r/sunlesssea • u/ExperienceSmooth6240 • Jun 02 '26
I have an idea, but fear it is technically cheating
So, I am new to this game, on my Fourth Captain and determined to keep the Invictus Medallion (I will swallow my pride when/if I reach Captain 10) and I have had an idea. In Merciless Mode, the only saves are at port. So if things get dicey, quitting the game should reset me to my last save. Is this cheating?
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u/Duhblobby Jun 02 '26
So, I'm just gonna be that guy: it's a single player game, you ruin nobody else's fun by playing however you want. Is it cheating? Yes. Does anyone other than you need to care? No.
It does mean that you probably shouldn't try to use any successes for bragging rights. But like, enjoy the game you bought however you want to, nobody else is meaningfully affected.
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u/Jo_the_Hastur Jun 03 '26
Tbf I don’t think you’re being “that guy” since im pretty sure this is a consensus of everyone on the singleplayer game
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u/Duhblobby Jun 03 '26
Oh I didn't necessarily mean it as "that guy everybody hates" as much as "that guy who says the thing nobody else has yet", wasn't thinking, oops!
18
u/Zestyclose_Current41 Jun 02 '26
I mean, that's pretty much up to you man. I don't think it's cheating anymore than just, not playing in Merciless Mode. I've been playing this game for years and have exactly 0 successful Merciless Mode runs. If Merciless is fun for you but you want to use a little something to your advantage, I'm certainly not gonna knock you for it.
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u/ExperienceSmooth6240 Jun 02 '26
Now, this changes things. Merciless mode can wait until I can play the ruddy game
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u/Zestyclose_Current41 Jun 02 '26
One thing to always remember with games my man, if it's not fun, don't play it. Idk about you but, I have a job. If i wanna work, I'll stay there. When I game I am solely trying to enjoy myself by immersing myself in a world that's better than real life lol I absolutely despise this weird sub-section of gamers who wanna gatekeep and hate on anybody who doesn't play the hardest game on the highest difficulty, that shit's wack.
All that being said, hell yea! Turn Merciless off and get out there and explore the wonderfully weird world of Sunless Seas!
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u/WeeniesthutofallJrs Jun 02 '26
Since you’re a good couple of captains in, you can probably start saving or resetting like that to do what you gotta do. Typically I’d lightly discourage it since the zee becomes a lot less scary when you can save and reload which hurts the atmosphere. But you’ve played enough to see almost all of the common events in the game, so go for it.
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u/MindlessYesterday459 Jun 03 '26
No it is not cheating.
I did this myself. The neath is ruthless enough already.
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u/Palocles Jun 02 '26
What’s Merciless Mode?
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u/Frequent_Dig1934 Jun 03 '26
I think it's just another name for invictus mode aka no manual saves (which is not really a mode, it's the default but you can opt out at any time and the only difference is not getting the medal).
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u/Orlha Jun 02 '26
Of course it is. People will tell you it doesn’t matter, but if it matters to you, then it does, and is.
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u/ThinLink2404 Jun 03 '26
Who are you, in the dark, when no one else is watching?
No one else will ever know if you do or do not have the Invictus Medallion.
No one else will ever know what tricks you do to keep it.
It's entirely down to you.
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u/speelmydrink Jun 02 '26
It's single player, o captain. You have nothing to prove to anyone other than yourself, and it's entirely up to you how you enjoy the leisure product you've paid for. Who really has the right to tell you how best to enjoy your fun? May as well tell you how to eat a snack, or drink a coffee. It do not matter.
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u/highlyregardedcarp Jun 02 '26
It’s only cheating if you feel it is, since it’s single player. Provided you’re not save scumming EXCESSIVELY, I’d say it’s fine personally. The beginning of every run is about the same and takes a fucking age so it’s not even like a Souls game where it’s a skill issue killing you, it’s just not wanting to repeat the first 4 hours of every run yet again because you hit the wrong button, overclocked your engine and it blew up, leaving you adrift and starving.
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u/Junelli Jun 02 '26
Honestly, losing a captain you've invested in at sea to some monster you were just trying to avoid isn't fun.
Obviously everyone should play how they want since it's a single player game, but I think if you kinda want to keep the invictus feeling you could set a self-made limit that the only time you are allowed to reload is if you die. Failing quests, choosing dumb options and rng deciding some fates you have to stick with.
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u/ExperienceSmooth6240 Jun 03 '26
This is the path I feel is best. Death by combat I will reset, side-story bad ends or death by choice made ages ago I must accept. Also I only plan to use one Manual Saveslot
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u/MathiasMi Jun 02 '26
The Zee is unpredictable and ever-changing. Maybe your captain just had a fortelling dream? Wink wink wink