Gods of the Cataclysm (Challenge Thread)

[Azrad]

I reckon having a few NPC slaves smashing the corpses would do it quite quickly. Well, quickly-ish. Faster than going solo, at least.

Are road rollers still capable to destroying corpses? Sometimes it does, but not sure.

[Rot]

Maybe try using explosives or fire? A few incindiary grenades should at the very least weaken them

[Azrad]

Nah. Honestly my survivor has no trouble of pulping hundreds of corpses alone. Got an awl pike which is surprisingly quick with smashing corpses, and she’s wearing a survivor wetsuit and fireboots so smashing acid-type zombies is no trouble at all.

That said, a necromancer hiding somewhere often causes a headache. One reason why I try to lure hordes out into open fields. Easier to gun down necromancers that way.

Six necromancers reviving each other is super annoying.

[deoxy]

[quote=“Azrad, post:583, topic:7456”]Nah. Honestly my survivor has no trouble of pulping hundreds of corpses alone. Got an awl pike which is surprisingly quick with smashing corpses, and she’s wearing a survivor wetsuit and fireboots so smashing acid-type zombies is no trouble at all.

That said, a necromancer hiding somewhere often causes a headache. One reason why I try to lure hordes out into open fields. Easier to gun down necromancers that way.

Six necromancers reviving each other is super annoying.[/quote]

SO annoying, yes - but there are ways to deal with them. For one thing, they can only revive so much in rapid succession - they have some kind of hp pool, or something (they can’t revive hulks, for instance), and it grows back slowly, so kill the little, easy to kill stuff repeatedly, and they’ll run dry. THEN you kill the nasty stuff.

Also, they can’t revive stuff when there’s something in that space, so use advanced inventory to pull the corpses of the really bad stuff (say, feral predators) into your own space for “safe keeping” until you have a moment to smash them.

Oh, and I DEFINITELY second the survivor wetsuit for acid protection. That plus two pairs of nomex socks and a plain old pair of rubber boots, and the danger of acid zombies drops considerably.

[Azrad]

Didn’t know that. In general, if there’s less than four necromancers I try to snipe them out on open fields. Saves the trouble of suddenly finding out corpses are reviving, and not being sure if they’re new zombies or revived ones because there’s a necromancer hiding on a building.

If there’s a lot of necromancers, I just go all out attrition on them. Killing more zombies faster than they can revive them all, eventually working my way up to the necromancers. Uses up a ton of bullets, though.

After that, pulping corpses is a matter of using the view screen. Filter to search for corpses, but not pulped ones. Then begin smashing. Bit annoying at night, since it can lure out more.

Still, luring out hordes to open fields is nice. Most of the time I only have to worry about one direction, and usually the necromancers tend to hang back and far from most of my kills, so less reviving happens.

Back when I had a survivor use a hypervelocty driver, things were much more simple, since most zombies explode into gore when they get hit by them steel rails. If they didn’t, a shot or two on their corpse usually did the job - preferably done if there’s another zombie next to the corpse so I won’t waste ammo.

Everything except hulks got turned into useless chunks. Didn’t leave a lot of loot to salvage, but there was no problem about smashing corpses, at least. Streets were often lined with zombie bits everywhere.

[Nijuni]

From what I’ve seen, all the Gods and Goddesses so far seemed to be either mutants, cyborgs or mutant cyborgs. So I’ve decided to try achieving Godhood with my 100% human character (no mutations aside from starting Traits, no cybernetics). No Granade buffs, either. If possible, I’d like to call dibs on the title of “God of Humanity”. XD

Btw, I’m playing the 0.C stable version of the game. Is that okay?

–01) Reinforce a Corpse

Imo, this is way too easy. I guess the challenge is in figuring out how to do it?

–02) Kill a Chicken Walker in Melee

Tbh, I’m not sure if this one should count. It looked like the CW ran out of ammo shooting zombies before I got to it, as it only fought me in melee (and I saw a trail of bullet casings behind him). Seeing how I’m playing a Dex-oriented melee-focused character with basically no armor, CW’s dying explosion really did a number on him. Fighting him in reinforced Heavy Power Armor would’ve been much easier, but not nearly as exciting. XD

–03) Kill a Fungal Spire with no Environmental Protection

I think this one is way too easy (imo, it should be “Kill a Fungal Spire with no Environmental Protection in Melee”). 1st time 'round I chugged few Incendiary 40mm grenades with my Milkor MLG at the Fungal Walls, then finished the Spire with the 40mm Frag grenades. As I said, way too easy. So I reloaded the save and tried doing it in melee. I used my Nodachi to destroy the Fungal Walls, hit the Fungal Spire a few times, then backed out so I wouldn’t be hit by the regrowing Fungal Walls, then repeated the process. I killed the Spire with full HP, but I had some spores on me, so I went back to my car to get some Anti-Fungal meds. The only clothing I had on my character were his Eyeglasses, 'cause he’s Near-sighted.

