The "What should I know before I play this game for the first time?" Q&A!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The "What should I know before I play this game for the first time?" Q&A!

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Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

I originally wrote that for the benefit of a completely new player who didn't already how to exploit little tricks like that, but yeah, Skeletons are not very difficult to play right from the start so long as you already know how to handle their special traits. If you're fresh and ended up starting in a low-tech area with no idea of where to even find repair kits then it can be pretty frustrating, though.

# ? Apr 21, 2020 19:40

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 12:36

Fat Samurai: Feb 16, 2011; To go quickly is foolish. To go slowly is prudent. Not to go; that is wisdom.

Mzbundifund posted:

Stuff about Lobotomy Corporation.

Thanks, by the way, I forgot to reply. It was helpful, specially the importance of levelling employees.

Speaking of which, I've noticed that it's important to keep a reserve of LOB points. Sometimes you're going to have to promote an employee to have any chance of dealing with a new anomaly.

# ? Apr 21, 2020 22:37

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

Maybe too specific for a BIP, but how strict is the chaos system in Dishonored 2? If I want the best ending can I get away with fighting dudes when I screw up stealth, or should I be going out of my way to never murder guards for any reason?

# ? Apr 21, 2020 22:58

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Omi no Kami posted:

Maybe too specific for a BIP, but how strict is the chaos system in Dishonored 2? If I want the best ending can I get away with fighting dudes when I screw up stealth, or should I be going out of my way to never murder guards for any reason?

As long as you kill less than 20 percent of the NPCs in a given level on average, you'll stay at low chaos. This includes neutral NPCs and not just hostiles, so you have a pretty comfortable amount of leeway for those times when you get discovered by a guard and just need to stab a fellow. Every death counts as a death inflicted by you, though, so don't leave unconscious bodies where the rats can get at them.

# ? Apr 21, 2020 23:01

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

Cardiovorax posted:

As long as you kill less than 20 percent of the NPCs in a given level on average, you'll stay at low chaos. This includes neutral NPCs and not just hostiles, so you have a pretty comfortable amount of leeway for those times when you get discovered by a guard and just need to stab a fellow. Every death counts as a death inflicted by you, though, so don't leave unconscious bodies where the rats can get at them.

Awesome, thanks! I'm glad they loosened it up... Dishonored 1 was probably the best game I never played, in the sense that the low chaos, good ending felt like it entailed skipping 90% of the game's mechanics.

# ? Apr 21, 2020 23:38

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Omi no Kami posted:

Awesome, thanks! I'm glad they loosened it up... Dishonored 1 was probably the best game I never played, in the sense that the low chaos, good ending felt like it entailed skipping 90% of the game's mechanics.

Dishonored 1 actually works exactly the same way, but since it never really tells you so at any point, a lot of people were way too paranoid about using lethal methods when they were trying to go for the low chaos ending. So long as you don't go out of your way to kill every enemy you come across, it's pretty easy to still qualify for it even if you do occasionally use the lethal stuff.

# ? Apr 21, 2020 23:43

John Murdoch: May 19, 2009; I can tune a fish.

IIRC, Dishonored 2 does loosen things up further. I believe killing hostiles inflicts less of a karma penalty than murdering innocent civilians in cold blood, for instance. I think indirect deaths are also less strict in how they're tracked. Plus D2 adds some additional mechanics so you can actually get into fights and still end them non-lethally.

# ? Apr 22, 2020 01:22

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

John Murdoch posted:

I believe killing hostiles inflicts less of a karma penalty than murdering innocent civilians in cold blood, for instance. I think indirect deaths are also less strict in how they're tracked.

I haven't heard anything about that before, so I'm not sure how true that is, but that you can actually knock people out non-lethally in melee combat now does make maintaining a low number of kills much, much easier than it used to be.

# ? Apr 22, 2020 01:30

Zore: Sep 21, 2010; willfully illiterate, aggressively miserable sourpuss whose sole raison d�etre is to put other people down for liking the wrong things

Emily also has a bunch of less lethal powers than Corvo does so it doesn't lock out as much of your arsenal if you want to go low chaos.

