.
about obtaining Inquisitor Angelic in the first beta for 0.9.9.9 to test if the badge actually needed any nerfs despite nobody ever winning it prior in the 11 years since 0.9.9.7, but I don't consider obtaining badges in the beta versions to count, and like with
, I didn't want to wait around until 0.9.9.9 launches proper to get the badge officially. So I went back to 0.9.9.8 once more and was able to obtain Inquisitor Angelic there to officially claim being the first person to have verifiably won it.
I would recommend reading the linked thread about my 0.9.9.9 beta Inquisitor Angelic run, for my thoughts on the badge and my general strategy, so as to not repeat myself here. The differences compared to that run is that I lead off with Finesse instead of Hellrunner, to increase the chances that I kill the Sergeants in Phobos Base Entry without them using the Small Medkits, and since I'll get Hellrunner very shortly into Phobos 2 anyway. Then in the lategame after getting Berserker, I end up just getting as much Ironman as I could and even a level of Tough As Nails, rather than Fin2 + Whizkid, since I was perpetually short on medkits and had no good armor in the later half, desperately needing all the extra survivability I could scrounge up.
If you're interested in reading the floor-by-floor breakdown I wrote up rather than watching the video (or even read it alongside to see my thoughts throughout), you can find it in the spoiler tags:
Phobos Base Entry - As always you start off in Phobos Base Entry, which is never actually difficult to get through. But getting through it without taking a decent chunk of damage is luck-based, and there's even more luck involved with killing the two Sergeants before they use up their Small Medkits. If I took about 25% or more in damage, or failed to get both Small Medkits, I would just restart, as limiting damage and getting as many medkits as you can is important, while any Phobos Base Entry shouldn't take more than a minute and so it doesn't take much time to get a good Phobos Base Entry.
Floor 2 - This went pretty bad; aside from that embarrassing mishap where I misclicked the wrong direction several times when trying to shoot a Former Human, I took a lot of unnecessary damage, having to needlessly burn a medkit already, getting my armor damaged, and being unable to explore a large chunk of the level before running short on time. At least I got a couple more Small Medkits, but it should have went better and I really want more than one armor.
Hell's Arena - Trying to actually clear Hell's Arena in this challenge would be out of the question, but I always go in and clear the first wave before leaving, as you need all the EXP you can get this early and it is usually pretty easy to clear the first wave without taking much damage if you don't get bad starting spawn locations, while if anything respawns and it's not in your way, you can just ignore it when kill % doesn't matter here. Doing the first wave of Hell's Arena should ensure you'll always reach level 3 before floor 3 to get that crucial HR + Fin + Rel combo before bigger enemies start showing up. As for this particular run, I took a few plasma balls that I shouldn't have, but taking 27% damage overall wasn't too bad and was worth the tradeoff for EXP. Just remember to take off your Green Armor here, it does nothing to defend against plasma and you want to preserve it for enemies it'll actually do something against.
Floor 3 - What a bad floor; sandwiched by Imps and a Hell Knight at the start, some more awkwardly placed Hell Knights I had to get through, I lose my only armor, and burn two Small Medkits without getting any back. I also had no time to try exploring the vault that spawned here, which could have had some really nice stuff in it. This run isn't looking too good at this point.
Floor 4 - A much needed rebound here; the starting position looked precarious with a Pain Elemental in sight, a Pinky horde to the south, and hearing a Hell Knight around. But I'm able to kill the Pain Elemental before the Pinkies come, while there's a very conveniently placed acid barrel to help me take out the Pinkies, and the Hell Knight stayed away until I could confront him in a better spot. I also not only found a couple Small Medkits and a fresh Green Armor, but also got very lucky with a crate that dropped a Large Medkit. Early found stairs allowed me to explore the rest of the floor with low pressure and I get a lot of EXP without taking much damage, this run is back.
