inFAMOUS Second Son

2014-04-06 01:07:03 am

I've been playing the new inFAMOUS game and enjoying it immensely. I think it has some speedrun potential with 3 different categories: No upgrades, any%, and 100%. Of course, 100% would have to be defined, and in this case, I think it would be full city liberation, with the rest of the run being played like an any%, where you take only the upgrades that you feel are necessary.

Speaking of "necessary" upgrades, I've been running the idea of a run through my head, and would like to see what other people think of what the necessary upgrades would be for an any% run. The neon speed upgrade would make navigating the city a little less of a hassle, with not having to worry about hitting the boost again with precise timing, and the smoke and video boosts would be decent if rooftop travel ends up being faster than on-road, which would need some testing. Other upgrades such as faster resource absorption and higher ammo for missile attacks would be nice to have to help keep from having to frequently refill during fights, though not many fights would require the missile attacks. They difference in time between upgrading the abilities and the time saved not having to reload as often may be negligible.

The other question that I'm considering is difficulty. On my first playthrough of the game, I went on normal mode, True Hero route, full city liberation with all upgrades. I haven't looked into the difference between the difficulties, so I don't know which one we would go with for a run. I'm planning on streaming expert mode full city liberation going down the villain route, and I'm pretty sure that route will also be the more optimal one for speedrunning, since you won't have to worry about civilians or subduing enemies instead of killing them, and seeing how different it is to normal.

Thread title:

I've been playing the new inFAMOUS game and enjoying it immensely. I think it has some speedrun potential with 3 different categories: No upgrades, any%, and 100%. Of course, 100% would have to be defined, and in this case, I think it would be full city liberation, with the rest of the run being played like an any%, where you take only the upgrades that you feel are necessary.

Speaking of "necessary" upgrades, I've been running the idea of a run through my head, and would like to see what other people think of what the necessary upgrades would be for an any% run. The neon speed upgrade would make navigating the city a little less of a hassle, with not having to worry about hitting the boost again with precise timing, and the smoke and video boosts would be decent if rooftop travel ends up being faster than on-road, which would need some testing. Other upgrades such as faster resource absorption and higher ammo for missile attacks would be nice to have to help keep from having to frequently refill during fights, though not many fights would require the missile attacks. They difference in time between upgrading the abilities and the time saved not having to reload as often may be negligible.

The other question that I'm considering is difficulty. On my first playthrough of the game, I went on normal mode, True Hero route, full city liberation with all upgrades. I haven't looked into the difference between the difficulties, so I don't know which one we would go with for a run. I'm planning on streaming expert mode full city liberation going down the villain route, and I'm pretty sure that route will also be the more optimal one for speedrunning, since you won't have to worry about civilians or subduing enemies instead of killing them, and seeing how different it is to normal.

Caveberry

2014-04-07 08:27:29 pm

trepidation

I beat this a couple of days ago. Great game.

I feel like all categories are going to be a mad dash to neon powers and it's infinite run ability. Smoke is really slow in comparison. We can probably get through most battles without upgrading any other abilities too, just by playing well. We are going to have to find quick ways to switch from neon for the big battles though, as neon (outside of it's one shot headshot) is probably the weakest for combat.

It's too early to say, but I bet any% can be done in less than 2 hours.

Kaelynne

2014-04-08 09:04:50 pm

I think melee would be faster in the early-mid game (maybe?) since it takes 3 hits to kill the normal guys which is pretty fast. Also with the sulphur grenade would make killing multiple guys fast and also build meter for the special. I do plan to pick up the game soon. The headshot upgrade for smoke would be a nice get too.

Caveberry

2014-04-10 06:06:37 am

trepidation

AFAIK, smoke doesn't have a headshot, and all NPCs take about 3 hits, no matter the difficullty. Still finishing my BAD playthrough though.

KaeLynne

2014-04-10 12:44:23 pm

Smoke does have the upgrade. the first one upgrade is headshots gives the opportunity to subdue or execute. The second upgrade immediately subdues enemies from headshots. I don't know if this works on every type of enemy.

I don't think the brutes and the guys with the concrete power (not the guys with the helmets) can be taken down in 3 hits. Still trying to think of things to go "fast" in this game. I'm not routing yet but definitely will soon.