# ? Apr 22, 2020 01:38

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Cardiovorax posted:

Dishonored 1 actually works exactly the same way, but since it never really tells you so at any point, a lot of people were way too paranoid about using lethal methods when they were trying to go for the low chaos ending. So long as you don't go out of your way to kill every enemy you come across, it's pretty easy to still qualify for it even if you do occasionally use the lethal stuff.

I remember being fairly disappointed by how poorly they integrated the seemingly ideal "never kill anyone and never be seen or set off any alarms" play style; I very meticulously got through the game that way, and yet somehow everyone still knew I was the one doing all this stuff and knew what I looked like in my spooky mask and everything. Whatever. I am sure someone here will immediately point out a cutscene I did not pay enough attention to that explained this but I WANTED THEM TO STILL NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AT THE END

Also I am glad they gave you the option to play as Emily in Dishonored 2 but man, how can I let down my buddy Corvo after all we went through the first time

# ? Apr 22, 2020 02:29

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

Does Persona 5 have any of those really obnoxious hidden gotchas like P4 did, like needing to rush Naoto's s-links the instant they unlock, or grinding courage months before Nanako's progression indicates that you need it? Or can I just do whatever and still have a semi-decent chance of finishing everyone's link?

Oh yeah, and is there any obvious schedule optimization with regard to the palaces? Or should I just hit them every available weekday that doesn't have an advanceable s-link until they're finished?

# ? Apr 23, 2020 15:23

Tylana: May 5, 2011; Pillbug

My memories are a bit vague. And P5 Royal might alter some minor things but :

https://beforeiplay.com/index.php?title=Persona_5 Seems correct.

The schedule has a decent amount of slack. Felt like a little more than P4. Definitely not the madness of P3.

Try to beat dungeons in one run. Though a better option for grinding fights and money comes up later. But, the boss fight is not on the day you clear the palace. So don't try to end-run on the last day. The first Palace you are less likely to manage this with and that is okay. There's some interesting guides on getting the most of out your first day though. (If you care)

Some of the part-time jobs you need to do twice to unlock side quests on a later side quest board. Once you get there, you can look it up or not as you like.
There are some hilarious ways of getting a ton of money quickly. Google them if you want or don't if you don't. Mid-Late game mostly though.

Making friends with the Fortune Teller early (though access is mid-game at best IIRC) lets you spend money to save time hanging out.

# ? Apr 23, 2020 15:45

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

This is probably getting too optimal for a first playthrough, but how should I fit Mementos into my schedule? I know some of the s-links require you to go in... should I generally be banking sidequests, and making one big trip a month or something?

# ? Apr 23, 2020 16:02

Rockman Reserve: Oct 2, 2007; "Carbons? Purge? What are you talking about?!"

Omi no Kami posted:

This is probably getting too optimal for a first playthrough, but how should I fit Mementos into my schedule? I know some of the s-links require you to go in... should I generally be banking sidequests, and making one big trip a month or something?

That's what I usually did. You can earn absolute craploads of money just hanging out in Mementos for a while if you can stomach the music for that long. It's staggeringly easy in P5 to unlock equippables that restore SP each turn so really the only limit to what you can reasonably get done in a single day very quickly becomes your own patience, even on Hard.

e: Also if I'm remembering correctly most of the trips to Mementos for a SLink come up around stage 8 or 9, usually pretty late in the SLink. If you don't have anything better to do but you don't have any quests, it's still not the worst idea to head to Mementos. You should at least aim to clear up to the new door each month, in my opinion.

Rockman Reserve fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Apr 23, 2020

# ? Apr 23, 2020 16:59

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Omi no Kami posted:

This is probably getting too optimal for a first playthrough, but how should I fit Mementos into my schedule? I know some of the s-links require you to go in... should I generally be banking sidequests, and making one big trip a month or something?

Only go there on days where it's raining or stormy and don't leave before you run out of side-quests. It's the most efficient approach because rare item drop rates on those days are substantially higher than usual. You'd be in there for the same amount of real-time no matter when you do them, but splitting it up costs you additional time slots, so there's really no benefit to spreading it out.

