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Halls of Tormentis widely considered a spiritual successor of Vampire Survivors; an unforgiving, roguelike action game seasoned with RPG elements. The game features a total of seven classes and dozens of hero customization options to make each run unique and exciting, from stat-boosting equipment to overpowered ability upgrades.
Related:Halls Of Torment - Character Tier List
Forgotten Viaductis the last and arguably most difficult dungeon in the game, and even with maxed-out traits and decent equipment, players may still struggle to beat this level without the right strategies. Follow our strategy guide to make the most out of ability scrolls, overcome every challenge, and dominate the Lord of Despair in the Forgotten Viaduct.
Level Start: Get To The First Ability Scroll
Upon starting the Forgotten Viaduct, take advantage of the low mob count toget as close as possible to the Ability Scrollat the bottom of the map.
Hug the top railings to easily maneuver around enemy minions and try to kill the ones in your way. Defeating a few minionsallows you to gain a few quick levels for your first trait or ability upgrades.
Focus onmaximizing your damageearly on. You don’t need survivability traits since enemies are still really easy to avoid.
Hugging the top railings in the Forgotten Viaduct also forces minions into columns below you.This makes it easier to clear them to gain some breathing roomand generate experience crystals.
After around two minutes, if you already rescued the Cupbearer, you’ll come acrossa potion ingredient that spawns a mob of green zombies.Sweep them upin a counter-clockwise mannerto soak in the extra experience.
You will also encounter the first elite enemy, which also drops an ability scroll. Try to flank itso you also hit minionswhen you attack.
For this particular run, you shouldaim for AOE abilities with reliable damage potential, namely:
If you didn’t roll any of these abilities, feel free to restart the level. Of course, you’re welcome to continue the run with another AOE ability, likeAstronomer’s Orbs and Dragon’s Breath.
If you picked up theRadiant Auraability, isolate elites to deal heavy damage with each hit. This allows you to defeat enemies with high health quickly.
Below are other optional abilities you can choose whenever the abilities above nor their upgrades aren’t available:
Go To The Opposite Side
When you reach the Ability Scroll at the bottom, hug the railings again, andmake your way to the opposite side of the map.Be prepared to face the Wraith Horsemanwhile you make your way to the Ability Scroll at the top.
The key here is tokeep moving laterally through the map, sticking close to the walls, and picking up health restoration items from the crates whenever necessary.
Killing the Wraith Horseman unlocks the Shieldmaiden—another playable character. It also drops equipment, which you’re able to wear or deposit into the well at the center of the map.
If the Wraith Horseman doesn’t drop anything worth keeping, go past the well andcontinue toward the Ability Scroll at the top.You’ll get another chance to visit the well near the end of the level.
Avoid picking up the Hand of Greedor “magnet” for now. You can get a huge experience boost later in the game once you’re strong enoughtostand still and farm experience crystals.
The Mid-Game: Choosing Abilities And Facing Bosses
Around the 15-minute mark, you should be able to reach the top end of the map and pick up the Ability Scroll. Take note that theFrost Knight also spawns around this time.
Again,focus on avoiding this boss’s projectileswhile dealing as much damage as possible. This can be difficult because of the White Wraiths thatmove fast and have increased armor.
The good news is, you may easily defeat these wraiths—along with the Frost Knight—if you have an ability that applies fragile.This includesTransfixionalong with the upgraded versions ofRing BladesandRadiant Aura.
Late Game: Standing Still and Beating the Hydra
With around 12 minutes left on the level, you should be strong enough to stand still and generate upgraded experience crystals. But first, move to the center of the map where the Hand of Greed pickup is located.
Press R while standing stillto automatically aim at enemies when auto-attacking(right-click). Sit back, watch out for elite enemies, avoid their attacks, and repeat.
Pick up theHand of Greedwitharound seven minutes left in the timer.At this point, you should have enough experience crystals to reach level 70 or higher—just in timeto defeat the Hydra when it spawns at the top railings.
Stay directly below Hydra and keep attacking from a safe distance, givingyou enough room to dodge its projectiles.After defeating the Hydra, youstill have around five minutes leftto farm experience points.
Take note that the opposite ends of the bridgewill be lined up with unkillable wraiths.These wraiths will walk toward the center of the mapuntil the Lord of Despair appears.
As such,avoid generating experience crystals near the edges, because unless you can pick up another Hand of Greed,you’ll end up losing the crystals once the wraiths pass over them.Instead,stay at the center of the mapand farm experience crystals there.
With just around 30 seconds in the timer, youshould have enough experience crystals to reach level 90.Pick them up andprepare for the Forgotten Viaduct’s final boss.
Beating The Lord Of Despair
The Lord of Despair isa large monster that primarily relies on summoning spectersto deal damage. As long as you can avoid these summons, you should be fine.
When battling the Lord of Despair, it’s often beneficial to stop movingfrom time to time andobserve the direction of its summons.If you have enough movement speed, you won’t have any problems dodging them, althoughbeing in constant movement is one of the most important thingsto keep in mind.
While the Lord of Despair has a ton of health, it has low movement speed. This makes it easier tostop and focus on avoiding its summonswhile you deal consistent damage.
If youdeal consistent damage and dodge attacks reliably, it’s only a matter of time before you beat the Lord of Despair andfinally finish the Forgotten Viaduct.
Trait Progression Path
Not sure where to spend your upgrade points when leveling up? From levels one to thirty, it’s recommended toprioritize offensive traits to kill mobs and level up faster.
You can push through the first half of the Forgotten Viaductwithout a defensive trait due to the low density of mobs, which makes it easy to avoid enemies. But once you reach level 30, it’s importantto invest some points in defensive traitsto improve survivability.
If you lost a good chunk of health,focus on Metabolismto regenerate them before the later bosses and elites. Otherwise, pour your upgrade pointsinto traits like Parry, Vitality, andThick Hide.
Aroundlevel 60 and beyond, you need to circle back toability upgrades, movement speed, defensive traits, andoffensive traits. Prioritize ability upgrades tomaximize your AOE damage,thenchoose Swift Feet whenever it comes up.
Lastly, distribute your remaining upgradesevenly between defensive and offensive traits.Use your discretion to decide which trait upgrades offer bigger bonuses.
Description
Weapon Proficiency
Increases two offensive stats, such as attack range, attack speed, and base damage.
Proficient Stance
Increases combat efficiency by improving offensive and defensive stats like attack range, critical hit chance, base defense, block strength, and more.
Increases attack speed by 8%.
Ability Upgrades
Improves (or alters) the damage, range, size, and effects of abilities.
Dedication
Increases a combination of two defensive stats, including health, regeneration, movement speed, block strength, and defense.
Regenerates 0.1, 0.15, or 0.2 health per second.
Increases movement speed by 6% or 9%.
Adds +2, +3, or +4 block strength.
Increases base defense by +2, +3, or +4.
Increases health by +30, +50, or +70.
Improves or alters the damage, range, size, and effects of abilities.
Increases two defensive stats, including health, regeneration, movement speed, block strength, and defense.
