Need some insight on some Antag rolls

[TheZaneiac100]

Hello everyone! 

First post that isnt asking for Ban forgiveness lol

So a little over a year ago my friends showed me SS13. They mostly played the SCP one that isnt really up anymore, and so after it kind of fell apart I explored more and found Paradise. Now 500 hours later I can say I am hooked and only ever play on Paradise (I will occasionally go into the space marine one) and my friends really didnt get hooked into Paradise like I did, so it is a lot of self teaching and wiki reading on my part (and a lot of M help lol.) There are some parts I struggle with when it comes to antags that I would like some insight on.

1- When starting as a cultist what is the initial thing you need to do to make sure you can get things going? Any time I have started as a cultist I always seem to get caught by SEC with random searches in maints and when they see the cult materials on me its over. Is the goal to make a base first, or find a cultist first? I dont even have cultist turned on anymore. I like being in an established cult, but struggle starting one

2- How do you even Hijacker lol. It always just turns into me just throwing small bombs into the cockpit of the shuttle and hoping for the best. I just never know what to do in the like 5 or 6 times I have been. Like do I need to learn Chem so I can make bigger bombs? I dont know how to make bombs, is that something that is needed for hijackers? Is hacking the shuttle console even viable, or is it just bomb the shuttle as it is coming in? I dont even really care too much about the green text, I just want to feel like I can plan something out that might work. Every time I get hijacker I kind of just feel lost in how I can be effective as a hijacker

3- Wizard. Is wizard just an excuse to just do whatever you want? Like is there anything you are attempting to do? The 2 times I have been a wizard I have died pretty soon after being revealed. I spend 20 minutes practicing in the lair then 5 minutes after. I am always lost as to what to buy. I have already decided next time I am wizard I am just going to start with giving everyone guns and the spellbook first. Then hopefully they will fall in to chaos, and if not I know I for one love a wiz who does that, so maybe I will win the hearts of some of the crew.

Thanks in advance!

TheZaneiac (Danny Danger IG)

[AidanFair]

1. Build a base first as cult. Or stay on the down low while someone else builds one. An explorer or miner is best for making a base off station. But if it's on station, having a backup base too is a good idea. Somewhere WITHOUT a camera around so the AI can't see. And hidden. Suit sensors off. I'm not very robust so I like to keep a teleport spell ready. If I get caught I hit teleport and just hit a random spot. Then use a tele rune to get to the main base if I'm injured or dying. So another cultist can revive me or I can heal. And get my spells set again. I like to keep two stun spells and one cuff for abducting. But keep the tele spell ready just in case. Also, I don't see Twisted Construction used enough. When going loud, converting a bunch of airlocks to cult airlocks lets you control an area. In the early phase of going loud this can tip the balance. Trap people for abduction. Slow non book club re-enforcements. And gives you a place to retreat to and close the door behind you. Plus some crew Will try to use the airlocks and get thrown. Which is funny.

2. I've rolled hijacker twice and failed twice. But had a lot of fun twice. Last time I wasn't a hijacker but got mindslaved by one. Made a bunch of max caps. Hid them all over the station. Then set them all off at once. The hijack failed. But damn it was a lot of fun. I regret not yelling out "Toxin Testing!" before the explosions then saying "Oops. Missed" over the radio. I've seen some robust players pull off hijack. But most fail. It's more about adding some wild chaos to the round. And I enjoy trying to survive as the station falls apart when this happens. But yes. Learn bombs. Toxin bombs and chem. Chem is probably better because of the myriad possibilities. And you can make a bomb in chem more destructive than a toxin max cap if you experiment a bit. When the shuttle gets called because of the chaos you've causes, plant bombs in departures. Wait for people to gather there. Then blow them up just before the shuttle arrives. That gives you the best shot at defending the shuttle while you hack it. Use an RCD to make walls and buy time. Blow the back off the shuttle to stop people using it. Emag the console to launch quickly.

When in doubt, having a partner in crime is a boon. Mindslave, golems, holopara, a syndie radio key, an emagged borg. They can double your brainpower (or quadruple in my case).

Alternatively, you could learn xenobio and make an army of hijacker golems or suicide bomber golems. Or use botany to make war crime plants and bombs. Or use atmos to plasma flood. Or use your nerd skills in sci to make the AI/borgs into an army of death. Or combine several methods at once. Or even mindslave the clown, make an army of bananium golems; and have the clown take the heat for the chaos they cause while you prepare to hijack the shuttle. Honk. 