A few things I have in mind;

-sulphur grenade (L1) is really good early game since it can hit multiple guys and can be subdued or executed fairly fast. Builds meter for special.
-Neon focus shots (legs, head) are really good for killing. Also builds meter.
-Video invisibility is fast since it can take out guys in one hit (if subdued or execute). Also taking the enhanced invis doesn't take delsin out of invisibility so therefore, 2 guys can easily be taken out while invis. Builds meter.
- Video Melee is also very good. 2 hit kills on normal guys. 3 hit kills on the guys with concrete power.
-Bloodthirsty blades (Video R1 move) I think is the strongest. Very good against tougher enemies such as brutes, helis, and augustine.

Smoke does have the upgrade. the first one upgrade is headshots gives the opportunity to subdue  or execute. The second upgrade   immediately subdues enemies from headshots. I don't know if this works on every type of enemy.

I don't think the brutes and the guys with the concrete power (not the guys with the helmets) can be taken down in 3 hits. Still trying to think of things  to go "fast" in this game. I'm not routing yet but definitely will soon.

A few things I have in mind;

-sulphur grenade (L1) is really good early game since it can hit multiple guys and can be subdued or executed fairly fast.   Builds meter for special.
-Neon focus shots (legs, head) are really good for killing. Also builds meter.
-Video invisibility is fast since it can take out guys in one hit (if subdued or execute).  Also taking the enhanced  invis doesn't take delsin out of invisibility so therefore, 2 guys can easily be taken out while invis. Builds meter.
- Video Melee is also very good. 2 hit kills on normal guys. 3 hit kills on the guys with concrete power.
-Bloodthirsty blades (Video R1 move) I think is the strongest. Very good against tougher enemies such as brutes, helis, and augustine.

Otakutom

2014-04-15 03:12:24 pm

I haven't done much in the evil route yet, but I do think some of those upgrades would help make for an optimal time, especially the upgraded invisibility. The sulfur grenade upgrade could possibly help make sure you get at least 2 coughing enemies, though with enough skill, it wouldn't be necessary. There's enough smoke around in most places to make boss fights pretty trivial. The enemies with concrete orbiting around them, first encountered at the top of Space Needle, are easily taken care of with a charged smoke shot or missile to remove the orbiting concrete, then a 3-hit combo takes them down. I still prefer the Neon ultimate (I call it Touhou for some...well...obvious reasons once you've seen it, plus I don't remember the actual name off the top of my head) over Bloodthirsty Blades. I always made sure I went into the district showdowns with full Karmic Streak to make sure I could just finish them in a single blast.

I'm still trying to think of routing options. I feel like some sections may benefit from clearing the Mobile Command Unit(s) from multiple districts before hitting up the missions. I guess it'd just take some research into where those missions start, end, and where the MCUs are.

I haven't done much in the evil route yet, but I do think some of those upgrades would help make for an optimal time, especially the upgraded invisibility. The sulfur grenade upgrade could possibly help make sure you get at least 2 coughing enemies, though with enough skill, it wouldn't be necessary. There's enough smoke around in most places to make boss fights pretty trivial. The enemies with concrete orbiting around them, first encountered at the top of Space Needle, are easily taken care of with a charged smoke shot or missile to remove the orbiting concrete, then a 3-hit combo takes them down. I still prefer the Neon ultimate (I call it Touhou for some...well...obvious reasons once you've seen it, plus I don't remember the actual name off the top of my head) over Bloodthirsty Blades. I always made sure I went into the district showdowns with full Karmic Streak to make sure I could just finish them in a single blast.

I'm still trying to think of routing options. I feel like some sections may benefit from clearing the Mobile Command Unit(s) from multiple districts before hitting up the missions. I guess it'd just take some research into where those missions start, end, and where the MCUs are.

Brossentia

2014-04-15 05:56:09 pm

No pain, no gain

I've played through this game, and I've been trying to think of the best way to go around this run. The thing is, while infinite run would be great, it's kind of unlikely that you'd get to good karma level 3 in a run. It'd take too long. It might be possible to keep running along the side of buildings. Running is unlimited if you run up a building, but I'm unsure if you're just running along the outside.

The main focus, I think, would be to make the required battles as quick as possible. After you get the karma bomb, the best route would be to build that up between battles. Odds are, it'd be easiest to do that through the evil route--killing pedestrians would do it, and they're easy targets.

