Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium

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Psycho-S1ngh Mar 26, 2021 @ 7:29am
Good character build - 1st time playing
Hi All,

What character build would you recommend? I'm going to start playing when the game gets updated to the final cut next week.
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Showing 1-12 of 12 comments
Hobocop Mar 26, 2021 @ 10:29am 
Art cop would make you life easy on the xp front, ergo lots of points to spend. So really Get 4-5 int and then signature skill conceptualization. Combine it with some commie cop and you're good to go
Du-Vu Mar 26, 2021 @ 1:30pm 
2
This is a pretty RP-heavy game, there's no real "best" build per se. Other than probably don't main Motorics on your first playthrough. And you can't sleep in the dumpster no matter what, so make sure you've got 20 real saved up for the second night.

At least in the original cut. Maybe the Final Cut will give Motorics some more interesting options. Other than that, almost any build will work to get to the end of the game, and come with its own unique dialogue you wouldn't see with other skills. If you can't do something with the skills you have, there's often another way of doing it, or various clues you can find that unlock that roll and increase your bonus for it.

But to cut down on some first-run frustration -- probably don't start with a 1 in Endurance (Might) or Volition (Psyche). Those are your hit points. Logic and Visual Calculus are the main "detective" skills, but there are other kinds of detective. Empathy and Suggestion will help the most if you want to be diplomatic, Authority and Rhetoric if you'd rather play bad cop, Physical Instrument and Half-Light if you're a *really* bad cop. Inland Empire, Electrochemistry, and Shivers are the most interesting, weirdest skills, but Conceptualization, Drama, and Encyclopedia get their share of odd interactions too. Hand-Eye Coordination (for shooting) and Savoir-Faire (for climbing/jumping) don't come up often, but they're high-ish checks when they do.

But remember that failing is often an option in this game. Sometimes that's more interesting than success. So you don't need all these skills and it's best to specialize, even deliberately tanking certain skills. Go with what seems interesting to you.
Last edited by Du-Vu; Mar 26, 2021 @ 1:41pm
wildnike Mar 26, 2021 @ 8:26pm 
A 3 in all categories for the "average" build is another option which will let you explore the game in a rounded fashion. You'll miss out on specifics (you'll miss out on specifics no matter what you make) and overall RPing as an "average" cop isn't the coolest thing you can do, but it's a solid first time pick.
Bastila Shan Mar 27, 2021 @ 2:47pm 
You cant go wrong but I recommend adding atleast a few points in physic and psych so you have more than 1 health and morale. Having 1 health and morale makes the game less enjoyable and you cant make many mistakes.
Super_ Mar 28, 2021 @ 3:20am 
3 3 3 3 then decide what direction to go as you play.
peasweb Mar 28, 2021 @ 11:35am 
Originally posted by Psycho-S1ngh:
Hi All,

What character build would you recommend? I'm going to start playing when the game gets updated to the final cut next week.
I know this isnt what youre asking for, but in this game the best character build is whatever you think suits you best. Yeah, its not gonna be optimal, but thats how the game is most fun
OozeGang slingman Mar 29, 2021 @ 4:11pm 
4-4-2-2 i recommend
Bastila Shan Mar 29, 2021 @ 4:13pm 
I’ll be dumb as a rock in my next play through
MalachiConstant Apr 17, 2021 @ 2:24pm 
Minor Spoiler Warning.

There is one Very Important Stat at the very beginning of the game to open up something I found amusing and enjoyable throughout the game. In fact, the one time I didn’t have it pumped up I finally got sick of missing out and restarted the game about halfway through . . . which is a LOT of play. One of your Psyche (Purple) Skills is Inland Empire. I suggest either setting Psyche to a minimum of a 4 OR setting it as a 3 with Inland Empire as your signature skill. Inland Empire is a good skill to have anyway but you will be missing out if this skill isn't set to a 4 when you start the game. No matter what sort of Character you want to be, I think you will appreciate the result.

Minor Spoiler as to what this allows for: In your room, your tie is hanging from a ceiling fan. If your Inland Empire score is NOT at least a 4 when you retrieve it, you fail a passive check that would allow your Horrific Neck Tie to talk to you.

Also, there is a little known secret related to a drug that can be found in game. If you trip over the secret, you may not even realize it and just question where the effect came from. I did the first time and had no idea how a change occurred, which is skill related. Drove me nuts. Wiki has been updated to reflect this since. Again, I feel this is a minor spoiler but it drastically changed my strategy on initial set up.

Goracy's Brew is an item you receive only once, with three uses. As it is unique, this effect MAY be intended and not a bug. However, the effects are so drastic it's hard to say. Unlike other drugs or alcohol, Goracy's Brew Permanently Applies a +1 bonus to Physique with each dose. As there are 6 skills under Physique and three doses of the brew, you can potentially have the benefit of 18 skill points just by getting a little soused.

In my case, this led me to start dumping Physique to a 1 base score on set up allowing me to set the other scores higher (I like to start 4 4 1 3 now that I know this). You'll Die pretty easily with Endurance at a 1 if you don't know what you are doing so maybe set that to your signature skill for Health reasons if you start with Physique at a 1. You also can encounter this brew fairly early in the game so your score doesn't have to stay dumped for a burdensome amount of time. But having a 1 in Physique MAY make the brew harder to attain given how you get to it. Bygones, it's worth it to me as applying all three doses gives you a 4 base score after starting at a 1. You SHOULD be able to accomplish that before the end of day one, depending on a roll or two and how you end up accessing a certain area.


More generally speaking, I start as a 4 4 1 3 given the secret above. Without that, I suggest a 3 3 3 3 with Inland Empire as your signature skill. Every Skill effects both dialog and things you can notice in game. NOT having a high score won’t make you ever miss something vital, but this game is all about the fun little details. So the higher ALL your skills, the more little bits of info our humour you can encounter. Trying different builds can be fun for that too. In my opinion, the fact all skills are used fairly evenly through the game lends to the re-playability of the game. Will you have a vastly different play through every time, most of the time? Nope. But you will find new things of interest or to make you laugh.
If you are wondering what stats can start lower, Motorics is one I will usually set lower, as well as Physique. I find Shivers to be an important and interesting skill but I could do without all the other Physique skills. Motorics becomes important but there are ways to boost those with thoughts and items, and you will see what ones you want to build up early on. All the Motorics skills DO come in handy here and there, but you can mostly live without them early on.
Last edited by MalachiConstant; Apr 18, 2021 @ 9:44pm
flayman Dec 28, 2023 @ 9:46am 
I know this is old, but anyone coming across this from now on should know that the effect described about concerning "an item you receive only once" is now referred to in the Wiki as a bug that has been patched. I would not recommend starting with base 1 for Physique.
masterthespian Dec 28, 2023 @ 12:22pm 
Go for drugs, booze, facism, drama, logic, shivers is good too. It’s hard to go totally wrong here
Originally posted by masterthespian:
Go for drugs, booze, facism, drama, logic, shivers is good too. It’s hard to go totally wrong here

Fascism is not a good option. It deploys health and morale constantly, the quest is one of the hardest as it requieres a complete understanding of the game scheduled events (you can´t complete it if you speak to Gary on day 3, which most players will do), and other than the humorous situation provided by Kim being fed up with those types of comments, it´s probably the political choice that provides the least "lore", fascist Harry it´s just a regular fascist; while the other options have their own history withing the lore.

Ultra-Liberal it´s a much safer choice and it will provide more help as it provides you with money constantly, which then facilitates a lot of things.
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Date Posted: Mar 26, 2021 @ 7:29am
Posts: 12