What do I do now?

[DesertClaw3008]

Personally, for Akumu I found these guides very helpful: Akumu Strategy Playlist

Akumu Full Game Guide

This guy speedruns Akumu difficulty all the time like its nothing. 
 

[tonkie18]

Ok little bit worried now I’m on the speed run, I’m following jigzaws guide to clear areas fast. But each chapter is taking me double the time? I am pausing a lot to watch his videos and this is the only thing that I can think of that’s adding time on. Obviously I’m not as good as him doing it and there’s been the odd death and where I’ve not managed to pass an enemy like him and have had too fight.. but for the most part I’ve followed his guide step by step.. so I really don’t get why my time is so awful. Just followed his chapter 10 and his was like 17 minutes and mine was 37? I only died once?? And I haven’t been going to the save room, upgrading etc like him. So is the pause menu adding the time on? Because I have 4 chapters left and I’m already on 3hrs 15 minutes and beginning to worry! Can you go back and redo chapters to save time? 

Thanks @DesertClaw3008 I’ve found him really helpful so far. Can’t believe things that took me days of trying could be cheesed in a minute ?

[DesertClaw3008]

To be safe you could make a save at the start of each chapter (although you're already quite far into the run) so if anything goes pear shaped, you can go back without having to restart. 
Are you not doing this on your fully upgraded NG+ file ? That would be the easiest thing to do. 
I don't know how the in game timer works but I'm going assume its constantly ticking. 

[tonkie18]

Yeah I’ve been doing it on fully upgraded (ish) so I could just blast through it I guess without stopping to follow guides. I’ve just really loved his game play and wanted to learn his way of doing things for akumu. But think I better stop cause it’s the only thing I can think of that’s adding so much time to the counter. 

[DesertClaw3008]

Just speed through it, enemies go down easily on casual and with all the upgrades. 

If you can run by enemies, do so. 
I would leave the guide for Akumu since its not really necessary for Survival and lower. 

[ObsceneSociopath]

While I still play TEW every now & again as it's my favourite horror game (possibly until Alan Wake 2 comes out), it's been a while since I played Akumu mode but it's not quite as hard as the reputation it has makes it sound like it is, back when I did it, I finished with around 60 deaths which I was pretty pleased with, I actually found Classic Mode on The Evil Within 2 harder with the no upgrades and limited saves.

 

In terms of suggestions, this is what I can offer based off of what I can remember from when I did it:

 

Flash Bolts & their upgraded variants will be your best friend for the entire game from the second you unlock them. Each upgrade for them increases the stun duration. You'll want to prioritise your resources for making them over most other items as nothing will save you more than them.

 

Don't waste gel on anything to do with health, nothing negates or subverts the 1 hit kills so it would all be wasted, if you want to put it into Sebastian's stats instead of his weapons, put it in his stamina as you won't ever find that you have too much stamina on Akumu.

 

Grab as many locker keys as you comfortably can or are prepared to risk (I think I personally left 2 or 3 on my run & grabbed the rest), the rewards you get for opening the lockers on Akumu mode aren't reduced so are still a great source of free ammo, parts & some gel all of which are in short supply.

 

From reading through the thread, I can see you've already played the game multiple times & replayed some chapters even more than that, you'll be able to use that to your advantage as I presume you'll have pretty decent knowledge of the map & path you need to take now.

 

Stealth kills are your friend. In the earlier chapters especially, you'll be surprised with just how many stealth kills you can get away with as long as you take your time & are patient. These are great for not only saving ammo but for helping to avoid scenarios where every enemy in the area is actively trying to kill you.

 

Take advantage of checkpoints and save rooms, unlike most games, Akumu mode doesn't reduce the number or save rooms or checkpoints you have access to, you can try each section as many times as you like, as long as you have the patience to keep trying, you can keep pushing through trying different strategies until you find something that works or get lucky.

 

Keep your handgun as more of a stun gun, it takes too many shots to kill a Haunted with it, use it to shoot them in the leg as they run at you to trip them & then go for the stomp if you are able to safely kill them. The Shotgun and magnum are your boss killers especially with a couple or upgrades for them so try to use them sparingly so you have enough ammo for the boss fights.

Edited July 16, 2022 by ObsceneSociopath
Typos and update

[MatThaRiPP3R84]

Jigsaw_Killer on YT has set plenty of records and guides on this game over the years, there are ways to trivialise many hard encounters, but you need practice too. Akumu isn't so bad, it's just about learning where to drop the right crossbow bolt. and making sure you pick up everything, every key.. and if your timings are good, disarm all the traps for extra bolts. 

