Disco Elysium Best Build Guide

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  • Where To Start
  • Archetype: Thinker
  • Archetype: Sensitive
  • Archetype: Physical
  • Archetype: Custom

Disco Elysium offers an incredible number of choices and paths to explore, far beyond what’s typically implied by saying it has branching options. You begin as Harry Du Bois, picking your initial alignment, then distributing points among 24 diverse skills throughout the narrative. Along the way, you gather clothing items influencing the game positively or negatively. Furthermore, you get to select specific thoughts to follow in unraveling your backstory. From the outset, the game bombards you with numerous systems to navigate.

Disco Elysium is unique among many excellent role-playing games because it enables players to delve into its mechanics organically as the narrative progresses. This way, players have the freedom to explore and figure out aspects of the game through hands-on experience rather than being interrupted by tutorials.

This manual is designed to help you understand the optimal combination of your abilities depending on your goals. It also provides information about how these abilities may influence your gaming experience. Regardless if you’re struggling with character selection at the beginning or deep into the game, the knowledge provided here should be useful.

In contrast to many other games, Disco Elysium strongly promotes exploration and experimentation. Thus, consider these building recommendations more as a guide rather than strict rules. Feel free to personalize and adapt them according to your preferences, combining elements, experimenting with various approaches, and making the gameplay uniquely yours.

Where To Start

In this game, you’ll find 24 distinct skills categorized into four main groups: Intellect, Psyche, Physique, and Motorics. When embarking on a new adventure, you’ll be offered three pre-designed character templates to start with: Thinker, Sensitive, and Physical, or the option for Custom character creation. Each template comes with a summary of its primary strengths and potential weaknesses. The following sections will guide you in adjusting your character according to each archetype’s strengths.

Archetype: Thinker

Exceptionally brainy yet socially awkward. Rich in intriguing trivia and creative thoughts.

He’s really smart but not great with people. He knows lots of cool stuff and often thinks up unique ideas.

Intellect Psyche Physique Motorics
5 1 2 4

Intellect, in essence, is your unique talent that surpasses other abilities. A strong intellect significantly impacts your prowess in intellectual tasks, enabling you to solve puzzles and draw conclusions effectively. This skill set plays a crucial role in unraveling the central mystery, such as the enigma of the man hanging outside the Whirling in Rags hostel.

Should you be interested in unraveling enigmas and crafting immersive settings, this serves as an excellent foundation for your construction endeavors.

Skills

Visual Calculus is a valuable investment of your skill points, helping you independently solve cases more effectively, although it may puzzle the intellectually astute character Kim Kitsuragi when you find it challenging to convey the dangers lurking in your mental stronghold to him.

As a seasoned gamer, I’ve got an edge with my innate ability to tap into hidden reservoirs of knowledge – thanks to The Thinker’s initial boost on my Encyclopedia skill. Whether it’s recalling trivia about the game world or acing those background checks, this skill is my go-to for unearthing facts that might just tip the scales in my favor.

Instead of allocating all your skill points to one area, consider dividing some among Motorics in Perception and Composure. This will help you anticipate events before they occur and keep your cool when the situation seems unfavorable.

Thoughts

  • Investing in the thought Lonesome Long Way Home will give you +1 Encyclopedia.
  • Wompty-Dompty Dom Centre‘s completion bonus awards +10 XP on Encyclopedia passives.
  • Upon completing Apricot Chewing Gum Scented One, you receive a permanent buff of +2 Perception.

Clothing

When you get to the halfway point during the game, you’ll find an openable box that holds Mega-Bino’s Prescription Lenses. These lenses boost your Encyclopedia by 2 points, but they reduce your Perception by 1.

Stumbling upon a treasure in my seaside hideaway, I came across the Korojev Jacket – an extraordinary find that boosts my Logic by +1 when worn!

Enhancing both mental and physical abilities by integrating your intellect with your motor skills offers the simplest approach to improving overall performance. This synergy helps establish a harmonious balance between cognitive and physical abilities, enabling you to maintain both mental acuity and physical agility.

Archetype: Sensitive

Very psychological. A magnetic personality, but unstable. (Might begin to lose his mind.)

