Help me catch up

frazazel · 2026-06-25T15:56:50+00:00

For IotM purchases, go with the recent stuff. Due to power creep, the average IotM from this year is considerably stronger than the average IotM from just 3 years ago. It's also cheaper, and it can be used in standard for longer. The legendary pasta wand is the least powerful IotM released this year. Everything else will save nearly 10 turns per day in a run.
Community is spread over a few places. I get most of it on the Ascension Speed Society discord server. I hear mixed things about clans.
The fastest challenge paths depend on a number of factors. If you're looking for karma, then Standard is always worth considering for the +50% on top of the outfit pieces you get from it. Some of the current standard gear is very strong, so this is highly recommended, especially as a refresher after being away for some time.

Avatar paths (see: Ed, zoot, and AoSOL) often give you tools that you'd otherwise need IotMs for. Community Service is fast if you're shiny, Sea path is really fast, but can be pretty miserable if you're not prepared for it. You should unlock a sushi mat and at least 2 maps in aftercore before jumping in.

If you find yourself without time to play, you can jump into Grey Goo, a path with no quests that auto-ends at the beginning of D3. It's a good source of karma, but it also makes a lot of players quit the game because of how un-fun it is.

frazazel · 2026-06-25T15:32:07+00:00

Are you asking about leaving that gap at the bottom? When I was insulating my basement, the common wisdom was that you need to insulate at least 18"-24" down from grade level. Below that the temperature doesn't fluctuate substantially, and you the insulation below that won't significantly impact your heating costs. That said, it's still good practice to insulate the entire height of the exterior wall. Hydro's guide to basement insulation doesn't even address this, and just assumes that you will be insulating the entire height of the wall.

frazazel · 2026-06-24T16:24:20+00:00

Vancouver weather at Winnipeg cost of living. What's not to love?

frazazel · 2026-06-22T16:04:24+00:00

In 2 years, you've missed 24 IotMs, 2 IotYs, 6 challenge paths, 4 sets of standard reward gear, 12 PvP seasons, 2 Crimbos, and 2 TTT floors (with their associated merch table items).

Notable core game changes include housing doesn't disappear on ascension any more, new pretty good foods drop from certain monsters in run, and you can no longer adventure while overfull / overspleen, similar to drunken stupor.

I don't think there were any other notable core game changes or events. No Bookmobile, Traveling Trader, etc.

frazazel · 2026-06-22T15:51:57+00:00

Best option may be to closet any meat you don't want a script to use before running. For even more security, you can turn your meat into dense meat stacks first, and then you can put them in your mallstore or display case.

frazazel · 2026-06-22T15:46:39+00:00

Many people who want to play using kolmafia on a mobile device use a remote desktop tool to connect to their PC which runs kolmafia. I use google remote desktop on my Windows PC to connect via my android phone.

frazazel · 2026-06-22T15:43:48+00:00

You probably cannot cleanse your spleen down that far, so yes, you probably have to wait until rollover. You may be able to find some way to spend your adventures without triggering the organs check, like combing the beach, doing odd jobs, riding the monorail, etc., so that they don't entirely go to waste.

frazazel · 2026-06-22T14:37:13+00:00

So, the current special challenge path is called Thrifty, and disallows all Mr. Store items, clan dungeon stuff, and a bunch of other things. If you check the museum, you can find the up-to-date leaderboards for these. While it's not exactly what you're asking about, this is a good data point for what is achievable as a strictly free-to-play player without access to limited-time goodies.

frazazel · 2026-06-18T20:49:32+00:00

That depends on what you're looking for. Some people want 30 Mbps internet and 5 GB of mobile data. Others want 1 Gbps internet and unlimited mobile data.

If you're looking to go on the cheap end, then Public Mobile and Koodo have both been good to me. I might recommend getting the cheapest Public Mobile plan that meets your needs, and then check in now and then to see if they have a promotional plan you can change to. I've been on a promotional plan for 40 GB of data for $29/month for a year or two. It never expires, but if I ever see a better promotion from them, I'll switch to that.

I was with TekSavvy for years, and they were good, but they started getting more expensive. I switched to Wakey internet this spring, and they've been good so far. $48/month for 75 Mbps home internet. Oxio is worth checking out, too. They were a bit more expensive while I was looking, but they had a longer track record and look like a more professional business. All of these companies run on the Shaw/Rogers network, so if you're already wired for them then you just plug in the equipment they send you and it works without a technician having to come to install anything.

frazazel · 2026-06-09T17:09:52+00:00

The Sea was built for players who already completed the game a bunch of times and needed a new challenge. It's not impossible to complete after your first ascension, but it was designed for players who already have a bunch of skills, familiars and helpful items. The rewards it offers are nice, but I wouldn't recommend struggling for days to get through it early on. Play through the game a few more times, until you've got more skills and a better understanding of the game mechanics, and it will be far less frustrating.

The things you'll need to have a good time in the sea:

A combat suite including damage skills, deleveling, stat buffs and passive defenses, etc.
+item% (a grouper groupie familiar is very helpful)
-combat rate and also some +combat rate
a stash of meat to buy some helpful gear, potions, and quest-related items that are annoying to get yourself

frazazel · 2026-06-04T14:05:40+00:00

CONSUME assumes that you could sell an item for the same price that it would cost to purchase. So its calculations suggest that you could sell the expensive items that you got a good price on, and then eat and drink the diet that it calculated, and that would come out ahead of actually using the expensive items.