I'm betting that any travel on the ground (except perhaps neon) would be faster than in the air. Since you travel slightly faster jumping than walking, you may want to jump, dash, jump, dash, jump, dash. As far as I can see, that'd be as fast as possible. We'd need to test--going across buildings might be best if you can avoid falling down or quickly find ventilation shafts to put you back on top.

There are some places where you can go out of bounds, but I haven't found anything useful yet. We'll see if we can do anything good with them.

I've played through this game, and I've been trying to think of the best way to go around this run. The thing is, while infinite run would be great, it's kind of unlikely that you'd get to good karma level 3 in a run. It'd take too long. It might be possible to keep running along the side of buildings. Running is unlimited if you run up a building, but I'm unsure if you're just running along the outside.

The main focus, I think, would be to make the required battles as quick as possible. After you get the karma bomb, the best route would be to build that up between battles. Odds are, it'd be easiest to do that through the evil route--killing pedestrians would do it, and they're easy targets.

I'm betting that any travel on the ground (except perhaps neon) would be faster than in the air. Since you travel slightly faster jumping than walking, you may want to jump, dash, jump, dash, jump, dash. As far as I can see, that'd be as fast as possible. We'd need to test--going across buildings might be best if you can avoid falling down or quickly find ventilation shafts to put you back on top.

There are some places where you can go out of bounds, but I haven't found anything useful yet. We'll see if we can do anything good with them.

KaeLynne

2014-04-15 05:57:48 pm

I finished routing yesterday, and I completed a run today on expert. I didn't record it since I have no way of recording ps4 gameplay at the moment. I also didn't stream it since the stream doesn't archive.

I got a time of 3 hr 52 mins 55 secs. I started the timer after pressing X (which would trigger the star wars scrolling text thing) and ended the timer as soon as I beat augustine.
I do plan to start the timer when I get control of Delsin which would be right before exiting the building so I don't have to sit through 3-4 mins of cutscene in the beginning.

A few things about the run. I went the infamous way (evil). This is because I get the Cinder blast upgrade and makes the end game fights easier.
I mainly used Cinder blast (Smoke R2) to kill DUP guys
I also used dash slam which is 1 hit KO on the regular DUP soldiers.
I upgrade the blades for video since it makes one augustine phase easier.
I upgraded a few things in my run. like double dash for smoke, smoke drain.
I died a few times costing me about 4-5 minutes in total... I think
In total, the run could be ~10-15 minutes faster

I don't know which is faster yet, infamous or hero. They are both good.
There are also a couple of missions for each side. I'm not sure which mission is shorter or faster to do.

I mainly routed where to go, and what I need to do before a mission can be started like destroying a DUP command.
I also found a big time window to get shards which is after the space needle mission since there is a BIG down time between the mission even after destroying the DUP command center required to start the next mission.

I finished routing yesterday, and I completed a run today on expert. I didn't record it since I have no way of recording ps4 gameplay at the moment. I also didn't stream it since the stream doesn't archive.

I got a time of 3 hr 52 mins 55 secs. I started the timer  after pressing X (which would trigger the star wars scrolling text thing) and ended the timer as soon as I beat augustine.
I do plan to start the timer when I get control of Delsin which would be right before exiting the building so I don't have to sit through 3-4 mins of cutscene in the beginning.

A few things about the run. I went the infamous way (evil). This is because I get the Cinder blast upgrade and makes the end game fights easier.
I mainly used Cinder blast (Smoke R2) to kill DUP guys
I also used dash slam which is 1 hit KO on the regular DUP soldiers.
I upgrade the blades for video since it makes one augustine phase easier.
I upgraded a few things in my run. like double dash for smoke, smoke drain.
I died a few times costing me about 4-5 minutes in total... I think
In total, the run could be ~10-15 minutes faster

I don't know which is faster yet, infamous or hero. They are both good. 
There are also a couple of missions for each side. I'm not sure which mission is shorter or faster to do.

I mainly routed where to go, and what I need to do before a mission can be started like destroying a DUP command.
I also found a big time window to get shards which is after the space needle mission since there is a BIG down  time between the mission even after destroying the DUP command center required to  start the next mission.

KaeLynne

2014-04-15 06:06:24 pm

level 4(most wanted) is achieved after the first augustine fight on the route I take, but I don't take the infinite run. Although it's really helpful and fast, I think the wings are close to it in terms of mobility. I fly close to buildings to get a lot of wings out; it's very mobile. The only thing is that if I do get infinite run, I get it very late in the game, and it won't have a lot of use. I don't think it's worth the investment imo. I rather save those shards for the concrete upgrades to make the augustine fight faster.

