Use separate attempts for speed and companion safety
Complete the under-35-minute objective and the no-companion-death objective on separate runs. The speed clear rewards familiar choices, quick layouts, and controlled risk. The survival clear rewards threat reading, resource reserves, and protection of every companion. Combining them creates unnecessary conflict between skipping time-consuming safety and preserving the whole party.
Practice both with the same class and central damage plan before starting a focused attempt. Familiarity reduces reward-screen time and makes dangerous enemy actions easier to recognize. Begin the tracked run only when the build can reach the final Guardian without experimental gear or an unfamiliar companion sequence.
Build the under-35-minute attempt around decision speed
Choose a class archetype already completed successfully. Define automatic reward rules before the run: which shapes fit the anchor, which roles are already covered, and which offers are immediate skips. Keep a common item when it fixes a real problem now; roll when it adds no value and the stable board can absorb the result.
Avoid full inventory rebuilds for small gains. Place the anchor first, preserve its best contacts, and keep connected open cells so upgrades install locally. Use mana to prevent delays that would create extra dangerous turns, but do not spend time optimizing a safe encounter beyond what the route requires.
- Select a practiced class and one damage plan.
- Define keep, skip, and roll rules before the timer attempt.
- Use an anchor-first layout with flexible space.
- Make only replacements with an obvious net gain.
- Carry the established plan into the final Guardian.
Protect companions before lethal pressure develops
For the no-companion-death attempt, identify the unique role each companion performs and which loss breaks the party. Equip automatic triggers that occur consistently, add enough durability for the expected pressure, and use the main hero to create one clear target. Default attacks that favor low-health enemies work better when the hero avoids spreading damage.
Spend mana before the lethal action, not after the companion is already lost. Remove the enemy whose next turn threatens the essential role, protect the role directly when that changes survival, and keep enough finishing damage to end the encounter. Defense that only prolongs a losing state is not enough.
| Check | Required action |
|---|---|
| Essential role | Identify healing, armor, finishing, or support that cannot be replaced |
| Threat | Target the enemy whose next action endangers that role |
| Timing | Use Initiative or mana before the lethal turn |
| Focus | Create one low-health target for automatic finishing |
| Recovery | Enter the next pressure fight with resources available |
Use objective-specific reset rules
For the speed attempt, continue after a small mistake when the run remains on pace and the build is stable. Restart when repeated rebuilds, a broken damage lane, or slow fights remove the realistic time margin. The goal is a complete clear under 35 minutes, so early perfection is less important than a fast coherent run.
For the survival attempt, restart after any companion death because the objective is already lost. Before restarting, identify the action that caused it and change one element: target priority, mana timing, durability, Initiative, or party role. Immediate diagnosis prevents the next attempt from repeating the same failure.
- Speed: reset for lost pace plus a broken build, not every weak reward.
- Safety: reset after a companion death and record the lethal action.
- Keep the same practiced core while changing one failure point.
- Do not add unrelated achievement goals to either attempt.
Prepare both challenge runs for the Guardian
Preserve the established win condition when entering the final Guardian. Respond only to the visible final-fight state: on the speed attempt, make the smallest effective change for the armor, health, turn order, or effect currently shown; on the survival attempt, reserve mana for a visible action that threatens an essential companion.
Focused damage, sustain, Corruption, and fortitude reduction are useful only when already supported by the run. Do not install all of them at the final node. A practiced, readable party finishes faster and protects companions more reliably than a last-minute mixture of tactics.
Review the correct metric after failure
For speed, review time spent on reward choices, inventory rebuilding, and fights that lacked focused damage. For companion safety, review the exact turn, enemy, and missing protection that caused the death. Do not evaluate both attempts with the same standard.
Repeat with one correction until each objective registers. Once both are complete independently, the challenge work is finished; combining them provides no additional achievement condition.