The Story of the Demon Castle: A complete guide to maze design | The complete story of the ironclad layout that delays the adventurer AI to the utmost and achieves victory when time runs out

“Demon Castle Story” is an attractive dungeon defense simulation game created by Kairosoft. As the Demon King, the player expands the ruined castle, placing monsters and setting traps while repelling the influx of adventurers. The core of the game is to either wipe out all the adventurers before they reach the Demon King's throne, or force them to run out of time by exceeding the predetermined stay time. Especially on high difficulty levels, the adventurer's strength increases rapidly, so the key to victory is not just a battle of firepower, but a clever maze design that takes advantage of the AI's behavior patterns.

In this guide, we will thoroughly explain the detailed behavior principles of the adventurer AI, optimizing the straight road layout, avoiding the pitfalls of branching, advanced guidance techniques for treasure chests and traps, durability strategies aimed at running out of time, and how to build the final iron-clad layout. The practical content is fleshed out based on player examples, and is compiled so that everyone from beginners to advanced players can use it immediately. We deal with the lack of funds in the early stages, the collapse of the defense in the middle stages, and the aim of high scores in the final stages, and we also include tips for rank-up exams and hard mode strategies. Turn your demon castle into a labyrinth of despair that adventurers will never be able to escape from.

Thoroughly elucidating the behavioral principle of adventurer AI | Solidifying the foundation of delay design

The adventurer AI's behavior is both predictable and clever. The top priority is “Search for the shortest path to the Demon King's throne,'' which repeats movement with priority given to the shortest distance, similar to the BFS (Breadth First Search) algorithm. Walls and unbreakable obstacles will be bypassed instantly, and breakable doors and barricades will take time to be destroyed. Target priority has a clear hierarchical structure: Demon King's Throne > Treasure Chest > Monster > Trap Avoidance. If you don't understand this, you will often make mistakes where you intend to increase the branching but end up clearing the game without defeating it.

Specifically, the AI ​​will give priority to collecting treasure chests within its field of view (approximately 5-7 squares) and will be forced to move back and forth. When encountering monsters, battle is prioritized, but if there is a durable monster (e.g. Dokabe Itazou's evolved Tsutsukitsukushi, defense 25 or higher, HP 50 or higher), the battle will take longer and a delay will naturally occur. As for traps, traps (45-50% movement speed reduction, maximum effect at level 11) and poisonous swamps (3.0% HP reduction, continuous damage) are particularly effective, and the AI ​​will not break the shortest route even if it takes these.

Furthermore, it is effective to reverse the habit of moving along walls. On branching roads, we will search with priority on the left wall, so we will place a false dead end on the left side and trigger a time-out judgment (maximum stay time, equivalent to about 20-30 turns). As an example image, the layout plan recommends a pattern in which the AI ​​is fixed in a straight path like “Wall, Wall, Wall, Port, Wall,'' and is showered with bows and arrows (straight line shooting, damage accumulation). If you design based on this principle, you can maintain a defense rate of 90% or higher from the beginning.

Practical Tips: Consider the composition of your adventurer party (warrior type: high attack/medium defense, magician type: long range, thief type: high speed, monk type: recovery). For warrior types, build a wall with Earth Wall Itazou (obtained early: Mysterious Pyramid, cost 70G), and for magicians, use Magic Circle Facility (magic attack +10%) + Pucchin Pucchina (range attack 3 squares, Dmg 20). The AI's “time-out withdrawal” condition is the total movement + combat + destruction time, and if you can earn a maximum of 60-90 seconds per invasion, you can achieve a stable victory.

Optimal design of single-road layout | Strongest structure that maximizes bullet impact time

The royal road to maze design is “one straight path.” Maximizes trap and monster hit time by eliminating branching and completely fixing AI behavior. The iron plate is a meandering structure based on a 1 square width passage, repeating L-shaped curves and zigzags. By doing this, attacks through walls (bow and arrow or boulder rolling) will hit multiple times, increasing the damage efficiency by more than 3 times.

入口 → とりもち(3連) → 毒の沼地(2連) → L字カーブ → 弓矢壁(左右) → 土壁板蔵部屋(4x4マス、3体ボーナス+10%) → アチチ床(炎上3%) → 大岩ころがし → 蛇行通路(5往復相当) → 耐久モンスター部屋(ツツキツクシ5体) → 玉座

With this structure, the AI ​​will reliably step on the trap and spend 10-15 turns in the monster room. The maintenance cost is 200-300G per month, but if you use it together with a sleeping plan (30G/month), you will be in the black.

Benefit details

• Maximize hit time: It is impossible to dodge in a straight line, and the bow and arrow will hit you more than 10 times in a meandering motion.
• Trap effect 100%: U-turn is not possible within 1 space.
• Easy to implement in the early stages: Torimochi is unlocked at rank 1, and Achichi floor is unlocked at Lv5.

