As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

[Has Been Heroes] Now with free expansion! More heroes, spells, items, level and modes!

KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
edited November 2017 in Games and Technology
04jmc4r5675s.jpeg

What is Has Been Heroes?
Has Been Heroes is on odd game that contains:
  • The lanes of undead walking across the screen ala Plants Vs Zombies
  • The random items, maps and difficulty of a Roguelike
  • Three heroes take their turns with Active-Time-Battle style cooldowns
  • And a core mechanic of matching the number of attacks to the enemy defense that is a bit like a Tetris puzzle game.

The reviews look pretty bad, is it worth my time?
Well many people think that once you are past the initial learning curve, it can be very addictive and fun.

The Penny Arcade guys think so too.

What else is there to know?
The more you get into it the more there is to play with, such as:
  • 9 different main characters, spread over 3 classes, and then another 27 variants after that with differing stats and abilities.
  • Hundreds of spells and items which make each run unique.
  • An elemental system with interesting reactions between the elements
  • Tons of different enemies and bosses to fight, often requiring very strategic planning to defeat.

Some beginner tips...
Here's some things that might help the new player:
  • The game can be paused at any time. Always do this to plan out the next moves. There's no need to rush.
  • Characters can swap lanes only after a melee attack. You can swap as much as possible, so get it just right before unpausing.
  • Early on, just focus on stunning the enemy by matching your attacks to their stamina, then landing a powerful blow with the Warrior.
  • Visit every possible location on the map before fighting the boss. You'll need the items and money.
  • Using the free princess spells can be very powerful. Try casting the Rogues 'Doublestrike' spell multiple times to get 6x, 12x, 24x attacks.
  • The bosses can be tough at first, but they all have weaknesses. Many teach specific game mechanics (stunning, freezing, backstabbing, etc).

How about the elemental system?
The elemental system is quite fun to play around with. Here's how things interact...
  • Water -> Lightning = Double damage and lightning arcs
  • Water -> Wind = Frozen
  • Water -> Poison = Nothing as the poison washes off
  • Water -> Freeze = Extra long freeze
  • Fire -> Lightning = Explosion
  • Fire -> Water = Steam which slows enemies down
  • Frozen -> Wind = Slides the enemy backwards, stunning the guy behind him.
  • Wind = Knocks enemy into air so you can hit the guy behind him
  • Fire & Poison = Both damage over time, but if you touch them the debuff travels to you to (unless you are soacked with water)

Kriegaffe on
«134

Posts

  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    So I thought I'd try and make a page for Has Been Heroes discussion as I'd been commenting a lot in the Switch thread.

    (I've never made a 'First Post' on these forums before so hopefully it's acceptable.)

    I've spent close to 130 hours playing this now, which is kinda crazy, but it's exactly the sort of game I like. It's just super satisfying to pull of a really complicated move and decimate an entire screen full of enemies.

    Kriegaffe on
  • bobAkirafettbobAkirafett Registered User regular
    I realize I must have skipped over something in the tutorial or no longer remember, but what's this about free princess skills?

    akirasig.jpg
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    I realize I must have skipped over something in the tutorial or no longer remember, but what's this about free princess skills?

    Ok, so there's a couple of parts to this:
    1. Whenever an enemy gets hit with a spell or a melee attack a combo meter builds on that enemy
    2. If they die, a number of souls equal to the combo is collected by one of the princesses.
    3. Souls from enemies dying in the top lane goes to the top princess; bottom lane goes to bottom princess; and middle lane seems to be one or the other.
    4. If the princess fills up their orb with souls, a spell can be cast immediately with no penalty. I.e. No cooldown restrictions and no life penalty for Dark Spells.
    5. After casting, the maximum capacity for that orb goes up by 20.
    6. A larger capacity means it's harder to get another free spell, but it also increases the possible number of souls collected for that fight (thus increasing the amount of unlocks at the end of the run)

    So with some careful planning, it's possible to rack up some big combos and quickly fill the orbs. It kinda adds another dimension to the game other than surviving. Prior to using this system, I'd get about 1k souls for a run. Now I get over 5k.