As for smoke dash mobility. What I do is upgrade to double dash. I would jump>dash>dash>land>dash>jump>dash>dash I feel like I get the most out of double dashing since I get to double dash in mid air and I would soon land and get to do another dash. So basically it's kind of a triple dash.

I also have a little skip on the space needle. at the top where delsin has to traverse the wire lines, you can just double dash left and the vent would be right there.
This saves like 10-15 seconds I think.

level 4(most wanted)  is achieved after the first augustine fight on the route I take, but I don't take the infinite run. Although it's really helpful and fast, I think the wings are close to it in terms of mobility. I fly close to buildings to get a lot of wings out; it's very mobile. The only thing is that if I do get infinite run, I get it very late in the game, and it won't have a lot of use. I don't think it's worth the investment imo. I rather save those shards for the concrete upgrades to make the augustine fight faster.

As for smoke dash mobility. What I do is upgrade  to double dash. I would jump>dash>dash>land>dash>jump>dash>dash I feel like I get the most out of double dashing since I get to double dash in mid air and I would soon land and get to do another dash. So basically it's kind of a triple dash.

I also have a little skip on the space needle. at the top where delsin has to traverse the wire lines, you can just double dash left and the vent would be right there. 
This saves like 10-15 seconds I think.

Otakutom

2014-04-15 06:58:58 pm

One of the major things we have to do with routing is maximizing horizontal movement while minimizing time spent going vertical except when needed, which may remove the need for the double-dash for smoke. Randomly causing havoc to kill civilians to gain evil Karma while waiting for missions to trigger may also help get to Most Wanted sooner. I don't know how much you did in your run, but I think taking a few seconds here and there to cause some more collateral damage during required fights where there are people around may result in a faster time in the long run.

I do think that getting enough shards to upgrade concrete during the final fight will be the minimum. Using invisibility extensively after getting video will reduce the need for the other video upgrades.

As for the hero vs. infamous route, if you can get to hero rank 3 by the time you get the neon speed boost, it'll really help cut down time, which may result in a faster time. Maybe I'll plan a hero route to compare to your infamous.

One of the major things we have to do with routing is maximizing horizontal movement while minimizing time spent going vertical except when needed, which may remove the need for the double-dash for smoke. Randomly causing havoc to kill civilians to gain evil Karma while waiting for missions to trigger may also help get to Most Wanted sooner. I don't know how much you did in your run, but I think taking a few seconds here and there to cause some more collateral damage during required fights where there are people around may result in a faster time in the long run.

I do think that getting enough shards to upgrade concrete during the final fight will be the minimum. Using invisibility extensively after getting video will reduce the need for the other video upgrades.

As for the hero vs. infamous route, if you can get to hero rank 3 by the time you get the neon speed boost, it'll really help cut down time, which may result in a faster time. Maybe I'll plan a hero route to compare to your infamous.

KaeLynne

Edit history:

KaeLynne: 2014-04-16 12:27:21 am

2014-04-16 12:26:59 am

yea I have been doing that. Killing civilians to boost my karma. I upgrade double dash because it gives really good mobility until I get neon speed and I think it's worth the investment. I get it right in the beginning of seattle since there are 3 shards there (scanning stations) I upgrade double dash and expand my smoke meter (3 shards). The expansion really helps out in the first DUP command fight in my opinion.

As for the video upgrade. It's a really good upgrade and would make a lot of fights easier and most likely faster. I don't know how much faster though.
I'm pretty sure you need level 4 karma to get infinite run for both hero and infamous and it'll take longer to get to hero than to get to most wanted since I get karma for every single kill on evil unless you do side missions. Even with side missions, I don't know if you can get a faster level 4.

I'd really like to see a Hero route. Looking forward to it

Oh, I don't know if anyone else knows this but He who dwells (the video boss) can be killed very fast. When he disappears, and the angels start appearing and moving to the other side, you can shoot them down and it'll take the boss' HP down. There are a lot of angels so the damage potential is very high. You can deal more damage to the boss while he makes the transition than you would fighting him regularly

yea I have been doing that. Killing civilians to boost my karma. I upgrade double dash because it gives really good mobility until I get neon speed and I think it's worth the investment. I get it right in the beginning of seattle since there are 3 shards there (scanning stations) I upgrade double dash and expand my smoke meter (3 shards). The expansion really helps out in the first DUP command fight in my opinion.

