TERMS:

Checkerboard/staggered:
This means place two traps in an alternating, checkerboard-like pattern. Such as below:

X O X O X O
O X O X O X
X O X O X O

HINTS:

The Wind Belt
The wind belt is a fun toy to use for crowd management.
On some levels like The Crossing, it makes the level (in terms of fun)!

NB:
If images do not appear for the mini-maps message me and I will correct it.
Thanks.

There are no achievements for 5-skulling the DLC maps--so no guides are provided here for them. YouTube still has many War Mage and Nightmare guides for them especially by FryedEgg and Nananea.

MAP 01 - The Edge [SKULL RUNS]
[** this is a good map to farm skulls **]

tar pits
spike traps
haymakers
pounders
arrow/acid shooters
archer guardians

Position your traps checkerboard in the first tunnel just away from the rift.

MAP 02 - Tunnels
[** this map is useful for farming skulls **]
Spike traps
haymakers
arrow/acid shooters (and some in the catch area)

Create a narrow passage (V-shape) of barricades and a trap of arrow/acid shooters at exit under the boulder chute with brimstone/spike traps and archer guardians guarding the exit

MAP 03 - Chasm

Arrow/acid shooters
spike traps
scorchers/brimstone
archer guardians near exit

Narrow the bridge to one trap's width near the corner of the tracks with barricades.

This is a fun map :-)

MAP 04 - The Crossing

You have a couple of options here--and you will have to set the mine cart to either run at the top bridge, or the bottom bridge.

TOP BRIDGE WITH MINECART (easiest option):
Barricades to force enemies along the wall
arrow/acid shooters
grinders

BOTTOM BRIDGE:
a) Checkerboard tar and spike traps ... OR
b) Checkerboard brimstone and spike traps ... OR
c) Scorchers and a strip of tar/spike traps ... OR
d) Spring traps (watch them fly)

BOTTOM BRIDGE WITH MINECART (this is slightly more problematic):
Barricades to force enemies along the track with grinders at the entrace of the funnel

TOP BRIDGE:
a) Checkerboard tar and spike traps ... OR
b) Checkerboard brimstone and spike traps ... OR
c) Scorchers and a strip of tar/spike traps ... OR
d) Spring traps (this can cause problems with your barricades though; allow an exit for the baddies so they don't get stuck and destroy your set up.

This is a tough map, in my experience you probably won't 5-skull it the first try. Having upgraded traps really helps here. Barricades will not be available to you to place the first time you play this map--but they make it easier to 5-skull it.

INITIALLY:
Scorchers
brimstone
arrow/acid shooters
archer guardians

WITH BARRICADES:
You'll want to close the center lane and the far right lane with barricades to force the orcs to go through your left side funnel.

• Brimstone on the floor
  
• arrow/acid shooters on the wall
  
• grinders work well too

The kobold sappers will go right after your barricades and ruin your day quickly unless you plan for them. Your best bet is to have a barricade a little forward and off to the side to attract them (the dummy barricade) and try to pick them off as soon as you can. The dummy barricade is to be a target lure but it will quickly disappear--it buys you time--but you need to be ever vigilant against sappers.

MAP 06 - Hidden Gulch
You'll want to block the center pathway with barricades just a tad up the path's ramp up. Too close and it'll get damaged--too far and the orcs will walk up the path, get blocked, and attack/destroy it (in my experience). Although I have seen others put the barricades at the back of the middle path.

You'll want archer guardians to make the easiest time of it--and you'll want to put them on the high perch above you (you can't walk up there but you can place them there fairly easily). Alternately high place haymakers will help with the flyers (though some flyers might get through).

SOLO:
Place barricades on one side (left or right) so that three barricades block off the path. The edge of the barricades should be behind where the archer guardians on the map line up. You should be able to funnel all the orcs to one side:

Checkerboard tar/spike traps
Walls with arrow/acid shooters

COOP:
If you don't have the coinforge, just checkerboard the ground with tar/spike/brimstone
Line your walls with arrow/acid shooters

If you do have the coinforge, put a coinforge down with a decoy in the middle that freezes the orcs
Line your walls with arrow/acid shooters or grinders

This one is difficult and sort of like the "finale" of the first half of the game.



MAP 07 - Precipice

RED LINE: Place barricades where the red lines are-- you'll want to place them on the outermost places first and work your way in (there are no sappers on War Mage setting; and in nightmare the sappers can be shot before they get close enough, but your main problems will be flyers and sappers).

Checkerboard tar/spikes, scorcher/brimstone along your path.
Along the wall you can use arrow/acid shooters or grinders (especially along central pillars).

Haymakers before and between the boulder chutes will work against the flyers (also archer guardians near the exits); other options include putting arrow shooters up along the walls; but acid shooters have reduced/no effect on the bile bats.

WATCH OUT FOR THE HUNTERS! My preferred way of dealing with them on this map is draw them to the right hand side and hover near a grinder further along the path that's been built up. It will help you dispatch them (and if you're lucky even kill them outright before they get to you). The hunters tend to hug the walls so griders along the center pillars will help.

