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CastleStorm - Trophy Guide and Roadmap


Puzzler

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This guide was written for sole use on playstationtrophies.org, as such it may not be replicated elsewhere without express permission from the author; Puzzler

 

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Overview

 

Estimated trophy difficulty: 4/10 Personal estimate (Trophy Difficulty Rating)

Offline trophies: 14 (1 (G), 2 (S), 11 (B))

Online trophies: 0

Approximate time to 100%: 12-15 hours

Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1

Number of missable trophies: 0 (mission select available)

Number of glitched trophies: 0

Does difficulty affect trophies?: 1 - All-Star (all levels must be completed on Hard)

Do cheat codes disable trophies?: N/A no cheat codes

 

Introduction

 

CastleStorm is a very tricky game to classify in terms of genre; Tower Defence, Strategy, Resource & Time Management Sim, Brawler - this game combines elements of all of these and more. Seamlessly too I might add. It’s an incredibly fun experience that never gets repetitious, always keeps you on your toes and keeps you entertained with its light-hearted humorous story and presentation. One second you’ll find yourself firing off projectiles towards enemy castles and troops, and the next you’ll be occupying the role of your hero right in the thick of the action on the battlefield, all the while constantly managing your own troops, upgrading your flexible loadouts and tinkering with your castle build between levels. While it may sound complex, it’s actually incredibly easy to get to grips with and the game never feels overwhelming due to the comfortable pace at which it introduces new gameplay elements.

 

In terms of trophies, you’re looking at quite a simple set for the most part. In the opening couple of hours you may find yourself thinking that the All-Star trophy is beyond your reach, but thankfully this concern will be remedied once you reach a certain stage of the game that allows you to cheaply grind coins for upgrades, ultimately gifting you the ability to create vastly superior forces.

 

Walkthrough

 

Step One - Play the Kingdom Quest Campaign up to the level “Frenzy Battle!”

 

The first step to 100% is rather simple; as stated above you’re going to want to play the Kingdom Quest campaign, keeping an eye out for when you reach the level “Frenzy Battle!”. Ultimately your goal in CastleStorm is to reach 100% completion across the two campaigns, a.k.a earn all the stars that are available on every level. Each level offers 5 stars; 2 for your accuracy rate (80% generally being the requirement for netting both); 2 for completing the level on the Hard difficulty setting; and a final star for completing the bonus objective within each level, which differs between every stage. You need to earn all 5 stars in one level attempt, not spread across multiple level attempts.

 

With the above in mind, I’d recommend at least trying to complete each level up to “Frenzy Battle!” with a 5-star rating (you pick your difficulty setting before you commence each level), if only to save a little time later on. The majority of levels are actually rather easy, but you will encounter some which will give you grief at this stage; don’t bother wasting too much time trying to complete these on Hard, just bump the difficulty down to Normal, complete the level and move on. I wouldn’t recommend bumping the difficulty down to Casual, the sole reason being that the coin yield for completing levels isn’t as great. Any stages that you don’t complete with a 5-star rank now will be replayed later during Step 3.

 

During this step you should actually earn the majority of the game’s trophies through natural gameplay, without actually really going for them. However I would recommend making a conscious effort to go for Ten Heads during the “Direwolves!” level and Troll Hunter during “Defending the Crown”.

 

Trophies earned during this step:

Jewel Heist
(B)

Troll Hunter
(B)

Crowd Control
(B)

Dropping Like Flies
(B)

Angry Demolition
(B)

Fight in the Shade
(B)

Ten Heads
(B)

Hard Hat Area
(B)

Step Two - Coin Grinding / Upgrades

Once you reach the “Frenzy Battle!” level you’re presented with the perfect opportunity to grind a huge amount of coins to spend on upgrades, quickly and effectively. I know this may be quite a boring and tedious step, but honestly, in the long run it will save you a massive amount of time and grief when playing the later, tougher levels.

 

The goal in this particular level is to destroy the enemy castle, coupled with a bonus objective of achieving this feat within 30 seconds; it’s exceptionally easy to blitz the level on the Hard difficulty setting in around 20 seconds, achieving all 5 stars in the process. To do so, simply spam the “Tri-Stone” at the enemy's castle, which you’re able to do in this particular scenario due to the lack of a cool down period on all weapons. It really is that simple.