 

but many hard encounters have skips. for instance when killing laura, if you shoot the flame nozzle with a crossbow bolt you can reignite it without shooting the valve, over and over again, forcing her to walk toward you and just kill herself. or coimpletely bypassing the guy on the machine gun at the end, by running from the ambulance straight to the bus. 

 

akumu sucks at the beginning when you don't have the crossbow, or the game brutally forces you to learn how to not get one shot. when an enemy struggles it can scratch you with the shit sticking out of it's arms, you have to learn when to sneak in to drop a match, and when to stay away. some enemies instantly stand up when u down them, others will just scratch you by waving their arms whilst being on the floor. 

 

bottle assisted sneak kills are king. 

[tonkie18]

Thanks guys these tips will be really helpful no doubt for akumu. Have 3 chapters left of speed run and only have an hour left ? Last chapter I tried not to pause but there’s certain areas I kept dying in over and over if I’m not following a guide, so had to pause to look it up. I’ve really loved the game but really despise trophy lists with speed runs and really hard modes. I hate following guides with a game, but I’ve had to with this.

Thankfully I’ve replayed chapter 15 twice at least now so know that one a little better. But the chapters I’ve only played once I’m making stupid mistakes and dying for stupid things, that’s why I ended up following the guide to try and avoid adding more time. But I’m sure I’ve added so much time by pausing! 
 

Anyway wish me luck I want this done today so I can start akumu tomorrow ?

[tonkie18]

God I can’t do maths. I have 4 chapters left with only an hour on the clock ?

[RoastedPeanut]

Reading your progress has actually inspired me to finally fire it up again and give it a go. I mean I bought the damn game soon after release and haven't touched it

You'll have your plat well before I begin, but keep up the good work....you've got this!

[tonkie18]

Yes you definitely should! It’s been challenging for me for sure - but I’m sure others will have an easier time with it. I’m just a numpty with most games.

 

Ive got 2 chapters left of speed run with only 43 minutes left on the clock.. and barely any ammo or parts. Awesome ? 

 

In a way I think I’ll prefer akumu to this speed run business. I know it’s going to be so bloody hard but once you’ve beaten a chapter you’ve beaten it. I could get to the end of this run and have to do so many chapters all over again ? just feel like you can take your time over it whereas this it’s just a panicked rush. 

[tonkie18]

Well I’m not a happy camper this evening! Had 29 minutes for chapter 15 with barely any ammo left and minimal parts. Somehow managed to take down the enemies and the bosses efficiently.. had an option to save before I went to the spotlights and the rocket launcher part. Decided I wouldn’t Waste time going to the save room. After the most perfect run at the beginning, the spotlights got me 3 times from carelessness ? then the bloody claw got me.. THEN I MISSED shooting his brain TWICE ? so I finished 1 min 27 seconds over ?

 

And now have to redo the whole chapter cause idiot wanted to save time not saving and I probably won’t have that perfect run again with the ammo I have ?

 

try again tomorrow ?‍?

[DesertClaw3008]

You can actually shoot the "Flashlights" or use a flash bolt on them if you had it. 
So close. 
 

Edited July 14, 2022 by DesertClaw3008

[tonkie18]

Well I tried again. Finished the enemies off - not as quick as last time and wasted two bolts. Decided to go for it anyway. Saved half way through just incase. Spotlights got me once. The claw got me FOUR times and I missed shooting Ruvik at the end. At this point I’d like given up and didn’t hit skip at the end credits straight away. Thank god I finally did 4:59:45 ? 15 seconds to spare 

 

so glad that’s over with. I’ll be back tomorrow to whinge about akumu ? thanks for all the support and help guys ??

[DesertClaw3008]

Congrats, take Akumu nice and slow. Its bound to be challenging. 
Beating Akumu is an incredible feat that you can brag to others about. 

[tonkie18]

IF I do manage it I will be bragging lots ?

[DesertClaw3008]

7 hours ago, tonkie18 said:

IF I do manage it I will be bragging lots ?

As one should. 

[ShadyWARcotix]

9 hours ago, tonkie18 said:

Well I tried again. Finished the enemies off - not as quick as last time and wasted two bolts. Decided to go for it anyway. Saved half way through just incase. Spotlights got me once. The claw got me FOUR times and I missed shooting Ruvik at the end. At this point I’d like given up and didn’t hit skip at the end credits straight away. Thank god I finally did 4:59:45 ? 15 seconds to spare 

 

so glad that’s over with. I’ll be back tomorrow to whinge about akumu ? thanks for all the support and help guys ??

