Ratchet & Clank 3 Shock Blaster run

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Link to original post: [drupal=2556]Ratchet & Clank 3 Shock Blaster run[/drupal]



I was reading about D13's wurmple-only playthrough of pokemon ruby (nice job btw) and how a bunch of other people were starting solo pokemon runs when I decided that I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and do a special playthrough of something myself. I considered a few options before settling on ratchet & clank:

Pokemon solo run: No. I don't feel like deleting my save files. I'm totally doing a Chickorita-only run when HG/SS comes out though (and when I say Chickorita-only I mean it, no evolutions or other crap)

Smash Bros something: I love Smash Bros, but couldn't do anything with it due to it not having much of a single-player mode.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon H5 run: Hell no. That would be too hard, I'd probably pull my hair out. I've already beaten H3, that's good enough for me.

After that, my mind drifted to one of my favorite series of all time: Ratchet & Clank. Specifically the third one, as it's probably my favorite in the series. I decided that I wanted to do a one-weapon run, and the first thing that came to mind was the shock blaster. Right now at least this seems like a fun idea, as I enjoy playing through this game (this will be my fourth time at least), and using just the shock blaster should be difficult but possible. OK here are some rules I'll be using:

No guns can be used besides the shock blaster.
The omniwrench my be used without limitation.
Any gadgets may be used (including the gadgetron pda, I'm gonna be abusing the hell out of that thing.
I am under no obligation to defeat any optional challenges (but I may do so if I want new gadgets or some bolts)
Combat vehicle use is discouraged unless required (I don't think I need it anywhere)
Dropship, taxi, and teleporter usage are not restricted.

I'll keep this thread updated with my progress. I'll probably start this sometime today, so wish me luck! Also feel free to post any recommendations/comments/whatever in here.

Current Status:
Location: Daxx (NOTE: Blackwater City and Obani Gemini are complete)
Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
Bolts: 237948
Armor: #3 (initial armor is #1)
Shock Blaster Level: 5

 

[finalark]

You should try clearing the Quarktastic challenge with only the Shock Blaster if you have the time.

Good luck.

 

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You should try clearing the Quarktastic challenge with only the Shock Blaster if you have the time.

Good luck.

How would I do the cycling weapons round?

I'm more worried about the biobliterator tbh... lol

 

[finalark]

How would I do the cycling weapons round?

I'm more worried about the biobliterator tbh... lol

Oh yeah, forgot about the Cycling Weapons.... oops.

 

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Ok I played for like an hour just now and updated the op.

It's been disappointingly easy. I ripped through Veldin in like 6 minutes. Florana was ok I guess. I beat all of the practice challenges on the phoenix (easy), then went to Marcadia. During some of the challenges there the shock blaster capped at level five. I'm actually a bit apprehensive about the future. This is probably the easiest it's going to be; once the enemies catch up to and surpass the rather miniscule firepower I have now I have a feeling that the ****'s going to hit the fan. What scares me is that even though my gun's at max strength now, it still takes 2 hits to kill normal enemies. I have a feeling I'll be using 20 shots a foe by the endgame.

 

[finalark]

Ok I played for like an hour just now and updated the op.

It's been disappointingly easy. I ripped through Veldin in like 6 minutes. Florana was ok I guess. I beat all of the practice challenges on the phoenix (easy), then went to Marcadia. During some of the challenges there the shock blaster capped at level five. I'm actually a bit apprehensive about the future. This is probably the easiest it's going to be; once the enemies catch up to and surpass the rather miniscule firepower I have now I have a feeling that the ****'s going to hit the fan. What scares me is that even though my gun's at max strength now, it still takes 2 hits to kill normal enemies. I have a feeling I'll be using 20 shots a foe by the endgame.

Wow, already at max? I suppose you'll always have plenty of bolts for when you need them. At this rate, something tells me that the final battle is going to be a pain.

 

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I played some more and updated the op. Here's what I did:

Phoenix: beat Qwark vidcomic lol

Annihilation Nation: Got tyhrraguise + Vidcomic. Also I beat most of the optional challenges here. Helen & Gary were a pain because I didn't have enough ammo, I had to finish them with the wrench.

