Some mechanics questions

[Hazelberry]

After playing a bit I've got some questions that I haven't been able to find answers on, and I'm hoping perhaps someone has figured out the answers to these already!

1. Is there any way to level intelligence for the leader rat? Research, trading, and exploring don't seem to affect it whatsoever and my day 35 save is still at the base level for intelligence.
   
2. Can carrying capacity go above 5 with only strength leveling, or is 5 the cap without using backpacks etc?
   
3. Does rainwater always disappear over time, or is there a way to catch it in a reservoir? (I know the dew catcher is a better option but I'd still like to know the answer to this question)
   
4. Is there any way to change appearance and/or starting perk? I didn't realize there were even any character creation options until like my 4th save file...

[Urist McDood]

1) The only way to level intelligence right now is to have a school. It'll regularly trigger an event where the teacher will give you exp of your choice, including intelligence.
2) Carry capacity goes up as strength goes up. It's 7 at STR10 and 10 at STR13 before any bonuses like backpacks or the power belt for the leader.
3) Rainwater will disappear slowly if it's above ground. You'd have to funnel it underground or have a water tank nearby to scoop it up before it disappears but then it'd be stuck in box form.
4) Nope. Though for next time the one thing that cannot be obtained anywhere else as a starting perk is the Idol. Free happiness and migrant levels are powerful as the happiness cannot be found elsewhere and migrant levels only go up from prosperity levels.

[Hazelberry]

Originally posted by Urist McDood:

1) The only way to level intelligence right now is to have a school. It'll regularly trigger an event where the teacher will give you exp of your choice, including intelligence.
2) Carry capacity goes up as strength goes up. It's 7 at STR10 and 10 at STR13 before any bonuses like backpacks or the power belt for the leader.
3) Rainwater will disappear slowly if it's above ground. You'd have to funnel it underground or have a water tank nearby to scoop it up before it disappears but then it'd be stuck in box form.
4) Nope. Though for next time the one thing that cannot be obtained anywhere else as a starting perk is the Idol. Free happiness and migrant levels are powerful as the happiness cannot be found elsewhere and migrant levels only go up from prosperity levels.

1) I did know about that event but didn't realize it was tied to the school! Was hoping there was a passive way to level int but I suppose this'll do.
2) Ok thanks for confirming, my strength is at 7 and capacity felt like it'd been at 5 for ages so was worried it was stuck there.
3) Good to know it can be stored underground, any idea if having a ladder above water makes it count as being underground or do I need to channel it off to the side instead of having a straight drop down?
4) The happiness seems like it would be lackluster to me since it's only +1 happiness. Migrant levels I could see being good but haven't played enough with an idol start to see how important it becomes. I was thinking either the scholar or explorer would be best since +20% exp is equal to 4 int levels, and +10% movement speed is equal to 5 dex levels and +1 capacity is also quite nice. Technically you could grind out all of those but you'll always have those additional bonuses on top of whatever levels you grind out. Knowing that capacity *does* increase at higher strength levels though definitely makes that +1 capacity less alluring though.

Thank you very much for your reply!

[yakerisu]

1.Building a school , then the rat who work in the school will training your intelligence/Agility/Strength . you can choose one every day.

2.I got 9 at last save.

3.don't know how , sometime I found some pond are dry out even underground. can't understand how it work

[Urist McDood]

3) It's difficult to funnel water since there are no diagonals. It'd be easier to try to dodge rain than to capture rain water in this game, especially when the flow mechanics are closer to lava than actual water. There's a reason why dewebs are recommended for water generation as you get water every day and you can make a gigatower of them and funnel them into a pond underground.

4) While it is small, it's still a constant +1 that applies to everyone map wide instead of just you. Like you mentioned you can just grind out the stats but lets go through all the classes and see where they stand.

-Prestigious Scholar: The +20% exp is nice but you'll hit a point where you're not doing any of the grunt work and it's mostly used to level dexterity to move faster. The +3 research points are great early game but you will run out of things to research. I ended up capping out research by year 2. However you can argue this is also a decent pick because there are no alternatives to level intelligence and thus exp bonuses are at a premium.

-Natural Born Warrior: Great early game but loses it's lustre quickly. You can get health from the royal forge and additional attack power there too. The Plate Armor provides 80 health by itself as well as 3 armor (straight damage reduction). For early game equipment, Bone Armor grants +60HP and +10% movespeed. +1 attack power is very low impact. You'll notice that 1 attack power doesn't do jack on military rats unless the bonus is huge like the Temple of War at +6 and in turn a +1 won't do much for you. There is some use in boss fights but there are only 2 and both are puzzle fights. You should be utilising traps in defense anyways. A standing military is a trap in this game, especially when capped at 100 rats. You starting sword has a +1 attack bonus and the starting armor gives +20HP and +20% movespeed.

-Agile Explorer: Great early, loses it's lustre quickly. The +1 capacity and move speed are nice but you'll hit a point where you won't be doing much grunt work if any at all. It should be noted again that your starting equipment already gives you a +20% movespeed bonus.

-City's Idol: While the bonus is small it stays in play throughout the game. The +1 happiness may be enough to stop riots and to push you above certain thresholds to complete quests. There exists a quest to get 10 high class rats and have a mapwide happiness average of 70 (The ideal far far away quest). The migrants part stops being useful when you hit the 100 rat cap closer to the end of the game.

-Prodigal Noble: This is a meme pick. You should be handling your finances carefully in the early game so there shouldn't be a need for that 3k additional starting gold. Also you can't get loans until later in the game anyway.