I achieved the secret ending thanks to the Youtube video above. It was surprisingly easier than expected, and the game goes by pretty quickly since you're skipping everything you need to do with NPCs. All you're doing is gathering resources to repair your house, the town, and the dungeons, before finally battling the King.
I've written a guide on how to do it in my replies below.
2 years ago (+3)
Step 1: Farm the weakest monster in each region for resources. Skip battles with everyone else unless required to progress through the game.
Weakest monsters are:
- Forest = Green Twink Orc
- Dustridge = Green Orc
- Valley = Yellow Wolf
- Beach = Liam (battling him levels his affinity, so use caution)
- Whiterain = Yellow Orc (battling him levels his affinity, so use caution)
- Feasterra = Green Daddy Orc
- Golden Sand = Red Twink Orc
- Lavalanch = Red Wolf
- Solitude = (Nobody)
About Liam: Liam is farmed for Meat needed to craft Food, so you'll be battling him a lot. Fortunately, he takes a while to level his affinity, I didn't even reach 50% Affinity by the time I beat the King.
Getting Food: Craft food at Valdo's Cooking Pot until you get to the second highest dish, Stuffed Bull Testicles. I completed the game using this dish, which is much easier to obtain than the Orc's Favourite Dish.
Extra Note: Getting the "Came Over" screen doesn't prevent you from unlocking the secret ending, so don't worry if you lose a battle, just try again. :)
Step 2: Buy the correct weapons and armour. You have to be considerate of which swords and plugs you get as buying from shop owners increases their affinity (except for Hanth who sells rings).
Here's the items I obtained.
- You get Wooden Ring and Steel Ring for free early in the game, remember to equip them.
- I bought Elven Plug + Elven Ring + Morningstar when I completed Whiterain.
- I bought King's Plug + King's Ring + Scimitar when I unlocked Lavalanch.
Plugs: Elven Plug is bought from Dustridge Vendor. King's Plug is bought from the Barracks Vendor.
Swords: You buy both swords from Selim. These are the exact two you should buy as anything else/more will level up Selim's affinity.
Rings: As said before, buying rings from Hanth doesn't increase affinity. So if you're struggling to beat monsters, just keep buying stronger rings from him.
For the final battle, you can easily beat the King with just the Scimitar + King's Plug/Ring + an inventory of "Stuffed Bull Testicle" for food.
After that, talk to Catherine in Whiterain. Good luck! :)
is it true that you mustn't romance any of the villagers at any level is required for the achievement? I have started two fresh game files (just to restart them), just because I have accidentally gotten to the first affinity level with Ghart first trying to get past him at Golden Sands and Beton second at the tournament