Imperial Guards and You- How to become a (Sanctioned) Wuxia Road Pirate

[DMT Cryotherapy Sessions]

Figured out how to join the Guards properly and be able to turn in bounties, thought I'd make an easy step-by-step post so anyone interested can go for it.

Step 1-Lose your pp via getting repeatedly Groin Kicked or (according to some posts I've seen?) removing it yourself with a sword.

Step 2- KEEP THE REMOVED PP. DO NOT SELL IT IMMEDIATELY! It's worth 9999 gold but you might need this. In game it is labelled as 'baby' in lowercase.

Step 3-Acquire 50,000 gold. Doesn't matter how as long as you do not have Sin.
If you're not that stacked yet, considering keeping 'baby' to easily hit 10k.

Step 4- Reach 'Noteworthy' with the faction by doing miniquests, assisting them in battles (wait till their target is below 500 Vigor for an easy win and no risk, they sometimes fight 5k and up targets, including Sect Leaders/Elders) and teaching the guards Inner Kung Fu.
Remember not to teach skills, last thing you want is your next 'bad guy' or 'bandit' playthrough having guards roaming around with even more busted combos.

Step 5- Find the Commander of the Guards, Ying Tianhang in the main building. He's normally sitting on the throne at the end of the main room (labelled as 'Savings') and if you ever forget his name; you'll see it if you hover over any item in the building.
Ying is often roaming the map doing his own tasks, or recovering after beating up some random NPC. Depending on your map layout, he could be anywhere so keep an eye out for his name. I found him chilling outside the Concealed Weapon sect base.

Step 6- Talk to the Commander about joining 'the big guard. Any other NPC will tell you to speak to him, or to the 'Zhenfu Envoy'. Still no clue what/where the envoy is.

Step 7- Commander will ask you 'are you sure', answer yes, and he'll give you the legendary [Ecstasy] concealed weapon. DO NOT USE THIS IF YOU ARE NOT A GUARD YET. Guards will attack you on sight if they see you using this weapon. This obviously applies if you have stolen any guard weapon and do not plan on being a guard.

Step 7-Trade with the Commander to purchase 50 Imperial Silver (each one is worth 1k coins). He forgets to mention this to you and says 'yeah bro just go to the Blacklist', where it will then demand you fork over 50 Imperial Silver and be 'Noteworthy' with the faction.

Step 8- Go to the Blacklist at the entrance of the fort, where a new prompt called 'identity promotion' will be available. Click it, and you'll be ranked as a Guard. You receive the legendary sword [Embroidery].

Step 9 and on- Have fun! You can select targets at whim, they're automatically marked on the map with a white dot and it will follow/track their movement without lag.
Make sure to return them ALIVE so you can place them in the torture racks.

If you kill a target you instead receive less pay and an item called 'Bloodstained rags' that allows you to summon an NPC for a faction known as the 'Black Birds'.
If you accept, your title will change to 'Ghost Soldier'. You'll receive a pigeon post reward called 'The Emperor's Reward' with some really good pills and basic potions.
If summoned again, the NPC will ask you for 'Blood Money' to undergo something called Yin Difference. Unsure what this is, other forums have apparently found a hidden location and the blood money is used as another form of currency for gear.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1696440/discussions/0/7221028806364935389/


TIPS
-The guards are NOT a Sect? I didn't seem to need to leave a Sect to join them. Be warned however you are very likely to see Sect Members, friendly NPCs or even your mentor NPC (mine is Wanted 3) on the Blacklist. You don't need to take them, but there's a chance other guards might.

-Targets do NOT see you as a guard. Use this to your advantage and drug them, dose them, tire them out with terrain, poison them, etc. As long as they're alive when you return them, it's fine.

-Take a solid debuff skill that does good damage like Acupoint-Blocking hand to start off fights with. A lot of the early bounties are barely 500-1k vig (farmers, bandits, etc) and can easily be dropped by a skill you've improved to do x3 or x4 the damage of its relevant Attack. If they survive or have a lot of Vig, you're already at an advantage before clicking 'Battle'. Just make sure you don't accidentally one-shot them!

-You can freely loot the targets and will not receive any punishment for it. You will get the 'Wanted' icon but as soon as you pick them up, it disappears and will not reappear.
If you go for targets with good roles/social hierarchy, making 50k back is chump change.

