Any trick to Osmium edition???

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Is it just me, or did they crank up the difficulty for Osmium edition by like 502% percent? I was easily reaching higher floors before, now it feels like every second enemy is just made to waste ALL of your resources (Like the alien that keeps throwing fear nades and healing itself endlessly on stations. Which makes sense, because we can't heal ourselves endlessly on stations. Somehow. Or the rat that just keeps breeding rats).

Not only that, there seems to be no new equipment that would help combat the power creep. In fact, what new stuff is there, is more speciliazed. Out of the first 4 weapons I've found, 3 were for a different alien race and the 4th one needed Might while I was playing scout.

Enemies seem to have more HP and more damage earlier on and I'm pretty much out of ammo on Floor 16, simply because there are like twice as many enemies as there were in gold edition, without any additional ammo or other resources

[αlphaX³]

hmmm as far as I know, Osmium was a pretty small update. They only added a handful of new enemies but not the ones you mentioned, they were already in the game, plus one new achievement. Maybe you are playing on a higher difficulty than before? or you are playing different characters? I know that some characters get harder enemies earlier. marine and mercenary for example. other than that, dunno what to tell you. did you have all the DLC before?

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by .:TEAM:. αlphaX³:

hmmm as far as I know, Osmium was a pretty small update. They only added a handful of new enemies but not the ones you mentioned, they were already in the game, plus one new achievement. Maybe you are playing on a higher difficulty than before? or you are playing different characters? I know that some characters get harder enemies earlier. marine and mercenary for example. other than that, dunno what to tell you. did you have all the DLC before?

I...think so? I've played it last about 2 years ago or so. And there were definitely no pregnant rats or 24/7 healing fear-chuggers. Nor was I left sitting on 200 dart ammo and 300 high caliber, while getting nothing but rifles, pistols and normal knives

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Did they also increase how hard it is to get to Manabread? I remember having it around floor 15 on scout, now I can't get it before dying somewhere around floor 20

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Idk, it feels like everything has been turned up to eleven. One of the reasons could be that I haven't unlocked any recipes yet. I keep throwing ingredients away, as there is little use for them.

Still, having so many weapons and armor drop that I can't use because its either the wrong race or the wrong stats is just frustrating.

[Mc]

I don't know. I started to play only last week (Osmium + all DLC) so don't know how it was before. Btw. I have almost no recipes (not using Wiki I unlocked ~ 10 maybe). This is how it went so far on Normal:

1. Engineer, finished 12. floor
2. Scout, also 12. floor but due to stupid mistake
3. Marine, 19. floor but again stupid mistake, could have made at least few more
4. Medic, now I was careful (after 2. & 3. fail) and made it to floor 40 and won the game

Sure, luck is involved, but I think it is lot about managing what you have the best you can. There were several times when I thought I was done but then managed to think of something how to proceed.

One of the scariest was being attacked while blind losing durability on everything only when light went on I realized I was melee-ing blindly with large protean. One of the most frustrating being blocked by 2 high level locked doors I needed to get through to proceed. After bashing crowbar for 15 minutes I went fishing for wormhole traps and luckily found one on previous floor which allowed me to progress. I hate those traps, but now I am glad they exist...

I did get sword of the stars somewhere on floors 30+ which made it easier to conserve ammo late game (though the sword was not very useful in final fight and almost got me killed as I was "bravely" melee-ing the final bosses).

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Mc:

I don't know. I started to play only last week (Osmium + all DLC) so don't know how it was before. Btw. I have almost no recipes (not using Wiki I unlocked ~ 10 maybe). This is how it went so far on Normal:

1. Engineer, finished 12. floor
2. Scout, also 12. floor but due to stupid mistake
3. Marine, 19. floor but again stupid mistake, could have made at least few more
4. Medic, now I was careful (after 2. & 3. fail) and made it to floor 40 and won the game

Sure, luck is involved, but I think it is lot about managing what you have the best you can. There were several times when I thought I was done but then managed to think of something how to proceed.

