Posted this in the speedrun Discord more than a year ago, thought I'll just put it here in case someone in future wants to properly look at this game again.

Immediately from the first turn, Indrik should start healing on every turns. He has low speed so he usually moves after the boss. This gives us more consistent healing turn order, compared to any other healers who moves faster and we can't predict whether they will heal before or after the boss attack.

If last boss used his ultimate area attack, Sieg can also use Healing Tide hoping that Sieg heals before the boss.

This made me look at the Neckties assault. I tried to complete the assault doing as little as possible, using only 3 cops and leaving only 1 survivor.

I only used the 3 left-side cops for this strats, all equipped with Ninja perk. The game still forces us to set up the 3 right-side cops as well, otherwise we'll get a game over. But I don't actually need to use them at all.

At the end, we need at least one cop to go to the safe zone. I'm allowed to let the other 5 cops die, so I don't have to spend the time moving any other cops to the safe zone. Although that also means I'll lose cops who already have lots of skill points, so it might be worth it to move the other left-side cops to the safe zone as well.

I didn't really bother optimising the moves in this vid, so I'm sure the speed could still be improved.

Hi all, I just realised that there's already two runners of TiTP2 since couple of months ago, what a pleasant surprise.

I attempted a minimalist playthrough around December last year (when there's no runs yet), which also can be used for speedrun strats. This game can be comfortably beaten even if we literally do nothing during a lot of the days, ignoring as much calls and tactical missions as possible.

Here's a summary of my minimalist strats:

• On the starting period (before Nov 30), and on late-game after beating Neckties, there's no beer tabs. You can just do nothing throughout these two periods, as the game doesn't have the losing condition of "3 consecutive days with negative beer tabs" for the early-game and late-game parts.

• Once beer tabs come into play on the mid-game, I've only bothered to solve the calls on 1 out of 2 or 3 days. We can still ignore calls for two-thirds of the game.

• I never bothered recruiting new cops. By using the same small amount of cops, it's easy to build 6x cops with Ninja perk for the Neckties Assault, and 10x cops with Shooting skills for the final shootout.

• I've taken down Woodsmen gang to get enough money, which was done as early as December 4. This is enough for the rest of the game. There's only 3 tactical battles I need to do for this playthrough (Woodsmen, Neckties, Final battle). Everything else can be ignored.

• Another money source are the various help requests, which are completely fixed in this game. It's easy to plan which requests to do to get enough money in this game.

I've also found couple other tricks when doing this minimalist playthrough:

• Once you've got negative beer tabs 2 days in a row, the game will give you a new cop by the name of Pastrami. He immediately starts with 450+ professionalism and have 2 or 3 levels in most stats.

• If we ignored the first Woodsman investigation, we got offered a chance to pay a $500 tip to unlock the second Woodsman investigation immediately. So we can take down Woodsman even faster by ignoring the first investigation. (This also applies for Spinach Berserkers, but with a $1000 tip)

• For the VCR burning event at the start, we can assign only one bad cop (e.g. Penkins) on the shift, as we will need to let someone die to stop other cops from being fatigued. The bad cop will be guaranteed to be the one who burns the VCR and get killed later.

The main issue is the small chance for a cop on duty to get randomly kidnapped by the Spinach Berserkers, as I didn't take down this gang on my playthrough. If an important cop got kidnapped, we need to either build up another cop's stat, or reset the day.

DLC new content list:

(Note: No new actual game patch from these DLC releases, the latest game version is still from the 22 July patch)

• Marisa DLC: No new contents outside of the DLC story

• Seign DLC: New recruit (Grace) after finishing the DLC story, which can be used on NG+ too.

• Markus DLC: New secret boss (Bloodfest) now available on the Northern Runebarrows.

by E mode, i guess you mean Enhanced Mode? The latest version is a Beta version, so I guess there's not going to be an actual category yet until it's out of beta. But we're probably going to play around with the co-op mode in the next couple of months, so feel free to join our discussions on the Discord server.

