Sadistic Game Design

[H2ohMystogan]

Hello everyone. 

 

Last night I finished my first Core difficulty (and obtained the trophy related to it) run and first attempt on the Sadistic Game Design trophy, that didn't pop off. 

 

My question is to anyone that obtained the trophy on playstation: I'm your Sadistic Run, you killed even the enemies tied to trophies? 

 

Because aside from the Water Elemental and the Blightmaw,I killed the opcional enemies and Bosses tied to the trophy. 

 

Any tip to obtain the trophy is Welcomed, I really love the game but don't wanna attempt another fruitless run. 

 

And sorry for the bad grammar. 

 

(They really need to put Indicators so everybody knows if they are still on terms to obtain these trophies) 

[Shikotei-kun]

On 4/3/2023 at 8:16 PM, H2ohMystogan said:

Any tip to obtain the trophy is Welcomed

It's not enough to kill just the enemies tied to the trophies. There's a long list of lives to end in the trophy guide. You must also kill them in the earliest possible chapter (as listed in the guide).

Furthermore, did you also:

• Complete your mythic transformation
• Defeat Khorramzadeh's army in Crusade mode
• Rest fewer than 75 times

This must all be done in one playthrough on Core or higher!

[H2ohMystogan]

I used the Trophy Guide too, but my mistake was to consider some posts on reddit about an older version of the game 

 

Since the console version is the "Enhanced Edition", we need to kill different enemies. 

 

My first Core run, I didn't bother to kill the Water Elemental and the Nabasu. I just started my second run, and killed those 2 already. Let's see if things go different this time 

[Crypto151]

This is keeping me from buying this game lol. Looks fun, too. Shame. 

[H2ohMystogan]

Got the trophy!

 

Don't be dump like me and just follow the trophy guide, killing every enemy on the list. 

The 75 rests are more than necessary too. 

 

Some notes:

 

On chapter 4, I found two groups of Watchful Conspirator. One in the Middle City (close to the gate for the Upper City) and the second in Upper City (the one mentioned in the Trophy Guide). I don't know if you only need to kill the group in the Upper City, but killed both to be extra sure. 

 

And you Crusade difficult needs to be on Standard!

 

On 21/04/2023 at 3:20 AM, Crypto151 said:

This is keeping me from buying this game lol. Looks fun, too. Shame. 

 

It's a excellent game,trust me. Good story and a many possibilities of builds for your characters. 

 

The biggest problem for me is the console port. Chapter 4 and onwards the game can crash sometimes and can be really frustrating. So don't forget to save/quick save often.

The good news is the game getting regular updates (and a new set of DLC's too) and maybe they can fix it soon enough. 

[Shikotei-kun]

On 21/04/2023 at 8:20 AM, Crypto151 said:

This is keeping me from buying this game lol. Looks fun, too. Shame. 

 

There are a few tricks you can use to lower the amount of rests you need. For instance, disabling and enabling experience sharing in the prologue, Shield Maze, and early Kenabres has a significant impact. You can reach level 3 after clearing the first few rooms in the Shield Maze, and get to level 4 when picking up Ember and Nenio in Kenabres. This method would easily put you at level 5 (maybe close to 6 if you play your cards right) when defending the tavern. How? Like this:

 

Quote

 

Prologue, just MC: disable sharing.

Play until you get to the dialogue with Seelah and Anevia. Do the skill check, but don't end the conversation yet.

Enable exp sharing, end the conversation, (now you have Seelah), then disable exp sharing again.

Play until you meet Camellia, chat with her, but don't end the conversation. Once again enable sharing, end the convo, then disable it.

Play until you meet Lann and Wenduag, enable sharing, end the convo, disable it again.

Keep it disabled until you reach the Defender's Heart.

Don't do Woljif's quest; you can start it, but let him stay in prison for now.

Clear as much of Kenabres' Market Square as you can with your 4-man party, then pick up Ember. Right before that conversation ends, enable sharing again to get Ember with equal experience.Once you have Ember, disable exp sharing.

The event with Nenio is scripted to happen after visiting the Market Square, or somewhere between the Market and the Tower of Estrod. Whatever happens, kill the cultists wth exp sharing off, have the conversation, then enable xp sharing and keep it on. You now have a 6-man party and exp sharing will no longer give any advantage.

You could be level 4 by the time you pick up Ember.

 

 

If sharing is turned on when picking up a new companion, their exp is set to the same value as MC. Even if you don't have 6 people in your party, the exp is still divided by 6. The "unused" exp is lost to the void. By turning off exp sharing while having fewer than 6 people, you only divide the exp by the amount of people in your party. This way no exp is lost.

Because you clear the Shield Maze with just 4 people, you'd normally "lose" 33% of the experience gained. The initial few fights (before meeting the two mongrels) you fight with just 3 people; a loss of 50% experience!

 

The second trick you can use (when you have access to the city map or the world map) is to press and hold R3 while on the map and your party consists of just MC.

Companions not in the active party will "rest" after a few hours and regain their spells and other dailies (Lay On Hands, Guarded Hearth, Channel Positive Energy, arcane pool) and lose fatigue/exhausted statuses. But because it's not a rest (you skipped a day after all) it doesn't count towards the 75-rests limit.

 

If you have a party member who can cast Lesser Restoration (or have a paladin whose Lay On Hands can clear fatigue (at level 3) and exhaustion (at level 9)) you can get rid of MC's fatigue/exhaustion without resting.

 

I'm currently doing a Sadistic Game Design run, and keep notes of when and where I rest. This also includes the skip-day mechanic. below are the notes for the prologue, chapter 1, and part of chapter 2. It's also important not to go too fast with the crusader campaign to keep your camp close to the locations you visit with the party. You don't want to have to clear everyone's fatigue; just MC's exhaustion when entering a combat location.

