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Love Boat Diplomat Guide

By burnhj

How to generate $5M and make friends with everyone in Ten Years.

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burnhj
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Category: Characters, Classes, Gameplay Basics, Walkthroughs

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

5 Aug, 2023 @ 5:31pm

21 Jan, 2024 @ 8:18pm

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Guide Index

Overview

SECTION 100 – Setup

SECTION 200 – Starting Crew & Officers

SECTION 300 – “Prove Your Charter” Rush: The First Half Year (210.03 – 210.29)

SECTION 400 – Saere Vento Mission Rush

SECTION 500 – Building Your Ship

SECTION 600 – Finalizing Your Crew

SECTION 700 – Running Missions

SECTION 000 – My Guides

Comments

SECTION 100 – Setup

110 - INTRODUCTION – Do you love making money? Do you want to be friends with everyone? Do you hate Crew and Ship Combat? Then this is the build for you!

The Love Boat Diplomat build revolves around using Passenger Transport Missions to generate cash while leverage the Doctor Talent Generous in Service to build Faction Reputation with every Faction that you visit. It is an entirely pacifist build – no Crew Combat or Ship Combat are expected with this strategy.

Generous in Service – If ship’s Medical Rating exceeds zone’s Economy Rating, free medical care to citizenry gains Rep up to Medical Rating but max 10 with diminishing returns above 40 Rep.

111 - UNLOCKS – This build requires three important unlocks:

Nikolai’s Freedom – Unlocks the Diplomat Captain. This Unlock requires that you free Nikolai Ramius from Prince Thule’s bounty on Difficulty Normal or higher. This Story Vignette triggers when landing on a random Moklumnue planet.

Plague Breaker – Unlocks the Academy Doctor Starting Contact. This unlock requires you cure the Crimson Pox (100/100 plague score) on Difficulty Normal or higher. This Mission triggers during the Plague Era.

Salvage Contractor – Unlocks the Reach Vindex Starting Ship. This Unlock requires that you Salvage 25 times on Difficulty Hard or higher in less than 10 years. This is straightforward to achieve – start a new game with a Starting Contact that sells Salvage Rumors (Retired Explorer, Salvage Broker), complete a few missions to earn some cash, buy a Salvage Rumor, then repeatedly Salvage until the Unlock is earned.

120 – THE GOAL – By the start of Year 11 (221.01) you should have generated $5M in cash and have +50 Faction Rep with every Faction.

130 – STARTING TEMPLATE – Having high level Contacts is the most important element of this build. Your captain will not be participating in Crew Combat, so Skills and Attributes take a lower priority.

A – CONTACTS

#1 – Politician –Diplomatic Missions, Diplomat Recruits, Introductions
#2 – Academy Doctor – Doctor Recruits, Introductions
#3 – Military Commander – Military Missions, Engineer Recruits, Introductions
#4-#8 – ANY OTHER CONTACTS – Preferably Contacts who offer Introductions

B – SKILLS

Negotiate +10
Intimidate +5

C – ATTRIBUTES

Strength = 12
Quickness = 12
Fortitude = 24
Charisma = 30
Wisdom = 12
Resilience = 12

D – SHIP – Reach Vindex – Or any other “D” Priority Ship, but the Reach sells for the most

E – EXPERIENCE - Diplomat

Useless – always an “E” priority for me.

140 – LAUNCHING THE GAME – Use the following settings when launching your game:

CHANGE MAP – Use any Map of your choice.
CHANGE FACTION – Pick any Faction of your choice. However, for this build I recommend De Valtos due to their excellent Grand Lux Suites and Fuel-Cargo Hold 5.
CHANGE DIFFICULTY – Pick any difficulty of your choice. I typically play on HARD, because it allows for all Unlocks but is a bit more forgiving of minor mistakes than IMPOSSIBLE.
Click “YES” for MANUALLY ASSIGN TALENTS.
Skip the Intro if you want.
Prepare your captain’s appearance however you want.

SECTION 200 – Starting Crew & Officers

210 – STARTING STANDARD CREW – After starting the game, land on a planet and make the following changes to your Standard Crew:

Dismiss 4x Gunners
Dismiss 1x Pistoleer
Dismiss 2x Soldiers
Dismiss 1x Swordsman
Add 2x Crew Dog
Add 1x Mechanic (available at Starport >7)
Add 2x Gundeck Bosses (available at Military >6)
Add 1x Navigator (available at Spice >5)

Here are the recommended Talents for your starting Standard Crew:

4x Crew Dogs – 4x Safety Protocols – SHIP OPS Skill Save.
4x E-Techs – 4x Hotwire – ELECTRONICS Skill Save.
2x Gundeck Bosses – 2x Snarling Judgment – INTIMIDATE Skill Save.
2x Mechanics – 2x Careful Testing – REPAIR Skill Save.
4x Navigators – 2x Read Charts - NAVIGATION Skill Save; 2x Exacting Design - TACTICS Skill Save;
8x Pilots – 4x Expert Maneuver - PILOT Skill Save; 4x Sure Landfall – Lands efficiently on a Zone.

