How to make the Way of the Turtle work wonders for you.

In this guide I will outline my way of making the Way of the Turtle build. I have huge successes with it - once winning in 145 days with 97% win rate while doing a full completionist run, and a second, way faster run that ended on day 93 (so sub-100 victory is possible) with 98% win rate. I could have ended it about day 82 or so, but I was way too busy testing the build vs ninjas and difficult enemies, along with trying to bump up the stats some more. I was also not in any way trying to go for the fastest possible run with turtle. Just an FYI.

It has to be said that the Way of the Turtle requires you to adopt a mentality that neither Tiger, nor Bear players have. Why? Read below.

1. Foreword.

The Way of the Turtle is perhaps the most hated one, as everyone is way too busy saying that it is extremely inferior to Tiger and Bear. I am here to assure you, that while these people are not necessarily wrong, they are also not necessarily right. Turtle gives you probably the most satisfying gameplay of them all - very different from the other two builds, also very minimalistic, but in the end, it works wonders. In 2 separate playthroughs I had easily over 97% win rate with minimal amount of battles (apart from the sure-fire losses vs Bobo and Silver) lost, and I enjoyed myself immensely.

I strongly urge you to try it. It will be an experience unlike the other two.

2. Understanding the Way of the Turtle.

The way of the turtle is extremely peculiar. You are given a good number of high-damage, high-energy cost punches, good blocking capabilities, some debuffs that have a chance to cancel the enemy attack phase, along with perks for damage reduction based on stamina, lower cost of fighting techniques and so on. It may not look it at first, but these are actually very overpowered.

The whole idea of being a turtle is to play a very minimalistic game at start, and then pick it up big time. Once you get the final 4 skills in the turtle tree, you turn invincible, including vs high-agility enemies. One of the most amazing skills there is called "No Rest", meaning you effectively cut off yours and enemy's energy regen in combat, apart from minimal pauses and the "skip attacks" skill. The mini-pauses regen a 1-2 energy at best, and skip attacks regens about 7 or so, so it isnt much of a bother, as everything costs energy, including dodging and blocking. Since you will already have good skills to back the lack of energy regen (and 99% of the enemies will not), you are very much guaranteed success, enabling you to take on enemies whose stats outweigh your times over. You will be laughing off attacks from low-strength characters as they hit you and everything gets absorbed by the armor. And then, you will be lol-ing as they can barely lift a finger as you knock them down over and over again.

You owe it to yourself to try it - it is extremely fun and rewarding, and I am quite sure that it will surpass your expectations.

3. The Build.

If you have decided to play the Way of the Turtle, I assume you have some knowledge of the game. If not, even better! So let me guide you through the skills that this build will be picking. They are 27 total, anything else is up to you, as it will not hurt the gameplay in any way.

As I said in the foreword section, this playstyle is extremely minimalistic for a rather big part of the game, unlike Tiger and Bear where you want to get as many skill slots as possible in order to have more dodges, counterattacks, buffs, debuffs, and so on.

This is the build order:
- Pick that you have a mean hook when asked by Mick at start (as we will be using punches a lot)
- Make sure you have block at the start of the game (it is very common). You can go without, but best not, as the first block you will be getting in this case will be Iron Curtain, which is some ways down the pipeline.

