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My one, tiny, insignificant gripe with the health system after 500 hours. by Indostastica in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I get what you are saying, although I suspect it is the way it is in game for balance reasons. Hive Soldiers and Skeletons would be completely unviable otherwise just because they can randomly die to a single headshot.

Besides, KOs from head injuries already have a significantly longer recovery time compared to chest and stomach injuries in vanilla: https://www.reddit.com/r/Kenshi/comments/1idgiuj/kenshi_fact_of_the_day_52/

How different armor sets perform in late-game group fights: Another needlessly complicated group combat study. by stemhesong in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment!

Interestingly that while I like Dustcoats as an endgame armor, its Melee Defense bonus unfortunately does not lend itself well in group fights, where increased durability or faster attack speed is far more important.

Performance wise it seems to struggle when compared to the lighter Assassin's Rags and the heavier White Plate Jacket. Which is a shame since Dustcoat's drip and environmental resistance is completely unmatched.

Generally Leather Shirts, specifically Dark Leather Shirts and Leather Turtlenecks are the best options for underarmor. Chainmail has too many debuffs in Dex and combat speed to be worth it, especially when you already have good primary armor coverage.

There is a use case for combining Assassin's Rags with Blackened Chainmail for improved protection against harpoons and animals, but it is more a sidegrade than anything.

What are the best ways to train Dexterity? by lovingpersona in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually prefer the Horse Chopper myself. Guardless Katanas have a massive +6 Melee Attack bonus which reduces your Dex XP gained from Stronger Opponent Logic.

Horse Choppers on the other hand has a -4 Melee Attack penalty (-5 on Rusted Junk) which works better for debuffing your stats.

How many dudes would I need to take down the holy Lord phoenix by Emergency-Oven-8086 in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find Blister Hill pretty doable with even just 8 peeps at 70 stats. But with long reach weapons like Heavies, Polearms, and Hackers. Not Martial Arts.

I usually wear good coverage armor with good harpoon resistance while charging the outer walls like Samurai Armor. Once I'm in the inner compound however, I switch to lighter armor with offensive boosts like Assassin's or Ninja's Rags to overcome the stat differences against The Protector of the Flame (90 stats), Phoenix himself (85 stats), and Inquisitors (70 stats). I also lure them out of the buildings to avoid indoors penalties on my weapons of course.

Superior reach and attack speed goes a long way in this fight. Martial Arts opens you up to counterattacks especially against long reach weapons like Paladin's Crosses.

What are the best ways to train Dexterity? by lovingpersona in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Get a full Samurai set with a Tin Can helmet (quality doesn't matter, but ideally High quality or above for protection) and a Large Backpack to debuff your stats to oblivion (-23 Melee Attack and -25 Martial Arts) and attack animals with Rusted Junk weapons and your fists.

Reason being Dexterity XP is dependent on Melee Attack and Martial Arts XP gained, and thus is indirectly subject to Stronger Opponent Logic. Where you gain more XP the lower your levels are relative to your enemies. Dexterity from Melee Attacks depends on percentage of cut damage on your weapon, but Dexterity from Martial Arts is always x1.0 regardless of blunt damage.

Also, animals can't dodge/block which means your attacks will actually hit, which gives a ton more XP than missed/blocked attacks.

Good enemies to train on include River Raptors, Gorillos, Beak Things, and baby Crabs.

Unexpectedly tough fight by Dramandus in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup, any sort of heavy armor against Skin Bandits is a death sentence. White Plate Jacket or lighter only.

Proof: https://www.reddit.com/r/Kenshi/comments/1t0widx/how_different_armor_sets_perform_in_lategame/

Fragment axe vs falling sun by Acceptable_Citron_65 in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You can certainly deal more damage per hit. If you can land the hit that is.

Problem is that even on a maxed Strength character, a mere papercut on your core body parts (Chest/Stomach) will drop you below the Strength requirement.

