Disco Elysium (2019) - Detective RPG

Games
385

Pretty much.

I’d say it helps to know that the volition skill in the psyche tree give you morale, and the endurance skill in the physique tree gives you physical hit points. If morale or hit points fall to zero, it is game over. And it is very likely that you will sometimes lose a point or two without seeing it coming.

Also, don’t obsess over apparent dead ends. Your character might lack the skills to solve a problem one way, but chances are that another possibility will present itself, probably using different skills. (You can also try equipping different items, which give different skill combinations.)

This is not one of those RPGs where you should say everything suggested under dialogue options.

You will probably want to run at times, to make the back and forth less annoying, but I do not remember it being clear that you can do so by double clicking on your destination.

386

You can also double click, hold, and move the mouse to steer as you run.

387

This is so important to know! If I were only going to give one piece of advice about this game it’s that you shouldn’t feel obliged to completely explore dialogue trees.

388

I found the world too fascinating to resist doing exactly that.

Plus I thought it weird that an amnesiac would so readily adopt any particular ideology in the first place.

389

It’s wild when two pop culture elements you are familiar with collide.

390

Does this have good replayability? There’s so many different ways I’d want to play.

391

I loved the game, but resisted playing it again in case I’d be able to see the strings that made my first playthrough so memorable. I’d maybe play it again in a few years, I think.

392

Someone else could chip in, but as far as I know the game is brilliantly written, but doesn’t differ that much when replayed.

The tasks are all pretty much the same and I think a balanced character can witness all of the game’s content with a bit of elbow grease.

Despite what is advertised, there are only a handful of events where you can be “screwed” by being too good at something.

There is one event near the end of the game that can play out quite differently, but it really doesn’t alter much what happens next.

As for the ending, there is only the one, but part of it is hidden if you don’t make some choices (I think?).

The one thing that can change is that there are lots of “automatic” stat checks that mostly give background info. Those tend to be quite easy, but I guess different builds would see different messages.

EDIT: Speaking of which, I’ve been rethinking about the factions, especially the wishy-washy Moralists. I love how the game portrays them as the only sensible option, but also a terrible choice at the same time.

It feels like the way a UN breaucrat would see the world. You feel very bad about the world’s issues, but let’s not be hasty and make any quick moves, right? Especially not the kind that could jeopardize your position in the world. Small steps. Besides, the status quo is good, right?

Finally! Something normal. Enough of those ramblings – in this world there is also a sensible ideology for people who simply want to do good by everyone. How? By looking at the options on the table and saying: no. I don’t want any of those associated with me. I just want to play a regular, inconsequential, doesn’t-really-believe-in-anything type of detective.

Well, you’re in luck! After the commies and the fascas tag teamed Revachol, sensible foreign nations with moderately deadly artillery came and levelled the city, put all the commies against a neutral wall and turned Revachol into a debt colony / financial buffer zone / whatever the hell they want it to be. They rule the world. And also the RCM, the law enforcement agency you’re part of, so really – it’s a no brainer.

Take this one, it would be weird to take any of the others.

So good… does that mean being a centrist is evil?

393

Does anything bad happen if I steal the armor boots?

394

A lot of the fun is playing your way and seeing what happens with the choices you make. Don’t deprive yourself of the experience by asking for advice or looking up any spoilers, is my advice on the matter.

395

What Scott said. What’s even “bad” in this game? More than anything else I’ve played, this is a game where you don’t want to read ahead at all, unless you are completely stuck.

396

I’ve played it twice. When I beat it the first time, there was quite a number of sidequests that still were unsolved. If it’s the same for you and if you also possibly haven’t seen ‘full’ ending, then you might as well dive into it again.

It’s not like DE’s main plot is widely branching out and that there’s like x number of utterly different story paths and endings. In that regard it’s pretty linear. Replaying it–other than completing side content that you skipped in a previous playthrough–is more about experiencing it as a different character and changing where HdB’s mental state is at once you’ve finished it.

397

I don’t think so.

398

OK cool thanks all!

399

@JD @Chris_Gwinn Is there a maximum number of skill points you can bank? If it’s 5, I’m afraid I may have lost some.

400

Why are you banking skill points?

401

I don’t know what to put them into. Decision lock. I’m playing this wrong aren’t I…

402

I didn’t want to say anything but… yes.

Here is the problem with banking them - you will run into something, there is no way for you to know what, that uses a skill that you might have investing in. Except you are investing in nothing, so the odds of you running into something your skills help with is 0% right now. Spend your points, stop worrying and let the game and the story unfold. A roll that results in something failed is NOT itself a failure here.

403

All of the skills are useful, depending what you want to do. Playing a cop who is super good at art appreciation and doing drugs will get you through the game. I usually kept one or two unspent because I liked being able to suddenly be good at something I wanted to try, but don’t sleep on them. Also, a ton of them passively give you information.

If you don’t know what else to spend them on, drop a few points into Volition and Endurance. - they are broadly useful. Espirt de Corps, Visual Calculation and Shivers will give you interesting information. There! Five skill points spent.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/10/14/disco-elysium-skills-character-creation-intellect-psyche-physique-motorics-and-the-24-skills-explained/ is a great summary of what the skills are for. Sometimes really interesting things happen when you’re bad at a skill, and you can move things around with equipment, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

404

It’s not the end of the world, but sometimes having a few points laying around can be handy. There are times when you initiate a conversation and there’s a specific check with bad odds that you might be able to pass by chucking a point or two in the appropriate skill.