Casual Speed (Casual Speed?) Softcore Guide

[LostDreams]

I've been writing up my run for a friend who wanted a general guide to softcore runs. Stupac has a nice guide (a very nice guide) and a lot of my stuff comes from him, but I think I'm going a little more in depth into each aspect. I think. Feel free to correct any part of this guide. I'll be finishing up the guide later.

    For this guide I will be assuming (yes yes, ass out of u and me) that you have shieldbutt, bander, he-boulder, llama. Maybe more later.

    Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo here's my general run. So far I've done ok myst runs but I think if I did a muscle run it'll be better since I pretty much do myst as muscle...usually. Except the MMJ is nice.

    Sooooooooooooo.

    Here's the initial setup.
    Pastamancer (dunno, I just like it better)
    Moon sign: Opossum (for extra adventures) dunno if there's a better sign.

    Day 1:
    Pulls:
    - Spooky mitre (JEW hats work even better than Spooky mitre. What is a +3 stat/fight compared to +30 max MP, MP regen, and -MP to skills? Can you say, "Ode to Booze"? Because casting Ode as a non-myst is a pain at level 5.)
    - Spooky sheet (although I don't use it day 1 I think)
    - Pilgrim shield
    - Mr. A
    - Navel Ring
    - V for Vivala
    - Haiku katana
    - Aquaviolet jub-jub bird
    - Zen motorcycle
    - Clockwork Maid
    - Dope Wheels
    - Milk of mag
    - 2 stinky hi mein
    - Jarlsberg key lime pie
    - 2 corpse on the beach
    - 2 yellow brick road
    - little box of fireworks

    Noooooow....

    First things first, Toot for letter blah blah blah, MCD to 11. Summon sugar sheets x3 to make x3 sugar shirts (stickers aren't as good even with x3 apple...mainly because you won't get x3 apple)

    Combat strategy should be summer siesta when you have the MP, spring when you don't have the MP. A good way of doing it is when you go to the spooky forest, use free runaways from monsters after you use spring for free MP.

    First adventure, Knob Outskirts. Equip bandersnatch  Adventure till level 2 (or encryption key, if so, then haunted pantry, but doubtful you can get it in time since generally by first or second adventure you're level 2). Use haiku spring for hp/mp, shieldbutt if needed.

    Woods, use navel free runaway to get larva, well, at least till 70% free runaway. (So, about five free runaways). Kill if needed afterwards. Skip all ncs that can be, for the one that can't be, choose spices first, then accordion next if it pops up again (for ode to booze really, and the aptitude song). Then whatever you want.

    After that, return back to knob outskirts if you haven't gotten the key. Pantry to unlock. Continue to billiards room. Try to unlock the library (pump NC i.e. smooth movements, sneaky sonata).

    When you hit level 3, do tavern quest. Pretty much just turn the faucet, don't bother with baron, it's not worth the prizes.


    If level 4, ignore! You should have been using gongs to create roc feathers, especially since you can hp/mp restore via haiku. A really easy way to make sure you'll get a roc feather is to wing beat repeatably per round to increase the counter (I usually use up all my MP to do so, then spring, then talon slash. Rinse and repeat until 15). Consume the roc feathers (usually only about one right now, keep making them). Keep unlocking the library and eventually the bedroom. If you finish before level 5...I don't remember xD. Bug me if you actually finish the bedroom unlock before level 5.I guess white pixel farming for later.

    Fortune cookie here. Might as well ensure the counter is set but eh. Whatever.

