G-Lover/Strategy
This guide will provide some additional information to aid with a G-Lover ascension.
Pre-run Considerations
If you aren't coming into this path with a pile of toys, it's going to be difficult, but some preparation will go a long way!
Familiars:
- -CF: Disgeist
- +Item%: Basic/elemental fairies work. Strictly better options include Gelatinous Cubeling (faster DD), Slimeling (restores MP, steals equipment), and Jumpsuited Hound Dog (1.25x weight multiiplier; +CF).
- +Meat%: No budget leprechaun options, unless you count Pet Cheezling with its equipment (which gives a flat ~ +60% meat).
- +Stats: Smiling Rat / Grinning Turtle are volleyballs. Basic Sombrero also works.
- Survival: Basic Ghuol Whelp, or the strictly better Pet Cheezling (bonus weight for Saucerors; +meat equipment). Twitching Space Critter is a stench starfish.
- Towerkilling: Sludgepuppy (attacks 3x/round) and Magic Dragonfish (+spell damage%)
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Gardens: Most are hobbled! Effective daily yields are as follows:
- Winter: size-4 epic booze and 5+5 bridge parts -- by far the best option
- Beer: 3x size-1 epic booze
- Rocks: 1 free kill
- Mushroom: 1 free fight
Item prep: If doing hardcore, consider trying to borrow a Camp Scout backpack to provide some passive regen. (Simply having the backpack sitting in Hagnk's will cause the CSA fire-starting kit to eventually appear, while in HC.) Time-twitching toolbelt is another borrowable quality-of-life toy, though this is a more straightforwardly simple +15 attr accessory.
For softcore, several notable pull options must be prepared beforehand, since they cannot be simply purchased (into Hagnk's) from the mall:
- sewing kit (purchase from the Vending Machine for 1 fat loot token): required to unlock the hidden temple
- roasted vegetable of Jarlsberg (learn recipe, then cook 2 veg together): size-2 epic food with a huge +100% item drop buff, and cheap to create; prepare enough to pull 1/day
- roasted vegetable focaccia (same process as above, but one tier higher so slightly more complicated): size-2 epic food with a large +10 fam xp buff, ~10k meat to create; particularly powerful if you have a Grey Goose
- Wrecked Generator (purchase on the moon for 100 lunar isotopes, after having finished their quest): ~100k meat to create
- LOV Enamorang (gift item, so use /trade): a rare functional copy effect
Other base prep that's even more important here:
- max out your permanent Pool Skill bonus with the Billiards Lucky adventure
- ice house the A.M.C. gremlin
Valhalla Options
Astral consumables:
- If you have an IOTM way of becoming Lucky!, take the astral hot dogs. (Ways include VIP hot dog / speakeasy drinks, Apriling sax, august scepter's Clover Day, and Eight Days a Week Pill Keeper.)
- If you don't have any of those options, consider instead taking AEDs so you can access Lucky Adventures
Astral equipment: None of the usual good stuff works. The meager remainder:
- astral ring (acc): +25% mys, +20 sdmg, regen 4-6 MP
- astral bludgeon (2H club): +25% mus, +15% crit, +20 wdmg
- astral longbow (2H weap): +25% mox, +30% meat, +20 rdmg
Moon Sign Selection (note that you cannot tune to a 2nd moon sign):
- Knoll signs: Bad. You save ~4500 meat on Desert access, but forfeit your Monster Aggravation Device (detuned radio is unusable) and easy food/booze source. (Cooking supplies are largely irrelevant.)
- Canadia signs: Probably ideal. Bonus ML immediately available, a free logging axe, and a guaranteed source of food.
- Platypus: +mus exp, +5 fam wt, "Big Smile" gives +5 fam exp/fight
- Opossum: +mys exp, +5 adv/day from food
- Marmot: +mox exp, +1 res all
- Gnome signs: An option if you are short on booze options (see the Turngen section below).
- Wombat: +mus exp, +20% meat
- Blender: +mys exp, +5 adv/day from booze, "Big Smile" gives +50% booze
- Packrat: +mox exp, +10% items, "Big Smile" gives +50% meat
Class Selection
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Turngen
Generating a reasonable number of turns can be a struggle, and is worth considering beforehand in order to pick the most appropriate moon sign, and (for softcore) prepare some un-mallable pulls.