 

Congratulations!!

Idk if anyone posted this here. But this is a great guide for akumu. If you stuck or want to follow a great in depth guide.

 

And like someone in the beginning said. The beginning is very annoying but make sure to upgrade your matches and also collect as many geel and keys as you can and don't try to collect the risky ones.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[tonkie18]

Thankyou! Yes I plan to use his guides all the way through. I used him for my speed run because I liked all his little tricks. But it cost me a lot of time in the end should have just blasted my way through. But he will be so helpful for this playthrough. One checkpoint at a time ? starting it today ?

[ObsceneSociopath]

1 hour ago, tonkie18 said:

Thankyou! Yes I plan to use his guides all the way through. I used him for my speed run because I liked all his little tricks. But it cost me a lot of time in the end should have just blasted my way through. But he will be so helpful for this playthrough. One checkpoint at a time starting it today

Trying to recreate someone's steps and copy their route exactly can inadvertently make things harder. There's nothing wrong with watching videos to have any idea of what to expect but it's also requires a large amount of luck for things to happen exactly like in a video, sometimes enemies just don't play ball, other times pathing is wonky & sometimes RNG just hates you. You may also find that strategies you've come up with yourself already on easier difficulties work better for you rather than trying to learn someone elses.

 

The fact you've already finished the game multiple times will help you greatly here as you will already have a good idea of what enemies spawn where & when which you can use to your advantage compared to someone who's maybe only finished it once or twice before starting Akumu.

 

That said, chapter 6, defending Joseph in the ruined building will be the bit that tests whether you will be able to finish Akumu or not. It's arguably the single hardest point of the game and if you do manage to get through it, then you'll be in good stead for finishing the rest of the game after that.

Edited July 15, 2022 by ObsceneSociopath

[tonkie18]

Yeah I had a little read up this morning and chapter 6 came up a lot, with the majority of players giving up at that point. 
 

I agree with you, there have been so many times I’ve tried to recreate what videos do and it just doesn’t happen. My main concern is conserving ammo, I’m terrible at that and I don’t want to be left with nothing for a difficult part. That’s the main reason I’ve been watching the videos to find ways of using the environment, how to stealth enemies at difficult parts etc as I know there won’t be a lot of it available to me this playthrough.

 

But I get so bored following guides. I’m so desperate to get into the Resident Evil franchise but I can’t get past the first part of the first game ? so I’m gonna have to watch walkthroughs for that cause I’m missing out on what sounds like such a fun series of games there! The main problem I have is the camera angles on that game, so might have to follow a walkthrough for the entire first game ?

 

Jigzaws walkthroughs omit a lot of the gel pick ups and ammo too, he just gets through the chapter as fast as possible, but I want to pick up everything I possibly can incase I get stuck at some point. But some of the tricks he’s found on that game are amazing and I’ll be using as many as I can to get through this ?‍? 

What I want to add as well is I have completed the whole game so far with broken controllers ? and I think that may become an issue with Akumu mode. Both my triggers have gone - one is rendered completely useless and the other one is so touch sensitive if I accidentally knock is Sebastian lashes out and then I’m caught by an enemy. Always managed to rectify it on survival or casual difficulties but know I won’t have that luxury this time around on this mode.

 

I have one controller taken apart, with new springs hopefully being delivered today or tomorrow. If I manage to fix the trigger myself on the completely broken one, I’ll do it for the other one. The completely broken one is my guinea pig.

 

I have 2 more controllers for the downstairs PS5 but don’t want those to break too and don’t want to admit defeat ? I refuse to buy more! Even though I’ve read the new batches have stronger springs. Not fair I have 5 controllers from the first batch that had a shelf life of 6 months each!

[Optinooby]

I'm meaning to get to this game soon with a nice easy platinum walkthrough.

 

I've heard the Jigsaw videos are great, but I'm not sure if they are as beginner friendly as can be, because sometimes much easier strategies are ignored by proper Speedrunners because they take an extra minute or 2, I'm not sure if Jigsaw has gone exclusively for speed, difficulty or both...........!! Almost 90% of the time, proper Speedrunners will avoid a MUCH easier strategy just because it consumes an extra 2 minutes or so, im curious to know how Jigsaw plays..?? I think I did watch a bit of one of his videos recently, but I cant be sure if he avoids easier strategies sometimes until I get back in and see for myself and testing stuff.

