Tips for starters.

rcmike · 2014-02-09 11:40:48

If there was a previous thread for people starting out I can't find it anymore.

I just wanted to start one to help out people who might be getting frustrated dying when they don't know what to look for when robbing.

I'll start us off.
If there is a path to what seems like 4 step death, it most likely is a 4 step death
I can't count the number of people that take four steps forward in my house and get fried.

Last edited by rcmike (2014-02-09 11:41:08)

realitysconcierge · 2014-02-09 12:36:44

There's a sticky thread for tips, which I imagine include tips for starters. Good tip though!

arakira · 2014-02-09 13:52:32

A starter tip I wish I had known beforehand: don't start playing this game. It is much too addictive.

rcmike · 2014-02-09 13:57:34

I concur. Dropped about 100+ hours in it already. We did have almost an entire week of school off due to Georgia not knowing how to deal with snow, but still.

sebastian · 2014-02-09 14:03:07

rcmike: hahahahahahaahahahah "dont know how to deal with snow"...... Sometimes the snow amounts get extreme and you CANNOT deal with it.

About the tips however:
One tip I would say to a newbie, is: "No idea go out robbing". Too difficult with 2k starter Money. Instead, try build a house that has a harmless looking, but deadly trap, and then the vault straight after, but well hidden. (behind a door or something).
It will Catch so many people over time that you will collect Money. Extend your house with more traps and contraptions, and so on until you get a really good house.

I have gone very far in the game without any single robbery, in my last "Life" of the game, which im still alive in.

joshwithguitar · 2014-02-09 18:33:25

My tips for people just starting out:

First, mess around with build mode until you get a general idea of how things work, read the wiki and see if you can get a handle of the basics of wiring and a few simple traps. Don't build an entire house - just one trap at a time so that it is no worry if you accidentally kill yourself during a self test. Experiment until you think you have a general idea of the basics.

Now that you kind of understand how things work don't jump straight into building a proper house. Instead go out and rob and die a lot. Spend your entire $2000 on tools, varying what you bring to get an idea of how each tool works and charge into houses, probably around the $10k is best, and find out all the different ways you can be killed. Every time you die think of how death could have been avoided with the right tool use. Don't get too invested in actually succeeding at this stage - learnt to enjoy it every time someone cleverly kills you. Remember that the people who made these houses have probably been playing a lot longer than you have and so it makes sense that you won't be able to break through most with starter cash.

Now, finally go back to your house and build one using the tricks you've learnt from others. Be sure to replace traps with lights and pitbulls with Chihuahuas to make sure it works before putting them back for the final test. Make sure you leave some money in the vault (around $500 or more is probably good) in order to attract bounties and have at least one pitbull defending your wife (pitbulls can be put on her path). Now leave the game and get on with your life.

When you return there will be 3 possibilities:

1: You've made a ton of money - well done! Watch the tapes of people dying in your house with glee. Keep up the good work but don't get too attached, use the money to do some more careful robbing - making sure to bring enough tools to create a path out again - or instead, if you are risk averse, use the money to build up your house further. If you end up dying while robbing or in self test start over again.

Or more likely:

2: Your house has made some money while you were away but eventually has been smashed through, your wife brutally murdered. If this is the case watch the tapes, enjoy the ones where people die noticing what in your house was effective. See how the successful robber was able to make it to your vault and learn from his actions - both in terms of how to successfully rob and how to improve your current design. Now, press suicide and start all over again - experimenting with build mode, robbing houses with $2000 and dying a lot and finally building a house that hopefully does not have the faults of the previous one. Leave it and see what happens.

3: You've basically made no money and hardy anyone, if any have died in your house. If this is the case you probably either didn't leave enough money in the vault or you made it look too scary from the outset. Here you can attempt to make some money to lure robbers with by robbing houses tool free - and most probably die - or just get it over quickly by suiciding and starting again, as if you'd been robbed in no.2, and this time make sure to either have more money left over or make your house more inviting.

