New Challenge Path: Heavy Rains

Hard (for me, the mostly IOTM-less player. I do have a bunch of skills, but they don't seem to be helpful yet. I should have gone sauceror to reduce the pain)

Everywhere is flooded. Instead of fighting normal bosses, you fight water clones of them which are more powerful. Of course, water clones suck - anyone who has fought Demyx in Kingdom Hearts knows that. Bosses seem to have damage caps, and apparently can do things like remove buffs.

There is a depth rating everywhere due to flooding. Underground = more flooded. More depth = harder.

You fight some wandering monsters which can give fishbones, which give access to a shop that has helpful items, or potions, or access to the thunder skills. You have to fight a wandering monster at depth 6 to access the skills. Outside, inside and underground areas give different skills. I think... that you must use the special skills or the correct monster will not appear.

depth 1 - 1 fishbone
depth 2 - potion + 50% initiative, 40 adv
depth 3 - 2 fishbones
depth 4 - potion - reduces item loss, 40 adv
depth 5 - 3 fishbones

For the fishbones, I like the facemask (-30ML), as it frees up some of my accessory slots. I also have the fins (enemies don't hit as much), and want to get the corset (lowers water level).

Depth 6 underground - menagerie
Depth 6 underground (with thundercloud) - inside cobb's knob, cobb's knob labs
Depth 6 inside (with personal thundercloud) - spookyraven
Depth 6 outside (with thundercloud and rain in loathing effects) - highlands, pirate cove undisguised

Oddly, my records indicate that I got a thunder thigh in the haunted bathroom. I think I was at depth 6, but not due to thundercloud, as that was the second skill I got.

depth 6, underground = tardigrade -> thunder skills
depth 6, inside, with thundercloud = aquaconda -> rain skills (I guess you need a cloud to get rain)
depth 6, outside, with thundercloud and the rain in loathing = storm cow -> lightning skills

Depth Levels: (without depth increasers/decreasers)
cobb's knob first two levels - 5
cobb's knob menagerie - 6
spookyraven - first floor 3, second floor 4
highlands - 2
pirates - 2
barr - 4

In order to get certain areas to depth 6, you have to use a skill. The progression is thunder -> rain -> lightning. By the way, make sure to remove your depth reducers if you're going for a skill item.

Getting rain skills:

So what I did was use the thunder skill Personal Thundercloud -> 100 turns
I went to the indoor zone the Haunted Bedroom, which becomes depth 6 due to the thundercloud.
fought an aquaconda
Rain skills unlocked!

Thunder - adventure in an underground area at 6 depth, get a thigh from a tardigrade
regeneration - every ~ 10 adventures, you get 30 db, or 50 db with thunder thighs.

Thunder Clap
banish for 40 turns

Thundercloud
increases depth by 2

Thunder Bird
deleveller

Thunderheart
Max HP + 100%

Thunderstrike
Stun

Thunder Down Underwear
summon underwear (disappears after rollover)

Damage Absorption +100
Maximum HP +100
Regenerate 10-20 HP per adventure

Thunder Thighs
more thunder regeneration

Rain - adventure in a depth 6 inside area (example, spookyraven 2nd floor), get a brain from an aquaconda
every 7 adventures, you get 7 raindrops.

Rain Man
noncombat, copier for monsters that are copyable that have been encountered in a Heavy Rains run.

Rainy Day
increases depth by 2

Make it Rain
+300% meat drops combat skill

Rain Dance
100 adv, +20% Item Drops from Monsters

Rainbow
prismatic damage combat skill

Rain Coat
shirt (disappears after rollover)

So-So Resistance to All Elements (+2)
+10% Item Drops from Monsters
Combat Initiative +40%
     
Rain Delay
passive +3 all res

Lightning - adventure in a depth 6 area, outside, fight a storm cow, drops lightning milk - recommended to use up MP to below 50 so it doesn't drain as much HP, and raise HP

Lightning Strike
insta kill, items drop

Clean-Hair Lightning
max MP + 100%

Ball Lightning
yellow ray, 100 turn cooldown

Sheet Lightning
spell damage + 100%, damages attackers

Lightning Bolt
5000 damage on 3rd use in combat

Lightning Rod
summons a staff (disappears after rollover)

Spell Damage +200%
Maximum MP +50
Regenerate 5-10 MP per adventure

Riding the Lightning
Maximum MP +100%

It seems you can keep at least one skill per ascension. It's unknown at the time how many maximum you can keep, but according to the forum, it's likely to be 3 per skill tree.

