Are Prepared to face off against Queen Imperia in the final battle of Dota 2 Crownfall Act 4, Nest of Thorns? No!? Well we’ve got your covered.
The mini game will last approximately 15-20 minutes, which is a testament to how difficult Nest of Thorns can be. However, fret not! This is our Crownfall Act 4 guide to winning the Nest of Thorns mini game.
Nest of Thorns – Crownfall Act 4 mini game (Image credit: Dota 2)
Crownfall Act 4 Mini Game: Nest of Thorns
Nest of Thorns is a solo survival game (similar to Vampire Survivors), where the player will level up ‘upgrades’ that automatically attack spawning monsters. The map area is fixed, but you can still move around to avoid incoming attacks/projectiles or monsters from attacking you.
As you survive each wave of monsters, a choice of three random upgrades or leveling up an existing upgrade will be available.
Which upgrades to pick?
Picking the best upgrade at each stage in Nest of Thorns is crucial in advancing further into the mini game. Your survival depend on how swiftly you can kill the monsters and your stats (such as improving max health, regeneration, damage resistance and more).
Generally, your priority on upgrades to pick are having faster speed on attacks and higher damage to sweep monsters efficiently in ‘farming’ levels. Additionally, having more re-rolls available are also great in case you didn’t get lucky in your initial rolls.
Nest of Thorns gameplay (Image credit: Dota 2)
Best Hero and Ability Build to win Nest of Thorns
In the spirit of the new Dota 2 hero, Kez is an effective hero in Nest of Thorns. Particularly, opting for physical damage build on Kez is the best one.
Note that survival isn’t only about dealing damage but buy time by kiting enemies. As such, consider picking these upgrades:
- Axe Spin
- Bat Rider Goo
- Echo Slash
- Swashbuckle
- Throwing Knives
These upgrades scales well with physical damage output and critical rate. The Bat Rider Goo is great at providing AOE slows and giving you time to pick up item drops. Similarly, the Axe Spin helps with knockback to keep your distance from the monsters.
Prioritize maxing up your Swash Buckle and Echo Slash as they are your main damage source. Meanwhile, Throwing Knives is also a nice damage-per-second effect during boss fight.
Item Build for Kez in Crownfall Act 4 Mini Game
Your item build should also prioritize dealing damage or damage amplification, with healing and durability as your secondary concern. Just like building carry in Dota 2.
How to defeat mini bosses in Dota 2’s Nest of Thorns
Mini bosses appear after every level’s wave of monsters. They get harder to kill as the levels progress, so make sure to always defeat the first three bosses. This will give you an Aghanim’s Scepter, which is a huge power-up.
Afterwards, you will have to pick your mini-boss battles wisely because they could potentially be too strong for you to handle.
How to defeat Queen Imperia, the Final Boss of Nest of Thorns
Fortunately, Queen Imperia is much easier to beat than the rest of the stage. All her abilities are relatively easy to dodge, and if you have the ideal build (double Throwing Knives, Aghanim’s Upgrade and a Daedalus), Queen Imperia won’t be able to last very long herself.
With that, defeating Queen Imperia will lead to a cinematic of the Queen’s downfall in the hands of Vengeful Spirit, Skywrath Mage and Kez’s alliance. And that concludes the Crownfall Act 4 event, which is definitely a job well done by the Dota 2 dev team!