# ? Apr 23, 2020 17:18

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

Ooh I didn't know about the rain, I probably would've wasted sunny days between s-links... thanks for the clarifications! I feel silly for trying to be so optimal given that I've heard P5 is super friendly compared to earlier titles, but I'm still semi-traumatized by how much optimization P3 assumed I was capable of doing.

# ? Apr 23, 2020 21:36

Wrex Ruckus: Aug 24, 2015

here are some tips for another SMT game:

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS)

Item Getter posted:

By Devil Summoner on 3DS are you talking about Soul Hackers? It has been a few years since I played it but so details are a bit fuzzy.

It's on the easy side as far as SMT games go, but being a port of an older game there are some weird cumbersome game mechanics in it.

Firstly like all SMT games you should always be recruting new demons and fusing them instead of trying to stick with the same ones for a long time. In particular it's an older SMT game so your demons will not level up and learn new skills.

Until your demons reach max loyalty you have to pay attention to their personality when giving them commands. Giving them commands they like will make them happier (raise loyalty) and on the flipside sometimes demons will ignore your commands if they don't like them. Stolen from GameFAQs:

Wild - Physical attacks

Sly - Magic attacks

Kind - Healing magic and guarding

Calm - Whatever move makes sense given the circumstances

Dumb - "GO" instead of directly commanding

Also when you are asked a question about Hitomi's personality in the beginning of the game, depending on your answer the set of spells that Nemissa will learn will be different.

Also if you need money you can exchange some of your Magnetite for money at Somatic Energy Institute. Not all of it because your demons consume magnetite every step while they are summoned, but mostly you will have some excess left over that you can sell.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 18:06

Kermit The Grog: Mar 29, 2010

There�s already stuff up for X-Com 2, but what should I know going into War of the Chosen as someone who played X-Com 2?

# ? Apr 24, 2020 19:12

Sandwich Anarchist: Sep 12, 2008

Clockwork Rocktapus posted:

There’s already stuff up for X-Com 2, but what should I know going into War of the Chosen as someone who played X-Com 2?

Get out of the habit of having an A-Team. Soldiers get tired and stressed and need down time, so you have to cycle people out.

The Chosen are tough as poo poo early on, but once you figure them out they get a lot more manageable.

Troops that get incapacitated and left behind are captured, and can potentially be rescued later.

The 3 new factions are pretty powerful. Skirmishes are very strong early game, but fall off a bit later. Templars are the reverse, they are absolute monsters later. Reapers I think they are called are strong all game, and let you potentially solo stealth some missions.

Missions with the Lost are all about moving. You'll get bogged down if you try and last stand them, especially early game.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 19:26

A Bystander: Oct 10, 2012

I've been playing Let It Die recently and I do have a few things since the game's gone through some updates since 2017:

- There's a new vending machine in the Waiting Room ("Hernia") that has daily and weekly items that you can purchase with either Kill Coins or Death Metal. Sometimes, high-level or otherwise pain in the rear end materials can be bought with KC and it would be wise to snap them up whenever you get the chance. There's some other things Hernia can do, but it's meant for people who are going to be spending time in the post-game, or at least going to be grinding for a while. If you've cleared the game already and stopped playing since: Yeah, there's a post-game now.

- In the event that you see an enemy in the way that you can't possibly sneak past, you can throw a mushroom (that won't blow up) as a lure and then suplex them.

- You'll want to level up the Fists Mastery as much as you can while you play the game because you're inevitably going to run into a few situations where your weapons break and you still need to take someone down. It will take a long, long time before you hit Level 20 but it's worth it in the end.

- When something goes wrong, just cut and run. If you don't see yourself making it back to the Waiting Room, at least try to die on as low a floor as possible to reduce retrieval costs.

- When you unlock the next tier of Fighter, dumpster the current ones and move onto the next. The difference in strength between a Rank 2 and a Rank 3, for example, is remarkable.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 21:05

PJOmega: May 5, 2009

I wish Let it Die wasn't weighted with the freemium.bullshit.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 21:51

Lunchmeat Larry: Nov 3, 2012

Clockwork Rocktapus posted:

There’s already stuff up for X-Com 2, but what should I know going into War of the Chosen as someone who played X-Com 2?

