g2 infestation - how to remain unaligned?

[Lorn]

Because it's not exactly clear to me. I'm going to meet

 

Barzahl soon, and I have 0 clue who I should join. For now, I just wish to be faithful to the council. Is it possible?

And where to find spore batons, so I can disarm mines?

Edited May 11 by Lorn

[Mechalibur]

If you want to remain unaligned, then don't join a faction. Easy.

 

There are no spore batons in GF2.

[Magenta]

Without being too spoilery, there are people who can help by giving advice on what to do, and give you training to at least partially make up for advanced training you might get from one of the sects. Look for people throughout the map who either prefer to be unaligned themselves, or who are loyal to the Shapers. They are not just in the areas around Drypeak. I usually stay unaligned for most of the game even if I plan to join a sect near the end. 

 

[Lorn]

1 hour ago, Mechalibur said:

If you want to remain unaligned, then don't join a faction. Easy.

 

There are no spore batons in GF2.

But to remain unaligned, what does it mean? That I have to kill all the faction leaders? I mean, who gives the quests?

Edited May 11 by Lorn

[alhoon]

2 hours ago, Lorn said:

But to remain unaligned, what does it mean? That I have to kill all the faction leaders? I mean, who gives the quests?

You will eventually find a bunch of Shapers quite like you that are faithful to the council. 
I don't think they ask you to kill all the leaders but I never did their questline.

[Archaeolagent]

There is no quest line for the non-aligned ending, only requirements to get it to trigger.  Kill Barzahl, kill the Taker leaders (you can ignore Syros), don't be part of any faction.

[Lorn]

So you are not supposed to join the loyalists. Interesting.

I would say that a questline should appear anyway, telling the player what is supposed to do. you get a text screen telling you that you are now free to join the factions, but doesn't write you that you can go without. If I didn't know from the forum, I wouldn't know at all.

[Archaeolagent]

It doesn't say you're forced to join the factions either, and a variety of NPCs suggest that you don't need to.  How much hand-holding does the player really need?

[Magenta]

From a role-playing viewpoint, it actually makes sense. If you decide to be unaligned, it means you decide you don't need anyone to tell you what to do next. You get some suggestions from certain unaligned NPCs but the decision is up to you. Instead of having someone take you by the hand and tell you where to go and what to do, sometimes it's fun to be able to chart your own course.

[alhoon]

59 minutes ago, Lorn said:

So you are not supposed to join the loyalists. Interesting.

I would say that a questline should appear anyway, telling the player what is supposed to do. you get a text screen telling you that you are now free to join the factions, but doesn't write you that you can go without. If I didn't know from the forum, I wouldn't know at all.

 

You START as a Loyalist. Joining any faction, including the Servants, is leaving the Loyalists behind. Shanti is a Loyalist and you can be sure she didn't join Lying Zackary the Deceiver. 

She tells you "investigate the mountains and find Barzhal." Once you do that, you can return to the council as a Loyalist. The ending you will get once you return will tell you whether you have been a good Loyalist or a failure. 

Edited May 11 by alhoon

[Archaeolagent]

As previously noted, the game doesn't use the term "loyalist" in that way, and in OG2 "loyalist" was used to describe Zakary's faction, so it's probably best to use terms that won't cause confusion, like "non-aligned"

[Lorn]

13 hours ago, Slariton said:

There is no quest line for the non-aligned ending, only requirements to get it to trigger.  Kill Barzahl, kill the Taker leaders (you can ignore Syros), don't be part of any faction.

 

13 hours ago, Slariton said:

It doesn't say you're forced to join the factions either, and a variety of NPCs suggest that you don't need to.  How much hand-holding does the player really need?

I've got 0 clue on what I've got to do after meeting all the factions but takers (I don't even know where they are even after exploring 3/4 of the map). I have no living tools. I experienced the same in G1, but G1 was different, because as the player it was obvious 
a) That sholai shouldn't be there
b) That I could get a boat and get out

Here I meet almost everyone, but as an apprentice I'm still left clueless on what to do. I would like just to leave, is it possible? It's not me as an apprentice that has to take care of this stuff. I'm an apprentice against level 23 shapers. I couldn't give a fudge. If Shani, an expert agent died, it's time for me to get out as soon as possible.
 

12 hours ago, Magenta said:

From a role-playing viewpoint, it actually makes sense. If you decide to be unaligned, it means you decide you don't need anyone to tell you what to do next. You get some suggestions from certain unaligned NPCs but the decision is up to you. Instead of having someone take you by the hand and tell you where to go and what to do, sometimes it's fun to be able to chart your own course.

