Whirlwind

[Cristiona]

There's a lot of chatter about a certain speed badge and how difficult it may or may not be. I've just started on a no-item run, but when I'm done, I'm gonna go for the time limit (already have the badge), but without using any monthly items (including sidekicks), Wok talismans, or IotM derivatives (no TNT, no Tanzanian Cola, etc). Also, I won't be abusing Squid Discs for this, I'll just use whatever discs I find mid-run.

Since it'll be about a week before I start, I figured I'd see what y'all thought would be best for doing this. Since all skills will break my brain with options, I'll go class-only for adding points. I'm thinking I'll go Elemental so I can funnel points into Proper Hydration.

Right now, I'm thinking it'll be: Elemental, all items, both caffeine and sugar, class skills only, starting with sidekick. Yeah, not worth much, but that's not the point.

Oh, also, while I won't be using donation items, I won't hesitate to use Nocturne items, semi-rares, or ultra-rares. I figure that anyone can (eventually) earn Nocturne items, and they can farm/borrow ultra-rares. Semi's are mostly affordable with a few day's farming.

[acidcat]

In my opinion if you're gunning for speed, I'd say the sidekick at the start is unnecessary as clockwork spider surely is sidekick of choice at lower level. XP is my limiting step generally for my runs.

Good luck Cris!

[Cristiona]

Hm. I didn't even think about that. I usually use Gingerbread men, but they'd be no good. Spider's a good call.

[Cristiona]

I think I'm ready to go on this. I should have enough flash powders for this. Not as many blue pills as I'd like, but I'm farming those up now. Depending on how long it takes for these trade offers to clear out, I'll have time to farm even more.

Edit: The current plan is:

Class: Naturalist (for taming XP)
Items: All
Skills: All
Consumption: All
Sidekick: Needs to be recruited

This way, I'll be able to max out key skills (stealth, mental magnetism, sinus), as well as scam free XP from consumables (caffeinated cloth, white pill, sour gumball) as well. The sidekick is less important, and just there for... um... because I won't need her; I can use spiders. I'll also use blue pills, furry pills, bubble gum, and some elixirs of experience. Since I'll be cranking up FT as much as possible, I'll also make use of some survival buffs (leached liquid, yellow pill, gingko). Also, while I won't be whoring myself out for SQUID discs, I will use any I come across during the run (only seems fair).

I'll keep a loose log here during the run which will either chronicle my spectacular failure, or be a helpful pseudo-guide for others who want to get the badge without donation gear. It won't be cheap, per se, but certainly affordable, and everything except the caffeinated cloth can be farmed in preparation, and I'm planning on using them simply because they're slightly better than the farmable alternative: smart juice.

[Corrupt Shadow]

I should give you my password for a couple of days and let you get it for me.

[Cristiona]

And here we go. Spending more time juggling equipment than I expected. Anyway, key things: Special Wooden Cup for talisman, 50 blue pills consumed, 2 posi computers running Internet and Garcia's, and 30 bonus skill points used, added to Stealth, Keen Observation, and Basic Martial Arts.

Biggest pain right now is going over all my equipment each time I level. Keen Observation, Furryious, and Jazz are making that happen quite a bit.

Most of the quests were pretty standard; I found Rand on turn 1, which was handy. Cannonball took longer than I wanted, but I only rescued Melody; skipping the knuckles. Of course, it was about 4:30 am before I remembered John Steele and used Maul of the Cave Bear on his sorry ass. The sewer was a bit of a pain, and I used a few powders because the Bender just wouldn't show up. Riot wasn't a big deal, boosting combat chance helped there.

Casino quest was difficult if for no other reason than I didn't know where to spend my time. I got the card on the first combat, and didn't return until I was done decrypting (which wasn't until mid-way through level 6). I eventually settled on the Streets. Capos were a problem, but only because they wouldn't show up. Used maybe a dozen powders before they started showing up; key was on the second. Harry was left until level 7 because I forgot about him.

The bay wasn't too bad, just took forever for the proper events to trigger. By the time I was on Troutmaster, I was already level 7 (actually paused the bay to do Zion). I took the Bass-o-matic, and Maul'd him to death.

Level 7 went pretty quickly, largely because I had some horns on hand, so it was just a matter of drawing up the noncombats.

Healing/PP restore has been spread between consumables (smart bandages, red pills, sky water, etc) and me being lazy and just going to the Hospital or Enlightenment Center. Those stupid chubby bunnies always taunt me because they're awesome and I can't use them.

Anyway... "Can't Fight, Gotta Work"

Current status:

Level: 8 (5,163 to next level)
Strength: 83
Intellect: 46 (26)
Reflexes: 47 (32)

HP: 21/101
PP: 39/64

Time Played This Run: 12h 56m 30s
Quest Status: Unlocked underwater base; no coupon
Just about to start Cochise.

