[Guide] Grow strong before fighting anything

[Dorftek]

Useful for anyone who will go for the TCS Achievement when they unlock it.

 

First off, sneaking through the entire first Island is recomended. I recommend minimum stealth 5 before digsite. Hylea's Bounty food will help with this. 

 

When u depart from Port Maje island buy 400 Water and 400 Hardtrack and sail around the map collecting the insane amount of exp u get for exploring.

I highly recomend u pick beraths blessing for the upgraded sail so that u can outrun anyone who wants to engage your ship.

Revealed worldmap is convenient too so u can see enemy ships.

 

I have marked all the locations for the exploring exp on a map for your convenience below:

 

 

  

 

 

 

With a decent mechanics skill you can collect loads of exp in a place called "Sandswept Ruins" by disarming traps. 

Location marked on map below:

 

 

  

 

 

Sail past Sayuka and pick up the Superb Arqeubus from inside Fleetmaster's Office. It is inside a chest with a lvl 7 lock. There is also a superb warhammer inside the longhouse in a chest with a lvl 13 lock, u can pickpocket the key to the chest with a low sleight of hand check, i got the key with only rank 3 sleight of hand. 

 

Tikawara:

 

Dock at Tikawara, head straight north and talk to Mukumu. Thereafter head back to the beach and go west until u find a hidden treasure in the sand. loot it and wait until nighttime - confront Rongi and go back to Mukumu and finish the quest.

 

 

Dunnage:

 

Do the quick quest for Pietro in the Royal Coffin called "Iron Gut". Do NOT do the quest called "A Tidy Performance" as it will force u into an ambush fight. While here sleep with the female hooker to recieve +1 to all skills. Also if u have the coin i'd recommend getting the training for Mechanics and Explosives from a guy inside the Tavern. There is also a trainer for stealth on the docks area if u have the money.

 

 

Fort Deadlight:

 

 

Before u sail to the beach make sure it is nighttime, if its not simply "wait" until nighttime because otherwise you will loose ur per rest bonuses sailing to the beach.

You need Athletics 3 or a Grappling hook and a decent might score to get in this way.

Pick up the Boots Of Stealth from the jail.

Go speak to Mirke in the Tavern area and blow Benweth to pieces. You will need 1 cinder bomb for this.

 

 

Neketaka - Queens Berth:

 

All quests in Queens Berth can be resolved Peacefully. You need to pass certain skll checks in order to do so however but they are all very easily achieveable if have the hooker bonus + adra potion bonus. Focus on Bluff and Diplomacy imo.

While you are here go inside the Luminous Adra Mill and steal everything then head up to the roof and get the dog. Now go to Periki's Overlook

 

 

Neketaka - Periki's Overlook:

 

First of all i have honestly never been inside the Watershapers Guild so i dont know if there are quests there.

 With that said, all quests can be resolved Peacefully unless there is one in Watershapers i dont know about. Buy the Burglar's Gloves from Iolfr's Rainments.

To resolve Arkemyrs mansion without any violence or risk you need to enter through the Dark Cupbord second floor. You will need a rope and grappling hook and an Atheltics score at around 3 to pull it off. With Mecanics 11 u can loot everything inside Arkemyrs mansion and vault. With Thieves Putty + Gloves + Adra potion + Hooker bonus u already have a bonus of +7 Mecanics, +8 if u bought the training in Dunnage. 

Degnos quest can be done peacefully if you dont mess with the Thugs who will ambush you. Move on to Serpent's Crown

 

 

Neketaka - Serpent's Crown:

 

Head straight to Muhai's house, loot everything and take her body, speak to the ghost, tell her u will fullfill her final wish then move on. Head to Takanos Residence. Steal the Cornett from a chest inside his house. It has a low Mecanics check wich u should have no problem with by now. If u for some reason cannot pick the lock the key is located up the stairs.

Then head to the palace and update the main quest and give the Tablet from Arkemyrs to Nethe if u want the extra faction with Huana, keep it if u want the reputation with the Royal Deadfire Company. Move on to Sacred Stairs. 

 

 

Neketaka - Sacred Stairs:

 

Speak to the priest about Muhai's Body, choose to defy the priest or defy Muhai. Slight reputation loss with Huana if u burn the corpse. Move on to Brass Citadel.

