Cult Strategy Guide

[Butterrobber202]

Introducing Your Lord and Savior: Nar’sie 

Alright, it's a Cult round. Probably the first one in a month. Cult is one of the most complicated gamemodes we have, and due to its rarely played nature, many do not not make full usage of its provided kit from sheer inexperience, so here’s a guide so you don't have to flounder about. The guide does assume you’ve looked at the wiki page for Cult.

Devout Acolyte or panicking crew member, here is what you need to know about Cult as a gamemode as a general rule.

Death

Spoiler

Chances of dying on a cult round are extremely high on both sides of the gamemode. Much of the Cult’s abilities revolve around killing or being killed. Luckily, death is not the end of your fun while Nar’sie is trying to rip his way into reality. Those that die will likely be bodysnatched by the Cult and returned to the land of the living as constructs in service to The One Who Waits. 

Ultimately, don’t feel bad about getting your hands dirty as a Cultist. You have more than enough reasoning to assassinate heretical crew refusing to convert, just as much as Security has reasoning to try and blow a hole in a sword wielding maniac. You have a dark lord to please, and the Medical Intern resisting eldritch brainwashing really can’t be allowed to slow you down. 

Hidden Threat

Spoiler

Much of the Cult’s advantage in the beginning of the round stems from the Crew, namely Security, being unaware of their presence. Cultists are naturally going to try and extend this advantage as long as possible. Without secrecy or the numbers advantage, the Cult can easily be eliminated by a coordinated Security team. 

If you stumble upon Cultists in the act, expect to get a really wild excuse or a swift stun talisman to the face. 

By Word or Sword

Spoiler

As much fun as it is to convert people using purely RP methods, conversation is very time consuming. The Cult has roughly an hour and a half maximum to finish preparations for their reveal. Each cultist may manage to snag one or two RP conversions with a little luck, but after that, they must switch to kidnappings and forced conversions if they want to save time. 

Don’t feel bad if you get kidnapped! Most Cultists are still going to RP with you as they handle the conversion process, even if it's somewhat abbreviated. Cult’s nature allows you to RP outside what your character would normally do, so don’t feel obligated to spam resistance when being converted. (Unless you want to.) Ultimately, the Cult does not want to kill you, they want you to join their team and continue playing with you. 

Hard Limitations

Spoiler

There can only be 25 runes on the map at any given moment. This is a pretty pathetic amount, so get rid of runes you are not using ASAP. 

Armor Up

Spoiler

Wearing Cult Armor reduces the damage from all rune usage.

Swords Out = Game On

Spoiler

The moment Security sees your big ass glowing swords, they are going to arm up. Conceal the swords for as long as you can unless you want to stare down the barrel of a shotgun.

How to Survive the Summoning of the Geometer

Spoiler

Right, so a literal God has been summoned aboard the station/ship. What do you do?

A good start is to run. Preferably get off the Z-Level Nar’sie is currently converting into the inside of a Hot Topic. The next thing to worry about is avoiding his newly re-bodied minions that will surely be hunting down any remaining heretics like yourself. Ultimately, your best chance of survival is to find a functional ship and get away on it as fast as you can. 

Alternatively, you’ve been given proof of the divine face-to-face. A solid reason to convert over to their side and be spared death.

 

Peering into the Veil: Cultist Guide 

The round has started and you already hear the wails of the departed. You’re a roundstart cultist! You serve a sinister force beyond mortal comprehension and you’ve been tasked with spreading his influence to the masses. Luckily, Nar’sie is much more persuasive than Jehovah’s Witness. 

The first thing to take note of before moving on is the tome that has appeared in your backpack. It is the key to almost all of your abilities, make sure you keep it hidden and on your person. Thankfully, to uneducated onlookers it appears to be nothing more than a dusty book with insane scribbling inside.

The second thing to do is discuss what exactly you want to do with the round as a Cult in AOOC. Summoning the Geometer is an excellent standard goal, as is converting the entire crew. Largely, you can do whatever you want as long as you follow the server rules. During this time, it may be worth deciding on how you want your powers to “work.” The Cult does not always have to serve Nar’sie if there is another substitute you want to use! Using lore is an excellent way to bag some RP conversions, as people respond better if you are not a raving lunatic. 

My standard explanation is just as Bluespace exists, its opposite is Redspace (The Veil). Nar’sie is trapped in this dimension for one reason or another. Redspace operates in the exact opposite fashion from Bluespace, from time moving slower and it requiring organic fuel to be accessed, as opposed to Bluespace’s inorganic requirements, like phoron.

 

Getting Started

Depending on the round’s readied population, the amount of starting Cultists can vary. Usually, there will be at least three other devoted acolytes along with you to help jumpstart your ambitions. 