Floor 5 - Starting me right next to a Cacodemon and other nasties that blocked off any immediate safe zone wasn't good, but I get a bit lucky with the Caco wandering away until I cleared out the weaker enemies, while immediately finding an uncontested Small Medkit, Large Medkit, and Radsuit was very nice, as well as the stairs to The Chained Court spawning right next to me. The rest of floor had nothing noteworthy but wasn't bad, and the damage I take is irrelevant for the coming level as long as I don't die here. Just wished I had some more armor...
The Chained Court - A mandatory stop, as not only to get the Chainsaw, but the Chainsaw's free Nerserk on pickup still works in AoP, so you basically get a much needed free full heal here. While entering low on health, I try to avoid immediately picking it up, first popping the Radsuit I just found so I can cross the lava to get the two mods I normally wouldn't be getting here (as you need to hit all the levers to lower the center room's walls, doing which would make me take way too much damage to be worth it). I do almost die and I thought about burning a Small Medkit to be safe in case a Former wandered near the center room as I tried making my way back to the Chainsaw, but I decide against it to make the most of the Chainsaw's one time Berserk. After having to pick up the Chainsaw earlier than I wanted, I go make a quick dash to the left to kill the two Barons hidden behind the switches, to get some EXP while the Berserk makes it low risk, and then run back to get the mod in the south center room before the Radsuit runs out. Unfortunately I still end up taking a lot of damage on the way back and have to burn a medkit that I shouldn't have had to, but besides the Chainsaw and EXP, getting a Power Mod on my Shotgun and a Bulk mod for later was very worth it. Just unfortunate I forgot to pick up those shells while entering the next floor with almost no ammo left and my only armor is nearly destroyed...
Floor 6 - Floor 6 gave me a Lost Soul cave, which is the easiest level you can ask for at this point. But a Lost Soul cave also means low EXP and not many items, and I take a bit of damage still as I had to Chainsaw them all. I did found a couple Phase Devices that will be very handy for an upcoming level and a fresh Armor though, as well as some shells, so considering I could have been dumped on a floor that started me next to Barons before I have Berserker and no Sergeant in sight to get ammo from, I'll gladly take this.
Floor 7 - Another cave, this time with Pinkies too, and almost as easy. Considering I could have gotten a floor with Barons, Commandos, Arachnotrons, and Revenants before I have Berserker nor Red Armor, the easiness is appreciated, but I also would have really wanted more EXP, going into Deimos at level 5 and still with no Berserker nearby is not good. Also wasn't a good floor for items either, just a Small Medkit I had to burn anyway as I had to Chainsaw a bunch. As for possibly entering Military Base and Phobos Lab, doing so is basically a death trap in this challenge combination. If you have a Homing Phase Device by this floor and Phobos Lab spawned, you could go in, nab the two Small Medkits at the start, maybe try getting the two Large Medkits in the caves if you think you can handle the Nightmare Demons, and then use the Homing Phase once you do so or when you're about to get mauled by the Nightmare Demons, while you can then run off with the Combat Shotgun and fresh Blue Armor next to the stairs. Homing Phases are very valuable in this challenge when it'll let you skip any nasty floor or save your ass if you can't find the stairs in time, but getting all that nice loot and some EXP could be worth sacrificing it (don't think about trying that with Military Base though; while the Phobos Lab exit stairs are sealed off in a locked room that no enemy can reach you in, Military Base's exit stairs are in a sealed room full of Elite Formers, who will promptly slaughter you once you phase in).
