What skills can't you live without?

[ccexplore]

5: Possible with no builders, which I long thought was impossible but just achieved today. (Personally, I wouldn't recommend trying this one - once you've got the general strategy, the rest is a total crapshoot, and seriously unfun.)

I had actually reported that almost 4 years ago http://camanis.net/lemmings/lemmingswelt/forums/?topic=1117597280" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">back on the old old forums (search for "pass Havoc 5 without builders").  Yes, it was just the standard solution with a "slight modification" of the first few moves, though I won't go quite as far as calling the re-solving the rest of Havoc 5 "seriously unfun". http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" />

[Clam]

I was doing it wrong, that's why http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

For some reason I thought you needed to assign both climbers at the top (and thus have no idea how they'll be spaced when they come out at the bottom). I'm sure you can imagine how "unfun" this could get...

[Minim]

You forgot to update the first 8 Havoc levels I've posted. Anyway, I'll do Frost.

After an hour's work, here are the essentials of Frost:

3 and 11: 1 builder
6: 1 bomber, 1 blocker, 4 builders
7: 7 builders
9: 2 builders, 1 miner
10: 1 floater, 1 builder, 1 basher, 3 miners, 3 diggers
12: 3 builders, 2 bashers, 1 digger
13: 2 builders.
14: 3 builders, 3 bashers
15: 1 builder, 3 bashers
16: 1 climber, 1 floater, 3 builders.
The rest: no essentials

Replays for 5 and 11, both done without bashers.

[Clam]

I didn't forget - I'm still working through them.

Havoc 8 is possible with one less builder. That leaves 1 climber, 4 builders, 4 miners and 1 digger.

[ccexplore]

Havoc 8 is possible with one less builder. That leaves 1 climber, 4 builders, 4 miners and 1 digger.

Possible with either 3 miners or without the digger.  See attached.  [screenshot included for the no-digger variant, the 3-miner variant is virtually identical except for switching the miner for a digger]

I even have a spare builder left over, though I don't think that can help with any further reduction of skills.  It may allow for 100% though I think, by allowing you to start building slightly more away from the edge for the top-left gap (spanning it with 2 builders instead of 1), so that the climber cannot re-climb the left wall (the fact that it can is sorta a glitch anyway).

Anyway, this puts Havoc 8 at 1 climber, 4 builders, 3 miners.

[ccexplore]

9: 14 climbers, 5 builders, 3 miners

The minimum-skills thread showed that you only need 13 climbers on that level.  Perhaps you didn't stretch your builders enough.

[Clam]

I'm nearly done checking through Havoc. Other improvements I have made are:

15: Eliminated all but the builders (5 of these)
16: Down to 3 builders
17: Down to 3 builders (http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />)

Some of these will likely require replays to explain, so when I'm done with these I might upload a zip with all of them in.

[Havoc 8] Possible with either 3 miners or without the digger.

Oh crap, that was obvious. Too obvious. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/undecided.gif" alt=":-\" title="Undecided" class="smiley" />

[LemSteven]

I'm still working on Wicked over here:

Wicked 12:  It is possible to get by with just 6 builders because you can drop straight off the chain into the exit.  You can also use this extra builder to remove the need for any bombers, so the result is 2 blockers, 6 builders, and 1 miner.

Wicked 13:  We know the level can be done with builders only, so the question is what is the fewest number of builders possible?  Right now I've got it down to 8 builders, but I certainly wouldn't rule out seven.

Wicked 14:  I went through two runs of this level.  One uses just builders, bashers, and bombers, and the other uses just climbers, miners, and blockers.  Neither one is extremely difficult, and between the two of them, they eliminate everything, so the end result is none.

[Clam]

I've managed to get Havoc 18 down to builders (8 of them - same as in ccexplore's least-skills replay) and one digger.

Since I've held out on replays lately, and probably shouldn't have, I have gathered together the best ones and uploaded them here. Included are (all from Havoc):

2 - no climbers
7 - no blockers or bombers
8 - 4 builders
16 - 3 builders
17 - 3 builders
18 - no climbers
    - no blockers
    - no bashers
    - 1 digger


EDIT: Added second set of replays: (still Havoc)

7 - 5 builders
   - no bashers
15 - no blockers
    - no diggers
17 - no blockers
    - no miners

Solutions that leave one digging skill unused can be modified easily to avoid the other digging skills instead.

[Minim]

I hate to say this, but you forgot to upload the frost levels, and, to save time, I've done the Hail levels too.

1: 1 climber, 1 floater, 2 builders, 1 basher
2: 4 bombers
3: Done this one earlier today, already uploaded
4: 1 basher, 1 miner
5: 6 floaters, 9 builders (Thanks to Clam Spammer)
6: none
7: 15 builders
8: 6 builders, 1 basher
9: 11 builders, 1 basher, 1 digger (I hate this one. Is there a way to get rid of the digger?)
10: 3 builders, 2 bashers, 1 miner
11: 4 builders, 2 miners, 1 digger
12: 6 builders
13: 1 climber, 1 builder, 2 bashers, 2 diggers
14: 2 blockers, 15 builders, 4 bashers
15: 1 basher, 1 digger
16: 10 floaters, 1 builder

A replay for Hail 11 with one digger is downloadable at the bottom of my post.

[Clam]

I've updated them now. Although I know some of them can be improved - like Frost 3, where you can avoid using any builders thanks to steel glitches.

[Minim]

For the rest of the Frost levels it's "None"

Anyway, I asked if Mayhem 15 works with four builders, and Fernito has sent a replay in the challenges thread. Are the other skills essential? I'll have a look.

[Clam]

It looks like you can avoid all the other skills easily enough.

[Minim]

Hail 14 is improved to 1 blocker and 2 bashers, but still the 15 builders are required.

[Dullstar]

Wicked 13:  We know the level can be done with builders only, so the question is what is the fewest number of builders possible?  Right now I've got it down to 8 builders, but I certainly wouldn't rule out seven.

A better question might be, "Can it be done WITHOUT builders?"  I can't confirm this for sure though.