Meet the Team

After attending to your job’s roundstart duties, such as starting the engine or setting up medical, it's a good idea to seek out your fellows. Using a communication rune to have each member innocently pass by the bar or kitchen is a fine way to do this, as you will recognize your cohorts by sight alone.

 

Assign and Organize

You need to get a lot done in a short time. Having each member pursue their own objectives without considering the tasks of their fellows is inefficient and will waste some of your precious time. 

If the meetup is in a private space, quickly doll out some tasks for each member, including yourself. If you failed to link up privately, a quick communication rune will work as well. The tasks should be suited for the job of the cultists, a Doctor is less useful for setting up a base than an Engineer. The main things you need to get done are:

 

Convert

This is a general assignment for everyone, but tasking people with this specifically is an excellent way to get your numbers boosted quickly. If you wish to remain covert, it is wise to assign this to the most experienced members of the cult, as they will know how to kidnap people undetected and escape if the situation goes up in smoke.

Equip

Task a single member to mass produce talismans for the gang. Talismans are infinitely useful based on the creativity of the players using them. Not exploiting them for all they are worth is asking for failure. This member should make as many as they can, then hand them out like candy.

Base

Assign a single member, preferably an Engineer, to hunt down an isolated part of the map and secure it for the Cult’s use. 

Assassination

To reap the rewards of constructs, someone needs to die. After the Equip and Base tasks are fulfilled, the two teams should unite and pursue this objective. 

 

Conversion

There are two ways to convert people, convincing them to join with your mouth or robusting them. In either case, grab a basic white medkit from somewhere, the conversion process deals a bit of damage even if they are willing. 

Talking it out

Spoiler

Arguably the preferred method of converting people is RP’ing with them until they relent and join up. It’s main advantage is that you will not be detected upon failure or success, so it's relatively risk-free.  Additionally, most seasoned players will realize what’s going on quickly and respond accordingly. Some will instantly shut you off, some will eagerly join the gang. 

Your chances of success will increase dramatically by exploiting lore to nudge people your way. Convincing a Unathi to join is much easier if you claim it’s Sk’akh’s will, or ask the Zeng-Hu physician to participate in a secret company experiment. Couple this with a non-hostile demonstration of your powers, and you will likely gain a convert. If this method fails, you can let them go and try again or…

By Crook or by Hook

Spoiler

The easier method of converting people is just beating the shit out of them and dragging them towards your secluded conversion rune. This method requires much more prep work than talking, and failure will result in detection by Security. So, take all the care in the world and expect the worst when using this method. Here’s what you’re going to do:

 

A Secluded Area

Find somewhere nearby, but hidden. You absolutely must avoid areas with cameras or Security will be upon you in seconds. On top of that, places without foot traffic will be safer than the stomping grounds of the crew. Bathrooms, maintenance tunnels, and dark corners will be your friend. Optionally, stick a chair in there so you don’t have to hold your victim in place.

Gear

Alongside your conversion site, you will need some basic gear to take someone out. Most people tend to resist being kidnapped, so you need to stop them from fleeing or screaming. First, get your hands on an incapacitation talisman and some cable cuffs, duct tape also works. Optionally, you can use the forging rune to summon up cultist robes. Outside of the excellent armor this provides, the hood will mask your face and allow you to appear as “Unknown” if you stick your ID in your pocket. The Sword is not advisable to have out.

Lure

Typically, people will not be in an optimal kidnapping position by happenstance. Try luring them closer to your conversion site with an innocent lie or request for help. Best employed in private, as if someone hears you asking for them and then they die or vanish from sensors, you will be the prime suspect.

Attack

Once you’re ready to secure your victim, pull out your talisman and activate it in your hand while standing next to them. Clicking them with it will not work. This will floor them and silence them for a brief time. Once they are down, grab them, upgrade your grab to blue, then cuff them. The moment you finish, drag them out of camera sight and disable their suit sensors. They’ll start blabbering the moment they can, but save RP’ing back until you’re far away from Security’s detection.

The Vaurca Problem

Vaurca have access to a unique radio channel known as hivenet. They can utilize this channel even while restrained. Most will be fair and only reveal they are in some kind of distress without elaborating, but enough of them will give their X, Y, and Z coordinates that it's better to use RP to convert them. Additionally, the AI and Station-Bounds can see this channel and relay any information to Security. Largely, it is not worth the risk of assaulting them. If you must, construct an improvised radio jammer with two signallers and a power cell. These don’t last long, but they will jam hivenet signals along with other radio transmissions, such as headsets and suit sensors. 

If all has gone well, you’ve secured a potential conversion for the Cult. Throw them above the rune and start RP’ing. Feel free to explain as little or as much as you like, but most people will refuse conversion unless you humor them with some degree of RP beforehand. Anything works really, but as mentioned before, lore applications will see the best results. Aside from that, having a little ritual with emotes is great as well. Be creative.