Phobos Anomaly - You get a big restock here with two guaranteed Large Medkits and a Red Armor, as well some ammo, but you have to get through the very deadly Nightmare ambush, the reason why you absolutely need HR2. With HR2, after activating run with no armor, you can run through it without the Nightmare Demons catching you and won't take too much damage if you're not unlucky (just be sure to shut the door once you make it to the other side if you can, which will get you some crucial distance before tiring as the Nightmare Demons and Cacodemons have to wait for the NJightmare Imps to open the door). If you don't have HR2, you'll need either Berserker, a Rocket Launcher to rocket jump out, or getting lucky with Phase Devices, otherwise you WILL die here. As I had two Phase Devices, I decided to try using them to phase past the ambush and save me some potential damage... and the first does not get me through, but the second one does. Unfortunately there is still the Bruisers to get past, and since I don't have Berserker, while absolutely not wanting to risk getting sandwiched by them and the Nightmare enemies, I just try to ignore them and run through. The narrow terrain still resulted in me taking some heavy hits and I had to burn a Small Medkit, but entering Deimos with four Large Medkits and two Small Medkits is a good spot... if my ammo and armor situation wasn't so bad right now.
Floor 9 - Not a good floor at all, got a terrible starting spot and no medkits to replenish the ones I had to burn, while I already had to use my Bulk mod on my Red Armor. Also when running back to the stairs, I ended up in a bad spot with my face right next to a Mancubus, but luckily I got a double move on it and so only took that one melee hit from it. At least there were a lot of Sergeants to fix my shell shortage. As for the special levels here, as painful as it is to skip, you must skip Hell's Armory; you'll end up eating a ton of damage trying to clear it within AoRA's time limit, and you'll have to push through a lot of enemies in tight corridors just to get to the mods and weapon cache. Entering Deimos Lab on the other hand could be rewarding; actually clearing it is out of the question, but if you're willing to gamble, the crates could have medkits and armors, while you also get a free Blue Armor if you're fast, two mods, ammo boxes, and possibly a very good weapon from the weapon cache. You could just as easily though get nothing from the crates, some former could get the Blue Armor first, the weapon cache could have nothing useful, and you can just end up eating full Plasma Rifle bursts from the Commandos. I ended up not risking it here, but if I had Berserker and a better armor situation I may have done so.
Floor 10 - Yet another cave, this time Pinkies and Cacodemons, and much worse as I had nowhere safe to run, ending up having to stand my ground and shotgun down a bunch of Cacos with no cover. At least I got a couple Small Medkits here and finally get Berserker, but ended burning a Large Medkit as well as one of the Small ones, and my Red Armor took a beating.
Floor 11 - A breather with a lot of great items; a Blue Armor, a Combat Shotgun, a Rocket Launcher, and a Super Shotgun. Could have maybe explored a bit more than I did though, wasn't good to burn a medkit without finding a replacement. As for The Wall and Containment Area, they're free to leave if you enter them, so you can take the stairs to them if needed, but unless you got so many medkits you don't mind burning some, they're not worth trying to enter and clear. Well with Containment Area, you could enter and hope the crates drop a medkit or something else useful, but with so few of them, you probably won't get anything and will end up just losing health to the crate maze Imps for nothing. If you have a Homing Phase, you can just also run to the Backpack, grab it as the ambush spawns, and then immediately Homing Phase out, but considering my build doesn't need to carry that much ammo while Homing Phases are so valuable, I don't think that's a fair tradeoff.
Floor 12 - A very bad starting spot led me to taking a lot of damage from Commandos and nearly dying, while having to burn another of my precious Large Medkits. Only got a single Small Medkit for my troubles here that I had to burn too, and I end up leaving early as I found the floor too risky to explore farther. As for the special levels here, City of Skulls is free to enter and exit, so its stairs can be used if needed to escape, and it's normally the easiest special level in Nightmare by far, while Blood Skulls can potentially be very valuable in a challenge where healing is so precious, but without Blademaster, Shottyhead, or Gunrunner, you'll have a very very hard time killing everything within the AoRA time limit. As for Abyssal Plains, it's not free to enter at all and so don't go in it unless you're desperate. It does have a Large Medkit, but you'll probably burn one just trying to get to it. If you have a Shell Box however, maybe you can just run to the center, ignoring the Nightmare Imps and aforementioned Medkit, while then try to kill the Agony Elemental without taking much damage, succeeding which will award you skulls that could be useful and the stairs will be right there to exit. I never tried that but it could pay off.
