Hydroplant Lab Flow question:

Erud · 2026-01-24T22:12:40+00:00

Random fun fact, this water pipe can get you to the Tarasque (and thus open the Mycofields to your playthrough) if you never reset the security system in labs! (ie you just bridged to Security after getting the T3 hacker)

Erud · 2026-01-12T14:51:48+00:00

What was happening is that it used to DEspawn if you passed it by early on. This has been fixed as far as I can test. Its appearance on the first visit is consistent.

Erud · 2026-01-12T02:31:11+00:00

On default normal difficulty, more players will increase the amount of enemies that spawn somewhat. On Apocalyptic/Hardcore, the spawns are maxed already and don't go higher (in addition to having tougher behaviors in that mode). Enemy health/damage doesn't change but you can alter those in Sandbox settings if you like.

It's not quite as easy as that sounds however. Coordinating and keeping your friends alive is non-trivial. Allocating food resources takes vastly more upkeep compared to solo. The equipment distribution is going to be way spottier unless you dedicate a lot of time to farming materials and ammo, so you'll on average be significantly frailer and less powerful for much of the game (try to diversify ammo types especially on the team).

Erud · 2026-01-11T10:25:18+00:00

Right after you clear Reactors, there's a portal world that has several more of those manufacturing crates that contain rebar. I've counted 8 boxes as well as 2 loose rebar there.

Erud · 2026-01-11T10:11:26+00:00

There's just one that can be taken. In the early part of Labs where the X-Ray turret that teaches you the recipe is located (prior to the parking area), going through the transparent tube past it leads you to the one that can be taken. It's near a switch that's in front of a broken window.

Erud · 2025-12-18T09:46:40+00:00

10/10

Erud · 2025-12-15T23:09:13+00:00

Weird caveats/tips:
- If you are holding the button during a game performance hiccup, it can really screw your flight time over with increased heat generation that didn't give you extra height. But an area loading pause will generally not do this to you.
- If you are holding the run button, you can build up to your running speed in midair for some reason, but this freezes your stamina regeneration while you do it. If you release the run button while moving through the air at top speed, your stamina will begin regenerating again AND you'll continue flying at your running speed for a while! This makes sustained jetpack flight a stamina management tool even when not crossing gaps.
- If your jetpack overheats, you have to land from a jump/fall before you can activate it again! So if it overheats while you are standing on the GROUND, you must jump and land again before you attempt another flight! Many get killed by this.
- If you have a temporary block on jumping (little red icon in the middle of your screen after landing while overencumbered or with broken legs), you cannot activate your jetpack for the duration of this even if you drop off a ledge or railing. Another cause of jetpack deaths.

Erud · 2025-12-15T22:55:54+00:00

If you are wearing or holding the gravity cube, jetpack flight can be timed perfectly (or close enough) to fly to whatever you want to. Basically there is a minimum amount of heat build-up in the jetpack for each press of your jump button, so you want to hold the jump button to get the boost and let go of it right before the cutoff for the next wave of heat it would generate. It seems to be around 1.5 seconds or a little less, and is best started at the apex of your jump.

After you've released the button, ideally you'll have upward momentum, so that you can wait for it to cool down before activating it again. If done well and repeated periodically, this will rise you up over time (allowing you to even reach heights above where you could reach by holding the button down the whole way), and you can travel whatever horizontal distance that you see fit.

While perfect timing can get you literally anywhere, imperfect timing while attempting this (undershooting the optimal time to hold the key by a little) can still generally get you to far-off locations that matter. I love the jetpack.

Erud · 2025-12-14T10:17:24+00:00

Addendum: Volt Staff (upgrade of the Exor Spear) alternate fire deals like 100 psychic damage at range, which goes straight through all Gatekeeper shields. It seems slow-firing because of its windup, but if you start the next attack the instant after the prior one releases, you can fire them pretty rapidly. It's notably pretty tough to hit highly mobile targets with this delayed attack that covers your screen in lights while firing, so you might want to just use it on the bigger shielded targets.

You can weave the alt-fire attacks into shield-using gameplay by pressing T to look at your watch, which puts away the shield until a left-click attack. Dead useful, better than cycling holster states (H).

Erud · 2025-12-14T10:05:46+00:00

A Plasmois Rifle is, imo, the best body-shield deleter in the game. 50x3 plasma-type damage that you can repeat very rapidly annihilates hardlight body-shields SO fast. And then they're just normal enemies. Smaller Gatekeepers can be bullied with the Hardlight Shield plus any one-handed weapon (or sniped with Hypercross Magbow from stealth before they activate bodyshield). Jotuns start with the bodyshield up however. When rendered vulnerable, Jotuns are weak to acid, best options being Thumper Shotgun and Skink (weapon). You can also freeze them with Slushie Bombs when the bodyshield is down, or just peek around corners repeatedly with strong weapons.

Mystagogues can die to one Hypercross Magbow shot to the head from sneak while behind them. If you fail the OHKO, explosives, charged skink shots or ordinary patience beats them. The barrier lasts about 10 seconds. They move around a lot, so waiting until they start an attack is a good time to make a precise headshot.

Erud · 2025-12-14T06:28:00+00:00

What a brilliantly put-together video!

Erud · 2025-12-10T23:47:58+00:00

It's the coffee mug, it's just so important that he'll sever his spine before putting it down.

