No reload challenges

I have completed before a no reload challenge playing as a technologist with a party, which is not difficult once you can afford to buy restore life from herbalists and give one to each party party member.

Playing a solo technologist with no reloads is a different matter. I was doing great overall (I was around level 30 I think), and was overconfident, so instead of running away from an encounter with a dangerous looking man/dark individual, I stopped to fight. He has an insane amount of attacks per turn, he stunned my character and that was it.

Now I am attempting again a solo gunslinger no reload challenge. The main dangers are:

- A point in melee at character creation is needed to get past the guy at the crash site, even if you focus on firearms. You can't kill him with otherwise at that level (unless you are extremely lucky)
- Must be lucky to get to Tarant. An encounter with a wererat is a guaranteed game over
- Dangerous encounters during travel. These can be countered with potions of speed from the wise women. Drink one and run away.
- Being stunned by an attack. Until you have plenty of HP and damage reduction it is pretty much game over. Therefore you must kill monsters as fast as possible, to minimize the amount of hits they attempt on you.

 

Something you may want to consider for a solo gunslinger is getting access to Conveyance 5 (gnomes do this quite well with their high WP) which means you can teleport (it's independent of aptitude - though not with scrolls oddly) and avoid the often fatal random encounters (though yes, you can only teleport around at level 15 - but that's still quite a benefit as you can still get caught out at that stage). Really, on the getting to Tarant front, you're usually safer going via Blackroot on train so you don't have to suffer the brief bit of Morbihan Plains maps (plus the trek isn't anywhere near as long). I guess in terms of going Tech, Herbology is definitely broken - Cure Alls allow you to literally cure all so if you shift click their hotkey you're never going to die (I don't know how item usage works in turn based, but I'd gather using an item per turn is easy to do).

 

Thanks for suggestions.

I won't be using Magical disciplines for role playing reasons.

You may be right regarding going to Dernholm -> Blackroot first, then to Tarant by train, as being less dangerous. The length of journey on foot looks like the same (unless you go directly to Blackroot - but it's kind of cheating as you don't know its wereabouts at that stage)

I always take the first schematic in Herbology because Healing Salve is a life saver early on, but never got more levels in this discipline. What does shift+click on hokey do? If you get surrounded and stunned or hit by very powerful monsters that takes more than your full HP per turn how are you going to survive though?
Isn't maxing chemistry same as powerful? I remember using Anaesthisizer will put any enemy to sleep no matter how powerful (except the mechanical ones). IIRC it worked on Cursed Paladin too. I'm planing to max Chemistry in this run as it should take care of all dangerous encounters and bosses.

 

Shift + hotkey uses what you have in that slot automatically on yourself. It's far easier than pressing the hotkey and then using the mouse to click on yourself and heal. As I play in real time, just spamming healing supplies can get you through tough fights even when you are surrounded.

I've never really used the anaesthisizer much. I guess if you're going for guns and leveling up chemistry you may as well get use the tranquilizer gun which functions very similar to the anaesthisizer but in gun form, then switch to a more powerful weapon when people are unconscious.

 

Very helpful info on hotkey, I didn't know.

 

Finally completed the game with no-reloads, with a solo technologist. Started as a human with miracle operation background, which meant a very difficult start and some luck to escape the crash site. I have killed the assassin from the crash site with the explosive grenade from the cave. Only put two CPs in gunsmithy discipline, to make the fine revolver which carried me through the first half of the game, until making the tesla gun. Fully mastered three disciplines: chemistry, electricity and smithy, fully skilled in dodge and firearms (although only trained to expert, but it didn't matter in the end), a little in persuasion and disarm traps.

Raised DX to 20 ASAP. Since best chance of survival is not being hit at all, I had to kite and kill enemies from distance and being super fast helps a lot. Every time an enemy hits you there is a chance of a critical that stuns, which pretty much means game over for a solo run. I've got hit once in a while, but luckily no critical that stunned. Went to BMC when I was level 30-31 and I was 50 long before the end of the game.

 

I've tried solo gunner runs, but I cant resist the therapeutics line, plus I play in WIP so I can get Anesthetizes in stores reliably. My downfall is that I like to carry a lot of stuff with me and so I end up with at least one companion as a packhorse.... Anyway Congrats!