Floor 13 - A small rooms level can normally be bad in AoRA as it can take a long time to find the stairs, but the less open nature makes combat is usually easier and indeed I wouldn't take much damage here. Only found a single Small Medkit though I had to burn and my Red Armor is nearly damaged while I still haven't found another Power Mod to make it Nanofiber to ensure I'll always have ok armor, at least I finally got some boots and a Shell Box.
Floor 14 - A maze... the absolute worst type of level you can get. I'm very fortunate though that I spawn with the stairs in sight, trying to find the stairs in a level with so many enemies and no good cover could otherwise get very nasty. I do bust out the Super Shotgun to see if there's anything useful I can find on the floor and take some calculated Archvile zaps for free Berserker triggers, but unfortunately I find nothing worthwhile before it gets too risky to keep pressing forward, damaging my Red Armor and taking some damage without replenishment.
Floor 15 - I start right next to a Homing Phase, great I have one mulligan in the final stretch, and I find a much needed Technical mod for my Chainsaw. Unfortunately I still find no armor, no Power Mod, and no medkits, while my lone Red Armor is in tatters. So despite the level being a bit easy, I'm not in good shape here...
Tower of Babel - The Cyberdemon is no threat when you have Berserker, still it would be unavoidable damage and I considered maybe trying to fight him the long way by repeatedly side-stepping rockets while SSGing him inbetween reloads. I decided to just run in and Chainsaw him though, and I wouldn't take much damage overall. Once you reach Hell, any run is viable to win, but with only a single Large Medkit and my armor situation in dire straits, while I'm unable to just grab an Invuln and make a mad dash to Dis, this run desperately needs some reprieve or very lucky stairs to survive.
Floor 17 - And I do get some reprieve, with early stairs and a Large Medkit. I try exploring for more, but end up just taking a beating and finding nothing worthwhile, at least Berserker saved me when a Mancubus got me at a very bad angle. As for The Vault and House Of Pain, they're free to enter and exit, while clearing House Of Pain could be doable but it's not worth the risk when you're running so low on medkits, especially when you have to deal with Nightmare Arachnotrons (not to mention if you accept the invitation to enter, you're locked in House Of Pain until you clear it, not good when you're on a time limit). As for The Vaults, you could try poking in to the left and right vaults to see if they have anything, but when you got Nightmare Arachnotrons, as well as Nightmare Archviles that will teleport out of the center vault, it is absolutely not worth it.
Floor 18 - A terrible start, I lose my lone Red Armor, and burn my last Large Medkit. I also make a very dumb decision at the end to try berserking through the Cacodemon vault hoping a Medkit or two could be inside after I couldn't just corner shoot them all, but there was nothing but a Green Armor, leaving me exiting the floor with no medkits, no good armor, and a quarter of my health, while still several floors from Dis. I was thinking the run was over at this point, but I press on...
Floor 19 - I get the stairs immediately, as well as the message that a unique spawned, but most importantly, after a few steps I see a Large Medkit I desperately needed. Unfortunately a group of Hell Nobles and a Commando are heading right towards it, fortunately ducking behind the crates and whipping out the Super Shotgun was all it took to take them all out, while luckily nothing else is in range to contest it. I then immediately find a second Large Medkit that's uncontested, as well as the unique, that turns out to be Nyarlatotep's Boots, one of the best uniques I could ask here for when it'll speed my movement up a lot and give me great foot protection. I explore a bit more and there wasn't anything else, I can't complain when those finds rejuvenated my run, but I would really like some armor better than tattered Greens... As for Unholy Cathedral, it should be a mandatory stop for any build with Berserker, but since it'll be a decent amount of unavoidable damage and I only had a single Large Medkit, I decided I was better off trying to preserve as much health as I can, despite how nice the Longinus Spear would have been...
