Joker's Carnival...
Yes, I know how ANNOYING this challenge is. After a few days of here and there, and finally just grinding it out for a full two and a half hours straight, I finally got it done. I figure if this is painful enough for me, I can only imagine how it must have been for you. And so, I have written another detailed guide loaded with tips and tricks to hopefully be able to help you folks out and get this particularly ridiculous achievement out of the way.
If you have researched around the Internet, you will have come across recurring posts about how if you managed to get your combo up to 220 without getting hit, you will automatically be rewarded with 1 million bonus points. Apparently, this will in turn net you all three medals for the challenge. Not sure what was up with my game, but I have made past 220 a couple of times and have never once seen it trigger for some reason or another (I never touched the banking at all even). Hence, the different method I had to use to get the challenge done, which I will share with you right now.
A few things to take note of before we get going:
- AVOID Countering, unless you are *really* confident you can pull it off without a hitch ALL THE WAY THROUGH past 220. Otherwise, you'll have to restart (if this appeals to you masochists, ignore me).
- Batarangs, while fun, is optional, NOT essential. You can skip using it, so it's one less thing to worry about when working on your lonnnnnng flow.
- Know how to Ultra Stun! You will be using it on the Titan later.
- Know what the Special Combo Takedown is (default key: E). You will need this to take certain folks out of the game.
- Know the Special Combo Disarm and Destroy (default key: Y). You will be destroying stun sticks, shields, and a gun with this.
- Memorize the Special Combo Bat Swarm (default key: R). Dream this over and over if you have to. Make this combo your best friend/boyfriend/girlfriend. This one is SERIOUS.
Keep in mind the main goal of this guide is to help you get that 1 million and 3 medals, and thus, COMPLETION! Nothing more. I don't care if you want to aim for/cry because you can't get 4 or 5 million. You do you. Now, let's get on with it.
In the beginning from Level 0 to 1, I kept it simple. Vault over a goon, punch, vault over another thug, punch, all to build up my Freeflow Focus. Then I started mixing it up by launching kicks from distances, but still kept that beautiful RED combo number going and stacking points.
Well, until more goons show up around Level 2 to 3 that is. Then it was time to unleash the Special Combo Bat Swarm (let's just simply call it "BATS" because I mean, why not, while I'm eternally drowning in acronyms in the military, another won't hurt!). While gains may not seem huge at first, it will rack up overtime as the level increases and more attackers appear. This is all about beating the ticking clock and maximizing gains with reasonable effort. DO NOT let how the early miniscule points from BATS fool you.
Also, keep a lookout for the thug with the STUN STICK around Level 2. I only dealt with the attacker at Level 3 by executing the Special Combo Disarm and Destroy on him. Notice I DID NOT incapacitate him because I realized the main problem wasn't the thug. It was that combo killer STUN STICK. Taking down the thug was only a temporary solution. As you can see in the video where I accidentally incapacitated the first handler, someone else just picked up the stun stick and brandished it. You want that stick gone FOREVER!
Level 3 also introduced an armoured goon with 2 female ninja assassins entering the fray. Focus on the armoured thug and use the Special Combo Takedown to incapacitate the bugger. I only paid scant attention to the 2 ninjas. No rush with them at all. Besides, it's nice to have some women around trying to slice and dice me. :D
Level 4 sees a thug rushing for the weapons crate while nutjob Joker joins the party. I just focused on BATS with the other attackers and racking up points while shooter-wannabe there takes his sweet time getting the gun ready. When he finally totes the gun, again, like with the stun stick, execute the Special Combo Disarm and Destroy on him and take that gun out of play! Also, watch out for another armoured goon and permanently incapacitate him with the Special Combo Takedown.
Then it's BATS after BATS until Level 5 where one-armed Abramovici makes an entrance. Chain punch him from behind. Rinse and repeat until he's down while avoiding thugs trying to hit you. Watch out for a shield-toting thug. As with the stun stick and gun, execute the Special Combo Disarm and Destroy on him and break that shield rendering it permanently unusable.
By this time, you should have reached Level 6 promising a whopping 500,000 points. Cash it out (default key: F)! Don't wait. If you get it earlier, just cash it out too. That way, you can start building up levels and points again. Anyway, this is also where the Titan shows its ugly self. You can use BATS on the Titan before executing the Ultra Stun. In the video, at first I went straight into Ultra Stun because I saw an opening. Once he's dazed, just punch it back and forth until you get to ride him and smack some deserving scumbags around. Rinse and repeat twice more until the Titan takes a nap.
If you had followed all the steps diligently and not get too creative, you should roughly be a little over or under 900K or so by now with that glorious red combo number flashing away. This is where you need to play it safe, keep it boring, and KEEP THAT RED STREAK going. Every hit is going to net you a chunk of points. You are near the finish line!
Remember earlier when I said to cash out the moment you reach Level 6? This here is the reason why. If your time is almost up, you can cash out again for extra time. In the video, I managed to build up to Level 3 again by now. Finally running low on time, I cashed out again for only 10000 points but, most importantly, another extra 30 secs. So I got a little over 30 seconds left, which may not seem like much, but in that time I managed to rack up another chunk of 160000+ points alone. In the end, as you can see, I finished with a total score of 1,117,145 and 3 medals! That's 117,145 more points than needed which acts as a nice little cushion. Yay!
This guide has been retested before publication for quality assurance.
Also published at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3549854248