    Mostly I use the free spells to apply Doublestrike multiple times, as it's a good way to refill the orbs. However, certain AOE spells also rack up a the combo meter really quickly. (This one run I has 'Legendary Flash Sweat'... OMG it's so crazy)

    Kriegaffe on
  • b1rdmanb1rdman Registered User regular
    Oh, I knew all of that but was unaware or not paying attention to the fact that the combo number affected the number of souls. That may make me start using them. I try not to so I unlock more at the end of the rounds

    steam_sig.png
    3DS: 1118-0304-5441 | PSN: b1rdman385 | steam:b1rdman385 | BattleTag(Diablo 3): Marticus#1981 | NNID: b1rdman
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    b1rdman wrote: »
    Oh, I knew all of that but was unaware or not paying attention to the fact that the combo number affected the number of souls. That may make me start using them. I try not to so I unlock more at the end of the rounds

    Yeah, I find raising the max orb capacity to 40 or 60, and only partially filling them, will generally get more souls overall than just leaving it full at the initial 20.

  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    The free skills are useful for stacking Double Strike. The max is 999 hits.

    I also find the item and spell gamblers to have the worst return on investment initially, but a little better later on when you can tell approximately what items/spells they are based on their icons and having encountered them before.

  • WraithvergeWraithverge Registered User regular
    KPC wrote: »
    The free skills are useful for stacking Double Strike. The max is 999 hits.

    I also find the item and spell gamblers to have the worst return on investment initially, but a little better later on when you can tell approximately what items/spells they are based on their icons and having encountered them before.

    I couldn't figure out how people were getting so many stacks of Double Strike, this totally makes sense! Thanks!

  • b1rdmanb1rdman Registered User regular
    The most I've got on double strike was 24, or maybe 48 once, I think. But I never used the orbs for it. So I can see how quickly it can go larger.
    I'll have to try this today

    steam_sig.png
    3DS: 1118-0304-5441 | PSN: b1rdman385 | steam:b1rdman385 | BattleTag(Diablo 3): Marticus#1981 | NNID: b1rdman
  • bobAkirafettbobAkirafett Registered User regular
    Man I can't even get past the first boss, like 2 maps in.

    akirasig.jpg
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    Man I can't even get past the first boss, like 2 maps in.

    Is it the ghost pirate?

    Edit: I guess the biggest early game tip is to make sure you visit every (possible) location on a map and squeeze every ounce of gold, items and spells before hitting the boss. If it's the boss fight itself, then check that playlist below.


    There's a guy who who has video guides for all bosses. Playlist below:

    Kriegaffe on
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Kriegaffe wrote: »
    Man I can't even get past the first boss, like 2 maps in.

    Is it the ghost pirate?

    Edit: I guess the biggest early game tip is to make sure you visit every (possible) location on a map and squeeze every ounce of gold, items and spells before hitting the boss. If it's the boss fight itself, then check that playlist below.


    There's a guy who who has video guides for all bosses. Playlist below:

    For the first boss, kill his adds with the back attack; when you come back from an attack, rotate the characters so that the one coming back hits an add from the back. They're weak, like 1HP, so any hit would kill them. Try not to waste any main attacks on the add. The boss is also a good primer on how to make sure you match up the number of hits to the number of stamina left; it starts with 6, which is perfect for each hero to attack it once. Then it goes down to 5, so the 3x and 2x hero hit it once each, 4 = 3x + 1x, and so on.

  • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
    This is one of the games on switch that intrigued me the most, I'm downloading it now.

    sig.gif
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    I unlocked my 18th character last night.

    Just at the end of the run I managed to get the 'Dark Fireblood' spell and give it to a character with decent health regen and in a slot where the Buffs are reapplied.

    What that means is I could have all three characters spewing fireballs randomly all over the battlefield, nearly constantly for the entire battle. It was the most glorious thing I've ever seen.

    I nearly died too because in all the burning chaos, the final boss got through to one of my characters and nearly killed them.

  • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
    Ok yeah, this game is interesting. I managed to get all the way through the run and unlock a character, only because I had already read so much about this game (especially the pause button). It's true that it really does a bad job of explaining the mechanics to you, or at least how you are expected to use them.

    Is there not a way to rearrange items/spells and such between characters, or do you have to assign them correctly when you get them from the vendors?

    Also, are there different scenarios to go through? I only went through two 'regions', which was fine for my first game, but I didn't see a way to go through a longer game.

    I unlocked the bard, but I don't see a way to find any stats or anything about him. Are there major differences between the alternate versions, or is it mostly cosmetic?

    sig.gif
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    Is there not a way to rearrange items/spells and such between characters, or do you have to assign them correctly when you get them from the vendors?

    Assign them correctly, when you get them. This may seem like an annoyance... but getting the right spell in the right slot can make it incredibly powerful. The two slots I find most useful is 'Buff applies to whole party' and 'Buffs are reapplied'.
    Also, are there different scenarios to go through? I only went through two 'regions', which was fine for my first game, but I didn't see a way to go through a longer game.