    Anyway, once you hit level 5 switch to he-boulder and yellow ray a harem girl (pump combat at this point, canta, musk of moose). Put on the harem outfit, perfume, kill the king (noodle+shieldbutt+bander will kill it). That reminds me, after 3 gongs, switch to bandersnatch for stats and easy combat. Easier combat. Then, let's go to bat hole. Leave harem outfit on since you need the hat for stench resist, and you probably don't have pants (haha, don't have pants). Put puppy on, (I usually pull little box of fireworks for this and equip it on the fairy fam) farm for sonars. Go to boss bat liar, creepy grin bodyguard bat, keep clicking the boss bait lair (it'll say that no monster encountered, leaving blah blah blah. Just keep clicking it, you'll get Boss Bat). Kill Boss Bat (noodle+shieldbutt+bander again. Just leave bander on after farming sonars. Stats!

    Keep unlocking the bedroom. Then level 6. Probably be level 6 anyway. Oh right, at level 5 pull a corpse drink (corpse on the beach for myst) (don't forget ode via mp restore from haiku). Level 6, pull two yellow brick roads and drink em with ode. Time to do woods again!

    So, friars. You can cast ode for some free runaways from bander, but eh, doesn't really make too much of a difference now, you're in the hands of the RNG now. Finish up all three (screw the herb collecting quests) side zones. Once you finish, I usually get liver.

    You should just barely hit level 7 midway through friars (should be a snap if it's on a myst day, but I usually save it for the second day of the run when there is more grinding involved). Pull milkmag (you won't be able to unlock goat today) 2 stink hi meins, and a Jarlsberg key lime pie. Use the milk, eat all three. Stop doing friars.

    Breaking news! Not really, but no need for liver. If we're going sub-ronin (which we should be doing) then liver really is a waste of turns. "But what about the stat gain with the extra drink?" One sec, let me get to that.

    Do guild now (I'm really not sure when I do guild. Usually pretty random though. I picked this since it's a safer spot, but if you're running out of adventures, let's say, 10 adventures left, stop doing the quest and do guild.) Do only up to Blaine, no point to the rest, unless you really need the MMJ for ode or something. Do untinkering quest. Untinker clockwork maid, maid body, combine meat engine with dope wheels, finish up guild quest, untinker meatcar, rebuild clockwork maid, place in campground.

   Time to bank turns! (Especially as a myst class) Basically, eat at level 7, do guild, and stop. Just stop. Pull a corpse drink, ode, nightcap, and you're done for today. We have to take advantage of the fact that tomorrow is a moon day. This will reduce grinding (which really sucks...) in the manor.
  
    Also, if your semi rare comes up, I suggest a cyclops eyedrops for the organic stand in the war, but most likely it'll land tomorrow

   Day 1 complete!

[LostDreams]

Day 2: (Incomplete)

    - 3 ores
    - milkmag (depends on luck)
    - Jarlsberg key lime pie
    - 2 stinky hi mein
    - 3 or 4 yellow brick roads (depends if you got liver or not)
    - corpse on the beach

     Ok, it's day 2 now. Pull 3 yellow brick roads (4 if you got liver, but liver really isn't worth it, but I guess I'll just have to check eventually. My faster runs are without liver), ode up and drink. Finish up Friars now. Ignore liver. Start doing the crypt (pump non-combat, skip the unnecessary non-combats, leave llama on for gongs, switch to bander once done). Once you hit level 8, mosey on over to the mine and yellow nuke a 7-foot dwarf with the he-boulder for the outfit (pump combat for that). Finish up the crypt (boss killing method is nice for bonerdagon).

     Pull 3 of the needed ores for trapper quest, open goat. Pull out hound dog/slimeling/fairy, olfact dairy goats (if you can), farm for 6 cheeses. If you got goat milk, excellent. A note on eating, once your fortune cookie expires (remember, cyclops eyedrops) adventure for a little bit (10 adventures if more than enough), summon a reagent, create a milk mag (or pull one if you don't have/didn't get a goat milk) and scarf down all the food (2 stinky hi, fortune, Jarls key pie). Next semi-rare will be chasm hands down. Remember that.

     Finish up the trapper quest (pull out your parrot for cold resist test, cast leash or if you have sympathy even better). Should be level 9. (Actually I'm not clear if I hit level 9 right now. But that point is rather moot. There's other stuff to do). No point in doing level 9 quest right now, waiting for chasm semi-rare.      

