Post by Typical_Name in Noob question and comments so far

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I'm at a brick wall with these duelists. I was able to take down Fire Duelist Lara with poison weapon coating, but the others kill me far too quickly for that to be viable. Item Duelist Clemence's bombs kill me instantly even with anti-magic armor coating (and take out more than a third of my health if I guard), and Thunder Duelist Rene takes me out extremely easily as well (it doesn't help that Aura is weak to thunder and there doesn't seem to be a way of changing this). I even tried just guarding the entire fight (with defensive stance II) to see if Rene would eventually run out of mana, and that didn't work either.

EDIT: Also, of COURSE the special enrollment program to the academy is a brainwashing scheme. Guess I'll have to somehow scrounge up 20,000g if there's anything important there. A pity, I get the feeling that the scene would have been really hot had it not involved the unlikable sexist prick and if Aura had been, oh, 5-10 years older than she is now.

WoFlhouse363 days ago

The fight with Rene allows spells, so while I haven't done it in Nightmare yet, that one struck me as the most straightforward duel in Verdeaux. Speaking in terms of defense, options include using Rock Armor or a Lightning Jam coating, though I would suggest also taking out the Lamia in underground Nephlune if you choose the latter.

Also, maybe it's just because I can't help but compare the art style to a lot of Japanese games, but if you wanted to mentally will Aura to being 23 she looks mature enough for that to me?

Typical_Name363 days ago (2 edits)

Rene does allow spells, yes, but he has a lot more firepower than I do. I don't have the money to learn Rock Armor anytime soon, and I don't think I have access to Lightning Jam coating (I did take out the Lamia, so I may have just missed it).

I think this playthrough might be screwed. I'm at Day 141 with 30/34 corruption and several mental changes, and am blocked on basically every quest. First I cleared out the phantoms, and after some difficulty made it through the Lamia and the big shark-like thing I forgot the name from... only to find that I needed Open Domain II to proceed with the quest. I finally got to 50 Trust with the demon cult people, but other than being able to learn Shadowcloak for 500g instead of 3500g, nothing has been gained, and it seems that it will take 80 trust to get the leader to see me. I visited Mountainreach, and found the person who could teach me Open Domain II, but I need 100 mana for that - I'm at 97 without any enhancement spells on, but don't have a way of raising it easily (I'm out of Ethers after upgrading my slimes - I guess I could buy some, but fuck that's expensive). I then tried visiting the big city in the south, and was able to beat Lara, but the other Duelists beat the shit out of me in my current condition even if I'm using poisoned blades. Roland gave me a quest to take care of a golem, but the academy headmaster mentioned that I'd need Brittle II to have any hope of taking it on, and I would need to be an academy member to get this, which requires 20,000g (I'm not even sure if this is intended to be possible lol). Finally I decided to try to head to the Fortress of Wrath (which I originally assumed was something to do AFTER all this other stuff), and with some effort made my way through to the adventurers holed up there... and discovered that I would need a blessed energy potion+, which is totally inaccessible (I would need to get the recipe, which I think is the book for 5000g, then learn Bless I for 2300g). I currently have only 3,475g and don't have a good way of getting more aside from working at the workshop for 230g, which can be done at most every other day. Meanwhile, corruption is constantly growing, I think it's +1 every other day.

EDIT: I realized based on what the wiki said that I could use the Clear Gem instead of waiting to die, so I've checked out the room and apparently I would have 46 points to spend on a New Game+ if I wanted to end it now. ... If I'm reading this formula correctly, apparently ending the game with the gem is considered a Victory? That doesn't make sense... I had assumed I would need to have, you know, won the game, in order to have a Victory. Regardless... with 46, I could start with +3 AGI/LUCK, +3 DEF/MDEF, and +3 ATK/MATK (or, instead of the ATK/MATK, go for +750g and +15 HP/MP, which would probably help more early game but be worth less than the ATK/MATK later on) (EDIT2: oh, found the part that sells spells... hrrm. Starting with Thunderbolt for 14 points might help - would save me 1200g... or if I was willing to part with one of the other stat upgrades, I could do Shadowcloak for 20 points).

Eh, the trouble with anime girls is that basically everything between 15 and 25 can look more or less the same, depending on the artist. I'd be fine with the way she looks, if she hadn't been explicitly said to be in high school. Hell, even a college student of the same age would be better - she's definitely smart enough to have gone to college early. Also, more importantly, while being hypnotized and brainwashed can be hot, being hypnotized and brainwashed by a man like Roland is squick.