    Every time the game is beat opens up another map. So: 2 maps -> 3 maps -> 4 maps... up till 8.
    The final boss is always a pirate ghoul. The bosses on the way alternate between one of two random choices for that map. I.e. The first map is always the Assassin with the shadow clones OR the Boxer looking dude who starts with 8 stamina.
    I unlocked the bard, but I don't see a way to find any stats or anything about him. Are there major differences between the alternate versions, or is it mostly cosmetic?

    There are actual differences.

    On Switch, pressing in the L stick alternates between looking at spells or looking at items. Each character starts with 1 item, which is basically their base abilities. For example, the first Monk does extra spell damage whilst the Bard has life regen.

    Some are really powerful; the next Warrior resets their melee cooldown every time they cast a spell. With low cooldown spells, he can attack quite a lot.

  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    Oh wow this game does not explain its mechanics very well at all in the tutorial. I tried the tutorial out and then got stomped in my very first battle after that.

    Now that I sort of know what's going on, this seems like a really neat little puzzle roguelike, but holy crap they needed some better explanations for how you're supposed to play.

    Spawnbroker on
    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Oh wow this game does not explain its mechanics very well at all in the tutorial. I tried the tutorial out and then got stomped in my very first battle after that.

    Now that I sort of know what's going on, this seems like a really neat little puzzle roguelike, but holy crap they needed some better explanations for how you're supposed to play.

    A lot of it is by design, I think. Part of the whole roguelike genre where you learn by doing/failing? There's definitely a learning curve, which may or may not turn a new player off.

  • b1rdmanb1rdman Registered User regular
    I learned mostly by watching Mike and Jerry play on their stream, which coincidentally sold me on the game. I've only unlocked 2 characters and feel like I've plateaued, but I'm determined to break free of the wall I keep running into because the game is just well designed to make me want to keep playing regardless of the punishment it keeps serving me

    steam_sig.png
    3DS: 1118-0304-5441 | PSN: b1rdman385 | steam:b1rdman385 | BattleTag(Diablo 3): Marticus#1981 | NNID: b1rdman
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    b1rdman wrote: »
    I learned mostly by watching Mike and Jerry play on their stream, which coincidentally sold me on the game. I've only unlocked 2 characters and feel like I've plateaued, but I'm determined to break free of the wall I keep running into because the game is just well designed to make me want to keep playing regardless of the punishment it keeps serving me

    With the bard and luchador you have the potential to dominate. Use water spells and follow it up with lightning. Abuse the fact that the luchador immediately refreshes his attack when you have him cast a spell. If you can slot a lightning spell in his 2nd slot (I think), the lightning will arc further.

  • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
    Does the Switch have any online manuals like the Wii U did? I keep looking around for anything but I don't see anything.

    After winning my first game, I'm having more trouble now with the 3 length runs, I've lost about 4 or 5 more times now. That one boss with the 50 stamina is ridiculous, but somehow I've managed to pull it out a couple times.

    Another thing about this is that I don't feel like I really get how to use either the starting mage or the bard. I don't feel like I really get how to use their starting spells, especially the mage - the bard's at least deals damage. But I'm not sure what the benefit of freezing is on its own, though it seems like it might last longer than stunning - but you still walk towards them, so I've never really gotten the use of the whole time anyway. I feel like I should be using it a lot more because of its super short cooldown, but I hardly ever do.

    I'm also not really ever using the princess orbs, they only ever seem to fill at the end of a battle. It's based on comboing, right? I also keep running into those damn skeletons stealing my souls.

    sig.gif
  • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
    I think I'm going to start using the bard exclusively, just because they can pop those little ice bomb skellies when fighting the shield boss.

    sig.gif
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Freezing lets you do direct damage to their health. Doesn't affect max stamina when you smash them, though.

  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    I alternate between the Bard and the Tiger for my 2x. The former has team regen which is good for mitigating poison/fire/dark-spells. The latter is a reasonable third damage dealer, especially if given all the +10 dmg items that are otherwise useless.

    I've tried to organise a pure spell team, but it's too dependant on what turns up from the vendors.

  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    Does the Switch have any online manuals like the Wii U did? I keep looking around for anything but I don't see anything.

    After winning my first game, I'm having more trouble now with the 3 length runs, I've lost about 4 or 5 more times now. That one boss with the 50 stamina is ridiculous, but somehow I've managed to pull it out a couple times.

