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Vampire Crawlers guide: The best crawlers and strategies
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Steven T. Wright
General tips
Always, always, always combo
You gain the ability to combo during the tutorial, and while it's easy to forget about this mechanic in the game's ever-increasing onslaught of complexity, this is one you really want to remember. It boils down to this: If you play cards in ascending order of mana cost, their efficiency is multiplied by the length of your streak. You don't have to be a master of arithmetic to figure out that this adds up really quickly, so, unless you have a really good reason not to, you should always use your cards in this manner.In terms of deckbuilding, this also means that you should prioritize having cards of different mana cost, within reason. If all the cards you draw have the same mana cost, you can't take advantage of this mechanic, and you are therefore far less likely to succeed in your runs.
Mana is life
It can be difficult to know which items or stats to prioritize across your Vampire Crawlers playthrough, as it often depends on the situation, but you should always try to increase your mana as much as possible. Your mana count serves as the main ceiling for not only your combo, but your offense in general, particularly as you learn to take advantage of card-draw mechanics and broken gem combinations.
Break everything, but save chickens for when you really need them
Just like in Vampire Survivors, you can bump into torches and other sources of light for bonus gold and other items, but what you're really looking for is the ever-popular "wall chicken." These Castlevania tributes restore a chunk of your life—but think twice before simply gobbling them up, doubly so if you already have relatively high health. Generally, I like to use them before the big floor boss, but figure out what works for you and decide accordingly.Don't be afraid to cash out
In a typical Vampire Crawlers run, you'll run into a few optional devices, such as vending machines that give you stat increases for sacrificing cards. These can be quite useful in a pinch, especially if you're getting close to the end of a level, but if your main goal is to make progress, we recommend using the "cash out" option to gain more gold that you can then use to purchase permanent power-ups back in town. It's simply more cost-efficient.
Evolve or die
It's generally worth the cost to evolve your cards, even if they're key to your build. Evolutions are usually far more powerful than even rare individual cards with good gems, and they can radically increase your chances of success in some of the game's harder levels, so don't be afraid to take advantage of this mechanic.Grinding and experimentation have their perks
Because Vampire Crawlers has strong roguelite elements, you can radically increase your character's strength through the power-ups you choose to buy with your hard-earned gold. You can reset the power-ups you've bought with a click of a button, so it can be worth it to experiment and see which ones really make a difference. That said, if you're dying a lot due to a run of bad card luck, there's no shame in grinding previous levels for gold. This is quite useful if you're trying out a new crawler or strategy for the first time, so don't shy away from it.The best crawlers in Vampire Crawlers
There are currently 22 crawlers in Vampire Crawlers, and you unlock most of them simply by playing the game, either by beating a certain level or using items. Here's a run-down of our favorites, as well as a few oddball picks that might wear out their welcome over time.
Antonio Belpaese: The first crawler you unlock is also one of the best for the early-game, as the 3 Armor he provides can really increase your survivability in a pinch. However, his default Whip weapon is one of the worst in the game, and the 10% increase to damage he provides is simply a drop in the bucket compared to other items you get later on. He's a strong option for some levels, but don't expect to use him past the first few hours.
Suor Clerici: This crawler is all about healing, making her a strong option for players who are struggling with survivability in certain levels. She heals 3 HP when she's played, but her real bread-and-butter is the after-encounter healing you get through playing blue cards. Her starting weapon, Santa Water, is also quite effective, as it lingers and deals area damage to frontline enemies for another turn after being used. She's a step below other crawlers, but she's very effective for certain situations, particularly if you don't have revives.
Imelda Belpaese: Another crawler that becomes available extremely quickly, Imelda is better-equipped for the long haul than Antonio. The one-time XP bonus you get from playing her is nice, but her real strength is the Growth stat she gains when you play any yellow card, which can make you level up far more quickly than other crawlers. And while Magic Wand isn't the best starting weapon, it's easy to evolve it to Holy Wand, since Tome cards are plentiful early on. All-in-all, she's one of the best crawlers to use throughout your playthrough, even many hours in.
Christine Davain: This crawler is a bit of a pain to unlock, but she's quite useful in many situations. Her ability to reduce the Mana cost of the next card played can open certain strategic possibilities, her Pentagram weapon is very effective against mobs, and she automatically shuts down enemies when you play purple cards, making her perfect for Mana-heavy builds.
Mortaccio: You unlock this crawler by killing mobs of skeletons in the early game, and his strategy is pretty simple: spam to win. His Bone card is not very good, but you won't care much, as he increases your Amount stat extremely quickly through his twin abilities of adding 2 when played and adding 1 when any blue card is played. He's a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty effective trick, especially early on.
Iguana Gallo Valletto: Since we've already mentioned that earning gold is one of the key ways to progress in Vampire Crawlers, it only follows that the gold-focused crawler is simply one of the best. Not only does he give you a flat 25% bonus to all coins collected, the 10% additional bonus for Wild cards can add up to a very large amount of cash. This is especially the case at higher levels, when Wild cards become more plentiful. Even if you don't like his Clock Lancet starting weapon, this crawler simply helps you get further in the game faster, and it's hard to argue with that.
Pugnala Provola: This crawler requires you to find her coffin in one of the forest levels in order to unlock her, but she's more than worth it. Her two starting weapons are not only quite powerful, but they can actually evolve with each other to form an even more powerful weapon in certain situations. On top of her ability to increase your damage by 20% when played, she also has card draw every time you play a yellow card, which is one of the most useful abilities in Vampire Crawlers. If you're having issues with a certain level, try her out—you'll see why we rate her so highly.
Crawl 'til you fall in Vampire Crawlers, which is available now on the Epic Games Store.