Let's just say that I went to Pharington, the unaligned shaper and once there I got ultra disappointed that he asked me to fetch some stuff for him that in hindsight I don't even know where to find. I had hoped to find some good stuff from him, but the nth fetch quest is got to be disappointing.

 

12 hours ago, alhoon said:

 

You START as a Loyalist. Joining any faction, including the Servants, is leaving the Loyalists behind. Shanti is a Loyalist and you can be sure she didn't join Lying Zackary the Deceiver. 

She tells you "investigate the mountains and find Barzhal." Once you do that, you can return to the council as a Loyalist. The ending you will get once you return will tell you whether you have been a good Loyalist or a failure. 

She didn't join because she had no time. Once she got caught she was gone. 

So there is a return option to the council ? equivalent to the boat one? I didn't catch I could do it. Where is the exit?

[alhoon]

44 minutes ago, Lorn said:

So there is a return option to the council ? equivalent to the boat one? I didn't catch I could do it. Where is the exit?

 

Yes, but you would leave a good quarter of the game (or more) behind. The Takers are exactly where you didn't look: the NW part of the map. You are told where to go to find them by a few people and even which is the "mechanics heavy" route and which is the "combat heavy" route. You also had a chance in the Awakened lands to get more info on the Takers and (I think) a token that would allow you easier access to their lands. 

 

Regardless, you probably have not met the Loyalists in the Loyalist camp. Barzhal's people and the Sholai tell you about them. 

Also, when you meet Barzhal you get some message that in the end says that you now can return to the council. 

 

If you wonder how you can return to the council: You simply walk out of the Drypeak Mountains. You are not stopped by the Servants or anyone. 

[Lorn]

okay thanks. Do you by chance know where Amena Blade is ? I'm here in Zhas-uss, but I can't find her anywhere.

eDIT: he/she is in her home.

Edited May 12 by Lorn

[Archaeolagent]

5 hours ago, Lorn said:

I would like just to leave, is it possible? It's not me as an apprentice that has to take care of this stuff. I'm an apprentice against level 23 shapers. I couldn't give a fudge. If Shani, an expert agent died, it's time for me to get out as soon as possible.

Go back to where you began and take the path back to civilization.

 

5 hours ago, Lorn said:

the nth fetch quest is got to be disappointing.

G2 has exceptionally few fetch quests, especially compared to other games of this style.

  

5 hours ago, Lorn said:

I have no living tools.

I've suggested this before, but when you encounter a lock that requires a large number of living tools to open, don't open it.  This almost always means there is a key or a quest that will unlock it without using any living tools.  If you insist on spending living tools that way, that's the one thing that will surely cause you to run out.

[Magenta]

1 hour ago, Slariton said:

Go back to where you began and take the path back to civilization.

Save first - you might want to change your mind if you do this too early.

[Archaeolagent]

"Save first" is always a good idea.  In this case though, the "point of no return" feeds directly into the ending, there's no chance to save or anything in between.  So you can't get locked into leaving.

[Magenta]

50 minutes ago, Slariton said:

"Save first" is always a good idea.  In this case though, the "point of no return" feeds directly into the ending, there's no chance to save or anything in between.  So you can't get locked into leaving.

Right. I meant before you go back to Drypeak Ascent. If you leave too soon, you might decide you have some unfinished business you should have taken care of first. Especially if you are unaligned.

[Archaeolagent]

Nothing happens when you go back to Drypeak Ascent.  The ending only triggers when you actually choose the "leave" dialogue option.  And triggering the ending doesn't delete your save.  I'm not sure what you're trying to warn against?

[Magenta]

sorry, I'm confused about your confusion. If you are unaligned, you do not get a quest to "Leave the mountains". You have to decide when it is time. If you haven't been paying attention, you might not have completed the two essential tasks to get a "good" ending. That's what the save is for. But now that I think about it, the latest autosave would probably do as well. Maybe that's the reason for your confusion. I quit using autosave when it started saving at odd intervals, usually at an awkward spot. I liked it better when it was only on zone entry.

[Archaeolagent]

Ah, I see.  Your warning was directed at somebody who doesn't bother to save regularly, and then ends the game still without bothering to save at all.  Fair enough.  (I thought you were suggesting a backup save was needed here; since there are games that lock your save into an ending state once you complete the game.)