Mid-game reinforcement: Arrange the Wyro statues (cumulative bonus, plant-based HP +) on the side of the path, and place the mushroom saws (Kinobaby evolution, stopping + range). In the final stage, the Evil King Wyro (Wairo Castle route, Lv25 evolution, defense power over 40,000) will be mass-produced and infinite durability will be achieved. We recommend a room size of 7 squares or more (3 of the same type will give a bonus).

Correct use of branches and mazes | Gain time by taking advantage of moving along walls

If you increase the number of branches too much, it will lead to short-circuit clearing when the AI ​​searches along the wall, but it is powerful if used correctly. Taking advantage of the habit of giving priority to the left wall, place a false branch (a dead end with a treasure chest) on the left. Although time runs out faster, the number of branches will be limited to a maximum of 3 to avoid the risk of not being defeated (monsters flying).

Usage example

• Entrance branch: Left = treasure chest loop (5 turns round trip), right = main road.
• Mid-game branch: Death path along the wall (5 walls that can be broken, destruction time 10 turns).
• Flow line change: Forcibly detour with door + barricade.

Failure avoidance: Immediately after branching, place durable monsters (broccoli, miscellaneous goods ◎, get Wyro Castle) to guarantee annihilation. In the example layout, a U-turn is triggered on a “bumpy passage”, which takes up space but doubles the search time.

Application: Circulating maze (loop passage, hidden demon room). The AI ​​will circle around 2-3 times and step on the trap again. If you use pincer tactics (monster rooms on the left and right of the passage), monks will also die instantly.

Treasure chest/trap guidance techniques | Advanced tactics to manipulate AI at will

The treasure chest is not a reward, but a “guidance device”. We will change the shortest route to prioritize visibility and force you to make a round trip. Place it in the back section and stop it when the monster jumps out. Safe operation: Separated from the main road and protected by an unbreakable wall.

trap combo

1. Torimochi → Movement decreases by 45%, bow and arrow accuracy increases.
2. Poisonous swamp → Achichi floor → Continuous damage mg 6%.
3. Oiwa Rolling → Knockback + high dmg.
4. Sleeping gas → complete stop (advanced).

Money Trap: Earn tens of thousands of G per month with a sleeping place/save point + poisonous swamp U-turn loop. Placement example: Place 4-6 treasure chests in a complex maze and collect Revival G.

Monster cooperation: Sweep the area with Pucchin (Wet Cave, Sweet ◎), and fire 4 magic squares with Cotton Fox (middle game, east island route).

Endurance strategy for time-out victory | Make full use of the stay limit

At high difficulty levels, running out of time is more stable than defeating enemies. Fill the AI ​​stay limit (equivalent to 60-90 seconds after invasion) with movement/combat/destruction. It takes 20 turns of battle, 10 turns of door destruction, and 15 turns of treasure chest round trip with a durable monster (Evil King Wyro, 99999 points when combined).

strategy

• Durability type priority: Dokabe Itakura → Tsutsuki Tsukushi (defense specialized).
• Door/barricade chain: Place one door every square, causing a total destruction time of 30 turns.
• Raid event: U-turn You will be stuck in a poisonous swamp.

Hard mode: 20 monsters (defense 40000) are required to nullify traps. Provide front-line support with Recovery Demon King (job change, MP500).

Final Iron Wall Layout Construction Guide | Step-by-step from beginning to end

Division of roles by section

• Early section (entrance-middle): Straight road + Torimochi/poisonous swamp, a good place to sleep.
• Middle section: Branching treasure chest + durability room (5 Broccoli).
• Final stage: Circulating maze + Evil King Wyro large room (11 squares x 4 bonus bodies).

Overall layout (39 x 62 squares after expansion)

1. Entrance: Lined with souvenir shops (comfort + funds).
2. Main road: One meandering road (10 traps).
3. There are 3 branches: Treasure Chest/Death Road.
4. In front of the throne: Concentrate on large rock + bow and arrow, demon lord recovery type.

construction steps

1. 1st year: Place 2-3 rest areas and stabilize your money plan.
2. Rank 2: Develop a trap and raise it to Lv10.
3. 5th year: Liberate Wyro Castle and perform the Evil King synthesis (Shigeru Bromori Lv100 + Wyro-kun).
4. Final stage: Execute a synthesis loop (same type combination, infinite level difference bonus).

High score: Achieve 5000 treasure points by maximizing the treasure chest and filling the floor with traps.

Summary｜Now your demon castle will become an impregnable fortress

If you understand the adventurer AI's shortest priority and priorities, and combine fixed paths with a straight path, guidance with treasure chests, support with branches, and time gain with durability, winning by running out of time will become the norm no matter how difficult the difficulty level is. In the early stages, build a foundation with Dokabe Itazou and Torimochi, strengthen it with Watagitsune and Circulating Maze in the middle, and complete it by mass producing the Evil King Wyro in the final stage. Don't forget the homogeneous route of synthesis (leaving seeds) and facility synergy (accumulation of corrupt statues). Build an invincible labyrinth while enjoying the real thrill of trial and error. I sincerely hope that your Demon King's Castle will become a graveyard for adventurers.