This guide and its builds were designed prior Dungeon Defenders v8.2 (CDT Update 2)

The Community Development Team (CDT) decided to buff golden enemies which results into a massive increase of their health and strength. For latest maps and certain enemies (every enemy has an internal level), the boost has changed from marginal 15% to 500%. Sadly, not enough users were against this change while the Beta was running. The beginners get the short end of the stick.

All builds still have the potential to last but depending on your luck and appearance of golden enemies you may notice a breakthrough of golden enemies. Following list contains maps and challenges I encountered issues by my own with lowered stats.

• Sky City
  
• Crystalline Dimension
  
• Akatiti
  
• Karathiki
  
• Palantir
  
• Winter Wonderland
  
• Buccaneer Bay
  
• Silent Night

You have to keep an eye on golden enemies (especially Wyvern) now as mediocre player. Please don't impress your disappointment by down-voting this guide but let me known about other breakthroughs and vocal your voice at the official forums. This change was neither requested by the community nor thought-out well in regard to lower and mediocre stats such as for survival mode.

Thank you for your understanding and support.


The map has been created with the goal to add something challenging for high-end players. I've done two variants of a build for Level 74 builders (high-end myths, up to 3.5k with very high sides of up to 3k), it is more a show off than anything else. The Phoenix requires a much better equipped high-end DPS hero. Having such a good DPS hero but being limited to 3k would be extremely strange. Therefore I actually don't want to add the myth 3k build into this guide.

Aside of the achievement there is no reason to farm this map for whose who can't or fear a challenge. If your heroes are well equipped and you categorize yourself as high-end then you may want to check out following guide.
http://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=738018697

At first, it is not entirely new that you are able to clear*¹ the game on Nightmare with 2k stats. You will find a few well working builds for lower stats if you search for older guides at the official forums. I am going to show you my favorite builds for 1k and 2k stats on Nightmare Hardcore difficulty.

All builds were used in public runs and will work for up to 4 players unless otherwise stated.

Please don't forget to the guide if you got some assistance by it - thanks for your support. Further notes and credits at the end of this guides.

*¹ Only the latest survival maps require higher stats (Winter Wonderland and newer) and probably the Challenge Greater Turkey Hunt.

• The Heroes
  
  • Used Builders
    
  • Used DPS Heroes
  
  
• Eternia Shard Maps
  
  • Mistymire Forest*²
    
  • Moraggo Desert Town*²
    
  • Aquanos*²
    
  • Sky City*²
    
  • Sky City - Aggro Build
    
  • Bonus: Karathiki
    
  • Challenge: Crystalline Dimension
  
  
• Bonus Maps
  
  • Akatiti*²
    
  • Karathiki (see above Eternia Shard Maps)
    
  • Kings Game*²
    
  • Kings Game - Aggro Build
    
  • Palantir*²
    
  • Tavern Defense*²
    
  • Tavern Defense - Aggro Build
    
  • Tinkerer's Lab
    
  • Winter Wonderland
  
  
• Lost Quests Maps
  
  • Buccaneer Bay
  
  
• Challenges
  
  • Boss Rush
    
  • Crystalline Dimension (see above Eternia Shard Maps)
    
  • Etherian Holiday Extravaganza (inspired by q3.railgun)
    
  • Halloween Spooktacular 2
    
  • Lab Assault*²
    
  • Moonbase
    
  • Silent Night (inspired by Mischief[www.dungeondefenders.com])
    
  • Sky O' Love
    
  • Temple O' Love
    
  • Volcanic Eruption
  
  
• Pet Farming
  
  • Cat on Sky City
    
  • Genie on Hall of Court*²
    
  • Kobold on Tavern Defense*² *³
    
  • Mega Chicken on Tinkerer's Lab*³
    
  • Seahorse on Aquanos*²
    
  • Skeleton on Winter Wonderland*³

*² This map can be cleared with 1k stat builders.
*³ This survival was done on Insane Hardcore difficulty.