0 (points). Block + Any Attack skill (default)
1. Tactics Learner.
2. High Punch - substitute the attack skill for this immediately.
3. Skip Attacks - ok to use at the start of combat or in the second round (as you only have 2 slots now).
4. Active Skill - third active skill means your setup will be Attack skill, Block skill, Skip Attacks. It will remain like that for a LONG time.
5. Meat Runner.
6. Backhand Punch - substitute High Punch for this immediately, as skip attacks will deal with the extra energy cost.
7. Good Sneakers.
8. Way of the Turtle.
9. Paw Punch - substitute Backhand Punch for this immediately. It will be your bread and butter punch for a long time, as it has great accuracy, damage and decent energy consumption. Revert back to Backhand only if you suffer energy-wise in a certain combat.
10. Energizer.
11. Iron Curtain - substitute block for this immediately.
12. Backbreaker - Alternate between this and Paw Punch instead of Backhand and Paw. Backbreaker allows you to cancel the enemy attack phase every now and then, which is very handy.
13. Shining Knight - Stamina is your weapon now, as you take less damage the more of it you have.
14. Huckle Bone Blow - very nice utility skill, albeit a kick, especially after we cut all energy regen in combat.
15. Stamina Focus - finally we get a 4th skill slot. best choices for it are Backbreaker, Huckle Bone Blow or Energizer.
16. Meat Runner 3 - as soon as you get 13 stamina, get it. This allows you to focus on the other 2 essential skills without having to worry about stamina decay.
17. Spear - an amazing skill! If you are at less than 25 energy, it costs NO ENERGY WHAT-SO-FREAKING-EVER and does a bit less damage than Paw Punch. Use it often, as it is a lifesaver.
18. Infinite Energy - this perk reduces the energy cost of your skills by 70% after you hit an energy treshold. Very nice in conjunction with the skills that are coming up.
19. Bear Strike - the second to last nail in the enemies' coffins! Having this buff on the skill bar allows you to steal energy from your opponents and add it to your own.
20. No Rest - yes rest, I would say, but more like Rest in Pieces! This skill cuts off energy regeneration for both you and your opponent. However, since you already have Skip Attacks and Bear Strike, along with the small pauses in combat and the inbetween round regen, you will be looking 90% of the time at a full bar while the enemy is in shambles, unable to lift a finger. No one is safe - including the pesky agility ones!
21. Active Skill 2 - now we have 5 skills to use, and they should be Skip Attacks, Bear Strike, Iron Curtain, (Any Punch), Backbreaker, Spear, or Huckle Bone Blow. If you fight an enemy that is more powerful than you (e. g. for a sub 100 day win), go Skip Attacks, Bear Strike, Iron Curtain, Spear and either Backbreaker or Energizer, or if the enemy has too many punch skills and has too much strength (Like Kulk Kogan), the upcoming Hands-Free Skill.
22. Fine Block - you should be blocking fine on your own, but some extra help never hurts. Gives you extra chance to block successfully at the cost of some energy. As if you even care about energy...
23. Meat Runner 2 - making our way to Good Sneakers 2.
24. Heavy Workout - the reduction in energy is a big "meh", as you will already be gobbling coffee, energy drinks and whatnot to keep you from going to bed and wasting time.
25. Good Sneakers 2 - another 15% bonus to stamina gain. Nice.
26. Hands Free - this is a very nifty utility skill. Feel free to add it to the skill bar if you see enemies who hit hard with punches, like your Brother and Kulk Kogan. You will take extra damage from kicks, so be careful.
27+. Whatever drives your boat. In my completionist playthrough, getting most of the achievements, I was 1 skill away from locking strength to 13 - yeah, I was THAT far down the bear tree as well... And that IS saying something...

So, to summarize, you want to start minimalistic, pick it up big time after you get to the last 4 skills of the turtle tree, and then rock the game till the end. Somehow the Jail and Gang fights are better for a Turtle-oriented player, but since I managed to get a sub-100 win the good way by losing only once to Kulk by chance (we were both down to 1 hit, so tough luck) and netting only 3 losses (Bobo and Silver's guaranteed ones being the other 2), then it is totally doable. And if you don't want to read again, here are the skills to use:

- Early Game:
2 Slot: Attack Skill, Block or Skip Attacks
3 slot: Attack skill, Block, Skip Attacks

- Early to Mid:
3 Slot: Paw Punch, Iron Curtain, Skip Attacks

Midgame:
4 Slots: Paw Punch/Spear, Iron Curtain, Skip Attacks, Backbreaker/Bear Strike

Late game:
5 Slots: Skip Attacks, Iron Curtain, Spear, Backbreaker, Bear Strike

Situational:
- vs Heavy Hand Hitters: Hands Free - sub Backbreaker for it

I hope this made sense - the way of the Turtle is a very rewarding, but not an easy one. However, once all pieces fall into place, you can totally enjoy the game without changing much, while eating your favorite snacks and/or having your favorite drink while watching your guy stomp enemies of any aspect.