As for the video upgrade. It's a really good upgrade and would make a lot of fights easier and most likely faster. I don't know how much faster though.
I'm pretty sure you need level 4 karma to get infinite run for both hero and infamous and it'll take longer to get to hero than to get to most wanted since I get karma for every single kill on evil unless you do side missions. Even with side missions, I don't know if you can get a faster level 4.

I'd really like to see a Hero route. Looking forward to it

Oh,  I don't know if anyone else knows this but He who dwells (the video boss) can be killed very fast. When he disappears, and the angels start appearing and moving to the other side, you can shoot them down and it'll take the boss' HP down. There are a lot of angels so the damage potential is very high. You can deal more damage to the boss while he makes the transition than you would fighting him regularly

Caveberry

2014-04-16 09:30:55 am

trepidation

Karma bomb with neon when he's making his transition?(or is this reset at some point before the fight).

KaeLynne

Edit history:

KaeLynne: 2014-04-16 10:22:19 am

KaeLynne: 2014-04-16 10:21:59 am

KaeLynne: 2014-04-16 10:15:12 am

2014-04-16 10:13:44 am

I don't think you'd be able to use the bomb in the fight as far as I know.

I've done a hero run and it seems the fastest mainly due to invisibility. I also tested the R1 for video for good and evil, and they are about the same. Both can lock down Augustine in the first phase. I'm talking about the fight in the building.
I don't think endless speed for neon is really necessary since upgraded wings is also very mobile and can be used right after getting the ability. I feel that the upgraded wings is a much better investment.

This is also my hero upgrade route:
The numbers in the brackets are how many shards needed to get that upgrade.

Smoke: double dash (2)
drain smoke (1)
Cinder blast (2)

Neon: Drain Neon x2 (2)
Neon Beam (1)

Video: Drain video x 3 (3)
Enhanced invisibility (5)
Double Dash (2)
Blood thirsty blades (4)

Concrete: Extended concrete power (3)
Wider barrage (3)

TOTAL: 28 SHARDS. I'm not too sure of the cost of enhanced invis and double dash for video. All these shards can be obtained in the route I made. Really no time wasted getting these shards.

I get double dash for smoke because it gives good mobility in the early game.
I get drain smoke for the first DUP command mobile fight and also in future fights. R2 spamming takes a lot of meter.
Cinder blast upgrade is to lessen the cost so it's more spammable.

I would want to be able to put out as many beams as I can and that's why I upgraded drain neon and neon beam cost reduction.
That is all I basically need for neon. I don't really use anything else.

Video will take over Neon. I will spam invis here so I want to have as much meter as I can, so I upgraded drain video.
Obviously enhanced invisibility too.
I upgraded bloodthirsty blades to get 3 ammo and the extra ammo will come in very handy in many fights (taking out helis, brutes, and special concrete guys) including locking down augustine. It's not possible to lock augustine down with 2 ammo since it takes 3 cycles to do it. One for each cycle.
Double wings for extra mobility.
I can even get signal boost to even get more mobility but I don't really need it since I'm already mobile enough.

Upgrading concrete will make the last fight faster.

I thought Evil upgraded Cinder Blast would be really strong but it turns out to have the same results as a hero (not upgraded) cinder blast which is weird. The same case with the Video blades (R1). Both sides have the same power even with the upgrade for evil karma.

I don't think you'd be able to use the  bomb in the fight as far as I know.

I've done a hero run and it seems the fastest mainly due to invisibility. I also tested the R1 for video for good and evil, and they are about the same. Both can lock down Augustine in the first phase. I'm talking about the fight in the building. 
I don't think endless speed for neon is really necessary since upgraded wings is also very mobile and can be used right after getting the ability. I feel that the upgraded wings is a much better investment.

This is also my hero upgrade route:
The numbers in the brackets are how many shards needed to get that upgrade.