 

Quote

 

Prologue + chapter 1
Rest 1: Neatholm
- Shield maze (Large water elemental)
- Gray garrison
- Market square (+Ember) (outdoors cleared, excl indoors[shadow demon, rat swarms, brimorak])
- Random encounter (+Nenio)
- Silken Thread Atelier (Kervil)
- Tower of Estrod
- Defender’s Heart (+Woljif)
- Thieflings Hideout
- Ancientries and Wonders Shop (+Finnean)
- Pitaxian Wine Cellar (Wights)
- Blackwing Library

 

Rest 2 (near Arendae)
- Arendae Party House (+Daeran)
- Gwerm’s Mansion
- Tirabade Residence (Succubus)
- Topaz Solutions (Alchemist with mimics)
- Market Square (indoors)

 

Rest 3 (in tavern)
- Defender’s Heart (defense)
- Market Square (new encounters + Nabasu)

 

Skip day
- Gray Garrison retake (Othirubo)

 

Chapter 2
- Martyr Zacharius’s Cemetery
- Houndhearth Campsite
- Drow ambush (random encounter)
- Conundrum Unsolved
- Nightingale Grove (Marauder group)
- Ravaged Campsite

 

Camp to Vilareth’s Ford (skip day)
- Moondance Meadow (Plagued Smilodon pack)
- Carcass of an Unknown Creature
- Chilly Creek

 

Camp (skip day)
- Reliable Redoubt (+Regill)
- Nameless Ruins

 

Camp (skip day)
- Babau encounter (note for Inconspicuous Camp)
- Leper’s Smile (queen, underground: wights, Hunter Retriever, excl [4-swarms trap corridor + vrocks])

 

 

The best spell for the early game is definitely Selective Grease: watch your enemies slip and fall and, should they get back up, trigger attacks of opportunity by all your melee members.

Even the Plagued Smilodon, Derakni, and Vescavor Queen (almost everything without the Airborne template) can slip up if they roll low enough (or just throw a second Grease in).

 

I'm running with Ember who has Protective Luck and Cackle. This combination is .. powerful to say the least. With MC's AC (40+ with just Mage Armor buff from Ember) enemies generally have a 1/400 chance to hit him (needing two 20's in a row), and the secondary tank rarely gets attacked at all. I have a wolf that trips enemies, a spellcaster with plenty of Selective Grease and Fireball spell slots (thanks, Abundant Casting!), and a cleric and a paladin with Channel Energy for healing. So far, the biggest damage dealers in chapter two were the damned Vescavor Swarms with their unavoidable damage (4d6 hurts). It's why I was only able to clear part of Leper's Smile underground (I did make a beeline for the queen, only helping the traveler). The Hunter Retriever (also in Leper's Smile) was simple enough.

 

So far, probably halfway chapter 2, I'm only at 3 rests. 75 seems pretty generous. I plan to do a lot of Crusader Campaign before exploring the regions far beyond Drezen so I have the Teleport Portals installed in key locations to reduce travel times (and thus prevent fatigue on the majority of my party).

Edited June 15, 2023 by Shikotei-kun
Paladin mercy level + MC basic AC buff

[H2ohMystogan]

19 hours ago, Shikotei-kun said:

 

There are a few tricks you can use to lower the amount of rests you need. For instance, disabling and enabling experience sharing .

 

 

Some really good tips here, specially about the experience sharing. This became essencial to have better time to hold Defender's Heart. 

 

 

[Shikotei-kun]

Okay, so I found out something a little worrisome:

Metamagic rods don't recharge every day when using "skip day". They only do so after a rest. The same is true for the triceratops pet statue, and probably for other daily-consumables like the Duality (summon Movanic Deva or Nabasu)

 

Notes for the rest of chapter 2, and a chunk of chapter 3:

Quote

Camp to north of Leper’s Smile (skip day)
- Leper’s Smile (swarms trap corridor + vrock trio)
- Inconspicuous Camp
- Heaven’s Edge (free rest effect after visit, incl. MC)
- Hollow Tree
- Marked Rock
- Underground Hideout (Shivial the Pain Connoisseur)
- Shallow Grave

 

Camp to east of Drezen (pre-Lost Chapel)
- Camp attack (gargoyles) (free rest effect before attack, incl. MC)
- Lost Chapel (Zacharius, Nulkineth, Stringy Demodand, caves, Maugla)

 

Rest 4 (Lost Chapel, pet died)
- Camp (sell loot)

 

Skip day (distance too great)
- Ruins of Ashberry Hamlet (Ancient Sarkorian Ghost)

 

Skip days (Crusade mode map cleanup)
Camp to south of Drezen
Rest 5 (Level 9 + full spell selection)
- Drezen raid
- Outdoors: outer ring, barracks, temple, dungeon (+Arueshalae), tavern, ash giants, hidden passage (3 keys), middle ring (fallen crusader), Darrazand
- Citadel: Vampire, Vhane, fake banner, ghoul pit, true banner, Mythic 3, Blightmaw, coloxus, omox, Minagho

 

Chapter 3 (free rest effect)
Skip days (crusade)
- Random encounter (Woljif 1) south-west of Drezen
- Shrine of Sacrilege (Gormandizer)
- Random encounter (Woljif 2) west-south-west of Drezen
- Greengates (Arueshalae quest)
- Molten Scar
- Drezen (+Greybor)

 

Skip days (crusade)
- Random encounter (dragon 1) north of Temple Of The Good Hunt
- Random encounter (dragon 2) east of Grimwood
- Grimwood (the “wait for ambush” doesn’t count as rest)

 

Rest 6 (west of Shrine of Sacrilege)
- Artisan’s Tower (incl mandrakes)
- Drezen (teleport circle)

 

As you can see, I completed the entire raid on Drezen without using a single rest. The trick is to maintain the combination of Protective Luck and Fortune throughout the entire raid (though it did run out on a few characters halfway through).

These two hexes let your characters re-roll attack rolls (to-hit) and take the better result, and force enemies to re-roll theirs and take the worse result. The effect? You have a much higher chance to hit the baddies, while they have a much lower chance to hit you.