 

While easy, there are a couple of crucial things that you need to put in place during this step. Firstly, ensure that you select a castle which contains both the “Treasury” and “Prison” rooms (I personally used the default “Stonewatch” castle), both of which bolster your coin earnings. The Treasury room grants an outright coin bonus for the duration it stays intact during play, while the Prison room will award bonus gold in relation to enemies left standing at the end of a level. Secondly, it’s important to keep upgrading these two rooms to the maximum level (level 10) as you’re grinding coins, resulting in ever-increasing coil yields. It’s also worth upgrading the Tri-Stone projectile itself, therefore boosting its damage and enabling you to complete the level even quicker.

 

By the time you’ve got both the Treasury and Prison rooms upgraded to level 10, you should be earning, on average, around 6000 coins for every 20 second level-run. Ridiculously easy and quick coin earnings! I’d personally recommend spending around 1.5-2 hours grinding coins and upgrading your items; the more time you spend completing this level over and over and upgrading your items, the easier that Step 3 will become. Obviously what you choose to upgrade depends entirely on how you like to play game.

 

Trophies earned during this step:

Upgrayedded
(S)

Step 3 - Your Quest for the All-Star Trophy

 

Once you’re happy with the progress you’ve made during Step 2 and have substantially upgraded your arsenal, it’s time to tackle the rest of the Kingdom Quest campaign. At this point beating all the levels on Hard and achieving all 5 stars shouldn’t pose any problems, and you should also revisit the levels prior to “Frenzy Battle!” that you couldn’t fully complete the first time around. It’s worth noting that there are a handful of bonus levels which won’t be available at this point, these will open up in due course.

 

After you complete the level “You Cannot Pass!”, you’ll be thrust into the second, much shorter Campaign - “Welcome to Vikingland”, at which point you’ll be presented with brand spanking new equipment (for story-related reasons which I won’t state here). Thankfully, coins earned across both campaigns are shared, meaning you can still utilise the grinding method outlined in Step 2 to upgrade equipment in this second campaign. Progress through these levels gunning for all 5 stars each, grinding coins for upgrades as and when you need to. When you reach the level “Homecoming” during this campaign, please refer to Dragon Slayer in the trophy guide below for critical information regarding the completion of this level.

 

Trophies earned during this step:

All-Star
(G)

Peace… Forever?
(S)

Rock Blocked
(B)

A Fistful of Hammers
(B)

Dragon Slayer
(B)

Edited by Puzzler
Fixed images.
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http://i.imgur.com/cTVb1ON.png

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/17B.jpg All-Star (G)

Reach 100% completition in Campaign mode by obtaining all the stars.

 

There are 300 stars in total spread across both the Kingdom Quest campaign and Welcome to Vikingland campaign; 190 in the former and 110 in the latter. Both campaigns are predominantly made up of story-based missions, with a few bonus missions making up the numbers, all of which becoming available as you progress. Each level has 5 stars on offer, which can be broken down into the following 3 categories:

 

  • 2 Stars for your accuracy rate during the level (80% generally being the requirement for netting both) - High accuracy ratings are always going to be tougher to achieve on the PS3 as opposed to the Vita, due to the lack of touch screen aim. However, a tip which should help massively in most levels, is to use the enemy's castle as a rating booster. The enemy castle is a massive target, nigh-on impossible to miss you could say, that thankfully will count as a “hit” when fired upon. If your accuracy is lurking below the 80% threshold, simply spam arrows at the castle until you’re back where you need to be.
  • 2 Stars for completing the level on the Hard difficulty setting - It would be impractical for me to offer up general tips for completing the levels on the Hard difficulty setting, not only because of how different a lot of the objectives and scenarios can be, but more importantly due to the fact that playing styles and favoured strategies can vary so drastically between players. That being said, it’s always worth bearing in mind that upgrading your entourage goes a long way, and tinkering with your castle setup can prove to be quite beneficial. An ideal method to accumulate coins quickly is detailed in the Roadmap above (see Walkthrough - Step 2).
  • 1 Star for completing the bonus objective assigned to each level - The bonus objective will differ from level to level and I’d generally always recommend that you focus on completing it as swiftly as possible, before progressing on to the main objective and completing the level. Often the bonus objective is a target that must be sustained throughout the duration of a level, for example “don’t make any friendly kills”. In cases such as these it’s just a matter of tailoring your playstyle accordingly.

You can check your current star status in all categories at any point during a level, simply pause the action and the relevant information will be displayed on the left-hand side of the screen. All 5 stars within each level must be acquired during one run, you can’t fulfil the criteria over the course of multiple attempts, i.e. focus on accuracy during one attempt, then the bonus objective on the next for example.