220 – STARTING OFFICERS – Here are the recommended Jobs & Talents for your Starting Officers. NOTE: All of your Non-Captain Officers will be replaced in the near future.

1x Captain – Diplomat (1) / Merchant (5)

Winning Compromise (D1) – Increases Mission Payment by 10% + Negotiate.
Cordial Invitation (M5) – Adds a Rep bonus when buying Contact Introductions.

1x Doctor – Doctor (1) / Quartermaster (1)

Medical Staff (D1) – DOCTOR Skill Save.
Stern Leader (Q1) – COMMAND Skill Save.

1x Engineer – Engineer (8)

Port Maintenance (EN1) – Repairs ship during landing.
Assisted Installation (EN5) – Discounts ship component upgrades.
Hard Bargain (EN5) – Discounts ship purchases.

1x Quartermaster – Quartermaster (1) / Scientist (1)

Medical Staff (D1) – DOCTOR Skill Save.
Stern Leader (Q1) – COMMAND Skill Save.

SECTION 300 – “Prove Your Charter” Rush: The First Half Year (210.03 – 210.29)

310 – MAIN STORY MISSION – COMPELLING PASSENGER

Deadline: 39 Weeks
Route: 1 Stop
Type: Planet Visit
Reward: N/A
This is the first mission assigned at the start of the game. It’s a simple one-way visit to the specified planet. Complete this mission as fast as possible.

320 – MAIN STORY MISSION – ARBITER ESCORT

Deadline: 39 Weeks
Route: 1 Stop
Type: Passenger Transport* (Does not require an available Passenger Cabin)
Reward: $10K
New Contact: Calagan Faen
Another easy mission. Although it’s a Passenger Transport Mission, it doesn’t require an open Passenger Cabin. Complete this mission as fast as possible before Week 20 (see below).

330 – “PROVE YOUR CHARTER” MISSIONS – For the first 18 weeks (210.03-210.21) your Starting Contacts will offer “Prove Your Charter” Missions. These are typically easy Planet Visit Missions in the starting Quadrant. Complete as many of these missions as you can before 210.21! They provide you with a bit of cash, build Faction Rep with your starting Faction, and don’t harm your Rep with the other Factions. I recommend prioritizing these missions in the following fashion:

Data Cube Delivery – HIGH PRIORITY – Quick and easy. Accept as many of as possible.
Passenger Delivery – MED PRIORITY – Buy additional Passenger Cabins as necessary.
Commodity Delivery – LOW PRIORITY – Ignore these missions unless you can easily purchase/haul these goods in one trip (<25 units, available for sale in the Starting Quadrant).
Multi-Quadrant Missions – NO PRIORITY – Jumping quadrants takes too much time; ignore these missions for now.

331 – MORALE BOOST vs REP BOOST – When you complete a mission you are typically give two choices:

“Spice Hall/Beer” / Morale Boost – Takes 2-5 days; provides a low Rep gain
“Official Palace Meeting” / Reputation Boost – Takes 5-10 days; provides a High Rep gain

In the early game I strongly recommend always selecting the “Spice Hall/Beer”/Morale Boost option. Because you can complete more missions in the same amount of time this option provides a similar amount of Contact Reputation but yields vastly more Cash and Contact Influence.

340 – WRAPPING UP “PROVE YOUR CHARTER” – When the calendar hits 210.21 your Contacts will cease offering easy “Prove Your Charter” Mission. I recommend visiting every contact right before 210.21 and have them offer up as many “Prove Your Charter” Missions as possible. Even if you can’t immediately accept them, they’ll typically remain available under “Mission Offers” for a few more weeks. By doing this, you can keep running “Prove Your Charter” Missions through 210.29 and beyond.

350 – STATUS CHECK – END OF FIRST HALF YEAR (210.29) – By 210.29 you should have the following:

Reach Vindex with a few additional Passenger Cabins and no other upgrades.
The full crew outlined above (levels 3-6).
$100-150K in the bank.
~100 Faction Reputation with your starting Faction.
30-60 Personal Reputation with each of the three Contacts in your Starting Quadrant.
Completed the Compelling Passenger and Arbiter Escort Main Story Missions.