 

Fortune: Let's say you need an 11 or higher to hit. That's a 50% chance with a single roll. And a 75% chance on a double roll (100% - 100% * 10/20 * 10/20).

Let's say you need a 6 to hit. That's a 75% chance with one roll, but a 93.75% chance with Fortune active (100% - 100% * 5/20 * 5/20).

Protective Luck: What if the enemy needs a 19 to hit you? That's 10% chance. With Protective Luck, that goes down to 1% chance (100% * 2/20 * 2/20). If they need a 20, that'll become a 1/400. Feeling immortal yet?

 

Tips for the dragon encounters on the world map (the "random" ones). In settings, turn on "pause game when enemy spotted", or at least "pause game when combat starts" and have the combat mode in RTWP. This will allow you to move everyone away from the dragon as soon as combat starts. Scatter! Drezen's Arcane Weaver shop sells a Thick Pelt Cloak which gives the wearer immunity to fire. Alternatively, you can research Mallander's relic (Crest of the Fallen Knight) to make a belt (Mallander's Insult) that also gives fire immunity. Give this to the tank and let them eat the fire breath (they'll be unharmed). As soon as that's done, run away. With a bit of luck, the dragon'll break off combat without ever attacking in melee.

If not, you'll have to endure a hit or two (40-50 dmg per), which the tank should easily survive (at level 9-10). For added bonus, if the tank is MC, you'll fast-heal the damage back due to the Commander's Banner effect. Zero resources used.

 

As for the ambush and final fight: Protection From Fire and Resist Fire are mandatory You should have access to a few scrolls if you don't want Sosiel. Guarded Hearth (cleric ability from the Community domain) and Smite Evil (paladin powers) add solid defense and offense. You'll want one or two True Seeing to deal with Displacement (50% miss chance). Add +stat enhancements (STR and DEX) for added damage and go ham on it. Spam summons (Animate Undead, Nature's Ally, Monster, Duality, Tankard) to help tank and deal damage. The dragon's touch AC is crap (on Core she has 40 normal AC, but only 7 touch), so use that when picking spells (Snowball targets the weakness for 150% damage).

You absolutely want to pass all the skill checks during the approach of the Artisan's Tower. If you fail them (the last ones, at least) you'll end up in a heap of trouble and instant combat. Otherwise you'll be able to pre-buff and open up with a strong hit.

[Shikotei-kun]

Right, so last night I completed the Midnight Fane chapter finale dungeon.

 

Including the Playful Darkness encounter (60+ AC, 700+ HP, 7 attacks at +52 AB).

 

Lemme tell you the key to this fight lies in two things: survive while killing it with every spell you've got. If you have a high enough Perception and can pass his stealth check (I think it's in the 60's) you can open up with a volley of spells to kick off the combat with him several hundred hit points down from the get-go.

 

Sounds simple, but to survive you either need to buff your AC to 60-70, and run Protective Luck so he can barely/not hit you, or give him canon fodder to shred through. I gave him canon fodder because I had plenty of summon scrolls that were never going to be used as anything more than meat-shields.

- Ember used Devouring Lust (Attractive Impulse relic refined into a metamagic wand) to maximize her Hellfire Rays. Ember has Ascendant Element (fire) to ignore any DR, and enough SR to get a 85% chance of getting through. She used Protective Luck and Fortune on everyone, and Greater Heroism and Death Ward on the front-liners.

- Cleric used Fire Storm to deal massive damage to the specters (and some to Playful Darkness). He has the water bloodline to turn the fire damage into cold, and Ascendant Element (cold) to ignore any DR. Buffs used: Guarded Hearth (bonus AC, saves, and AB), elemental protection (for my party's AOE).

- MC (Angel) used Justice Storm and Justice Bolt to deal massive damage to the specters, and to Playful Darkness itself. These spells have no save and ignore SR. Self-buffed by Mage Armor, Shield, Legendary Proportions, Divine Power, Angelic Aspect, and a whole bunch more that I didn't write down.

- My brownfur transmuter (arcanist) used Creeping Doom. Combined with the Mark Of Justice from my paladin, they deal loads of damage to the boss (MOJ makes everyone ignore any DR the boss has). She buffed the party with: Bull's Strength (+4 STR), Haste (extra full-round attack), Greater Invisibility (target Flat-footed AC).

- Arueshalae was buffed with Greater Invisibility to target his Flatfooted AC (still high, but low enough for her to hit kinda reliably). She used Cat's Grace (+4 DEX), Sense Vitals (enable sneak damage), Animal Aspect (boost to AB thanks to Master Shapeshifter), Hurricane Bow (weapon size one greater 1d8 -> 2d6).

- Lastly, the paladin used Mark of Justice to beef up everyone's damage and attack bonus and Smite Evil to stack his own through the roof.

All pets were buffed with the party-wide effects.

 

An alternative (which I didn't have access to) is to fish for a critical fail on the will save against Baleful Polymorph. This spell renders him a helpless dog you can take your time nat-20'ing to death with zero buffs.

 

Mine was a very messy victory: three dead party members (paladin, pet, and brownfur). The paladin and pet could be revived with (angel spell) Gale of Life (tries to res creatures who died within 2 rounds), and the other required Resurrection (bye bye diamond).

Why did the brownfur die? She was the only one who still had an untriggered Last Stand (yay damage sponge) and with the Stormlord's Resolve bracers made an excellent damage dealer. Stormlord's bracers have an effect that deals (1d6+character level) electricity damage to each enemy that hits it with a melee attack. Playful Darkness has no electricity resistance and 7 attacks per round. What a chump, he killed himself largely.

With the hardest fight in the game won, I continued to wipe the floor with the remaining demons in the Midnight Fane and entered chapter 4: The Abyss.