-The dungeon is located to the left of the big ramp that leads up to the main building, and has gigantic traps that do not hurt you or any guards. You can walk straight through them, no need to time the jumps.
The lower floor has 5 torture racks and two execution spots. The end of floor one has what appears to be a dead end, but if you jump into it you'll notice it's a climbable surface.
Scale to the top (and turn the camera to help) and there's a whole other floor.

-Each bounty gives you Imperial Silver and prestige, which you can use to rank up, acquire new gear, or sell back to the Commander/guards for coin.

-Don't get lazy and dump the bounty outside the dungeon or in it. They might try to escape, or even worse, get picked up/captured again by another guard who will collect on it.

-There appears to be a (bug?) where even as a guard, the doors of the main building stay locked to me at night. If I try to knock, it will say 'nobody is inside' despite the building being filled with awake people. I'm unsure if this is a bug or a feature to do with rank or maybe a key, but keep it in mind in case it happens to you.

-Get to 400 affinity with tougher guards, and 800 with Ying as soon as possible. They have some VERY strong skills and Inner Kung Fu usually, and it's worth picking them up if you don't already have them. Additionally, roaming around with a squad of them is fantastic for the higher-tier bounties like Sect Instructors, Elders, Masters, etc.

[Gunter]

Originally posted by DMT Cryotherapy Sessions:

-There appears to be a (bug?) where even as a guard, the doors of the main building stay locked to me at night. If I try to knock, it will say 'nobody is inside' despite the building being filled with awake people. I'm unsure if this is a bug or a feature to do with rank or maybe a key, but keep it in mind in case it happens to you.

"KAMEN"

[Arc]

Just set the building on fire and run away. They'll put it out and if they don't see you its fine, but burning buildings usually almost instantly deletes the ceiling and npc's never fix it so you can jump into burnt buildings at any time.

[DMT Cryotherapy Sessions]

Originally posted by Gunter:

Originally posted by DMT Cryotherapy Sessions:

-There appears to be a (bug?) where even as a guard, the doors of the main building stay locked to me at night. If I try to knock, it will say 'nobody is inside' despite the building being filled with awake people. I'm unsure if this is a bug or a feature to do with rank or maybe a key, but keep it in mind in case it happens to you.

"KAMEN"

No idea why Kamen wasn't showing up for me to be honest. I logged out, came back from work and there it was. Hadn't appeared at all, and now it's beyond convenient. Who needs to level Geomancy when you can just boot open every door?

[Gunter]

Originally posted by DMT Cryotherapy Sessions:

Who needs to level Geomancy when you can just boot open every door?

Or use your snake, if you didn't lose your "baby"...

[midori]

Originally posted by DMT Cryotherapy Sessions:

Step 1-Lose your pp via getting repeatedly Groin Kicked or (according to some posts I've seen?) removing it yourself with a sword.

You can also lose it by right clicking on yourself and using that option about the hidden palace. I lost mine by accident that way.

[Lurial]

this should be in the guide section

[Veg]

Ima be real. Not just being able to look up everything and having to actually try and sleuth things out in this game has probably been my favorite part of it.

[Ikasury]

i mean... if you're female you can just 'pay the boys price' and join them~ its like 3k and all my pcs have done for funsies... and its nice to lure people into attacking you or trying to rob you as one of the Guards, cause then you can just beat them up, steal their stuff, even decapitate them and NO ONE CARES!! cause they were a 'bad person' and you're a 'Good Guy Police Ma'am' :P

(then make commander and plant a flag in imperial castle and claim it as your own and oh look, no more guards! :D)

[Dvatrij]

Damn, so much text... ;-{

1) Not necessary. You can play as female char. You'll only need to pay 3000 coins (sexism lol)
2) yeah, you can plove it back at Clinic Manager with Leechcraft Sage (lv 6)
3) what for? :) I mean, it's easy money anyway but not mandatory.
4) ok
5) Commander and some Zenfu are sitting at the throne room of their big shiny palace. And its not always Ying Tianhang :)
6) Zhenfu is some kind of officer :)
7) you've got double step 7 here lol, but okay. No need to buy official silver.
Grade 5 bounty gives you 300 silver (which is 300k coins actually)
Grade 4 Just be faster then guards. Or assist the target, knock them out and then fight the target yourself. :)))) When you're even a little guard, you have no growing sins anymore. :)
8) its easier to gear up by simple hunting the auction for someone belongings worth more then 10k. :) It might be the stuff of one of fallen guards ;) with discount! xD
9) + here. I havent know that I can just kill the bounty and get an opportunity to be an assassin :) I was recruited by them when I was in dungeon myself, tortured :)
Gonna try your method now. ;)

