BATTLES WITH BUST #692: Slow and Steady: Navigating The Bazaar with Vanessa’s Poison Build
Welcome back to another episode of BATTLES WITH BUST, your one-stop series for in-depth game play and strategic commentary in The Bazaar! Today, we’re diving into episode 692, centering on Vanessa and her poison build—this time with a unique focus: going slow. It’s a journey filled with unlucky rolls, item-hunting drama, and the rare thrill of watching a build adapt under pressure.
The Slow Start: When Sickness Strikes IRL and In-Game
Before the game even got underway, BUST gave an honest life update—real-world sickness (and multiple delays) meant a late upload. That theme of sluggish momentum echoed right into the early turn economy: struggling to find crucial poison items for Vanessa, BUST reminisces about runs where upgrades seem to hide ‘til turn five or six, making the foundation of a winning strategy hard to set.
The Poison Path: Early Decisions and Key Choices
As the action starts, BUST discusses the meta between burn and poison builds this patch. Poison, with standby items like Depth Charge and the newly buffed Puffer Fish, is performing well. Early on, however, it’s all about surviving until those power items show up—a real challenge when luck is slow.
The strategy crystallizes around picking up every potential aquatic synergy and stacking as much poison as possible, hoping to ride the incremental value to a strong late-game board. Still, the early stages test BUST’s patience and adaptability, with only flashes of victory signaling there’s hope for payoff later.
Shot Glasses: The Anchor of a Slow Build
The episode’s real pivot arrives when BUST lands shot glasses—an item that turns “slow” from a weakness to a strategic focus. Suddenly, the build centers around maximizing shot glasses activations, finding ways to either ramp haste or force slow on the board, all while managing the lack of other high-impact aquatic synergies like Puffer Fish or Clamra.
BUST highlights the risk of chasing synergies in The Bazaar: it’s tempting to collect speculative setup pieces (like allies or secondary synergies) in hopes of the keystone item appearing, but sometimes RNG just isn’t on your side. Without finding Puffer Fish, Depth Charge, or even the coveted Clamra, the build’s “slow” theme becomes more necessity than choice.
Adapting When the Game Refuses to Cooperate
Like any experienced player, BUST isn’t afraid to pivot when needed. Throughout the episode, he cycles through oddball replacements—Angler Fish, Yeti Crab, even Magnus’ Femur—looking for anything that can bring the late-game punch needed to secure seven or more wins.
Strategic takeaways for viewers include:
- Don’t overcommit to a plan if the board state is not cooperating—sometimes, doubling down on mediocre synergies is a trap.
- Use tools like figurehead and cannonball as transition pieces until a true build-around appears.
- Shot glasses can “nullify” slow debuffs, but without haste payoffs, it’s a grind—be sure you have enough scaling pieces to push past other strong builds.
Pains (and Gains) of Being Slow
This episode stands out for its gritty honesty. BUST openly discusses the pain points of the run—missing key items, being stuck in silver rank due to extended champion experimentation, and feeling the weight of a slow, underpowered board.
However, flexibility and humor carry him through. It’s a reminder to everyone playing The Bazaar: no two runs are alike, sometimes your “slow” build just lacks the ingredients for perfection, and the path to victory is as much about resilience as it is about high rolls.
Final Thoughts: Lessons from Episode 692’s Slow Burn
Episode 692 of BATTLES WITH BUST won’t go down as a textbook win-streak, but it’s instructive for any Bazaar enthusiast. Sometimes, you’ll never see the best items. Sometimes, RNG makes you pivot from precision to improvisation. Most importantly, the slow builds teach us patience—both in gameplay and in real life.
Whether you’re tuning in for BUST’s gameplay wisdom, tactical item evaluations, or just a dash of dry humor, this episode delivers a masterclass in adapting under tough circumstances. And if you made it past the tales of butt sores and OnlyFans jokes, congratulations—you’re a true fan.
Thanks for watching, and if you want more Bazaar gameplay and meta-strategy, don’t forget to follow the BATTLES WITH BUST series for practical tips, laughs, and the occasional truly bizarre build!