Aquatos: This level was pretty straightforward. Don't die here though or you'll go all the way back to the beginning
Phoenix: bought new armor

Tyhrranosis: This level was alright, I suppose. I didn't use the car at all. Boss was a pain, I ran out of ammo and had to kill him with the wrench. The new armor was a godsend though.

Phoenix: did gadget training simulation to get hypershot/hacker

Daxx: Oh boy. Daxx. This planet was the first that was actually pretty challenging. The giant robots are a ***** to fight; it usually takes ~12 shots at close range. At one point I had to kill 3 at the same time, and I kept dying. After that, I GOT THE CHARGE BOOTS! **** YEAH! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed zipping through levels till I got them back. Anyway, the top part was also pretty hard. I was at low health almost constantly, and I had to go back for more ammo almost every other encounter. I just finished up Daxx and haven't started Obani Gemini yet.

 

[Frown]

I think the shock blaster is pretty good overall. You should go with a more situational weapon and use it from the point where you get it.

 

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I think the shock blaster is pretty good overall. You should go with a more situational weapon and use it from the point where you get it.

I could do the nitro launcher... that would be ridiculous. But yeah shock blaster only isn't very good, bulky stuff takes forever to kill and bosses in particular just laugh at it. Not to mention there's sometimes the whole ammo issue. Frankly though I did think it would be a bit more difficult than it has turned out to be so far....

 

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Alright you guys. I played some more today, and I'm in a bit of a bind. I may not be able to continue.

Last time I beat most of Daxx, except for exploring the docks. The boss was impossible; there wasn't any extra ammo and I couldn't hit him with the wrench (too far). I even tried to use the refractor against his lasers, but it didn't work. So I moved on to Obani Gemini. It was pretty easy, and I got lots of bolts. After that I went to Blackwater City. Most enemies took five shots to kill, and there wasn't much ammo. It was ok though; I had the walkers shoot me so I could kill stuff with the refractor. After that I was all ready to go to Obani Draco... except I didn't have the coordinates. I looked at my missions and saw only two:

Starship Phoenix: play Qwark vidcomic (Which I quickly completed afterwards)
Daxx: Explore the docks

My hopes faded. I knew there was no way I could beat the boss. I flew back to Daxx and faced the boss again. I quickly ran out of ammo and died. I tried to ignore the boss and see if there was a way to fly across from the boss's platform, but there wasn't. In a state of despair, I backtracked along the path to the boss to see if there was any way I could sequence break. As I'm walking along, I notice the place where you can grab the titanium bolt (The location can be seen here. Ignore the voices, just watch). The platform that the bolt is on is very low. I decide to try to reach it with the charge boots. I boost from here (the platform he lands on at 4:17, just to the right of both of the tower things). I go through some rocks and land in the water. From there I'm able to jump up to the platform. After that I had to traverse the small Hypershot course backwards. I succeed after many tries. Here's what I did:

-backtrack from location of boss fight to the location I described earlier
-use charge boots to fly from there to location of titanium bolt
- double jump + glide into water, double jump straight out and use hypershot. This way it grabs onto the target above me
-swing up high, expand and land on platform
-use charge boots to boost off of platform
-while boosting, use hypershot to grab next target
-swing onto solid ground and walk into room

I was thrilled. I watched the cutscene and was ready to go to annihilation nation to continue my quest. I walked out... and the taxi that takes me to my ship wasn't there. I looked across to the boss's platform and there still wasn't a way to get over there. I thought "okay, I'll just kill myself and spawn on the other side". I did... and respawned in the same room. I tried going back to the platform with the titanium bolt to see if the taxi would appear there, but it didn't. Killing myself there also respawned me back in the room. This is where I began to think I was stuck. I tried to boost around and grab the swingshot target, but it wasn't working (it might be possible though, I'm not sure). Even worse, I realized that when I reached the room, the game autosaved. So if I couldn't get out, my save file might be ruined! Frustrated after many failed attempts to get out, I quit and came to Smashboards to give an update about my progress and ask for advice.

About halfway through typing that last paragraph, I facepalmed. I realized that whenever you load a save file, you spawn at your ship. So Yeah. tl;dr : epic sequence breaking happened, and I'm not actually stuck. I'm on my way to annihilation nation to meet with courtney gears.