 

 

Neketaka - The Brass Citadel:

 

Bertenno is down at the docks in this area, u need 400 copper to resolve this quest peacefully. Give the Tablet from Arkemyrs to Tumara if u didnt give it to Nethe. Head inside the citadel and update the Royal Deadfire companys faction quest for a nice chunk of exp. Orlan Peddler sells a very handy necklace wich gives +2 Int, +5 acc vs vessels and 10 charges with a summon random vessel spell wich can be a lifesaver when u need it. Move on to The Gullet. 

 

 

Neketaka - The Gullet:

 

After the cutscene head to Biha's home, take her quest - speak to Seduso - speak to Orron. Now u can either lure him down with a rank 4 bluff check and kill him while he is alone. Note that he is a paladin and not to be underestimated. His Deflection score is quite high if you are on upscaled POTD. Or u can simply pay him a quite hefty chunk of coins. Talk to Seduso again and tell her that Orron wont be traveling with her. You will be ambushed upon leaving the Tavern, u can avoid combat with several different skill checks or pay 50c. Go speak to Enoi and tell him u will re-establish the smuggling routes. Go to Pitli and get the quest for Drowners Lung. Head to Dereo and give him the Cornett u stole earlier from Takanos residence, by doing it this way u have avoided a nasty ambush that would trigger if u had picked up the Cornett after u had recieved the quest for it. He now wants u to go to the Undercroft. Head to Delvers Row, steal the Drowners Lunge from Ernezzos sideroom then move on to the undercroft. Go speak to Mad Morena and give her the luminous adra crates u stole earlier in queens berth. You can now choose to continue the Cornett quest or go back and turn in the quests in The Gullet. If you choose to continue the quest just use caution.

 

 

 

I will link a few other useful guides here for convenience:

 

For quick and easy gear:

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/102943-guide-strong-early-weapons/

 

For "no-resting bonuses":

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/101300-guide-permanent-bonuses-approach-for-a-no-rest-run/

 

For finding resources needed for enchantments among other things:

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/103020-limited-resources-locations/?p=2064079

 

Credit to all helpful Comments below =)

 

I will continue updating this as i gain more knowledge.

Edited June 29, 2018 by Dorftek

[Marigoldran]

I mean: you may as well use console commands and lvl up if you wish to test builds.  

[Dorftek]

I mean: you may as well use console commands and lvl up if you wish to test builds.  

 

You may as well use console commands for anything by that reasoning? Console commands prevents u from getting achievements.

[Marigoldran]

Yeah, but by that point, you should have gotten all of the achievements on another char.  

Edited June 27, 2018 by Marigoldran

[Yougottawanna]

Neketaka quests that can be done without combat IIRC:

 

-The quest for the shipwright in the NW corner of Queen's Berth, if you side with the principi guy

-Arkemyr's vault (need a certain amount of athletics to get from the Dark Cupboard upstairs to the balcony, then get the robe and the password from Arkemyr's bedroom)

-The quest to get the Roparu woman and her family passage to Rauitai: talk to the captain in the Hole tavern, then talk to the Goldpact guy upstairs, there are several ways to convince him to give up his berth

-The drowner's lung medicine quest: starts in Pitli's sanctuary in the Gullet, the medicine can be found in the north part of Delver's Row (need high-ish mechanics for this one, not sure of the exact number)

-The first part of "Cornett's Call" from Dereo in the Narrows: with the right skills/dialogue choices you can talk down the other thief who ambushes you in the city on your way back. Again not sure exactly what you need, but I don't think any of the requirements are that high

-Once you do the first part of Cornett's Call, you can access the Undercroft and do Mad Morena's quest to steal luminous adra crates from the mill in Queen's Berth. Easy to do even with low stealth

-With all the above I believe you can complete the "Feed the Roparu" quest you get from Enoi in the Gullet too

-With decent diplomacy you can resolve the Bardatto/Valera feud without fighting anyone

-The quest you get from the guy with the missing satchel outside the Luminous Bathhouse can be completed without fighting

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it's possible to have the Guardian of Ukaizo be the first thing you fight in the game.