Due to flooding, items may wash away (even if it is yellow rayed). You can equip a pool skimmer from the mall to catch other player's lost items. There are some junk accounts to ensure that you will get something, I guess in case it happened that were no other players around who had lost something. There are also water wings in the mall to reduce the painfulness of this path, by reducing the ML, and also an umbrella to reduce depth. Throw away your pride and use the wings, if you must.

The reward is an item giving a skill that deals prismatic damage. It looks like you get an extra 1 damage per item used, which seems kinda weak? The cap is 11, so 55 damage total. I'm selling my lone beautiful rainbow.

KOL Journal (08/14/2014)

Ole! It's almost time for a new path!

What I heard about the path:
hard to get, powerful skills, you can keep some of them for the next run (but limited)
a mini avatar path
rain, lightning, thunder related
harder than other challenge paths, due to complexity?
cannonfire40 likes it
hard to fight monsters
I guess we can keep our normal skills, or it would be really bad

I probably should have spent my adventures farming tatters for some quick cash, but I accidentally spent a bit too much on food and booze, so I spent them in Hobopolis again.

It appears that I only have 5 ascensions left to finish both sets of Hatred and Violence outfits.

Lens of Violence - SR
Pigsticker of Violence - DB
Brand of Violence - TT
Novelty Belt of Violence - PM
Cold Stone of Hatred - SC

The next path sounds kinda cool. At least, I'm going to try it later tonight once it appears (hopefully)

What should I save up for next?

Fairy-worn boots - stomping boots familiar - 17.5 million
-is this even that useful? I mean, pastes and runaways, I suppose, but not super great

can of rain-doh - 42 million -specifically, this is for the green lantern, since I recently bought frigidalmatian and for source damage caps I would like another type of damage in case. It's also a copy. It's very expensive... so I'd have to wait until after Crimbo meat making time.

I could probably use 2 love songs of different element instead-
smoldering passion - myst, hot + MP
sugary cuteness - muscle, stench 
disturbing obsession - myst, spooky
naughty innuendo - moxie, sleaze

spooky putty - 21 million
ergh - seems kinda useless if it's only the copy thing.

folder holder - 23.7 million
so many uses! seems like a good investment.
eg.
Dreads +500% item drop
+ 25 ML
+4 all res
Prismatic damage
damage reduction
stench damage every round
+ 5 Adv

KOL Journal (08/08/2014)

Finally I burst out of that BIG run.

Today I spent all of my adventures in Hobopolis. But tonight, I'm going to finish the Sea on the Hatred side and get another Staff.

Then I'll mess around in Hobopolis again. Since it's 7 days until the new challenge path, which according to the pattern will be an interesting non-avatar type, I won't ascend again. I haven't done the last one of this type (KOLHS), but I kinda... don't want to. Guess I'll do this one when it shows up after rollover on August 14th. Hopefully, it's not total shit so I can do it over and over to replenish karma. I'm almost out of the stored karma I got from doing so many AoSP runs while they were in season, since I've been perming lots of random stuff.

I have no idea if I'll have time to do the challenge path properly since I'm moving to a different country and stuff, but I think I should have some time between orientation and when school starts to do stuff.

I also want to see what the special reward item is, and if it's worth meat. I only have 3 bottled days, one of which I'm storing for Crimbo use, and the other 2 for some other time. I don't really need to sell them, even if they're approaching 5 million meat already. I'd rather have the continuous, stable meat source of selling Hobopolis consumables and tatters... or at least consumables. I have a feeling that unless a twitch event is coming up, the tatter market may crash again. Also, I have enough meat to buy 2 Mr. A's, though really, that would be pretty silly.

KOL Journal (08/05/2014)

I was bored today, so I ascended again, into a BIG! Pastamancer run.

I was going to do HC AoSP, but then I realized that trying to do the opossum moon sign as hc is too much work so I'm not going to do that.

And I'd rather be overlevelled for doing the sea after the run is over.

I'm just messing around this time. I finished 2-8 and got the liver today. The things that are left to are quests 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, unlocking the island, spookyraven to 2nd floor, that kind of stuff.

I was also so bored yesterday that I defeated Mayor Ghost in Hard Mode. I lost a few times, once because it asked for something I didn't have, and once because I ran out of HP. At least I crossed off the scissors off my list. I have at least 5 of every combat item. It seems like buffing + elemental love songs works pretty well. I don't think I'd consider 6 kiss unless I was a higher level, like 30 or something. Once I have splattersmash, ZHA should be easy enough to tackle.

