Preface
This guide was made as a thought exercise over how to speedrun Yun Mu, but should also be useful to those who just want to get through the character quick or people who are stuck and want to figure out what to do next.
Warning: This guide will, of course, be full of spoilers. I will be skipping the content of the cutscenes (they won't even be indicated in the guide), as people can easily watch them if they want, but there will be more than enough hints to spoil part of the story.
You have been warned.
Note: Compared to my other guides, Yun Mu is shorter on money than the other characters. As such, I will be pointing out treasure to grab along the way. Some of these might be unnecessary from a speedrunning perspective, but better safe than sorry.
Edit 20-02-23: Made changes after comments along with both the discovery value upgrade and the guild cost patch
Chapter 1: A Thousand Mile Journey Begins With The First Step
While Yun Mu's first chapter/tutorial is less straightforward than that of other characters, when done properly you can blaze through it easily. There is a little luck involved, but it is pretty easy.
Library
Read Ryukyu Islands TravelogueGo to the Maritime Trade Bureau
Go to the Shipyard
Go to the Store
Go to the Item Store
Go to the Pier
Assign Shen Shi as Lookout
Note: Normally, you would want Shen Shi as Sail Master for speed, but you'll be needing a Lookout for a lot of the game. As such, you'll be leaving Shen Shi there for most of the game (apart from a brief stint as Surveyor).
Sail to Naha
When doing so, pass below the island of Taiwan, and grab the treasure chest (20 000 gold and Laminar Armor) there.
Note: This is one of the two chests that you must grab for speedruning purposes. The Laminar Armor sells for 80 000 gold by itself, so that'll get you the goal of chapter 1 right there.
Go to the Restaurant
Talk to the VillagerGo to the Government Office
Get the Land Expedition Qualification PermitGo to the Post
Take everyone (no need for a horse) and bring only supplies
Go 5 North, 5 Northeast to find the Ryukyu Island Ruins
Move once more to make the expedition run out of food.
Note: You have just enough food to get there and do a single move afterwards, so you need not to lose any food from events or terrain. As such, you should be going 4N , 4NE, 1N, 1NE or something similar that leave you going through only two mountains and no swamps.
Auto-Sail back to Zhangzhou
Assign Shen Shi as Surveyor to do so
Use the Ancient Nautical Chart: Ryukyu Islands to do so
Note: This is the short span I was talking about before.
Note 2: Fun fact. Once Auto-Sail has started, you do not need a Surveyor anymore.
Go to the Maritime Trade Bureau
Go to the Item Store
Sell all the items you have.
Note: Yes, that includes all the expedition equipment. While Yun Mu will be doing a number of those, you won't be using any of them ever. It's an extra 10 000 gold instead, and that'll be a lot more useful in this game.
Go to the Shipyard
Buy a Shachuan, or a Chinese Sloop
Note: The Shachuan takes priority. You need one of those as a flagship as the extra speed will have an impact. If there isn't one available, don't worry; you'll have another roll of the dice in the next port you're going to.
Go to Pier
Assign sailors to your new ship
Put the Shachuan as your flagship if you acquired one.
Sail to Hangzhou
Go to the Restaurant
Put Li Liyuan as Surveyor and Shen Shin as Lookout
Recruit crew for the new ships you'll buy
Note Li Liyuan will be your Surveyor for the rest of the game, as you'll be using Auto-Sail a lot in this run.
Go to Shipyard.
Buy as many ships here as needed
Note: You'll want, along the Returner Ship, a Shachuan and three Chinese Sloops. If there isn't a Shachuan, you'll want to reload (or wait a month, if you're not speedrunning). if there aren't enough Chinese Sloops, that's less of an issue; you'll be going back to Zhangzhou later and you can buy some there.
Go to the Pier
Assign crew to your new ships
Put the Shachuan as your flagship if you haven't already.Sail to Haizhou
Grab the treasure (20 000 gold) north of the Yangtze River delta
Grab the treasure (20 000 gold) on the east bank of the peninsula northeast of the Yellow River exit
Note: You will need at least one of those for certain, and both aren't far out of your way.
Note 2: Given the time you just spent at sea, you may have gotten Garaba already. There are two cutscenes necessary for that, the first being after six days at sea, and the second a random amount of time at sea after that. Put him instantly as Sail Master as that'll gain you time over the entire run.
Go to the Equipment Shop
Buy a Kamal
Use Trade Nautical Chart: Eastern Asia Auto-Sail to Zhangzhou
Note: There will be a lot of using routes, especially near the end of the game. The Kamal will help there.
