We reviewed the basics of Wizard of Wor last Wednesday. This week, lets start exploring the early maps and go over positioning.
There are two different map rotations in Wor: the early maps (levels 1-7) and the Worlord Dungeons (8+). There are probably about a dozen different early maps, and the ones you’ll play each game and the order in which you play them is random each time. Some are definitely easier than others due to having safer defensive positions. In the later maps, when enemies are plentiful and move quickly (levels 5-7), getting these “harder” maps will make it tougher to get through to the Worlord Dungeons without losing a life.
The map shown here is one of the easiest maps in the early rotation, and if you’re really lucky, you’ll get this as map 6 or 7 in your run, giving you an extremely easy board to complete when monsters are reaching their peak in difficulty.
As shown in my image, this spot (on either side, but I’m showing from the standard player 1 position here) is exactly the square you want to stand on. Once you get here, face left and hammer that fire button as fast as your fingers will go. Enemies will attempt to swarm in, but the fact that your firing distance is just a single square means that you can keep a nonstop hail of bullets filling the position, killing everything that comes in.
Having played this map hundeds of times in my runs, this is without a doubt the best spot to stand in. I’m not exactly sure why, but the AI will very, very rarely come around from the bottom, allowing you to keep firing to left. Just keep your eye on the radar once the invisible enemies come out, and be ready to quickly fire downwards for a moment in the event that a monster DOES decide to circle around the bottom route. For whatever reason, this is luckily very rare, allowing you to concentrate your fire almost entirely to you left, killing every enemy on the map with ease.
If you want, when monsters are at their max speed, you can stand halfway out into the hallway outside of the designated camp spot. This will allow you to use the “bump” mechanic on any enemy that is coming at you, giving you safe extra buffer time to fire your shots.
The only time I’ve started leaving this position is when there is a single monster left, and only if you have enough time to safely move down into the bottom corner, where you can see the monster coming and safely kill it. This is because, from the designated position, it can be difficult to kill the Worluck sometimes after the level ends. If the Worluck quickly decides to run away to a corner of either side, you do not have much time to get up and kill it.
Finishing the monsters from the bottom corner puts you within much closer reach of the right side teleporter, where you should be able to teleport to the left side of the screen and catch the Worluck who will surely be attempting to escape there.
Here are 3 more of the early maps that I consider “easy”. I’ve highlighted the ideal positioning to quickly get to in each one. One of the maps has 2 different spots that are both great for defense. You can get to which spot you have time for. I personally prefer the top position, but if the monsters are moving fast, you can take the bottom right position instead… you simply need to stay alert for monsters that might come around the bottom.
This is “the cage.” You want to get up to the safety of the cage as quickly as possible. If you’re on level 5-7, you have very little time to do this before the fast monsters will swarm you, so pick your moment carefully and make a break for it.
This map starts you right next to my recommended positioning. Monsters generally tend not to come around back, but keep your reactions ready for the times that they do. You can stick your Worrior way out into the lane to your left once monsters are moving at max speed in order to both get a bump and discourage the AI from coming around the bottom, since the AI seems to think you’re standing in the left square if you’re sticking way out.
In this map, if you have time, I prefer this top position. However, once monsters are fast, its difficult to get there. If this is map 5-7, I generally stick to the position on the bottom right since it just takes 3 steps to get there.
