As I begin this guide, I would like to point out that the guide itself is made with the assumption that you own all or most of the DLC. If you are missing content, some of the tips will still apply, but you may not be able to take full advantage of them. Enjoy, and please take note that this guide is being released in late December of 2014, after the Juggernaut DLC. If more characters or content are added, this guide may require an update. Please keep in mind that this guide is composed simply of my opinions on different strategies, and are not "The Best" by definition.

Thank you for your time, and enjoy the guide.

***Last update was April 3rd, 2015. The latest DLC was the Necromancer.***

With all of the current DLC for The Pit, you will have 11 (and 1 secret class) to choose from. The character you choose will influence all of your decisions, fights, and attempts at interacting with objects. For a quick guide on who to avoid playing, consult the following chart. Explanations for these ratings will be given in the detailed breakdown.


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IEfowqMbbJGGG9JYdncUA7jB2erWimkX-vJPRxJwOe4/edit?usp=sharing


Again, I cannot stress enough the importance of the disclaimer. This is purely my opinion, although a lot of what is said here will be almost undeniable.

Both of these characters are actually pretty decent. Their downfall comes primarily in their lack of Brains and Psionics. Brains should be prioritized for stat points, to make it less of a weakness. Psionics can be invested in sparingly, but avoid anything other than Resistance and maybe Healing.

These characters are also quite good in combat, since all of their combat skills are reasonable. They also start with pretty good equipment and resources. Unfortuanately, the Assault Rifle that they begin with will just swallow all of your ammo, so be sure to stock up as much as you can early on. Overall, they are pretty solid characters. Those of you who prefer to stick to simple characters will be right at home with the Marine. And for the Marine(and not the secret class), be sure to keep an eye out for the "Brawler PBA", a special armor set specific to the Marine. IT can be worn on other characters, but not without a massive penalty.

Oh boy. The Engineer. I'll begin with his pros, being a pretty good brains skill and decent looting skills. He also gains the most XP, making him the best for suiciding at floor 5 and putting XP in the Stasis Pod.

Now on to all of the downsides.


The Engineer wasn't actually that bad of a character until all of the others came along. His only specialty comes with almost every other class, except they have other proficiencies as well. The Engineer is also so fragile that all enemies encountered past floor 7 should be met with extreme caution. His starting equipment makes him very beginner friendly, but his armor is very breakable and barely protects you. TL;DR he dies in 3 hits, and doesn't really do much.

Well, at least he has offensive potential, right?
No. He doesn't.
The
Engineer starts the game with 2 KNIVES, and both of them do absolutely nothing spectacular. They deal ok damage, but lack durability and penetration. Not to mention that the Engineer is forever cursed with the strength of an anorexic sloth. He at least gets a pretty durable pistol. If only he could hit something with it.


Overall, great for boosting XP for the stasis, terrible for literally everything else.


See disclaimer for details

Eh. The Scout is ok in the sense that she doesnt really have a crippling weakness, seeing that she gets 8 skill points per level. She isnt super likely to find new weapons, but what she does find can immediately be equipped and used at maximum effectiveness.
Starting equipment isnt great, but she excels at making the most out of her supplies, having high Finesse.

Her downsides are fairly manageable. She is quite fragile, and doesn't have great starting gear, but she has a good foraging skill, allowing you to stock up on the early floors. As far as weapons go, you need to focus on finding a better melee weapon and a gun. her Durablade will last you a while, but it lacks damage. She may struggle early on, but with a little luck you shouldn't have any problems excelling in the later floors.

Overall, she is a little more difficult to play, but still pretty good. Tons of potential for a solid 40-floor run.

I am grouping these two together due to their massive similarities. Both have an astronomical Psionic proficiency, as well as an insanely high Brains stat. Both of them also have pretty decent starting gear. At all stages of the game, you should expect to be blasting away both ice bats and moon bears with your TK Fist. Your Shrapnel Storm will let you stop an enemy while they take tons of damage over a few turns. Redaction skills like Heal and Cure will help you overcome some of the negative effects of having a low Might. Finally, Manifestation can be unlocked if heavily invested in, and getting that level 50 Manifestation makes it possible to simply make mind-bread until you level up enough to use Psionics like Fire and Duplicate. The Psion has a very high base Melee skill, making his fists a suitable substitute for Psionics early on, and the Seeker makes up for it with it's 2-space-range melee attack, as well as it's Ayma, which also has an extended range. They both may seem like solid picks, but you may want to consider some of their faults.

