Halls of Tormentis a roguelike action game that can be unforgiving to ill-planned players. Even withjust seven classes, every run feels unique and exciting—thanks to various ability upgrades, equipment, and blessings. The Haunted Caverns is the first dungeon or “hall” available in Halls of Torment.
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As such, many players go into the Haunted Caverns without maxed-out blessings and gear. That means you have to understand and play around the game mechanics to beat the level. Follow the strategy guide below to overcome hordes of devilish fiends, kill the Lord of Pain, and beat the first level in Halls Of Torment.
Get The First Ability Scroll
In Halls of Torment, abilities are additional weapons thathelp you clear mobs and level up faster. That’s why reaching the available ability scroll should beyour first priority.
Upon loading the level, set a direct course tothe ability scroll icon at the bottom of the map.
The mob density is low for now, making it easier to move across the map and reach objectives. Weave through the mobs andpick up all experience crystals that drop along the way.
Once you reach the first ability scroll,an elite enemy will spawn near you.Maneuver around the elite and get the scroll fast. You’ll kill elite enemies faster withability upgrades.
Thankfully, early elite enemies in the Haunted Caverns don’t have special attacks. They’re simply tanky enemies that move slowly and drop additional rewards upon death.
Choose Your First Ability And Farm
In Halls of Torment,AOE damageis king. This is particularly true if you are still struggling with the Haunted Caverns and only have access to the starting heroes.
Below are the best abilities to pick up for high AOE damage:
If an ability scroll doesn’t contain any of the abilities above, here are a few alternatives (in order of priority):
When leveling up between levels 1-30,focus onoffensive traitsthat enable you to deal more damage and kill mobs faster. You can bypass the need for survivability by simply avoiding damage, which should be easy during the first half of the stage.
Defeating Enemies In The Haunted Caverns
Elite enemies spawn in The Haunted Caverns at specific times. Knowingwhen they appearlets you prepare either by upgrading specific traits or farming upgraded experience crystals.
Skeleton Elite
With around27:40 time remaining, theSkeleton Elitewill appear and drop anability scrollupon defeat. It has no special attacks and should go down quickly if you focus on upgradingoffensive traits.
While fighting the Skeleton Elite, slowlygo towards the Hand of Greedat the top of the map. When you reach it, don’t pick it up until you’ve generated a lot ofupgraded experience crystals.
Around24-25minutes remaining, skeletons will spawn around you and box you in. This is an opportunity to generate upgraded experience crystals—just hold your ground and press’R’to enable auto-aim.
Imp Chieftain
Pick up the generated experience crystals and upgrade your offensive traits and movement speed via theSwift Feettrait. This will help you defeat theImp Chieftain, which appears with exactly24 minutes remaining.
The Imp Chieftain is boss with AOE attacks, which can be tricky to avoid if you’re unfamiliar with its attack patterns. Watch for itscasting animation(raising its hammer) and avoid the AOE attack indicators on the ground.
After defeating the Imp Chieftain, waves of skeletons and shield skeletons will surround you with around21:40 time remaining. If you have high enough damage through offensive traits and abilities, stand your ground and farm experience crystals again.
Shielded Skeleton Elite
At around19:45,anotherSkeleton Elitewill spawn—this time, wielding a shield. Apart from its tankiness, this elite enemy doesn’t have special attacks and can be defeated easily.
Hellhounds
Be sure to defeat the Skeleton Elite before the18-minute mark. At this time, hordes ofHellhoundswill spawn and spiral into your location.
Again, if you focused on offensive traits and AOE abilities, you should be able to stand still, press’R,‘and generate upgraded experience crystals.
Skeleton Lord
With16 minutes remaining, pick up the generated experience crystals quickly to prepare for theSkeleton Lord. This boss has a special attack that deals AOE damage in a circle around you.
The best way to beat the Skeleton Lord is to kite it in a circle without moving too far. Otherwise, you may get in the range of its AOE attack.
Skeletons And Hellhounds
With around15 minutes remaining, walls of skeletons will again close in on you in waves. You cangenerate upgraded experience crystalsin this phase but watch out for skeleton mages that shoot projectiles.
Defensive traits, likeVitalityandMetabolism, are useful here. These traits also improve your chances of surviving past this point.
Another wave of Hellhounds will spawn with around12 minutes remaining. But don’t stand your ground and farm experience crystals just yet.
Elite Skeleton Mage
At around11:20,anElite Skeleton Magewill appear, shooting three projectiles toward you. It teleports within a fixed distance around you, making it challenging to track and avoid amidst the hordes of Hellhounds.
But if you have enough damage and somedefensive traits, you’ll beat this elite in no time.
After beating the Elite Skeleton Mage, you’ll have plenty of time to generate upgraded experience crystals. Stand still, press’R,‘and pay attention to any enemy that may squeeze past your weapons.
The Lich
Just remember to pick up the experience crystals andboost yourdefensive traitsbefore the8-minute mark, during which theLichappears. This boss moves fast, shoots projectiles in a circle, and summons spectral skeletons that run to you.
The Hellhound spawns make it difficult to avoid attacks. As such, it’s important to get more health, defense, and health regeneration before fighting the Lich.
The good news is you have all the remaining time after defeating the Lich to farm upgraded experience crystals.
Remember, stand still, press’R’to enable auto-aim, and watch out for projectiles from skeleton mages. You should be able to generate more than enough experience crystals to exceed level 70 before the timer expires.
If you can find aHand of Greedthis late in your run, go near it, but don’t pick it up until the last second. This ensures you get all the available experience before facing the Haunted Caverns’ final boss.
Defeating The Lord Of Pain
TheLord Of Painis the final boss of the Haunted Caverns. It hasmultiple AOE attacksand a charge that is difficult to avoid without upgrading the right traits.
Just before the timer reaches zero, pick up all the experience crystals you can get. Ideally,you should have a Hand Of Greed nearbyto get every bit of experience possible.
This time, you need toupgrade your movement speedwhenever theSwift Feettrait comes up. This trait is crucial for avoiding the Lord Of Pain’s arsenal of ranged attacks.
Other upgrades should be put in defensive traits likeMetabolism, Thick Hide,andVitality.
Remember, if you reached this point,you should have more than enough damageto defeat the Lord Of Pain. The issue now issurviving his AOE and dash attacks.
Look closely at the Lord Of Pain throughout the fight. This bossstops moving momentarily before casting a ranged attack or dash—that’s your cue to run and move laterally to avoid the attack’s line of fire.
Phase Two
Reducing the Lord Of Pain’s health bar to zero initiatesphase two, where he’llget off his mount and fight you on foot. This is when his ranged AOE attacks become really problematic.
The key, however, is tofocus on the attack indicators on the groundto avoid damage. Keep moving away from the Lord Of Pain to get more wiggle room for evading his projectiles.
In terms of attacking,just aim in the Lord Of Pain’s general direction—he should move in range by himself throughout the fight.
Upon defeat, the Lord Of Pain willdrop a purple crystal. Pick it up to complete the level and return to camp. Congratulations on your victory!