For most of the maps you will be fine with Summoner, Monk and Series EV but having all builders is much more comfortable and you are able to defend with a variety of builds. You want to equip your best gear to Summoner and Monk. In most cases they are the most important builders.

• Summoner - 1000 / 1000 / *** / *** ( HP / DMG / Range / Rate )
  
• Monk - 1000 / 1000 / 1000 / ***
  
• Series EV - 1000 / *** / *** / ***
  
• Huntress - *** / *** / 1000 / ***
  
• Squire - 1000 / 1000 / *** / ***
  
• Apprentice - 1000 / 1000 / *** / ***

• Summoner - 2000 / 2000 / *** / *** ( HP / DMG / Range / Rate )
  
• Monk - 2000 / 2000 / 2000 / ***
  
• Series EV - 2000 / *** / *** / ***
  
• Huntress - *** / *** / 2000 / ***
  
• Squire - 2000 / 2000 / *** / ***
  
• Apprentice - 2000 / 2000 / *** / ***

Note: Stats marked with '***' are less needed, anything above 600 for 1k stat builders and anything above 800 for 2k stat builders is quite well.

Many players are unsure of the stat distribution after they have hit the milestone of 2k stat builders. Following reflects my personal preferences and stat distribution of my transcendent-armored and always used builders (click to view)

• Summoner - DMG > Health > Rate = Range ( 5500 / 4000 / 1200 / 1200 )
  If you are fighting bosses for a long time like the Phoenix from Embermount Volcano then you may want to respec your hero points into Health for Uber-Tanky Minion Walls since Mage's Heal Amount depends on Tower Health.
  
  
• Monk - DMG > Health = Range > Rate ( 5500 / 2500 / 2500 / 1200 )
  Range scales very poorly after that milestone. For more survivability you may want to put more and more points into Health.
  
  
• Series EV - DMG = Health > Rate = Range ( 4000 / 4000 / 1200 / 1200 )
  As higher as better but 600 points in all stats is enough to just build Tower Buff Beams.
  
  
• Huntress - DMG > Health = Range > Rate ( 5500 / 2500 / 2500 / 1200 )
  Such as for Aura Range, Trap Range scales poorly after that milestones. If you are going to use Proximity or Spike Traps you may want to put more and more points into Health. In case you are just building Gas and/or Darkness Traps, damage stat is obsolete.
  
  
• Squire - DMG > Health > Rate > Range ( 5500 / 4000 / 2500 / 1200 )
  Many veterans take rate over health but rate scales badly while health scales almost linear. More healthy towers means less maintenance for you during combat phases. You also don't have to protect them by building Minion walls in front of them, quite awesome.
  
  
• Apprentice - DMG > Rate > Health > Range ( 5500 / 3333 / 2500 / 1200 )
  Here it is rate over health. Due to the extremely low health scaling of Apprentice' towers you will have to protect them with walls in any case.

I've had my issues to get down to 2k, therefore I limited myself to use only mythical gear (weapons and pets were also mythical), but that wasn't enough. Often I've had to unequip weapons, pets and/or armor as you will see in my videos.

• Potential of mythical-geared builders
  
  • 1872 points (Mythical armor - 4*468)
    
  • +300 points (Mythical accessories - 100+100+100 ➝ low-tier)
    
  • +400 points (Mythical pet or Turtle)
    
  • +400 points (Mythical weapon e.g. Obsidians)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    2972 points without any hero points
    
  • +331 points (available Hero points for Level 74)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    3303 points
  
  
• Potential of mythical-armored builders using higher quality stuff (a regular builder)
  
  • 1872 points (Mythical armor - 4*468)
    
  • +800 points (Supreme accessories - 300+300+200 ➝ mid-tier)
    
  • +600 points (Ultimate pet or Kobold)
    
  • +600 points (Ultimate weapon e.g. Obsidians)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    3872 points without any hero points
    
  • +985 points (available Hero points for Level 100)
    --------------------------------------------------------------------
    4857 points

• Monk (Melee DPS) - he is using mythical armor but he still reached 3k easily so I've had to equip accessories with huge negative DPS stats.
  