Both suffer from a lack of durability. This comes in the from of a low max health, but also in the lack of lasting armor. As well as having a weak armor set, the Seeker REQUIRES that the moisture suit be worn in order to live. Losing it will eventually lead you to take damage every turn, and eventually will lead to your death. Furthermore, the armor sets that the Seeker needs are very rare, making it likely that the moisture suit you start with is the only one you get. The Psion has a few armor restrictions, but not nearly that many. Keep in mind that the Seeker is pretty much superior to the Psion in every aspect other than it's dependancy on specific armor. The Psion also comes with the lack of consistent weaponry, since both of his weapons run off of energy cells.


Overall, neither are bad picks, but try to make sure you are prepared for a lack of resources.

The Ranger is probably one of the most balanced classes in The Pit, since she doesnt really suffer from any non-repairable deficiencies. She comes with some pretty good starting equipment, and can also move 3 spaces in a turn. She is very beginner-friendly, and isn't restricted to any real play style. You can play her, and just work with whatever you get. The armor restrictions can be a problem occasionally, but aren't actually that numerous.

Her downsides are pretty simple, and include a low max health and lack of Psionic capabilities(Aside from Psi Shield and maybe Psi Armor).

Overall, probably the best class for those of you who don't have any clue what your strengths/weaknesses are. A personal 2nd favorite.

He herds sheep.

The Shepherd comes with the interesting ability of converting a maximum of 1 Zuul to his side, which becomes more effective as the enemy Zuul get stronger. It isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's useful for those floors where having to kill 1 less enemy(while gaining an ally) would make a huge difference. He is pretty similar to the Psion, but he is probably a more consistent pick due to his starting gear. He can be difficult in a few situations, and he doesn't hold up in massive fights, but he can be played to a reasonable degree.

Downsides basically just include being squishy, and not having equipment that will last to the later floors.

Edit: If you can get his unique armor sets, he is definitely a little bit better than I would first expect. If you plan on doing a victory run with him, try to find the Crusader Armor(or whatever it's called).

All things considered, he is decent, but really noting too special. I have not yet played him more than a few times, but as I learn him a little more, I will update his page.

The Striker is surprisingly unique in concept, but really doesn't do anything special. He is pretty good, having decent stats and skills all around, but suffers from a terrible armor restriction. His starting equipment is actually pretty good, with the exception of a decent armor set. I wont do a pros/cons guide for him, since their isnt much else to say.

It should also be noted that the Striker has only one movement per turn, and also suffers from a fast rate of hunger as a result. I am giving the Striker a rating of "Experienced/RIsky Players Only" for this reason.

And again, still bring extra armor. It's armor is decent, but breaks very quickly, too quickly to call it "reliable".

The Warrior is interesting, since his stats arent actually that good, and his skills aren't really anything special either. What the Hiver Warrior excels at is starting with some amazing equipment. His Kheraizen will help you clear the early rooms with its strong shooting attack and devastating melee attack. When you dont want to damage your bladed pistol, your Ri will do just fine as a melee weapon, and will not be breaking anytime soon. Finally, rooms full of enemies can now be cleared with ease due to your Rapachan Assault Flamer. To add to this, his starting armor set has an excellent durability. You can preserve that armor for quite a while do to your high max health and natural armor. Worried about your weapons breaking? They are durable, but that doesnt mean you shouldnt keep them in good condition. Luckily, the Hiver species have arm blades, which make an excellent melee weapon in the early floors. Overall, he is probably the second most durable character in the game, and specializes in combat.

For his weaknesses, expect a food shortage. He needs to eat quite a bit more than other characters. It should also be noted that their are quite a few racial penalties and restrictions, ranging from inneffective use of common weapons to the inability to wear a lot of different types of armor. The armor issue is not nearly as bad as you would expect however, due to his permanent bonus of 30 armor(40 for those of you who do not have the Pilgrim DLC).