Intellect Psyche Physique Motorics
1 5 4 2

Your talents shine in Psyche. Skills related to Psyche represent your awareness and empathy, helping you control both your own emotions and those of others. If you aim to gain a deeper insight into yourself and the individuals you interact with within the expansive world of Revachol, then mastering this skill-set would be most beneficial for you.

One approach to rephrasing this passage in a natural and easy-to-understand manner is as follows: The story of Disco Elysium presents a crucial enigma – your character’s identity as Harrier Du Bois. Who were you before the current timeline? What are you now? And who do you aspire to become? These intriguing questions about your past, present, and future can only be answered through meaningful conversations with the characters you meet along the way.

In the game, there are initially fewer active checks associated with psyche compared to other skill areas at the outset. Yet, the intuitive understanding you gain about others through passive checks involving psyche during conversations proves priceless, aiding you in discerning links among individuals and their motivations.

Skills

In my view, the Psyche skill known as ‘Volition’ is exceptionally effective in the game. Enhancing this skill boosts the limit of your morale gauge. This means you can endure more emotional strain while remaining composed during some of the most harrowing scenes in the narrative, making you resilient against dark emotions.

The Inland Empire talent grants you an unusual ability to see beyond ordinary sight. You may find yourself engaging in curious dialogues with your attire, and even having discussions that could potentially alter the direction of an investigation – but be warned, it might challenge your sanity beforehand. This unique talent makes Harry all the more imaginative and creative when seeking solutions, making it a delightful addition to his skills.

Given that your initial strength in the Physique attribute is comparable, it’s advisable to focus on enhancing related skills, particularly Endurance and Shivers, during your journey as The Sensitive. This should be a priority throughout your gameplay experience.

Thoughts

  • Early in the game, you can acquire the thought Ace’s High / Low from interacting with Kim while investigating, giving a lasting boost of either +1 or +2 to your skill Empathy.
  • Hardcore Aesthetic‘s completion bonus grants +1 lasting bonuses to Volition and Endurance.
  • Completing Cleaning Out the Rooms gives +1 to Suggestion, Inland Empire, and Rhetoric.

Clothing

Spend sufficient time with Lena, the cryptozoologist’s wife, and accomplish her task. In return, she will bestow upon you the Eight-Eyed Teratorn Tie as a gift. This unique item boosts your Inland Empire and Volition by one each.

Located on the battlements of the maritime stronghold, the Winter Scarf from Army Excess bestows a bonus of +2 Empathy but simultaneously deducts -1 from Composure. It’s about strategically selecting the unfavorable attributes your clothing imparts, enabling you to maintain focus on what is most crucial to you.

Archetype: Physical

As a gamer, I’m all about the action! I navigate and conquer my virtual worlds primarily using my physical abilities. Whether it’s dodging obstacles or outmaneuvering enemies, I excel at getting things done. However, when it comes to strategy, logic puzzles, or deep conversations, let’s just say I could use a bit more brainpower!

Intellect Psyche Physique Motorics
1 2 5 4

Your physical build is particularly advantageous. In various situations during the game, it’s not just possible, but essential to use raw power to access new areas and convince others to see things from your perspective. Barriers that seem insurmountable to others don’t faze you, whether they truly are or not.

From my personal playthroughs, I’ve often found challenging gaps in the game’s development that made me prioritize Harry’s physical strength over intellect numerous times. It would be wise to avoid completely disregarding this aspect.

If you prefer taking charge by engaging in conversation instead of passively listening to lengthy dialogues and expediting events, whether positively or negatively, then this character fits your style perfectly.

Skills

Building up your endurance significantly enhances your overall health, and as you progress through the game, it becomes evidently beneficial to have a high level of physical durability. This robustness proves advantageous in numerous aspects.

Enhancing your Electrochemistry through skill points reduces the harm caused by addictive substances to you, and grants you the ability to empathize and communicate effectively with individuals who have experimented with these substances.

Just as The Thinker embodies both thoughtful analysis and physical presence, your set of skills often involves a harmonious blend of physical dexterity. It might be beneficial to allocate some of your skill points towards agility and reflexes, enabling you to scrutinize intricacies in the environment more effectively while maintaining vigilance, thus enhancing your ability to safeguard yourself and your companion.