Also I guess they'll add more features on the Enhanced Mode in later versions, by the time this version is no longer beta.

v1.4.0/1.4.1:

• Prison: After the 969 prison break cutscene, we'll be warped back to the central tower. So the 969 message trick doesn't work anymore.
• Pay Fine: The Bustedwarp OOB issue from the previous v1.3.0 patch is now fixed.

Latest Heroic Karazhan decks without the Holy Wrath + Ceaseless OTK

Decklist: https://imgur.com/a/gLUnIDb Deckcodes: https://pastebin.com/T6t5X0ZF

I've replaced the Holy Wrath Paladin decks with Linecracker + BEES Druid deck. The new Trail Mix card made it more likely to get a Turn 6-7 win, and I'll still usually get a Turn 8 win without the ramp cards anyway.

For Julianne, I've tried a regular Odd Paladin deck and it works faster than an OTK deck.

Anyway, I was hoping to start doing runs of this adventure, but the recent patch (31.2) has a huge AI change. The AI made it very hard to win Heroic Chess, because they'll use their Hero Power a lot more often on the early game. I've only got 1 win out of 10 attempts. So, I don't think I'll be doing Karazhan runs for now, maybe I'll wait until the Chess AI became easier on a future patch.

Latest Heroic Karazhan decks (Edit: Ceaseless OTK strats is banned a day after this post)

Decklist: https://imgur.com/a/p9lUDue Deckcodes: https://pastebin.com/dBqWnPrd

Two bosses (Silverware & Curator) used the new Holy Wrath + Ceaseless Expanse 100-damage OTK.

I was trying this strats for Julianne as well, but her Romulo gives her Immune, and I can't find a consistent way of clearing the Romulo before doing the combo. So I just used the regular Hunter Horseman OTK.

For Free Medivh, I've used Hunter Horseman OTK with Nine Lives to repeat the OTK on the second phase. This deck works similarly to the Ragnaros boss on BRM.

Other bosses are still generally the same as before, with a bit of changes from newer cards.

List of any relevant gameplay differences that we know of. I've based this list on the Steam version, but other versions should have a similar list as well.

Official patch notes are available here, though they aren't always complete: https://support.505games.com/support/solutions/folders/150000539598

2 May 2024:

• FPS enemy encounter issue fixed
• Lam recruitment bug fixed

15 May 2024:

• Item duplication glitch fixed
• Cookoff bug is fixed, where all rounds used to be considered as appetiser rounds
• Can’t prematurely access Eldroad anymore after finishing Impershiarc storyline

4 June 2024:

• “Development Build” version with debugger was released, and got patched out in the same day
• Can't cutscene skip anymore during Carrie's teleport dialogue on world map
• Character’s magic affinity now affect their spell damages
• On the night before the HQ war battle, don't need to talk to Seign at the rooftop anymore to progress the storyline (still need to go to rooftop and see the Seign/Yaelu scene)
• Aleior’s first recruitment event (talk to Marisa in HQ 1F) is available just before the “point of no return”
• NG+ new bug where Leene recruitment scene can’t be triggered
• Can’t prematurely trigger Chandra’s first recruitment event (hearing the rumors in Drill Ground) anymore before starting Eldroad storyline
• Reyna recruitment bug (failing the fight if you beat her in Turn 3) is fixed
• Dappled Forest / Bounty Hill leveling exploit (walk behind the blocking soldier to get high-level encounters) is fixed
• On world map, entering Hishahn from left-side will spawn you on the right-side of town, instead of the left-side. This might also have fixed the bug where entering Hishahn's left-side will not put Hishahn on your teleport list.
• Yume / Chandra / Aleior are buffed

More detailed list by Julian here https://discord.com/channels/284828716444680202/1228825435014434837/1247720315245695066

22 July 2024:

• Always Auto option now available in the settings
• NG+ Leene recruitment bug is fixed
• Rune Shop & Sumire's Change Runes in HQ now lets you select all characters outside of the party
• Cutscenes in middle of dungeons now resets the encounter step. This cuts down the encounter count in Gardhaven's library section.
• When opening Gardhaven Castle Blue Lens door, the cutscene can't be skipped anymore

I did another comparison with the new patch today (not numbered on the patch notes, I just labelled this v1.0.6 for now).