Overall, the main thing is not to get too invested in things to begin with. Experiment and let yourself die a lot. Falling prey to other peoples traps is one of the best ways to learn to build traps and watching others break your house is a good way to learn to rob. Read through the wiki, the FAQ and the tips page and if you still have any troubles with things ask questions on the forums.

JoyOfTrapping · 2014-02-09 19:01:47

Josh ^ has a ton of good tips. He's a top player and has good advice; you should listen to him.

I am a new player, I bought at launch. I have been climbing the learning curve in pretty much the same way Josh outlines here, and for the amount of time I've played, I feel I've made significant progress in building my skills.

Here's my starter advice:
First, yes, screw around in build mode a bit. Read the wiki also and get a handle on what all the different stuff is, and does. But remember, in life theory only gets you so far. You need hands-on experience. So, next:

Your most valuable resource in improving your skills in this game are your starter lives. Death is final and frequent, but respawning is instantaneous and it comes with a free $2000. Therefore, you should pump that unlimited resource into putting yourself through a bunch of trial by fire situations and learning how traps look, how traps move, and how traps kill. Go rob houses. Take tools. Don't take tools. Scout first, and then take tools. Do it all, see it all, and don't be attached to the results. Kill yourself, kill yourself, and kill yourself again. Try to elude the traps. Try to get the traps to kill you! Don't be attached to your life. Every single time you encounter a new situation with which you are unfamiliar, take the risks and test the behavior of the traps. If I see something new, I will deliberately kill myself on it so that I can understand the behavior and learn something.

Rob all different levels of houses. Top of the list, middle of the list, houses starting to build value, and noob houses. You want to see what people do right, and what people do wrong. You need to have the inner resources to respond to an ever-changing variety of situations if you are going to be an effective robber.

There used to be a show on TV called It Takes a Thief. With the cooperation of participating homeowners, two former professional thieves would stage full-scale burglaries and bust through peoples' security systems and take their valuables in record time. Then they would help the homeowners beef up their security. It was a good show. The idea here is that to create effective security, you need to think like a robber. See my point here?

To succeed in this game you need a number of different skill sets. You need to be able to rob well, and build well. The two skills compliment each other. Robbing a lot will get you into the mindset of an intruder. You can then use that mindset to make very effective traps that control the intruder's behavior in the pattern that you wish it to follow. This will make your house secure.

As for building, pick a stretch of time when you don't have anything else you have to do. Use some starter money to make a small and simple house with just a couple traps with a very specific design. Then, leave some money in the house. Now camp on your security tapes to see how people respond and behave. As you get the bounties, quickly beef up your security a little bit more until it's at a reasonable level. This will ensure that this is a longer experiment as opposed to a shorter one.

So keep camping on the tapes and watch carefully. How are people responding to your traps? Are they doing what you want them to do, or are they doing something else? Are they trying the routes you want them to try? Are they poking around where you want them to poke around, or are they poking around somewhere else? Paying attention to these details will refine your trap-building skills. As you watch the tapes, try and correct the problems you see so that people are consistently dying in the ways you want them to die. The more you do this, you will develop your own style, your own trademarks, and your own "vocabulary" of traps. This will give you a wide range of options as a builder also, and when you die and respawn you won't have to think so hard to make a new starter house.

Experiment, experiment, experiment, and take risks!

Trap on.

rcmike · 2014-02-09 19:22:02

These are some really, really good tips.

Another thing I can add is that always consider what 2k of tools would do to your house in the beginning.

Ask yourself if someone with 5 saws could get straight to your vault or someone with 10 dog meats and 10 waters, etc etc.

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2014-02-09 11:40:48

Tips for starters.

#2 2014-02-09 12:36:44

Re: Tips for starters.

#3 2014-02-09 13:52:32

Re: Tips for starters.

#4 2014-02-09 13:57:34

Re: Tips for starters.

#5 2014-02-09 14:03:07

Re: Tips for starters.

#6 2014-02-09 18:33:25

Re: Tips for starters.

#7 2014-02-09 19:01:47

Re: Tips for starters.

#8 2014-02-09 19:22:02

Re: Tips for starters.

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