 

Fast travel tips

Countering/preventing Exhausted and Fatigued statuses on the majority of the party is done by building Teleport Circles in 2 key areas: Lands of Yath Watch and Camp On The Ferry. A third, less critical point would be Vilareth's Ford (for accessing Kenabres and eventually the Nameless Ruins for Nenio's quest). Entering the Heart Of Mystery and completing the Core Of The Riddle enables instant travel between them. Building a Teleport Circle at Yath Watch (near Heart Of Mystery) gives you access to a wide range of locations (and more after completing the other puzzles in chapter 5).

 

Notes for the remainder of chapter 3, and early chapter 4:
 

Spoiler

Skip days (crusade)
- Ashen Grotto (Thraz the Spinebreaker)
- Random encounter (Berenguer 1) east-north-east of Ashen Grotto
- Scrubland by a Bend in the River (Woljif quest)
- Pitfall
- Broken Cart
- Drezen (teleport circle)

 

Skip days (crusade)
- Random encounter (Very Nasty Demodand) north of Leper’s Smile
- Neatholm (Wenduag quest)
- Drezen (teleport circle)

 

Skip day
- Wintersun (east half, Marhevok, west half, Orso, Ancient Blighted Treant, Morveg, 7 spectres)
- Random encounter (Finnean) south of Wintersun
- Ravaged Long House (The Bereft One)
- Terendelev’s Lair
- Heart of Mystery
- Burned-Down Shack
- Random encounter (Berenguer 2) south of Burned-Down Shack
- Knapsack on a Tree
- Befouled Barrows (book event)
- Petrified Traveler
- Legacy of the Ancients (missing slabs)
- Makeshift Lab
- Core of the Riddle (complete puzzle)
- Remains of a Disgusting Feast
- Crimson Dust (Sinful Sinew)
- Drezen (teleport circle)

 

Skip days (crusade)
- Pulura’s Fall (Inheribro)

 

Skip day
- Lands of Yath Watch (teleport)
- Desolate Hovel (incl Lab)
- Drezen (teleport)

 

Skip day
- Lands of Yath Watch (teleport)
- Heart of Mystery (gate to Core of the Riddle)
- Ivory Sanctum (Eternal Guardian)

 

Rest 7 (Ivory Sanctum)
- Random encounter (Forn Autumn Haze) south of Ivory Sanctum

- Drezen (teleport) “wait for Queen Galfrey”

 

Skip days (crusade armies/fortresses completed)
- Hellknights Outpost (Regill quest)
- Temple of the Good Hunt (Zanedra)
- Drezen

 

Skip day
- Wedding Meadow (Seelah quest)
- Drezen

 

Skip day
- Random encounter (Berenguer 3, joins) west of Drezen
- Dragon Burial Grounds
- Drezen (teleport) (Camellia + Arushalae quest)

 

Skip day
- Camp on the Ferry (teleport)
- Blackwater (full clear)
- Sacred Lands
- Camp on the Ferry (teleport)
- Bones in a Pool of Mud
- Drezen (teleport)

 

(Map completed, most stats at 4 or 5, waiting for queen + companion quests)

 

Skip days
- Lands of Yath Watch (teleport)
- Extirpators’ Camp (Sosiel quest)
- Drezen (teleport)
- Lost Chapel
- Drezen

 

Skip day
- Lands of Yath Watch (teleport)
- Heart of Mystery (gate to Core of the Riddle)
- Baphomet’s Shrine (Ember quest)
- Drezen (teleport)

 

Skip days (crusade stats to max)
- Wintersun (Price of Knowledge quest)
- Drezen

 

Skip days
- Lands of Yath Watch (teleport)
- Old Sarkorian Mines (Seilkind quest)
- Drezen (teleport)

 

Skip days (recalled generals, waited 3 days as prep for chapter 5)
- Midnight Fane (Playful Darkness)

 

Chapter 4
- Mines (keys)

 

Lower City
- Outside, east half
- Bad Luck Tavern
- Minagho’s Hideout
- Alchemists (rooftops near Battlebliss)
- Soul Hunter (rooftops center area)
- Athletics/mobility checks to Middle City

 

Middle City
- Mutasafen (near gates to Lower City) (joined by Berenguer, Yaniel, Targona, and Inheribro)
- Unlock and use elevator to Lower City
- Unlock and use elevator to Middle City
- Watchful Conspirator group (north of entrance to Assassin’s Guild)
- Demodands Mob Leader group (east of Ten Thousand Delights)
- Meet Latverk (aasimar) + visit house
- Fight my way into Harem Of Ardent Dreams (kill the guards outside)

 

As you can see, the vast majority was done with just one rest: right after Ivory Sanctum. I haven't rest since, and MC has run out of level 4+ spells. I've generally run out of healing spells (though my cleric can still convert a few into healing), so consider me running on fumes.

 

Being a follower of Iomedae, you get a hugely beneficial buff at the start of the fight against Darrazand (in the Midnight Fane) called "Iomedae's Blessing" and has the following description:

Quote

Iomedae's blessing gives you the following benefits. Your longsword's critical threat range is doubled. You may make one extra attack with your main weapon, and you get bonuses as if you constantly were under the effect of the Haste spell. You gain 20 temporary hit points, a +6 luck bonus on all your attack and damage rolls, a +4 bonus on saving throws against poison, DR 10/evil, resistance 10 to electricity and fire, and are also immune to acid and cold. Your weapon is considered good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reductions.

 

This buff lasts for an hour! The reason I haven't skipped days/time is because of this buff. It enabled me to kill the optional boss Soul Hunter, some Demodands, and Mutasafen's reasonably easy. At the time of writing, I still have over half an hour left on this buff. Who knows how far I can get before needing to skip time (or even rest to regain MC's spells and metamagic rod charges). I'm currently level 16 (after the fight with Mutasafen), so Playful Darkness was fought against at level 15.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Shikotei-kun
Character names

[Shikotei-kun]

Important update:

I've been using "skip day" in up until chapter 3 to replenish my party-members' skills, spells, and other dailies by going out of Drezen (or the Tavern/Crusader Camp) solo and skipping time to the next day.