- Food options:
- Chez provides a solid baseline for anyone in a Canadia moon sign (and the food of the day is always edible, regardless of name)
- 3 astral hot dogs (size-3, epic if eaten at lvl 8+) are probably better than AEDs
- spaghetti breakfast yields ~ (LVL+1)/2 advs (capped at level 11's 6 advs)
- grue egg omelette (size-4 epic) requires a spooky mushroom which can be acquired via the Spooky Forest noncom
- 3 of the 4 FoB monsters drop awesome quality foods, of sizes 2, 3, and 4
- shadow sausage (size-3 awesome) is dropped by shadow bats (@ 20%, but note +item% counts 1/5th in rift zones) in the Nearby Plains rift and can be polar-pocketed (reqs industrial fire extinguisher) 1:1
- VIP hot dogs are edible 1x/day (reqs VIP key)
- bag of QWOP (size-1 epic) drops in HC after ~174 fights, if Camp Scout backpack (borrowable) is in Hagnk's
- Witchess Knight (reqs some way to summon it) drops jumping horseradish (size-1 epic) and makes a good Digitize target (reqs Source Terminal)
- glass of raw eggs (size-1 epic) is sometimes received from Boxing Daycare (Lobby)
- Pulls (softcore):
- gallon of milk (size-15 awesome, comes with a mild-but-longlasting debuff)
- roasted vegetable of Jarlsberg (size-2 epic, 30-turn +100% item buff, untradeable so must be created before ascending)
- roasted vegetable focaccia (size-2 epic, +10 fam xp buff, untradeable so must be created before ascending)
- Deep Dish/Calzone/Pizza of Legend (size-2 super-epic, 1x/life, untradeable so must be created before ascending, good dieting pill targets)
- Booze options:
- VIP speakeasy provides a solid baseline (all are drinkable, regardless of name), but requires a VIP key
- tiny stillsuit can be drank from (though the buff won't work), potentially providing an alternative baseline for non-VIP players
- For folks with neither VIP nor stillsuit, The Gnomish Micromicrobrewery is an option (the booze of the day is always edible, regardless of name)
- Moxie classes can, if they go to the trouble of unlocking their guild to access the Still, create some awesome quality size-4 booze:
- gimlet = LPU + (upgraded gin + upgrade soda water)
- Gordon Bennett = LPU + (upgraded wine + upgraded orange)
- tangarita = MIC + (upgraded tequila + upgraded grapefruit)
- august scepter can summon 2 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon (size-3 awesome) per day
- ice bartender (reqs a way to summon/find it) drops perfect ice cube @ 30%, which can be mixed (with gin) into a perfect negroni (size-3 epic); industrial fire extinguisher and/or Cat Burglar can be used to grab extra copies of the ice cube
- Winter Garden can create one Ice Island Long Tea (size-4 epic) per day
- Pulls (softcore):
- hacked gibson (size-4 epic)
- Wrecked Generator (size-5 epic, untradeable so must be acquired before ascending)
- (nightcap) vintage smart drink/emergency margarita (size-10 awesome)
- Either:
- With the Smith's Tome, each tome summons effectively creates 2 handful of Smithereens (1 directly, 1 via smashing), each of which can be cooked/mixed into epic size-2 food/booze
- Precious Gs can be spent on epic size-2 food/booze
- Other:
- milk of magnesium
- +5 turns/day from either the Opossum (Canadia) or Blender (gnome) moon sign
- June cleaver's +5 adv noncom
- Special Seasoning (reqs SongBoom)
- magical sausages (reqs Kramco)
- Groose grease and Grim Brother's fairy tales are both 7.5 adv / 4 spleen
- Ode to Booze (not castable; reqs Cargo Cultist Shorts/genie bottle (20 turns' worth) or cursed monkey's paw (30 turns' worth)
- Pulls (softcore):
Quest Progression
- [General] Quest-relevant equipment still functions in that capacity, regardless of G-ness. This includes: logging hatchet/loadstone, amulet of extreme plot significance/mohawk wig/titanium assault umbrella, antique machete, unstable fulminate, UV-resistant compass
- [Spookyraven] When trying to beat the Billiards ghost at pool, neither the pool cue nor the hand chalk function, so having maxed your lifetime pool skill is particularly important here
- In the Bedroom you only need track down 1 ornate nightstand (since the disposable instant camera is unusable)
- To unlock The Hidden Temple, you will have to talk to "Dakota" Fanning (since you can't use the Spooky Temple map) once you've reached 35 mainstat (~lvl 6.5). This means that, instead of tracking down the Spooky Forest noncom 4x, you will need to fetch:
- pellet of plant food: Found in The Haunted Conservatory after 10 delay (not pre-burnable)
- heavy-duty bendy straw: Dropped by the third Fallen Archfiend you fight, found in the Dark Heart (so delay adventuring here until after speaking to Fanning)
- sewing kit: Sold for a fat loot token in the Vending Machine, or pullable. Note that since the kit is untradeable and tokens are unpullable, you will need to pre-purchase a kit before ascending, if you want to be able to pull one from Hagnk's.