SQUID usage: 2 discs I found downtown while adventuring. Got more XP from my food.
Caffeine: 6 caffeinated cloths
Sugar: 3 sour gumballs

Current gear:
Zion's helm
hammer time
pseudo-chitin armor
gnat gloves
xentrium boots
Rolled Doll dahl
shoehorn
Queen of the Apocalypse
special wooden cup
mini fusion octotron

Sidekick/companion: Clockwork spider

Current effects:
Stealth
Aura: Keen Observation
Entranced
Rocky Tough
A Case of the Jazz
Purple Cowardice
Little Yellow Indifferent
Seeking Solitude
Surfing for Lulz

Skills added to:
Proper Hydration: 5
Echolocation: 5
Trample of the Rhino: 10
Basic Martial Arts: 10
Stealth: 10
Premonition: 4
Aura: Keen Observation: 10
Aura: Mental Magnetism: 10

[Cristiona]

Oh, something that didn't get mentioned in the gloss there... the shirt and pants from the invisible store helped quite a bit for the combat adjustment. If you're going to give this a whirl, you'll want some good combat items on hand in case you get in over your head and don't want to bail from flash powder or the like.

Also, no villains this run, and I wish I had more Overclocking Chips and Ticket Punches.

[Harry Dresden]

Level 8 on day 1? You just did better than I ever do with all my IOTM gear and such. That alone should tell people it's possible for anyone with a little preparation.

[Cristiona]

Equipment's been tweaked a little because I decided to buy some overclocking chips; they're just too useful. And they're villain items, so I'm allowed

[Cristiona]

You got an item: trimensional cortex

And I thought this would be hard!

Time Played This Run: 23h 32m 15s
Days This Run: 2
Time: 4:05:45 AM
Bedtime: 6:49 AM
(~38 turns left)

Squid Discs Used: 3 Enlisted Men... from the level 8 quest

Now, I did use Mick food today, but had 38 turns left, so I probably didn't need to. Also, this was with no IotM-derived items, and no ultra-rares; I didn't even use a sock puppet.

Overclocked - 84.25 min
A Case of the Jazz - 87.76 min
Purple Cowardice - 147.76 min
Little Yellow Indifferent - 147.76 min
Entranced - 264.25 min

Clearly, I used more of those than I needed to. That was 50 blue pills, and I still had plenty of time left over. Also, this could have gone faster if I hadn't hidden away all my squid discs: I farmed up about 20 just farming pill bottles for the blue pills.

For those wondering, I used somewhere between 100 and 120 flash powders, a lot were used to speed up level 8 (which was a disaster) and for leveling during 9 and 10, but I'll get into that in a minute. Regardless, these can be farmed, and red-eyes can be bought.

Level 8: disaster. Didn't get the coupon, didn't get secpass, spent close to 20 turns in the underwater base looking for the three mini-bosses before I resorted to flash powder. Fusion Octotron showed up and ruined my day because I still had furryious running. I used webbed sand, a sparkle bomb, and Maul; survived with about 5 HP.

Level 9: barely noticed it. After unlocking my sidekick, I went back to finish off the level 8 quest, and then just used powder to do stage dives. Maxed +noncom and -time helped a lot. Killed the Bard sometime in there; never used sidekick as the spider was better.

Level 10: meh. Not much you can do on the first couple parts. Used my jumping and globs of goo until I unlocked the last zone. Then it was flash powder to find the three correct caves. Ran out of turns on my last turn in my last cave. But since I was level 10, I had 3 Thunder Bolts and 3 Sketchy Candies. Finished leveling in the Cube, and RNG was kind, giving me 8 Intermissions in a row.

Level 11: meh^2. Did the motorcycle trick and maxed +combat. Just a lot of clicking. The Mick wasn't too bad either; opened with a webbed sand, followed up with two Mauls. He really didn't stand a chance, to be honest:

Raskolnikov's fur hat
mighty quill
Midnight's Cloak
forcegloves
Captain Nocturnal's Serpent Skin Pants
spiky heels
off-handed hatchet
Bishop of Wreckage
power tie
special wooden cup
that's my car

Armadillo Armor
Upgrade Armor: Resistance
Stacked Deck
Overclocked
A Case of the Jazz
Purple Cowardice
Little Yellow Indifferent
Entranced

Now, I spent a lot of time farming flash powder and pill bottles, and had plenty of stuff knocking around, but I was also more restricted than anyone would be when it came to IotM items. ARF passes sell at mall minimum, so anyone could have Datapants to wear for +5XP and -5 seconds. Likewise, Tanzanian Colas are very cheap, and provide +5% XP for 60 minutes. Likewise, a Warlord's Hat shouldn't be too hard to obtain. As I mentioned above, I farmed up over 20 squid discs while getting the pill bottles, and could have managed more with an Attache Case. Also, other discs could easily be farmed in preparation; it clearly doesn't require thousands.

In conclusion, this badge is not solely the domain of the uber rich, or for people willing to spend months farming squid discs. Did I spend a lot of chips? When you count Mick Food, maybe. I probably spent more money on healing and PP regen than I did on anything else, and that was because I was lazy. I have more than enough restoratives for several runs, but the hospital and center are simply faster. For using healing items, dumplings, miso soup, red pills, and low pills are all fantastic. Honestly, with a week or two of prep work, there's no reason this can't be done, and it should only get easier when you start adding donation gear, especially key ones like datapants, Tanzanian cola, black hole stars, etc.