One of the scariest was being attacked while blind losing durability on everything only when light went on I realized I was melee-ing blindly with large protean. One of the most frustrating being blocked by 2 high level locked doors I needed to get through to proceed. After bashing crowbar for 15 minutes I went fishing for wormhole traps and luckily found one on previous floor which allowed me to progress. I hate those traps, but now I am glad they exist...

I did get sword of the stars somewhere on floors 30+ which made it easier to conserve ammo late game (though the sword was not very useful in final fight and almost got me killed as I was "bravely" melee-ing the final bosses).

I've lost today on floor 18 or so with my Scout. Why? Because I had to go through an outside area and it was FULL with those acid wyrms that just destroyed all of my equipment with their spit.

Seriously, this just feels like a joke

[Mc]

"outside area" - is this the biome level? If so I learned hard way those are best to avoid, even if I did not lose to acid or cold I wasted lot of ammo there. So after I grabbed some food I went back.

Are you forced to go through there? So far always when I had such exit there was also 2nd exit for normal floor below. And I chose that one to continue.

If I was somehow forced through biome levels I would probably try to avoid most fights (there is lot of space) and just rush below.

There were times were I was without armor, ammo, or even without usable guns (most painful was shotgun lost to acid). Then I used what I had (hands, crowbar, even bone-knife) and avoided what I could avoid and prioritized any rooms that had weapon-lockers to get something new to fight with. But yes, those are hard times and require lot of "tactical retreat" and resting and bit of luck to find something new. On late floors (30+) I was actually finding lot of weapons so late game was much easier than 20-30 area.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Mc:

"outside area" - is this the biome level? If so I learned hard way those are best to avoid, even if I did not lose to acid or cold I wasted lot of ammo there. So after I grabbed some food I went back.

Are you forced to go through there? So far always when I had such exit there was also 2nd exit for normal floor below. And I chose that one to continue.

If I was somehow forced through biome levels I would probably try to avoid most fights (there is lot of space) and just rush below.

There were times were I was without armor, ammo, or even without usable guns (most painful was shotgun lost to acid). Then I used what I had (hands, crowbar, even bone-knife) and avoided what I could avoid and prioritized any rooms that had weapon-lockers to get something new to fight with. But yes, those are hard times and require lot of "tactical retreat" and resting and bit of luck to find something new. On late floors (30+) I was actually finding lot of weapons so late game was much easier than 20-30 area.

Well, there were two ways down. One had me face-to-face with a medium protean. I had plenty of ammo, so I figured I would go via the snow covered area.

The most fun I had in this game was when finding an environmental suit (or whatever its name was) that protected from acid.

[Mc]

Well, icy biome seems pretty bad, I ventured there just once. Items get damaged because of cold, monsters are tough and you get very little reward. Medium (even large) protean is imo much better deal. And that is just one monster, rest of the level will make up for it even if it was something lot more difficult at entrance.

Also you don't need to fight every protean. Small and medium I usually kill, but large I often just run away from (or lure somewhere far on the map or try lock in room etc.).

Btw. the orange moles with acid attack - if you can get to melee range (e.g. in corners) I think they don't do that attack any more (or much less). Still I prefer to shoot them from distance but if not possible I might face-hug them instead.

You can't avoid everything every time but you can mitigate the damage. Also high foraging helps to get replacements for destroyed items.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Mc:

Well, icy biome seems pretty bad, I ventured there just once. Items get damaged because of cold, monsters are tough and you get very little reward. Medium (even large) protean is imo much better deal. And that is just one monster, rest of the level will make up for it even if it was something lot more difficult at entrance.

Also you don't need to fight every protean. Small and medium I usually kill, but large I often just run away from (or lure somewhere far on the map or try lock in room etc.).