This is by FAR my most favorite level in the game.



Round 1 - Kobold Runners and Gnoll Hunters

• Drop two scorchers and two sets of three spikes (staggered) near the first door OR
  
• Drop three sets of two brimstones under arches
  
• These traps should go where the red lines are

Round 2 and 3 - HARD!

• Put scorchers/brimstone where the yellow lines are
  
• Put arrow/acid shooters on the wall ends of the longer yellow line
  
• You may have to temporarily put down spike traps on the cyan line

Round 4+

• The pink line you put haymakers, arrow/acid shooters, and scorchers/brimstone

ALTERNATIVE SETUP:
The alternate set up is to put ALL of your traps at the top of the stairs where the pink line is. It may take some time to get the feel for alternate setup but I find it the most entertaining. Since you have all the enemies coming to you it will be a close shave to par time. To make par time easier you'll probably want to face down the enemies on your own (without traps) for the first wave--killing them just as they leave the door buys you a lot of time.

* Put 2 scorchers on either side of the landing with the flames pointing inward to the center
* Put arrow/acid shooters on the walls and on the wall down along the stair
* In the center put 4 traps in a checkerboard pattern like tar/spikes/brimstone/etc
* For the ceiling put in haymakers, arrow shooters, pounders, etc

Round 1

• PINK LINE: Two barricades blocking one archway, barricade and brimstone next arch near portal
  
• PINK LINE: Narrow path with barricades forcing orcs down the path before the archways
  
• Along pink path checkerboard tar/spikes or brimstone, arrow shooters/grinders on path walls
  
• Brimstone barrier and one haymaker along orange line

Additional Rounds

• RED LINE: 3-4 archer guardians behind the barricades eventually
  
• YELLOW LINE: checkerboard spikes and brimstone, haymakers above; hallway only not in common room
  
• ORANGE LINE: corridor of death; arrow/acid shooter, haymakers, spikes and brimstone

You can also block off one of the stairs with 3 barricades and 2 brimstone. If you do that, however, you'll want to put dummy barricades in front of the orange line corridor.

MAP 10 - Corridors

ORANGE LINE: two barricades, four brimstones, 1-2 arrow/acid shooters

PINK LINE: two brimstones, two haymakers, arrow/acid shooter
You can also put grinders on the ceiling slope and that will help with flyers

WHITE BOX: 2-4 archer guardians

RED LINE: barricades to block off hallway
You don't really need the top row of barricades, just the bottom one

YELLOW LINE: kill-box; checkerboard spikes/tar, haymakers, and arrow/acid graps, and grinders near entrance

MAP 11 - Upstairs Downstairs
This map is easier in multi-player

RED LINE: brimstone, brimstone/spikes

YELLOW LINE: arrow/acid shooters, with brimstone/spikes

PINK LINE: haymakers

WHITE LINE: 3-4 archer guardians

MAP 12 - Crunch

RED LINE: brimstone; or brimstone/spikes

BROWN LINE: barricades

WHITE LINE: archer guardians; archers will clean up stragglers and target any flyers that escape the haymakers. You will have to protect them from hunters, however.

PINK LINE: high window haymakers for flyers

* Later on put arrow/acid shooters wherever you can
* You can put grinders near the opening where the flyers come in--it should get most of them

MAP 13 - Mirror Image
This map, to me, is easier in single-player mode

• Put 3 brimstones in front of the two top doors and at least four archers at the exit.
  
• Then put three more as you can afford it and at least 3-4 more archers at the exit.
  
• This brimstone at the door and archers at the exit combo is the whole trap setup for the entire map.

You will have to help killing off the orcs too. Near the half way point in waves trolls will start showing up and they will kill your archers--you can spot them as they will be the slower moving dots.

Near the end ogres will start showing up near the top; they're easier to kill though.

RED LINE: brimstone (about 2 rows when possible)

WHITE LINE: archer guardians

MAP 14 - Wind Up

Alternately, for the topside corridor, you can checkerboard brimstone/spikes/tar with the haymaker combo

PINK LINE: haymakers

RED LINE: brimstone

BROWN LINE: barricades

YELLOW LINE: grinders

WHITE LINE: archer guardians

MAP 15 - Twisted Hall
Definitely easier in multi-player. You will be hopping back and forth on this one and you will have to be on top of things. Most of your time you'll be hopping from one exit to the other. Primarily taking out flyers, but hunters will be making a bee-line right for you too. Easiest strategy for that is to kill them before they can get to you using the hunter kill-boxes, but if they get past those--just hop over to the other portal BEFORE they get to you and they'll turn right around to chase you (they can't hop, they have to run all the way around).

BROWN LINE: barricades

RED BOX: brimstone kill box for Gnolls (brimstone, brimstone/spikes/etc)

PINK LINE: kill line -> grinder/arrow/acid shooter, brimstone

YELLOW LINE: [flyer entrances]

Near the portals you should place some archer guardians. They will be vulnerable to hunters though