If you have been struggling in fights, and really want a character who can clear rooms without dying, then the Warrior will be great for you. Just be sure to start your run on a lower floor and to bring a ton of food.

*As a sidenote, the Warrior is actually a decent pick for those of you trying to hoard XP in stasis pods. His XP gains are minimal, but his equipment is great, allowing you to store some good gear, as well as make it to a lower floor. If you wanted to get XP to floor 15, he is probably your best bet, just be aware that it may take a few runs to get any considerable amount.

WIth the Necromancer being a new character, I have yet to actually try him out extensively, however I do believe some practice and preparation is needed to handle him. To give a brief explanation, he loses health and psi points passively, at an astonishing rate. If he run out of helth, all damage goes to your Psi(which you need to kill things, since his weapon skills arent very good). I'm not going to dismiss this character entireyl, but for those of you who struggle to reach a decent floor, you should learn the other mechanics of the game far more before you even attempt this guy. The only upsides I see to him are a dectn psi skillset, and the ability to turn food into health at a 1:1 ratio. For those of you who desperately want to play him, try starting at a later floor with lots of XP and the "Coercer's Diadem"(Or something like that) which will allow you to offset the decaying effect on your Psi.

TL;DR : Might have potential, but certainly not the best, nor the easiest to play. Beginners should avoid him.

The Mercenary is basically unkillable. He starts with amazing start equipment, including a nealry-unbreakable warhammer that knocks back enemies and a heavy pistol, as well as a magnetic assault rifle capable of dropping any enemy without much effort. He comes equipped with nearly everything you need, and has a massive inventory size, natural armor, and the highest HP in the game. You can expect to be killing heavy security bots with your warhammer at all stages, since they wont be enough to put you down. He even gets to move at the average 2 spaces per turn, so his massive size and durability isn't actually offset by anything. If you want to win, play the Mercenary. You will win, they will die, and your warhammer will need a thourough cleaning. Now lets look at his downside(s).

He isn't really able to use too many Psionics, but a few points will get you Heal and Psi armor/Shield. The other dowside applies to many, and is actually kind of balanced. He does not start with a utility belt, but his base inventory size is so massive that it wont really matter much. He also has the slowest XP growth in the game, but if you start at a later floor and just take the Stasis XP, it wont matter.(He requires the same amount of XP, so gaining a flat preset amount will negate his slower gains. THis only effects how much XP he gets for accomplishing a task, or killing an enemy.)

If you really want to reach that final floor, your hands-down best choice is the Mercenary. If you want to maximize his effectiveness, you should use the XP Stasis exploit(Will be explained in a later section).

By now, you have noticed those "Blue Rooms" that appear every 5 floors. They have a locker to store items and a Stasis Pod to store XP. These can both have things stored in them anytime(with the exception of starting on that floor). However, you may only take from them if you start on the same floor. It is quite clear that these are made to allow you to make up for those floors you missed. I prefer to exploit them. You see, you can store massive amounts of equipment and XP. There isn't anything stopping you from starting at level 50 on floor 5, And for those of you who struggle, that is exactly what you should do. For example, when I want to attempt a successful run to floor 40, I will wait until I have about 500,000 XP stored in either floor 5 or 10(the farther the better, but it is difficult to stockpile that far in). I will also store a bunch of supplies and equipment based around the Mercenary(Choose your favorite character for that). I will spawn in, take all of the XP, all of the useful equipment, and then roll around at some astronomical level. You will literally be able to fight things with your fists until ~20. Then you can use your warhammer. This will make you so unkillable that any of your faults are instantly swept away. Playing a squishy class? Well, now you have 2000-4000 health, so it doesn't even matter. Have a high dependency on raising a particular stat to a manageable level? Well, now you have like 200 Stat points, so have at it. Really want to raise those skills? Good, because you have hundreds of points to spend on those too. Have bad starting gear? Good thing you can fill a locker with more than enough supplies. Overall, you can hardly lose with this strategy. It's only flaw is that food will eventually start to be a problem again, and that getting all of this equipment and XP will take many Engineer suicide runs to floor 5/10. Simply play the Engineer(He gains the most XP for kills and tasks) and dont level up at all. Reach one of these Stasis Pods and fill it up with all that you have gained. Then, take your best food, weapons, and ammo and stuff it in the locker. Repeat this a few dozen times, and anyone you choose will be unkillable, and good at everything ever. Just remember not to pick the Seeker, unless you have stored moisture suits. No skill can offset it's dependency on "Moisture".

