How'd you all do?

Tarvok

#1 by Tarvok - Mar 16 2013

I've had this game for a few weeks now, and have richly enjoyed it. I love how difficult it was... without being completely impossible. I did manage to survive to coronation without checking a hint guide. I think the only thing I actually checked on the Wiki was the moods and skills chart, and that was just to verify that I wasn't crazy, that Economics did, in fact, lack a mood bonus.

First time through: killed by bandits on the way to the birthday party.

Second time through: had loads of lumen skills and figured I was bad enough to survive the trip. Arrowed again.

Third time through: ate poison candy. Didn't even have the option to "save it for later".

Fourth time through: I don't recall exactly what skillset Elodie had this time around, but it was rather low on fighting ability. Also low on composure. Survived to watch my fleet go down from the safety of my castle, decided not to run away to my fiance in a neighboring country (mistake), watched daddy die, flew at the enemy in a rage. And that's all she wrote.

Fifth time through: By this time, I'd figured out the skill system. MASTERED both Lumen and Intrigue skills, and had quite a few others, as well. No trouble with nobles, peasants, and only a little bit of a tariff tantrum from that one noble from the neighboring country. Pretty sure I bought off the Ixionites, at a bargain. Managed to get Auntie on my side, and so when the fleet came, we nuked it out of existence. The common people loved me, particularly in my self-designed threads. My reign was marked with economic difficulty due to the expense of heading out to sea every year... but that was offset by Nova being at the center of a printing press fueled intellectual revolution.

Awesome game. How'd you guys do? Who here did it without a hint guide? How many tries did it take? What form did your victory take?

Franka

#2 by Franka - Mar 16 2013

After playing through it so many times, I can barely remember the early games any longer.

I know I bought it from bandits, chocolate and a few different royal duels before reaching my first coronation. I took a hint for one item on the checklist, by asking on the forum, everything else I got on my own.

After that, I started assisting on the wiki, found some things that I never thought to find in the game, and got blessed by cats - my biggest feat ever.

Hazel

#3 by Hazel - Mar 16 2013

Got offed by Togami during my very first playthrough and subsequently bore him an everlasting grudge. I also fell to the bandits once, when I assumed Lumen skills would be enough to fight them off. Most of my early playthroughs were marked by Elodie staying in the castle as often as possible, which improved her odds markedly.

Ramidel

#4 by Ramidel - Mar 16 2013

My first game was ended by arrows. My second? Death by chocolate. Once I got past that? Death by Togami.

I don't remember how many games I played before I finally got to a win; it was one where I had to deal with sealing the kraken, where I married a foreign duke, and where I got the Lumen Master ending to clear the Old Forest. Oddly enough, I still hadn't figured out that Lucille was behind everything.

Darksilverhawk

#5 by Darksilverhawk - Mar 18 2013

To this day I constantly forget about those silly chocolates and they still kill me more than any other thing. I don't remember what killed me the first few times, though; it was so long ago and I've played so many games since I can't remember.

I got all the checklist items without a guide except for two, mostly since when I was first playing the wiki wasn't really any use yet. (the navel victory I ended up looking for help with, and then got utterly stuck trying to make a foreign duke my subject so I had to look that one up)

Tarvok

#6 by Tarvok - Mar 19 2013

I got the foreign duke entirely by accident. I'm still not sure how that one works.

This game is really hard to win. Thus far, I've won exactly once, the time I destroyed the fleet from a distance and then committed to twelve years of kraken hunting. And it's always something different. Last time, I tried and failed to achieve a naval victory, and died in the water.