Seems like loading does get faster. I only have 18s IGT-RTA difference here compared to the 23s IGT-RTA difference in v1.0.5.

(Mar 2025 update: Versions for v1.0.4 or earlier are now disallowed on the rules, due to inconsistency in loadless timer)

Note that the current loadless timer works differently in the versions prior to the latest one (v1.0.5).

On previous versions, it seems the timer doesn't run during the phase where the screen is still black, but when you're already able to skip cutscene. Hence, the previous versions will have a lower loadless time compared to the latest version.

Here's the videos comparing both v1.0.4 & v1.0.5. I've also tried v1.0.3 (the version that still has item duplicate glitch) and it works the same way as v1.0.4.

v1.0.4:

v1.0.5:

Here's my recent decks:

Decklist: https://imgur.com/a/i8vEAQh Deckcodes: https://pastebin.com/h7uZUJrm

Changes from previous decks which wasn't noted on previous posts yet:

• Grim Guzzler: Walking Mountain for a (mostly) guaranteed turn-3 kill
• Thaurissan: Recent AI usually don't use their hero power. And if he does, he'll use it on a minion instead of face. So I just used a rather generic Token Druid deck to aggro him quickly.
• Drakkisath: I choose Warrior since it has a lot of high-value cards. Any class can probably work for this boss today.
• Rend Blackhand / Nefarian: I've tried timing both Linecracker Druid & Mechathun Warlock. Linecracker Druid is a bit faster overall.
• Razorgore: I've tried both Odd Paladin and Linecracker Druid, both decks have around the same average time. So I'm not that sure which one is actually better. (Note: Don't keep the Zilliax Deluxe on your opening hand, as it'll be a 6-mana card and will prevent Baku's Odd-deck effect)
• Chromaggus: Unlike Gardenia's deck, I'm not using Time Warp. But the deck is still mainly the same.
• Lord Nefarius: Using Horseman OTK Priest as per the previous post. I've tried using Mechathun Warlock on my previous 45-minute PB, which is a bit faster overall, but also not that consistent.
• Maloriak: Zilliax Stealth strat is nerfed :( So I wen't back to the Umbra combo deck explained on the previous page.
• Atramedes: I've tried both Even Shaman and Odd Paladin. The latest AI likes to trade on your Silver Hand Recruits, so I found Even Shaman to be faster overall.

Alternative decklists:

• Razorgore - Linecracker + BEES Druid: AAEBAZICAA/pAfgH/eoCj/YC8IkDr6IDhLED+bUDieAD0fYDr4AEnaAEsKUErsAEndQEAAA=
• Lord Nefarius - Mechathun Warlock: AAEBAcn1AgadxwLO6QLx+wKdqQP21gOtogUMj8cCx9MC3tMChLEDld4DiO8DndQEsu0E7v0F054GpqgGw7gGAAA=

Hey, welcome! Couple of people been actively chatting about this speedrun on the discord, you'll be welcome to join in as well.

If you play on PC, you can easily downpatch the game on Steam. And some of us have expressed interest to have a category split between new and old patch.

Level 08 - Commune (with 3x Shock and Awe)

This is a followup from the strats in Mine & DDM, where Mine will use 2x Shock and Awe and DDM will use no Rebel Points at all, leaving 600 points for 3x Shock and Awe in this level.

On Turn 13 (no more Rebel Points), Bulka can't move too much to the right side, to avoid getting caught by one of the last 2 enemies that we can't arrest.

Level 06 - Mine (with Default Team glitch & 2x Shock and Awe)

The level requires arresting the 5x civilians as well, killing them will softlock the level.