    Another thing about this is that I don't feel like I really get how to use either the starting mage or the bard. I don't feel like I really get how to use their starting spells, especially the mage - the bard's at least deals damage. But I'm not sure what the benefit of freezing is on its own, though it seems like it might last longer than stunning - but you still walk towards them, so I've never really gotten the use of the whole time anyway. I feel like I should be using it a lot more because of its super short cooldown, but I hardly ever do.

    I'm also not really ever using the princess orbs, they only ever seem to fill at the end of a battle. It's based on comboing, right? I also keep running into those damn skeletons stealing my souls.

    Not sure about manuals.

    The 50 stam boss is all about freezing then damaging. The fight is all about that specific mechanic.

    The first monk/mage spell is not very good, but it is useful. Cast it on a high stam enemy, then hit it with a weak melee attack (suck as the monk or a backstab) then follow up with a powerful 1x Warrior attack.

    As for princess spells, I did a write up before, but in short:
    a) Yes, every 'hit' in a combo turns into a soul upon the enemy's death
    b) Rack up big combos to fill the orb
    c) Use the free spells to rack up even bigger combos, mostly through Doublestrike. There are other options later on that are also excellent options for the free spell.

  • b1rdmanb1rdman Registered User regular
    Finally beat the fire boss, and unlocked tigress (sorry, looks like the KFP character in the unlock shot). Is there an incentive to play that one over the bard, or at this point is the bard luchador still the best 1-2 punch because of water and lightning?

    steam_sig.png
    3DS: 1118-0304-5441 | PSN: b1rdman385 | steam:b1rdman385 | BattleTag(Diablo 3): Marticus#1981 | NNID: b1rdman
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    I think tigress grants global HP regen, if I'm remembering correctly. But you're correct in that bard/luchador synergize better.

  • b1rdmanb1rdman Registered User regular
    Did a playthrough with tigress, and the attack power is way better than the other two at the two slot. I kill way more enemies with that character

    steam_sig.png
    3DS: 1118-0304-5441 | PSN: b1rdman385 | steam:b1rdman385 | BattleTag(Diablo 3): Marticus#1981 | NNID: b1rdman
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    KPC wrote: »
    I think tigress grants global HP regen, if I'm remembering correctly. But you're correct in that bard/luchador synergize better.

    The Tiger heals 10 HP per hit, blocked or not. After beating the final boss, Dark spells appear that have no cooldown, but drain health. So a character that can self-heal becomes very powerful.

    I just did a run where I got a dark spell that reset the entire groups melee cooldown, and 5 seconds off every spell. I gave it to the Tiger and used doublestrike on him as much as I could to ensure he was doing enough hits to regen all my life and allow me to cast the spell every time I needed it.

    It was probably the easiest playthrough I've ever done , though it was kinda fiddly. I was constantly having to navigate through the spell grid and cast my spells because their cooldowns reset much, much faster than usual.

    Kriegaffe on
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Kriegaffe wrote: »
    KPC wrote: »
    I think tigress grants global HP regen, if I'm remembering correctly. But you're correct in that bard/luchador synergize better.

    The Tiger heals 10 HP per hit, blocked or not. After beating the final boss, Dark spells appear that have no cooldown, but drain health. So a character that can self-heal becomes very powerful.

    I just did a run where I got a dark spell that reset the entire groups melee cooldown, and 5 seconds off every spell. I gave it to the Tiger and used doublestrike on him as much as I could to ensure he was doing enough hits to regen all my life and allow me to cast the spell every time I needed it.

    It was probably the easiest playthrough I've ever done , though it was kinda fiddly. I was constantly having to navigate through the spell grid and cast my spells because their cooldowns reset much, much faster than usual.

    If you can luck into a golden/master spell early it makes your run so much easier.

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    The second boss added after I unlocked my first class, the skeleton that splits into three, is beating my ass. I figure I need to take them out based on speed, but I still can't seem to get there.

    What is this I don't even.
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    The second boss added after I unlocked my first class, the skeleton that splits into three, is beating my ass. I figure I need to take them out based on speed, but I still can't seem to get there.

    Hit the middle one with enough hits to stun/drain all stamina. Then focus all your attacks on the bottom one while making sure the attacking hero comes back through the middle lane for backstab damage. The top is super slow so you can ignore it for a while.

  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    Darkewolfe wrote: »
    The second boss added after I unlocked my first class, the skeleton that splits into three, is beating my ass. I figure I need to take them out based on speed, but I still can't seem to get there.