Build the shed ASAP.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 21:56

Kenny Logins: Jan 11, 2011; EVERY MORNING I WAKE UP AND OPEN PALM SLAM A WHITE WHALE INTO THE PEQUOD. IT'S HELL'S HEART AND RIGHT THEN AND THERE I STRIKE AT THEE ALONGSIDE WITH THE MAIN CHARACTER, ISHMAEL.

PJOmega posted:

I wish Let it Die wasn't weighted with the freemium.bullshit.

It used to be more than it is now. You can quite reasonably complete the main game without spending a cent or grinding for hours/days

# ? Apr 24, 2020 22:13

Kuros: Sep 13, 2010; Oh look, the consequences of my prior actions are finally catching up to me.

PMush Perfect posted:

The tips on the wiki are A) kinda unclear/useless, and B) missing a lot of the point, soo...

NES-Specific
- Consider using the Final Fantasy Restored romhack, if it's an option for you. It adds a few QoL features (namely faster combat, a dash button, and a 'Buy 10' option in item shops), fixes many of the game's bugs, and improves the translation. It also does all of this without softening the game's edges or chipping away at too much of the old school charm.
- You start unarmed and naked. As soon as the game begins, go into town and buy yourself some spells and equipment, and don't forget to put them on.
- The top tier mobile heal/save item, HOUSEs, are bugged, and save before restoring your spells. So either just use them for freshening up before you enter a dungeon, or use a TENT afterwards to properly save your improved status.
- In combat, HEL2 mistakenly has the effect of HEL3. It is, unsurprisingly, the best midcombat healing spell in the game.
- Skip the following spells: LOCK, TMPR, LOK2, and SABR. They're glitched and do nothing or worse.

I want to add onto this instead of using FF Restored rom hack, go to http://finalfantasyrandomizer.com and choose the Improved Vanilla option. It does everything mentioned and also fixes bugs such as LOCK and TMPR not working.

# ? Apr 24, 2020 22:34

A Bystander: Oct 10, 2012

PJOmega posted:

I wish Let it Die wasn't weighted with the freemium.bullshit.

There was a time where you lost decals upon death unless they were Premium quality, which was the dumbest goddamn thing and I only came back when I heard that wasn't the case anymore.

# ? Apr 25, 2020 00:22

Danger - Octopus!: Apr 20, 2008; Nap Ghost

Anything I should know for Warhammer 40000: Inquisitor - Martyr?

# ? Apr 25, 2020 10:41

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

Kuros posted:

I want to add onto this instead of using FF Restored rom hack, go to http://finalfantasyrandomizer.com and choose the Improved Vanilla option. It does everything mentioned and also fixes bugs such as LOCK and TMPR not working.

FFRestored DOES fix TMPR. All of my tips after that we�re about vanilla.

girl dick energy fucked around with this message at 11:02 on Apr 25, 2020

# ? Apr 25, 2020 10:58

ahobday: Apr 19, 2007

I know this is early since the game was released yesterday, but anything for the Trials of Mana remake?

# ? Apr 25, 2020 16:04

Zanzibar Ham: Mar 17, 2009; You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.; Grimey Drawer

ahobday posted:

I know this is early since the game was released yesterday, but anything for the Trials of Mana remake?

You'll probably want to set the Dash option to Continuous or Auto to cut back on having to press the left stick.

# ? Apr 25, 2020 16:14

Lunchmeat Larry: Nov 3, 2012

ahobday posted:

I know this is early since the game was released yesterday, but anything for the Trials of Mana remake?

The child character talks in the worst case of uwu speak I've ever seen, do not select her unless you are somehow ok with this.

# ? Apr 25, 2020 17:03

Cliff: Nov 12, 2008

ahobday posted:

I know this is early since the game was released yesterday, but anything for the Trials of Mana remake?

All parties are viable, but just like the original Reisz/Hawkeye/Angela don't have access to healing spells. You still seem to get plenty of healing items, just be aware that choosing that particular setup will lock you out of healing magic.