  • Hero Health - 2000 (suggested: 1500+)
    
  • Hero Damage - 2000 (2000+)
    
  • Tower Boost - 1456 (1000+)
    
  • Hero Boost - 2000 (1500+)
    
  • Resistance - 90% Generic / 90% Fire / 68% Lightning / 83% Poison
    
  • Pet - Mega Chicken with just 30k Base Damage, alternative:
    
    • Dragon with ~48k Base Damage (~300 Upgrades)
      
    • Seahorse with ~17k Base Damage (~250 Upgrades)
  
  
• Jester (Upgrader) - she is also using mythical armor. To get down to 2k I've had to use tower pieces but with upgraded resistance. Basically just used to upgrade stuff quickly. Therefore she had a Lupine Bow equipped.
  
  • Hero Health - 1743 (suggested: 1000+)
    
  • Hero Damage - 1783 (1500+)
    
  • Hero Casting Rate - 758 (750+)
    
  • Wheel O' Fortuna - 1608 (1000+)
    
  • Resistance - 90% Generic / 90% Fire / 77% Lightning / 79% Poison
    
  • Pet - Genie with just 10k Mana Collection Bonus

Note: I strongly advise to hit 90% resistance for Generic and Fire damage and at least 66% resistance for Lightning and Poison damage.


A lot of people tend to choose Barbarian as their primary DPS hero although a Monk has a much stronger DPS on Nightmare. A DPS Monk is in my opinion the best and most efficient DPS hero of the game. His Tower Boost greatly supports your defenses meanwhile his DPS is insanely high using an attacking pet like Dragon, Seahorse or Mega Chicken. Now the question is using Monk as range or melee wise hero?

Why do people prefer range?
Most people claim that they are able to kill stuck Djinns and Copters. Also most of them tend to stay behind the defenses. So they are actually just boosting the defenses with their Tower Boost. This way they often use a Genie in order to accumulate Mana for the boost.

Why people should choose melee?
You are still able to lure Djinns and Copters with your non-upgraded ranged damage. If they are stuck on each other then well ... it takes a bit longer to kill the first stuck enemy. Who cares?

You will support your defenses much better if you stay in front of them in order to help killing Ogres. Therefore you have an attacking pet like Dragon, Seahorse or Mega Chicken equipped. The Monk has the best pet scaling of all heroes it would be not smart to miss it.

In case you are fighting with a ranged weapon you need to stay very close to enemies in order to hit with all projectiles. Then you are better suited with a melee weapon and moving a step closer. You will notice that you will deal damage to multiple enemies if they are close enough, not like the projectiles which disappear after hitting something. In addition you are not limited to deal damage in front of you, you will hit enemies in all directions.

Note: Finally I've released another guide to proof my statement. If you are interested, visit: http://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=273293575]

• Mistymire Forest Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the Spider Queen will be recommended. Keep moving during the boss fight to avoid being webbed by spiders.
  
  
  
• Moraggo Desert Town Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the Genie King will be recommended. If you have issues to track the Genie King you may enable your game sound. Be sure he can't push you out of the map with his tongue. Always have a wall in back.
  
  
  
• Aquanos Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the Kraken will be recommended. There are many ways to kill the Kraken. If you have issues killing it then you either use a Squire or Jester with a 100% block weapon from the Squire and let your Dragon, Seahorse or Mega Chicken do the job. You only need to press your right mouse button.
  
  
  
• Sky City Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the Goblin Battlecruiser will be recommended. Use the fan at the front of the ship to get off of them. The fan near the red shard caused me a few deaths in the past.
  
  
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: Players are only allowed to stay mid. Do not upgrade any defenses at north or south otherwise Djinns will desummon them. As Jester do not wheel 'Damage all enemies' as in Djinns and Ogres probably loose their focus on mid.
  
  Stay as short as possible at south if you are going to jump on the ship at south otherwise you will lure Djinns to south. Use the fan at the front of the ship to get off of them. The fan near the red shard caused me a few deaths in the past.
  
