Punch Quest Master Wraith

This week, we've been mostly addicted to RocketCat's latest pixel-art time sink,.It's essentially a coin-op brawler by way of auto-run platformer. It's -meets- Double Dragon, with a twisted sense of humour and more hats than Bartholomew Cubbins.But, it's also rock hard. You'll get zapped by jellyfish, turned into a gnome, stung by bees, smashed by orcs, and smushed by zombies. Racing up the leaderboards is no walk in the park.So, we've called in a favour.

Kepa Auwae is the owner of RocketCat Games, and he knows more about Punch Quest than anyone. We asked him for some killer tips - and here's what he gave us. Kirby battle royale cia. The best skill loadoutsNot sure which power skills and super moves to choose before going on a punch quest? The crypt keeper of the Lootatorium, Kepa Auwae, offers his suggestions.

The early wraiths aren't too bad, just block or jump over their fireballs and punch them. But the later wraith types are hard to hit without running right into their glowing hands.

Ki Blast - Power Slam - DeadsplosionAuwae says this is a 'great early loadout'.' Ki Blast will let you reflect enemy projectiles - doing this instantly won't break your combo like blocking will.' 'Power Slam makes your mid-air slam punches (tap with left thumb when in the air) generate shockwaves when used on an airborne enemy. These shockwaves can defeat dangerous enemies on the ground.' 'Deadsplosion causes defeated enemies to explode when they hit another enemy, and mixes in an interesting way with Power Slam.'

Hungry Man - El Reflecto - Exploding FistThis is the designer's 'favourite loadout'.Hungry Man makes food more likely to spawn - this 'can save you sometimes'.' Reflecto makes the tricky Master Wraiths much less of a problem. Exploding Fist provides great defence by letting you sometimes take out tough enemies from explosions you trigger by hitting weaker enemies or torches.' Husk Musk - Shieldbreaker - Hyper FightingThis loadout is only for daring 'risk takers'.' Husk Musk makes more monsters appear than normal, but these higher combo opportunities may come at the cost of making things more dangerous.' 'Hyper Fighting also means high combo potential, while being risky.

Used together, you're probably going to get killed, though you'll cause a lot of destruction before you do.' 'Shieldbreaker is so you just bust right through any orc, porc, or blorc that tries to stop you.' Flying Fist - Disco Dunk - Hyper FightingThis barmy loadout 'lets you fly around'.' Flying Fist, when Hyper Fighting is on, lets you fly over any really troublesome area. Disco Dunk makes you temporarily invulnerable if you use a slam punch to get back on the ground.'

Hyper Fighting makes you punch much faster.Auwae says that Shodukin' is another good super move, as it is 'the only real ranged attack in a game about melee attacks', and Ki Chain is a useful Power II skill because it 'causes a lot of damage to tightly packed groups'. General tips and strategies'Get good at stringing together big combos. Your combo time is extended by hitting an enemy, or keeping an enemy in the air.

Try launching enemies up high with uppercuts or slam punches followed closely by a good dash punch to send them flying.' 'The combo point multiplier caps at 30 hits. This means that two 45-hit combos, three 30-hit combos, or one big 90-hit combo all yield the same amount of points. The difference is that more difficult enemies show up as you get points, and you don't get points until your combo ends. So, really huge combos can prevent monster difficulty from catching up to you until the combo ends.'

'Blocking and generally being careful results in your gaining smaller combos. Getting hit, even if you're blocking, will break your combo. Try avoiding blocking as much as you can - only block in situations where you think you can't avoid being hit.' 'The Ultramove upgrades are really nice. Try to get them early.'

'You can trick the Ancient Skeletons (the red-sparking smart ones) into jumping by jumping early, then dash punching to run under them as they're jumping. Or do that but uppercut them while you're below them. With practice, you can also slam punch them if you're both in the air, right before their spear hits you.' 'You can punch an orc's shield out of the way temporarily by uppercutting it. Or you can just smash the orc's head from above using a slam punch.' 'Keep practising! You can improve your score a lot by getting used to the different enemies, and learning which enemies you should handle first when the fighting gets really hectic.'