Still on the fence about buying Frigidalmatian, but it doesn't seem to be super expensive so I don't feel rushed to buy it.

KOL Journal (08/01/2014)

Next plans (copied and revised)

AoSP -> DB
Perm Adventurer of Leisure, Disco Dance of Doom, Deft Hands, Disco Nap, and Tango of Terror
Get more things from Dreads - fuses, polish moon amber
Sea - Hatred Side

AoSP -> PM
Moon Sign: Opossum
Perm Ravioli Shurikens, Cannelloni Cannon, Springy Fusilli, and Utensil Twist
Buy pliers, jewelry crafting, make necklace
Perm Really Expensive Jewelrycrafting
Sea - Hatred Side

AoSP -> SC
Perm Double-Fisted Skull Smashing
Sea - Hatred Side

11 skills
3 runs = 333 karma
current = 943 karma
= barely enough karma to perm everything.

KOL Journal (07/29/2014)

So instead of doing a BIG! run as a TT, I did a sneaky pete run and then transferred into a TT. I think I might do that from now on, considering many of the other skills I want to perm are level 13 and under.

I just faffed around after finishing in 3 days and collected a couple of skills. I have to rewrite the guide I used to do AoSP runs since the spookyraven revamp.

Next, getting to level 14 to get hero of the half shell and doing the sea. I'd like to get a couple moon-ambers (just snagged one for 100K, oddly below regular price of 180K) for fighting the wolf in hard mode, in case I have to fight it a couple of times to get the lice to drop.

so probably:

3 moon ambers (have 3)
2 blood kiwis (I'm a TT, I could get one)
3 badges (I have one, can make another one, and need another one to have for FK drops)
3 muddy skirts (buy these)

wanted list
Wolf Lice
MG's scissors
HOA citation pad
HOA regulation book
Splattersmash (sauceror/seal clubber)

maybe list
UKS restless leg
Wolf Rocket Launcher
Quiets-Your-Steps

KOL Journal (07/20/2014)

As the Twitch event is soon, I'm not ascending into another BIG run until after that.

I've given up on doing basement runs for now, since it doesn't matter until I do 3 more for ascension purposes, since the three gates are known right away when you get to the tower anyway.

Today's Sea Violence run was fairly cheap because it isn't a scholar run and I think sea cowbells are cheaper for some reason.

The tatter market has recovered, so I'm selling as many as possible before the event because I have no idea whether tatters will be useful in that or not, and I'd rather get my meat now.

Notes for Dreads

Wolf Lice
Wolf Rocket Launcher
HOA regulation book
Quiets-Your-Steps
UKS restless leg
Splattersmash (sauceror/seal clubber)

killing 6 kiss monsters
divine favours/love songs (skeletons)
gob of wet hair (cold)
raise moxie
1000 DA
more attack
watch MP (spooky)
delevelers

Drunkula HM

10 ghost threads - estate - master suite (unlocked) - mess with loom

Formula

HP is 8000 + 2000(n-1) where n is the number of kisses
drains some drunkenness per round, 10/11/12/13/14/15%, too low and you lose

drunkness = 100 + (number of rounds to kill*percent drunkenness drain per round*10)
use appropriate dungeons of doom potion

Equips
UKS shield, snow mobile

Buffs
5000 HP
high moxie

Skills

Hobo 120 MP skill or volc-eruption

FFS HM

bloody kiwitini
blood kiwi - tree - root around - wait at root around while looking up - muscle class hits from top - stomp
eau de mort - estate - master (unlocked) - nightstand

castle - tower - lab (unlocked) use still

white lightning
use spectral jelly or ghost protocol
in combat, use seed pod to deblind and ghost protocol to get spectral effect.

if FFS does a special move, then follow the guide below to do the appropriate counter.

spin - hide under a rock
paw - dive into a puddle
shuffle - hide behind a tree

use a non ice hobo spell/volc-eruption + snow mobile or frigidalmatian (since this would overlap)
There is a damage cap per source, it's 166 at 6 kiss.
increase spell damage
increase passive damage or elemental damage
This means that you need at least 2 sources of damage.