Once you activate the rune, the victim will go through quite a bit of agonizing pain, so you may want to give them preemptive warning if you’re kind. Aside from that, the conversion rune will continually deal damage to the victim until they relent or die. 

If they die, well, you tried. Grab a soul stone and stuff them inside, you can’t afford to be wasteful. Even if they ghost out of the construct, it will open it up for another ghost to use. (If they ghost before you can stuff their soul stone into a construct, ask an admin for help. It's generally frowned upon to ghost when soul stoned.)

If they convert, success! The new member of the Geometer’s brotherhood will have a tome zapped into their backpack. Quickly give your fellow acolyte the details on the Cult’s current plans, members, and base location. You want them to be seen around their workplace or public area ASAP as to not arouse suspicion. 

 

Equip

Making talismans could be considered boring work, but it's infinitely useful. A mountain of talismans can mean the difference between victory and defeat for the Cult. Not to mention, it doesn’t take terribly long to acquire a mass of them. Once you finish the initial batch, the other Cultists will likely fabricate their own as they need them. Here’s how to get started:

Spoiler

A Secluded Location

Like most Cultist activity, you need to find a hidey hole to conduct your bloody work in peace. Thankfully, your job isn’t violent in nature and if caught, you’ll wiggle free much easier than a Cultist in the middle of forcibly converting someone. 

Supplies

Find a paper pin and steal it. Drag it onto yourself to put it in your hand. These are everywhere you can expect bureaucracy to take place, and no one is going to miss them.

Making Talismans

To make a talisman, you first need to use your tome to inscribe the talisman creation rune on the floor. Place a blank sheet of paper on the rune, then inscribe the rune you want to transfer onto the talisman next to the talisman creation rune. Activate the talisman rune to finish the job. It's a good idea to right click the talisman and denote what they are with a (X). For example, naming a stun talisman “Bloodied Paper (S)” or a teleportation talisman “Bloodied Paper (T)”. 

 

That’s the general gist of your role. Mainly, stun and teleportation talisman are going to prove the most useful and simple to use, but feel free to get creative. Many runes can be turned into talisman, and some even are more powerful when used as talismans, such as the Blindness rune. 

When making teleportation talismans, it is a very good idea to coordinate with your fellow member working on the base. Setting up a single teleportation rune on its own network without a counterpart will allow you to teleport to the base without any mishaps. Inform the Cult you’re reserving this network with a communication rune. 

While you’re working, it may be a good idea to use the forging rune to create a few sets of cult robes and spread them across the station. It will confuse Security and allow you to operate more freely, even by a speck. If you do this, make sure you wear different clothes than your usual garb and gloves, so forensics can’t trace them back to you. A damp rag can also remove any forensics evidence from anything you’ve touched.

When you’re finished, hand out the talismans you’ve created to your pals. Then, group up with another team and help them out.

 

Base

Creating a base for the cult to operate out of is always a good plan. It doesn’t need to be a large area mind you, and sometimes choosing a smaller location will assist you in not being detected. Here’s what you should consider when choosing, building, and reinforcing a base.

Spoiler

A Secluded Location

Per the previous mentions, you need to find a hidden area to handle all your dirty deeds. The base in particular can be a source of noise, so it's wise to go as far away as you can manage. 

Limited Entry

Wall Runes can go far for restricting movement around your base, but you will have an easier time of it if your location has only one or two entrances to begin with. Though, if Security discovers the doors are blocked, expect them to start tearing through the walls like angry hornets. Aside from Cult abilities, making reinforcements using steel is perfectly acceptable.

No Windows

Lasers go through windows, along with general sight. To avoid getting gunned down and spotted, replace any windows with walls or find a location without any to begin with.

Stockpile

Stick as many medical supplies as you can in your base. Altars made by Artificers can heal you, but have a cooldown. You’ll need these supplies to use sustained runes like Apparition. Also, stick a paper bin in the base for talisman creation. Monkey cubes & water will be valuable for activating pylons. 

Artificer

Strictly speaking, the only construct the cult needs is an Artificer. This construct is your best friend when it comes to building a base as they can summon up cult-specific defenses to aid you. Examine the things they summon to puzzle out how they work.

 

If possible, try to make the base look as innocent as possible from the outside. Cut the bolt lights and lock down the airlocks, then wall rune behind the door. Cultists still need to get in and out though, so set up a teleportation rune network prior to sealing the door. 

Once you finish, use a communication rune to explain everything. Ideally, the Cult already has a good idea where you are building the base prior to its completion. 

 

Assassination

Largely, you can follow the guide in Conversion. Once you have them captured, beat your victim into critical condition and soul stone them. 