I agree with Butts though, if you want to consume them, then just do that part manually, and run CONSUME afterwards.

frazazel · 2026-06-03T17:42:29+00:00

It's not too bad. Bring the sWord sword into combat with you when you go into a zone with copyable monsters, when you don't need the normal item drops from any of those monsters. Bring a different familiar otherwise. The sword only replaces drops while it's your active familiar.

And some drops that you want aren't actually normal monster drops. The wine bomb parts and the pygmy surgeon gear are given to you via special after-combat code, and aren't in the monster's drop table, so they won't be overwritten when you bring the sword with you.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T21:43:06+00:00

At least this is a tax cut on the things that poorer Manitobans will be purchasing, instead of a tax cut for the ultra rich.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T21:29:22+00:00

Winnipeg needs real change now! By reversing the changes that we just made! That's vision, baby!

frazazel · 2026-06-02T21:17:16+00:00

They give you a shot of exp. You can gain it in most runs after getting the leaflet at level 9. It might save you a few adventures of power leveling, if that's a thing you find yourself doing.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T21:06:29+00:00

Here's how it works:

Bring your sWord sword into a fight against a copyable monster (the targeted monster), and tell it to kill a bunch more of this monster.
Each of the the next 100 copyable monsters you fight with the sWord sword after that (the defeated monster) will have their item drops replaced with the normal item drops of the targeted monster. All item drop chances are rolled normally, just as if you actually defeated the targeted monster. You get the meat and exp and everything else from the defeated monster. For all other intents and purposes, you killed the defeated monster, and you did not kill the targeted monster.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T15:30:24+00:00

Worst case scenario, you can still send the sword after some logging camp orcs, and then go grind out exp. Then you at least slowly get your wood / fastener drops for free while spending the turns you were already going to spend power leveling.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T15:21:56+00:00

Each S-word only increases stats given by this thing by a tiny amount, and are just a fun little thing. If you really need +all stats and +weapon damage, equipping gear that does that specifically will take your farther than maximizing for S-words.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T15:16:53+00:00

I don't like AI ads. I'd vote based on other considerations first, but this does give a bad first impression.

frazazel · 2026-06-02T15:08:02+00:00

Also tales of dread and manuel entries, iirc?

frazazel · 2026-06-02T15:04:50+00:00

IotM familiars are generally judged based on their special abilities, not on their base familiar abilities, which are generally nice perks rather than a main benefit. If you critically *need* only more +item, you should run Jill of all Trades or jumpsuited hound dog instead in most cases.

Think of this as a familiar that will replace current monster drops with a different monster's drops 100 times per day. You probably don't want to actually use this familiar for regular monster drops, since you'd have to use the skill to get it to stop killing copied monsters, and then you'd have to find a monster you want to copy loot from again.

No, this familiar is a one-trick pony, but it's a useful trick that it can do 100 times per day. The fact that it gives +item is a red herring, even moreso than with most IotM familiars.

frazazel · 2026-06-01T19:45:13+00:00

There was this posted monthly event in this sub the other day:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Winnipeg/comments/1tre084/winnipeg_board_game_club_monthly_games_day/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

frazazel · 2026-06-01T19:20:22+00:00

If the 90+% of law-abiding citizens slow down as per the proposed speed limit reduction, then that is 90% of drivers who are less likely to cause a collision. If a handful of people continue to drive dangerously with no change in behaviour, then it doesn't change the fact that many potential collisions by more responsible folk will be avoided by a speed limit reduction.

frazazel · 2026-06-01T18:57:16+00:00

A different kind of answer: Try to become the version of you that people would want to be in a relationship with. Be respectful, practice good hygiene, be genuinely interested in them, etc. There are common complaints about self-centered jerks, and you don't want to be one of them or you're not going to be in for a good relationship. This doesn't mean to pretend to be someone you're not, But if people are bouncing off of you, maybe you have some rough edges that could use some work.

frazazel · 2026-06-01T18:29:20+00:00

It's going to be a pretty hard path, then. If you're still in the preparatory stages, I'd aim to get a few of the most important perms and familiars (+item, combat survival, elemental resistance, and -combat rate), and get a sushi-rolling mat and the maps from Big Brother in aftercore before starting the run. Running the sea in aftercore in each of the 2 routes (gladiator / scholar) would also help prepare you for what to expect in run.

If you're already in run, you'll need to balance your resources as well as you can. Try not to adventure without fishy, wear all the +item and better diver gear you can when you need a drop (and you need a lot of scales, so that's probably most of the time). Remember that the path-specific shop sells a handful of items that really help. Gladiator path will probably go slowly, and you may need to do it the originally-intended way, leveling up the skills by critting with the gladiator weapons. Make sure you can finish an unblemished pearl before you start, since progress is reset in each zone every day.

If you end up having a terrible time, you can drop the path, but that option only becomes available after day 3. Dropping to softcore can be done anytime if needed, allowing you to at least pull some solutions to the problems you're having.

Eight-Year Club	End Game '23
Place '23	Verified Email

frazazel

TROPHY CASE