survivable with {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at max [[Affliction|affliction]] provided you have at least 34DR.  With 56 DR you can survive [[Concealed Danger]] even with maximum [[Affliction|affliction]].  The attack which you must watch out for is the normal attack which happens instead of [[Shadowstep]] if the boss already has the buff (the attack bar of the boss will be blue rather than yellow.)  This attack can kill you through {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at high [Affliction|affliction]] stacks so hold enter to eat for this attack once its max hit is higher than your {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} threshold.  This phase is not a race against time so slow and steady will work for this phase.<br>

==={{MonsterIcon|Ahrenia}}===

Recommended Gear: {{ItemIcon|Glacia God Platebody|Glacia}} Armor, {{ItemIcon|Fury of the Elemental Zodiacs|FEZ}}, {{ItemIcon|Warlock Ring}} or {{ItemIcon|Guardian Ring}}, {{ItemIcon|Magic Wand (Elite)}}, {{ItemIcon|Miolite Shield}} or {{ItemIcon|Earth Layered Shield}}, {{ItemIcon|Skull Cape}} or {{ItemIcon|Infernal Cape}}<br>

Recommended Prayers: {{PrayerIcon|Mystic Might}}, {{PrayerIcon|Augury}}<br>

Spell: {{Icon|Gust|type=spell|Gust}} or {{Icon|Slicing Winds|type=spell|Slicing Winds}}<br>

====Attacks====

[[Shadow Burst]] (70%) (Hold Enter/Spam Eat)<br>

-Fire off 3 large, avoidable, dark explosions that deal 800 damage each. Gives you -1% Global Accuracy that stacks up to 40 times.<br>

[[Ahrenia|Into the Mist]] (15%) (-)<br>

-The enemy disappears into the Mist. Gives the enemy +10% Damage Reduction each time they are hit for the duration of this attack (Stacks up to 10 times) and gives Regen that heals 10% of the enemy's max hitpoints over 10s.<br>

[[Fallen Light]] (15%) (Auto Eat req. 50DR)

-The Mist breaks away and the sky opens up to an unavoidable, falling ray of Darkness, dealing 400x15 damage over 2.8s.<br>

For this fight you will first and foremost need to achieve accuracy higher than 33,334.  This allows us to stay above the 20k accuracy requirement for [[Ancient Magicks]] while accounting for max stacks of the [[Shadow Burst]] debuff.  Once you achieve the required accuracy you should then try to get at least 50 DR.  How you achieve this combination of stats will depend or your exact {{Skill|Magic}} level and which [[Pets|pets]] and [[Equipment|gear]] you have currently collected.  It isn't possible to reach the DR needed to survive [[Shadow Burst]] even at low [[Affliction|affliction]] stacks so you will need to hold enter to eat whenever you see Shadowburst (this will be most attacks.)  [[Ahrenia|Into the Mist]] healing the boss means this fight is a race against time.  This is why we're going to use 100% accuracy [[Ancient Magicks]].  {{Icon|Gust|type=spell|Gust}} is a good choice but {{Icon|Slicing Winds|type=spell|Slicing Winds}} will also get the job done.  [[Fallen Light]] can be survived with {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} at max [[Affliction|affliction]] as long as you have at least 50 DR.  It is important to use {{UpgradeIcon|Auto Eat}} for [[Fallen Light]] since that will allow you to attack without being interrupted by manual eating.<br>