Btw. the orange moles with acid attack - if you can get to melee range (e.g. in corners) I think they don't do that attack any more (or much less). Still I prefer to shoot them from distance but if not possible I might face-hug them instead.

You can't avoid everything every time but you can mitigate the damage. Also high foraging helps to get replacements for destroyed items.

Yeah, apparently there is just a paste you are supposed to look up the recipe for that will protect you from acid. Really fun to have such an essential item hidden behind five thousand deciphers you have to do.

I guess it does make a game challenging if basic functions and defenses are hidden behind replaying the game a thousand times

[Tough2Name]

I won't lie to you, knowing the recipes helps a ton, but you don't seem to be progressing deep enough to collect ingredients for the ones that matter most (Adamantium Claws, I'm looking at you). Armor is not in of itself entirely necessary. I had a Normal Marine run where I didn't find any armor until about floor 34. What is absolutely necessary are weapons. I like to put points into my lockpick skill after 45 for all the weapon lockers and ammo crates. Aside from that, leveling foraging increases the chance of getting a small ammo bonus drop from ammo crates. Whatever ammo you got, you need to make it count. In the very early floors I would advize you to use your fists against all the weak monsters. Aside from that you could try playing the Liir Seeker. The Seeker is the character that really doesn't care too much about armor or weapons because you can kill literally everything with his psionics. It does require slow methodical play because he is a glass cannon, but he has the psionic abilities to lock down the major threats. Also, if you get metabolic control and manna bread on him, you have infinite food so you can take your time and regenerate your psi points. He's not my favorite character, but perhaps he could remedy some of your problems while you learn more about the game.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Tough2Name:

I won't lie to you, knowing the recipes helps a ton, but you don't seem to be progressing deep enough to collect ingredients for the ones that matter most (Adamantium Claws, I'm looking at you). Armor is not in of itself entirely necessary. I had a Normal Marine run where I didn't find any armor until about floor 34. What is absolutely necessary are weapons. I like to put points into my lockpick skill after 45 for all the weapon lockers and ammo crates. Aside from that, leveling foraging increases the chance of getting a small ammo bonus drop from ammo crates. Whatever ammo you got, you need to make it count. In the very early floors I would advize you to use your fists against all the weak monsters. Aside from that you could try playing the Liir Seeker. The Seeker is the character that really doesn't care too much about armor or weapons because you can kill literally everything with his psionics. It does require slow methodical play because he is a glass cannon, but he has the psionic abilities to lock down the major threats. Also, if you get metabolic control and manna bread on him, you have infinite food so you can take your time and regenerate your psi points. He's not my favorite character, but perhaps he could remedy some of your problems while you learn more about the game.

I honestly have a suspicion that the game I personally have is made to ♥♥♥♥ me over. I had one run where I got a great laser rifle (40 shots / energy pack, deals about 45 damage with each) and a double-shot flechette pistol. Plenty of food too. Guess what - entering a level, walking down the corridor, get surrounded by literally - and I mean literally - 10+ opponents that just shred down my health in a few turns.

I NEVER had that many enemies just swarm out of nowhere, but I find a good weapon, lo and behold a level's worth of opponents are right next to me, just as soon as I'm too far away from the ladder to return.

Other classics are:

- Finding 500+ shotgun ammo, but barely any other ammo type and obviously no shotgun
- Finding ammo and weapons but not a scrap of food
- Finding food but no weapons
- Finding weapons and armor, but only from other races, making them effectively unusable
- Finding 4+ mutagens or mods and nothing to identify them for the entire run

If I had to bet, there is a sort of slider behind the scenes, which basically is meant to just always create a frustrating situation. Out of 20 runs I have maybe one where I'm finding a weapon and plenty of ammo for that weapon and food. And that's on a Scout - you know, the character that gets all the weapon and fridge stuff opened.