About tips.
When you join guards, you automatically leave sect if any. You can still join it or create new after that although. (:

Actually you CAN and you SHOULD take your friends if they're wanted.
You receive payment and reputation, and only you can instantly free them after imprisoning. Nobody will be unhappy about it. And their sins will be clean. Although you might want to clean their reputation via verbal duels later but what for.. xD

Some guards still dislike you when they see you're looting victims. So beware. but it..'s not causing any major problems.

[Dvatrij]

Originally posted by Ikasury:

i mean... if you're female you can just 'pay the boys price' and join them~ its like 3k and all my pcs have done for funsies... and its nice to lure people into attacking you or trying to rob you as one of the Guards, cause then you can just beat them up, steal their stuff, even decapitate them and NO ONE CARES!! cause they were a 'bad person' and you're a 'Good Guy Police Ma'am' :P

(then make commander and plant a flag in imperial castle and claim it as your own and oh look, no more guards! :D)

Well last one didn't work for me.
Guards are still there, even if palace is private and mine, and its territory is mine too now, but no such organisation at Prestige section. And I can't see wanted levels on npcs anymore :) but still can hunt them down and bring to the justice. (:

[Ikasury]

Originally posted by Dvatrij:

Originally posted by Ikasury:

i mean... if you're female you can just 'pay the boys price' and join them~ its like 3k and all my pcs have done for funsies... and its nice to lure people into attacking you or trying to rob you as one of the Guards, cause then you can just beat them up, steal their stuff, even decapitate them and NO ONE CARES!! cause they were a 'bad person' and you're a 'Good Guy Police Ma'am' :P

(then make commander and plant a flag in imperial castle and claim it as your own and oh look, no more guards! :D)

Well last one didn't work for me.
Guards are still there, even if palace is private and mine, and its territory is mine too now, but no such organisation at Prestige section. And I can't see wanted levels on npcs anymore :) but still can hunt them down and bring to the justice. (:

yea its weird like that... i didn't get them to finally stop spawning (as that was what i was trying to do) until i tore down the imperial palace (i rebuilt my own) but apparently that's what gets them to finally 'stop'? i think... as in that world only my PCs were the only Guards left *shrugs* but yea, once you plant a sect flag in the Dynasty spot and conquer it, taking it as another Sect, then the Dynasty 'disappears'... fun on one hand, but annoying if you're then trying to make Commander with them... cause you 'can't' cause they 'don't exist'... game is weird~

black list never goes away though, and you still have access to the dungeons for getting rid of those people that annoy you~ XD

[Dvatrij]

Originally posted by Ikasury:

Originally posted by Dvatrij:

Well last one didn't work for me.
Guards are still there, even if palace is private and mine, and its territory is mine too now, but no such organisation at Prestige section. And I can't see wanted levels on npcs anymore :) but still can hunt them down and bring to the justice. (:

yea its weird like that... i didn't get them to finally stop spawning (as that was what i was trying to do) until i tore down the imperial palace (i rebuilt my own) but apparently that's what gets them to finally 'stop'? i think... as in that world only my PCs were the only Guards left *shrugs* but yea, once you plant a sect flag in the Dynasty spot and conquer it, taking it as another Sect, then the Dynasty 'disappears'... fun on one hand, but annoying if you're then trying to make Commander with them... cause you 'can't' cause they 'don't exist'... game is weird~

black list never goes away though, and you still have access to the dungeons for getting rid of those people that annoy you~ XD

Well, there's one another fun but very long way to deal with them, I'm willing to try.
All the dungeon "parts" are undamageable by player directly. But by burning palace you can stack a lot of burning on them.
Also this will make guards hate each other, so dungeon become infinite burning proving grounds for them. I've managed to dmg dungeon parts for ~10-15%, so it's possible..
Maybe if dungeon will be destroyed, guards can't arrest anyone (:

Blacklist board is also burnable this method, I've destroyed at least one by burning palace. So nothing stops me to burn another one. Burn burn burn.... xD