Do I need low-level minions?

Question

In Evil Genius do I need to keep lower level minions once I've completed the Acts of Infamy that allow me to have high level minions?

I think I'm right in saying that only Valets can extinguish fires and only Technicians can repair things, so I need to have a few of those. But are there any tasks that can only be done by a Guard, Mercenary, Spin Doctor or Scientist?

Asked by Tom77

Answer

You are correct that only Technicians can repair your base (higher level science minions must consider it beneath them) and that only Valets can put out fires. Additionally, only Construction Workers will build new rooms. Therefore, you will want to keep some of each of these classes on hand in order to ensure your base is always operating at peak capacity.

There's only minor differences between the second tier science/military minions and their specialized third tier counterparts. For instance, the Spin Doctor weakens Smarts while the Diplomat weakens Loyalty. There's little in the way of monetary cost that would prevent you from training all of your minions up to a higher level.

A couple of things you should note, however:

• Certain Acts of Infamy on the world map require specific types of minion - it doesn't hurt to have at least a few of each class around, so that you don't have to train up some specifically should you need, say, a couple of Spin Doctors for an AoI.
• Training is costly in terms of time and space - you're tying up your high level minions for far longer to train each replacement minion. Training them in a reasonable amount of time also requires you to have more training space, and space is always at a premium. If the minion is going to be performing a task that could be performed by a lower level minion, why waste this additional effort? Minions are expendable, so it's not really worth it to over-invest in their future.

Answered by agent86

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Where can I find Armand Krishnan, Marvin de Luca, and Lei Ying Lo?

Question

I'm in the first level of the campaign, and one of the objectives is to find these three criminal masterminds in different part of the world.

So...what do I do? There are no instructions beyond that. I don't know how to look for them in the first place, so I don't know how I'd be able to find them.

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

The game doesn't tell you where they are but if you plot around in different areas you will stumble onto them. This method could take a long time so here is their locations:

Armand Krishnan - Indian Subcontinent
Marvin de Luca - North America (West Coast)
Lei Ying Lo - China and South East Asia (near the technician hostage)

Taken from the Evil Genius wiki: http://wiki.n1nj4.com/index.php?title=Objective_2

I found this part personally frustrating because the game gives you no clue where to find them. There is more people you need to find later but I'll let you find out where they are on your own (or cheat and just follow the link...)

Answered by Dycker

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How am I supposed to make money?

Question

I know I'm supposed to "steal" from different parts of the world to make money, but the amount you get from that just pales in comparison to the amount I'm spending building my base. Things in the base are ridiculously expensive, and I just don't have enough workers to do all the things I want to be doing. If I send too many of them out stealing, my base sits in disrepair and is easily attacked, but if I keep them all around to defend, I run out of money.

I must be doing something wrong. Are there alternative sources of income? What ratio or number of workers should be out stealing vs. at home defending and building?

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

In the early game, you're going to want to rely primarily on your Henchman for defense. Your henchman can be knocked down (but never fully killed) by "normal" agents. Keep tabs on him or her, and dispatch them when trouble arises.

Focus on building a large enough barracks that you can build up a good pool of minions to send out on missions, while keeping enough around to help you continue to grow the base. Be patient - don't spend too much money accelerating the minion recruitment process if you can avoid it.

One of the more irritating aspects of the game is keeping the minions on the world map - they will get caught/killed over time and you'll have to reassign them from your base to continue to make money. Also take note of which regions you're stealing from - once you have a staffed Control Room, you can tell how much money a region has, and how likely your minions are to get caught stealing there.

When you have multiple henchmen later in the game, you can send them out to the world map to aid in stealing - each henchman has stats that indicate what they're good at, so you may wish to pick additional henchmen that are good at stealing if you're having issues with cash flow.

Note that for the most part, (and especially in the early game) you do not want to engage in combat or kill enemy forces - focus on keeping them out of the "naughty" parts of your base (where items that have high heat ratings are) and distracting them with low/no heat items and/or fake parts of your base.

Answered by agent86

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Is there any disadvantage to murdering everyone?

Question

People who aren't loyal to me tend to enter my base rather frequently. I don't like them snooping around, though. Is there a disadvantage to killing everyone who enters my base? So far, I've been holding off on ending too many lives, but the few times that I was forced into action, nothing bad seemed to come of it.