RC cars are supposed to be fast. Even if you’re not racing, the whole idea is to be speedy, right? Whether you’re slinging dirt or tearing down the street, you should be doing it like you’re on fire. That opinion does not stem from some unquenchable need for speed (I like slow airplanes). The main factor is that I require a challenge in order to enjoy RCand where’s the challenge in driving a slow car? This mentality is what kept me away from RC rock crawlers for so long, despite their huge popularity. These are cars that are slow, sometimes really slow, on purpose.

So I believe the kitchen staff basically made a roux and then added Marsala wine to it. Ciao bella baltimore md.

Hmm, no thanks. On the other hand, this column is all about exploring every aspect of RC. So I couldn’t very well ignore rock crawlers forever. With only marginal excitement, I obtained a rock crawler and endeavored to find out what all the fuss is about. I can tell you now that I’m really glad I took the plunge. Despite their pedestrian speeds, I found that these vehicles offer unique challenges of their own. What is a Rock Crawler?As the name implies, rock crawlers are designed to climb rocks and rough terrain that other RC cars can’t handle.

Crawling has expanded over the years to include more than just negotiating rock piles. These days, the term “crawler” encompasses technical rock crawlers, rock racers, and trail rigs. Technical rock crawling is all about getting your vehicle over impossible obstacles.

This activity is filled with radical, purpose-built machines. Rock racing is actually a in addition to RC. There are different aspects of rock racing, but the gist is that it combines elements of offroad speed as well as ridiculous obstacles (and mud, and noise). Trail rigs can still climb like a mountain goat, but they aren’t competition machines. They’re more about cruising with friends. Many trail rig drivers like to deck out their rides with scale details and drive them in places that normal RC cars dare not go.

The Axial WraithThe crawler that I tested is the from Axial Racing. The Wraith is available in a few other styles, but the differences are cosmetic. Although Wraiths are classified as rock racers, they are also very popular as trail rigs. This truck can be had in kit form or ready-to-run.

I opted for a prebuilt Wraith that also included a 2-channel 2.4GHz radio. The only items that it didn’t include were a battery, charger, and AA cells for the radio transmitter.Looking over the Wraith, I marveled at how so many aspects of this design are the antithesis of what I normally expect in a high-performance RC car. First of all, the motor is brushed rather than brushless. Brushed motors are typically preferred for crawlers because they provide better control at the low RPMs where these vehicles thrive. THE WRAITH FROM AXIAL RACING IS A POPULAR ROCK CRAWLER THAT TYPIFIES THIS GENRE OF RC VEHICLES.Independent suspension? No, the Wraith has solid axles front and rear.

Limited slip differentials? Here we have “locked” differentials (i.e. No differentials). Again, these aspects are not concessions to appease cost or manufacturing limitations. They are the preferred design traits that shape a modern crawler.The Wraith’s chassis emulates the welded tube frames of full-scale rock racers.

It does so with molded plastic parts which seem quite strong. The main part of the Jeep Wrangler body is a painted Lexan piece, while the roof is fiberglass. The body includes interior details such as seats and a steering wheel, but no driver figure.This is a full-time four-wheel-drive machine. Since there are no differentials, equal power is provided to every wheel at all times. The only sacrificial link in the driveline is an adjustable slipper clutch on the primary spur gear.

This is located near the center of the chassis, right next to the chrome-plated motor. WITH THE BODY AND INTERIOR PARTS REMOVED, THE WRAITH’S MOLDED CHASSIS IS VISIBLE. NOTE THE CENTRALLY-MOUNTED MOTOR AND LONG-TRAVEL SUSPENSION COMPONENTS.Steering is accomplished via a metal-geared Tactic TSX45 servo that articulates the front wheels to and fro. The radio receiver is mounted in a waterproof box under the hood, while the Electronic Speed Control (ESC) rests in a clip-in mount.Per my usual, I replaced the stock battery plugs with Deans Ultra Plugs.

There were bullet connectors between the ESC and motor. I omitted these plugs completely by soldering the relevant wires together. I also removed the on/off switch and soldered its lead wires together. Now the Wraith is powered on when I plug in the battery.The Wraith includes soft offroad tires that are glued to the wheels. Axial sells other tires as hop-up parts, but the stock units have served me well thus far.

