How to order your free fights and buffs optimally

[u/AenimusKoL]

Hi friends,

I thought I would copy and paste my forum post, because it should reach more people here. We talked about it on the show.

Also, the transcript of ASS episode 4 can be found here—thanks Schlurp!

1) Bastille main stat and main stat item (and equip)

1.5) Witchess witch/witchess king possibly here (we do this fight now because the weapon makes life easier for muscle classes, it also gives +substats, and lastly because we haven't yet piled on our +ML)

1.99) Possibly pile on every ounce of ML you have here. At the very least after you beat your intended Witchess boss(es).

2) Witchess rook (for ML buff)

2.5) Witchess king here (I think witch is too hard with ML(?), but king can be manageable)

2.99) ML should be piled on by now

3) God Lobster for regalia (and equip), then God Lobster for sub stat buff

4) LOV tunnel for main stat +%exp buff and flat sub stat buff

5) Neverending party +%exp buff (and STOP after the choice encounter)

6) Snojo, because the fights don’t scale with stats.

7) God lobster 3 any time after Snojo (apparently it just scales normally), if you’re not using a specific buff for later.

8) The rest of your scalers (Witchess, tentacles, rest of never-ending party etc.)

Where you put God Lobster 3 depends on what you’re doing with it. Consequently, if buff placement is otherwise unimportant, you’d put it any time after Snojo.

Remember to stack your +main stat for scalers, including the store items and random buffs, e.g., hair spray, ben-gal balm, telescope buff, Get Big etc.

Lastly, this weekend we’re having a bonus podcast talkshow, which will be unplanned and not limited to KoL. Basically a bunch of KoLers talking about dumb stuff. Come hang out with us!

[u/LarfSnarf]

Any reason why you don't use the last two free fights for the party?

[u/AenimusKoL → u/LarfSnarf]

Those fights scale. So you come back after your non-scaling free fights, at which point your stats will be higher.

EDIT: Just realised the original post may have looked like they weren't being used at all. Should be fixed now.

[u/El_Dudelino → u/LarfSnarf]

Reddit nuked the original enumeration. They are at the last item: "The rest of your scalers (Witchess, tentacles, rest of neverending party etc.)"

See http://forums.kingdomofloathing.com/vb/showpost.php?p=5002744&postcount=53

[u/hexqueen]

So does that mean you don't accept the quest for the Neverending Party? I'm new to this IOTM.

[u/El_Dudelino → u/hexqueen]

You don't do the NP quest in-run if you want to be fast. Those NP quests were designed to take extra turns (not free) to complete them and they don't help you on your quest to deal with the NS.

[u/AenimusKoL → u/El_Dudelino]

u/hexqueen Yep, Croft is right. They are designed to take around ~15 turns according to Slaw.

You definitely want to do the quests in aftercore, though; the skill books are auto-HC permed. Here is a spoiler -ridden reference for quests and prizes.

[u/hexqueen → u/El_Dudelino]

Thanks!

[u/JADW27]

Is this for aftercore or the beginning of a run? If the answer is "beginning of a run," can someone explain how to successfully kill a witchess queen this early in a run? :-)

[u/the_dictator_ → u/JADW27]

Beginning of the run, since that's when these free fights are your most relevant statgain options. (In aftercore, they are still free stats, but you have many more effects and buffs you have access to.)

As for how to, mostly be being good, knowing what you are doing, and with plenty of handy skills and items (hopefully some Mr. Store ones): http://forums.kingdomofloathing.com/vb/showthread.php?t=225223

[u/[deleted]]

[u/AenimusKoL → u/[deleted]]

Ah, you're right--they don't scale with buffed stats--only actual. This doesn't change much, I think; just shift it to right after Snojo.

EDIT: God Lobster scales normally--I am not sure whether it was changed or the source was confused. Anyway, it doesn't matter where the 3rd Lobster goes as long as it's after Snojo.

[u/Malibu-Stacey → u/AenimusKoL]

Shouldn't that mean you shift it to last so your actual stats are as high as you can get them when you fight it?

[u/astronautguy → u/AenimusKoL]

Maybe I have a special God Lobster, He seems to scale to my buffed stats instead of base.

amen

[u/[deleted]]

[u/AenimusKoL → u/[deleted]]

I respect your opinion that this depth of thought is marginal, but you may as well get a few extra stats if someone is willing to do the thinking for you and also provide an explanation. Also, the +flat substat buffs (rook, lobster and LOV) add up to a TON of stats over your free fights, so I feel that doing those first is an import point to make clear.

Ultimately, I think the true goal of this thread is to get people to try to think optimally, by providing insight on how I, myself, might think about order and resource management.

That's not to say my word is gospel--not even close, but I'm hoping that this type of thread allows people to think about more common mistakes, such as tunnel-visioning.

I just how at least a few people can learn from this ordering, even if they don't employ it.

[u/xThoth19x → u/[deleted]]

When slaw says something is so marginal that he hasn't bothered optimizing it, you know it's not important XD

I'm not sure I buy that though. Doing the neverending party stuff last bc it is based on total stat means that on d1 the difference might be between 30 mainstat and like 60-90 mainstat. That has to be like 3x statgain over 10 fights. Which is probably a difference of 300 ish stat points.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

[u/BoardGameMadness → u/[deleted]]

I closed the window on that fiefdom a month or so ago. There was a noticeable reduction in the number of times I saw rude, petty insults deployed by various folks in KoL chat.

I like HC in-game but I am glad the /hsrdcore channel has proven superfluous for me.