Retcon Guide

This guide assumes you are somewhat familiar with the mechanics behind Retcon.

(work in progress, feel free to correct or add)

What do I get out of Retcon?

There are several rewards for whaling on the Mick endlessly, including- 1) Quest rewards. Quest items such as the Skeptic Sandals are removed, but you get to keep Gold Coins, Blue Chip, bonus skill points etc. if you haven't sold/used them. 2) Medals of Mettle, based on the difficulty of your run. These can either be combined to make a fairly useful early-game accessory or to buy powerful gear/bonuses at Nocturne's shop. 3) One skill you have learned so far that you get to permanently keep, or "perm" and use for all subsequent runs, regardless of class. 4) Bragging Rights for "maso" runs, those set to maximum mettle. 5) The most important: Lulz!

Before Retcon

All optional, but these precautions may save you a lot of trouble later.

-Change your talisman back to the starting one. You'll have it turned into your new starter talisman, and it's best that a weak talisman be sacrificed for the cause. -If you have Positronic computers, swap them with Electronic ones. You're going to lose them. -Obtain as many as you can/want of the "items" to pull (listed below). -If you're a neat freak like me, and you don't want extra items cluttering up your Deep Storage screen, clear out your inventory by putting stuff in your Momento case, storing it in Hideout (don't forget it's there), or selling it. -Make sure your Sidekick has at least the skills Jujitsu Expert, Documentarian, Flea Market Trader

Pick Your Retcon

My approach aims for an optimal balance of convenience and mettle. I can't recommend you do so.

Class

Here is a generalization of the various strengths and weaknesses of each class.

1. Naturalist- Pros: Very powerful offensive skills, high HP, decent combat stats.
   

Cons: Lack of self-healing, late-game normal attack is relatively inaccurate.

1. Elementalist Pros: Powerful offensive spells, high PP, decent self-buffs.
   

Cons: Fairly weak combat stats, low HP.

1. Gadgeteer Pros: Excellent combat stats, great self-healing, offensive spells weaken enemies.
   

Cons: Offensive spells do little damage, most permed skills don't benefit other classes much.

1. Psion Pros: Excellent combat stats at low level, high PP, good farming skills, good offensive spells.
   

Cons: Low HP, weak combat stats at high level.

Personally, I find Naturalist easiest purely due to the Charge/Trample/Maul skills. Once one of those is permed, Gadgeteer becomes the easiest. Of course, you should try them all.

Items/Pulls

You have several options.

1. All items available immediately (-4 mettle)- This is definitely the "noob" option. It's so game-breakingly easy it almost defeats the point of retcon. I recommend against it, since you still will lose computers, current talisman and quest items.
2. Max pulls (10/day) and get a break after 48 hours of patrolling(-2 mettle)- This is better than the -4 mettle option, but still too easy/unrewarding for me.
3. Max pulls (10/day) (0 mettle)- I tried this and found ten items a bit excessive. There were days where I wish I had six or seven pulls, but altogether, ten pulls seemed excessive, given five pulls gives more mettle.
4. Some pulls (5/day) (+2 mettle)- This is my favorite. I can easily get along with five items a day.
5. No pulls (+5 mettle)- This is going to be rather hard, since you can't grab improved gear and consumables. I can't recommend it.

Skills

1. All permed skills available (0 mettle)- This is a good option for further runs, especially if you're playing Elemental, which, in my opinion, doesn't have any decent early-game skills worth putting skill points into.
2. Permed skills remembered, but only class skills can have skill points applied (+2 mettle)- Having your non-class permed skills left at lv. 0 isn't that bad, especially if you choose well. The two mettle is easily worth the sacrifice. A worthy pick.
3. No permed skills remembered (+5 mettle)- The only permed skill you could possibly have on your first retcon is Precompletion_Pro, which isn't of much value compared to the extra mettle, so your first retcon run should be set to this option. Otherwise, this skill will make your retconned life a little too hard by taking away your valuable skills. I can't recommend it.

Food

1. Both caffeine and sugar (0 mettle)- No sacrifice made. Not a bad idea, especially if you're really into extra turns.
2. Decaf (no caffeine) (+3 mettle)- Too much of a sacrifice. Caffeine gives 2-3 hours a day, and 3 mettle just isn't worth getting rid of that tremendous boost.
3. Diet (no sugar) (+2 mettle)- I find this is the best, since you sacrifice a mere .5-1 hour a day for 2 mettle, much more efficient than decaf. Good sugar is hard to find anyway.
4. Naturally hyper: no caffeine or sugar, but +1 hour/day (+3 mettle)- Better than decaf, since you gain 1 hour automatically, where with decaf, 1 hours is the most you could hope to gain without pulling high-level sugar. Still not as good as Diet.
5. Abstainer (no caffeine, no sugar) (+5 mettle)- Well, if you don't mind getting only 40-ish turns a day, plus leveling bonuses, go for it.

SideKick/Understudy

1. Sidekick with you from the beginning (0 mettle)- The sidekick can provide a bonus to defense, gaining items/chips, damage-dealing and any other number of things, and if you're struggling with no sidekick, this isn't a bad choice.
2. Sidekick has to be recruited at level 9 (+2 mettle)- Not a big sacrifice, given that your sidekick, being based on your level, is weak anyway until you hit level 9. I recommend this option.

So, my ideal 1st time retcon is- Naturalist, Some Pulls, No perms, Diet, No sidekick. 16 Mettle.

My ideal retcon afterwards is- Gadgeteer/Psion/Elementalist, Some Pulls, Class-only perms, Diet, No Sidekick. 13 Mettle.

This reflects my preferences. Certainly, to unlock some things in Nocturne's shop, you must get, so do consider trying a harder or a "maso" run somethime.

