Yeah I was annoyed at that suggestion too, I really hoped that a MC that’s in a relationship with him could get an alternative option.
Wasn’t the case however, and I wanted to see how that path ended up playing out, so I just imagined my MC to roll their eyes about Aaron’s childish games ("Really? That’s what you want? How old are you? A teenager who even laughs about hearing the word “member”? Is this because I nearly saw you cry? -_- It totally is because I nearly saw you cry.) I think it was worth it, though I wished for more honest scenes like the one when choosing the educational vacation. But yeah, Aaron is a little shit but I guess I like my trash.
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What mainly annoys me is that Aaron is the only romance option in the game who’s okay with your character being ruthless. He’s also, I am almost certain now, the only one who won’t leave you (or worse) if you side with the Surgeons, so people who do that only get an epilogue if their character is into men and picks Aaron as a romance.
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I liked that about him too, I just thought he crossed the line between business and personal in his relationship with my MC. Putting her (or rather, the company) on the spot at a charity dinner: ok. Ghost espionage: ok. Personal humilation: not ok.
Agreed completely. I did play through to the end of his romance once, and I liked it, it’s just that overlooking his blackmail didn’t fit the MC I created.
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I didn’t see any hints anywhere as to how to get Skilled Combatant achievement. Can somebody help?
I vaguely remember reading that it requires using Technopathy at a key moment and tried to get it for me before the trip to the future happens, but I could only fully develop it by the time but not install. 3 attempts, no luck. There is always a lack or staffing to deal with first, then the 1st tier enhancement that is required… as a result, I’m always unprepaired.
Is there another way?
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Did you reap the secrets of your competitor when their headquarters blew up? Doing this should advance your research into the Technopathy project by 20% … I think that is how I got that tech.
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Well, it’s not an option. I need this thing ready and installed by June. The spoiler event happens much later.
Which brings me back to being curious whether anyone got this achievement by other means. If at all. 
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You get the Skilled Combatant achievement by beating the sniper in the future. You can do it by having certain Enhancements installed in your character: Heightened Legerity or The Earth’s Unearthing to get the drop on him, then Heightened Legerity, Hex of the Arc Savant, or Technopathy to disable him.
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After spending 2 more runs trying, I gave up and cheated by extracting and looking at the code.
It appears the reason I couldn’t do anything with both Hex and Legerity on is because there were Ruthlessness and Guile checks attached to those enhancements that I couldn’t pass. 
Time to roll that ruthless and guile character, I guess…
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Thanks for clarifying how that worked. I did notice my ruthless/guile CEO did better than either my compassion/candor or compassion/guile playthroughs.
Probably a sad commentary on the types of personality required to succeed in that level of business.
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Well, I wouldn’t say that being kind and honest in this game is a hindrance, generally. It usually pays off, sometimes in rather heartwarming ways, sometimes by just by making your life easier. Provided you stick with it and don’t try something inconsistent with PC’s personality, of course. I’ve been having a blast playing a wide-eyed idealist, and it led me to a great ending every time.
The game is supposed to be equally appealing and playable no matter what character you create.
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You can get a happy ending as an innocent, but it leads to you making less money and completing upgrades later.
Doing things like dropping the malaria vaccine for booster shots gets you more money in the long term. Saving that one magical creature and feeding it men who cheat, gives you a big boost to witchery. That’s the kind of thing I mean, being ruthless makes the game easier.
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I found the game balanced out well between the ruthless/compassionate and candid/guile characters. My canon PC was compassionate and candid (although neither an innocent nor an idealist—more of a cynical scholar with an unfortunate conscience). I didn’t manage to complete loads of upgrades, but I did find that PC had a much easier time talking to certain characters, receiving favours, and generally getting a pass when I should have gotten shot. I got some interesting information that way, as well.
My more ruthless PCs were richer and could complete upgrades more quickly, but they also had far less help and were more likely to get mired in expensive disasters.
So I didn’t find one way or the other easier; they just had a different set of perks and challenges. Exploring the different NPC’s reactions to my character’s personality was quite fun.
I should go play it again and try a compassionate liar, or an honest brute.
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Hmm, I don’t remember that with my ruthless character. The only time I really had problems was the time I tried to take Jon Tarr as my head of research and I couldn’t get products developed fast enough and my scientists got poached by Aaron. If I focused solely on tech or magic and always had a project in development, I was fine.
My ruthless PC ended up just as adored as my more moral one, because employee affection was a function of funds allocated and she was rolling in cash toward the end. (Because who cares if she’s feeding people to monsters and profiting off disease when there’s catered lunches in the breakroom?
)
So to me, I found the ruthless path more profitable and easier to solve problems, but the moral path a more interesting challenge and roleplay experience. Just IMO.
I should try a pro-surgeon run through, I think that’s the only thing I haven’t done yet. I have to think up a personality that would make that choice.
I like compassionate/guile. I played a doctor who was empathetic but savvy enough to misdirect the board and the other officers. It’s tricky to maintain the stat balance but she was easily my favorite to play.
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Ah, it wasn’t so much the employees who adored me, it was the other characters I encountered during various incidents. Several of them were so cooperative that it surprised me. I suppose play style has a lot to do with it; I struggled more with the ruthless PC. I also like Jon-Tarr best so I’m used to managing with him, and my scientists played nice with me in my ‘good-little-scholar’ play-through.
It’s always interesting what different takes people can have on the same game, particularly with CoGs.
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For the record, I’ve tried a kind character with high Guile and a Guile|Ruthless character as well. The 1st one proved tricky to play as quite a number of Compassion-raising options raise Candor too. I had to balance and consider my actions very carefully to avoid penalties to Guile.
Didn’t notice any monetary and/or speed benefits while playing the Ruthles|Guile character though. Odd. Maybe I just don’t know how to properly play them 
Does anyone know how to get the Embezzler achievement?
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I think it’s partially based on chance. When you go to investigate the fraud case, there’s a 50/50 chance the guy is guilty. If he’s guilty and you know it, you can hush it up and get him embezzling for you. At the end of the game, don’t stay on as CEO.
Don’t try this if he’s innocent, he’ll rat you out and you get nothing. Use affinity to be sure, I think you can also make a gut check if you have high guile.
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@bobsmyuncle
Thanks for your help with the achievement. 
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I remember when Metahuman was released. I decided to try the demo, but the manager-huge corporation aspect of the game turned me off from it, besides the fact that I got pretty confused with all the names introduced in the first few chapters.
Luckily, I decided to revisit it a few days ago. I managed to finish it in a few days and it was lovely. Not the best CoG has ever released, but it’s a nice, well-written and self-contained story and that’s enough.
The staff meetings in the beginning of every month was a very good touch, since it reinforced the corporate aspect of the game and gave a good spotlight for characters like Winston Q and Electra. Thanks to those scenes, by the time we reach an ending, they’re not just random voices who give advice here and there. Thse people, they begin to mean something to the player-- or, at least to me, personally. Of course, that wouldn’t be possible without the solid writing, which is perhaps the second strongest point of this game.
The first being the replayability. Thanks to the monthly vignettes the MC keeps running into, I imagine different playthroughs will amount to very distinct endings. I felt more at ease playing the friendly, well-meaning medic Abhirav Sharma, but I think my next read will involve a modern reimagining of James Moriarty, coupled with some witchery practices. 
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@PaulGresty
Coding error in the April chapter.
In the choice:
“I call Nemesis, and ask him to provide magical assistance.”
The highlighted code should be:
*page_break
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