WoFlhouse363 days ago

Lots to think about, there! Technically you can clear Hand of the King @ 0 trust without fighting (requires Shadowcloak, which you have - the trick is basically that just about all human mobs don't chase you all that quickly, so you can give the door guard the runaround when not disguised), though like you say, I'm not sure exactly how much headway that will give you even if you do complete it.

Annogiemouse363 days ago

If you can, I recommend using the collar to kill one last boss before you start a new run. If you have a spare water or two, maybe collar, end the day, and collar again before using the gem. It'll net you another 2-4 points.

Thunderbolt can be a big help against stuff like the Minotaur, Ogre Commander, and Avian, but the mana consumption is pretty taxing early and I'd recommend scrounging up the points for a starter slime instead.

While technically free to learn, Fire can be great since it allows you to get the star metals in the bandit and refugee camps without needing to get/keep Charlotte out of jail(although leaving her in jail delays Fire II, which is needed in the underwater sections). More importantly: it gives you the option to get those star metals on day 1 and hit the level 5 workshop milestone early.

Water Skin speeds up the engagement ring and stolen food quests for early leveling and makes the bandit leader bounty easier as a possible alternative to the Ogre Commander.

Given the hints to your playstyle in this thread so far, you might enjoy starting with Desmond's proficiency skills if you've learnt any.

Typical_Name363 days ago (1 edit)

I already restarted earlier with +3 ATK/MATK, +3 DEF/MDEF, +3 AGI/LUK, and +2 bombs. Damn, I should have thought of your idea, I had several holy waters left. Anyways, I breezed past the first few days but as of Day 10, I am currently stuck trying to beat one of the Young Avian, Ogre Commander, Bandit Leader, or Reiner.

Keeping Charlotte out of jail only takes one evening, that doesn't seem like that big of a burden to me. Also, how are you getting to the refugee camp on day 1? It doesn't open until you get one of the bounties, which I'm pretty sure you need to have finished the spider quests to get. And where are you finding five star metals at this point in the game? I know of two that I can get on Day 1 (in the hole in the forest with the mushrooms, and to the north past the goblins and stuff), and a third that I can theoretically get on Day 2 (with the spiders you have to kill in the following quest after you kill the queen).

Hrrm, Desmond teaches the item skills, I thought? I try to avoid using consumables as much as possible, so I don't know how much mileage I'll get out of him...

WoFlhouse363 days ago (1 edit)

The implication here is that you use the collar to beat one of the bosses, which isn't a bad idea, necessarily. 4 Corruption = 8 days, and at least on a standard run it's rather unlikely that you'll manage to clear Forest of Danger on Day 9 (at least on Nightmare), and the extras that come with the refugee camp and clearing the quest early on are arguably worth it.

That said, I'm pretty sure beating the Ogre Commander w/o Collar on Day 1 is still in the realm of possibility with NG+ bonuses, though that would rely on a different loadout, favorable RNG, and perhaps more points to spread around for Light or more preferably Storm.

Annogiemouse363 days ago

I think that one might require yakety-saxing your way through the bandit tunnel for the poison coating, a bunch of mana stones, a slime companion, thunderbolt and lightning blade.

WoFlhouse363 days ago (2 edits)

Nah, I think you could theoretically get it done with Pierce, using an Energy Potion or two and praying to RNGesus that Tactical Advantage always works. Might work out once every 20-50 fights? Not saying it would be fun, just possible. Ed: Though now that you mention it, Lightning Sword would be a good option for TA without constantly draining your MP. Pretty sure you could handle the goblin even if it outspeeds you, too.

Ed 2: Nevermind, at least if I'm trying to limit myself to 46 score using Lightning Sword seems a bit rough. Not entirely without merit, but rough nonetheless, as there's really only 14 points to work with afterward (+3 AGI is necessary for outspeeding the commander).

Annogiemouse362 days ago

That run ended at 30/34 corruption and enough gold for holy water, I'm operating under a 50 point budget assumption. Run 2 is probably going to end with a higher score anyway.

Could it be an idea to +2 the AGI, use a vitality potion after the duels, kill the Goblin Shaman first for Albrecht's ring and the level 2 stat increase before going Ogre Commander?

WoFlhouse362 days ago

I tried noodling around with a few different builds, but at least from what I was seeing it's hard to reconcile the skills needed for Goblin Shaman vs. Ogre Commander while staying within 50 Score and having Lightning Sword, at least in Nightmare. Going over it, I still think your best bet for beating the Commander Day 1 within 50 Score is going to be +3 ATK and Storm, which should let you drop the AGI requirement, allowing you to potentially go with +3 DEF (helps with dueling Quentin, though you can still lose with low damage rolls) and Slash/Pierce, +15 HP/MP, or Fire for extra area access.

