Regarding the Lone Wolf achievement

[Light]

Is there any way to actually get this without resorting to meta tactics to keep your reputations low with all the factions? I always have found this one a little distasteful precisely because the only obvious method of avoiding the auto recruitment into factions (which I also dislike) is to watch your reputation and go around killing those factions to drop it back down if its starting to build up too high. You shouldn't have to do that to play the lone wolf merc type that goes hunting bounties and whatnot. I mean if it were more realistic in the role playing sense I'd expect those factions to start hunting my merc captain down for doing that sort of thing. But, the game is a little too forgiving in that area. You just leave an area and any hostilities with above hostile factions are reset again.

I tried convincing myself to just go and use the meta tactic of killing a few merchants and miners every now and again to balance out for all the pirates I kill but it just feels kinda like I'm cheesing the system to grind that achievement out. Also, why was it made a thing that you're auto recruited into factions just because they like you enough. What if I wanted to say no?

[Nobukado]

A moderator had suggested extortion, clicking on a ship and extorting it for money. This reduces reputation.

Even with this trick though, Lone Wolf is the most tedious Perk to unlock. It's a very, very, very slow Level 30 to reach, no matter what trick you use.

[Light]

Yeah but the underlying problem here is again you're using meta tactics to keep reputations low. If you were playing a run with a certain mindset and goal for a captain that's basically the up and up bounty hunter type you can't do this achievement. To me it probably needs reworked to be a little more sensible since you have to do things that are at a contrast to what you would normally do. So you're basically forced to either kill or extort to keep numbers down then boom 30 comes and you're playing it the way you intended. That doesn't sound right. Even the lone wolf achievement doesn't sound like it'd have you using meta to achieve it. A lone wolf doesn't mean you need to do bad stuff to factions but apparently that's the only way to get this achievement. I mean there's plenty of stories about lone wolf type characters that just do things their way and don't work with other folks. That doesn't mean they're breaking laws or harming innocents though. That's why I said in my previous post that I found this achievements quirks to be very distasteful.

Actually the way the game is set up and how it auto places you in factions once you achieve reputation values of a certain point is in my opinion in need of a change. I don't like being told that I have to join a faction because that faction likes me a lot. Who cares? What if I wanna go lone wolf the entire time? The long and short of it is you can't even be a merc for hire taking bounties and running missions for credits without accruing positive reputation from whoever is giving out the job. I'd say this is my one sore point against an otherwise marvelous game that just happens to be the work of one very talented individual. I could always use the meta tricks to maintain my reputations below a 1000 in all the factions except the ones I don't mind having hostile but whenever I start down that road I kinda get tired of having to break character theme just to adjust the reputation scores again and I inevitably abandon these runs for the ones where I choose to play to one of the factions.

I'll admit that when I play things like this a bit of my roleplaying drive comes out with how I decide themes for a particular run. I've tried the syndicate theme and that's cool. The Miners are cool too because I don't mind depleting asteroid belts before moving on to new sectors. I just don't get a thrill outta the lone wolf theme which I'd like the best if not for the above mentioned reasons and because my lone wolf starts feeling more like a bandit or pirate than I'd care for. Speaking of, I never tried going pirate yet.

[MrPurple33]

Search "Lone Wolf" -
I've Commented on Many Posts about this Subject before, at Great Length and Detail-
Apologies, I don't Wish to Retype all of that right now, Look Up the Past Posts and you'll
find Detailed Information

For the Shorter, Easier Tips-

-Start as Outis, and Just Accept that you will be CONSTANTLY CHECKING Your Faction Reputation Ratings through the "C" Menus

-Extortion is the BEST TOOL to Balance and Keep all your Faction Ratings Level,
without Killing Innocent Ships- You don't want to Slip into the "Marauder" Perk

-Do Not Let Any Faction Rating go above "Friendly", Ideally keep Any Reputation at 1500 or Lower so as to Never Accidentally Slip to 3000 and become "Honored" with Any Faction-
It's not Stated anywhere that getting Honored for just a moment and then going back to Friendly will Cause Lone Wolf to Fail, but I Believe it Does- You can Be at "Enemy" with anyone (Usually it's the Red Skull Pirates) that won't affect Earning Lone Wolf, Honored Will

-Often Lone Wolf won't Unlock when you Reach Level 30 for some reason- Don't Panic Too Much, just Reach Level 31 or 32 and it Should Unlock- If you Reach Level 33 and Lone Wolf Still doesn't Unlock, you did something to mess it up and have to Retry on another Start

-Accept that Until you DO Reach Level 30-32 and Unlock Lone Wolf, the Entire Process
WILL BE a Major Pain-In-The-Ass -Once Lone Wolf Triggers, you then Instantly Relax,
and it's Smooth Sailing