Smoke: double dash (2)
       drain smoke (1)
       Cinder blast (2)

Neon: Drain Neon x2 (2)
      Neon Beam (1)

Video: Drain video x 3 (3)
       Enhanced invisibility (5)
       Double Dash (2)
       Blood thirsty blades (4)

Concrete: Extended concrete power (3)
          Wider barrage (3)

TOTAL: 28 SHARDS. I'm not too sure of the cost of enhanced invis and double dash for video.  All these shards can be obtained in the route I made. Really no time wasted getting these shards.

I get double dash for smoke because it gives good mobility in the early game.
I get drain smoke for the first DUP command mobile fight and also in future fights. R2 spamming  takes a lot of meter.
Cinder blast upgrade is to lessen the cost so it's more spammable.

I would want to be able to put out as many beams as I can and that's why I upgraded drain neon and neon beam cost reduction.
That is all I basically need for neon. I don't really use anything else.

Video will take over Neon. I will spam invis here so I want to have as much meter as I can, so I upgraded drain video.
Obviously enhanced invisibility too.
I upgraded bloodthirsty blades to get 3 ammo and the extra ammo will come in very handy in many fights (taking out helis, brutes, and special concrete guys) including locking down augustine. It's not possible to lock augustine down with 2 ammo since it takes 3 cycles to do it. One for each cycle.
Double wings for extra mobility.
I can even get signal boost to even get more mobility but I don't really need it since I'm already mobile enough.

Upgrading concrete will make the last fight faster.

I thought Evil upgraded Cinder Blast would be really strong but it turns out to have the same results as a hero (not upgraded) cinder blast which is weird.  The same case with the Video blades (R1). Both sides have the same power even with the upgrade for evil karma.

Brossentia

2014-04-16 07:00:23 pm

No pain, no gain

Right now, I'm doing all I can to see if it's possible to get to the second island early. You can get easily out of bounds, and the rocks sometimes can launch the character across the screen. I still have only come within 10 or so feet from the other side. I'm really curious to see if you could access certain missions early if you sequence break.

KaeLynne

2014-04-17 12:12:32 pm

I can think of one point in the game where I think sequence break might work. The mission is "the test" where delsin has to cross the bridge and ends up meeting augustine and fighting this boss. I'd really like to see what happens since delsin's destination is the lantern district which is on the other island.

Brossentia

2014-04-17 07:21:15 pm

No pain, no gain

Hmm. That might be possible. I'd suspect that you could go around the fighting arena and avoid her.

Still, if anyone can think of a way to get over there earlier, I'd like to know, even if it doesn't end up being helpful.

KaeLynne

2014-04-17 11:04:31 pm

I tried going around, but there is an invisible wall there. I haven't played with it much since I'm trying to optimize missions at the moment, but I'll help as much as I can. Also, where is this oob you found. I'd like to try it for myself to see if I can do anything with it.

TBC_Bacon

2014-04-19 02:04:44 am

I've done a few runs of 2nd son already and then I found this page today. I've been testing a few things for weeks but I don't have many people helping me at the moment. They way that I've been doing it is easiest difficulty and minimal upgrades. I get quick drain and double dash for smoke, quick drain and photon jump for neon, and the upgraded video hover and double wings for video. The blast shards I get are the three at the testing stations in the beginning and then all of the shards from the DUP mobiles. All of the upgrades are neutral so you don't need to get higher karma for anything. I start the timer right when you start raging the sign after the opening cut scene and I finish with a time of around 3 hours and 45 minute. I feel like this way is pretty solid, but I'm very interested to see what you guys find.

KaeLynne

2014-04-19 10:03:56 am

I get the three shards in the beginning of the game too but I upgrade drain smoke (expand meter) rather than quick drain. The reason is that I can use the 20% extra meter in the upcoming DUP mobile command fight. It is mainly for that fight. I find that more useful than the quick drain.

- I'm routing the game on expert so I'm not keen on having minimal upgrades, but it's different for easy.
-There is a big downtime between some missions especially before the mission "Chasing the light" You can get as many as 8-10 shards before Reggie calls and triggers the mission. Another big down time is after starting the missions "quid quo pro" which you gotta wait for 2 calls to be over so it can trigger the cutscene. So you'd have about 2 mins to get as many shards in that time window. The cutscene will trigger where ever you are. Those are just the two out of several shard windows in the game.
-You should try running good karma with upgraded invis and tell me what you think because in my opinion, that power alone makes good karma the fastest. I believe the upgraded invis needs level 3 good karma.

3hrs45min seems like a good time, but I've found several things throughout my routing and I don't know how fast they are compared to my 3hr 52 run. I'm still not sure what would be a solid time.