Thoughts

  • Researching the thought The Bow Collector gives you a lasting bonus of +3 to Shivers. This skill that shows the world to you in unique and unexpected ways, beautifully unveiling secrets of the city through your unconscious senses.
  • If you hate wearing shirts of any kind, completing Coach Physical Instrument gives +2 Physical Instrument so long as your shirt slot is empty (also -1 to Encyclopedia.)
  • Anti-Object Task Force grants +1 Pain Threshold and makes it so that attacking physical objects heals damage. All Physique learning caps are raised by 1.

Clothing

The “Man From Hjelmdall” t-shirt, hidden within the pawn shop and discernible with a Perception level of 4, can be purchased and utilized. This shirt grants a bonus of +1 to Physical Skills and Shivers, but comes with a -2 penalty to Authority.

Under the appearance of a soiled coat, the woman in the fishing hamlet can clean the “Faln” Windbreaker, an item boasting +1 “Half Light” and “Pain Threshold”, but reducing “Drama”.

In the world of Revachol, some enigmas can be solved systematically and logically, while others become clearer to those with a seemingly intuitive, or perhaps unconventional, understanding.

Archetype: Custom

Create your own character

Choosing this template, you get to allocate your initial character’s skill points, but there are some limitations involved.

  • The total number of ability points available is 12.
  • You cannot have less than one ability point for each of the four core abilities.
  • You cannot have more than six ability points in any one ability.

As someone who’s already danced through the neon-lit streets of Disco Elysium once before, this next playthrough feels even more enticing because I’ve got a deep understanding of how each skill and ability intertwines with the narrative. When it comes to my starting allocation of ability points, I think the following setup strikes a good balance:

Intellect Psyche Physique Motorics
4 2 4 2

To strive for being your best and most capable self, focusing on developing both your mental abilities (Intelligence) and physical fitness (Physique) is an excellent decision.

During my initial gameplay, I regret not putting more effort into mastering two key abilities: Visual Calculus and Physical Instrument. By developing these talents simultaneously, you can swiftly resolve case aspects and easily bypass any characters who may hinder your progress towards primary objectives.

In many games, these skills are frequently used across different rolls and connect to crucial storylines. By starting with high proficiency in these abilities, you can allocate your skill points more proactively towards complementary skills within areas like agility (Motorics) such as Hand/Eye Coordination and Composure, while also enhancing your Psychological skills like Volition and Inland Empire.

By integrating these abilities plus the top ideas and stylish outfits hinted at in the game, you’re certainly moving forward to embodying the greatest version of Harry du Bois the world could know.

Copotypes

As you progress through the tale, various facets and allegiances of Harry become apparent to explore. Certain choices may limit your access to significant storyline events, while others offer versatility and numerous advantages.

In any gameplay session, I strongly prefer two specific character archetypes. These options offer a multitude of advantages and can be safely combined with other personality traits you may choose:

1. The first one is the Copotype A.
2. And the second one is the Copotype B.

  • Choosing enough dialogue options that warn of the coming apocalypse, mass extinction, or hating the world will give you the opportunity to become the Cop of the Apocalypse. Completing this thought increases the learning cap for Inland Empire and Shivers, as well as doubling the effectivness of the item Pyrholidon (which boosts all your psyche skills at the cost of health). This also slightly decreases your Rhetoric by -1.
  • Choosing multiple dialogue options that boast of your partying and disco potential, or refer to yourself as a superstar acting self-obsessed, and you will obtain an opportunity to become Some kind of Superstar. Completing this thought raises the learning cap for a whopping 4 skills: Visual Calculus, Suggestion, Electrochemistry, and Composure. This comes at a cost of -2 Logic.

In essence, Disco Elysium encourages experimentation in unique and engaging manners, implying that there isn’t a single correct or perfect way to play the game. The distinct experiences players create are a significant part of what sets this game apart, so don’t fret if you stumble during a skill check or upset an NPC character.

It’s all a part of your story.

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2025-02-26 16:11