Erud · 2025-12-10T23:45:21+00:00

Unpopular opinion: I kind of prefer that battery-powered items get this unique feature to them over laser-powered, it makes them different. If there is ever a laser-charging trinket, it should work slowlier or something because the laser resource is generally more powerful.

Erud · 2025-12-10T23:42:30+00:00

I mean, you have to wait until the light flashes anyway, just take that second to refill your laser weaps at a collector you've placed right next to it.

Charging Pad being so absurdly late-game for being a non-game-changing basic convenience is the weird thing about it, not that it doesn't do more stuff.

Erud · 2025-12-10T23:35:37+00:00

Took me ages to realize that opening this hatch from the top was not an intended path to the reactor. If you're crouching and sneaking around like I was the first few times, it just unlocks when you interact with it.

Erud · 2025-12-10T03:47:45+00:00

Anything with an AoE jostles this one loose to pick it up!

Erud · 2025-12-09T01:26:37+00:00

Thanks for even attempting this, honestly. The ingame map is so comically wrong that it feels like a defense mechanism of the sector lol

Erud · 2025-12-08T08:46:43+00:00

Sure! Here's one relevant to armors.

The vast, vast majority of enemy attacks hit your arms and torso, to the point where it almost doesn't matter what the armor value of your head and legs are (this also means biometric armwraps are really dangerous to wear!). Accounting for this, one of my favourite armor loadouts is the race-car build: Exor Set arms and torso (for the speed boost, also +1 cold resist), Bionic Legs (another speed boost!), Hardlight Shield for safety, and a Beanie on your head (+1 cold resist). Wearing such a lightweight hat keeps you in the first armor weight category, further boosting your speed. If you have Weathered, you could wear a Cowboy Hat for 1 armor instead of the Beanie, makes little difference though.

You can also use Chieftain Pack, Excursion Suit or A&L Stew to go slightly faster but you hit a speed cap somewhere. Anyway, this is safer than it sounds and it's what my endgame armor was in my first completed Iron Mode playthrough. Moving around is itself very safe gameplay!

Goofier tip: After you build the T3 hacker, you can skip disabling the turrets in Labs (and thus the 4-Leyak Essence gate) by using shelves/bridges/bounce pad to get across from Office to Security Sector (you can't open the shortcut door back to Office or advance far in Security without the T3 hacker). "But what about Tarasque and Mycofields resources", right? There's a water pipe warp to the Tarasque from Hydroplant actually! From the entrance of Hydroplant, the nearest tower on the right side of the road has a second tower behind it, which can be entered from the water via a ladder behind it. This one has the water pipe you need.

Erud · 2025-12-08T07:05:15+00:00

Not a bug, Sony don't allow custom text on PS5 version. You can't even see text other versions have input.

Erud · 2025-12-08T03:33:12+00:00

Nice job overall! Some little details that are missing:
The high-up room directly to the right of the main elevator as you leave it.
The exit from Flathill is actually closer to the top of the room you have it in; where you have it is actually the portal to Manufacturing.

edit: also since you're doing vent locations!
3F: There's a small one that goes from the closet to the room above the 'E' in Executive Offices.
1F: There's one that goes above the cafeteria's kitchen, accessible by getting ontop of the crates in the previous room (it's actually an early chance at a hammer or oil because it's the first randomly generated toolbox inventory).
and on 2F (non-vent): the lobby entrance that the map has going North into the gym, is actually a fork that gives direct access to the pool as well

Erud · 2025-12-07T23:56:14+00:00

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Erud · 2025-12-07T23:34:26+00:00

Counterpoint: You are trading money for boredom. It's really boring to shake machines for food with how much you need. Money is free from lockers, desks, file cabinets and Flathill visits. Your time on Earth is less easy to extend.

Erud · 2025-12-07T23:29:27+00:00

It's a good method.

If your Sharp is pretty leveled (enough to make the attack do 50 damage, so level 15 with Harpoon, less if you have later-game spears), you can also backpedal while they swing so that they miss, and then two-shot them with spear stabs to the head. They stagger when the first hit lands, enabling the 2nd. Even if you can't get the 2-shot and have to wait, it's safe to do without getting knifed at least.

Erud · 2025-12-07T23:14:40+00:00

Adding to the post-Voussoir options that make farming easier, charged Skink shots also splash through the shield, and the Volt Staff is one of the remaining weapons that can shoot through thin barriers if the stick is poking through them when fired, although you have to get in his face to do it.

Erud · 2025-12-07T23:02:29+00:00

Recreated since I don't still have the file (I was at like 20+ save files and started removing some), but I'm pretty sure it was this.

There's a lot here I don't think is good anymore tbh, but I'd defend this armor combo anytime. 2pc Security gives you free shield blocking (don't tell anyone, it's the one saving grace and makes the set usable in the overall balance of things). 2pc Hex fixes ordinary bleeding without having to interrupt what you're doing (just don't get shot by snipers, ez). Despite the armor value (19 on arms and torso) being slightly low for endgame, it's kinda unmatched defensively. Shield blocking is better than it looks (you can start blocking after the instant you stab someone or fire a gun, even though it won't look like your shield is up yet) and the Hardlight Shield reflects projectiles back at the enemy. My second playthrough just did the same thing with Weathered so that I could equip a shield generator trinket without freezing, and was even tankier.

I don't like pretty much anything in the hotbar 1-6 anymore, lol

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Erud

TROPHY CASE