  
  
• Karathiki Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: I advise to use speed boosting pets such as a Turtle on your Monk and Series EV.
  
  
  
• Crystalline Dimension Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Veteran
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: If you are soloing I strongly advice to use Jester on first and second map due to their size. Other heroes are to slow to upgrade in time. I also suggest to use Monk with a shooting pet on Wave 18 at least.
  
  As Jester do not wheel 'Damage all enemies' as in Ogres and other enemies probably leave their usual path, unless you've got higher builder stats or you are not soloing. The most efficient wheels are 'Heal Allies', 'Debuff enemies' and 'Kill percentage' depending on the situation.
  
  Boss Gauntlet: You may need practice to build everything in time. I'm building Darkness Traps because they remove the elemental flag of the enemies. So poison elemental enemies are not immune against Gas Traps (cue for SuperOrc[www.dungeondefenders.com]). You don't need to build them if you have higher stats. You want to upgrade at least one Buff Beam to 3 stars.
  
  Take down the Demon Lords at first, then the Goblin Mechs and at last the Dragon. Stay in front of the Dragon and wait until he is breathing in order to kill him quickly.
  
  Old One: Please visit following guide written by MadeInLondon - Old One FIGHT
  
  Known bugs: There are a few bugs on CD but the Mana Bomb[www.dungeondefenders.com] bug is the most annoying. It happens because the RAM usage exceeds 1GB and Dungeon Defenders can't handle more. To drastically reduce the risk of a crash do not use the minimap. For more information please visit the forums[www.dungeondefenders.com].

• Akatiti Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Veteran
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress, Squire
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the Golden Mech will be recommended. As you have seen I've had two additional 'afk' heroes during the boss fight. It will take a while until an Archer dies but you will not have as much time as with 2k stats. Usually, you will have no trouble if you are playing with some active buddies and their DPS pets. Team up!
  
  
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: As you have seen I've had two additional 'afk' heroes during the boss fight and not a single defense went down. Anyways if you need more time to kill the Golden Mech then I suggest to build additional Gas Traps at the stairs and near to the waterfall on Wave 14.
  
  
  
• Kings Game Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: Do not stay close to crystals. Dark Elf Warriors probably passing your Aura and they are hitting you and the crystal if you stay to close to them.
  
  
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Monk, Series EV, Squire
  
  Note: Best place to stay around will be at the bottom level behind the Reflect Beams. In order to help to kill incoming Ogres you can equip a shooting pet.
  
  
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Squire, Apprentice
  
  Note: Players are only allowed to stay at the bottom level. As Jester do not wheel 'Damage all enemies' as in Djinns and Ogres probably loose their focus on bottom. In order to help to kill incoming Ogres you can equip a shooting pet.
  
  
  
• Palantir Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the Golden Demon Lord will be recommended. You want to dodge Demon Lord's fire attacks because they will hit you hard. Also refrain from spawn points as in the Demon Lord will instantly kill you if he lands on you.
  
  
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: You want to dodge Demon Lord's fire attacks because they will hit you hard. Also refrain from spawn points as in the Demon Lord will instantly kill you if he lands on you.
  
  
  
• Tavern Defense Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: A DPS hero with a minimum of 2k stats to fight the bosses will be recommended. Do not leave the final wave it gives you 8m XP for a pretty short amount of time it will take to get the bosses down. People play it often with 'afk' heroes to farm XP.
  
  
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: I haven't recorded a full run because the build is equally to the 1k version.
  
  
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress (requires 2k HP/DMG)
  
  Note: Players are only allowed to stay outside of the tavern. Do not upgrade any defenses inside of the tavern otherwise Djinns will desummon them. As Jester do not wheel 'Damage all enemies' as in Djinns and Ogres probably loose their focus outside.
  
  
  
• Tinkerer's Lab Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress (requires 2k HP/DMG), Apprentice
  
  Note: Second wave will be the hardest wave. Keep an eye on the the minimap for Chopper Ogres at east and south-west. All three south spots are heavy choke points for incoming Ogres. You want to upgrade them first.
  
