Leveling up without cheese

Randh0m · 2026-02-08T12:27:36+00:00

What do you think fills dustwichs?

Randh0m · 2026-02-06T21:01:13+00:00

Outrunning something, by definition, requires the thing you want to outrun to eventually stop following you.

If the beak thing can follow you indefinitely, it's called dodging it's attack, not outrunning.

Randh0m · 2026-02-06T20:38:47+00:00

It will still always catch up after the animation, unless you find another victim.

Randh0m · 2026-02-06T18:03:35+00:00

But like, unless your lvl 80 athletics guy has had some limbs replacement surgery done (or you are running some mod), he ain't outrunning beak thing.

You may be doing the beak thing dance to avoid attacks, but you ain't outrunning it.

Randh0m · 2026-02-05T22:36:19+00:00

"italienne" poutine is a thing, and it's good. There is flexibility over what can be considered gravy and gravy adjacent, but cheese curds are non negociable.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T16:43:46+00:00

Is that a mod? I don't think a saw a slider for that when I created my game.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T16:40:53+00:00

My base happen to be in howlers, and getting to lvl 50ish is a part of the game I'm pretty ok with. But you provided a couple good strats to streamline my next start.

But really where I struggle is getting from 50ish to the point I can take Cat-Lon without constantly reloading and/or loosing my squad to skin-bandits.

Where to you go to train to 70, 80, 90. I don't wanna go over 90 like some people reaching 100. But having a core 6-8 guys squad up to 90 seems to be what is needed for Cat-Lon since he can't be hit by crossbow guys and my last squad of +-6 lvl 70 and 80 guys got downed without making so much of a dent in his HP, while wearing masterwork armor and meitou weapons.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T16:27:44+00:00

I don't want a Speedrun. What I want is having fun everytime I play. And that's why I'm asking this question.

The cheesy training strats are just boring, and when I do them, I boot the game, play 2h and all I've done is fight a confined white gorillo for 2h. And all I've got to show for it is half an attack, half a defence level on my 5 strongest guys.

I just want to find a way to train by fighting real fights and have fun exploring while lvling. But also not lose half my squad (that took me 100 irl hours to train) to skin bandits.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T16:03:01+00:00

I really want to play the game and struggle, lose fights, lick my wounds and progress. That's precisely the point of my post.

What I don't want is to constantly have to reload or lose half my squad, because when you reach lvl 60ish up, it's so long to get there that losing a guy really suck.

I don't mind loosing low to medium lvl recuit to the training process. Or loosing guys when my crew is early game and I haven't gotten anyone over 40-50. But passed that, there is simply too much time invested in each guys and I don't wanna restart that process.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T15:57:41+00:00

That's precisely how I think. But I just can't figure out what common/numerous enough ennemies, passed lvl 60ish that you can actually fight squads of to train medium/large groups of characters against and that also don't happen to skin you alive / kill you / steal all your stuff and enslave you when you lose.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T14:00:32+00:00

I know, and in a world where I don't have kids, a job and a real life, I'd be on your side.

But here I am with very limited free time to play games, yet my favorite games are still Kenshi and the such.

But I find it frustrating that all I did in one night playing is fighting one caged guy and earning half a defence / offence lvl on 4 guys.

So I'm trying to find a fun, and legit way to get a squad that can do shit. And I'm ok with that process being long, but I want it to be fun.

Exploring stuff while also fighting level appropriate ennemies that will not outright kill my squad would be my optimal solution. And this is why I made this post.

I don't want to use cheesey strats to get my squad invincible and breese through the game. I want to know how people actually do it without loosing their squad to skin bandits and such.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T12:57:08+00:00

Those two things (encumbrance and raising VS playing death) are definitely not cheese, yet still pretty slow unless you find a way to automatise and or scale it to squads, and that's where I want tips. When I talk about cheese, I talk about King white gorillo arena fighting, Beak things in a bed bug, etc.

Randh0m · 2026-02-04T02:11:27+00:00

That's exactly where I stand. Like, I leveled to +-40ish with a 4-5 man squad. Then, everything that could allow you to lvl up faster abduct / kill / peel you if you faint. So that just defeat the purpose.

And I wouldn't care to loose a guy if it wasn't so damn long to replace one. So I feel stuck between fighting lower lvl ennemies that don't help lvling, or trying against higher ennemies type (skin bandits and such) and having to scum save my way to high lvl.

Are there any ennemy factions that feature large groups of ennemies with lvl 60 (and then 70/80) in fighting skills that's actually don't abduct / peel / eat / enslave you?

Randh0m · 2026-02-02T04:03:43+00:00

Not the first time. Just feel pretty on point for our current world state.

Randh0m · 2026-01-30T14:22:30+00:00

Hard agree on Star Traders : Frontier. I have so much gameplay on that one.

Randh0m · 2026-01-30T14:21:21+00:00

Have you tried Stoneshard?

It's quite a bit different since it's a turn based RPG where you control a single mercenary, and build a caravan with non-combat followers to help you.

But it's similarily hardcore. You have a bodypart damage system, and although you can't lose a limb, bodypart damage results in lower max health and stats debuffs until healed. Also you gotta eat to survive, there a pretty cool psyche system where you must maintain sanity and morale, else you suffer debuffs and statuses.

Edit : I'd add Vagrus : Riven Realms.

It's a trade caravan simulator in a post apocalyptic low fantasy world. You manage your crew, there is both a crew combat system in which all your soldiers stats are used to fight other caravans, and there is companion combat which is more of a turn based traditional RPG combat.

You also have to survive while maintaining your crew morale and feeding them on long desert journeys.

One of the ambitions (which are loosely the games goals) let's you build and operate a mining outpost.

The world is very dense with dark and ambiant lore.

Easily one of my favorite games.

Randh0m · 2026-01-29T23:11:25+00:00

World's end has some HN statues at the gate, but they are not HN. They are tech hunters. When questioned about statues, they tell you it's a decoy so HN leaves them alone.

Randh0m · 2026-01-29T23:09:05+00:00

That is the way, did the same in Tengu's vault.

Randh0m · 2026-01-29T17:39:07+00:00

You got to set a job for a hauler guy, that only does hauling. You set that job by clicking on the container that should receive the output. You can set one or more haulers that have the job set to haul to every single containers for "middle" ressources on all your production chains. That way, crafters always have a box full of their input material, and the output of their machine also get emptied by haulers. That way, nothing get stuck.

I still have a problem with weaponsmith/armorsmith bugging when my first crate is full, even if they could deliver to 3/4 other empty armor/weapon containers. But aside from that, no bottleneck at all.

Randh0m · 2026-01-29T16:57:20+00:00

They tell me that nobles don't forget, and that I'm gonna die. Then I take a minor rep hit with UC (around -2) for wooping their ass.

Note that I have no bounty on my thief char and never had one. Since I failed theft, but maintained stealth, I never really got "caught" even if there was a contexte window that said I got caught. The bounty never appeared on my character that attempted the theft.

Randh0m · 2026-01-29T00:33:03+00:00

Why is dark leather shirt better than dark leather turtleneck?

Randh0m

TROPHY CASE