    Here's some hints if you want them:
    • Leave the top guy till last.
    • The bottom guys is the weakest with only 4 stam, but also the fastest.
    • Quickly break his stam by getting 4 hits ('3hit + 1hit' or '2hit x 2 with Doublestrike) then follow up. Then 3hit stun -> 1hit followup -> 2 hit stun -> 1 hit followup, etc.
    • The middle guy can be a bit of a problem as he'll probably get near your guys while you are breaking the bottom guy. Try and knock him back or use a spell to keep him at bay.
    • The middle guy also has a haste spell which speeds up his friends. He'll raise his sword in the air so try and interrupt that.
    • If you have the default Warrior, he'll have the Hot Potato spell that automatically drains 20 stam. Use that on one of the lower two guys when it makes sense. I.E. maybe save it for when the middle guy gets close so you can knock him back easily whilst working on the bottom guy. Or use it on the botto guy in an emergency.
    • If you can beat the bottom two guys, the last guy is pretty easy. If you have any crit gear, you'll still do damage whilst whittling away his 25 stam.
    • Freeze spells also are effective in this fight.

    Kriegaffe on
  • SpawnbrokerSpawnbroker Registered User regular
    Oh my god I just realized I've been playing this game wrong. I thought the -1 Max Stamina debuff only happened if the Warrior hits the enemy for some reason.

    This changes everythingggg

    Steam: Spawnbroker
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    Oh my god I just realized I've been playing this game wrong. I thought the -1 Max Stamina debuff only happened if the Warrior hits the enemy for some reason.

    This changes everythingggg

    Yeah, any stunned enemy who is hit with a melee attack loses -1 Max stamina. The Warrior is usually the best choice tho as he has the highest base damage.

    Another handy hint is that a Stunned enemy will have their Stun timer reset when 'Backstabbed' (i.e. hit by a hero returning from an attack).

    I just did that 3 skele boss and kept the middle guy perma-stunned by stunning him once, then having all heroes making attacks on the bottom guy return through the middle lane.

    Kriegaffe on
  • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
    Welp, just lost on a pretty good run because I didn't realize that there existed mages who could just fling fire down at me. Not sure what I'm supposed to do about that.

    What is the purpose of collecting the souls and unlocking things at the end of a run? I feel like it shows symbols that I don't really know what they are, that don't seem to be items or spells or whatnot.

    sig.gif
  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    edited June 2017
    Does the rogue backstab better or anything? Seems like it might, though I see no in game indication it would.\

    Edit: I want to like the bard but I think the wizard is better except for the rare times when I RNGesus a lightning weapon.

    Darkewolfe on
    What is this I don't even.
  • KPCKPC Registered User regular
    Welp, just lost on a pretty good run because I didn't realize that there existed mages who could just fling fire down at me. Not sure what I'm supposed to do about that.

    What is the purpose of collecting the souls and unlocking things at the end of a run? I feel like it shows symbols that I don't really know what they are, that don't seem to be items or spells or whatnot.

    They unlock items and spells that you might encounter on future runs, but you won't know what they are or how they work until you buy/get it. Yay, genre!

  • WyvernWyvern Registered User regular
    For anyone who might be interested: Has-Been Heroes is 50% off for the Steam summer sale on PC ($9.99): http://store.steampowered.com/app/492290/HasBeen_Heroes/

    "Metacritics really badly because its unique mechanics are baffling and hard to learn but has a cult following" is basically my catnip, so I'm giving it a go. I'd have preferred to get it on Switch, but I don't have one yet and god knows when I'll be able to buy one, so whatever!

    Switch: SW-2431-2728-9604 || 3DS: 0817-4948-1650
  • KriegaffeKriegaffe Registered User regular
    Welp, just lost on a pretty good run because I didn't realize that there existed mages who could just fling fire down at me. Not sure what I'm supposed to do about that.

    There are items that nullify fire/poison/lightning. The most common ones are colored pills ('Red Pill', etc), that have three buffs.

    As an example... +10 melee dmg, -20% damage taken, Immunity to Fire

    The other strategy is run with the Bard who will health regen through the damage.

    I have often killed myself early in a run where I have gone fire crazy and don't yet have the right immunity.

  • WyvernWyvern Registered User regular
    I finished the prologue and then unlocked 79 things at once. The vast majority of which were skeletons in fancy hats.

    I can grok the basic stamina mechanic, but I feel like I still have a pretty poor grasp of what it means to actually play well. I barely even remembered to use my spells. I wonder what the first real run will be like...

    Switch: SW-2431-2728-9604 || 3DS: 0817-4948-1650
Sign In or Register to comment.