Overview: A repetitive game which isn't repetitive. Huh? Yep, that's Clicker Heroes.
20160117:
Remembering the fun of the Steam Monster Game last summer, I decided to go ahead and play Clicker Heroes. While at first I used the turbo function of the Steam Controller (for the sake of testing the turbo function of the Steam Controller), I eventually used AutoIt to run an auto-clicker script. This was what I initially did with the Steam Monster Game as well, until the internet community found a way to automate the entire process by having players copy JavaScript code into the browser console and running the code!
In any case, thus far Clicker Heroes is straightforward and consists of a tedious scaling economy - with a couple of minor variations along the way. I have read, however, that the goal of the first run is to make it to level 140 and initiate a soft reset which the game calls "Ascension."
According to the Clicker Heroes Subreddit, the player should level up his/her heroes in order to collect Hero Souls prior to the soft reset. Then, after ascending, the player should use the Hero Souls and summon an Ancient.
However, at the time of this post I'm still just grinding at level 79 in order to beat the boss at level 80 (well, not personally, but the auto-clicker script is clicking away).
Thoughts:*
Pros:
+ Doesn't require actually playing.
+ Free to play.
Neutral:
~ The idea is so simple that it's addicting.
~ Grinding at its finest.
Cons:
- Unless I'm doing something wrong,** the game content plateaus for a long time before it picks up again
- Requires little to no thought
*These thoughts are somewhat premature in terms of what the game might potentially offer. At the same time, it's most likely what the average player may care to experience.
**I recall reading that the first run to level 140 can take a couple of days, and so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong
[20160117]
Recommendation:
While Clicker Heroes was initially interesting, I believe it could have done a better job with its pacing. That is, the game could have been built with the same amount of grind, but with a greater feeling of progress. As it stands, I'm willing to let my computer bear the burden of clicking, but I'm close to throwing in the towel. Overall, I would not recommend Clicker Heroes to anyone - at least not unless it suddenly becomes amazingly fun.
[20160117]
20160125:
A week has past and the game has, in fact, evolved. Below is what I have learned about the game, including resources and strategies. It may help to read through the entire guide, as some advice may actually be helpful to know earlier.
Stage 1: The tough grind to level 135/140.
The first step in Clicker Heroes is to grind your way to level 135/140. Using an autoclicker will make this step go by the fastest, but the player can also shut off the game and let it accumulate gold passively. The micromanaging of skills used will also accelerate the process during this stage.
Tip: Don't use a skill against a boss unless necessary and don't use more skills than you need.
i) Try to fight a boss without any skills.
ii) Failed? Save the game.
iii) Try using the least amount of skills possible.
iv) Failed? Load the save file and go to step iii.
Tip: I'm not sure on the most optimal order to level heroes during this stage, but the easiest course of action is to level up the heroes in a staircase fashion, buying upgrades along the way, and stop leveling a hero when he/she has no more upgrades. A list of hero upgrades can be found here (Clicker Heroes Wiki page).
Tip: It may be helpful to farm a couple of simple Achievements for small boosts in your DPS. Of course many achievements will come naturally as a result of the exponential nature of the game.
Stage 2: Ascension
Upon finishing level 135 or 140, it's almost time to use Amenhotep's Ascension. Go down the list of heroes and quickly level them to their max (Q+click). Each enemy that dies should give a decent amount of coins and you'll total approximately 16,000 hero levels (equivalent to 8 Hero Souls). Now it's time to use the Ascension.
After ascending, save the game and you'll want to look to buy your first one or two Ancients, if applicable. After playing through the early stage using both a Active build and Idle build, I would highly recommend going with an Idle build. In this situation, the Ancients of interest will be Siyalatas and Libertas.
i) Reroll up to four times. No Siyalatas or Libertas? Buy a random Ancient and respec (you'll get three Hero Souls back).
ii) Reroll up to four times. No Siyalatas or Libertas? Load your save file and make another run to level 140. Every unused Hero Soul adds an extra 10% to your DPS, so if you can't get an Ancient by using 5 Hero Souls, you might as well make a run with the extra 50% DPS.
iii) After making the extra run, repeat step i until you get Siyalatas or Libertas.
Note that the list of available Ancients is random but based on a random seed when you start a game. As such, importing your save file at step iv doesn't change the list of Ancients, it's purpose is to simply give you back your 5 Hero Souls.
Also note that I might be wrong and it might be possible to continue rerolling and respecing beyond 5 hero souls, but the idea is the same.
Stage 3: Use Calculators (Link)
After getting Siyalatas and Libertas, use some calculators to level your ancients up and even get recommendations for new ancients. In addition, calculators will tell you what optimal level to play to.