MG HM

myst - hall - dining - levitate
cabin - basement - stick in lock
AT - cabin - attic - turn off music box
moxie - skid row - ticking - make key
cabin - basement - check out lock box

stuff that you need to replace yourself
sparking el vibrato drone
get sphere - 59, 10; 86, 40; 48,47
get plinth - 63,29
get build + drone, use on towering construct
use attack card on drone

hot clusterbomb - because of expense
pulverize frying brainpan, hothammer, vengeful spirit, vial of hot blood, or warm fur
paste with fuse - moxie class - ticking shack - boxes

sharpened hubcap
hobopolis - Shopping - Housewares - Tools

don't heal (buff muscle, raise HP to survive)
use love songs (not love song of vague ambiguity since that heals you)

ZHA HM

with muddy skirt equipped and seed pod - castle - hall - ballroom - trip the light fantastic

buff muscle, splattersmash
requires 15312 muscle for 6 kiss, also use double-ice
equip snow machine

GW HM

raise moxie

connery's
pirate juice
serum of sarcasm
tomato juice
oil of expertise (or whatever equalizer is appropriate)
potion of temporary gr8tness
cold-filtered water
bottle of fire
lobos mints

raise damage reduction

mystic shell
brawnee's anthem
stiff upper lip (TT facial expression)
tube of dread wax
mother's little helper
spirit gum
oil of parrrlay
bottle of fabric softener
scroll of Puddingskin
vial of The Glistening
pokemann band-aid
total DR - 308 from effects and 80 from the cool irons outfit, OK for 2 kiss, I probably overdid it though

outfit
cool iron helmet
Stick Knife of Loathing (I use the clothing of loathing as a base outfit, so this was left here. It's not directly useful, but wearing multiple parts of the clothing of loathing outfit does raise stats)
old-school flying disc (10 DR)
Drunkula's cape (I forgot to take it off, it's useless in this situation)
cool iron breastplate
cool iron greaves
Belt of Loathing (20 DR)
Protects-Your-Junk (20 DR)
moon-amber necklace (required to fight Wolf in hard mode)

You also need:
about 15 full heal combat items, like scented massage oils or the seed pods
elemental love songs, about 15 of those, I used the love song of nasty innuendo because I'd buffed moxie anyway.

Every round was:
funksling love song of nasty innuendo and a massage oil
Then I ran out of massage oils, but I fortunately had some seed pods left so I used those instead.

6 kiss:
has 5000 HP
pufferfish spine or love song of icy revenge + massage oil
raise moxie past about 4200 (which is its defense)

passive damage

UKS HM

dread tarragon - woods- cabin- kitchen- spice rack
bone flour - old dry bone - muscle - woods - cabin - kitchen - flour mill
dreadful roast - castle - hall - dining room - roast
stinking agaricus - castle - dungeon - guardroom - break off

bake - myst - village - estate - servant's quarters - make pie

many passive damage sources
lower HP
use mosquito with scaler
increase familiar weight and action frequency
use frigidalmatian

example:

2 kiss UKS

stomach space 4
liver space 3

sponge helmet
a weapon
cup of infinite pencils
square sponge pants
Mer-kin gutgirdle
bottle opener belt buckle

passive damage:

GORF 1 fullness
eel battery
skeleton: warrior

Damage absorption:

mother's little helper
oil of parrrlay
cement mixer (booze) 2 liver
portable wall
gene tonic: construct

lower HP:

morto moreto 1 liver
consumed by doubt effect from jar of psychoses: crackpot mystic

increase familiar weight and action:

irradiated pet snacks
recording of chorale of companionship
green snowcone
gene tonic: fish
potion of punctual companionship

KOL Journal (07/08/2014)

Plans for Next Runs

BIG! TT
Perm Hero of the Half Shell, Spectral Snapper, Butts of Steel
Get moon amber from Dreads

BIG! DB
Perm Adventurer of Leisure, Disco Dance of Doom, Deft Hands, Disco Nap, and Tango of Terror
Get more things from Dreads - fuses, polish moon amber
Sea - Hatred Side

BIG! PM
Moon Sign: Opossum
Perm Ravioli Shurikens, Cannelloni Cannon, Springy Fusilli, and Utensil Twist
Buy pliers, jewelry crafting, make necklace
Perm Really Expensive Jewelrycrafting
Sea - Hatred Side

BIG! SC
Perm Double-Fisted Skull Smashing
Sea - Hatred Side

KOL Journal (06/30/2014)

I've been adventuring in BCC's basements, mostly picking up freddys for the outfit. I think I'd like to try to beat each of the bosses in hard mode at some point, since I have volc-eruption now and have lots of meat to throw at it. But... it's not like I want most of the loot from there, so I guess I can drop it once I get to level 30 and buy the trophy.

My plans keep changing all the time. But I am unlikely to do another S&S, anyway.