Sadly, chapter 4 has no such place. Everywhere I tried skipping time ahead I got the message "Cannot rest here". Figures, since I'm in the middle of a city full of demons and nowhere is really safe. So... I can't use this method to have infinite resources (regarding character spells, not consumables like metamagic rods). There were also a few tough battles that drained quite a few spell slots.

The only method you can use to restore your spells... is a rest. Either in the Nexus, the Bad Luck Tavern (free mugging included) or the Mage's Tower.

I did find a point where the game restores your spells without a rest: accepting the Demon Graft from the Arena Healer in Battlebliss. If you know of a way to give that "buff" to a mercenary, lemme know; my Arcanist would love it.

 

Toughest fights were:

- the third Demodands Thanatotic rune fight (you face 3 Vavakias, so be prepared to eat 3 breath attacks dealing 1d6 WIS damage, and a bunch of unholy damage).

- Ygefeles (Woljif's quest if you don't want to demonize him).

 

When I rested, MC had run out of every spell in the book, and a whole bunch of characters were either out of the standard buffs (Haste, Bull's Strength, Gr. Invisibility), and the cleric had run out of every spell, healing, and restorative ability.

I know, I know, I've gone through most of chapter 4 on barely 1 rest (and 8 throughout the game), and have over 66 left for Sadistic Game Design... but I wanna use a few as possible. Chapter 5 isn't that long, but I plan to go through Enigma again. And last time... that was a slog.

 

If a fight says "convo-triggered" it means you can opt to not fight that group if you don't talk to them. They'll challenge you, but otherwise won't initiate combat. Many of these groups spawn as you get more renowned. Many of these fights are easy, and can each net you a 100k in loot.

 

General advice about spending money at the Fleshmarkets: buy whatever you fancy! I've spent over a million GP, and currently carry 700k. There's quite a few interesting weapons, armors, metamagic wands (quicken and maximize are awesome! Reach is good to keep your cleric's mid-combat touch-healing at a safe distance).

 

Notes for chapter 4 so far (starting from the first entry into Middle City):

Spoiler

 

Middle City
- Mutasafen (near gates to Lower City)
- Unlock and use elevator to Lower City
- Unlock and use elevator to Middle City
- Watchful Conspirator group (north of entrance to Assassin’s Guild)
- Demodands group (east of Ten Thousand Delights) (get rune)
- Meet Latverk (aasimar) + visit house
- Fight my way into Harem Of Ardent Dreams (kill the guards outside) (get coin)
- Fleshmarkets: kill Dyunk, buy Suture
- Latverk (aasimar quest)
- Portal to Bad Luck Tavern (Red Mask)
- Portal to Harem of Ardent Dreams (Latverk’s house)

 

Lower City (portal to Bad Luck Tavern)
- Slave hunters (outside Bad Luck Tavern)
- Abyssal Salamanders (Xarra’s location)
- Beggars (Ziforian quest)
- Demodands Thanatotic rune fight 1 (next to Minagho’s hideout)
- Battlebliss: Mephits fight (get coin)
- Battlebliss: Flayer twins fight
- Battlebliss: hire succubi (start)
- Portal to Harem of Ardent Dreams

 

Middle City
- Demodands Thanatotic rune fight 2 (near Latverk’s house)
- Portal to Bad Luck Tavern (Fearless Flirt errand)
- Portal to Harem of Ardent Dreams
- Marilith group fight (west of Ten Thousand Delights)
- Berenguer fight (same place, angel quest)
- Skill checks up to Upper City, then back down
- Unlock elevator to Upper City (forced a fight)

 

Upper City
- Watchful Conspirator (south-west side)
- Arrogant Aristocrat (south-west side) (Iomedae's buff ran out)
- Noble Loather Of Mortals (north side, west of Mage’s Tower, convo-triggered fight)
- Deathsnatcher + vampires fight (north side, north of Mage’s Tower)
- Portal to Battlebliss

 

Lower City
- Targona near Nexus portal (angel quest)
- Portal to Harem Of Ardent Dreams

 

Middle City
- Thrall Hunter Master fight (right outside Harem)
- Kerz + sailors (convo-triggered fight)
- Enraged Citizen group fight (south-west of Assassin’s Guild)
- Ten Thousand Delights (Battlebliss + Chivarro + Morevet quest)
- Portal to Bad Luck Tavern

 

Lower City
- Rotten Guttery (Chivarro quest)
- Elevator to Middle City
- Zerieks (Morevet quest)
- Ten Thousand Delights (Morevet + Chivarro quest) (get coin)
- Zerieks (Morevet quest)
- Elevator to Upper City

 

Upper City
- Palace Of Incest And Degeneracy (Battlebliss quest)
- Merciless Tyrant fight (near portal)
- Rapture Of Rupture (Vellexia quest)
- Portal to Battlebliss

 

Lower City
- Battlebliss (Vellexia quest) (get Vellexia coin)
- Portal to Harem Of Ardent Dreams

 

Middle City
- Harem Of Ardent Dreams (Vellexia quest)
- Portal to Terrace Of Favored Mistresses

 

Upper City
- Zealous Follower Of Baphomet fight (north of the south-west bridge)
- Rapture Of Rupture (Vellexia quest)
- Abandoned Mansion
- Portal to Nexus

 

Rest 8 (Nexus)

 

Lower City
- Chivarro fight (east side)
- Portal to Upper City

 

Upper City
- Deadly Duelist fight (south-west area) (convo triggered)
- Ten Thousand Delights (Herrax quest)
- Mage’s Tower
- Demodands Thanatotic rune fight 3 (north of Mage’s Tower)
- Portal to Nexus

 

Nexus
- Lower part (Storyteller quest)
- Portal to Upper City

 

Upper City
- Dimalcho’s Enchanted Mansion (Arushalae quest)
- Mythic Vrock Assassin fight (south-west, upper section)
- Mage’s Tower (Storyteller quest)
- (Nexus, pick up Wenduag)
- Savameldkh’s Mansion (Wenduag quest)
- (Nexus, pick up Woljif)
- Abandoned Mansion (Woljif quest)
- Portal to Battlebliss

 

Lower City
- Battlebliss (Atselm fight)
- Battlebliss (Gelderfang fights)

 

If memory serves me right, I'm near the point where I can get to the final dungeon of this chapter. I think I won't need another rest, assuming I get fully restored after the trip to it.