 

Not sure if helpful as maybe Jigsaw employs these strats, but iirc from my runs many years ago, leaving the Collectible run for Akumu worked out better than doing Collectibles on a differently difficulty just because it's very useful there and saves 100% twice!!

 

Also, for the 2nd part of the Cabin fight, maybe Jigsaw does it this way, but if you only kill the first 3 enemies, some will be skipped and then only 4 will spawn after that if you don't kill anymore. I don't remember the specifics, just info from my notes.

 

Also with the point with the Harpoon gunners and the Sadist, I forget the Chapter, as soon as the Sadist spawns, you can reload checkpoint to despawn all the enemies, then safely back track and collect anything now without the enemies present!!!!

 

I'm really looking forward to cover this game actually.

 

Some more tips I gathered back then:

 

I have tried games upgrading critical on shotgun, pistol etc but I think there are better options. And the sprint does not help on the hardest parts of the game, there are more useful upgrades for them areas.

 

On my last Akumu runthrough, this is what I found best;

 

- 1st upgrade matches to 15, (you will just use the pistol to knock enemies down then burn them. And Shotgun is just used as a crowd clearing tool).

 

- Then upgrade agony bolts stock to max,

 

- Next level flash bolts to level 4 (13sec), and level up other bolts once you get chance, explosive last.

 

- You want to upgrade the damage on rifle to max, so maybe save some gel for when you collect it on chapter 6. (Why upgrade critical on a poor weapon when you can upgrade to double damage on an already powerful weapon. Plus your always guaranteed to do massive damage, but with critical upgrades theres a chance it will do nothing). An example on the power of the rifle, in its standard state it will kill the keepers on chapter 9 in 2 shots. A harpoon on level 4 (240+) takes 2 shots, rifle does that damage as standard. If you can upgrade flash and bolt stock before the part kidman is trapped in the water tank, flash makes that part sooooo easy.

 

- Once you get the Magnum try and upgrade the damage on that to max.

 

- Also try to earn as many keys as you can, I would use some as I went along for more gel, but would make sure I had some to get magnum ammo from the lockers after chapter 12.

 

- So just do matches first, and then focus on agony bolts (every bolt has a use somewhere in the game), rifle and magnum at the end.

 

- I'd also advise getting used to the timing on disabling the timer traps, them trap parts come in very useful.

 

- Its up to you if you want to upgrade the harpoon to level 5, you could just increase the stock on the rifle as you that will be a 1 hit kill on max damage level. I upgraded the harpoon to level 5 to see how good it is with laura on chapter 10, its crap. Yea, everytime you hit her it slows her down as it sets her on fire, but it doesn't seem to take hardly any damage off her, I shot her about 8 times with it after using all the traps and nothing. I ended up finishing her off with 3 rifle shots :).

 

And people say that the harpoon 1 hit kills enemies, it does but there better alternatives. The flash bolt costs the same and will let you 1 hit kill 3 enemies (then you have the rifle to 1 it kill ruvik clones).

 

- The rifle is very helpful on chapter 12, the part where the bus stops and you get ambushed. harpoon is useless here.

 

- On chapter 11 when your on the horizontal lift, you can use the shotgun to knock two enemies off at once.

 

As long as your disabling most the traps, you can use the flash where you would off used the pistol.

 

Its different to what others have upgraded but why gamble wit criticals that may not work and don't work on all enemies when you can have a rifle with guaranteed damage on all enemies. And every bolt will have a use for different enemies. Then you have magnum for boss killing towards the end.

 

Personally I found the last few chapters fairly easy once you've upgraded most your key weapons. But that chapter 12 ambush, what a pain

 

Oh and 1 more thing to bear in mind; When an enemy is flashed or shocked, you only inflict half damage with other attacks, but with a freeze bolt you will still inflict full damage with other attacks!!

Edited July 15, 2022 by Optinooby

[Taliesin_2943]

39 minutes ago, tonkie18 said:

Yeah I had a little read up this morning and chapter 6 came up a lot, with the majority of players giving up at that point. 
 

I agree with you, there have been so many times I’ve tried to recreate what videos do and it just doesn’t happen. My main concern is conserving ammo, I’m terrible at that and I don’t want to be left with nothing for a difficult part. That’s the main reason I’ve been watching the videos to find ways of using the environment, how to stealth enemies at difficult parts etc as I know there won’t be a lot of it available to me this playthrough.

