Crypt of the NecroDancer
61 Achievements
GOG
So Hardcore!
Complete "All Zones Mode" with solo Cadence
2.0%
How to unlock the So Hardcore! achievement in Crypt of the NecroDancer - Definitive Guide
Tommy Gun CRG
TrueAchievements
TrueAchievements
You will need to play through all 4 zones and defeat Dead Ringer and the NecroDancer to earn this achievement. You should have already beaten the zones individually by now, so this mostly comes down to practice.
One trick is to start the game, immediately find the shop and see if there's anything good. If not, hit
to restart until you find good items. On the other hand, you may want to just play with whatever you have for practice. Don't rely on good items; get better at the game.
Some items you should try to get:
Map. This is the best item for knowledge, but you can also get a Telepathy Circlet to get a good idea of where the shop/exit is. A Glass Torch is the next best, and a compass helps if that's all you can find.
+Damage items. The most helpful items for me raised my damage, because it meant being able to kill minibosses in a much tighter space. I prefer ranged weapons (e.g., bow, spear, rapier) over "wide" weapons, and try to get rings/boots to increase damage.
Rings. There are a lot of good ones. I prefer to use a Ring of Gold or Ring of Luck in the first half of the run, then switch to something else (Ring of Might, Ring of Peace) once I have enough good items.
The Monocle is one of my favorite items. It will help you gain a lot of bombs and gold, and you won't have to waste time opening barrels and crates with junk in them. You can see exactly where the good items are, and only use your bombs on them. I wouldn't swap to it late in the game, though, if you already have good items (and especially a good headwear).
There are some combinations of items you should look for:
Ballet Shoes + Obsidian armor/weapons. It's easy to ignore the ballet shoes, thinking they only help with gold, but if you have an obsidian weapon you can do tons of damage! This makes it so much easier because you can let enemies come to you.
Blood Weapon + Crown of Thorns. I really like having either of these, but if you have both you can heal so much faster. Since you start with low health in All Zones Mode, these are important.
Dagger of Phasing + Ring of Phasing. Attack through walls!
Blunderbuss or Rifle + Lead Boots. Fire without the knockback, which means you can just keep reloading and firing from the same spot.
Boots of Pain + Rapier. They both attack the same way, which means you can do a lot of extra damage.
Heal Spell + Ring of Mana. Heal one full heart each use.
By the time you get to the end of Zone 3, you may want to swap boots to something that helps with ooze in Zone 4 if you can.
I recommend practicing Dead Ringer and the NecroDancer a LOT. See my Zone 4 guide for videos:
The In The Zone 4 achievement in Crypt of the NecroDancer worth 44 pointsComplete zone 4 with solo Cadence!
You don't want to get all the way to the end, only to die at the boss (which still happened to me several times). Dead Ringer can be beaten consistently if you follow my video. The ND has a lot of randomness to it (which minibosses spawn and where), so it's a much harder fight.
One trick is to start the game, immediately find the shop and see if there's anything good. If not, hit
to restart until you find good items. On the other hand, you may want to just play with whatever you have for practice. Don't rely on good items; get better at the game.Some items you should try to get:
Map. This is the best item for knowledge, but you can also get a Telepathy Circlet to get a good idea of where the shop/exit is. A Glass Torch is the next best, and a compass helps if that's all you can find.
+Damage items. The most helpful items for me raised my damage, because it meant being able to kill minibosses in a much tighter space. I prefer ranged weapons (e.g., bow, spear, rapier) over "wide" weapons, and try to get rings/boots to increase damage.
Rings. There are a lot of good ones. I prefer to use a Ring of Gold or Ring of Luck in the first half of the run, then switch to something else (Ring of Might, Ring of Peace) once I have enough good items.
The Monocle is one of my favorite items. It will help you gain a lot of bombs and gold, and you won't have to waste time opening barrels and crates with junk in them. You can see exactly where the good items are, and only use your bombs on them. I wouldn't swap to it late in the game, though, if you already have good items (and especially a good headwear).
There are some combinations of items you should look for:
Ballet Shoes + Obsidian armor/weapons. It's easy to ignore the ballet shoes, thinking they only help with gold, but if you have an obsidian weapon you can do tons of damage! This makes it so much easier because you can let enemies come to you.
Blood Weapon + Crown of Thorns. I really like having either of these, but if you have both you can heal so much faster. Since you start with low health in All Zones Mode, these are important.
Dagger of Phasing + Ring of Phasing. Attack through walls!
Blunderbuss or Rifle + Lead Boots. Fire without the knockback, which means you can just keep reloading and firing from the same spot.
Boots of Pain + Rapier. They both attack the same way, which means you can do a lot of extra damage.
Heal Spell + Ring of Mana. Heal one full heart each use.
By the time you get to the end of Zone 3, you may want to swap boots to something that helps with ooze in Zone 4 if you can.
I recommend practicing Dead Ringer and the NecroDancer a LOT. See my Zone 4 guide for videos:
The In The Zone 4 achievement in Crypt of the NecroDancer worth 44 pointsComplete zone 4 with solo Cadence!
You don't want to get all the way to the end, only to die at the boss (which still happened to me several times). Dead Ringer can be beaten consistently if you follow my video. The ND has a lot of randomness to it (which minibosses spawn and where), so it's a much harder fight.