–04) Kill a Shocker Brute Unarmed, with no Electric Resistance/Immunity

I used a Katana to put down the other nearby zombies, then put it away as I started a brawl with the Shocker Brute. I managed to keep him stun-locked the entire time. XD

–05) Carry over 1,000 volume

Unlike some people who severely overburdened themselves to pass this challenge, my (8-Strength) character could actually carry such volume without straining himself. XD The 2 Heavy Survivor Duffel Bags were made by a different survivor, tho. Does it still count?

---

Guess that’s it for the challenges atm. I’ll try passing few more just for fun (or in case some of these don’t count).

As for Milestones… I doubt I qualify for any atm. Bionic and Threshold milestones are a “no”, as I want my char to be 100% human. I doubt I can reach 20/40 in any Skill, as I play with Skill Rust on. While I do have a lot of fancy clothes, I think I’m missing a Monocle. I couldn’t find any Skill Books in Dojos and Mansions I visited. I have 2 mil cents atm, so I’m still way off on that one.

While I do have few Artifacts, I wouldn’t call any of them “powerful”. Vortex Stone just summons a Friendly Vortex. Dagger of Fungal Shade passively generates Smoke and its active summons Hostile Shades all around me. The Scaled Lamp doesn’t seem to have any passives, while its active creates an electrical discharge around the user, damaging everyone within few tiles (but not the user himself). I also have them stored in my car, not in my character’s inventory.

I’d describe my base as “simple, yet functional”, rather than “epic”. I’m using an Evac Shelter, with items sorted on the floor and benches (there’s too many of some to put in cupboards, crates and such). I have a farm on its east side, with everything but Hemp/Weed planted there (winners don’t do drugs XD ). I have a Kiln, Forge, an Anvil and other metalworking tools south-east. I have a Still, Fermenting Vat, 2 Wooden Kegs (full of Whiskey) and some barrels south-west. I also have a “Solar Kitchen” (immobile vehicle) on the south side, with 2 Mini-Fridges, Kitchen Unit, FOODCO Kitchen Buddy and an Onboard Chemistry Set. On the north side I have several Drums with Funnels, filled with rain water. I have a Solar Car with onboard Welder and Forge parked north, along with my other vehicles. I also have a collection of broken non-exploding robots on the west side. In short, I’d say the base has everything one might need, but it doesn’t really look like much.

If the Photo collection becomes a milestone, I’ll probably pass that one, as I have over 100 exceptional photos in my Camera atm. I have screenshots showing 103 exceptional photos in my Camera, including Shoggoth and the Thing.

I realized I forgot to take pictures of the Fungal Wall, Fungal Spire, Zombie Bio-Operator, Vortex, Shade and Dark Snake. I’ll try to rectify that soon.

[Azrad]

My second survivor that got godhood, the one that did the speed run, didn’t have mutations… though he did have bionics. Good job on doing the challenges without mutations or bionics.

[TooDAMNMuch]

for the drink bleach and live one, is six uses left when you die average, good or poor of an attempt?

i actually was pretty sure i was gonna have it, had to chug tons of water after every drink, was almost doable.

also, does it need to be all at once? like does waiting a few hours, or drinking other things to replenish your thirst still count so long as you finish it?

[Nijuni]

@Azrad:
Thanks. I saw the pictures from that one. Gotta say, that was rather impressive.

I recorded videos of my character beating the challenges. I was thinking of making a video montage after I pass some more challenges, achieve milestones and get accepted into the Pantheon.

I actually have a 2nd (Bionic) character in the same world, but I kinda retired him 'cause he became way too overpowered after I got him reinforced Heavy Power Armor, PA Helmet and PA Hauling Frame, and installed Power Armor Mk2 Interface, Joint Torsion Ratchet and Solar Panel CBMs. The game’s much more fun if there’s some challenge in it. >.>

[Azrad]

Yeah, it can be tricky to keep the game interesting once you’ve hit a certain point where things get a bit too easy. My current survivor is already pretty OP, but I’m keeping it fresh with that elaborate base plan of mine. Seriously, I’ll only enter that character here once I finish that base.

As for my second run, I was honestly somewhat disappointed in it, since as I recall how I did it I realize that I did a lot of needless things that made the game last longer than it should have. Like, had I made that survivor go hit the road and live like a nomad earlier, or if I didn’t made him read some skill books for skills that weren’t needed in a speed run… well, I reckon maybe I could have cut the time I took to reach the pantheon by half.

Aside from that, planning on getting an NPC to attain godhood as well, if that’s even possible. Problem will be a milestone. I think there’s still a current bug where NPCs won’t take serums (normal mutagen is fine), which prevents them from hitting a threshold… though I do know a workaround for it: debug a serum without a container and give it to them and they’ll use it, since they won’t use serums on a container due to a bug. If I can craft serum, then I reckon that’s legit enough.

Now, the tricky part will be a second milestone.

