Story progression

[felixpoop]

I would like this game to take me a fairly long time to complete. I don't know how long it is. BURG.L has given me the missions to find the remaining 3 labs and super chips. If I do this am I progressing the story significantly or is there a lot of story left?

Also, are mutations permanent?

Thank you.

[Pigeon Chest]

In terms of story those labs should be 3 separate quests, once you have that done you'll be collecting some things in preparation for the "Finale" - I won't spoil anything.

After that you'll be able to do the quick finish and get the bad ending, or do the optional side quest, then there's a bunch of "Hidden Problems" that unlocks the ability to NG+
NG+ is still being sorted out it seems, there's some issues with it currently that are being addressed over time in the current few updates.

Lastly
Vitamin Upgrades are permanent, and accessed through the computer system.
Mutations can be swapped at any time, and are accessed in your normal menu.

[stretch]

Mutations need to be set. Once earned they are permanent but they are inactive until you slot them and you can only slot just so many with the ability to earn more slots. Also I think you can set multiple mutation selections and quickly swap between them with a hotbutton but I have not experimented with this yet.

[felixpoop]

Hmm - it sounds like finishing the labs gets me a long way through the story. Are there sidequests? Is the only place to get them through the ASL? I get the feeling that missions from there are mostly crafting, but I might be wrong.

To be clear - if I want this to be a longish game I should explore, kill bugs, and unlock recipes for most of my time?

[Pigeon Chest]

Originally posted by felixpoop:

Hmm - it sounds like finishing the labs gets me a long way through the story. Are there sidequests? Is the only place to get them through the ASL? I get the feeling that missions from there are mostly crafting, but I might be wrong.

To be clear - if I want this to be a longish game I should explore, kill bugs, and unlock recipes for most of my time?

Spoiler before reading, I'm going to tell you one of the quests and its purpose.



The Flag Quests are by far the most fun / challenging quests- one even has a very challenging platforming requirement if you want to go stair-less

Their purpose is to provide you with an additional range upgrade to your resource finder- which is a great way to check to see if your Muscle Sprouts are done growing / a resource has respawned before heading down to grab them.

[felixpoop]

I don't even know what a flag quest is yet. I feel like I saw a resource surveyor in the Hedge Lab, or maybe one of the outposts that have the analyzer - is that right, or do we get one we can carry?

[Ensign Toby]

Originally posted by felixpoop:

I don't even know what a flag quest is yet. I feel like I saw a resource surveyor in the Hedge Lab, or maybe one of the outposts that have the analyzer - is that right, or do we get one we can carry?

Nope, those two (Surveyor and Analyzer) are different items.
And NEITHER one of them are portable. Pity.

Besides the Main Story Line (Labs, and "Finale"):
* There are 100 Apprentice Quests (which also progress the story)
* There are repeatable Daily Quests for "rewards" (which you have already discovered)

If you are trying for a 100% Scorecard, you've got 30-50 hours (unless speed running).
If you are trying for all Boss Kills (Saints Protect you), add another dozen or so hours.
If you are trying for 100% Gold Creature Cards (which is total RNG), perhaps 100+ hours.

I strongly suggest you pause your Story Line progress before the "Finale" to:
* Get ALL your (single-player) Mutations
* Get all Gold Creature Cards
* Build up a good supply of end-game upgrade materials
* Finalize all your Base Builds (because that is easier to do before NG+)

And, remember:
* You have multiple shots at a 100% Scorecard
* You can reload the pre-Finale game save, to fix your Scorecard and/or enter NG+.
* Once you go NG+, you CAN'T go back on that save (finish ALL base game business first)
* Changing Difficulty (Mild/Medium/Woah!) DOESN'T affect Scorecard or Achievements
Do NOT change to a Custom Game, unless you no longer want any more Achievements.

[felixpoop]

Originally posted by Ensign Toby:

Originally posted by felixpoop:

I don't even know what a flag quest is yet. I feel like I saw a resource surveyor in the Hedge Lab, or maybe one of the outposts that have the analyzer - is that right, or do we get one we can carry?

Nope, those two (Surveyor and Analyzer) are different items.
And NEITHER one of them are portable. Pity.

Besides the Main Story Line (Labs, and "Finale"):
* There are 100 Apprentice Quests (which also progress the story)
* There are repeatable Daily Quests for "rewards" (which you have already discovered)

If you are trying for a 100% Scorecard, you've got 30-50 hours (unless speed running).
If you are trying for all Boss Kills (Saints Protect you), add another dozen or so hours.
If you are trying for 100% Gold Creature Cards (which is total RNG), perhaps 100+ hours.

I strongly suggest you pause your Story Line progress before the "Finale" to:
* Get ALL your (single-player) Mutations
* Get all Gold Creature Cards
* Build up a good supply of end-game upgrade materials
* Finalize all your Base Builds (because that is easier to do before NG+)

And, remember:
* You have multiple shots at a 100% Scorecard
* You can reload the pre-Finale game save, to fix your Scorecard and/or enter NG+.
* Once you go NG+, you CAN'T go back on that save (finish ALL base game business first)
* Changing Difficulty (Mild/Medium/Woah!) DOESN'T affect Scorecard or Achievements
Do NOT change to a Custom Game, unless you no longer want any more Achievements.

Thanks for the help, again.