 

You need to earn each and every star in order to unlock this trophy, and your progress towards this target is clearly stated in a number of places, most notably the campaign/level select screens.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/040.jpg Peace... Forever? (S)

Finish the Campaign mode.

 

Story related and cannot be missed. This trophy will unlock upon completion of the level “Meet the Chief” within the Welcome to Vikingland campaign.

 

For the purposes of this trophy you’re not required to play the bonus levels, which you’re able to clearly recognise due to their text being highlighted blue when selecting levels. The number of stars you’ve earned in levels is also irrelevant.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/E95.jpg Upgrayedded (S)

Upgrade a troop, projectile, spell or bonus room to its maximum level in any game mode.

 

Access to the equipment upgrade section is restricted when you initially start the game, but after a couple of missions (once you’ve unlocked an item in any category), this area will open up. You’ll naturally unlock more and more items in all the categories as you progress through the game, and what you choose to upgrade is entirely up to you, depending on how you want to play.

 

The coins needed in order to actually purchase upgrades are earned by completing missions and occasionally through natural story progression. The amount of coins you earn can vary, depending on the difficulty level you’re playing on and the level of your performance during missions. Your overall coin total can be seen in the equipment menu itself (as well as various other locations), and the cost of upgrades can be seen when you hover over each item. Just keep upgrading your favourite items and you’ll have this trophy in no time.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/517.jpg Jewel Heist (B)

Unlock 'Donkey Island' in the Campaign mode.

 

Story related and cannot be missed. This trophy will unlock upon completion of the mission “Strike!” within the Kingdom Quest campaign.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/35F.jpg Rock Blocked (B)

Unlock 'Mountain Passage' in the Campaign mode.

 

Story related and cannot be missed. This trophy will unlock upon completion of the mission “Clear the Way!” within the Kingdom Quest campaign.

 

The Giant Golem boss contained within this level can appear daunting at first and exceptionally difficult to damage with regular attacks; thankfully the solution is actually rather simple! All you need to do is wait for him to pick up a boulder and hold it above his head, at which point his glowing green eyes will be exposed - it’s at this moment that you’ll want to fire off an Apple Grenade or Morning Star directly at his face, resulting in a chunk of his health being lost. After you do this he’ll actually cower away from you, presenting you with another opportunity to spawn your hero behind him and damage him again with the hero’s bow. Just keep repeating this process over and over until the boss runs away.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/590.jpg A Fistful of Hammers (B)

Unlock 'Norsheim' in the Campaign mode.

 

Story related and cannot be missed. This trophy will unlock upon completion of the mission “Border Breakthrough” within the Welcome to Vikingland campaign.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/DE9.jpg Dragon Slayer (B)

Kill a dragon with any hero in any game mode.

 

Story related and cannot be missed. This trophy will unlock upon completion of the mission “Homecoming” within the Welcome to Vikingland campaign.

 

When you first play this level, if you’re playing on the Hard difficulty setting, it will seem to be insanely tough. You’re given a Level 1 Viking to use which you’re unable to upgrade, and are tasked with fighting a ridiculous barrage of immensely tough opponents. What you’re unaware of at this point however, is that when you beat the level you actually unlock this unnamed Viking as one of your spells. You’re then able to upgrade him as normal and tackle the level with a levelled-up, unstoppable version of the weakling you had before. So, with this in mind, when you first encounter this level bump the difficulty down to casual and comfortably complete it. Don’t spend an hour cursing the game and getting incredibly frustrated like I did…

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/D7C.jpg Troll Hunter (B)

Kill a troll in with any hero in any game mode.

 

You’ll no doubt earn this trophy as you progress through the Kingdom Quest campaign; the first level that actually contains trolls is “Defending the Crown” in the “Capital Defense” section.

 

Simply spawn your hero on the battlefield using :triangle: and have him deal the final killing blow to a troll in order to unlock this trophy. Feel free to soften up the troll by other means before you send in your hero, and lastly be wary when you’re up close and personal with them as their attacks can be very powerful.

Edited by Puzzler
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http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/556.jpg Crowd Control (B)

Score a x5 or higher multikill.

 

Multikills are awarded when you take out more than one enemy at once, more often than not via projectiles from your Ballista. You’ll be notified onscreen when you achieve a multikill and it will also state how many kills you achieved in that specific instance. It’s inconceivable that you won’t achieve this feat multiple times over on your way through the campaigns, but if for some reason you’re struggling, wait for a congregation of enemies to gather outside your castle gate, them simply toss an Apple Grenade at them.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/DCD.jpg Dropping Like Flies (B)

Score a x10 or higher killing streak.