Well, now that you have read most of the guide, I figure it's time I gave a more in depth explanation of the methods I use to reach the lower floors. For one thing, you should know what class you plan on running with, since this will determine the requirements. For the sake of example, I will focus primarily on the Mercenary, since he is my preferred character.

For starters, take another look at the "Blue Lockers and Stasis Pods" page. II have given a very basic explanation there, that may be enough for some of you. If not, then I hope that ths section will be more precise.

Now that you have (hopefully) selected your preferred character, it is time to prepare for your victory run. The next step is to decide what floor you are starting from. Typically, the lower the floor you start from, the better. This only applies if you are getting the same XP/Equpiment at all of the different lockers, which is most likely not the case. Getting XP and supplies to floors 5 and 10 is much easier than going all the way down to 15 and 20. Make sure to put lots of XP in this floor. I will try to attach a text document somewhere that should help you dtermine how much XP is "Enough", although I always recommend at least about 500,000, if not more.

Next is your supplies. You should always be sure to bring extra weapins and ammo, and those should be your priority for any character that isnt entirely Psi based. For example, on the Mercenary, I bring 2 Warhammers, at least 500 Flechette rounds for his Tarkan Rifle thingy, a regular Assault Rifle with 400-650 rounds, and a Heavy Sniper Rifle with about 240-360 rounds, as well as plenty of different grenades. I also bring the ingredients for 2 sets of Hiver Chitin Armor, 2 RG specials, and the toolkits to maintain all weapons and armor(This means ballistic repair kits, sharpening kits, and something to repair armor). As far as food goes, you have a little more freedom, since food can be found in a decent quantity at most stages of the game. Try to bring things like "Hero Sotswitches", "Nutbutter", and other food items that give a lot of food per slot. Also, remember to bring something to expand your inventory. The best hings you can use for that are a "Pocket Tesseract" and "Lifter Pack", which can both be used simultaneously. These items are rare however, so you may have to settle for a utility belt. Bring many different utility items, like Lockpick Sets, and Digital Assistants. make sure you have the energy cells to recharge any chargable items. Finally, bring some medical supplies. I like to bring a few Terran Med Kits, Nanomeds, Bandages, and Hum Gum/Stimulants. These are all very useful, especially the Hum Gum. If you want to, store plenty of supplies to make the hum gum, and just make it as you need it. I believe it stacks to around 10.

Now that you have prepared for the victory run, it is time for the attempt itself. For example, you begin at Floor 5, as the Mercenary at level 47. You apply the level up, distribute your skill points as needed, and proceed to locate the floor exit. Your inventory is full, or close to it, and you have every basic item covered. You should avoid the use of your melee weapons and guns until you really need them(Use your fists/tail/tentacles/claws) in order to conserve their ammo and durability. You will have astronomical amounts of health (over 2300, with the Merc) so the weaker enemies have no noticable impact on you. You manage to punch your way to about floor 15, where you notice that the enemies have gotten noticably less punchable. It is now acceptable to use your melee weapon, and occassionally your gun if needed. Please take note that all Proteans should be exterminated with guns, since it will melt your stuff. Now, you have fought to about floor 30, and are getting close to your victory. You must decide if you need to search the floor for supplies or not(up to this point, you should have been searching every room of every floor for extra weapons/ammo). If you do, then continue on as normal. If not, search for every floor, and purposely set off wormhole traps to accelerate your descent.