[TooDAMNMuch]

my self imposed melee only fighting style is a good one if you want a challenge too, basically if you fire a gun, you died, delete your character, if you can survive melee only runs with crazy cataclysm on, well that’s what i’d consider beating the game.

rocks/grenades and thrown weapons are allowed, of course, spears and the like, depends on how many times it’s reusable imo though.

[Nijuni]

@TooDAMNMuch:
I believe that’s what some of my friends call “the fun way to play Cataclsm”. XD

@Azrad:
If you give the NPC a set of fancy clothing, would that count as the Milestone?
If you find an artifact with the NPC following you, then give the artifact to him, would that count for the “Find a powerful artifact, always carry it with you” Milestone?

I finally encountered a Tank Drone. I managed to melee it to death, but I don’t think it would qualify as passing the “Kill a Tank Drone which sees you” challenge. At first, I used a Military Truck for cover, which the Tank Drone peppered with bursts from its M4A1. Then, I rushed from around the corner and took a picture of the Tank Drone with my Camera. I only got a Fine photo, so I stepped a bit closer and took another photo. After that, I managed to get get next to the Tank Drone and score a critical with my Nodachi. After that, I managed to keep the Drone stun-locked the entire time, until I destroyed it. I did take some damage from its Shock Shield, but, luckily, I didn’t get paralyzed. I was wondering why the TD didn’t use its Flamethrower on me, then I realized that my Camera temporarily blinded it - twice - which allowed me to get into melee range and attack it without getting burned to a crisp. XD

I made a backup of my game-world when I ran into the Tank Drone, so if this doesn’t count I can always get back to my base, come back with Power Armor and either a Teleporter (so I can instantly close in to the melee range, then try to keep TD stun-locked) or a Mini-Nuke Launcher. In fact, I think I’ll try doing that just to see how those’ll go. XD Another scenario - which I actually tried - was using an artifact to summon hostile Shadows to distract the TD (seeing how I kept the artifacts in my car at the time). It went surprisingly well - most of the Shadows melted away in the sunlight, but 3 of them that spawned inside the Military Truck distracted the TD long enough for me to get in melee range and stun-lock it to death. XD

I also managed to get more exceptional photos, now having 130 of them in my Camera and E-Ink Laptop.

Getting the last one left my character “unhinged”, tho. I used an artifact to summon hostile Shadows, so I can take a picture of them, but I got the “You feel unhinged.” message after I did so. I’m now hoping I can survive long enough to restore my sanity. >.>

[Azrad]

I reckon it counts. You took cover behind a truck, but the tank drone saw you and it’s broad daylight anyway.

[TooDAMNMuch]

i recently killed a tank drone in melee, of course i burnt to death as well.

[tarburst98]

hmmm… Nijuni, i am slightly confused by your shocker brute kill, shouldn’t the message log be spamming you about how you are getting shocked every time you hit it? i haven’t tried it yet but i thought that happened because the game was telling you that doing that is a bad idea.

[TheFlame52]

[quote=“TooDAMNMuch, post:588, topic:7456”]for the drink bleach and live one, is six uses left when you die average, good or poor of an attempt?

i actually was pretty sure i was gonna have it, had to chug tons of water after every drink, was almost doable.

also, does it need to be all at once? like does waiting a few hours, or drinking other things to replenish your thirst still count so long as you finish it?[/quote]
I’m going to say all at once. I’ll add it to the challenge.

[quote=“Nijuni, post:592, topic:7456”]If you give the NPC a set of fancy clothing, would that count as the Milestone?
If you find an artifact with the NPC following you, then give the artifact to him, would that count for the “Find a powerful artifact, always carry it with you” Milestone?[/quote]
No for both. However, taking 130 exceptional pictures is now a milestone.

[Nijuni]

hmmm… Nijuni, i am slightly confused by your shocker brute kill, shouldn’t the message log be spamming you about how you are getting shocked every time you hit it? i haven’t tried it yet but i thought that happened because the game was telling you that doing that is a bad idea.

I was surprised by how rarely it happened as well. I actually re-loaded the game after I first did it and removed my Winter Gloves, just in case. I still seemed to rarely receive any shock damage, while I kept the Shocker Brute stunned the entire time. In fact, I’m quite sure I got shocked far more often when I used (metal) swords against Shockers and Shocker Brutes. Maybe I should try fighting one completely naked, just to be sure.

taking 130 exceptional pictures is now a milestone.

Awesome.

[Azrad]

Getting shocked when hitting a shocker with a weapon that conducts electricity/bare hands won’t happen sometimes.

[Azrad]

Here’s another dumb idea for a challenge:

Breaking the speed limit: hit up to 120 mph… while riding a bicycle. No engines allowed, but bionics and stat-boosting stuff should count, otherwise it’ll be impossible for any survivor without granade usage. Got my survivor up to 100 mph (159 was the top unsafe speed) before hitting a tree. It’s pretty hard since acceleration goes down fast.

Used a folding bike, but feel free to modify any vehicle as long as it doesn’t use any sort of motor for acceleration.

[TheFlame52]

I have done that with MMR, but I have no idea how fast you can go with a normal survivor. Could someone try it?