World of Horror – Tips for Background Run

Having trouble clearing an [Ill Fated] run? I’ve got a relatively easy solution.

How to Clear Background Run

All credit goes to Way Past Sad!

Prerequisites

• Must have unlocked Moriko as a playable character.
• Must have unlocked the “city history” customization option.
• Must have the “Monument” location available.
• Must have the “Illegal Den” location available.
• Must have the “Extra Ammo” item unlocked.

Starting The Run

Okay, so once you’ve met all the conditions above, this should be relatively easy. WoH is a RNG heavy kinda game, so naturally when you’re playing a run where all skill checks are an automatic fail… Things get tough.

However, all you have to do is work around the idea that luck is never on your side. Beating the [Ill Fated] backstory just requires you to rely on combat ability, healing items (to mitigate skillcheck fails) and generally good resource management.

Okay, actual guide time:

For starters, you’re gonna wanna pick Moriko as your playable character, as she starts with a Shotgun and 2 shells, giving her the strongest combat ability at the start of any run. You’ll also wanna consider which old god you play the run with. This is sort of a personal preference, but I personally recommend going with ATH-YOLAZSTH, since his only downside is that using spells increases Doom. With Moriko’s abilities, you’ll not be relying on spells much at all. Also, make sure you play this run with only character/generic perk cards, you’ll see why in just a second here.

Once the run actually starts, you’ll notice you begin with a free level up, and a bunch of extra EXP. Immediately level up, and pick a perk that applies to combat. Moriko gets two insanely overpowered perks: “Ammo Stash” and “Deft Handling.” Ammo Stash grants you 1-2 bullets after each mystery (which is why I would go for it at the very start of the run, as you’ll get the maximum benefit), and Deft Handling makes all melee attacks with firearms 20% faster, which is good for saving ammo on weaker enemies around the 12-18 HP range, as you’ll likely still be able to 1 turn kill them without using any ammo. If your RNG is bad, and neither of these perks appear for you at the start, re-roll your perks (for a 4% DOOM penalty) until you get them. If your RNG is really bad, and you end up with like 20% Doom before you see either perk, just restart, since you’re at the very beginning anyway.

Lastly, edit the “City History” as it’s gonna need some tweaking. You’ll wanna get rid of the Hardware store, and instead have the Illegal Den and Monument locations as your 2 Seaside locations. Both of these will be vital for this run. Additionally, get rid of the Dog Shop (RIP goodest boy) and replace it with the Vending Machines. The reason for this is simple: The Dog shop has a chance of disappearing as a town event between mysteries, so you don’t wanna have a vital means of getting items taken from you. Aside from that, visiting the Dog Shop costs 4% Doom, while visiting the Vending Machines costs a measly 1% Doom. For the purposes of this run, the Dog Shop isn’t required.

Once you’re all set, proceed to your apartment and get ready for the run.

Money Is A Top Priority

Playing on Cultist (normal) difficulty, every character starts with 4 funds. When you enter your apartment, go to your room (where you can change outfits) and click on the small mailbox-lookin’ thing on the upper shelf, left of the mirror. Inside it is 1 extra funds, this’ll help. In fact, funds are gonna be a top priority for you.

Take a bath, choose warm water for the extra 5 EXP, and then start any mystery that doesn’t lock you to a specific location (ie, any mystery that allows free-roaming through all standard locations, such as downtown, the school, etc.).

Once you’ve started a mystery, head immediately to the police station, convert all your remaining bonus EXP into funds. In my playthrough, I started with 133 EXP, so I was able to get an additional 2 funds. After leaving the station, head to the Illegal Den. Now, just so I don’t seem like a liar, i’m gonna say this: I have, on every run I did as Moriko, had the Illegal Den have extra ammo on my first visit. So I assume that choosing this character makes that a locked-in item, at least for a first visit. If not, re-roll (at your discretion) until extra ammo is in stock. By now you should have 7 funds, so extra ammo should be affordable. With your remaining funds, visit the Vending Machines for additional supplies. For now you’ll probably only be able to afford a can of soda or some bottled water, but both of these are a flat STA/REA regain with no downsides. If you’d rather go for more potent stuff, you can visit the Pharmacy in the Hospital for things like Experimental Drugs, Sewing Kits, etc. Sewing Kits are a good choice solely because Charisma is meaningless in this run, as you’ll fail any skill checks relating to it regardless. This makes their downside a non-issue.

