Act 2 Strategy: The City

Route Choice

Card Choice Priorities

Shop Choices

Encounter Strategy

Event Strategy

Boss Strategy

If you have access to Whirlwind or another AoE, or your deck has otherwise good offense, prioritize Rest Sites > First Shop > Elites > Events > Other Shops > Monsters. Otherwise, avoid all Elites if possible.Hopefully, you managed to acquire one of the following win conditions by now (probably from the boss):Limit Break, Demon Form, BarricadeIf so, you no longer need any more offensive cards in your deck. The main exceptions are getting at least one copy of strength gain with Limit Break, and getting Body Slam or Rampage with Barricade. If you didn't, then try to obtain a strength synergy package of (Strength gain card + Heavy Blade/Twin Strike/etc.) as your main damage. It doesn't take very much to easily kill any enemy, just a couple extra cards. Things like Necronomicon, Double Tap, and Girya all help you get enough damage, too.Other than what I stated above, the cards you take should be very limited now. Basically, only take these (in order of priority, and anything marked with a * should have at most one copy in your deck):Battle Trance*, Reaper, Disarm*, Shockwave*, Whirlwind*, Entrench*, Feel No Pain*, Offering, Shrug it Off, Impervious, Double Tap*, True Grit+*, Evolve*, Warcry+It is likely that your deck is still weak in some areas. In that case, consider taking these cards, only to shore up these weaknesses (didn't find defensive cards in Act 1, still need more damage, etc.):Inflame*, Cleave*, Fiend Fire, Pommel Strike, Body Slam, Rampage, Heavy Blade, Flame Barrier, Ghostly Armor, Spot Weakness*, Thunderclap*, Metallicize*My general priority for shops on Act 2 is:Thread and Needle > Remove a Card > Relics = Cards > PotionsThe only cards worth considering are those listed above, plus Apotheosis, if you are still on the first half of Act 2. If you see a Dexterity potion in the shop, it may be a good idea to pick it up, especially if you don't have one already.Most encounters are fairly straightforward, but there are a few where I recommend focusing a certain enemy first.To start, focus the Mugger in the back, unless HP values work out so that you can burst the Looter in one turn but not the Mugger. He hits harder on turn 3 and blocks for more in general. Often it is worth using a potion in this fight if it saves you 45 stolen gold.Focus the Centurion before the Mystic. It seems counter-intuitive, but you are likely to lose less HP this way, as the Centurion hits harder with the Mystic dead.Focus the Red Slaver (in the back) first here. If you can kill him before he makes you Vulnerable, then you should come out of this fight without losing too much HP.This event gives you the option to exchange all of your Strikes and either 30% of your max HP or a Blood Vial for 5 copies of Bite. Bite is a very powerful card, especially in a defensive deck. If you have enough block to avoid damage every turn, you can usually use Bite to heal up to full health in every encounter. The biggest downside is that you get 5 copies of the card, and you would probably rather have only about 3, if you could choose. Losing 30% max HP isn't usually a bit penalty, especially given the healing from Bites.I recommend usually taking the Bites. If you have fewer than 2 Strikes left in your deck or are running Demon Form, it comes down to personal preference, because the added cards will bloat your deck somewhat, and it is harder to stall with Bites while Demon Form is active.Suggested safe HP: Max (or 30 if running Barricade)Strategy: Get him to close to 50% as possible, and then deal as much damage as you can in the next two turns to spend the minimum amount of time with him enraged. Try not to take unnecessary damage early, and consider using a Dexterity potion to be extra safe, if you have any doubts about your deck. I consider this boss is the #1 win streak killer. Much easier if running Barricade, and Disarm helps significantly.Suggested safe HP: 60 (or 40 if running Barricade)Strategy: This boss summons orbs which will steal the rarest card in your deck. Kill the orbs first, and then focus the Automaton. Keep in mind that his pattern is to repeat Attack -> Defend -> Attack -> Defend -> Hyper Beam -> Stunned.Suggested safe HP: MaxStrategy: Since the recent buff, the Collector is quite scary. If you keep one minion at low HP while he is summoning, you can waste half of the summon. Otherwise, I suggest focusing the minions, then the Collector, as before. The game refuses to give me this boss since the patch, so I will update as I am able to test some more.