Items to Pull

My favorite items to pull. Note: Naturalists fare better with melee weapons, Gadgeteers should stick to ranged weapons, and Elementalists and Psions are good with either (although I still find melee better for some reason).

Utilities

Mister Tea- Extremely efficient use of caffeine, gives 3 whole hours. Requires level 5, but coffee shop items shuld do in the meantime.

Gold Coin/Blue Chip- Basically a ton of free chips. Two gold coins can easily finance you with no trouble until you beat the Mick.

Stroopwafel- If you picked a sugar-included option, this is the most efficient of the common sugar items. Granted, you can't use it until level 7, but it's still efficient.

Eye Podule/SQUID player- Both useful for getting free XP from SQUID disks. Both items are fairly hard to get without pulling, so if you have nothing better to pull, pull these. No difference between the two.

Bonus Skill points- Self-explanatory.

Early Game Equips

Lexura Infides D-8 - Worth it for the PP bonus and immediate access to almost all areas. No level requirement whatsoever.

Talisman- Pick your Talisman of choice and immediately change it at level 1, so you only lose a few XP. I recommend the Swedish Navy wrench for its mighty dodging and reflex bonuses.

Icicle- Good early-game melee weapon. Requires only level 2.

Filigreed foil hat, Gold-plated poncho, Gilded leggings- Excellent early-game equips, probably the best you can do until level 4. You don't have to pull these if you're willing to spend Gold Foil making them yourself instead.

Bass-o-Matic 77- Pull this so you can ask for loot (a whopping 2500 chips) from the Go Fish! quest reward AND have an easy time beating up Troutmaster.

Harbor Pearl- If you aren't an Elementalist (who can swim without any special equipment), pull this so you can breathe underwater. Otherwise, you'll either have to equip the Bayside Diving Shop items, which are both a hassle and a disadvantage, or you'll have to fight in the difficult Docks area to get the Harbor Pearl again. Save some trouble.

Mighty Quill/Repeating Rifle- Both are very powerful weapons and will remain so for a while. Requires level 5.

Karma Charm- Immensely useful for spell-reliant heroes. Still useful if you want to save PP healing or buffing. Requires level 5.

Anything from Nocturne's Shop- Again, much better than the normal looted/chip-bought equipment you can get at those levels. Requires levels 5-8.

Pegasus/Jetpack- Both are useful for getting to the Rejected Rogue Ranch. Only difference is that Jetpack requires the Passable Pilot skill and Pegasus requires level 10. If you already have all the RRR Hint Giver items, just pull those instead.

Late Game Equips

Anything the Hint Giver trades Rejected Rogue Ranch items for- Probably the best set of items you can obtain at this level. Requires level 10.

Anything the Wade-Bot Base trades Space Station items for- Probably the best set of items you can obtain at this level. Requires level 12.

Paddlebot/Fordbot Logos- Excellent stat bonuses.

High-jump boots- Necessary for the level 11 quest, and also necessary to explore the roofs of downtown area, which brings some very good enemy drops.

Skills to Perm

Every retcon, you can choose one skill to pull, making the game much easier.

These are the most important skills to learn. All skills have their merits, but these are the most useful for a smooth retcon. Partially based on Valera's and Cristiona's opinions.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

Lightning Bolt- Lightning bolt has just the right level of power for an offensive spell- not so much you rapidly burn PP, not so little you have little use for it later. Just be aware when you are fighting lightning resistant opponents.

Trample of the Rhino- Indispensable when fighting bosses. It's less reliable than lightning bolt and so not as well suited to normal fights, but, if the hits connect, it can easily take down bosses in one or two turns.

Maul of the Cave Bear- Good for similar reasons to Trample of the Rhino. It takes more PP, so is not well suited for low levels.

Basic Martial Arts- The to-hit bonus is indispensable at low-level, regardless of who you are.

Advanced Martial Arts- Less useful than Basic Martial Arts because it only improves general offense, as opposed to the to-hit you really need at low level, but still a great help.

Battle Armor- Similar concept to Basic Martial Arts. Improves defense, which is also important.

Aura: Vim- Extremely useful. The extra to-hit and dodging abilities are crucial at low levels.

Proper Hydration- The extra PP will go a long way if you use offensive skills often.

First Aid/Knit Flesh/Knit Bone- You only need one, and I recommend First Aid, because it's more efficient than Knit Flesh and isn't as overkill at low levels as Knit Bone. If you plan on staying high level for a while, Knit Bone is a good idea as well.

ALSO USEFUL

Upgrade Armor- Very flexible and cheap bonus to various stats. Motorized is good for certain areas, Resistance is good for certain bosses and areas, and Superabsorbance is general use.

Stone Armor- A much needed bonus to various elemental resistances, especially electricity.

Fire Storm/Psionic Blast- Similar to Lightning Bolt. These are too expensive/overkill for early game, and still PP-expensive late game but it packs a better punch than lightning bolt. Note that Psionic Blast is weak against robots, even with Electronic Understanding, so Fire Storm may be slightly preferable.

Metal Detector- Extra items. 'Nuff said.

Armadillo Armor- Extra defense. Not as constant as Battle Armor, but still useful.

Starfish Regeneration- Generally speaking, PP is better than HP, so Starfish takes a backseat to Proper Hydration. Still a worthy skill to perm.

Aura: Mystery, Fire Within- Only good for "casters"- characters who rely on spells rather than weaponry for damage.

Aura: Vigor- Not anywhere as useful as Aura: Vim, but at high levels, it's the best choice for that second aura slot if you're not going to be casting spells much.

Sonic Grenade- Good for softening up enemies and bosses and even does a little damage as a bonus.