SECTION 400 – Saere Vento Mission Rush

410 – Starting the Second Half of Year One
Around 210.29 the “Prove Your Charter” Missions start to dry up. It’s time to start the next phase of the early game. To begin with, purchase the following:

Rank 1 Edict from Calagan Faen for $1,000 and 6 Personal Rep. This will allow you to accept missions that require an Edict.
Military Rank 1-5 from Calagan Faen for a total of $15,000 and 20 Personal Rep. This will add +10% to each Mission Payment.
Dismiss 2x Gundeck Bosses and recruit 2x Crew Dogs
Dismiss 4x Pilots and recruit as Crew 4x Diplomats from your Politician Contact. They should be close to Level 16 at this point. Teach them the following Talents:
4x Winning Compromise (D1) – Increases Mission Payment by 10% + Negotiate.
4x Adept Mediation (D5) – Mitigates rep loss during Negotiation Missions.
4x Expose Quality (D1) – Reveals Contact’s hidden trait when paid.
2x Settlement (D1) – NEGOTIATE Skill Save.
2x Unyielding Force (D1) – INTIMIDATE Skill Save.

420 – MAIN STORY MISSION – AT FAEN COURT

Deadline: 1 Year
Route: Talk to Faen
Type: N/A
Reward: N/A
After you deliver the Arbiter, Calagan Faen wants to talk with you. In the Contact Screen, click on the box labeled “We should discuss further work with the Prince” to complete this mission.

421 – MAIN STORY MISSION – ARBITER NEUTRALITY

Deadline: 2 Years
Route: 3 Stops
Type: Passenger Transport; Spying (Optional)
Reward: $30K
The first step in this mission is to escort Arbiter Brokstrom to the home world of your Rival Faction. For the second step, you have two choices – either a simple Passenger Transport or a riskier Spying Run. I typically take the safe option. The final step is returning to Faen Court.

422 – MAIN STORY MISSION – DELAYED SETTLEMENT

Deadline: 3 Years
Route: 3 Stops
Type: Visits; Negotiation
Reward: ~$80K
New Contact: Saere Vento
The first step of this mission gives you a new contact, Saero Vento, who provides Warden Missions and high-level Navigator recruits.

430 – “ALLIANCE” MISSIONS – Like Military Missions, Warden Missions ignore Trade Bans but not Alliances, so they are great for generating early cash without incurring Faction Rep loss. These missions will also significantly boost your Starting Faction’s Conflict Score. Unfortunately, your Starting Conflicts will only last for between 1.5-2 years. Run as many “Alliance” Missions as possible until the Conflicts expire!

440 – UPGRADING YOUR NAVIGATORS – After the Alliance Missions run out, dismiss your current 4x Navigators and replace them with 2x Level 16 Navigators from Saere Vento. Teach them the following Talents:

2x Read Charts (N1) - NAVIGATION Skill Save.
2x Exacting Design (N1) - TACTICS Skill Save.
2x Efficient Route (N1) – Reduces Hyperwarp Jump costs.
2x Skip Off the Void (N11) – Escapes from Ship Combat.
2x Pathfinder’s Lead (N11) – COMMAND Skill Save. [at Level 17]

450 – STATUS CHECK – END OF YEAR TWO (212.03) – By 212.03 you should have the following:

Reach Vindex with several additional Passenger Cabins and Prison Cells.
The full crew outlined above (levels 8-10).
$800-1,000K in the bank.
200-300 Faction Reputation with your starting Faction.
High Personal Reputation + Influence with each of the four Contacts in your Starting Quadrant.
Completed the At Faen Court, Arbiter Neutrality, and Delayed Settlement Main Story Missions.

SECTION 500 – Building Your Ship

510 – REPLACE YOUR MECHANICS – Dismiss 2x Mechanics and recruit as Crew 2x Engineers from your Military Commander Contact. They should be close to Level 16 at this point. Teach them the following Talents:

2x Attentive Overhaul (E1) – REPAIR Skill Save.
2x Port Maintenance (E1) – Repairs ship upon landing.
Assisted Installation (E1) – Discounts ship component upgrades.
Conduit Thought (E8) – ELECTRONICS Skill Save.

520 – BUY YOUR SHIP – Ensure your starting Engineer Officer has the Level 8 Talent Hard Bargain, which reduces ship purchase costs. Also, it’s helpful to put an extra point into the Mechanic and Scavenger Jobs to maximize Repair Skill. For this build I recommend the Vrax Hauler. Make sure you leave it in Dry Dock and queue up your component upgrades.