In any case, you no longer have to click enemies. Instead, your job is to just level up the heroes and continue making runs and acquiring Ancients which help boost your Hero Soul farm.
Stage 4: Regilding (Link 1) (Link 2)
After a couple of runs and you manage to get Siyalatas leveled up appropriately (see Link 1), along with a supporting class of Ancients, then its time to regild. Your first time regilding will consist of moving all gilds to any of the Power Five: Treebeast, Ivan, Brittany, Samurai, Seer. Press play and let the calculator move all the gilds to these five champions. Export the save from the link and import it to your game.
Note that the link at Stage 3 considers regilding using the cost of 80 Hero Souls per gild. Manual regilding, however, which the calculator automates for you, is much more efficient than 80 Hero Souls per gild.
Also note that once you've concentrated your gilds, you only need to level up those heros. Actually you'll also need to level up heros that have upgrades which boost hero DPS: The Wandering Fisherman 75; Betty Clicker 10, 25, 50, 75; Leon 75; Broyle Lindeoven, Fire Mage 10; (gold) King Midas 10, 25, 50, 75; Amenhotep 25, 50; Beastlord 75; Shinatobe 25, Wind Deity 25; Grant, The General 10, 50; Frostleaf 50.
Stage 5: Prosper
Continue with Stage 3 and eventually it'll be time to regild to Samurai. The level of Ancients you'll have acquired at this point make it so that you can quickly get to Samurai and almost solely level up Samurai. Then it'll eventually be time to regild to Atlas. And so on and so forth.
Tip: You can leave 1 gild on the previous champion(s) to help with the transition.
For example, instead of regilding all gilds on Samurai to Atlas, leave 1 gild on Samurai. Then, after a couple of runs, you won't need a transitional gild.
Steam: 346 hours (total time the game's been on)
20160206:
While I occasionally turn the game on and click a couple of buttons, the game has plateaued for a second time and I may soon discontinue time with it.
Clicker Heroes (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Clicker Heroes (Reddit.com)
Clicker Heroes (Steam Store Page)
 |
| Early beginnings... |
20160117:
Remembering the fun of the Steam Monster Game last summer, I decided to go ahead and play Clicker Heroes. While at first I used the turbo function of the Steam Controller (for the sake of testing the turbo function of the Steam Controller), I eventually used AutoIt to run an auto-clicker script. This was what I initially did with the Steam Monster Game as well, until the internet community found a way to automate the entire process by having players copy JavaScript code into the browser console and running the code!
In any case, thus far Clicker Heroes is straightforward and consists of a tedious scaling economy - with a couple of minor variations along the way. I have read, however, that the goal of the first run is to make it to level 140 and initiate a soft reset which the game calls "Ascension."
According to the Clicker Heroes Subreddit, the player should level up his/her heroes in order to collect Hero Souls prior to the soft reset. Then, after ascending, the player should use the Hero Souls and summon an Ancient.
 |
| By now I've ascended and I've unlocked the Ancients tab. |
However, at the time of this post I'm still just grinding at level 79 in order to beat the boss at level 80 (well, not personally, but the auto-clicker script is clicking away).
Thoughts:*
Pros:
+ Doesn't require actually playing.
+ Free to play.
Neutral:
~ The idea is so simple that it's addicting.
~ Grinding at its finest.
Cons:
- Unless I'm doing something wrong,** the game content plateaus for a long time before it picks up again
- Requires little to no thought
 |
| Fighting 'Catra.' |
*These thoughts are somewhat premature in terms of what the game might potentially offer. At the same time, it's most likely what the average player may care to experience.
**I recall reading that the first run to level 140 can take a couple of days, and so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong
[20160117]
Recommendation:
While Clicker Heroes was initially interesting, I believe it could have done a better job with its pacing. That is, the game could have been built with the same amount of grind, but with a greater feeling of progress. As it stands, I'm willing to let my computer bear the burden of clicking, but I'm close to throwing in the towel. Overall, I would not recommend Clicker Heroes to anyone - at least not unless it suddenly becomes amazingly fun.
[20160117]
 |
| Hundreds of hours later the enemies drop like flies. |
20160125:
A week has past and the game has, in fact, evolved. Below is what I have learned about the game, including resources and strategies. It may help to read through the entire guide, as some advice may actually be helpful to know earlier.
Stage 1: The tough grind to level 135/140.
The first step in Clicker Heroes is to grind your way to level 135/140. Using an autoclicker will make this step go by the fastest, but the player can also shut off the game and let it accumulate gold passively. The micromanaging of skills used will also accelerate the process during this stage.