-Lone Wolf is MUCH Easier to Use as a Starting Perk- That 1st Time Unlocking it is One of the Harder Perks to Achieve- As a Starting Perk you are Neutral with Every Faction- Unlocking Lone Wolf the 1st Time you're Liable to be Enemies with at Least One Faction, again Usually the Red Skulls as you Start Hostile with the Outis Perk- Once you Unlock it In-Game, you can then Stay Enemies with the Red Skulls, or take a Lot of Time and Effort and work back to Neutral and even Friendly with the Red Skulls, I usually just stayed Enemies




Overall, Lone Wolf Is One of the Better Perks in Star Valor, BUT that 1st Time Unlocking it
Does Kinda Suck- I've Gotten Lone Wolf In-Game Twice, and done 4 Other New Starts with Lone Wolf as my Starting Background Perk- I Hope My Tips Help You Out

If you STILL can't be Bothered with all the Extortion and Faction Balance Controlling,
or just Find that the Actual Faction and Reputation System is not to Your Liking, Well Sorry-
That's One of the Major Features of Star Valor, but also One of the Major Complaint and Reasons People end up Disliking and Refunding Star Valor- Myself, I Like the Faction System and Laious, the Developer, has actually Loosened it up and Changed and Re-Balanced the Faction System several times- It Still isn't 100% to Everyone's Liking, but to Remove the Faction System, or Change it Too Far, would Ruin One of the Big Features and Uniqueness
that Star Valor has

[Light]

I don't care about the methods. Its the fact the setup is downright distasteful. It doesn't even really reflect what a lone wolf is. I also wasn't saying remove it. It just shouldn't be designed quite the way it is because the name of the term kinda doesn't fit with what you actually have to do to unlock it. Anybody that watches or reads about characters that are lone wolves are gonna stop and say the same thing when they see that. Also don't put words into my mouth. I only said I didn't feel a faction should automatically say boom we like you so you're one of us now and you have no say in it. That ain't how things should work and its certainly not how things work in real life. An individual could just as easily say thanks, but no thanks.

Also if a lot of folks are complaining about the same thing then maybe that's a sign that its actually counterintuitive to what you would think its asking of you. Did you ever stop and ask yourself that? Honestly the fact you went on attack dog mode with your response tells me that you're not really in a mood to listen or accept criticisms towards the design in a little area. Not to mention its not your game so why would you jump out and do that? If you were the dev that would be your right to take a stance but as a player, if all you're gonna do is attack then just butt out.

[MrPurple33]

(sigh)

I didn't mean to sound Like I was "attacking" you

And I Debated about adding my Final Paragraph trying to Explain about how if someone Doesn't Really Like the Faction System, then Long-Term they probably won't be Sticking
with Star Valor

What I was trying to Impart is that as someone who has been around Star Valor for a while now, I have seen many Past Posts about how some people have Disliked the Faction/Reputation System, especially when Background Perks Change when people weren't prepared for it- And that the Developer, Laious, HAS made incremental changes to make the Faction System Smoother and Less Intrusive- But the Faction System being Overhauled in a Major Way or Removed would Change a Core Aspect of the Game

You DO have to keep an Eye on your Faction Ratings, at Least every once in a while, and be aware that doing Missions, Killing Faction Ships, and other activities Will cause Faction and Reputation Changes- This Isn't Explicitly Stated in Big Lights when a New Player Buys Star Valor, and Often a New Player will be having Fun on their First Playthrough and might Trigger a Permanent Faction Change- I've then seen Past Posts about this where someone will State along the Lines of "I put in hours into my Game, then my Background was changed and now
I have to Start Over- This Game Sucks, I don't want to Redo it again"

Is this a Possible Problem and Fault in Star Valor? Maybe, but the Game is supposed to be about Exploring and Unlocking many Features, not just Ships, but Equipment Items, how to Craft Weapons, and how the Factions Interact and Conflict with each other- It Probably WOULD HELP if the Faction System and Reputational Changes were Stated More Clearly
at the Beginning, when someone is New to the Game- But that might also Detract from
the Elements of Discovery that is Inherit to the Game and makes it Stand Out





So again. I apologize if I came off as "attacking you" with that Last Part of my Post-
I was trying to Explain a Core Mechanic of the Game, apparently didn't do that, and now have made this even Longer Post Further Explaining that Final Paragraph, which I probably shouldn't have even written about

I should have just written all my Suggestions and Tips for how to get Lone Wolf and Left it at That- I Was trying to be Helpful to you about that after all, so I don't really know how you could construe I was an "attack dog" just from that Final Paragraph, when the Majority of my Post was constructive information helping to achieve Lone Wolf easier

I Hope that's Clearer now- Please just Look at the Tips and use them to get Lone Wolf,
and Disregard any of my Viewpoints about the Faction System if you don't agree with them- My Actual Intent was to Help with Lone Wolf, that's what should have come across as the Focus of my Post