The Demondand Conspiracy fight will probably be the last tough one.

 

Tips for dealing with the Ancient Crystals in the Nexus: Have your party wait outside the newly discovered area, lay down a selective Web and let the team member with the highest Fortitude save run into the cave and loot the thing. Run out while passing every saving throw to not get stunned, then let your right-wing death squad archers turn them into pincushions. Their Reflex save is crap and will likely not pass the DC of the Web, effectively making them harmless and easy targets.

I recommend taking Arueshalae and Wenduag (if you turned her into an axe turret) or Lann for easy pickings.

 

Tips for dealing with Ygefeles (Woljif's quest): He and his 4 clones are all non-corporeal. Bring Finnean or magic weapons to deal full or at least half damage. Buff your animal companions with Greater Magic Fang to at least enable them to deal damage to the non-corporeal enemies. I had Daeran cast these on my pets. He's not on the main team, but the spell lasts an hour per level, so I took him for a short trip to the Bad Luck Tavern for a spell or 3 then sent him back to the Nexus.

Offensively, Enervation, Wracking Ray, and other touch attack spells work best. All spell damage to HP is halved because of the non-corporeal aspect. He has no True Seeing, so Greater Invisibility allows you to target his Touch AC instead of normal AC (40 vs 56 or so). To survive his +35 AB attacks easily, you'll want at least 55 AC and Protective Luck. My party tank ended up with 67 AC, and most pets with 50-57 AC.

 

Tips for dealing with the Demodands fights: These fights involve multiple waves of enemies, spawning in once a group is eliminated. They don't randomize the spawn locations so you can figure out the safest place to have your backline stand before initiating combat. The third fight involves a single Vavakia, followed by two Vavakias. They open up with a breath attack (50~70 unholy damage and 1d6 WIS damage) and are the biggest threat. Either prepare to tank the damage (and heal it), figure out a way to instantly disable them (trip, Icy Prison?), and most importantly: protect against the ability damage! If all three breath attacks hit, you're looking at 3d6 WIS damage. Getting that stat lowered to 0 means death. If you have spells that can restore ability damage en masse, here's the place to use them.

My solution was to out-DPS them. My Angel MC laid down Radiant Ground (1d6 healing per two caster levels -> 9d6 HP restored per round to every creature in a 20-foot radius) and layered it with a communal protection (from Harm, I think) to prevent ability damage/drain.

 

A warning about the fight against Chivarro in Lower City (if you declined her deal about the succubi and ousted her from the Ten Thousand Delights): place your backline a ways back and hide them (sneak). When the fight starts, two Babau Eliminators spawn in right f*ing next to the squishiest characters! I moved them around a few times with each retry and noticed the spawn locations changed with them.

So hide your backline.

Chivarro herself has a mean high AC and is no pushover.

 

Tips for dealing with the horde in Wenduag's quest: This seems obvious enough, but the fact that the entire team is placed in the middle of this kill-box is dumb. Run your asses back through the two doors you came through to funnel them into a tiny room. Lay down either Grease (Selective) or Acid Pit (or similar) and lure them into it. Their Reflex isn't too crap so a few are definitely going to pass it. The rest will have to eat attacks. There's a second wave inbound on that same tiny room, so keep your backline on the stairs.

Deal with any stragglers afterwards. Some of the ranged enemies don't engage in combat from the start, so these will still be around. Don't forget to disable the traps on the small staircases leading to the higher section of the larger room.

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Shikotei-kun

[Shikotei-kun]

This will be the second-to-last update. I've gotten as far as mid-chapter 5, with basically one massive location left (Ineluctable Prison), two locations with mandatory SGD fights. The rest is "optional" regarding Sadistic Game Design. Current rest counter: 11

 

Notes for the remainder of Chapter 4, and a sizeable portion of Chapter 5:

 

Spoiler

Lower City
- Battlebliss (Atselm fight)
- Battlebliss (Gelderfang fights)
- (Nexus, pick up Sosiel)
- Battlebliss (Sosiel quest)
- (Nexus, back to normal party)
- Portal to Harem Of Ardent Dreams

 

Middle City
- Harem Of Ardent Dreams (Shamira quest)
- Pathetic Quasit (above Latverk’s house)
- Demodand Enslaver (north-east of Harem Of Ardent Dreams)
- Fleshmarkets: kill Krebus
- Fleshmarkets: kill Raggy
- Fleshmarkets: kill Wirlong
- Fleshmarkets: kill Sarzaksys
- Portal to Nexus

 

Nexus
- To Midnight Fane (open secret of secrets passage
- Enraged Vescavor swarms
- To Nexus
- Portal to Terrace Of Favored Mistresses
- House Of Silken Shadows
- Guards outside (146k exp, tough fight, 2x 57AC Balor guards) 8k exp away from L18
- Portal to Bad Luck Tavern

 

Lower City
Rest 9 (free ambush at Tavern)
- Portal to Echo Of Deskari’s Lair (Angel quest)
- Kill Echo of Deskari (shoot him to start the fight, and stay in the doorway)
- (Various rooftops, Dimension Door’ing everywhere)
- Portal to Nexus

 

