I see, thanks for the replies guys. So two more things then.
One is a general question: do most folks do runs all the time, or do they hang around leveling up (or doing other stuff) once all quests are done? Related to this: does a character have any advantages when they are doing their second, third, etc. runs? Or the only thing they get is the general experience, just learning the quests, what works and what doesn't?
The second issue I'm having is being stuck on Dr. Johnson. So, Arthur J tells the player to decode the PDA at the Midgard facility. There, the screen says it's possible to get in with a voice recording. From there let's say the player figures out to talk to the scientists on the 2nd floor, where they mention their boss is Dr. Johnson on the 5th floor. So the player makes their way there and fights. Which is what I did too. The fight messages keep saying something along the lines of "you'll get this recording eventually". But it just doesn't drop. So, the (impatient) player checks the wiki: you need to survive 5 consecutive rounds!… Well, that's just next to impossible it seems, at least with my character. If I survive one, I'm lucky. So… What's the "expected" thing for the player to do here? What would make sense to me, if there was some kind of counter: the first time you fight him, it's a 0% drop chance. With each fight, or each round, it increases slightly, but eventually it will drop. I mean… even then it feels like that's a lot of grinding to do. You have to spend time and energy just to get to the fight, then spend 1 or 2 energy to heal after losing. Could be days, not much fun. So, the "right" thing to do is… what? I'm guessing get out of the building (argh, have to climb again later), and look for more items that give etheric defense? How would the player know that this is the right thing to do? Let's assume they do: where do they go to find such items (without poring through the pages of the wiki)?
