Castle Crashers

Dayum.

You might wanna make this trophy your last. Insane Mode is only unlocked after beating the game with a character on Normal once. Almost all enemies will have 10X more health and damage, which will be quite a challenge after the Barbarian Boss.

If you're going to tackle this now, I'm going to tell you a few things you need to have before you proceed through:


1. Character Choice
Not all characters are programmed equally. Choosing a character matters, so you need to have a character with good Magic to destroy the health of bosses and beefies. My recommendations are Industrialist, Fencer, Snakey, Brute, Orange Knight, Red Knight, Fire Demon, Ninja, Blue Knight, and Iceskimo. These characters require beating the game as, except Iceskimo and the three listed elemental knights. Here are their magic:

Industrialist and Fencer have saws for their splash, which are the best Magic attributes for pretty much everything.
Orange Knight and Fire Demon's Fire elements will give great knockback and do Fire damage over time.
Red Knight can stun the enemies with his Electricity, which isn't really good for boss slaying, but it's meant for clearing out crowds of enemies fast.
Ninja can do chain damage, which can diminish the health of bosses at a medium pace.
Snakey and Brute's vines are the same as Fire Demon's, but without damage over time and have more 'immediate' execution.
Blue Knight and Iceskimo can freeze normal enemies and can allow you to juggle them by encasing them in a block of ice.

Blue Knight unlocks Industrialist, who in turn unlocks Fencer.
Orange Knight unlocks Fire Demon, who in turn unlocks Ninja.
Beating Thieves' Arena solo unlocks Thief, who unlocks Snakey.
Beating the Icy Arena solo unlocks Iceskimo, who unlocks Brute.

If you choose a character like Hatty, Alien, Blacksmth, Skeleton, or any of the 5 Arrow Clones (Thief, Stove Face, Peasant, Civilian, and Open Face Gray Knight), chances are they aren't going to stand up to the bosses that great, and you'll have to resort to juggling and arrow spamming, which is all the stuff other characters can do.

Speaking of juggling...


2. Practice your Juggling
One very important aspect you need to have is juggling, which is to keep the enemies in the air whilst hitting them. To juggle, simply press X and then attack with the Square or Triangle buttons. Here are the list of juggle combos that I use for each enemy weight class:

S = Square
T = Triangle

SSTT - Infinite Juggle. All characters can do this except for Green Knight, who has a slow heavy attack speed and is unable to do this combo consecutively. This is best used for lightweight enemies. Lightweights include most enemies such as Barbarians, Thieves, Trolls, Bears, Killer Beekeepers, some Coneheads, Skeletons, Ninjas, Saracens, Aliens, and Iceskimos.
STT - Rising Uppercut. All characters can do this, even Green Knight. This is used for mediumweights and can be used up to a max of four times in one combo. Sometimes, you can finish it with the R2 + T Air Projectile, or just follow it up with ST, ST, ST, ST (the Uppercut combo) all the way down, as long as you don't do those button inputs at the same speed. Mediumweights include the Bear Leader boss, Fire Demons, Snakeys, and Cult Minions.
Heavyweight enemies can't be juggled, and you'll have to resort to the level 50 combo, or using your magic to get by. Enemies in this class include Coneheads in Cyclops' Cave/Fortress, Brutes, Royal Guards, Stove Faces, and sometimes the Necromancer.

One of the best places to learn how to juggle is the Industrial Castle door. You can use that to learn and perform the aforementioned important combos to kill the enemies fast. The juggle you'll most likely be using is the Infinite, which will endlessly drain the health of normal enemies. But the point of where you should stop juggling is when your XP bar doesn't grow anymore - that's how you know they're dead.


3. Level Recommendations and Stat Requirements
By the time you complete Normal mode, your character should be like at least level 35. My level recommendations are 40, 45, or 50. The most important stat to have is Defense, and I mean defense so you can withstand against enemies' attacks that do 250-300. Not only you need to have a full Defense bar, but a high Agility stat is also required.