4. Training routines.

There are three training routines that this character will observe - one before becoming a champion, one in Russia or Jail, and the last one, whether in the Gang's Hideout or the Mansion.

1. Training routine before becoming a champion.
- Try to have Roy's help AND be in love if possible. Also try to do double training shifts inbetween work hours to maximize the gain right before combat. If yu do it well, you can take on both the rookie/Playoff fights, the underground ones and maybe a street fight now and then. Do your training exclusively in the gym. Always cut the training after you get the first semi-circle(s), as it is ineffective use of your time.

Rotation:
Treadmill (Pure Stamina)
Punching Bag (All 3)
Tire (All 3)

These 3 devices will give you a great stamina gain, alongside with some strength and agility. It is perfectly ok to mix in some Squats (Stamina & Strength) if you feel like you are getting less mileage from the Tire or the Punching Bag in a double training routine - meaning going to the gym, going back home for a bite, then back to the gym. NEVER eat food in the gym - your money is needed elsewhere. Better buy some beef, go home, eat your fill and then go back to the gym. It is cheaper.

Try not to mix other devices in this routine. Persistence is key. I won't hold it against you if you do the small punching back for a little bit if you need to push the agility above a value in a pinch, but try not to.

2. Training routine in Russia or in the Jail.
- By the time you get there, you must have already locked the Stamina stat at 13. This is usually the time where you want to focus on getting Strength and Agility closer to Stamina. If you are going for a sub-100 day win, 7-8 in both will be ok, otherwise just have fun and raise it as high as you can. If you are playing normally, it's best to go the evil way and go to jail, if you want a sub-100 win, you want to go to Russia.

If in Russia:
Chopping Block
Sawblade
Punching Pillow on the tree
Some Pull-ups to break the routine

If in Jail:
Weights
Belt Weight
Pull-ups
Punching Bag

As you see we are focusing on pure Strength and Agility gain. Everything miniscule that goes in Stamina will be eaten up by the decay anyway, but because of the skill lock, it won't go lower than 13.

3. Training routine in the Mansion or the Gang's Hideout.
This is the late game where you need to go heavy on Stamina while still keeping the Strength and Agility values. For a normal gameplay I would say Strength 10+ & Agility 10+, and for sub-100 day win, Strength 8+ and Agility 8+. In this part of the game you can go for months without resting, so use the money you get and buy tons of energy drinks and meat. Aso try to keep Adrian happy, as being in love saves you some busywork running here and there... You can go without love, but... time is a valuable commodity!

Rotation:
Treadmill
Pull-ups
Squats
Add Weights or Belt Weight for Strength or Small Punching Bag for agility when the above 3 get ineffective (meaning you do a few repetitions and you already get semi-circles).

That should get you through the game. If play properly, by the time you get the skill to lock Stamina at 13, you should be at 12 or 13 already. If not, just save the points and go heavy on stamina until you do. It is a crucial breakpoint of the Turtle training.

5. Conclusion.

Before I write the conclusion, I would like to treat you to a few screenshots:

Sub-100 day win, only 3 losses: Bobo, Silver, and Kulk by chance:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=635716327

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=635715325

Day 146 completionist win, 7 losses: mostly because I was taking on enemies way before my time and I got Active Skill 2 and Fine Block before completing the Turtle tree, which turned out to be a mistake:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=635177369

I hope these 3 screens prove to you that the way of the turtle isn't as bad as people think. It is different from anything you may have experienced by now, and in my opinion, you owe it to yourself to try it. You will learn to min-max big time, and you will vastly improve your knowledge of the game. I know I have - and I immensely enjoyed my time with this build. Heck, I even deleted my agility one just to have a second crack at improving the turtle build, and to me, that is indeed saying something...