  
  
• Winter Wonderland Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Veteran
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress (requires 2k HP/DMG), Apprentice
  
  Note: The top Buff Beam at east and right Buff Beam at south must be upgraded to at least one star during first combat phase. Those are the choke points for incoming Ogres.
  
  I strongly advise to use a 2k or higher DPS Monk with Chicken to fight all eight bosses. You will start to fight at south. Kill the incoming Snowmen but do not lure others. Especially the north Snowman must stay north because of the Gas Trap otherwise you will loose the match.
  
  Once you have killed both south Snowmen you will hunt for Squire and Monk. Check your minimap and repair Proxy Traps, Auras and Mages if not already done. Now kill the last two anti-heroes at south. Then go east and last at north.
  
  Practice makes perfect. This map is close to Master skill level.

• Buccaneer Bay Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: Keep an eye on Djinns at east crystal, they probably are able to desummon stuff there. The build has not been tested too long :)

• Boss Rush Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Monk, Series EV, Huntress, Squire
  
  Note: Many players tend to build mid although the Kraken are still able to push you out of the map. I've played this map countless times and in my opinion the best spot to build is where the Spider Queens are spawning if you need to build something.
  
  
  
• Etherian Holiday Extravaganza Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Master
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: This map is definitely one of the toughest and needs a lot of practice if you are going to beat it alone. If you are soloing then you need to match following requirements:
  
  
  • Your Huntress must have equipped a speed boosting pet like a Turtle otherwise you don't have enough time to build Minions during first Combat Phase. Since you just need Gas Traps in order to block enemies at there spawns you don't need to hit the 2k mark.
    
  • Your Summoner must have equipped a Genie and a shooting pet preferably a Monkey because of its long ranged attack. You may need to lure and kill Ogres as Summoner.
    
  • Your Series EV must have equipped a Genie and a Lupine Bow in order to upgrade the Buff Beams immediately. Don't worry about tower stats the Buff Beams are only required to kill Dark Elf Warriors within your Auras. Therefore I suggest to use a DPS Series EV.
  
  The boss, a Snowman, is fairly easy. Just build some Auras around Santa. Keep an eye on Ogres and kill them if they are close to Santa. No worries about the Snowman he doesn't attack Santa.
  
  
  
• Halloween Spooktacular 2 Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: Basically first wave is the hardest. If you are after 'Van Wolfstein' (Lupine Bow) then you need stay active as Huntress or Ranger at the final wave.
  
  
  
• Lab Assault Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  
  Note: Extremely easy map. Basically you just have to avoid to move too much. Patience is the key! The BF Drill is a reward from Volcanic Eruption beating it with a Huntress class.
  
  
  
• Moonbase Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: It could be risky to wheel Damage all enemies, so be careful and watch the minimap, some enemies probably leave their usual path.
  
  For the 2 Crystal Build be sure your Aura range isn't too huge otherwise they will be destroyed with east crystal. If so help your minions killing incoming enemies and rebuild them on next build phase.
  
  You will be in need of a DPS hero for the 1 Crystal Build since your Auras will be destroyed with the crystals. Rebuild them like me on next build phase. Don't upgrade the single Gas Trap at top-level otherwise Djinns will desummon it.
  
  
  
• Silent Night Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Master
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress, Squire
  
  Note: This sequel of Etherian Holiday Extravaganza is also one of the toughest maps but it does not require as much practice as its prequel. I strongly advise to use a tower Summoner with some resistance so you survive at least one or two direct hits. Otherwise it will be hard to repair or upgrade Minions if it is needed during first waves. Jesters Wheel O' Fortuna is crucial for later waves.
  
  The Santa Imposter knocks you hard so best place to stay around will be the corner where I'm fighting him. To save Mana for your boost abilities continuously switch them.
  
  
  
• Sky O' Love Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: As you see I haven't used a Fairy and survived well. In case your health is draining fast you may want to change from a Genie to a Fairy for later waves. Do not build Buff Beams to buff your Minions or your auras will kill all gender enemies which you need to pair up at the bridge.
  