I do have notes, but it's outdated since it's an infamous route. I'm making a hero route with all the current strategies/techs. I'll put it up here as soon as I'm done.

I get the three shards in the beginning of the game too but I upgrade drain smoke (expand meter) rather than quick drain. The reason is that I can use the 20% extra meter in the upcoming DUP mobile command fight. It is mainly for that fight. I find that more useful than the quick drain.

- I'm routing the game on expert so I'm not keen on having minimal upgrades, but it's different for easy.
-There is a big downtime between some missions especially before the mission "Chasing the light" You can get as many as 8-10  shards before Reggie calls and triggers the mission. Another big down time is after  starting the missions "quid quo pro" which you gotta wait for 2 calls to be over so it can trigger the cutscene. So you'd have about 2 mins to get as many shards in that time window. The cutscene will trigger where ever you are. Those are just the two out of several shard windows in the game.
-You should try running good karma with upgraded invis and tell me what you think because in my opinion, that power alone makes good karma the fastest. I believe the upgraded invis needs level 3 good karma.

3hrs45min seems like a good time, but I've found several things throughout my routing and I don't know how fast they are compared to my 3hr 52 run. I'm still not sure what would  be a solid time.

I do have notes, but it's outdated since it's an infamous route. I'm making a hero route with all the current strategies/techs. I'll put it up here as soon as I'm done.

TBCBacon

2014-04-20 12:51:07 am

I just did another run because I just downloaded live split and I wanted to set my splits (I've just been to lazy to get it before). I tried using the invisibility upgrade this time and I agree it makes the fights after you get video so much more manageable. This time through I got 3:44:30 and I made plenty of simple mistakes, so I think it was the invisibility upgrade that helped pick up the slack. I was wondering what you think would be good upgrades for concrete during the final battle with augestine. I got the one that let's you shoot more rock shards at a time, but I didn't know if any of the oth r ones would be that much quicker.

KaeLynne

Edit history:

KaeLynne: 2014-04-20 09:16:57 am

2014-04-20 09:16:00 am

nice, good to hear. What do you think is a solid time since you've done a couple runs now.
I believe there are only 2 offensive spells you can upgrade for the fight.
-Extended shrapnel
-Wider Barrage
need 6 shards for those upgrades so make sure you have 5 going into the final mission. You can get the 6th shard in the mission while waiting for fetch to come

those 2 upgrades are definitely worth the investment.

TBCBacon

2014-04-20 12:45:20 pm

I think a solid time as of now would probably be around 3:30 or less. I keep making very simple mistakes that cause me to go over that, but it is hard to tell whether or not there could be any big time savers right now aside from getting to way points before they are initiated.

KaeLynne

2014-04-20 02:22:04 pm

3:30 seems like a solid time. macasadia1 has a 3:34 (hero) on easy which I think is the fastest time at the moment. Yea, the game is still very young so I don't expect any big skips/sequence breaks right now.

I think it's time to make an agreement on when the timer should start. There are 3 options

-start after pressing X at the infamous second son logo
-start at the spray paint section of the game.
-start when delsin can be controlled which would be after talking to betty.

timer should be stopped right after beating augustine. I don't think there should be any other way.

TBCBacon

2014-04-20 02:48:23 pm

I feel that starting at the spray can is the best option just because that is when you technically start playing the game.

KaeLynne

Edit history:

KaeLynne: 2014-04-23 01:42:54 pm

KaeLynne: 2014-04-23 01:41:07 pm

KaeLynne: 2014-04-23 01:39:49 pm

2014-04-23 01:38:48 pm

I completed my 2nd run today with a time of 3:26:28 on expert. I went the hero route this time, and I can defnitely confirm that hero is the fastest route. The run was pretty solid since I didn't make too many mistakes. Some mistakes were pretty big though costing me about 3-5 minutes. The game bugged out on me during a mission (Quid Quo Pro) causing me at least 3 minutes. The HUD disappeared and Hank wouldn't come to the pillar to destroy even though everyone was dead. I also died twice in the very same mission. t__t

I feel like my route is pretty solid. My goal was to get around 3:30 but throughout the run, I felt like the route is much faster than I thought it was. I don't have any notes for it at the moment since I just memorized the upgrade and shards route, but I'll type it down if anyone is interested.