VRAX HAULER

Cost: $395.2K (with 7% Hard Bargain discount)
Max Officers: 5
Max Crew: 30
Base Fuel: 100
Small Components: 10
Medium Components: 7
Large Components: 4

521 - LARGE COMPONENTS

Hull Plating 1 -> Grand Lux Suites [$203K/2.5 Weeks]
3x Passenger slots with a +22% Mission Payment Bonus.
Cargo Hold 1 -> Grand Lux Suites [$203K/2.5 Weeks]
3x Passenger slots with a +22% Mission Payment Bonus.
Cargo Hold 1 -> Fuel-Cargo Hold 5 [$314K/15 Weeks]
35 Cargo & 120 Fuel Capacity.

522 - MEDIUM COMPONENTS

Barracks III -> Barracks IV [$42K/9 Days]
Increases your Crew capacity to 30.
2x Ares Missile Systems -> 2x Officer Suites [$36K/5 Days Each]
Space for Officers.

523 - SMALL COMPONENTS

As many Advanced Medical Chambers [$12K/3 Days] and Passenger Cabins [$9K/3 Days] as possible!

SECTION 600 – Finalizing Your Crew

610 – WAITING FOR SHIP UPGRADES – While you wait for your ship component upgrades on the Vrax Hauler you should continue running missions with your Reach Vindex. Avoid any missions that have a risk of Ship or Crew Combat, including Exploration, Spying, Patrolling, and Blockading Missions. Instead, focus on Package Delivery and Passenger Transport Missions. In particular, Negotiation Missions are really valuable because the Diplomat Talent Adept Mediation can mitigate most of the Faction Rep Loss. Remember – you want everyone to be your friend!

620 – SWITCHING TO YOUR NEW SHIP – When your upgrades are complete switch to the Vrax Hauler and sell your Reach Vindex for $375K. Update your crew before returning to mission runs.

Dismiss your 3x Starting Officers
Promote 4x Diplomats to Officers
Train Diplomat Level 5
4x Winning Compromise (D1) – Increases Mission Payment by 10% + Negotiate.
4x Adept Mediation (D5) – Mitigates rep loss during Negotiation Missions.
Train Blade Dancer Level 5
4x Esteemed Guest (BD5) – When picking up/dropping off passengers, increase profit by 20% + Negotiate skill.
Train Doctor Level 8
4x Generous in Service (D8) – If ship’s Medical Rating exceeds zone’s Economy Rating, gain Faction Rep upon landing.
Recruit 4x Diplomats as Crew
4x Winning Compromise (D1) – Increases Mission Payment by 10% + Negotiate.
4x Adept Mediation (D5) – Mitigates rep loss during Negotiation Missions.
4x Settlement (D1) – NEGOTIATE Skill Save.
4x Unyielding Force (D8) – INTIMIDATE Skill Save.
Recruit 8x Doctors as Crew
8x Generous in Service (D8) – If ship’s Medical Rating exceeds zone’s Economy Rating, gain Faction Rep upon landing.
4x Life Saver (D5) – Live Saving Skill.
4x Professional Respect (D8) – COMMAND Skill Skill.

SECTION 700 – Running Missions

710 – CONTACT INTRODUCTIONS – Use Contact Introductions to meet more contacts. Adding additional contacts can greatly increase the variety of Missions offered to you. Use Cordial Invitation on cooldown to maximize the Personal Rep for each Contact you unlock. This Talent pairs well with a Diplomat Captain, whose Smooth Trait adds an additional +20 Personal Rep bonus to every Contact Introduction.

720 – MISSION PLAN – You now have the perfect ship and crew to run non-combat missions and plenty of Contacts to offer them up. Here’s how it all fits together:

Accept as many Non-Combat Missions as possible, especially those that rely on Negotiations and Passenger Transport.
Winning Compromise will increase the payment from all your missions.
Adept Mediation mitigated the Rep loss from Negotiation Missions.
Your Captain’s Honorable Trait also reduces the Rep loss from all Missions and well as boosting positive Rep gains.
Esteemed Guest provides a big bonus whenever you pick-up or drop-off a passenger.
As you fly from planet to planet Generous in Service will give you free Faction Rep will all Factions you encounter.

730 – PILING ON CASH AND REP – Run as many missions as you can while avoiding confrontations! If you run into a Xeno Ship use Skip Off the Void to avoid Ship Combat. After ten years of playing you should have generated $5M in credits and have an average of 40 Faction Rep with each Non-Starting Faction.

SECTION 000 – My Guides