- [Level 4] To open the Bat Hole zones, you cannot use sonar-in-a-biscuit, and so must fight 3 Screambats (or 2, with the use of the IFE)
- [Level 5] To open Cobb's Knob, using the map causes you to lose all your HP and get Beaten Up
- [Level 7] To track your progress in The Cyrpt (since you can't use your Evilometer) you may check your Quest Log
- Since evil eye is unusable, The Defiled Nook will take the full 25+1 turns, barring assistance from gravy boat (pulled), Nightmare Fuel (via SongBoom), IFE, Lovebugs, and/or solid gold rosary (grimstone content)
- [Level 9] To build the Orc Chasm bridge, logging hatchet / loadstone still provide extra lumber / fasteners, but keepsake boxen are unusable
- To create the jar of oil necessary to complete Twin Peak (lest you be forced to spend 50 turns burning the place down), you must use crude oil congealer (sold for 3 Gs) to combine your 12 bubblin' crude
- To use the clues at A-boo Peak, you must use A-Boo glue (sold for 1 G each); Cartography also effectively serves as a free clue
Consider spending all 3 of your starting Gs on the congealer on your first G-Lover ascension, and then buy glue with Gs earned in subsequent runs
- [Level 10] To unlock the Beanstalk, click on the coffee grounds in The Nearby Plains
- [Level 11] To find the Black Market, you cannot use the Blackbird (or Crow) as your active familiar, but you can still paste one together to get the bonus zone progression
- To unlock The Hidden City, you cannot use stone wool, so you'll have to either wish (directly, not pocket) for Stone-Faced (twice!) or grind out the noncoms naturally
- You cannot use a book of matches to find The Hidden Tavern, which means no Bowls of Scorpions for drunk pygmies, and no Cursed Punch to boost your curse level
- To clear the Mob of Protesters, lynyrds are unfeasible (neither musk nor snare are usable). Dirty Pear (as a direct wish) still functions to speed the +sleaze route
- To get through The Palindome, since you cannot use the disposable instant camera, you will have to fight 9 dudes (Bob Racecars, Racecar Bobs, and Drab Bards) in order to get a photograph
- Using both "I Love Me, Vol. I" and "2 Love Me, Vol. 2" cause you to lose all your HP and get Beaten Up.
- To get through The Palindome, since you cannot use the disposable instant camera, you will have to fight 9 dudes (Bob Racecars, Racecar Bobs, and Drab Bards) in order to get a photograph
- You can still create and throw the wine bomb
- You cannot use the drum machine to gain 30% desert exploration, so there is no need to collect worm-riding manual pages, meaning hydration is unnecessary (especially since most of the debuffs don't function)
- To unlock The Hidden City, you cannot use stone wool, so you'll have to either wish (directly, not pocket) for Stone-Faced (twice!) or grind out the noncoms naturally
- [Level 12] War Sidequests:
- You cannot use rock band flyers or jam band flyers, so you cannot Advertise for the Mysterious Island Arena
- You cannot use chaos butterfly to speed up Defowl the Farm
- [Tower] Off-class stat test: Surprisingly difficult to max, but a high G-9 potion (conditional 15% drop from government scientist) buff can go a long way
Notable exceptions to the G restriction
- Skills: Passive skills function normally (though Mafia may not recognize this; consider acquiring a talking spade to check your modifiers). Tome/Libram/Grimoire skills are castable via the Mystical Bookshelf page.
- Consumption: Food/booze that never enters your inventory often skips past the G-filter and can be consumed regardless of its stated name. E.g., everything in Chez's/Micromicrobrewery (including the random dailies), everything in the VIP Hot Dog Stand/Speakeasy, and tiny stillsuit's distillate.
- Using items: inv_use.php calls are blocked for non-G items. combat lover's locket instead calls inventory.php?reminisce=1, so its reminisces still function.
- Equipment: Hardcoded (basically meaning "unique") enchantment effects still function, regardless of item name. This includes the survival knife (from the MayDay™ contract)
- Workshed: Asdon Martin was the shed in Standard when this path was current, and its combat skills and buffs are almost all G-friendly, but the workshed update (which automatically uninstalls your shed on ascension) rendered it useless, until its name was later updated to shoehorn in a G. Currently only the Asdon Martin keyfob (on ring) and Little Geneticist DNA-Splicing Lab can be used.
Advice Circa 2023
- Workshed: Little Geneticist DNA-Splicing Lab is the only IOTM shed that remains usable currently.
- Monster summoning: combat lover's locket (via /reminisce), genie bottle (directly; pocket wishes are unusable), and Chateau's picture. Cargo Cultist Shorts also contains a limited selection of monsters. No additional softcore options.
- Copying: enamorang (from the L.O.V.E. tunnel) makes 1 wandering copy; Digitize (reqs Source Terminal) makes many. Enamorang is pullable, but is a gift item and so cannot be trivially mall-purchased.