[Dorftek]

Neketaka quests that can be done without combat IIRC:

 

-The quest for the shipwright in the NW corner of Queen's Berth, if you side with the principi guy

-Arkemyr's vault (need a certain amount of athletics to get from the Dark Cupboard upstairs to the balcony, then get the robe and the password from Arkemyr's bedroom)

-The quest to get the Roparu woman and her family passage to Rauitai: talk to the captain in the Hole tavern, then talk to the Goldpact guy upstairs, there are several ways to convince him to give up his berth

-The drowner's lung medicine quest: starts in Pitli's sanctuary in the Gullet, the medicine can be found in the north part of Delver's Row (need high-ish mechanics for this one, not sure of the exact number)

-The first part of "Cornett's Call" from Dereo in the Narrows: with the right skills/dialogue choices you can talk down the other thief who ambushes you in the city on your way back. Again not sure exactly what you need, but I don't think any of the requirements are that high

-Once you do the first part of Cornett's Call, you can access the Undercroft and do Mad Morena's quest to steal luminous adra crates from the mill in Queen's Berth. Easy to do even with low stealth

-With all the above I believe you can complete the "Feed the Roparu" quest you get from Enoi in the Gullet too

-With decent diplomacy you can resolve the Bardatto/Valera feud without fighting anyone

-The quest you get from the guy with the missing satchel outside the Luminous Bathhouse can be completed without fighting

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it's possible to have the Guardian of Ukaizo be the first thing you fight in the game.

Also, if you steal the cornet before u pick up the quest from dereo u won't ever be placed against those other thiefs

[AndreaColombo]

Subbed.

[araj123]

I mean: you may as well use console commands and lvl up if you wish to test builds.  

 

Just no

 

Console = cheating

 

This guide has nothing like literally nothing to do with cheating lol what has this guide to do with testing builds anyway?

 

Great guide btw thanks for putting it together

Edited June 27, 2018 by araj123

[Esajin]

You can also hire Rust to steal the Cornett for you, skipping the ambush.

[Enoch]

 

Neketaka quests that can be done without combat IIRC:

 

-The quest for the shipwright in the NW corner of Queen's Berth, if you side with the principi guy

-Arkemyr's vault (need a certain amount of athletics to get from the Dark Cupboard upstairs to the balcony, then get the robe and the password from Arkemyr's bedroom)

-The quest to get the Roparu woman and her family passage to Rauitai: talk to the captain in the Hole tavern, then talk to the Goldpact guy upstairs, there are several ways to convince him to give up his berth

-The drowner's lung medicine quest: starts in Pitli's sanctuary in the Gullet, the medicine can be found in the north part of Delver's Row (need high-ish mechanics for this one, not sure of the exact number)

-The first part of "Cornett's Call" from Dereo in the Narrows: with the right skills/dialogue choices you can talk down the other thief who ambushes you in the city on your way back. Again not sure exactly what you need, but I don't think any of the requirements are that high

-Once you do the first part of Cornett's Call, you can access the Undercroft and do Mad Morena's quest to steal luminous adra crates from the mill in Queen's Berth. Easy to do even with low stealth

-With all the above I believe you can complete the "Feed the Roparu" quest you get from Enoi in the Gullet too

-With decent diplomacy you can resolve the Bardatto/Valera feud without fighting anyone

-The quest you get from the guy with the missing satchel outside the Luminous Bathhouse can be completed without fighting

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it's possible to have the Guardian of Ukaizo be the first thing you fight in the game.

Also, if you steal the cornet before u pick up the quest from dereo u won't ever be placed against those other thiefs

 

Additionally:

 

Once you've seen the watershapers in the Undercroft, report back to Prince A.

Get the gloves for Fassina (pay 200 copper).

Cremate the dead lady in the "middle" estate in Serpent's Crown.

Resolve the issue between Luca and the Huana dude outside VTC HQ.

Not for TCS, of course, but non-solo players can get some XP for early steps of companion quests for Eder (talk to guy in Temple of Gaun), Xoti (empty the lamp at the statute), and Pallegina (track Giacolo from Tower to Hole to Delver's).

Edited June 27, 2018 by Enoch

[knownastherat]

For TSC why to fight the Guardian of Ukaizo?

[Dorftek]

Glad to see people are contributing and discussing, i will update the OP from time to time with information from this thread =)

[smjjames]

TCS achievement? I don't see that in the list of possible Steam achievements.

 

Additionally, there's the A Sinking Feeling and A Bigger Fish quests, both of which are possible without fighting. A Sinking Feeling can be completed by just having your companion (or you) with highest stealth eavesdrop. A Bigger Fish can be completed by telling them to swing by Zili Valera that requires no skill checks. Not sure if you have to talk to Zili Valera first for that option to show up.

 

You'll also get a decent hull and sail out of those two for free. Also, make sure you do the reconcillation between the two soon after (not sure how many days) or you'll be forced to choose a side and fight.

Edited June 27, 2018 by smjjames

[knownastherat]

I have to choose to be constructive and positive, else .. 

 

Cornett's Call can be done without fighting, say hello - check the mosaic, say good bye - stealth/withdraw/invisibility,

[smjjames]

I have to choose to be constructive and positive, else .. 