In this scenario Slash makes it possible to beat the Goblin Shaman, but only if he brainfarts and attacks you (once, missing on a TA dodge) rather than casting Fire (twice), whereas Pierce lets you deal 40~50 more damage per critical hit to the Ogre Commander (at Lvl 1, anyway), and Fire gives you access to more materials and thus a higher potential max MP.

Of course, any way you slice it beating OC on Day 1 w/o Collar is going to require some measure of luck even if you are pulling out all the stops with skill loadout. Speaking from experience, there, as I've had that bastard hit me more than my fair share of times through both Tactical Advantage and Blindness.

Annogiemouse363 days ago

Pretty much the collar for the bounty. There's a case to be made for just doing everything normally(with maybe a collar use on whiteoak to get Aura through act 1 faster). You ideally want to complete the festival of greed before day 30 though, and the combination of its bounty, giant's bone, area unlock, bonus salary, and exp trickle are a really solid way to speed up your run.

The hp/mp reset combined with fire, NG+ stats, and level 2 should also be enough for Goblin Shaman IIRC(not sure if this relied on RNG or Water Skin though)

Central forest + bandit camp(sneak through the tunnel to get behind the bandit leader) + North forest Scorpion cave + refugee camp... ah right, I suppose the Northern mines would require a day 2.

It's just one day, true. It's still enough of a waste that I generally choose to either pay up or wait since getting those early equipment upgrades is so impactful. Allied npcs(slime doesn't count, slime MVP) on nightmare are largely useless except as meatshields and buff monkeys and you should be able to clean everything up to the minotaur with just John and Paul by the time Charlotte gets out of jail.

If you've switched to avoiding consumables, disregard what I said on those. I thought you were still doing a mostly pure run where the alchemist discount was treated as a necessary sacrifice and consumables were used for certain bosses.

Typical_Name363 days ago

Hrrm, even getting to the festival by Day 30 will be tough. Currently it's Day 18 and I'm attempting to take out the Low-Demon (doing this prior to the Young Avian, Ogre Commander, and Bandit Leader may not be plausible, I'm not sure what the intended order is).

I was able to take out the goblin shaman fairly early, but I don't think it was Day 2 (I remember having to at least learn Fire first, and I think I got at least one equipment upgrade). That'd be pretty impressive without Water Skin.

Last time I tried, I can't even take on the regular bandits from behind, which I believe I would need to do to get through the tunnel (could be mistaken). I think I need Thunderbolt first before I have any hope of taking on them or the Ogre Commander, which I should be able to get now (trying to take on the Low-Demon first).

As it happens, Charlotte is a very important buff monkey, since she's the one with Heat Up, which makes everyone else a lot more useful.

In general I try to avoid using consumables unless I have a specific need for them, since I might need them later. For my New Game + run, I intend on going 0 Lewdness and ideally no mental changes.

WoFlhouse363 days ago

You don't need to use a bomb to get through the tunnel, the Forest Bandit mob at the "normal" entrance is slow enough to walk around (just have to be a little wary of the timing with the bandits directly below), and the bandit leader is likewise slow enough to lure into the table that's blocked with a chair, which makes getting around him trivial.

Typical_Name363 days ago

Oh, that's clever. So that leaves me at four Star Metals, what's the fifth?

WoFlhouse363 days ago (1 edit)

As Annogiemouse mentioned, the four "immediately" accessible Star Metals are in the Central Forest, Northern Forest, Bandit Hut, and Refugee Camp. Day 2 (assuming you became an adventurer, anyway) gives you access to the Northern Mine, and after starting Spider Cleanup you can get the Star Metal there.

Annogiemouse362 days ago

Tunnel does not require combat if you have Fire(which you should have if you've unlocked the south forest). Simply wait at the edge of the bottom right bandits' 4-tile aggro radius and rush from the vine to the bed once they look down. Apparently you don't need the tunnel, but I'm telling you anyway.

Lack of Charlotte when Aura has NG+ stats mostly means a delay on the Minotaur and Low-Demon since you should be able to kill the Slime and Young Spider Queen without her. Being a lower level doesn't affect the strength of her Heat Up either, just that of her Fire.

As a tip, the room unlocks do not count as mental changes. Free -3 corruption in the outer chamber without if affecting your score.

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