Incline Age of Decadence - Tips, Tricks and Spoilers

[bati]

The last update.

A test build containing many changes and mechanics from Dungeon Rats is now available, should you wish to give it a try.

To access the test build, right click on the game in your Steam library, select Properties, click on Betas tab. If it’s set on “None - Opt out of all beta programs”, change it to Test – Private Testing Branch. Enter the Access Code (‘blacksheepwall’), click on Check Code, and wait for Steam to download the files.

We've tested the build and so far everything *appears* to be working correctly, but there were quite a few changes to the scripts so it's possible that we failed to detect something. We'll continue testing for another week or so. You can either try the build now or wait until it's released officially.

Summary of the changes for those of us who haven't played DR?

 

[Lurker King]

It's better interface with flank, new belt mechanics and positioning phase. Read Eyestabber's guide.

 

[Haba]

I'm starting to realise just how many hidden options and places and whatnot are in this. I just managed to Ascend (kneel, peasant), but I still haven't found a way into that spire with the glowing door, or what that weird diving helmet does, or what to do with the demon core, or if the arch does anything, or how to reactivate the bridge, or how to install the eye, or what the glove does, and I haven't even tried the assassin/thief quest lines yet. So much stuff! The power armour is pretty awesome too; I love that you can see the helmet changing when you choose a different setting. I also may have mistakenly destroyed Maadoran once, and I don't know what that helps, either.

you made me cave and buy the game asshole

-If the arch does anything: visit after doing the right thing
-What weird diving helmet does: visit right location after doing the right thing
-What to do with the demon core: visit the right location
-How to install the eye: happen to speak with the right person

Random luck, the game.

That reminds me, wtf the "saw" you find in the remains at Al-Akia is supposed to do? My loremaster refused to pick it up through dialogue, as he didn't saw any practical use for it.

 

[Lazing Dirk]

Random luck, the game.

If you only played through it once, sure, but most (all?) of it is pretty deterministic. After playing it through multiple times with multiple paths, you'll start to know how to get what you want and from where.

That reminds me, wtf the "saw" you find in the remains at Al-Akia is supposed to do? My loremaster refused to pick it up through dialogue, as he didn't saw any practical use for it.

You can use it as a weapon, if you're a fighty sort, which your loremaster probably wasn't.

 

[Haba]

Well that's one dumb skill check then, I had 10 crafting, even if I can't use it, I should still be able to recognize it as a potential weapon.

 

[Lazing Dirk]

Well that's one dumb skill check then, I had 10 crafting, even if I can't use it, I should still be able to recognize it as a potential weapon.

I dunno, it sort of makes sense. If your crafty loremaster saw a big metal cog attached to the end of a heavy rod, he'd probably briefly wonder what sort of machine it came from and what it was used for, before searching for something more interesting. Smashy McSkullbreaker, on the hand, looks at it and thinks, "Wow, sweet mace". Or Choppy McTreefeller might see it and think, "I bet a blacksmith could sharpen that into a cool axe". The description seems to imply that sort of improvisation when you get it.

 

[Skittles]

-If the arch does anything: visit after doing the right thing
-What weird diving helmet does: visit right location after doing the right thing
-What to do with the demon core: visit the right location
-How to install the eye: happen to speak with the right person

Random luck, the game.

That reminds me, wtf the "saw" you find in the remains at Al-Akia is supposed to do? My loremaster refused to pick it up through dialogue, as he didn't saw any practical use for it.

When you visit the arch, you're forced into dialog with a guy who gives you clues about what you need to interact with it and the description drops another vague hint. The storyteller in Teron, IIRC, suggests the purpose of the arch.

The eye requires you take it to a guy you're forced into dialog with when you enter the area with it who basically introduces himself as the guy to do what you need done. It's not "happen to speak to the right person," it's "go back to the guy you 100% had to speak to and know is the right guy if you have the eye at all."

I can't recall the specifics at this point (since I know now, I don't recall who suggests these things) but I wasn't confused about what to do with the core or the helmet the first time around (I admit that might have been because I was given a core and told where to go due to a relationship). Investigating and paying attention to the responses is how you figure these things out.

Further, it's not like the game screws you if you haven't done X before visiting location Y unless you're pressing ahead with the main plot. Sure, you can miss things, but you can go explore, find a thing, and return to all the places you mentioned. It's like you're asking for a quest compass, FFS.

 

[Haba]

It's like you're asking for a quest compass, FFS.

Guy tells you that he is/was a doctor. Completely different from all the other healers who are able to give advanced medical diagnoses for your various wounds, right?

Or the medical kit. There is one (1) character you can show it. But it is certainly not the doctor you can ask to do the eye surgery on you. No, it is a random dude you meet in a dungeon. Because reasons. And even if you have the medical kit and have visited the medical facility, you can't ask him to perform the surgery on you unless you've visited a gated location.

Fine, it is an indie game and you just can't humanly expect them to add every possible permutation. But it certainly goes against the idea of being a loremaster and actually investigating things.

It is bad design and hopefully something ITS will be able to improve on.

 

[Vault Dweller]

It's like you're asking for a quest compass, FFS.

Guy tells you that he is/was a doctor. Completely different from all the other healers who are able to give advanced medical diagnoses for your various wounds, right?

Arguably, it would take a special doctor (with very little regard for a patient's well-being) to do an eye implant.

Or the medical kit. There is one (1) character you can show it. But it is certainly not the doctor you can ask to do the eye surgery on you. No, it is a random dude you meet in a dungeon. Because reasons.