 

Cornett's Call can be done without fighting, say hello - check the mosaic, say good bye - stealth/withdraw/invisibility,

 

Opening the side chamber will break stealth and make you fight the giant worm, just to note.

[Dorftek]

 

I have to choose to be constructive and positive, else .. 

 

Cornett's Call can be done without fighting, say hello - check the mosaic, say good bye - stealth/withdraw/invisibility,

 

Opening the side chamber will break stealth and make you fight the giant worm, just to note.

 

 

Actually if u are quick enough u can re-stealth before u get locked into combat and ur safe =) (risky on a TCS run tho unless u have invis or withdrawal)

[knownastherat]

 

I have to choose to be constructive and positive, else .. 

 

Cornett's Call can be done without fighting, say hello - check the mosaic, say good bye - stealth/withdraw/invisibility,

 

Opening the side chamber will break stealth and make you fight the giant worm, just to note.

 

 

Nah, it takes out of stealth but does not start combat and even if, you run away, its not like the boss can follow. 

[knownastherat]

 

 

I have to choose to be constructive and positive, else .. 

 

Cornett's Call can be done without fighting, say hello - check the mosaic, say good bye - stealth/withdraw/invisibility,

 

Opening the side chamber will break stealth and make you fight the giant worm, just to note.

 

 

Actually if u are quick enough u can re-stealth before u get locked into combat and ur safe =) (risky on a TCS run tho unless u have invis or withdrawal)

 

 

TCS without Invisibility/Withdraw is added difficulty, right?

 

edit: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/99417-rogue-cheesing-speedrun-on-potd-with-beraths-blessings-in-2625/

Edited June 27, 2018 by knownastherat

[smjjames]

You'd have to get the second cornett anyway, and you're forced to fight there.

 

Two others are:

 

Coming to Terms: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Coming_to_Terms Possible with either decent diplomacy skill or you can try using stealth.

 

and this one which there is basically no info about: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Refined_Arrangement I've looked at the stringtables and it doesn't look like combat is involved at all. Only problem is that the dialogue to start the quest doesn't seem to exist and I have no idea how it's supposed to start.

[knownastherat]

You'd have to get the second cornett anyway, and you're forced to fight there.

 

Two others are:

 

Coming to Terms: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Coming_to_Terms Possible with either decent diplomacy skill or you can try using stealth.

 

and this one which there is basically no info about: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Refined_Arrangement I've looked at the stringtables and it doesn't look like combat is involved at all. Only problem is that the dialogue to start the quest doesn't seem to exist and I have no idea how it's supposed to start.

 

Nah, you get the second one - hello, Invisibility/Withdraw - goodbye. Just tried it so I dont talk theory.

[Dorftek]

 

 

 

I have to choose to be constructive and positive, else .. 

 

Cornett's Call can be done without fighting, say hello - check the mosaic, say good bye - stealth/withdraw/invisibility,

 

Opening the side chamber will break stealth and make you fight the giant worm, just to note.

 

 

Actually if u are quick enough u can re-stealth before u get locked into combat and ur safe =) (risky on a TCS run tho unless u have invis or withdrawal)

 

 

TCS without Invisibility/Withdraw is added difficulty, right?

 

edit: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/99417-rogue-cheesing-speedrun-on-potd-with-beraths-blessings-in-2625/

 

 

Heh yes for sure.

 

 

You'd have to get the second cornett anyway, and you're forced to fight there.

 

Two others are:

 

Coming to Terms: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Coming_to_Terms Possible with either decent diplomacy skill or you can try using stealth.

 

and this one which there is basically no info about: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Refined_Arrangement I've looked at the stringtables and it doesn't look like combat is involved at all. Only problem is that the dialogue to start the quest doesn't seem to exist and I have no idea how it's supposed to start.

 

With enough stealth or with any instant movement + withdraw scroll or invis u can avoid the fight

[mant2si]

I recorded video for all fights with early levels, if I have a time I will upload them :D I really like that fights, of-course some of them you can do without big risk on TSC, some no :D

I don't get a point to do TSC without risk, you can always pick arcane knight with +20AR and steamroll everething  :D

Edited June 27, 2018 by mant2si

[smjjames]

Can someone explain what the TCS/TSC achievement is? It's not a Steam achievement and attempting to do a forum search for TCS yielded nothing, probably because it's too short of a string.

[knownastherat]

It is a virtual achievement. 

[smjjames]

What is TCS/TSC an acronym for though? That's what I'm asking as well.