- Lucky Adventures: AEDs (size-5 spleen, from the valhalla deli) are the only non-IOTM source, but require you to forgo hot dogs. VIP members have access to both the Hot Dog Stand's optimal dog and the VIP Speakeasy's Lucky Lindy (which is now size-6). And Sunday pills (reqs the Pill Keeper) cost 3 spleen. No additional softcore options.
- Banishers: HC is limited to KGB's dart (3x/day), Divine libram's popper (rare summons, 5-turn duration), and (if you collect 100 scraps) familiar scrapbook's Show Your Boring Familiar Pictures. In softcore, there are reusable 1x/day banishers on the equipment pulls mafia middle finger ring, V mask, and stinky cheese.
- (Pseudo)Sniffs: miniature crystal ball is very powerful and still functions as normal. Gallapagosian Mating Call (+1 copy to zone; lacks Olfaction's rejection-suppression) functions but is very weak.
- YRs: Disintegrate (150 MP, 100-turn cooldown) and two Tome derivative combat items with 150-turn cooldowns, Golden Light (from The Smith's Tome) and unbearable light (from Tome of Clip Art).
- Other item-acquisition tools: Feel Nostalgic (reqs emotion chip), Cat Burglar heists, Goose dupes, industrial fire extinguisher's Polar Vortex, and broken champagne bottle (reqs garbage tote)
Mr. Store Items (At Time Of Standard)
The functionality of many Mr. Store items have been impacted by the dependence on Gs, rendering some especially important, while some others become greatly inhibited as a result.
Note that this list only includes items that are in standard at the time when this challenge was restricted as such.
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Functional Sources of Specific Enchantments
(Sorted with the more accessible options listed first)
-Combat:
+Combat:
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Weapon Damage (Percent), for the muscle path:
Spell Damage (Percent), for the myst path:
Sleaze Resistance, for the mox path:
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Softcore Pulls
While most pulls that work for softcore speed ascension strategies remain viable, there are some particular pulls that are ideal to cover some of G-Lover's deficits.
- blessed rustproof +2 gray dragon scale mail: If you do not have a genie bottle, this shirt can be pulled to provide quality of life and elemental resistance for some particular tasks.
- bomb of unknown origin: Removes 10 zeppelin protesters without killing the one you are fighting. Cranking ML allows multiples to be used in a single fight, removing many from the zone.
- Alternatively, consider pulling lynyrd gear. The fastest possible Red Zepplin involves using 4 clovers while wearing three pieces of gear with the musky effect. This takes a lot of pulls, though.
- crude oil congealer: Unlike other G-Mart items, this one is not a quest item. If collected and stored during previous runs, it can be pulled to save your Gs for other uses.
- gallon of milk: If you do not have an Intergnat, this 15-fullness awesome beverage can be consumed to fill your stomach with a single pull. The associated debuff, while bothersome, is manageable.
- government-issued eyeshade: If you have trouble getting your Pool Skill high enough to finish The Haunted Billiards Room, consider pulling this, as it adds 5 Pool Skill and gives a flat 25 extra damage against ghosts, making the A-boo Peak and the Haunted Billiards Room easier to deal with.
- gravy boat : As the cornucopia cannot be used, this hat can be pulled to speed up the Undefile the Cyrpt Quest.
- hacked gibson: As Extract cannot be used, these can be pulled as one of the best drinks available for this path.
- mafia middle finger ring: An accessory that allows you to Show them your ring, a 60 turn banish (which does not take an adventure) that can be used once per day. Helps in varying locations, such as the Junkyard.
- Numberwang: An accessory that gives +11 monster level, which can help with levelling as well as areas such as the Oil Peak. Also gives HP/MP regeneration, maximum HP/MP, combat initiative, and 5 rollover adventures.
- ring of conflict: An accessory that reduces combat frequency by 5%, which can help if you are unable to reach -25% otherwise.
- stuffing fluffer: As the cornucopia cannot be used, this can be pulled and used to speed up the Mysterious Island Quest in quantities up to 28.
Ascension Strategy | |
Rankings: | HC Skills - HC Familiars - HC IotMs |
General: | Class selection - Familiar usage - Lucky adventures |
Paths: | BHY - Fist - AoB - BI - ZS - AoJ - BIG! - KOLHS - CA2 - AoSP - SS - HR - Picky - Ed - Random - AoWoL - Source - NA - GN - LtA - L.A.R. - PF - G-Lover - DD |
Additional Paths: | DG - 2CRS - KoE - PotP - LKS - GG - Y,Robot - QT - WF - GY - JM - FotD |
IotMs: | Tomes - Faxing - Copying - YR - Garden - Correspondent - Workshed - Tea party - Florist |