Quartermaster Platinum is something I'll (eventually) get to writing about in my badge guide, although UnderAPaleGreySky seems to have more experience with AoRA in general, considering he got the Diamond last version. Based on his own testimonial to the run, I did about the same things he did. The only significant difference was that UV requires plenty of luck in not getting too many ridiculous packs later on and (probably) some nukes, in addition to the normal strategies.
This is what comes to mind at the moment:
- Use shotguns and RL. Whether MAD or MFa is up to you (or neither if you get a special shotgun or missile launcher), but note that MAD blocks HR, whereas MFa will still let you get Badass if you think the knockback reduction is worth it. I managed that victory with MFa into Fin -> WK. Hell, even a single power mod on combat shotgun really helps a lot. If you can get 10d3, you're golden for killing just by scouting.
- In general, you want traits that improve your speed. HR, Rel, Fin all come to mind. As speedy as SoG is, combat and double compliment each other enough, and you'll need as much space left over to carry extraneous stuff that you might want.
- Which brings me to another point: whenever you aren't going back to a spot, pick up everything you can. Time can be spent after you've cleared the level and reached the stairs to decide on what you want to keep.
- Always always ALWAYS find the stairs first. Kill things on the way, but don't stop moving (which should be doable with Shottyman) until you know how to end the level. At this point, experience says that monsters tend to move towards the center of the map, so start your hunt there. Blast open long-to-reach areas, listen for where enemies are, etc.
- You'll need approximately the same luck as you will in a typical AoSg run: that is, enough shells. Pick up every single pack you can, and you'll want 9-10 stacks by Phobos Hell. It SHOULD last you the rest of the game, but continue picking up shells anyway. A majority of your time spent should be shooting and runloading.
- Sometimes you'll just have pray for good levels with the RNG. Hellish Caves and Arenas are a blessing here. Mazes and early Maze of Rooms are horrible and usually have to be strategically blasted through to make sure all the enemies find their way to the middle.
- Specific parts of the game:
--- TRY to beat Hell's Arena if you can. This means using up med-packs for running around. Getting the RL early helps a ton to blow open some floors and get the monsters in firing range. More importantly, so long as you kill everything in the wave and stop at your discretion, it's still 100% for the level. Just a good way to get experience for later.
--- It's very possible to do Chained Court with berserk, which basically halves the time you spend doing anyway. Grab an agi mod and stick it on boots whenever you find them. Unless you manage to find another agi mod for a better pair, don't switch, either (unless you just have to run through some lava).
--- No Wall. Just no. It's POSSIBLE, but you're gonna have to be pretty damn lucky on your rockets so that you don't have a barrage of acid blasts in your face. Missile launcher is extremely tempting, but forget it.
--- Hell's Armory isn't too hard to get through in time, but you have to be capable of handling a couple Arach volleys if it comes down it. Best way to go through the level is to blow through the center, opening all the doors and killing whatever you can see (don't go IN the rooms yet), reach the center just before the Arachs and head down along the edge. Go into the rooms on the right side, kill the demons there, then do your best to kill the Arachs who, with any luck, are still stuck inside their little rooms. (Usually this means getting adjacent to them and blasting your double, making sure it won't be knocked back by the attack.) Clean up the rest on your way back. You can finish this with 2 minutes to spare, easy, if you're smart. It's also guaranteed power and agi mods, great for leveling up your combat and any good boots.
--- Use RL to blow through Halls of Carnage and grab the BFG: it'll come in handy at Hellgate. If, somehow, you get here before The Wall and still generate the level, you can consider trying it, but you better have some extra cells.
--- Obviously, no Spider's Lair, Vaults, or Mortuary. I actually did Mortuary, but I only BARELY finished (and that was after burning all of my large med-packs to avoid going back for Supercharges) with a 9d3, 0.85 combat and plasma shotgun. Not worth the trouble. Lava Pits isn't worth the trouble, either, but it's doable.
--- City of Skulls should be considered if you have the shells. The extra BFG, cells and rockets are worth it.
Don't worry about Cybie (nuke kills either way) so don't even think about conserving anything for him, another reason why MAD isn't that useful. Hope these comments help you out. In short: shotty build but add speedy traits; find the stairs, run a lot, and plan out your movement so you can reach everything and still hit the stairs in time. Finally, don't worry about the time limit, just focus on playing as absolutely efficiently without possible (with little regard to health most of the time, too). Active defensive techniques such as sidestepping and coordinated running-tactics will make or break this run.
I'll be honest, the Quartermaster Plat was my first serious attempt for it since 0.9.9.1. I got lucky with some mods, but a good deal with just solid technique in running through all the levels. I had completed AoRA previously in 0.9.9.0, and it didn't seem all that bad, what with 80% kills (even going into Vaults and Mortuary without killing anything); note that the particular run was played without SM. That game I cleared The Wall but had a BFG ready for the Barons (hence my comment above) so it was worth getting the BackPack. Also (looking at on the mortem) I had collected four adv weapons, holy crap. P3A3T2 plasma rifle is SICK.
EDIT: Damn, I wrote this in far too fatigued a state. Fixed bad words and such.
Author
Topic: [AoI/97%/YASD] UAC gold star (Read 5329 times)