On Turn 7, I could've used Shock and Awe before Helberg moves inside the pump room (not done in this vid), which will let one enemy alive. This is actually useful, since the enemy could kill Helberg after she put the explosives, which will speedup the level-up animation after this fight. So overall, letting Helberg die is probably slightly faster overall.

Level 10 - Mansion (with Default Team glitch)

There's no need to Save&Quit after doing the glitch on this level, since the ending will play as normal without the Save&Quit.

The level basically goes this way:

• Start - Use 10x Rebel Spirit to bypass all enemies on the front, and to trigger Victor Zuev's escape timer immediately
• Just before getting out of the maze, there's one enemy that will shoot us. It's fine if one of our cop is dead immediately, as we only need 5x cops to get rid of the next enemies.
• When getting out of the maze, use 2x Rebel Spirit so all of our cops can get rid of the 5 enemies out of the maze straight away (and we still have 40 points left for the Steady Hand perk in this turn)
• After this, only need 4x cops to move forward while getting rid of 2 more enemies on the way to Zuev. Could use Taser to stun these enemies first as Taser will have a better accuracy.
• At the end, only need 2-3x cops to camp at Zuev's spawn position.

I've tried minor variations of the above strats, but they doesn't seem to be faster. Such as sacrificing 2x of our cops at turn 1 to the enemies at the front. Or to wait one turn before using the Rebel Spirits at the start, so some of our cops will get to move ahead without needing to use as much Rebel Points.

My movements in this vid can also still be optimised to reduce the enemy movements.

Level 05b - Construction Site (followup from level 04b's Default Team glitch above)

So in this level, you can actually ignore the bomb disarms. Rescuing the hostage will finish the level immediately, unlike the Airport level where you actually have to complete the two main objectives.

This strat made me think the Bookstore path is probably faster than the Big Rift path, cause this level can be done in only 6 turns (though I haven't bothered to try optimising the Big Rift path).

I need 300 Rebel Points for this strat, so previous level's usage of 640 points will leave enough points for this level.

Level 04b - Bookstore (Default Team glitch)

I don't know if this is faster than Big Rift or not, and this level seems to need lots of Rebel Spirit uses to be fast. But I feel it's worth it to do this path, because of how quick the Construction Site below.

The plan is to have two people on the right going to the biker straight away. While the other four people go inside the store, arrest one of Zuev's man once the two right-side officers get close to the park, and hope that a lot of our cops got killed inside the bookstore to speedup the level-up animations.

(also I don't know what's the fastest thing to do on the bookstore. Maybe it's faster to just have one or two cops inside, or to have our cops kill the Sharpwood cops? Will need timing tests if anyone want to bother optimising this)

Then once we get close to the biker, use bunch of Rebel Spirits to finish the mission quickly, and having a relay of two cops carrying the biker will reduce the amount of Rebel Spirits required. Note that we still want to save some Rebel Points for the next mission. (this part can be done with less Rebel Points which requires more turn)

One part that wasn't shown in this clip is how sometimes the Sharpwood cop inside the right-top room will try to shoot our right-side cops who are heading north. If this happens, I'll have my sniper shoot this cop.

Level 07 - DDM

Going to the Drug Lab via the short route from the strip club. This requires using and 1x Lockpick.

Default Team glitch doesn't give you a lockpick. So we'll need to buy the lockpick before this level.

It can be done using 2x Shadow perks (first vid), or slightly slower with no perks at all (second vid) if we want to save Rebel Points for the next level.

Just recently played this game and I had fun watching the speedrun. So while the game is still fresh in my head, I played around the game and found some strats. Though I'm sure the strats below can be optimised. (doubt I'll actually do a run soon, if ever)

One note about the Default Team glitch. If there's no save/load done, then the game will force you to go back to tutorial after finishing the level. To fix this, simply make a save during a level, go to main menu, and press Continue. Don't need to replay the victory screen like what was done on the 1:09 run.

Because of this, I think the benefits of using the Default Team glitch multiple times in a single run outweighs the timelosses from the additional menuing required to set up the glitch. If I tried to route this run, I'll use the glitch multiple times.