family and free path

mala · 2014-02-10 16:06:23

Hi everyone,

i've spent the last two days building, robbing, dying and so on and i'm getting accustomed to the various game mechanics,

there's still lots of thing unclear but one is really confusing.

every time i build something, fist thing people will try to figure out is the "Family free path" that i'm forced to create due to the family mechanic.

Still i'm finding way too many houses with commitment gates right in front of you

http://imgur.com/g47T3Zk

i've got killed by some sort of clock i guess, but there was no way to look around since there was no free path at all.

Is having a family a drawback on the ability to protect your house?

42dustman · 2014-02-10 16:17:43

Family members need no pathways once they are dead.

joshwithguitar · 2014-02-10 16:21:39

It's a drawback on the ability to protect you vault as you have to dedicate room to protecting it, but as the wife hold half of your money she can be quite useful in protecting your money overall. There does seem to be a limit to this though, keeping a wife at the top of the list is pretty much impossible as someone will eventually come through with 40 guns and take her out.

mala · 2014-02-10 16:28:39

joshwithguitar wrote:

There does seem to be a limit to this though, keeping a wife at the top of the list is pretty much impossible as someone will eventually come through with 40 guns and take her out.

That's the point, free path means no contraptions, thus easy breakthrough

Sybernetik · 2014-02-10 16:31:26

In my view a wife is useless. I hear people say she can protect half your money in case your vault gets robbed, but it's more likely you'll loose half your cash when she gets killed. The room she takes up is much better spent on protecting your vault. When I start a new house I put the wife and kids by the front door and babysit the house until someone kills them.

mala · 2014-02-10 16:34:35

Sybernetik wrote:

In my view a wife is useless. I hear people say she can protect half your money in case your vault gets robbed, but it's more likely you'll loose half your cash when she gets killed. The room she takes up is much better spent on protecting your vault. When I start a new house I put the wife and kids by the front door and babysit the house until someone kills them.

and how the hell do you go on with 1k$ after your family is dead?

Sybernetik · 2014-02-10 16:38:39

mala wrote:

and how the hell do you go on with 1k$ after your family is dead?

I chain rob until I have a bankroll to get started, spend most of the cash to leave my wife poor. The tools I robbed remain in the vault to keep my value high enough to attract robbers. Wife doesn't get any of that until you sell it.

mala · 2014-02-10 16:46:46

well but it's kinda weird... you should protect your family, not try to get rid of them asap.

I repeat, i haven't played the game too much, but this free path mechanic looks like is missing something.

and if no top house has a family, i really see a problem in that

Sybernetik · 2014-02-10 16:55:18

Agreed, but until something changes that is the most efficient thing to do. From my understanding, a wife used to earn a salary while you were logged off, but people just turtled so it was changed. Until a wife serves a better purpose, she's cannon fodder. I'm a terrible husband and father.

42dustman · 2014-02-10 16:59:11

mala wrote:

well but it's kinda weird... you should protect your family, not try to get rid of them asap.
I repeat, i haven't played the game too much, but this free path mechanic looks like is missing something.
and if no top house has a family, i really see a problem in that

Wife's grenade launcher. Do it Jason.

MasterPain · 2014-02-10 17:25:58

mala wrote:

well but it's kinda weird... you should protect your family, not try to get rid of them asap.
I repeat, i haven't played the game too much, but this free path mechanic looks like is missing something.
and if no top house has a family, i really see a problem in that

Family is still useful because of Panic Buttons. However, most of the top houses have been robbed already, and someone that bruteforces these houses has a LOT of tools on them, so they can give themselves the luxury of killing kids (being that it doesn't give you any real reward).

Wapato · 2014-02-10 17:29:31

mala wrote:

Is having a family a drawback on the ability to protect your house?

Every decision you make in this game has a trade-off.

Keep your wife alive? Retain half of your cash but you need to maintain a free path.

Make your house look really scary and dangerous? Less robbers but also less bounty money.

Use a combination trap? Keep out low level robbers cheaply but reveals your vault location.

Keeping the wife alive in the early game is rather simple. One properly placed pit bull and a shotgun should deter most would be murderers. Once your house gets into the $60k range your family begins to become a problem. You likely need the space they take up and it is very profitable for someone to come in and dispatch of all your pit bulls and take the money your wife holds.

Do you trade away some of your vault security for the insurance that your wife provides? That depends on your play style.

APT · 2014-02-10 18:09:05

Can someone confirm doesn't keeping the family alive also reset traps after each robber? Otherwise your traps and walls will remain destroyed correct? Or if I am wrong, how is it some houses I enter already have damage done?

Sybernetik · 2014-02-10 18:10:38

No, not correct. Damage is permanent until repairs when either a) a family member dies or b) your vault is robbed

cbenny · 2014-02-10 19:05:06

mala wrote:

http://imgur.com/g47T3Zk
i've got killed by some sort of clock i guess, but there was no way to look around since there was no free path at all.
Is having a family a drawback on the ability to protect your house?

Neat. I guess I'm Raymond Williams Reynold now.

Anyway, yes I had my family killed off immediately, as I generally find they are more of a hinderance than a help. I built until my net worth was just above $400 and put my wife front and centre so someone would kill her. Then I started building my way back up afterwards to above $3000 so I would draw in people with tools. I left my children right by the front door until someone came in to kill them.

The Castle Doctrine Forums

#1 2014-02-10 16:06:23

family and free path

#2 2014-02-10 16:17:43

Re: family and free path

#3 2014-02-10 16:21:39

Re: family and free path

#4 2014-02-10 16:28:39

Re: family and free path

#5 2014-02-10 16:31:26

Re: family and free path

#6 2014-02-10 16:34:35

Re: family and free path

#7 2014-02-10 16:38:39

Re: family and free path

#8 2014-02-10 16:46:46

Re: family and free path

#9 2014-02-10 16:55:18

Re: family and free path

#10 2014-02-10 16:59:11

Re: family and free path

#11 2014-02-10 17:25:58

Re: family and free path

#12 2014-02-10 17:29:31

Re: family and free path

#13 2014-02-10 18:09:05

Re: family and free path

#14 2014-02-10 18:10:38

Re: family and free path

#15 2014-02-10 19:05:06

Re: family and free path

Board footer