6. Post scriptum: some small personal tips that you can use or ignore.

I don't usually add such sections, because every run is based on the mileage of the player, and making the precise decisions at the very precise point of time is not easy at all. However, I can easily see how people could get overwhelmed by having to manage between work, training, fights and yeah - achievements. I know I was at start. It took me a good while to perfect the way of the turtle. And, on a personal note... I have a problem with the game. Everyone is saying that Tiger is OP and I can't get it to work with minimal losses as I can with turtle. So weird, and I think I am doing something wrong, which is bugging me. But I am straying off the point. Let me give you some pointers I myself use all the time. They may help you or they may not, so don't take my words as written in stone.

1. My favorite game start with any aspect:
After you read the job offer and you get the arrow to go to the city map, dont. Eat everything in the fridge and then go to the Grocery Store by foot.. After all the stuff takes place, go to WORK. Don't go training yet. You will be able to do 2.5 shifts worth of work. That's 100$. Go to Apu, buy 4 meat (20$ left). Go home and sleep it up. Eat your fill and go to the gym. Let Silver beat you up (this will push your poor mood to acceptable values so you dont get the bad mood debuff on training) and go training. Do as much training, go home and rest and eat up as necessary, then go back training. This should put your stats at the 2-3, even maybe 4 values. After the first fight, you only need to do half a shift at work and not lose much mood to make 50$ that will keep you going. After that your mileage may vary.

2. Deciding what I want:
The most important part of this game is deciding what you want. I strongly suggest to start a completionist run - don't care about time and losses, go everywhere, do everything, win both the championship and the underground, beat all the enemies before going to jail or Russia. The hidden achievement, the sub-100 day win is to be taken after you are comfortable with the game. Restart the game as necessary until you get the starting skills you need. It is best to lose 5 minutes on a restart than play for 12 hours, and eke a meager living. Once you decide what kind of playstyle you want, follow it to the end.

3. To Roy or not to Roy.
That is the concept of the game that is bugging me the most. Being is love is good, as you train longer due to the reduced food/energy consumption. Roy gives you 15% more effectiveness for a day, but you lose half a day to get him to come with you to the gym. In theory, it should stil be better, but since the game gives you circles and bars instead of numbers, I cannot give a precise evaluation. All I can say is, if you have one day + at least 66% of the next day before a fight, get Roy. If you have less, go without.

4. When is best to train.
In my personal opinion, the best breakpoint for training is when the fight is tomorrow and the day before is half over. So if you have 2 full days (meaning fight is tomorrow and you have a full or almost full day) to train and full bars, get Roy (takes like half a day) and go train, this is the best bang for your buck. If you have less than a day (meaning today is the day of the combat) and just more than a day (meaning the day is almost over and the fight is tomorrow), train normally.

5. Locking stats.
In general, the only stat lock I go for is 13. If the others are on the way to 13, you are forced to take them but not all trees have the option. If you completely devote yourself to a stat (the way Tiger seems to work) you can skip the 13 skill lock even. For Turtle, 13 is a sure-fire lock, so use it to its maximum potential.

6. When to work.
Work is best done after a fight, as you will need cash for the next training routine. This is crucial in early game, as later on the underground battles + Bobo's money run (if you dont go for the achievement, Big Bobo has a free one-time 100$ job every 2-3 days that costs you NO food and energy reduction, might be a bug though) will keep you on top of the money situation and even let you buy presents for Adrian and keep her in love with you. In the early game, time management is absolutely clutch. You want to have just enough money to keep you going while winning every fight. It is not easy, but it is totally doable - hence why I go for the double whammy at work on day 1.

IN all fairness, the early game is the one that makes or breaks your run. In order to have a smooth going, you totally need to perfect it. It is not easy - but it is totally doable.

I hope these tips help a bit. Anything from midgame on is more of a filling bars than managing your stuff.

[Beravin]

Excellent guide. I finished the game on hardcore, doing the don route, in 94 days.