  
  
• Temple O' Love Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Veteran
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: The hardest wave will be first and last wave. If you have issues to re-build all stuff during first build phase then you may want to use a speed boosting pet for your builders. To prevent mid-going anti-heroes you have to stay north (where the Huntress is) and south (where the Monk is). You need to keep an eye on the minimap anyways. If a Squire stuck at south-east stairs you have to lure him otherwise he will go mid and pairs up with a Huntress. This wave is about pure DPS as longer you need to take the Squires down as higher is the risk of a pairing.
  
  The boss fight itself is much easier. Anything is allowed to die except the auras, traps and their Buff Beams. So don't worry if you see that your Minions get wrecked.
  
  
  
• Volcanic Eruption Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Veteran
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress, Squire
  
  Note: This map needs at least one additional afk hero or an actual playing mate. One hero with a shooting pet (preferably a Monkey) must stay close to the crystal to kill any leftover enemies. There is a second build phase at Wave 12.

• Cat on Sky City Survival Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress (requires 2k HP/DMG)
  
  Note: I've started on Wave 23 but it requires practice to keep an eye on your Minions and Strength Drain Aura. I strongly advise to pre-upgrade the Strength Drain Aura. You are forced to use a Genie during Wave 23, upgrade as much as possible. On Wave 24 you are probably better suited with a shooting pet in order to help killing incoming Ogres. Actually they drop enough Mana for you to continue upgrading. Jesters Wheel O' Fortuna is crucial. Your best friends are 'Heal Allies' and 'Kill percentage' by turns.
  
  If you are still too slow with upgrading I suggest to start at a lower wave.
  
  
  
• Genie on Hall of Court Survival Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV
  
  Note: Fairly easy so I haven't used any Genie or Djinnlet to get additional Mana.
  
  
  
• Kobold on Tavern Defense Survival Insane Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress, Squire
  
  Note: Usually a Kobold run will be done on Insane difficulty as I did because a Kobold will be often better on Insane than on Nightmare. I have no clue if this build works with 2k stats for Nightmare difficulty. Therefore it is actually misplaced but still a great place to farm some builder pets.
  
  If you experience issues during the upgrade phase I suggest to start at a lower wave.
  
  
  
• Mega Chicken on Tinkerers Lab Survival Insane Hardcore
  Skill level: Medium
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress (requires 2k HP/DMG), Squire, Apprentice (optional)
  
  Note: Usually a Chicken run will be done on Insane difficulty as I did because a Chicken will be as good on Insane as on Nightmare. The provided build doesn't work with 2k stats for Nightmare difficulty. Therefore it is actually misplaced but the Mega Chicken is the best DPS pet of the game.
  
  I've started on Wave 28 but it requires practice to keep an eye on everything, otherwise you will get overrun due to the lack of upgrades. Therefore I highly suggest to start at a lower Wave. Once everything is fully upgraded it is fairly easy with a Jester as active DPS hero. Your best friends are 'Heal Allies' and 'Kill percentage' by turns.
  
  Apprentice is optional, you can replace the Fireball tower with a Harpoon but you have to keep an eye on Djinns. Probably a Djinn get stuck under the railing and your Harpoon doesn't hit it to disturb his desummoning. So using a Fireball tower will be safer. In case you want to build a Harpoon anyways you simply short the Physical Wall from 3 Defense Units to 2 Defense Units.
  
  
  
• Seahorse on Aquanos Survival Nightmare Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress
  
  Note: Fairly easy but it requires upgrades so you are forced to use a Genie.
  
  
  
• Skeleton on Winter Wonderland Survival Insane Hardcore
  Skill level: Novice
  Used builders: Summoner, Monk, Series EV, Huntress (requires 2k DMG), Squire
  
  Note: Usually a Skeleton run will be done on Insane difficulty as I did because a Skeleton will be often better on Insane than on Nightmare. I have no clue if this build works with 2k stats for Nightmare difficulty. Therefore it is actually misplaced but still a great place to farm some builder pets which comes along with a movement speed bonus.
  