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

The downside to murdering ALL the agents is that you've got to store their bodies. If their bodies aren't in the freezer, anyone who encounters them will take a hit to their stats. This makes them less productive and more likely to desert.

Engaging in combat means that your minions are more likely to get killed, and they're also not engaging in whatever activity they should be doing instead.

Body bags and the freezer room are also high-heat, which means that enemy agents who notice these items are going to cause trouble for you.

Remember that your goal is to put forward a "totally harmless not at all evil" vibe - making an "entry" area to your base that is full of innocuous but distracting items will ensure that agents don't become hostile, and that they leave the island thinking it's just another island resort (which happens to house a futuristic army barracks, cafeteria, and a bunch of high-security doors...).

Answered by agent86

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Where do I get new stuff for my evil lair?

Question

I've been playing for a while now without unlocking any new items for my secret lair (mainly looking to build a trap corridor, but really lacking in traps). Are item/room/trap unlocks based on notoriety, loot, acts of infamy, or some combination?

Answer

A number of items are unlocked via the story when new types of heists are made available (most of your loot items are gotten this way) but for new types of rooms and utility objects, you'll need to do research.

Research automatically becomes available via the storyline -- you'll get a possible heist to steal a highly advanced research machine, then need to fool the agents into stealing a fake research machine back, and acquire several experimenting devices (three of six possible; you get new opportunities for the remainder later).

(Those experimenting devices also make for hilarious agent torturing methods, btw. Be sure to put them through their paces from time to time. :) )

Once you have the research machine and the experimentation devices, make sure you have idle scientists of various types. They'll meander around your base looking at stuff you have built, then poke their ideas into the research machine until research combinations pop out that you can tell them to start working on. A while later, a new design will pop out.

A full list of what combinations result in what can be found here.

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How do I get more henchmen?

Question

In Evil Genius, how do I go about getting more henchmen to accomplish my evil deeds? Lord Kane is great and all, but one pair of hands can only get so much evil done.

Answer

At certain levels of Infamy, you'll gain the ability to recruit new Henchmen. The amount of infamy needed varies depending on the henchman you wish to recruit. You can have a max of three, so you'll want to consider carefully which other two to pick up. Of course, if one of your Henchmen dies, you can replace him or her. (They can only permanently die if killed repeatedly by one of the Super Agents)

Continue doing Acts of Infamy on the world map, and you'll soon see Henchmen recruitment missions popping up. There's a list of the henchmen, their skills, and the requirements to recruit them here. When I cleared the game, my team was Eli, Jubei, and The Matron.

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How can I maintain the loyalty of my evil minions?

Question

I've just had a number of my minions leave my evil organisation due to their low loyalty to me.

Why does this become low, and what can I do to increase it?

Answer

Losing Loyalty

• Body bags have an AoE that reduces minion loyalty.
• Overwork without recreation reduces loyalty.
• Minions with low attention can accidentally trigger traps. This can cause loss of loyalty depending on the trap.

Regaining Loyalty

• Your avatar has an AoE that inspires loyalty. Make sure you always idle in a well-defended but minion-rich room such as the Control Room.
• Loot items have an AoE that increase loyalty. Place these in areas where your minions concentrate (control room, barracks, etc).
• Torturing an enemy agent (or another minion) will increase the loyalty of those who witness the act.
• Access to a Staff Room with appropriate equipment will keep a minion loyal.
• If you see someone deserting, you can capture them and throw them in a cell for a few minutes. They will become very loyal again.
• You can execute a minion to make those who witness the act very loyal.

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Buying Evil Genius pre-patched

Question

I'm hoping to buy Evil Genius, but I remember there being two patches (official and unoffical), each which only worked with some versions. Does anyone know where I can get a copy that's pre-patched or works with whichever patch is better?

Answer

GOG.com's release comes pre-patched to 1.01. I successfully applied the unofficial patch to it without issue and completed the game with it.

There has been some confusion regarding the GOG.com version actually being 1.01. However, GOG.com contacted Rebellion who confirmed that it is indeed 1.01. There are more details on this in the linked thread.

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