Because nobody but a very learned loremaster would know what it is and nobody but an insane loremaster would agree to perform the ritual. The random dude does tell you that he's a loremaster, demonstrates his skills by crafting that 'friend-foe' amulet for you, etc.

And even if you have the medical kit and have visited the medical facility, you can't ask him to perform the surgery on you unless you've visited a gated location.

Well, it's a ritual that turns you into a god. By definition, it shouldn't be easy. It requires 4 fairy logical steps: the medical kit, someone who's knowledgeable and skilled enough to use it, access to a proper medical facility, access to the original temple to perform the ritual.

Anyway, I agree that you should have been able to show all artifacts to all loremasters, even if they know nothing about it.

 

[Haba]

And the same thing with the eye and the kit. You really don't get any clues on what kind of a person you are looking for, which makes it a bit jarring when you finally discover the right person.

 

[Skittles]

Fine, it is an indie game and you just can't humanly expect them to add every possible permutation. But it certainly goes against the idea of being a loremaster and actually investigating things.

It is bad design and hopefully something ITS will be able to improve on.

Sure, I would like to see it improved upon. And it would be cooler if you could do more "research" of some sort on any given item than what made the game, I agree. It's just that AoD is as not opaque as you're presenting it--it's not a "try every combination of stuff in your inventory in every location" adventure game design. There are lots of hints about what a thing is, the game makes a point of trying to put these key people and locations in your path, and the wheres and whys generally respect the game's internal lore and logic.

 

[Jason Liang]

It would probably be slightly more player friendly if there was a more direct clue somewhere in the game that the eye exists (and is somewhere in Maadoran). It's in an optional area gated by a difficult fight and many builds have no other reason to actually reach this area. And it's also possible to miss the merchant even if you reach the district.

There are only a few indirect clues that devices like the eye exist, and no clue where one would be found.

 

[Goral]

It's in an optional area gated by a difficult fight

You can get past Hermon if your persuasion and streetwise are high enough.

And it's also possible to miss the merchant even if you reach the district.

That's true for any game, that's why most gamers usually talk to everyone who has a more unique name.

 

[Latelistener]

Are there any benefits of not joining anyone in Teron as a Drifter? It seems like I will be missing a lot of skill points without playing the game Carrinas has started.

 

[Vault Dweller]

None.

 

[Latelistener]

Is there a way to hide GUI? Maybe assign it to a button somehow via binds.cs.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

I'm starting to realise just how many hidden options and places and whatnot are in this. I just managed to Ascend (kneel, peasant), but I still haven't found a way into that spire with the glowing door, or what that weird diving helmet does, or what to do with the demon core, or if the arch does anything, or how to reactivate the bridge, or how to install the eye, or what the glove does, and I haven't even tried the assassin/thief quest lines yet. So much stuff! The power armour is pretty awesome too; I love that you can see the helmet changing when you choose a different setting. I also may have mistakenly destroyed Maadoran once, and I don't know what that helps, either.

you made me cave and buy the game asshole

100+ hours later; the wait for Colony Ship RPG is already making me

Amazing game.

Spoiler

Also, how do I get the mountain monastary quest from the maadoran healer ? Hidden skillcheck ? Reputation ?

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Thanks, that would have taken a looong time to realize :]

Had a fun run with a low strength/sword-passive talker, but you could go pure talk/combat me thinks.

 

[Elhoim]

Is there a way to hide GUI? Maybe assign it to a button somehow via binds.cs.

Open the console and write "toggleGUI();".

 

[Black Angel]

So I just tried to finish an IG playthrough and do both help Meru and fuck Meru on two different saves. All the way before that I did every single IG quests without questioning my superior or convincing them to do something else, not even once. I helped Meru first, using the SPs I've been saving for Persuasion so I can convince Paullus to help Meru with the siege. I finished it all the way either by abandoning the Temple or killing Agathoth, the ending slide mentioned I've gained my position through political maneuver; fine, since (I assume) because I tried convincing Paullus to help Meru instead of the planned Gaelius.

And then I do another save by going with Paullus default plan, which means at this point everything I did has now been solved by pure combat (with Once More unto the Breach). However, the ending slide still mentioned that I achieved my position through political maneuver. And actually, that makes me wonder if there's even an ending slide where they recognized the legitimacy of my position. I remembered there was some past discussion that the IG only respect pure combat reputation (so no talky-talky, nor questioning your superior by trying to pass checks), is it true?

 

[Skittles]

However, the ending slide still mentioned that I achieved my position through political maneuver. And actually, that makes me wonder if there's even an ending slide where they recognized the legitimacy of my position. I remembered there was some past discussion that the IG only respect pure combat reputation (so no talky-talky, nor questioning your superior by trying to pass checks), is it true?

I *think* that line is sort of a fig leaf explanation of how you were able to ascend the ranks of the IG so insanely quickly, given that it's a more rigid hierarchy that demands more time and service than you provide in your weeks-to-months-long association with them.

 

[Latelistener]

Is there a way to hide GUI? Maybe assign it to a button somehow via binds.cs.

Open the console and write "toggleGUI();".

 

[mrlurker666]

Is it possible to do combat pure with the nerf to Axe? Are Swords the way to go now?

 

[Black Angel]

Is it possible to do combat pure with the nerf to Axe? Are Swords the way to go now?

I've just did it. Widowmaker style, still rekt shit up.