If you want, you can have a max Agility stat so you can have the option to Arrow Spam, though I recommend trying to max out your Agility stat when going through Insane Mode so you can have that option during your initial playthrough for the latter bosses. The Conehead Groom will be a pain to beat with melee so for safety purposes, just Arrow Spam him and defend while you can.

4. Principles of Good Play
Use the Directional Pad. It allows for quicker movements than the analog stick. Using the analog stick will still make you live through Insane Mode, but the Directional Pad works better, and you don't have to worry about the analog stick moving your character by itself the way you don't want it to.

Most of the time, you're going to be staying away from enemies that do over 200-300 damage, and that's a safer method. Now a guide later in this solution will let you talk about the AI movements and behaviours, and you need to have this in your head during your initial playthrough.

Do not stay on the ground, as enemies can target you easier. Using Sandwiches is pretty much a death wish, and you can easily get hit. The only times where you need to use Sandwiches are in Lava World and one of the trap parts of the Industrial Castle.


5. Weapon, Animal Orb, and Item Requirements
It's always important to bring a full stock of Potions with you (you can carry a max of 5). Remember that unlike the Xbox 360 version, your Gold does not carry over through other characters. If you have the money, spend it on Potions if you used any in Normal mode. Buy Bombs if you can, and Sandwiches for Lava World.

For the Weapons, there are a total of 84. There's only many that will really help you out in Insane Mode. I recommend stuff like this:
-The Snakey Staff. Snakey's starting weapon. Everyone uses this because it's the best weapon in the game. It gives you 5 points of Magic, 3 points of Agility, but takes away 2 points of Defense. It has a 1% Critical Strike chance. That +5 Magic bonus gives you one more piece of your Magic splash, further enhancing the damage output you give. That -2 Defense is not really a problem, and the +3 Agility boost gives you more damage output for your Arrow Spamming.
-The Club. Bear's starting weapon. This can be a useful weapon for clearing that latter levels of Insane Mode. It enhances your Strength and Defense by 5 points, but takes away 5 points of Agility. It also has a 1% Critical Strike. This Agility decrease becomes a problem in the latter levels like Lava World because there are some levels where Agility is needed to pass that level.
-The Evil Sword. Dropped by the Necromancer, it gives you a +7 Defense and a +2 Magic increase. It's considered the best weapon in the game for Defense and technically, it is. This will not only nullify a bit of the enemies' power, but it will also allow you to take one more hit before you die. Although it's not too useful unless you aren't good at dodging enemy bombs or if you don't know how the AI works. The +2 Magic boost does nothing, too.
-The Glowstick. Cult Minion's starting weapon. It's the best weapon for XP grinding, which explains the -4 Strength. However, it gives +5 Magic and +5 Defense. It also has a 1% Critical Strike.
-The Gold Skull Mace. IT gives a +2 Strength and has a 3% Critical Strike, which is the highest chance of a Critical Strike and is one of the best weapons for melee.
-The Black Morning Star. Fire Demon's starting weapon. It gives a +6 Magic boost, +1 Defense, and it has a 1% Critical Strike. However, it takes away 3 points of Strength. This weapon is similar to the Unicorn Horn, but with the Critical Strike chance listed above.
-The Dual Prong Sword. It's available after unlocking Brute and althought it's very rare that Brute drops his sword in the Industrial Castle, it's more beneficial for beating the game as Iceskimo. It gives a +3 Strength and Defense, and has a 1% Critical Strike. This can be an alternative to the Club.
-The Sai. Ninja's starting weapon. It takes away 2 points of Defense, but cranks up your Agility by 6 points. This will make Arrow Spammers do more damage, and it has a 1% Critical Strike.
-The Skeletor Mace. Skeleton's starting weapon. It gives +3 Defense, +6 Agility, but takes 2 points of Strength. Another weapon that can be useful for Arrow Spammers.
-The NG Golden Sword. It bumps up your Strength by 4 points, Magic by 3, but turns down your Agility by 3 points. If your playstyle is revolved around melee and magic, this is the weapon you're looking for (however, you need to save up lots of Gold to buy it in the Insane Store).
-The Man Catcher. It's a DLC weapon included in the Legend of the Blacksmith pack. It gives +4 Strength, +2 Defense, but takes 2 points of Agility. This is one of the best weapons for melee and can be used to kill enemies through juggling faster.
-The Cardboard Tube. Also included in the same DLC pack. It takes 2 points of Strength, but amps up your Agility by 6 points. This is another weapon that's good for Arrow Spammers.