Rest 10 (2d 9h) - Arushalae, Greybor, Wenduag quest triggers
- Arushalae dream quest
- Wenduag “lurking” quest (Upper City, Savamelekh’s place)
- Greybor quest (Upper City, 3rd Demodand fight place), then (Middle City, Assassin’s Guild)
- Nenio to Battlebliss (gift demongraft) - free rest effect

 

Rest 11 (Morevet, at Ten Thousand Delights, gain perm buff)
- Wenduag returns, convo

 

Nocticula’s ship to Colyphyr Mines
- Pass all checks in book events
- Quiet landing, fully equipped

 

Upper level
- South to Fulsome Queen (kill Vrolikai/Nabasu patrol, no escapees) + Omox group
- North-east from Fulsome: Mythic Gibrileth Contaminator/Greater Kalavakus Marauder group
- North: Carnivorous crystals + Earth Elemental
- North-west from Crystals: Kestoglyr and Bodak Sailors
- North from Crystals: mobility check + Elder Earth Elementals
- South, then east from Crystals: Elevator group (Glabrezu, Balor, no escapees)
- North from elevator: Melazmera
- Back to Fulsome Queen, use newly created passage down

 

Lower level
- South-east: Schir + free slaves
- East: Carnivorous Crystals
- North parallel passage: Balor/Incubus Butcher
- North-west: Marilith/minotaurs
- East parallel passage: Minotaurs (Magical Barrier, locked)
- West: Balor Ravager/Vavakia/Dispeller group (near elevator going up)
- Door north of elevator: Minotaur/Salamander group (near statue)
- West door: clean
- Twin doors room: Xuneki (spare, loot, kill)
- North of Magical Barrier: Mutasafen (key to barrier)
- Passage past Magical Barrier: Hepzahmirah & co.
- Mobility check down: Abyssal Salamander
- Dimension Door north-east: Scorcher Of Souls
- Elevator to Upper Level
- Report to Fulsome Queen (kill her)
- Portal to Nexus

 

Nexus
- Wipe out enemies
- Portal to Midnight Fane
- Portal to Drezen

 

Drezen
- Wipe out enemies
- Start up crusade army
- Arushalae quest (Dream finale)
- Hilor quest

 

Skip days
- Random encounter (west of Drezen) Chief Sull -> Escort, talk, set out again
- Random encounter (west of Drezen) Ember quest
- Hellknights Outpost (Regill quest finale)
- Dragon Burial Grounds
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip day
- Teleport to Vilareth’s Ford
- Chilly Creek
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip day
- Teleport to Lands Of Yath Watch
- Heart Of Mystery, portal to Core Of The Riddle
- Baphomet’s Shrine (Ember quest finale)
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip day
- Teleport to Camp On The Ferry
- Pulura’s Fall
- Desolate Thicket
- Place Of Execution (Balor Marauder)
- Ineluctable Prison (main doors were already open, left after dealing with the first group)
- Mutasafen’s Laboratory (Angel quest)
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip day
- Teleport to Camp On The Ferry
- Spinner Of Nightmare’s Den
- Iz (warn Hulrun, save Queen, (swarm spawns) meet Hulrun, Terendelev, cleanup west-to-north-to-east-to-south, Deskari)
- Teleport to Drezen
- Dry Crossroads (Greybor quest finale)

 

Skip day
- Teleport to Lands Of Yath Watch
- Legacy Of The Ancients (solve puzzle)
- Old Sarkorian Mines
- Areelu’s Lab (glass key)
- Shrine Of The Three
- Old Sarkorian Mines
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip days (crusade mode: all regions captured, cleaning up last 3 far-away stragglers)

- Teleport to Death Bridge

- Ineluctable Prison*

 

* (arrived at the front gates, plan to get through with maybe 1 rest halfway)

 

As you can see, I rested a few times in rapid succession, not because of the amount of spells used, but because of the progression of companion quests. I tried skipping time in the Nexus, but that didn't progress them. I haven't rested since going to the Colyphyr Mines. My MC killed Hepzamirah, Baphomet, Horzalah, and Deskari without restoring spells. I'm running low on high-level buffs and wouldn't be surprised to need a rest in the Ineluctable Prison before completing it.

 

As for actually killing the Echo of Deskari: normally you'd enter the lair, fight some goons and -as you pass through the doorway- trigger a cutscene where he basically flees after calling the Devastator. If, however, you shoot him from afar (outside the door), he'll aggro and move closer. Close enough that you can fight him in the doorway. You won't trigger the cutscene, and he won't flee. Enjoy your 276k exp bonus. After slaying him, the cutscene will trigger as normal, the corpse will teleport away, and you get to fight the Devastator. I managed to kill the Echo, and the Devastator got 1-round-murdered.

 

Notes for the Pathetic Quasit encounter:

Don't bother interrupting its casting, the concentration check bonus is +140.

Each line is the action the Quasit took that round (RTWP mode, but he doesn't Quicken Cast anything).

Combat actions of the Quasit + main tank AC buff list:

Spoiler

 

First wave: grown nabasu 3x (55AC)
- displacement
- Waves of exhaustion (save unknown, my buffs gave me immunities)
- Wail of the banshee (Fortitude reduces to 3d6, DC 33 or get 200 unholy damage)
- Haste
- ? Killed

 

Second wave: 5 succubus guard (59 AC)
- Icy prison, mass (Reflex negate, DC 23 or freeze)
- Prismatic Spray (Fortitude negate, DC 23 or shenanigans)
- Chain Lightning (Reflex half, DC 30 or get 20d6 electric damage)
- Fireball (maximized) (Reflex half, DC 27 or take 60 fire damage)
- Cone of Cold (maximized) (Reflex half, DC 29 or take 90 cold damage)
- Burning Arc (maximized) (Reflex half, DC 26 or take 60 fire damage, halved each next target)
- ? Killed

 

Third wave: turns into dragon (63 AC)
- transformation (dragon III)
- Breath weapon (Reflex half DC 26 or take 12d8 electric damage
- Melee attacks (7 attacks, AB: +41 +41 +41 +41 +41 +36 +36)
- Melee attacks (same as before)
- Dies

