You can make a run through very quickly if you don't care about powers. Skip the quest, collect the artifacts, speak to the Starborn, progress to the final artifact in the buried temple, go to Unity. Easy in less than two hours. Think I could probably get it down to inside an hour if I really tried.
It's helpful to start putting skill points into things that will help you make a run with minimal resources (since you start with nothing). For me, this meant adding three levels in pistols since you are guaranteed a good epic pistol at the start of each run (I already had ballistics and rifles). Also, reilience is helpful since you don't want to faff about buying or searching for loads of medpacks.
Shields and engines skills in the tech tree are a good help the ship combat, which gets to be a pain when the enemy ships get to the mid-70s in level and you're still in that awful Guardian. One level in targetting is almost mandatory.
I like a couple of levels in persuade so I can couple them with the paramour in the last level to reliably talk down the hunter/emissary and shorten the end.
Maxing boost pack and boost assault training levels is really useful. Helps to cut down time navigating levels. Plus the time slow effect from assault training level four is amazing for rapid level clearing.
So, route is:
- Enter The Lodge, skip the quest, grab the weapons from the basement - hope there's something good.
- Swing by UC Distribution to check their stock and buy ammo for your chosen weapons.
- Go to Vlad's Villa and pick the lock downstairs with the conveniently laid out digipicks. Grab The Mutineer.
- Collect all the artifacts by fast travelling from the ground to each planet.
- Speak to Sarah, speak to the Starborn.
- Go to Masada, fight off Helix/Scorpius.
- Fight to the temple, talk down the final enemy.
- Either run around collecting powers or build the armillary and go to the Unity again. (It's best to wait until you have all the artifacts to start collecting powers, since then Vlad will move to The Lodge and it's quicker to get to him there each time than in The Eye.)
The powers start geting really good at level IV/V. Really help speeding through the levels. I'm mostly using sense star stuff, personal atmosphere, sunless space and phased time. Also tend to chuck out a parallel self at the start of the big final level battles to start thinning enemy numbers.
Might just get the final Guardian ship in a couple more runs and then wait for DLC. Don't think I can be bothered to do 10 runs for maxed powers...