[Cristiona]

Almost forgot, skill points:

Proper Hydration: 5
Echolocation: 5
Trample of the Rhino: 10
Maul of the Cave Bear: 10
Basic Martial Arts: 10
Stealth: 10
Premonition: 6
Aura: Keen Observation: 10
Aura: Mental Magnetism: 10

[blackmatter615]

You got an item: trimensional cortex

That was 50 blue pills, and I still had plenty of time left over.
...
For those wondering, I used somewhere between 100 and 120 flash powders,
...
Now, I spent a lot of time farming flash powder and pill bottles, and had plenty of stuff knocking around, but I was also more restricted than anyone would be when it came to IotM items. ARF passes sell at mall minimum, so anyone could have Datapants to wear for +5XP and -5 seconds. Likewise, Tanzanian Colas are very cheap, and provide +5% XP for 60 minutes. Likewise, a Warlord's Hat shouldn't be too hard to obtain. As I mentioned above, I farmed up over 20 squid discs while getting the pill bottles, and could have managed more with an Attache Case. Also, other discs could easily be farmed in preparation; it clearly doesn't require thousands.

In conclusion, this badge is not solely the domain of the uber rich, or for people willing to spend months farming squid discs. Did I spend a lot of chips? When you count Mick Food, maybe. I probably spent more money on healing and PP regen than I did on anything else, and that was because I was lazy. I have more than enough restoratives for several runs, but the hospital and center are simply faster. For using healing items, dumplings, miso soup, red pills, and low pills are all fantastic. Honestly, with a week or two of prep work, there's no reason this can't be done, and it should only get easier when you start adding donation gear, especially key ones like datapants, Tanzanian cola, black hole stars, etc.

7-14 days to farm up 30-40 blue pills, 100-150 flash powders, necessary equipment, and any restoratives/chips for healing? I would guess around 14-28 days myself, especially without a +20% drop item.
Is this badge impossible or iotm only? No. I for one have never said that.
Is it the worst badge to get? No, the snowflake still has that title (and hopefully always will).
Am I surprised at 23.5 hours? Not with over 100-120 flash powders used. That is another 6.6-8+ hours, which is a lot closer to the 32 hour cap then 23.5 hrs appears to be, and depending on average turn length skipped, might be over it.

[Cristiona]

Yes, but my run was also far more restricted than anyone's is likely to be.

[acidcat]

For what it's worth, my most recent run was 32h 57m 15s with a gadgeteer. I think I could have done it under 32 h if I hadn't thought I'd missed out and stopped using clockwork spiders and swapped to normal documentarian.

That was using no squid discs, no flash powders (or any other fight ducking items - nearest was the occasional TNT or ticket punch if I was getting overmatched), and only stars as donation items (just when I level, I like getting the PP bonus for my buffs, and I don't count datapants as donation items).

My big things were to use blue pills and clockwork spiders almost continuously and use XP maxing items (and keen observation maxed asap). No standard resting - either use HP/pp items or us RNG swing.

I'm going to have another go in a few runs time with the naturalist as tame will help quite a lot.

I don't think this badge will need huge amounts of preparation to win.

[Lxndr]

In terms of chips, how many chips do you think you sunk and lost on this endeavour?

[Cristiona]

In terms of chips, how many chips do you think you sunk and lost on this endeavour?

Well, the single greatest outlay was probably the overclocking chips I bought, which could have been farmed, and the parts for the spiders -- which also could have been farmed. Taking into account those and the healing I paid for... I dunno. 200k? I should have kept track. 90% of the other consumables I used, I farmed myself. While farming pills, I also bought 10 bottles a day from Feathergod's store. 500 chips a bottle, 10 bottles a day; I did that... three times?

Edit: That price would be higher if you counted the Mick food, but again, that could easily be replaced with Tanzanian colas which are pretty cheap. Also, that stuff netted me roughly 750 XP, or 2 Intermissions and a combat in the Cube. Also, because of the effects I had running, I got a blue chip, so there's 25k back. The bonus skill points I used certainly helped, but those can be stored (4 for the Troutmaster, 3 from the rooftops). Also, if you already have precompletion pro, you can use IOUs for pre-prepared skill points, which are just as good.

Edit2: Oh! If you've got the -time in spades (ie: some good gear and overclocking), you could use a remainder cell phone for the bonus XP and still reduce away the time penalty. Bit of a pain, though. Also, there's the +XP effect from ARF, but that's probably not worth the burned turns to line it up.

[Corrupt Shadow]

Sidenote: Why isn't this in Gameplay & Discussion?

[xKiv]

bonus skill points ... (4 for the Troutmaster, 3 from the rooftops).

Why only 3 from the rooftops? Is there some drawback to getting the 4th there?

[Cristiona]

Sidenote: Why isn't this in Gameplay & Discussion?

Er... good point. I guess because it was a stunt? I dunno. I had a reason when I did it.

Why only 3 from the rooftops? Is there some drawback to getting the 4th there?

That non-combat pops 4 times? Oh, I thought it only showed up three times.

[Cristiona]

And moved.