 

AC modifiers/buffs used on main tank:

-2 size

1 insight = belt of venerated champion

1 luck = engraved lucky bracers

10 other = AC bonus charisma (21 base, 2 half elf, 2 kindred raised, 4 headband, 2 vellexia’s)

10 DEX = multi-class shenanigans that double-stack CHA as AC instead of DEX

5 deflection = shield of faith

9 armor = mage armor (archmage armor)

4 shield = shield (spell)

5 nat armor enhance = vellexia’s magnifying amulet

1 dodge = haste

1 dodge = dodge (feat)

2 dodge = robe of virtue (monk only)

4 dodge = fighting defensively (improved unarmed + crane style feats)

3 mythic bonus = angelic halo (angel mythic path)

8 nat armor = dragonkind III (spell)

Total: 72 AC

 

You can lower the quasit’s effective AC by 8 if your character is buffed by Freedom of Movement spell (ignore +8 Seamantle). The Boots that give the same buff do not count!

 

 

Tip for the undead dragon in Iz: Baleful Polymorph works. It has a Fortitude save of +24. Let someone cast Baleful Polymorph while outside combat; at the same time have someone else cast a touch-AC ray (like Scorching Ray) to deal 17+ damage. In the polymorphed state, the dragon has just 17 hit points, but can still use its breath attack. If both hit, it'll get insta-killed so you won't need to buff to the nines to fight "fair and square".

[Armistice_One]

I cannot figure out why SDG didn't pop for me.

 

I played on Core.

I killed all enemies listed in the trophy guide at the first possible chapter (which i checked and triple checked constantly)

I completed my mythic transformation.

I beat K's army (and completed the quest)

I got all crusade stats to max (and completed the quest)

I rested about 22-25 times (depending on whether mandatory rests count).

 

Yet, no SDG trophy. Any ideas for how to even check if there's some flag not triggering properly or something I should attempt?

[Shikotei-kun]

On 8/25/2023 at 1:06 AM, Armistice_One said:

Any ideas for how to even check if there's some flag not triggering properly or something I should attempt?

It's a bit of a stretch, but did you execute the last Decree from the Diplomacy staff meeting? The one that takes about a month to complete.

 

Check out the posts above, where I noted the kills on the hitlist; are any of them later than when you fought them? Also, which ones did you not fight (there's plenty of non-SGD bosses)?

The easiest one to miss is the spirit in the Ruins of Ashberry Hamlet. As you can only discover this location between the attack on your camp and the liberation of Drezen.

Playful Darkness is a tough nut to crack, and is available to fight during the chapter 3 finale, the entire chapter 4, and even chapter 5. You gotta kill 'im during the chapter 3 finale.

 

There's no real way to check for the flags in your savefile; that's a thing only possible on PC (and for PC savefiles IIRC).

 

 

---

 

 

I might as well post the last few notes I made on my SGD playthrough. It's not a lot (hence I neglected to post them earlier), but for completion's sake:

 

Spoiler

Skip days (crusade, all fortresses captured)
- Teleport to Death Bridge
- Ineluctable Prison (full completion) (Father of the Worms, Ashen Lady)
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip day
- Teleport to Lands Of Yath Watch
- Laughing Caves (Marilith, Vavakia, Balor)
- Valley Of Temples (Wenduag quest finale)
- Bone Hills (Vrolikai assassin)
- Final Veil (solve puzzle)
- Bladesmith Workshop (Finnean quest)
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip days (crusade)
- Teleport to Lands Of Yath Watch
- Forgotten Secrets (solve puzzle)
- Gravestone Rock (Seelah quest)
- Teleport to Drezen

 

Skip days (crusade complete, all stats max)
Rest 12
- Teleport to Last Barrier
- Threshold

The actual trophy popped for me after maxing out all the stats, right when completing the last diplomacy decree triggered the last staff meeting.

 

Also, I kept notes about the locations and their Perception DC to actually spot them. Most aren't hard to miss, especially with a few characters specializing in Perception. You should easily get a +30 near end-game. I've noted locations that are just for resources (alchemical and foodstuff) with an "r". You can retry these once per character level, but only the character with the highest bonus to Perception makes the roll, so save often when exploring the world map!

Quote

- Nightingale Grove: 15
- Ravaged Campsite: 32 r
- Moondance Meadow: 15
- Primitive Altar: 32 r
- Carcass of an Unknown Creature: 32 r
- Hollow Tree: 33 r
- Underground Hideout: 15
- Shrine of Sacrilege: 30
- Burned Down Shack: 36 r
- Marked Rock: 33 r
- Shallow Grave 33 r
- Ruins of Ashberry Hamlet: 30
- Ashen Grotto: 30
- Molten Scar: 27
- Remains of a Disgusting Feast: 36 r
- Crimson Dust: 30
- Pitfall: 35 r
- Broken Cart: 35 r
- Makeshift Lab: 36 r
- Ravaged Longhouse: 30
- Petrified Traveler: 36 r
- Bones in a Pool of Mud: 36 r
- Knapsack on a Tree: 36 r
- Place Of Execution: 40
- Laughing Caves: 40
- Bear’s Maw Shrine: 30

 

[Armistice_One]

Okay, got it on the second time.

 

The only difference in what I did was in the Ivory Sanctum I killed ALL the eternal guardians before doing the final one. First time through I only killed the final one.

 

It popped when my last stat completed.

 

I checked on my previous save and all my stats were level 8 and I had my cathedral from Logistics. 

 

I would suggest updating the trophy guide to include slaying all 4 eternal guardians just in case.

[Shikotei-kun]

On 9/13/2023 at 4:59 PM, Armistice_One said:

I would suggest updating the trophy guide to include slaying all 4 eternal guardians just in case.

Guide's been updated. Thank you for bringing this to light!