 

But I get so bored following guides. I’m so desperate to get into the Resident Evil franchise but I can’t get past the first part of the first game ? so I’m gonna have to watch walkthroughs for that cause I’m missing out on what sounds like such a fun series of games there! The main problem I have is the camera angles on that game, so might have to follow a walkthrough for the entire first game

 

Jigzaws walkthroughs omit a lot of the gel pick ups and ammo too, he just gets through the chapter as fast as possible, but I want to pick up everything I possibly can incase I get stuck at some point. But some of the tricks he’s found on that game are amazing and I’ll be using as many as I can to get through this ‍ 

Lol resident evil 0,1 and code Veronica because they are remasters and not remakes will probably be the hardest to get through (they was for me like you said the freaking camera angles and tank controls are just rage inducing) but thankfully 2 and onwards have been remade or made better so they are much easier on the nurves as far as camera rage lol but still maintain the edge of your seat is something about to jump out or sneak attack me lol I love them

[tonkie18]

@Optinooby This was incredibly helpful Thankyou. I never know what to upgrade and just do it randomly, but the explanations you’ve given really make sense and I’ll employ those as I go along.

 

One question springs to mind though - I thought you only got the rifle after collecting all of the map fragments so I wouldn’t have it on this playthrough? It was very handy on my speed run in new game plus. Or am I misunderstanding something? 
 

Jigzaw generally speeds through the chapter - he’s found some incredible methods on there to kill hoards of enemies. I was impressed with the sadist in chapter 4 is it? He literally gets every enemy in the area and jumps on a ledge where they can’t get him and the sadist clears everyone out for you with the chainsaw. Then you just take him out cause he can’t reach you.

 

But he doesn’t go out of his way to pick anything up - he really doesn’t need to the guy is an evil within god. But for people like me I could use the extra ammunition. I have also been using Mike Bettencourt videos - not only is his voice like silk but he literally shows you every gel, every bit of ammo and stealths most areas to conserve what he has. So I’ve been doing a mix of both .. but even following these videos just goes wrong and I end up having to go all Rambo and deplete all my bullets ?

 

im only on chapter 2 and I’ve already realised what a horrible mistake I’ve made ?

 

@Taliesin_2943 god I’m glad it’s not just me. I’ve tried to pick the game up several times and I can’t get past the lobby. I can’t get to grips with the tank controls and just die over and over again. It’s on my backlog, I need to complete it and I hate starting anything from the middle of the series. I’ll be really happy if I manage to plat EW and RE this year. Goals ??

[Optinooby]

10 minutes ago, tonkie18 said:

@Optinooby This was incredibly helpful Thankyou. I never know what to upgrade and just do it randomly, but the explanations you’ve given really make sense and I’ll employ those as I go along.

 

One question springs to mind though - I thought you only got the rifle after collecting all of the map fragments so I wouldn’t have it on this playthrough? It was very handy on my speed run in new game plus. Or am I misunderstanding something? 
 

Jigzaw generally speeds through the chapter - he’s found some incredible methods on there to kill hoards of enemies. I was impressed with the sadist in chapter 4 is it? He literally gets every enemy in the area and jumps on a ledge where they can’t get him and the sadist clears everyone out for you with the chainsaw. Then you just take him out cause he can’t reach you.

 

But he doesn’t go out of his way to pick anything up - he really doesn’t need to the guy is an evil within god. But for people like me I could use the extra ammunition. I have also been using Mike Bettencourt videos - not only is his voice like silk but he literally shows you every gel, every bit of ammo and stealths most areas to conserve what he has. So I’ve been doing a mix of both .. but even following these videos just goes wrong and I end up having to go all Rambo and deplete all my bullets

 

im only on chapter 2 and I’ve already realised what a horrible mistake I’ve made ?

 

@Taliesin_2943 god I’m glad it’s not just me. I’ve tried to pick the game up several times and I can’t get past the lobby. I can’t get to grips with the tank controls and just die over and over again. It’s on my backlog, I need to complete it and I hate starting anything from the middle of the series. I’ll be really happy if I manage to plat EW and RE this year. Goals

 

It was years ago when I played and won't be revisiting to do a Beginner's Platinum Walkthrough probably for another month or 2, but looking at my notes above, it looks like you can get the Rifle in Chapter 6 as I state to 'keep some gel for when you get the rifle' (in chapter 6)....

 

I'll be doing a 2 playthrough Platinum when I get to it. It will be a 1st playthrough No Upgrades Speedrun, then Akumu 100%. Everything else will be mixed in and if anybody can't do the Speedrun on 1st playthrough, then they just do an extra playthrough at the end with unlockables on easy (I'll likely add an extra quick speedrun on easy with unlockables just in case).

Edited July 15, 2022 by Optinooby