Go to the Shipyard if you don't yet have 5 ships
Buy as many ships here as neededGo to the Maritime Trade Bureau
Chapter 2.1: The Incomprehensible Moon Of Antiquity - Zheng He's Route
Chapter two is long. Very Long (Proof: Steam forced me to split this in two sections as it was too long). You'll be bouncing around Southeast Asia and parts of India for a long while, and once again Auto-Sail will be used as much as possible. This part of the chapter contains most of the moving around, and would also be preparing for the events of future chapters.
Go to Restaurant
Speak to Gu Wan and get a Peachwood Sword
Level up Shen Shi to lv. 20 and give him Shipbuilding 3
Level up Yun Mu to lv. 20 and give her Music 3
Level up Garaba as much as possible and put all the points in Sail Control
Note: You'll need to unlock Shipbuilding 3 to modify ships, and Music 3 is required later this chapter (along with the extra Humanities from the Peachwood Sword). As for Garaba, extra speed is always welcome. If you aren't speedrunning and have already completed Yoshitaka's story, you can skip leveling Shen Shi, as you'll be passing by Nagasaki and Yoshitaka starts with Shipbuilding 4. As such, do the leveling there instead of here.
Go to the Shipyard
Modify Hull - Replace the Outdated Bow Gun by a Common Foremast Hard Sail on your flagship
Modify Hull - Replace all Mapping Rooms on your sloops for Warehouses
Note: Of course, if you are going with Yoshitaka, wait until you are in Nagasaki to do this.
Note 2: This ship will never fight, so an extra sail is better than a useless gun.
Go to the Store
Buy all the Celadon and Tea Leaf available
Note: you'll need ten of each before you leave for Manila, so buy them now. If some end up in the Pier Warehouse, don't worry; we'll be coming back here before leaving for Manila.
Sail to Nagasaki
Go to the Inn
Talk to SailorGo to Pier
Assign 25 Cargo spaces in total
Note: If you're going with Yoshitaka, don't forget to do all the leveling and shipyard modifications after this. Also, put him as Sail Master, which will be worth it for the speed increase.
Sail to Edo
Do a detour by the northern part of Japan and grab Hidden Wolf Stream thereGo to the Store
Buy 5 Tortoise ShellSail to Nagasaki
Auto-Sail to Zhangzhou
Go to the Store
Buy Celadon (10 total needed)
Buy Tea Leaf (10 total needed)Go to the Pier
Transfer all the cargo from the warehouse to the ship if necessary
Note: At the point, your fleet inventory should be full with 10 Celadon, 10 Tea Leaf, and 5 Tortoise Shell. You'll need those in Manila soon.
Sail to Manila
Go to the Moon Gaze Estate
go to the Commerce Guild
Accept the Purchase Contract: East Asian Specialties
Submit said contractGo to the Moon Gaze Estate
Go to the Pier
Reduce your cargo capacity to 0, putting it all in supplies
Note: You won't need more than than until the end of chapter 3, and you'll have long voyages that'll require more than the few supplies you had.
Sail to Gia Dinh
Go to the Trade Center
Buy all available Rice, and leave it in the Pier warehouse
Note: You'll need a lot of rice later at the end of chapter 3 (30 units), so you're better off starting to buy some now. You'll be buying more each time you come by, and you can stop when you hit 30 units.
Sail to Lopburi
Salvage the shipwreck in front of the city to get the Communication Map
Go down the river next to Gia Dinh and get the Key of Unknown Purpose there.
Grab the treasure near the thinnest part of the peninsula west of Gia Dinh (20 000 and Tribal Necklace)
Note: You don't technically need the Key of Unknown Purpose, but it will help XP wise in the second part of Chapter 2.
Sail to Jambi
Sail to Aceh
Grab the Strait of Malacca a little after the path opens up past Malacca from LopburiSail to Kolkata
Go to the Shipyard
Sell your lowest hull Chinese Sloop
Buy a speed 8 ship (probably an Arab Windsail Ship)
Modify Hull - Put two Shrapnel Guns on your new ship
Modify Hull - Replace the Mapping Room on your Shachuan with a WarehouseGo to Teahouse if crew is needed
Recruit crewGo to the Pier
Assign your new ship as your flagship
Assign crew as needed
Note: If you're lucky, you'll recruit Hiyar in Kolkata, Puducherry, Kochi, Or Calcutta when one of them is hit by a plague. If you do so, immediately put him as Lookout, with Shen Shi becoming your second Sail Master (that is, unless you have Yoshitaka as second Sail Master already).
