Hardcore Checklist
From A KoL Wiki
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The Hermit humbly requests that this page be rewritten or expanded.
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The following is a bare-bones roadmap for hardcore players of what absolutely needs to be accomplished to ascend during a no-path run; "i.e.", all of The Council of Loathing's quests, and the sub-quests that need to be completed to make them possible. It will also cover some of the basic time-savers that should be a part of nearly every path, especially for 0- or low-permed-skill players.
Notes
- As this checklist assumes you've played through the main quest already once in order to unlock Hardcore, spoilers abound. You were warned.
- The notes sections in the table will often have helpful item to clear quests, but for the more complex quests, some of it has been left to the appropriate quest page. Check those for more details and strategy.
- While the article has been laid out in Level order to organize what you need for each quest, it does NOT guarantee the most efficient route, which is dependent on a number of variables - what drops, what skills you have, your class, your stats, your adventures remaining, etcetera. Generally, items that can be safely taken ahead of order are in blue, but you can also use the Safe Moxie column to determine where you are okay to adventure. A fully sortable table with Moxie and Initiative is available at Safe Adventuring. (On the flip side of the coin, you may frequently want to skip the blue columns to push the Council quests forward to get better gear, consumables, and rewards.)
- For simplicity's sake, the checklist will assume you're taking a Knoll sign.
- Items where the optimal play may be dependent on other factors have been listed in italics to indicate you have choices.
- Because of the huge variety of items available to a softcore player, optimal softcore items and routing may be significantly different from below.
Legend
| White cells indicate mandatory items required to complete an ascension. |
| Items in italics indicate items that players can choose among in order to complete an ascension. |
| Purple cells indicate items that will be necessary later in the ascension, but may be more efficient to collect earlier. |
| Green cells indicate useful items that may result in a net savings in turns. |
Checklist
Level 1: Toot Oriole Quest
As simple as it gets: obtain the letter from King Ralph XI from The Toot Oriole and pop it open. Ah, but now you need to get to Level 2. If you're not going to eat something (like an astral hot dog), you have a couple of options, but given that you'll need Meat and will almost certainly have rat whiskers later, your best bet may be starting at the The Dirt-Walled Hovel of the Pretentious Artist.
| Location | Safe Moxie | Item | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sleazy Back Alley | 11 Moxie | pail of pretentious paint | Pretentious Artist Quest | Finishing this quest will allow you to turn in rat whiskers for 50 Meat apiece, and given that hardcore runs are usually Meat-starved early on, this is likely an efficient trade of adventures for meat for you. If you need booze early, it may be worthwhile to start at The Sleazy Back Alley, where there are frequent Mad Train wine drops. Keep in mind that you will need to go to the Outskirts of Cobb's Knob for the Level 5 quest, so it may be worth wrapping up this quest later if you level to 2 quickly. |
| Outskirts of Cobb's Knob | 12 Moxie | pretentious paintbrush | ||
| The Haunted Pantry | 14 Moxie | pretentious palette | ||
| The Sleazy Back Alley | 11 Moxie | bum cheek | Boss Bat Quest | If you're adventuring here, also keep an eye out for the bum cheek, which is one way you can get the Stench Resistance you'll need for the Level 4 quest. |
Level 2: Spooky Forest Quest
Another easy-peasy jaunt, so it may be worthwhile to stick around (especially if you're still below level 3) to unlock The Hidden Temple, which will be necessary at Level 11. Everything you need to do here can be positively influenced by -combat.
| Location | Safe Moxie | Item | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Spooky Forest | 15 Moxie | 1 mosquito larva | Spooky Forest Quest | The first time you get Arboreal Respite, choose Explore the stream, then March to the marsh". |
| 1 Spooky Temple map | Quest for the Holy MacGuffin | Getting these three will unlock The Hidden Temple and is very likely a quicker route than helping "Dakota" Fanning. You'll need to get Arboreal Respite to come up another four times. Each time it does:
| ||
| 1 Spooky-Gro fertilizer | ||||
| 1 spooky sapling |
Useful Semi-rare items
Some semi-rare items can prove very useful for completing certain quests. The table below lists a few such items.
| Location | Min. Stat | Item | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hidden Temple | - | Baa'baa'bu'ran | Can drop 3 handfuls of stone wool for a speedy Hidden City unlock |
| Harem | 20 | Scented massage oil | Defeating your shadow |
| The Valley of Rof L'm Fao | 68 | All components for 64735 scroll | Completing the optional level 9 A Quest, LOL |
| The Castle in the Clouds in the Sky | 95 | Mick's IcyVapoHotness Inhaler | Completing the Recover the Sisters' Meat level 12 sidequest |
| One of the 2 pre-war camps (hippy or frat) and the Cove | 30 (45 for cove) | 3 different potions: +100 to specific stat | Aiding to defeat otherwise difficult bosses (except the sorceress of course) |
Item Optimizations
- It's easier to get the skeleton key needed for the Naughty Sorceress Quest by assembling its respective parts as shown above, but they are also available from Room 3 of The Daily Dungeon.
- Some of these items can be obtained by zapping instead of collecting them at the locations mentioned here.
Optional Quests and Items
- Whether or not it's worthwhile to finish building the helpful but optional 31337 scroll instead of advancing to the (more stat-lucrative) Icy Peak or The Haunted Gallery depends on many factors: how easily you can survive battling there, your character's item drop skills, how many of the 3 parts you already have, whether or not there are other items you still would like in that area, and whether you have a spare zap that might convert useless scrolls into the ones you need. Accordingly, it's difficult to give a blanket recommendation for that item.
- If you are born under a friendly Knoll sign and thus can quickly and quite cheaply obtain all the components of a meat engine as well as tires, completing the Bitchin' Meatcar Quest remains the best way of gaining access to the Desert Beach. Otherwise you might consider creating a pumpkin carriage (if you possess the relevant campground equipment) or purchasing a desert bus pass instead.
- Getting a Meat Maid grants four extra adventures at rollover, then again for characters not born under a Knoll sign it is arguable whether it justifies the adventure cost of obtaining meat engine components, a frilly skirt and a maiden wig from Degrassi Knoll. The other two items you'll need, the disembodied brain and smart skull, are both drops that can take many turns to get normally (the brain being the much harder of the two). However, you can get each of them by using a clover in their respective areas. And if you've already completed the Cyrpt Quest, you can get both items at once by using a clover in the upgraded Cemetary. Adventurers on the Oxygenarian path can almost always justify building a maid, even if they have to stay in the Knoll a little longer, as those four extra turns per day really add up over a long run.
- The Mysterious Island subquest items are not listed, as these should be self-evident for whichever subquests you choose to complete. Determining which subquests are beneficial to complete relies on many factors, including which side you are on, permed skills, etc. For more information, visit the Mysterious Island Quest page.
| 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 |