# ? Apr 25, 2020 17:15

Wrex Ruckus: Aug 24, 2015

Lunchmeat Larry posted:

The child character talks in the worst case of uwu speak I've ever seen, do not select her unless you are somehow ok with this.

I've only played the original but do any of the other characters get access to healing magic before the class changes?

And is the ghost boss still a pain in the rear end?

# ? Apr 25, 2020 17:20

Kalenden: Oct 30, 2012

Going to start Mass Effect 3 soon, for a second playthrough, first time I did not get far and I bought it at start without DLC

Lost my old Mass Effect 2 save though and now have the DLC

So: any advice for a returning player? Any clues for a Mass Effect 2 save? Any must-have mods?

# ? Apr 26, 2020 20:26

Oh dear me: Aug 14, 2012; I have burned numerous saucepans, sometimes right through the metal

Kalenden posted:

So: any advice for a returning player? Any clues for a Mass Effect 2 save? Any must-have mods?

Before you start, make sure you have installed the director's cut.

ME3's default history is ideal for someone who doesn't want to cure the genophage, which is fairly unlikely to be true with player saves.

Without an ME2 save you won't get enough war assets for one of the possible endings. This is a smaller loss than it sounds.

# ? Apr 26, 2020 21:00

Ainsley McTree: Feb 19, 2004

Oh dear me posted:

Without an ME2 save you won't get enough war assets for one of the possible endings. This is a smaller loss than it sounds.

I don't think this is true anymore--I feel like the DLC added enough new warscore options that you'll still be fine even without touching multiplayer but admittedly it's been quite a long time since I've done the math on this.

That said, I agree with you that this doesn't matter too much. You're missing like, one thing, and you can just google it after you beat the game and get the same emotional impact

# ? Apr 26, 2020 23:03

Oh dear me: Aug 14, 2012; I have burned numerous saucepans, sometimes right through the metal

Ainsley McTree posted:

I don't think this is true anymore--I feel like the DLC added enough new warscore options that you'll still be fine even without touching multiplayer but admittedly it's been quite a long time since I've done the math on this.

I also could be wrong, but I think the director's cut only enabled you to get enough war score without multiplayer from an ME2 save which ensured that various companions would still be alive. In ME3's default start several of them are dead, so you can't recruit them*, or get for example both the quarian fleet and the geth on your side.

*This is also a smaller loss than it sounds, OP

Oh dear me fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Apr 27, 2020

# ? Apr 27, 2020 02:59

Lt. Danger: Dec 22, 2006; jolly good chaps we sure showed the hun

http://www.masseffectsaves.com/

there are a few mods for ME3, enough for a community mod manager, but you might want to save them for a second playthrough - they're not drastic changes but they can be overwhelming. there is a HD retexture megamod which is big enough to have its own loader/installer. https://www.nexusmods.com/masseffect3

# ? Apr 27, 2020 04:40

Ainsley McTree: Feb 19, 2004

Oh dear me posted:

I also could be wrong, but I think the director's cut only enabled you to get enough war score without multiplayer from an ME2 save which ensured that various companions would still be alive. In ME3's default start several of them are dead, so you can't recruit them*, or get for example both the quarian fleet and the geth on your side.

*This is also a smaller loss than it sounds, OP

Oh you might be right on that last point; I know getting that outcome requires you to make specific choices, and I forget if all of those choices are even available if you�re playing with a default world state. It�s been too long to remember the specifics but yeah it doesn�t matter hugely.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 14:43

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

If you're worried about not having an ME2 save, you can get the DLC that lets you generate one, but the saves site is an option, too.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 18:53

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# ? Apr 25, 2024 12:36

Oh dear me: Aug 14, 2012; I have burned numerous saucepans, sometimes right through the metal

PMush Perfect posted:

If you're worried about not having an ME2 save, you can get the DLC that lets you generate one, but the saves site is an option, too.

If you go for saves I would recommend one with every companion alive and Tali not exiled, and if possible Conrad alive and all of Matriarch Dilinagas writings discovered.

# ? Apr 27, 2020 19:08

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The "What should I know before I play this game for the first time?" Q&A!

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