My only complaint is that they stinkliterally. Even after several weeks of airing out and numerous treks through dirt and mud, their pungent rubber smell lingers.The suspension is a 4-link design that provides a lot of travel. It is rather amazing to see what this truck can go over without bottoming out the suspension. Four oil-filled, coil-over shocks provide damping.

The outside of the plastic shock bodies are threaded so that you can raise or lower the spring caps to set the ride height that you want. I left mine in the stock location.Out of the box, I noticed that the steering servo contacted the chassis and the body when the front suspension was compressed. I eventually figured out that the servo arm was not fully seated on the servo output shaft. Since correcting that issue, the suspension has operated as it should. I USE NIMH AND LIPO BATTERIES IN THE WRAITH. BOTH WORK FINE, SO CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE TYPE.You can use 6-cell NiMH/NiCad or 2-cell LiPo batteries in the Wraith.

The battery tray at the rear of the vehicle is a little awkward to access, but it fits either battery type. I tested the Wraith with NiMH and LiPo batteries to see if there were any significant performance differences. Both are Onyx units: a 3000mAh NiMH and a 5000mAh LiPo. The LiPo provides noticeably more run time and slightly better top-end speed. Speed isn’t much of an issue with crawlers and run time is still quite good with the NiMH. So, I think either option is fine. Driving the Wraith – A Rookie’s Learning CurveI took the Wraith to a local sports complex for its initial outing.

Set back from the playing fields are large mounds of dirt, piles of hay, and a small mountain of broken concrete chunks. I figured that those three surfaces would give me a glimpse into the Wraith’s capabilities. They did.I first placed the Wraith at the foot of a modest hill of loosely packed dirt. I gently applied throttle and became dumbfounded when the crawler got hopelessly bogged down after very little uphill progress. Repeated attempts produced similar results.

I thought “Um, when do we get to the fun part?”I moved over to an area of hard packed dirt with a rather steep slope. My first attempt here was much like I had experienced on the loose dirt. Then I backed up a few feet and hit the slope with some speed. This time, the Wraith made intermittent progress. The wheels would spin until a tire grabbed a random rock or weed that provided enough traction to inch forward. Before long, it crested the 10 feet high pinnaclesuccess! I practiced ascending the hill until I could do it repeatedly without flipping the crawler over or getting stuck midway.That mound of dirt taught me my first important lesson in crawling.

I had incorrectly assumed that crawling was a purely technical endeavor. Either your rig can climb this obstacle or it can’t.

I soon learned that driving technique is an equally important factor. Sometimes the difference between clearing an obstacle or tumbling downhill end over end is merely a few degrees of steering input or a jab of throttle at just the right time. The more I began to recognize these driving nuances, the better my success rate became. CRAWLIN’ AINT EASY. IT TAKES A CAPABLE MACHINE AND A SKILLED DRIVER.I carried the Wraith and my enlightenment over to the concrete pile.

Although the overall techniques required to climb the jagged concrete were different from those of the dirt hill, the driving subtleties that produced success or failure were ever present. I found predictably similar trends when driving on the hay stacks. I had stayed away from crawlers for so long because I thought that there was no driving challenge involved. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.Since that first outing, I have continued to explore the Wraith’s capabilities and expand my skills at the wheel. I am constantly amazed by how this vehicle will climb over some impossibly menacing and complex obstacles. At the same time, I am often surprised by the places where it gets stuck or rolls over. Clearly, I still have much to learn about this rock crawling business.

Looking ForwardWith challenges still left to conquer, I don’t see my interest in crawlers waning anytime soon. In fact, the Wrath has become my go-to vehicle for backyard bashing.

Its low gear ratio, big tires, and tall ground clearance ensure that no part of the yard is off limits. I also appreciate the 20 minute run times that I get with the LiPo battery.Many crawler enthusiasts like to customize their rigs with driver figures, lights, performance parts, etc. I’m considering some performance upgrades for the Wraith, but I’m not so eager to add scale details. I’ve actually omitted some of the stock details such as the interior features and roof.

After removing them to photograph the bare chassis, I liked the improved access to the battery tray. Just don’t hold me to that prediction. If nothing else, my experience with the Wraith has reminded me that opinions can change.