     Beach till you get dinghy plans, use the clover from the letter to lucky sewer, get worthless item, planks. Pull Swashbuckling outfit, buy the dictionary, big book of insults. Start getting insults (if you get the Captain's quest, ignore until finished with this). Six insults is a good number. Finish the Captain's quest (you will generally have lots of hot wings from the friar's quest, so pull a frilly skirt if you didn't get one from the screwdriver hunt, which is generally the case). Finish the F'cl'e (pull your fairy familiar) to unlock the Poop Deck.

     Haunted bedroom (get Spookyraven specs), unlock ballroom. Adventure in ballroom until you get the quartet non-combat and choose the +nc option.

     (I could use some help here, are the Spooky Forest ncs superlikelies?) Pump non-combat, unlock temple.

     If at any point (which should happen) your semi-rare counter expires, head over to the chasm, putty the ascii art 4 times (FOUR TIMES), then start adventuring in the chasm until you get the rampaging counting machine. Putty it and olfact it. Create the gate scroll, and 3 31337 scrolls (you should be encountering the machine three times. I think.)

     Level 10 should be here. If not, level at the respective manor areas (pull antique hand mirror/bathroom/+NC/bander for myst [a trick is when you come to the mirror nc, choose Guy made of bees, it'll help for level 12 quest], ballroom/fairy/+NC/olfact zombie waltzers/dance cards for moxie, galley/bander/+NC/map lourve for muscle). But I don't think you'll need to level at this point. Pull fairy familiar, farm an enchanted bean, go to the airship. Pump NC, (use bander or fairy, either works) finish up the S.O.C.K. Do the giant's castle (bander most likely. The stun from shieldbutt helps you live here), set wheel to map quest. Pull needed items for giant's map to unlock HitS.

     Should be running low on turns. Level 11 (power level if you haven't reached it)


(OBSOLETE will remove once I'm done with Day 2)     Ok, day 2 now. Pull 3 or 4 yellow brick roads and drink up. Yellow nuke a 7-foot dwarf. Or if you get 3 NCs in a row that happen to give the pieces of the outfit, all the power to you. I'd just suggest pumping combat anyway. Pull 3 of the required ores, open goat land. Sniff (if you can) dairy goats, pull out your fairy familiar (puppy is of course, optimal, but hey, fairies are fine), 6 goat cheese away! If you get glass of goat's milk (and have saucecrafting) perfect, buy a oven, summon a reagent, cook up a milkmag. If you didn't get one, just pull a milkmag. Now would be a good time to pull a boris key lime pie, two stinky hi meins, and buy a fortune cookie if your counter hasn't expired yet (it probably has by now) and eat up. Bring out your parrot to pass the elemental resistance test of quest 8. By the way, your new fortune cookie counter should be (really must be) used on the chasm for the bad ascii art. Your spooky putty sheet should be used on the bad ascii art four times, and the last use should be used on a rampaging adding machine. This way you can create the gate scroll and 3 31337 scrolls. If you took my advice and placed the myst stat day on the second day, feel free to use the stat scroll. Also, if you managed to clear the crypt yesterday, use the chest today. If you haven't managed to clear the crypt yet, do so. Just ignore the chasm until the semi-rare and then clear it.

Just a check up. You should be finished with the crypt quest and the trapper quest. You should have eaten up and gotten another fortune cookie counter. You should (man I sound like a broken record) be waiting for ascii art to show up so that you can clear the chasm easily. Well, easier.

We're high enough (er...high enough level) to finish the set up for spooky manor. Pump NC and go to the bedroom, unlock the ballroom.

---To be finished

[LostDreams]

-Reserved for 3rd day-

[LostDreams]

-Reserved for 4th day-

[Smashasaurus]

Just at a glance, I don't think you can encounter Ratsworth without seeing the faucet first.