It seems you have reached Floor 40. Now, it is time to put all of theose supplies to use. If all went as planned(It probably didn't, but lets pretend it did), then you hsould have plenty of ammo, armor, and grenades to help you clear these infested rooms. They will all contain very high level enemies, in large quantities. There will not be many utilities available to you here, so any med-bays and labs should be used to their greates effectiveness. This is the point where no matter your level, you will need every resource you can possibly bring. No amount of ammo or explosives will be enough, and all supplies will more than likely be used.

Not much more can be said on this topic IMO. If you have a question about my strategies for victory runs on other characters, leave a comment and I will attempt to give a guide for them as well. The basics will always remain the same, however.

This section is pretty simple. You need to unlock all of the crafting recipes that may be useful to you. I you don't actually want to do that, then head over to The Pit Wikia and just go to the recipe page. use CTRL+F to find recipes for items in your inventory, and be sure to get many food recipes to make the most out of your foodstuffs. A few things worth mentioning here are the R.G. Special, armor made out of duct tape. Also, the Chitin armor(Craftable with Chitin dropped from Hiver and looted from Cages) is also extremely strong.Other items like Hum Gum, Improvised Lockpicks, Bypass Circuits, and Sotswitches should be unlocked or memorized.

1. Keep trying! The Pit is made to slaughter you countless times, but it is beatable. use all you have learned here and apply it to how you play.

2. Save your levels: When you "Press 'C' to Level Up", it will fully restore your health(And maybe psi).

3. Take advantage of Psionics on any class. Psi Shield/Armor and Heal can be acquired on just about anybody, so try to get one or more of them.

4. If you really struggle to reach lower floor, try out a new character. You may find success with characters I deem "Unplayable" and you may have a hard time doing well with characters I prefer. A good place to start is the Ranger, since she is very balanced.

5. Allocate your skill and Stat points where your faults are, not your specialties. Try to change your lack of a skill or stat into an "average" level, or just one where it won't weigh you down.

6. Focus on your ability to forage, repair and loot in the early game. Geting good loot early is crucial for success later, once you start running out of supplies, you will never have enough of them.

7. Don't forget about your weapon skills! Leveling your level skills later on is very important. You would not believe the difference in your accuracy and damage when you go from around 30 to over 70. It isn't a bad idea to put points into these skills early, but looting skills should take priority in the first few floors.

8. Take note of differences in your game from mine. If you do not own all of the DLC, some content will be unavailable, or just plain different.

9. Preserve your armor and weapons for the floors where they are needed most. Use your fists, and wear no armor for as long as you can manage. This will help you save it for the later floors, as well as allow you to stockpile.

10. Remember that you can move a space, then attack(if you have enough movements per turn). This will allow you to position for the attack, as well as retreat and fight simultaneously.

11. Proteans are some of the most annoying creatures in the pit. Try to kill them from a distance, or if they are slow, just plain avoid them. The last thing you want is for all of your important gear to melt.

12. Be sure to take a look at all crafting and cooking recipes. You would be surpised how many life-saving things you can make with basic ingredients.

13. If you find yourself in a "biome"(encountered around floor 20), try to rush to the exit. the only biome that has notable loot (in my opinion) is the jungle biome, which has a lot of food in trees.

14. If you are *Grabbed* then dont attempt to move. It will more than likely consume your turn, when you could have spent it killing what had grabbed you.

15. Save your grenades! Grenades are extremely useful, especially on floor 40. Try to save as many as you can until then, since they are quite rare.

16. Beware of Von Neuman Probes. On a higher difficulty, they have a very high chance to kill you in one hit. On the lower difficulties, they will most liekly just destroy your stuff on hit. Try to outrange them with a long range gun, since their range is somewhat limited.

17. Don't be afraid to go back a floor or two for lab stations, cookers, or beds. Utilities like this are somewhat rare, so you should know where to find one at all times. Just keep in mind that once you go down a few floors, the floors you visited earlier will start to seal shut.

18. Watch out for Wormhole traps! Stepping on one of these can ensure you miss out on a lot of loot. On the other hand, if you just wanna progress as quickly as possible, stepping on them might not be a bad idea. If you already discovered them, be next to it and either puch it, or try(and fail) to deactivate it. This will allow you to use it on purpose(although it may not take you with it 100% of the time).