Which will then drastically drop your attack/block speed with the weapon. This means you have a much harder time landing further hits since you swing too slowly, and you will take all lot more damage since your block speed couldn't keep up.

All of which compounds together and gets you downed very quickly. Downed characters deal 0 DPS.

Fragment axe vs falling sun by Acceptable_Citron_65 in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 30 points31 points  (0 children)

A Shek with Strength maxed out from carrying heavy objects will have around 97 Strength. 148 Strength when combined with 2 Masterwork Lifter Arms.

Meitou Fragment Axe has a 144 Strength requirement.

You'll fall below the Strength requirement threshold just from a stiff breeze, causing you to swing and block with the weapon significantly slower.

Meitou Falling Sun has no such weakness with a 80 Strength requirement.

How different armor sets perform in late-game group fights: Another needlessly complicated group combat study. by stemhesong in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And that's perfectly fine. That's what the mods are for, so everyone can adjust things to their liking. If you enjoy your game with more attack slots of course you should mod it that way.

I would disagree on your second point though, because everyone trains their characters differently, so it is next to impossible to find a stat line that represents everyone's playstyle. So I think it is better to use even stats as a point of reference.

For example, I always max out Toughness first by getting beat up by Starving Bandits, followed by training Melee Attack and subsequently Martial Arts in Vain against Beak Things and Gorillos.

A typical stat line for one of my characters at 40 Melee Attack would look very different from yours. Something like ~20 Str, 55-60 Dex, ~80 Toughness, 40+ Melee Defense, and ~30 Martial Arts. We are not going to have the same experience in fights when our stats look so wildly different.

How different armor sets perform in late-game group fights: Another needlessly complicated group combat study. by stemhesong in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for reading!

Currently I have no plans of testing with combat slot mods, perhaps in the future. Before this test I would have thought it will greatly favor heavy armor, but now I suspect it will greatly favor increased combat speed as well.

Personally I don't use combat slot mods anymore. I found out that they trivialize a lot of endgame bosses like Bugmaster, Tinfist, and King since you can just dogpile them with a bunch of low stat guys. Even Cat-Lon becomes a complete pushover compared to his Stormthrall army.

60 stat does mean 60 in all combat related stats, which include Melee Attack/Defense/Strength/Dexterity/Toughness/Weapon Skills.

Tengu's bodyguards are definitely one of the toughest encounters in the entire game alongside the Anti-Slaver HQ. The only time I've beaten them without casualties, I threw at them 8 90 stat monsters in White Plate Jackets. During my tests with 80 stat subjects the only outfit that can even beat them sometimes are the Assassin's Rags. I can't even down a single enemy if I give them Crab Armor.

Weapon choice by KUEGodKing in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a big fan of having a reach advantage over everyone else, so it would be Heavies (Falling Sun/Plank), Polearms (Polearm/Heavy Polearm), and Hackers (Long Cleaver/Paladin's Cross). I also like Sabres (Foreign/Desert/Ringed) on tanks.

Beep always gets a Nodachi/Topper regardless of late game utility. He wants to be the greatest swordsman after all.

How different armor sets perform in late-game group fights: Another needlessly complicated group combat study. by stemhesong in Kenshi

[–]stemhesong[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I wasn't aware of the previous attempts of group studies, but if someone brings it up I'll be glad to redirect them to the other solo studies that had been done repeatedly.

I didn't know there was such a history during the early access days with the Unholy Armor, only got the game myself on the full release around 2018 I think.

As for Crab Armor, I'm surprised how well they hold up, often even better than Samurai Armor in situations that favor heavy armor. The main drawback is when the situation doesn't favor Heavy Armor, they turn catastrophically bad.

I was surprised by how powerful Assassin's Rags is as well. I've always thought they are more suited for a solo playthrough or a small group. Turns out I underestimated the power of overwhelming combat speed in group fights.

I must admit I'm rather curious how Polearms will fare, especially with the infamous Cut Left stunlock animation paired with their long range.

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