[LostDreams]

Nope, you can't. I think I'll remove it. Really, a hat that gives +5 to all stats isn't that useful.

[WRP/C]

Thought I'd add some hard-earned experience I"ve gained doing a few back to back 4 days and miserably failing my first 3 day (which, due to poor planning and real life turned into a 5 day lol).  If you've found something that works better, let us all know!

---Good place to use spooky putty on day 1 (you have two spookies? awesome... i just switch between mitre and putty):

around lvl 4/5ish, use creepy grin on the bullets, and spooky the first Blooper you get in the digital realm... I putty him repeatedly (that's 18 on day 1 not including getting to him), pull a digital pie on day 2 and see how many more white pixels I need.  Usually it's only 1 or 2 more copies (have him saved from day 1).  Works well

---Also, if you're myst, you'd likely be aiming for stat day on day 2, in which case you'd pull offstat key pies on day 1 and mainstat pie on day 2 (i.e., jarlsberg).  

---And if you're going for liver (I don't anymore), if you hit lvl 7 without eating you are pretty much guaranteed to get it if you're pulling hi meins and pies.  I've even gotten it after eating pie at lvl 6, then pulling hi meins at 7.  If you are clever and can count, you can adventure elsewhere or navel/bander runaway and hit all the liver adventures (items happen every 10 adventures, pencil-neck happens regularly after you count when he first shows up).

---Oxydropping is really nice if you're aiming for a 4 day softcore (do NOT do it if attempting a 3 day, as I just learned to my detriment).  Oxydropping = choose oxygenarian for your path, go to account menu and drop after exactly the 10th adventure, eat 1 cookie and you'll set your counter for 102-119 for first semirare instead of 169-whatever).  If you want to know why you don't do it on a 3 day (and instead do everything to DELAY the first semirare), you'll have to discover it yourself or ask me in-game.

---Since you're pulling a V mask, you should likely be using V-crisis strategy for maximum stat gain.  V-crises is the strategy that involves boosting ML to the point where you can noodle, shieldbutt once or twice, and then finish off each monster with a Summer Siesta (instant crit haiku skill).  When you kill a monster with a critical attack while wearing the V-mask, you get +5 substats (message will say 'the moonlight glints off your mask as you finish off...' or somesuch).  +5 substats every combat is a LOT of substats!

[LostDreams]

Haha, thanks WR. Yeah, I was aware of the oxydrop idea, but I realize it's not good for 3 days since you want to delay it so that your first cookie lands on chasm rather than the second. Thanks for the info! I'm moving soon, so I probably won't update this guide for a couple of days, but I will be sure to change some stuff around.

[killsomeone]

Nice lost, my only complaint is that i would have to sell my time stuff to buy that speed run stuff

could you PLEASE do a speed run with less higher lvl stuff and document that for me
ill stop sending u torture packages if you do

[sarspastic]

Or you could do it, kill  

[killsomeone]

Or you could do it, kill  

my ascentions take a minimum of two weeks

[LostDreams]

For now....

http://alliancefromhell.com/viewtopic.php?t=2276

Don't have the time to do it myself.

[killsomeone]

Bookmarked

[Mandoline]

Lost Dreams and the rest of contributors, please have this helpful page as input as well:
http://www.acme.com/jef/kol/roadmap.html

I find it very easy to use
And, sorry for not posting it earlier, just got hold of softcore recently

[LostDreams]

Although that guide is very well laid out, it is rather slow. You really should be hitting level 7 on day 1 for the hi meins and banking the turns for the next day's moon. Pulling spleen generally only happens if you mess up llama lama gongs, should be drinking 1 corpse and 2 SHC drinks on day 1...etc etc. Also, a pilgrim shield+haiku katana is pretty much universal for all the classes. But bleh. I'm not here to rip apart the other guide...it looks very old anyway (Trav trousers don't really make the Mr. A item list). But anyway, I'll get back to writing up this guide....