Sail to Puducherry
Grab the treasure West of Kolkata at the mouth of the river (20 000 gold)Sail to Kochi
Pass South of the island of Sri Lanka and grab the treasure at the Southernmost part of the Island (20 000 and Crown of Banten)
Note: The Crown of Banten is necessary for Yun Mu for the Humanities check that is coming up.
Sail to Calicut
Go to Item Store
Buy Offshore Nautical Chart: India
Buy Nautical Chart: Bay of Bengal
Use all charts in inventorySail to Ceylon
The reason we explore all these port now is to speed up chapter three, as with those and the charts we will be able to Auto-Sail quickly when we are done with Southeast Asia at the end of chapter 2.
Auto-Sail to Aceh
Sail to Palembang
Go to the Governor's Office
Report Hidden Wolf Stream
Get the Guild Establishment permit
Start a guild using the materials we have on the shipGo to the Guild
Chapter 2.2: The Incomprehensible Moon Of Antiquity - Aji's Pirates
Part two of chapter Chapter two is the part with combat. You'll be fighting Aji's fleet twice, and the first time can be especially difficult if you're unlucky. You will be doing her entire quest in this part, and she'll join in the end with Nasser.
Go to the Pier
Transfer crew until your flagship is at full crew
Dock all ships save your flagshipSail to Malacca
Fight Aji's Fleet outside Malacca
Note: This fight is really annoying. The strait of Malacca isn't a place where you can move around well, and you are outgunned by Aji's fleet. If you're lucky, you'll be able to isolate the enemy flagship and mow its crew down with your Shrapnel Guns. If not, you'll be stuck in close range with three bigger ships and their crews will straight up murder you.
Go to Trade Center
Claim the Southeast Asia Expedition Record as soon as you leave PalembangAuto-Sail to Palembang
Go to the Guild
Go to the Bookstore
Buy all Charts
Use all Charts
Note: No, the fact that we didn't grab the ships from the dock is not an error. We'll need them later, but right now there's another fight coming, so they're better off in the Palembang docks. We don't need their cargo capacity for the moment anyway.
Note 2: The charts here will be useful when coming back after chapter three, and especially at the end of chapter 4.
Auto-Sail to Malacca
Sail to Pattani
Use the communication Map
Stop the Auto-Sail before arriving in Pattani, grab the treasure (Rose Banner and Official Letter) indicated by the map, then enter the cityGo to the Governor's Office
Talk to the GovernorAuto-Sail to Lopburi
Go to the Teahouse
Speak to NasserAuto-Sail to Gia Dinh
Fight Aji's fleet for the second time
Note: This fight is a lot easier, as there's room to dodge, and Aji has one less ship than she had earlier (clearly, she hasn't been able to replace it). Mow her with your guns just as you did earlier.
Go to Governor's Office
Report Ryuku Island Ruins
Get Land Expedition Qualification permitIf the the month has changed since last time you went to the Gia Dinh Trade Center (or it is the last day of the month), go to the Trade Center
Buy all available Rice, and leave it in the Pier warehouseGo to Post
Take four characters and a full load of food
Go straight West to find the exclamation point (2NW, 2SW, 2NW). Try to dodge around events as usual.
First, open the chest to get He's Jade, the go back a single space and return to go underground and complete the quest.
Go back to town after that
Note: As said earlier, you don't need He's Jade to continue, but the XP and gold it gives makes it a valuable detour that doesn't take much time.
If the the month has changed since last time you went to the Gia Dinh Trade Center (or it is the last day of the month), go to the Trade Center
Buy all available Rice, and leave it in the Pier warehouseGo to the Shipyard
Modify Hull - Replace the two Shrapnel Guns by two Common Foremast Hard Sails on your flagship
Repair ship if needed
Note: There are only two mandatory fights in the entirety of Yun Mu's story, and both are against Aji. As those are now passed, the guns are now useless, and as such you're better off with something that'll help with the many minutes of sailing you'll have to do.
Auto-Sail to Palembang
Go to the Guild
Go to the Library
Equip the Peachwood sword and the Crown of Banten on Yun Mu
Equip the Kamal on Li Liyuan
Read The Overall Survey of the Star Raft
Chapter 3: Through The Oceans And Beyond
Chapter three is thankfully a lot shorter than chapter 2, especially given you have have already done part of what would have gone under chapter 3's umbrella. You'll just need to salvage a shipwreck, do an exploration, and visit a few ports, and you'll be done.