There is also a possibility ofc that I'm just incredibly ♥♥♥♥ at this specific game somehow. There was also definitely *something* changed about PSI or Manifestation in itself at some point. I know for a fact that I was basically relying on Manna from roughly Lv15 onwards, but I'm not getting there before losing now at all (around Lv20 usually)

[Tough2Name]

Originally posted by Hex: Onii-Chan:

I honestly have a suspicion that the game I personally have is made to ♥♥♥♥ me over. I had one run where I got a great laser rifle (40 shots / energy pack, deals about 45 damage with each) and a double-shot flechette pistol. Plenty of food too. Guess what - entering a level, walking down the corridor, get surrounded by literally - and I mean literally - 10+ opponents that just shred down my health in a few turns.

I NEVER had that many enemies just swarm out of nowhere, but I find a good weapon, lo and behold a level's worth of opponents are right next to me, just as soon as I'm too far away from the ladder to return.

Other classics are:

- Finding 500+ shotgun ammo, but barely any other ammo type and obviously no shotgun
- Finding ammo and weapons but not a scrap of food
- Finding food but no weapons
- Finding weapons and armor, but only from other races, making them effectively unusable
- Finding 4+ mutagens or mods and nothing to identify them for the entire run

If I had to bet, there is a sort of slider behind the scenes, which basically is meant to just always create a frustrating situation. Out of 20 runs I have maybe one where I'm finding a weapon and plenty of ammo for that weapon and food. And that's on a Scout - you know, the character that gets all the weapon and fridge stuff opened.

There is also a possibility ofc that I'm just incredibly ♥♥♥♥ at this specific game somehow. There was also definitely *something* changed about PSI or Manifestation in itself at some point. I know for a fact that I was basically relying on Manna from roughly Lv15 onwards, but I'm not getting there before losing now at all (around Lv20 usually)

Just a few things that might help. In the psionic tree if you unlock invisibility and use it before entering the next floor the enemies cannot see you. If you then kill an enemy in 1 volley OR paralyze the enemy and kill it before paralysis wears off the enemies will not be alerted to your presence. This would allow you to pick off the enemies 1 by 1 to bring them to a more manageable level, but do note if the enemies already noticed you it will not work. That said, I do believe if you use it THE turn you enter the floor without moving it will work, but you can use it before every floor if you want to play it safe. You won't always have this ability, so another option is to disarm teleport/wormhole traps (you can do this safely if you unlock telekinesis which I almost always have) and carry one in your inventory. If you find yourself in that position again try to arm the trap and when an enemy hits you the trap will go off and take you somewhere hopefully more manageable. Regarding shotgun ammo, this is actually a very common issue in the mid to late game. It's part of why finding a shotgun is so good. I don't normally have too many food issues on human characters. It gets tight, but I have enough to get by. It helps to have a good mechanical skill to open freezers and some food recipes. If you don't want to unlock them, just look up the recipes on the wiki and it will still craft it. Best food recipe in the game is probably egg nog. Also, there is a diagnostic chip you can use to identify mods and mutagens and it's pretty easy to craft, but it's one-time use. As for weapons and armor, bad armor is unfortunately a common issue. It helps to have the Chitin Plate Armor recipe, but sometimes you don't even find the ingredients for it. You can still survive without armor, but it becomes very difficult and you NEED good weapons to do so. As for weapons, it helps a bunch to know how to make Adamantium Claws. It's a really good melee weapon and will help you conserve ammo.

[Tough2Name]

I managed to find this list of some useful recipes I made a while back. Spoiler tags if you want to find them yourself, but I would recommend taking note of these recipes for your future runs.