[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]

Update:
Game finished in 106-ish days on hardcore (could have been 15 days less had i not been wasting time testing some stuff and being super inefficient with final tournament). Final stats were 9/9/19.
My skills were:
Skip Attack - Iron Curtain - Bear strike - Paw punch - Meat Hook/Backbreaker
Hadn't really figured out which one is better Meat Hook or Backbreaker. From a bit of testing i did, seems like Meat Hook is much better against hard hitters (you would think Backbreaker would be since hard hitters usually don't have much agility/dodge)
Weirdly enough, i had issues with high agility builds who ran counterattacks, i could win without issue, but in endurance matches, they would take huge chunk of my hp.

[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]

Hey, following this build. It's amazing, but i have few questions:
1) Once u get no Rest, is there a point to Skip attacks? Shouldn't u not be able to regen energy?
2) Because of no rest, Pain lover perk is useless right? Is Barrel strike worth picking up and using over paw strike?
3) What does Energized and Meat Hook actually do?
4) If skip attack is used with No Rest, does end game skills look like this:
Paw Punch - Bear Strike - Iron Curtain - Skip attack - Energized/Meat Hook
I've noticed that other skills (besides spear) kinda suck due to low Accuracy.

[нто мошпиь]

Beat the game in 68 days! Thx! Next try on hardcore

[Anak.Ilang]

Amazing guide, thanks! Beat KK and brother on 1st try, hardcore 73 days, and I do things a bit different. stat is 8/8/15. It's all abt rng. overall, There's 2 thing I found unoptimized and took a lot of gambling if you're looking for the fastest time instead of 100%.

1. street fight and unlocking the bar slows you a lot if you're aiming for sub 100, the SP is not worth the time. managed to reach 64 days win with 7/7/15 by competely skipping pub.
2. I find hands free and spear pretty useless. Overrated moves.

paw punch is more than enough for your main weapon the entire game. bear strike is a must especially vs KK, as well as skip attacks and iron curtain. Last one should be either meat hook or brawler

Against Kulk Kogan, you shouldn't use handsfree. Your best bet is either meat hook so you can land more combos and drain KK's energy way faster, before he knock you out, so you can pin him. Or Use brawler to break his combo so he doesn't deal too much damage at once.

[Mortimer]

Thank you <3
Just finished "Hardcore: Day 97" :D
My final Stats were: 8-8-13 (Str-Agi-Sta).

Took me 6 tries on Kulk Kogan, but luckily you don't need to win against your Brother afterwards, as you'll get the Achievement wheter you win or lose. Only difference is that the final dialog of you and your Brother is swapped.

I did 2 or 3 things differently in this Guide:
1) I took "Hands Free" before "Meat Runner II"

2) I spend money whenever possible on "Sparring with Silver".
Early on "Hand Pads" (15$) for 2 Skillpoints and later on "Sparring" (20$) for 3 Skillpoints.

3) I skipped Roy (and Adrian by accident) entirely.

Number 2) was especially useful in the early-game as you get to your key-talents much faster.
Other than those 3, I followed word by word and happily made it Sub100 on Hardcore :D

All-in-all:
I had some really bad RNG throughout the run and with a bit more luck and/or the buff from Adrian (esp. in the late-game) this would've been doable in ~84-89 Days (on Hardcore).

[Fleshhunter]

Thank you! Beat the game in 78 days!

[NoAverageMitch]

This was a lot of fun. On my second playthrough, I tried to do Way of the Turtle and just got demolished. After playing through a different way, I came across your guide. I didn't follow it to the letter but I beat it in 120 days using some of the strategies in it. Thank you for inspiring me to try the Turtle playthrough again. I enjoyed it. :)

[kiki]

That was really useful, i beat the game in 89 days, thank u!!!

[50]

A brilliant guide, thank you for this. First time I've played the game, currently at day 90 and I'm in the Mansion. Really enjoying it. Skill unlocks have been spot on as well.