Floor 20 - A very bad floor, I start off surrounded by a ton of nasty enemies, and while the Radsuit + Berserk ensure the Mancubus and Baron could only do 1 damage a hit, all the Arachnotrons and Commandos around would still rack up damage quickly. I thought I got through it, but then ended up surrounded by Arachnotrons while low on health. So after picking up a damaged Blue Armor and using a Bulk Mod I just found on it to get some decent armor, I decide it's time to use my Homing Phase. It gets me out of there and the stairs just had a lone Mancubus, but unfortunately there was no items nearby. I should have maybe explored a bit more, and should have seen if Mortuary spawned, where I could have went in, quickly rocket jump around Berserked to pick up some much needed Red Armors and Large Medkits before immediately leaving, but seeing how low on health I was and how precarious the floor was, I decide to just leave and use up my last Large Medkit, hoping I get a good run of luck to finish this out as I'm so close to the end...
Floor 21 - ...And I get an Arachnotron Cave, with a bunch of Arachnotrons in the open and no stairs in sight, I thought the run was over at this point. I survive it though with some careful maneuvering and usage of Run, while finding the most clutch of Small Medkits to heal me back up after getting near death, before then just making a mad dash to the stairs. Just two more floors left before Dis now...
Floor 22 - I spawn right next to a horde of Archviles, Mancubi, and Chaingunners; with nothing else better I just start Chainsawing them berserked, and in the chaos the Mancubi reveal the stairs to Mt. Erebus while I'm being knocked around. Seeing more enemies coming, I just take the stairs to Erebus as it's free to exit and enter, and I just need to make it to Dis to win, it's not worth sticking around to try finding anything or getting any more EXP so close to the end.
Floor 23 - Well the game is going to make me work for it in the penultimate floor, starting me next to a ton of strong enemies. I initially tried berserking through them all, but I decide it's better to just run away and try finding a better position, where luckily I then find a good corner shooting spot to take them out. After eliminating the immediate threat in still decent health I start exploring and find no quick stairs, but I do find a couple Phase Devices and a Large Medkit to basically seal this run. With time running a bit low, I decide to facerocket myself some to trigger Berserk as the Radsuit will limit it to 1 damage and then try using those Phase Devices to get me to the stairs. The second brings me next to them with a Baron and Archvile in sight, who I just ignore as I just need to descend the stairs to win.
Dis - Since partial wins still award you any badge that doesn't require a full win, you can just wait out the nuke timer and win at this point without risking dying to the Mastermind. But as I made it to her with a Medkit to spare, and while Berserker renders here a nonthreat, I just rush in and quickly Chainsaw her to death to claim victory.
Curiously, while in the 0.9.9.9 beta I could consistently make it to Deimos and then kept losing there, taking me 12 attempts overall (not counting the runs I Q+Y'd on Phobos Base Entry), here in 0.9.9.8 I kept dying in Phobos, but then the first attempt I make it to Deimos I end up going all the way, with it taking 8 attempts instead overall (again not counting runs that were abandoned in Phobos Base Entry). Maybe corpses not respawning in sight does help a bit with making Phobos more consistent even if you're rushing through levels, or maybe I just had a good run of luck in the beta and bad run of luck in 0.9.9.8. Overall for this specific run, my level and item luck was pretty mixed (the Super Shotgun and Laptop Boots were very nice, as was being able to go into Deimos with several Large Medkits, but I would have really liked a second Red Armor and another Power Mod), and I was often teetering on the knife edge there in the later half, but not having ideal luck makes succeeding in such a difficult challenge all the more sweeter.
Now for the first mortem to officially have the Inquisitor Angelic Badge! (And a cool Inquisitor Diamond too, which isn't a badge you see all that much either, granted the Marine's buffs does make that badge quite a bit easier now, definitely wouldn't try to double it up with Inquisitor Angelic back in 0.9.9.7).
Author
Topic: [N!|AoP + AoRA|66%|YAVP] - First official Inquisitor Angelic Badge! (with video) (Read 3399 times)