I did it! Solo Pacifist

[Magenta]

I have to say being a pacifist was not my favorite way to play the game. In fact, it was a bit painful. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy using leadership/mechanics/stealth approaches during a normal playthrough. I just found it frustrating at times to be in a position where it would be so much easier to just thin out the mob a little. Or to take care of the beasties yourself rather than sheepishly lead them to someone else to handle. But the medal was not given for doing it the easy way.

 

I learned a lot from the experience, especially about using stealth. And I finished more quests and cleared more areas than I thought would be possible without fighting. I'm a pretty mediocre player, so for me, this was really a big accomplishment. So I'm glad I did it.

 

Now I have this uncontrollable urge to load up a guardian build and go out and kick some butt.... 

[BenS]

Congratulations. If you want to roll w/ a Guardian build, I recommend the Strength + Feisty Slap Glove build; see my thread for the fun you can have w/ that. I'm trying a Guardian solo run right now, but unfortunately it's Torment, and it's living up to its name. I'm guessing I won't be trying the final Cockatrice fight for this particular run...unless I get to use the GF.

[Randomizer]

Using the Geneforge gives enough agility to boost evasion so most creations are at 5% to hit chance. Silll when they hit it's a critical and mental effects may mean you do nothing for several rounds.

[Magenta]

8 hours ago, BenS said:

Congratulations. If you want to roll w/ a Guardian build, I recommend the Strength + Feisty Slap Glove build; see my thread for the fun you can have w/ that. I'm trying a Guardian solo run right now, but unfortunately it's Torment, and it's living up to its name. I'm guessing I won't be trying the final Cockatrice fight for this particular run...unless I get to use the GF.

Oh, I've seen that thread. It might be just what I need after a round of not being able to smack down anything. I think I'll give it a try. As for that final cockatrice fight, it's hard to imagine doing that as a solo anything. Not that I won't try some time. Of course I will.

[BenS]

4 hours ago, Randomizer said:

Using the Geneforge gives enough agility to boost evasion so most creations are at 5% to hit chance. Silll when they hit it's a critical and mental effects may mean you do nothing for several rounds.

That's a slim thread of hope, thank you! Of course, if I can use the GF in the 1st place, most of the game is over. Still, I would like to at least try and accomplish everything I did on less-torturous difficulty levels. Assuming I make it that far.

[BenS]

4 minutes ago, Magenta said:

Oh, I've seen that thread. It might be just what I need after a round of not being able to smack down anything. I think I'll give it a try. As for that final cockatrice fight, it's hard to imagine doing that as a solo anything. Not that I won't try some time. Of course I will.

Funny we were posting at the same time. I forgot to ask you 1 thing about the pacifist run; at what level did you finish the game? Ok, 2 things, and roughly how long did it take you, if you remember?

If I can answer specific questions about the FSG build/run, just let me know. For now, off to work.

[Magenta]

It took me about two weeks. I know, that's not what you wanted to know. To put it in perspective, my shaper run before that took about 3 weeks. It's hard to translate that to hours, because some days I play a few hours, some days I play all day, and some days I don't get a chance to play at all. And I get distracted a lot.  But based on comments I've seen on this forum, I think it takes me a lot longer to play than a lot of people. I take my time and enjoy the experience. I have never finished a game in 20 or 40 hours, and I don't think I will ever try.

 

I finished at level 13, which is roughly 2/3 of a normal combat finish at level 20, so that is consistent with the play time.

 

With the FSG, did you still need to bump melee, or just strength?

[BenS]

8 hours ago, Magenta said:

I have never finished a game in 20 or 40 hours, and I don't think I will ever try.

 

I finished at level 13, which is roughly 2/3 of a normal combat finish at level 20, so that is consistent with the play time.

 

With the FSG, did you still need to bump melee, or just strength?

Oh, I could never finish a SW game in 20-40 hours, I'm w/ you. I take extensive notes for the 1st game, b/c I know there will be 1-2 more. W/ this remake of GF1, I've even gone a little overboard, given I'm on a 4th run, which I've never done, as well as solo/torment (also never done for GF). Though I'm only 9th level; I can't guarantee I won't run into an insurmountable problem due to my build choices.

 

Thanks for the answers. If I go Achievement crazy and try another game to grab the pacifist one, I'll have a benchmark for xp level to think about.

 

The thing about the FSG, which I probably didn't even acquire until I was about 9th or 10th level, having had only xp w/ the upgraded Helix Bracer, I didn't know what to expect. Which is to say, I think I was going for a dual melee/missile Guardian, up to a point, b/c I knew the "best" sword (arguably not true) required 8 Melee W-s and the best baton the same for Missile W-s. So I got Melee W-s higher than I needed, as what I rolled w/ ultimately was Tek's Spectral Dirk for the great defensive boosts, when I realized my damage output came from the FSG itself. So, I didn't start pumping STR until relatively late.

 

I suppose it wasn't a bad thing to have focused on Melee W-s for as long as I did, as it got me to the point where I acquired the FSG in the first place, but if I were to do it again, I would have cutoff Melee W-s at a lower point and focused on STR earlier. But maybe that's just a min/max attitude, IDK. I also only reached 20th level, I think, b/c I both used & destroyed the Geneforge; I reached 19th level w/ my Shaper & Agent runs.

 

 

[Magenta]

Got it. So I bump both melee and missile until I get enough for the spectral dirk, and then emphasize strength and maybe some more missile. I'll let you know how it goes. I've only barely gotten started on my guardian run, and it looks like I might be a little short on time the next week or so, but I'm on my way.

 

I take a lot of notes, too. I don't know how much that adds to the play time, but it's not insignificant. 

[BenS]

3 hours ago, Magenta said:

Got it. So I bump both melee and missile until I get enough for the spectral dirk, and then emphasize strength and maybe some more missile. I'll let you know how it goes. I've only barely gotten started on my guardian run, and it looks like I might be a little short on time the next week or so, but I'm on my way.

 

I take a lot of notes, too. I don't know how much that adds to the play time, but it's not insignificant. 

According to Randomizer's notes, the spectral dirk requires Melee Weapons 5, fyi. I'd say you want Missile Weapons at least 6 (hello Spray Baton), if not 8 (hello Reaper Baton). But keep in mind I was trying to achieve rough parity in Melee & Missile Weapons. Other players go whole hog on 1 or the other. I put some points in Evasion as well, but ended only at 7 for that. I also rolled w/ Magic Shaping, and a Searing Artila (acid almost always helpful) & Energized Vlish (vulnerable targets take that much more damage) for that run, after playing w/ the Roamer for a while. I like to get Leadership up to 8 and Mechanics up to 11 (+2 w/ Tinker's Gloves of course), but again, that's just my own personal preferences.

 

If you can hold off, don't put initial points into Mental Magic, Blessing Magic, Spellcraft, or Magic Shaping, b/c you can get a free point in The Tombs or Southbridge.

 

Cheers, and have fun!