 

A very easy trophy, which you’ll likely earn within the first few missions that you play. In order to build up a killing streak you need to dispose of enemies, one after another, in quick succession. You’ll be notified on the right-hand side of the playing screen once you reach a kill streak of 3, and if subsequent kills are quick enough the streak will bump up by one. If kills aren’t made quickly enough, the notification will disappear off the screen and you’ll have to start the streak again. Simply reach a killing streak of 10 to unlock the trophy.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/9B0.jpg Angry Demolition (B)

Destroy 3 enemy rooms with one shot.

 

When destroying an enemy castle, you’ll notice in the top right-hand corner of the screen that there’s a green castle icon with numbers underneath, indicating how many rooms within the castle you’ve destroyed. For the purposes of this trophy you’re aiming to destroy three rooms with one shot, which thankfully is a rather simple task.

 

It’s likely you’ll unlock this trophy without even thinking about it, but if you’re struggling, try to focus your fire on structural weak points, which when destroyed would naturally cause massive damage.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/726.jpg Fight in the Shade (B)

Shoot at least 30 javelins within a shooting frenzy.

 

A shooting frenzy is activated once you reach a kill streak of 5 using your Ballista. You’ll know once it’s activated as the camera will pan out and your weapon icons at the bottom of the screen will glow blue, indicating that you can rapidly spam shots for a short period of time.

 

Initially, the task of firing off 30 javelin shots within one shooting frenzy may seem nigh-on impossible, but thankfully you’ll unlock access to the “Javelin Burst” weapon a short way into the Kingdom Quest campaign, which enables you to fire 3 Javelin shots at once, therefore making this trophy incredibly simple.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/914.jpg Ten Heads (B)

Make 10 headshot kills in a row in any game mode.

 

As the description states, you need to make 10 headshot kills in a row to unlock this trophy. A successful headshot will be confirmed onscreen, so if you kill an enemy and don’t see the prompt, you’ll know that you need to start the tally again. It’s also worth noting that missing a shot entirely will also void the trophy; 10 shots, all headshots is what you’re after.

 

A really easy opportunity to perform this task presents itself very early in the Kingdom Quest campaign, during the “Direwolves!” mission. In this mission you have to defend your area from the incoming wolves, which are very easy to pick off with headshots one-by-one. Most of them are travelling quite slowly, but occasionally you’ll encounter a wolf that’s travelling more swiftly; these will require a more precise shot, and you’ll need to aim a short way in front of the wolf in order to compensate for its speed.

 

http://www.playstationtrophies.org/images/trophies/1562/7EB.jpg Hard Hat Area (B)

Kill an enemy troop by collapsing his own castle on him in any game mode.

 

This is another trophy you really needn’t worry about as it will come naturally over the course of play. Enemy troops spawn directly outside their own castle, and naturally when you’re tasked with destroying said castle, you’re going to cause debris to fall on top of them, resulting in the kill you need for this trophy.

Edited by Puzzler
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Great guide, thank you. I have a couple of questions though.

 

1. Will you be writing a guide for the two DLCs?

 

2. Can I use coins and upgrades to breeze through the DLCs?

 

No problem, glad you found it useful.

 

1. I'm planning on starting the DLC shortly and yes I'll be writing guides for them all being well.

 

2. I'll be able to answer that when I start the DLC :p

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  • 3 months later...
  • 10 months later...
Would someone recommend doing this on vita rather than PS3 due to the "touch Screen aiming" thing mentioned in the guide? Don't really like using the vita but from trying the first mission i doubt ill be very good at getting 80% acc.

 

Either you can't aim with the touch screen or it's magnitudes less sensitive than the dpad. The controls just seem to be really bad in this game. The analog stick is way too sensitive (at least on vita). I barely touch the stick and the aim totally flips out.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

to address a few things

 

vita Touch pad: I personally cannot get the vita touch pad to work to fire ballistas. the sticks are super sensitive. I uploaded the game to my PSTV and it seems to be a whole lot easier with that using a D3 Gamepad. I know not always an option, or a cheap one. Just giving my experience.

 

As far as the trophy for the dragon, the trophy isn't considered to be missiable because the mission itself is replyable. You do not have to re-play the whole game to get it.

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  • 1 year later...

Good guide, the only tip I'd make is that one of the DLC levels is better for grinding gold than Frenzy Battle. The one at the airport where you have to destroy the castle before a number of turkeys reach yours. You generally get about double the gold from Frenzy Battle in the same amount of time.

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