Ninjutsu gives you silent strikes (only way to get it that I know of), and its special bonus damage works with all edged weapons (and to a lesser extent, all bashing weapons as well).
With 12 perception and the right weapon (that’s the problem), Niten Ichy Ryu kicks Ninjutsu to the curb and takes its lunch money. Seriously, I started having to switch weapons when I kill stuff that I want to butcher at about 4 melee. Also, at that point, I generally 2-shot hulks, sometimes 3. Pretty soon now I expect to have my first hulk 1-shot - I’ve broken 300 on a crit recently (7 melee now, I think?). The blocking bonuses are also really awesome.
Oh, that’s all with a katana, not even a diamond one, and 14 strength.
I haven’t tried it with lower perception, so I can’t speak to that, but with 12, it’s just not even close.
[quote=“Laughing Fool, post:9031, topic:42”][quote=“Pthalocy, post:9030, topic:42”]Is there any food in labs that isn’t people or tainted meat? The hardest thing about the lab challenge after turrets is depression. And turrets got a lot easier when my npc lab-buddy turned out to have a gun.[/quote]Potato chips and chocolate coffe beans in the rooms with beds and drawers.
Sandwiches, burgers, burritos, pickles in the room with sealed flooded room with fireaxe, on the bottom left table.[/quote]
I’ve gotten all kinds of food from the refrigerators in the leaking water rooms - got bacon one time, that was nice. Cans of beans, even.
Also, if you’re one the first basement floor, you can sometimes get giant ants or sewer creatures, if those sorts of things are nearby - that helps a LOT.
As to depression, wait until you are extremely hungry and tired enough to sleep, then cook up a bunch of meat, eat it until you are completely full, then sleep - by the time you wake up, the morale penalty is gone, and your focus should be on the way back up (say, mid-50s or so).