As for the Animal Orbs, there's 29 in total (that includes the Can't Stop Crying DLC). Some seem to have unnown abilities that boost stats other than a special effect. The ones listed below are the most useful ones:
-BiPolar Bear. He can maul bosses with 11% HP left, letting you off easy, and gives an indicator of when the enemy is dead to prevent overkill.
-Snoot. He increases your Strength by 4 points, which can be benificial when wielding the Man Catcher/Gold Skull Mace for the highest Strength damage output.
-Meowburt. He increases your Agility by 4. This allows you to do the highest damage output for Arrow Spamming combined with the Sai/Skeletor Mace/Cardboard Tube, not to mention that it nullifies the Agility loss the Club has.
-Zebra. While he can amp up the fruit you can find in tall grass to 100%, he can also add 2 points to your Magic and Agility. This emphasize the Snakey Staff and Ninja Claw's boosts, while it compliments the boosts of the Man Catcher and Dual Prong Sword very well.
-Piggy. He can double the amount of health fruit gives you, and bumps up the Turkey Leg's effect by 1.5X. It makes the Necromancer fight on Insane Mode very easy, since all they drop is fruit. The effect is also beneficial when other players are using Hawkster.
-Burly Bear. He increases your Strength by 3 points, and your Defense by 1. The Strength increase emphasize the boosts of the Man Catcher, Club, Buffalo Mace, and Dual Prong Sword while it compliments the Ninja Claw's boosts very well.
-Beholder. He gives you a 4 point Magic boost, and the highest for Animal Orbs. This can be used with the Black Morning Star and Unicorn Horn to give the highest Magic boost and damage output.
-Hawkster. He can collect fruit from enemies that are dead and can prove to be a great pet for newer players on Insane Mode. If your weapon has a special effect, he can also perform it when pecking them.

You can look up a guide on how to obtain these Animal Orbs in the Animal Handeler achievement/trophy. The best setup I use is the Snakey Staff and Piggy because it makes my playthrough of Insane Mode hella easy.


6. Necromancer
The only boss battle that's going to keep you from getting your trophy. Believe it or not, many players have failed to complete this battle on Insane Mode. If you want an easier strategy to beat him, look at VBP's guide to beating the Necromancer on Insane Mode.

http://forums.thebehemoth.com/topic/12189-vbps-insane-mode-n...

Try out the strategy on Normal a few times and get the pattern down. Once you know how to execute it properly, you'll be ready.


7. Multiplayer (optional)
Struggling to beat Insane Mode by yourself? Then grab some friends to help you out! Be advised that there are more enemies depending on the number of players and if you're playing online, your button inputs will have delays so it's best to utilize your attacks a little early.

One good thing is that if you run out of health, Potions will automatically work for you and restore your health back to full. But it switches off if there's only one person alive.

Do keep in mind that if you beat Insane Mode in multiplayer and the trophy doesn't pop, it means you level skipped and will have to complete the levels you skipped to actually beat Insane Mode. The list of levels below are the levels required to officially beat Insane Mode:

Castle Keep
Barbarian Boss
Thieves' Forest
Catfish
Pipistrello's Cave
Parade
Cyclops' Fortress
Lava World
Industrial Castle
Pirate Ship
Desert Chase
Sand Castle Roof
*Corn Boss
Medusa's Lair
Snow World
Ice Castle
**Final Battle

* = You do not need the Horn for the game to be considered complete. However, this level has to be beaten.
** = If you are level skipping, then the final boss must be beaten twice for your Insane Mode playthrough to be complete.


I hope this all helps and you don't die a lot in the game. If you have any questions or comments about this guide, then go ahead and post them. If there's anything that needs to be pointed out, I will add/remove it.