Tip: Don't use a skill against a boss unless necessary and don't use more skills than you need.
i) Try to fight a boss without any skills.
ii) Failed? Save the game.
iii) Try using the least amount of skills possible.
iv) Failed? Load the save file and go to step iii.
 |
| The prompt that appears when choosing to ascend. |
Tip: I'm not sure on the most optimal order to level heroes during this stage, but the easiest course of action is to level up the heroes in a staircase fashion, buying upgrades along the way, and stop leveling a hero when he/she has no more upgrades. A list of hero upgrades can be found here (Clicker Heroes Wiki page).
Tip: It may be helpful to farm a couple of simple Achievements for small boosts in your DPS. Of course many achievements will come naturally as a result of the exponential nature of the game.
Stage 2: Ascension
Upon finishing level 135 or 140, it's almost time to use Amenhotep's Ascension. Go down the list of heroes and quickly level them to their max (Q+click). Each enemy that dies should give a decent amount of coins and you'll total approximately 16,000 hero levels (equivalent to 8 Hero Souls). Now it's time to use the Ascension.
 |
| Ancients carry the game. Libertas, for example, gives lots of gold. |
After ascending, save the game and you'll want to look to buy your first one or two Ancients, if applicable. After playing through the early stage using both a Active build and Idle build, I would highly recommend going with an Idle build. In this situation, the Ancients of interest will be Siyalatas and Libertas.
i) Reroll up to four times. No Siyalatas or Libertas? Buy a random Ancient and respec (you'll get three Hero Souls back).
ii) Reroll up to four times. No Siyalatas or Libertas? Load your save file and make another run to level 140. Every unused Hero Soul adds an extra 10% to your DPS, so if you can't get an Ancient by using 5 Hero Souls, you might as well make a run with the extra 50% DPS.
iii) After making the extra run, repeat step i until you get Siyalatas or Libertas.
Note that the list of available Ancients is random but based on a random seed when you start a game. As such, importing your save file at step iv doesn't change the list of Ancients, it's purpose is to simply give you back your 5 Hero Souls.
 |
| Siyalatas gives a huge DPS boost when idle (no clicks for 60 seconds) |
Also note that I might be wrong and it might be possible to continue rerolling and respecing beyond 5 hero souls, but the idea is the same.
Stage 3: Use Calculators (Link)
After getting Siyalatas and Libertas, use some calculators to level your ancients up and even get recommendations for new ancients. In addition, calculators will tell you what optimal level to play to.
In any case, you no longer have to click enemies. Instead, your job is to just level up the heroes and continue making runs and acquiring Ancients which help boost your Hero Soul farm.
Stage 4: Regilding (Link 1) (Link 2)
After a couple of runs and you manage to get Siyalatas leveled up appropriately (see Link 1), along with a supporting class of Ancients, then its time to regild. Your first time regilding will consist of moving all gilds to any of the Power Five: Treebeast, Ivan, Brittany, Samurai, Seer. Press play and let the calculator move all the gilds to these five champions. Export the save from the link and import it to your game.
 |
| +100440% Damage? That's ridiculous! The power of regilding. |
Note that the link at Stage 3 considers regilding using the cost of 80 Hero Souls per gild. Manual regilding, however, which the calculator automates for you, is much more efficient than 80 Hero Souls per gild.
Also note that once you've concentrated your gilds, you only need to level up those heros. Actually you'll also need to level up heros that have upgrades which boost hero DPS: The Wandering Fisherman 75; Betty Clicker 10, 25, 50, 75; Leon 75; Broyle Lindeoven, Fire Mage 10; (gold) King Midas 10, 25, 50, 75; Amenhotep 25, 50; Beastlord 75; Shinatobe 25, Wind Deity 25; Grant, The General 10, 50; Frostleaf 50.
Stage 5: Prosper
Continue with Stage 3 and eventually it'll be time to regild to Samurai. The level of Ancients you'll have acquired at this point make it so that you can quickly get to Samurai and almost solely level up Samurai. Then it'll eventually be time to regild to Atlas. And so on and so forth.
Tip: You can leave 1 gild on the previous champion(s) to help with the transition.
 |
| Gather mercenaries and send them on quests. |
For example, instead of regilding all gilds on Samurai to Atlas, leave 1 gild on Samurai. Then, after a couple of runs, you won't need a transitional gild.
Steam: 346 hours (total time the game's been on)
20160206:
While I occasionally turn the game on and click a couple of buttons, the game has plateaued for a second time and I may soon discontinue time with it.
Clicker Heroes (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Clicker Heroes (Reddit.com)
Clicker Heroes (Steam Store Page)
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