 

Progressing

Now that you’re established, you have a few options on how to continue your round. As the timer creeps closer to the 2:00 mark, people are going to start demanding the Cult get more publicly active in AOOC. It's to be expected and accommodated. There’s a few ways to go about this. Note that most of the strategies require a central leader, it's recommended an experienced player take this role. 

 

The Hidden Cult

Spoiler

This strategy largely revolves around turtling in the base and influencing the round directly from here. A few members of the Cult, 4-5 is best, seal themselves inside the Cult Base and use rune magic to attack or influence the station, without putting themselves in harm’s way. Its main downside is it requires a pretty healthy amount of Cult members to be be effective, as some of the members are being held in reserve. A hacked Security camera console goes a long way for these guys, or just conducting recon using the ghost rune. You must stockpile medical supplies or have a pair of altars in the base for this to work well. We’ll call these guys the Base Team.

The rest of the cult members will exit the base and don their armor. (Make sure to reinforce it using the Artificer’s daemon forge.) These guys are the away team. 

The Hidden Cult revolves around the Base Team supporting the Away Team via long-distance runes or sentience runes. If the Away Team gets slaughtered, teleport them back one by one and recycle their corpses into constructs. Or, if you had the forethought to get your hands on some corpses, straight up bring them back to life using the revival rune. Protohumans are a good way to find free corpses, if you don’t feel like assassinating some innocent assistants. If the Away Team gets captured, just use the summoning and freedom runes to yoink them back to the base. 

Other than that, summoning nigh-indestructible apparitions and sending them to tank all of Security’s shots and defend the Away Team is a great idea. Make sure you draw a forging rune beforehand, so they can get equipped. Tome Summoning Rune optional. 

Eventually, you will whittle down Security’s ability to fight before they find the base. Or Security will zero in on you and will you employ those Blood Boiling runes you had the forethought to seed in the base. 

 

The Assault Cult

Spoiler

The typical strategy of the cult in most of the rounds they appear in. Despite its constant use, most of the time, the Cult assaults as an unorganized mob ill-equipped to deal with Security’s ranged attacks and flashbangs.

 

The first step in this strategy is committing to some basic prep work to avoid a total wipeout at the end of a gun barrel:

1. Manufacture Incapacitation Talismans 

2. Summon Apparitions and equip them.

3. Defend the Apparition Summoners

4. Upgrade your armor using the daemon forge.

 

That is the bare minimum prep work, other ideas may include sabotaging autolathes/cargo, summoning additional constructs to help you, or gathering medical supplies.

Cult robes are incredibly weak to ballistic attack, and you’re effectively immune to everything else. (Especially if you took the time to upgrade your armor, as the upgraded variant grants immunity to flashbangs.) The Cult’s main weakness lies in the fact your primary means of dealing damage is that big glowing sword in your hand. You need to get up close and personal to take people down, so how do you close the distance?

Use those aforementioned Apparitions to rush Security with Incapacitation Talismans. These summoned warriors are immune to pain and have enough health to make a Unathi blush. Security can shoot, beat, and stab all they want, but the moment the Apparitions zero in and fire off their incapacitation talismans, you can swarm the downed Officers and proceed to kill or capture them. Preferably the latter, as you gain more bodies for the Geometer’s cause.

In general, the best strategy for the assault cult is to attack with numbers and offensive talismans. Blindness and deafness make excellent support talismans to stack ontop of incapacitation talismans, effectively making a cult-style clusterbang. 

Despite everything, it may be wise to have one or two members of the cult hang back with the Apparition summoners, to defend them and apply medical care as needed. If they step off the runes, willingly or otherwise, the Apparitions instantly perish and you lose your bullet sponges. 

The Peace Cult

Spoiler

The black sheep of conventional Cult Strategy. Effectively the idea is after your first few RP conversions, you reveal the Cult publicly and try to convince the crew that blood magic and service to an all-powerful god-like demon is really a good idea and not terribly different from being employed by the SCC.

There is no set method of doing this, as your reception will be decided by the skill of the Cultist RPers and if Security is determined to lock you all up anyway. 

Using lore appeal is going to net you the best results, as I’ve mentioned several times in this guide. But, let your creativity guide you and hope you don’t get put in irons for wearing a funny cult cosplay suit. 

It is always possible after the Peace Cult gains enough followers, it will rapidly transition into an Assault Cult, but not always. 
 

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And there you have it. A general idea on how to play Cult, from my eyes. Suggestions, corrections, and discussion encouraged. 

[Garnascus]

Good guide. Resisting conversions makes you valid to kill. Always. 

[Spider]

Awesome guide, I hope this gets people to roll cult more often, it's such an underrated gamemode.