1. Energy Backpack Energy Cells+Energy Cells+Energy Cells+Energy Cells+Bindings

2. Adamantium Claws Living Steel Remnant+Nano-Wire+Adamantium Resin+Cyber Connectors

3. Chitin Plate Armor Bindings+Composite Cloth+Chitin+Chitin+
Chitin

4. Laser Rifle Rifle Parts+PhotonicAmplifier+Superconductors+Bindings+Quantum Capacitors

5. X-Rifle Laser Rifle+Photonic Amplifier+X-Ray Transducer+Bindings

6. Pulse Rifle Laser Rifle+Photonic Amplifier+Superconductors+Bindings

7. Egg Nog (cooker) Egg+Egg+Exotic Proteins

8. Cooked Meat (cooker) Raw meat

9. Aggressive Antibiotics (cooker) Moldy Bread+Anti-Bodies

10. Hum Gum (cooker) Exotic proteins+Sonic Nodule

11. Energy Drink (cooker) Exotic Proteins+Primordial Soup+Giant Mitochondria

12. Food Pellets (cooker) * Primordial Soup+Fat Strips

13. Steak N' Shrooms (cooker) * Raw meat+Shrooms+Shrooms

14. Hero Sotswich (cooker) Tarka Warbread+Cooked Meat+Hiver Cheese

15. Improvised Lockpick Bone Slivers+Bindings+Razorteeth

16. R G Special Duct Tape+Duct Tape+Duct Tape+Bone Slivers+Bone Slivers

17. Impact Armor * Scaleskin+Scaleskin+Bindings+Adamantium Resin

18. Spore Dagger * Bone+M'kkosian Fungus Shards+Bindings+Bindings

19. Base Paste (cooker) Fat Strips+Fat Strips+Bone Slivers

20. Bypass Circuit Electronic Parts+Cybernetic Brain

21. Diagnostic Chip Logic Circuits+Cybernetic brain

22. Quantum Scan Helmet Casing Fragments+Optics+Quantum Capacitors+Electronic Parts

23. Lifter Pack Energy Cell+Composite Cloth+Element X+Nano Wire

24. Cyber Scrambler Energy Cell+Electronic Parts+Cybernetic Brain

25. Rage Beam Rifle Parts+Hiver Brain Crystal+Sonic Nodule+Bindings

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Tough2Name:

5 onwards, but I'm not getting there before losing now at all (around Lv20 usually)
Just a few things that might help. In the psionic tree if you unlock invisibility and use it before entering the next floor the enemies cannot see you. If you then kill an enemy in 1 volley OR paralyze the enemy and kill it before paralysis wears off the enemies will not be alerted to your presence. This would allow you to pick off the enemies 1 by 1 to bring them to a more manageable level, but do note if the enemies already noticed you it will not work. That said, I do believe if you use it THE turn you enter the floor without moving it will work, but you can use it before every floor if you want to play it safe. You won't always have this ability, so another option is to disarm teleport/wormhole traps (you can do this safely if you unlock telekinesis which I almost always have) and carry one in your inventory. If you find yourself in that position again try to arm the trap and when an enemy hits you the trap will go off and take you somewhere hopefully more manageable. Regarding shotgun ammo, this is actually a very common issue in the mid to late game. It's part of why finding a shotgun is so good. I don't normally have too many food issues on human characters. It gets tight, but I have enough to get by. It helps to have a good mechanical skill to open freezers and some food recipes. If you don't want to unlock them, just look up the recipes on the wiki and it will still craft it. Best food recipe in the game is probably egg nog. Also, there is a diagnostic chip you can use to identify mods and mutagens and it's pretty easy to craft, but it's one-time use. As for weapons and armor, bad armor is unfortunately a common issue. It helps to have the Chitin Plate Armor recipe, but sometimes you don't even find the ingredients for it. You can still survive without armor, but it becomes very difficult and you NEED good weapons to do so. As for weapons, it helps a bunch to know how to make Adamantium Claws. It's a really good melee weapon and will help you conserve ammo.

Appreciate the help. Getting kinda stuck on earlier levels. It really feels like just not having the recipes is what makes it so hard. Well, that and not using the safe room stashes to fatten up one character with plenty of stuff before actually trying to get anywhere.

Still, just copying them would feel like cheating. Still, thanks for the effort of writing all of them up X_x