So uh - where do I go?

[lunarwhaler]

Been progressing fairly well, having a good time experimenting with different builds. I'm now pretty consistently able to make it to the quest to go to Golgotha, at which point I just die miserably.

Google tells me this is expected, that Golgotha is basically a death sentence, and to level up and stock up before attempting it. But that raises the question - where? How?

It seems like a silly question for a roguelike, but up to this point the game has had a pretty solid structure - go to Red Rock, go get some wire, go to the Grit Gate. But now, being turned loose like this... do I just pick a random nearby part of the overworld (a cave or something) and just delve on down? Or are there some notable sidequests I should be picking up/doing?

[dbennett88]

hit the stilt, hit some of the ruin locations if you've found 'em, hang out in the jungle killing goatmen for a while

[Sentient_Toaster]

If you haven't visited Kyakukya and bought yourself a copy of the Corpus Choliys, do so and gather the ingredients for a Glotrot cure before you go.

You could visit the Six-Day Stilt in the NW (rather large collection of merchants, notably, a good source of honey and yuckwheat; plus, turn in books for XP). Ruins and historical sites also come to mind.

[RazzleStorm]

Golgotha is fine for any character over lvl 12, but if you are under 14, don't try to fight in the chutes. Sprinting is helpful, as is having some salves if things go bad. The key is to keep moving. You can rest just before the drop to another floor if you need to and it is safe. Also know that the belts move you in a direction every other turn, so don't let them push you into traps. There are 4 different types of chutes. Fire chutes are the easiest if you can get them (precog is helpful) since they are a brighter red just before they go off. The only real thing you need to watch out for on the bottom level is agolflies and slog. Suppressive fire is the easiest way to defeat Slog, assuming you have a desert rifle or better. I don't recommend melee. Agolflies have long range, high accuracy, and decent dodge so be careful if you find one. Don't hesitate to use salve injectors when fighting one. Other than that just take it slow, and don't autoexplore.


As Sentient Toaster said, get the cure for Glotrot before actually going in. This usually has the added benefit of getting you leveled up and getting you a desert rifle in the jungles.

[CHOO CHOO]

I usually go directly into Golgatha with no delays, provided I have some Honey, Salves, and a way ti one-shot sewage eels (or to evaporate the sevage).

[FFace]

Originally posted by CHOO CHOO:

I usually go directly into Golgatha with no delays, provided I have some Honey, Salves, and a way ti one-shot sewage eels (or to evaporate the sevage).

When do you apply honey? Can you prevent from getting diseases or is it only for slow down the possible disease to pop before you can get the actual treatment? Thanks.

[CHOO CHOO]

AFAIK it increases your resistance to infection. I jusy drink the stuff on every chance I get while I'm in Golgatha.

[FFace]

Of course, thanks :)

[Aquillion]

It's possible to do Golgotha much lower level than most people say. There's a few key things to remember:

1. Carry a bunch of salve injectors (you get some from the Red Rock quest; don't waste them. Also don't waste the ubernostrum injector, you may need it later as part of the Glotrot cure.)

2. Avoid the blasts of electricity, acid, fire, etc. on the conveyor belts. They're extremely deadly. Delaying a few steps to avoid getting hit by them is worth it. But don't leave the conveyor belts if you can possibly help it, because...

3. Don't delay for any other reason. Avoid fights whenever possible, sprinting as necessary. Avoid fighting the boss if you possibly can. Avoid walking on sewage if you possibly can. Dash down the conveyor belts until you're at the bottom, grab the droid, get to the elevator in the north part of the fifth floor (or just use your recoiler), and get out. If you do get damaged, heal with an injector, don't stop to rest. You're not trying to loot or clear Golgotha, you want to grab what you're here for and get out - you can loot all you want anywhere else. If you hustle, you should be able to get through it in about ~50-100 turns or so.

Some character builds are better at it than others. Clairvoyance, Teleportation, Force Wall, or Force Bubble can all help you get through it quickly without wasting time. High damage powers like freezing / flaming hands, pyro / cryokinesis, or Sunder Mind can also help for zapping enemies that are directly in your path.

[CHOO CHOO]

That's how it's done. Listen to Aquillion, he's right on every point.

[Aquillion]

Also, as an aside: If you complete the quest before level 13, you get a slightly better reward (a Hologram Bracelet in addition to the other benefits.) You have to be level 12 or below when you deliver the waydroid. This isn't hugely worth it if you're worried (hologram bracelets can be gotten elsewhere), but it's nice if you're confident in your character.

If you beat it above level 18, you don't get the Scoped Masterwork Carbine you usually would. This is bad and should be avoided. Luckily it's hard to go above level 18 by accident, but it's something to keep in mind if your solution to Golgotha is to grind excessively.

AFAIK this is the only quest in the game whose reward scales inversely with level in this way, probably to discourage people from solving Golgotha by grinding.

(Currently, people with Domination can cheat both requirements by dominating something lower-level and having them turn in the waydroid. I imagine Otho was surprised that a Snapjaw Scavenger managed to retrieve a Waydroid for him...)

[Dialask]

Also, for some light training, but more importantly, finding a few extra drams/items: I've found that the flower field overworld biomes tend to be pretty easy on the enemies (pygmy and goatfolk raiding parties are the worst I've seen, and they are pretty rare), but there can be some weird items found strewn all over the place. Pools of fresh water (pure drams) are not uncommon, and random corpses/chests in the area can have some suprisingly useful loot (ie semi automatic pistol, sniper rifle, etc).

On my current character, I just encountered a random space-time vortex in the flower field that spewed out 3 Dromad traders (plus saltbacks and bodyguards) that sold crysteel equipment and all sorts of super high-level stuff. Also scattered around the vortex was a "Femur of Mjolkmjor" (worth 1900 drams at 29 ego!) and some metametal weapons (also rare and expensive).

Now, this was a purely random (and unlikely) stroke of luck, but if you're light on the items/drams heading into Golgotha, I'd really recommend the flower fields. Also the rusted archway can have open sections with tinkering components and rooms full of lockers with decent items in them.