A few tips for completing the game more quickly.
1. Character Selection
Use the warrior only to complete the quest Whirling Combo (Kill 2 enemies with one circular strike). After that is completed, select a different save slot and use the mage.
Use the mage.
2. Spell Use
Once you're a high enough level, spec into fire and max the meteor spell. Then max the potion skill (far left skill tree) so that potions give maximum mana.
3. Quick Way to Complete Stages
For every stage, find that right spot to stand where multiple enemies are on screen and spam your meteor spell, until you run out of mana. Then, for the remaining enemies, try to find the one to fight where you see the most enemies on screen. Spam potions for mana, while fighting, and then spam the meteor spell (if more than one enemy is on the screen) or spam magic missile if only one enemy is on screen.
4. The Stats that Matter
The only stats that matter are health, DPS, mana, and magic power percentage boost.
- Weapons are DPS items,.
- Off-hand are mana and magic power items.
- Gloves, boots, chest armor. and helmets are health items.
5. Gear to Use
Check the gear from vendors and check the loot you picked up. Often it's worse, but occasionally you will get really solid items. I had a weapon with around 24.3 DPS, and an off-hand item with about 197 mana and 89% magic power boost.
Epic items will out rank legendary and unique items. Legendary items are practically, if not completely, useless. Shards are also useless as they can only be used to gain gear that is legendary or unique.
You can use the shard, to purchase the mystery pouch and then sell the equipment for gold. You might get lucky and open an epic item that has solid stats and you can use.
6. Getting Potions Quickly
At first you may have to grind the early stages like 1-1 or 1-2 on normal mode, for potions and gold, but eventually (after you reach high enough levels) gold stops becoming an issue. You will have an abundance of gold at a certain point.
However, you may be low on potions, but have lots of gold, but vendors only sell so many potions before they run out of them. To get the vendors to restock potions, simple exit to the save file selection screen, and then load you current character. When the game loads from he save file selection screen, the vendor restores his items (and new items will be available).
7. Potion Usage.
I could complete every stage, normal, hard, and impossible, without about 40 or so potions (depending on the difficulty chosen).
I would spam potions for mana, so even doing that doesn't burn too many potions. I tried to have around 100 potions going into any stage.
Final Note
The player level you are will affect how many potions you need to use and how you employ these strategies. I would say you can fully use these strategies at around level 15 (you should be able to have meteor spell maximized and a few points in making potions give more mana). Around level 18 or so, in area 2, spamming potions should stop mattering as this is where you get a lot of gold (if you pick up gold and sell items). You can use that gold to buy many potions with tip number six.