3. Never rolled wiznerd. And don't think I'd do well. No tips for this. I don't usually have it enabled.

I tend to late join so I don't get antag much. You have the right attitude. It's not about the win. It's about having fun and trying to add to the round. And as one who loves the chaos, I wish you luck in your efforts to murder me in the future.

[TheZaneiac100]

Thank you so much for your insight! really appreciate it AidanFair!

[TheBadPerson]

1. As a round start cultist your NUMBER ONE priority is to get a source of plasteel. If you do not have plasteel you are fucked if things go wrong. In case you don't know, plasteel can be turned into runed metal via one of your spells, which is used to create forges, altars, and archives. These constructions give you access to the most powerful items available to cult. Good ways to source plasteel are to job swap to a job that has access to the ORM like engineering, supply, or RND. 

Once you have plasteel sourced you need a HIDDEN base you can use to start converting people. I STRONGLY advise making use of false walls in maintenace for this endeavor, otherwise you're gonna get found FAST. DO NOT EVER make runes in the open, as the second they are found security will start hunting you. Once you have a base you want the following items, and I consider them REQUIRED kit: A cult blindfold, unholy water, and a veil shifter. The blindfold gives you nightvision, medical HUD, and immunity to flashes. The water makes you almost entirely stun immune for awhile if you drink it all. The shifter teleports you a random distance forward, which is AMAZING for escapes AND ambushes.

Once that is ready, focus on mass conversion. Use your stun and knife to stun, remove their headset, cuff, take them. If people hear "Arsgrewvfcevqftt4" over comms you're made. Inevitably you will have to go loud. THE IMMEDIATE MOMENT you are found out, your focus needs to shift to slaughtering security, or at LEAST crippling them. IF you fail to do this, odds are they will escalate to match your power. 

Lastly: I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT YOU TAKE THINGS SLOWLY AS CULT! If your cult gets outed before you are prepared, you are almost always fucked. Solo cult comebacks do happen, but they are very rare, and they only occur if the last cultist is either unknown, or had plasteel/ a good hidden base. 

 

2.Don't focus on "winning" hijack. It's a rare roll and your one excuse to do almost anything you'd like. Do something fun or interesting that you can't normally do. If you truly want to greentext hijack, you MUST have an emag to set the shuttle to 10 second launch. I have never seen a successful hijack without an emag that didn't involve MULTIPLE robust antags teaming up. Your focus needs to be preventing access to the shuttle via breaking the airlocks, subverting the AI, or anything that prevents access to it as you emag it. A common greentext hijack strategy is to bolt and then emag the departures doors, permanently closing them, and make sure you are first in the cockpit to emag it. This can also be accomplished by subverting the AI and asking them to help you. A savvy engineering borg that you emag could also perform the same. The goal is to prevent anyone getting on the shuttle before you almost immediately emag the console to start the 10 second launch sequence. Naturally you should have a contingency weapon in case some people DO get on and try to rush the cockpit. 

 

3. Wizard is the rarest roll there is. There are people with 3k hours that have never rolled it. Because of that, I think it's wise to have at least some idea of a build concept in the event you roll it. Simply read over the wiki, and budget your 10 loadout points across things you think would be fun. You should also pretty much always teleport to medical storage first to try and raid for menders, as you WILL take damage. However, there are a few key spells that I think you should almost always have in a wizard build or strongly consider:

- Ethereal Jaunt is basically required. Being able to teleport out of danger is pretty much non-negotiable.

- Distortion makes a giant distortion field of nonsense and nobody can tell what the hell is going on, and usually cant move. This gives you a MASSIVE and length safety net that gives your other spells time to cooldown. Costs only 1 point!

- Force Wall makes a 3 tile wide impassable barrier based on what direction you face. Very very strong for getting people off of you in a chase, and costs only 1 point.

I've rolled wizard once, and my build was a spellblade(fire enchanted), summon item, sacred flame, ethereal jaunt, spacetime distortion, force wall, and magic missile. This build allowed me to deal MASSIVE area of effect flame attacks on people with the spellblade, re-ignite them with more flame stacks using sacred flame, stun them in melee with magic missile, and I had massive mobility with the combination of jaunt, distortion, and forcewall. I had a great time with it. That's an example of a coherent wizard build.