  If you experience issues during the upgrade phase I suggest to start at a lower wave. To avoid that Sharken moves your Harpoons at south pre-upgrade the Inferno Trap as I did.

Keep in mind that this guide requires some basic knowledge about the game. So if you haven't played the game on an easier difficulty yet I strongly advise to do it in order to get into the game mechanics.

Almost all builds are done with much less units than available. This means that the required stats are actually lower than suggested. However, if a build does not work for you for some reasons then add additional defenses/minions to tweak my build. As you have seen all my builds are working but some requires more knowledge than others. Knowledge such as 'where to keep an eye on' or 'which order you have to upgrade defenses'.

I haven't used speed boosting pets such as Turtles, Skeletons or Diamonds. If you are struggling to re-build everything in time I highly suggest to use a speed boosting pet on your Monk and Series EV. This will grant you a few more seconds to re-build.

I think those were the hardest Campaigns and Challenges of the game. If you are missing a build for 2k stats on Nightmare (regardless of Campaign, Challenge or Survival) or you have any other advise then feel free to contact me either through Steam or just write a comment below.



I want to thank jemmajule for checking the spelling and grammar. You are awesome!



If this guide gave you some assistance then a would be much appreciated :)

In case you are going to vote this guide down for any reasons, it would be nice to contact me first in order to get further details and thoughts about my builds. I promise that all of those builds are working with 2k builders and DPS heroes. If you say otherwise, it just means you need more practice.

Feel free to take a look at my other guides by clicking » here «

• 17th January 2014
  
  • Released the guide
    
  • Added Akatiti, Kings Game, Kings Game Aggro Build, Sky City Aggro Build
  
  
• 20th January 2014
  
  • Added Mistymire Forest, Moraggo Desert Town, Aquanos
  
  
• 21st January 2014
  
  • Added Winter Wonderland
  
  
• 24th January 2014
  
  • Added Tavern Defense, Tavern Defense Aggro Build, Temple O' Love
  
  
• 27th January 2014
  
  • Added Crystalline Dimension, Lab Assault
  
  
• 29th January 2014
  
  • Re-organized the guide due to the char limit
    
  • Added Palantir, Tinkerer's Lab
  
  
• 2nd February 2014
  
  • Added Silent Night
  
  
• 4th February 2014
  
  • Added Sky O' Love, Boss Rush, Volcanic Eruption
  
  
• 9th February 2014
  
  • Added Etherian Holiday Extravaganza
  
  
• 10th February 2014
  
  • Added Halloween Spooktacular 2
  
  
• 25th March 2014
  
  • Added Tinkerers Lab Survival, farming Mega Chicken
  
  
• 22nd April 2014
  
  • Added Tavern Defense Survival, farming Kobold on a Treadmill
  
  
• 2nd June 2014
  
  • Released 1k stat builds (some 2k stat builds got replaced)
    
  • Added Karathiki
    
  • Added Aquanos Survival, farming Seahorse
    
  • Added Hall of Court Survival, farming Genie
    
  • Added Sky City Survival, farming Cat
  
  
• 16th June 2014
  
  • Added Winter Wonderland Survival, farming Skeleton
  
  
• 3rd November 2014
  
  • Fixed broken links due to the changes of the official forums
  
  
• 5th December 2014
  
  • Added a new section 'The Heroes' due to reaching the char limit of previous section
  
  
• 21st January 2015
  
  • Minor changes (due to Valve's new method to include links)
  
  
• 22nd March 2015
  
  • Changed some notes (Thanks to Kamasakis & Aguleb17)
  
  
• 10th May 2015
  
  • Added Moonbase as pre-release
  
  
• 6th July 2015
  
  • Added alternative pets, in case you don't get your hands on a Mega Chicken
  
  
• 8th December 2015
  
  • Replaced Tavern Defense Survival, farming Kobold... now for 1k stats
  
  
• 10th December 2015
  
  • Added Buccaneer Bay
    
  • Replaced the pre-release of Moonbase with a final version