Another thing to note is that at the Police Station, you can adjust the combat encounter rate by either requesting or complaining about the police patrols. I would recommend keeping the combat rate at the normal level, since lowering it means you’ll get less combat and more skillcheck/encounter events. Now, lowering the combat rate can work, but then you’re letting yourself be at the mercy of the game’s RNG. Not all encounters are skillchecks, some are flat benefits to you, and others are a matter of choosing the correct option for a benefit or to avoid a skillcheck altogether. Both of these are viable strategies, I just wouldn’t recommend altering the combat rate, considering combat is the only place you have actual control.

Last thing regarding funds, is that you should make every effort to make more funds whenever you can. Trading EXP occasionally, sharing EXP with Mr. 000 (if you encounter him), selling any items you get that you don’t intend to use (such as any weapon, yes even the Katana, you will not be swapping from the shotgun). Having funds is almost always gonna be more viable for this run than level ups, so I would just trade EXP as often as possible and buy more ammo/healing every chance I get.

General Tips for The Run

The previous two sections were focused around the two major things you can do to give yourself an edge. From there, it’s a matter of the game’s RNG, and how you react to your changing situation as well as manage your resources.

I’ll try to fit as many little tips and strategies as I can into this section, just all the stuff that doesn’t really fit into the other two, or is simply a bullet point that doesn’t fit into a larger strategy.

• If you choose “Ammo Stash” at the beginning, don’t be shy about using your bullets. However, keep in mind that the first shot you fire will give you “Ringing Ears” as a debuff, making combat actions slower until the end of the current mystery. For this reason, it’s recommended that you try to use Melee attacks before firing your gun once. But once you have fired, then you should fire as many shots as you need per Mystery.
• If you choose “Deft Handling” at the beginning, rely on Melee attacks as often as possible. Since ammo will be harder to come by without the “Ammo Stash” perk. Melee attacks will be faster, meaning you can dole out more of them per turn. With this Perk, you should save bullets for stronger enemies, in the 24-36 HP range.
• If you get the Mystery Curious case of a contagious coma, I highly recommend doing the side quest for the Dust of Seeing, but NOT using it to face the boss. Instead, take the REA penalty and save the Dust for another mandatory battle. This can be especially useful if your run has you doing Mysteries with difficult bosses like the Mad Janitor or Aka Manto, since the Dust sets their power to 0 and makes your chance to hit much higher. (with high enough perception, you can have 100% or greater chance at landing a shot, without needing to prep or use an attack boost, allowing for multiple shots in one turn, possibly even a 1 turn kill).
• The Monument is a vital component if you get bad RNG, or you visit shops/restock too frequently. As long as you enter the monument with STA, REA, or funds to spare, you can lower your Doom. However, if you enter the Monument and can’t afford the cost, and then leave, you’ll no longer have access to the Monument. So make sure you only enter when you can spare all three, as the cost for lowering Doom is random each time. Also, the more you use the Monument, the higher the costs will be upon each visit.
• Run from Ghost enemies, unless your Doom is too high to risk the 5% penalty. The reason is simply because your powerful weapon grants you no advantage over Ghosts, and staying and fighting it will just cost you valuable STA/REA.
• If you run into the 410 billion encounter, you should (as long as your REA isn’t too low) steal the officer’s gun. Doing this will give you a couple extra bullets (anywhere from 1 to 5, I believe) as well as the Police Revolver, which can be sold for a whopping 5 funds. Which can then be used for 3 more bullets.
• Recruiting Allies at the Schoolyard isn’t recommended. The only benefit would be if you can get an ally who makes Pharmacy items cheaper, or who can increase your perception, as all other skills won’t give you any benefit due to auto-failing skillchecks. You can of course still use allies to distract enemies for an increased chance to hit, but I personally consider this a waste of time. EXP is much better used for getting funds so you can always have extra ammo.
• Since you have the ability to lower your Doom if it’s getting too high, don’t be shy about resting at home if you’re unable to get healing items and your health is low.
• If you decide to buy Wine at the Illegal Den for the +3 REA it gives you, remember that the empty bottle you end up with after use can be sold for 1 funds.