Use Zheng He's Nautical Chart II
Go to Teahouse if you lost crew in the two previous fights
Recruit crewGo to the Pier
Undock all the ships from the dock
Assign crew so that all ships have their needed crew and no moreAuto-Sail to Ceylon
Claim the India Expedition Record as soon as you leave PalembangGo to Teahouse
Go to Buddhist Temple
Auto-Sail to Aceh
Go to the Pier
Sail to the shipwreck site South South East of Aceh
Find the Buddha Skull SariraSail back to Aceh
Auto-Sail to Ceylon
Go to Governor's Office
Report all Discoveries
Get Land Expedition Qualification Permit
Note: There isn't any point in the future where you'll need Discoveries to unlock things, so report all of them for extra cash.
Go to Buddhist Temple
Go to post
Take four people and only supplies
Go straight north to the exclamation mark (10N)
Go back to town after having grabbed the Galle Trilingual Inscription
Note: That's the last of the posts we will need to visit, and we won't need to build another guild. As such, at this point, you can spend whatever discoveries you have for extra cash if needed.
Note 2: Using the two Zheng He charts we just got (III & IV) is not necessary to proceed. In fact, they can be sold later if needed.
Sail to Mombasa
Sail to Mogadishu
Sail to Jeddah
Sail to Aden
Sail to Hormuz
Sail to Muscat
Sail to Diu
Claim East Africa Expedition Record the moment you arrive in DiuSail to Calicut
Go to Teahouse
Chapter 4: The Novelty Of An Unfamiliar Landscape
Chapter four is simple, but it is long. You will be sailing all the way through the pacific, around South America, do a side-trip to Europe, then explore the Caribbean. It is not difficult per se, just a lot of sailing.
Auto-Sail to Gia Dinh
Go to the Trade Center
Buy the necessary Rice (until you have 30)
Note: If you already have 30 combined Rice in your ship and warehouse, you can skip this step.
Go to the Pier
Change your cabin to have 30 cargo capacity
Transfer all the Rice to your fleetAuto-Sail to Zhangzhou
Go to the Maritime Trade Bureau
Go to the Commerce Guild
Accept Vendor Contract: Food Supply
Submit the contract
Note: Fulfill the contast this way saves going back and hiting many ports instead of only Gia Dinh.
Go to the Pier
Change your cabin to have a cargo capacity of 6
Note: That's all you'll need for the rest of the game, for two of each crop you'll gather. The rest will be supplies, which you'll need since the space better port in the Pacific Ocean is large,
Auto-Sail to Manila
Go to the Moon Gaze Estate
Sail to Ternate
Sail to Ambon
Sail to Dili
Note: We'll be visiting these cities so we can Auto-Sail back when we return to Asia.
Sail to Samarai
Go to the Teahouse
Discover Woven Chart
Use Woven Nautical Chart
Level up Nasser to 31 and get his Negotiation to 6
Level up Yun Mu to 31 and get her Biology to 4
Level up Li Liyuan to 31 and get his Mapping to 6 (with the Kamal)
Level up Garaba to 46. Put all the points gained in Sail Control.
Note: Nasser and Yun Mu need those specific skills to pass the checks for How to Grow Corn, and Li Liyuan will need this level of Mapping later to cross the Atlantic. Garaba is self-explanatory at this point.
Sail to Samoa following the charted route
Sail to Hiva Oa following the charted route
Sail to Whanganui following the charted route
Sail to Lambayeque following the charted route
Go to the Trade Center
Buy two units of CornSail Northwest to the Galapados Island landing site (W91, S1)
Take Yun Mu, Nasser, Garaba, and Aji, along with full supplies
Go straight Northeast (1N, 7NE) to find the exclamation point
Use Nasser and Yun Mu do get How to Grow Corn
Go back to the ship
Note: You need Negotiation 6 (Nasser) and Biology 4 (Yun Mu) to pass the checks.
Sail North North West to Acapulco
Go to Tea Stall
Talk to Sailor
Talk to Sailor again
Note: You'll need to talk to him twice, once to get the quest and once to finish it.
Go to the Trade Center
Buy two units of Sweet PotatoSail to Lima
Go to the Post
Go to the Item Store
Buy Nautical Chart: American West CoastsSail to Copaipo
Sail to Valparaiso
Sail to Ushuaia
Sail to San Antonio
Sail to Buenos Aires
Sail to Bahia
Sail to Pernambuco
Sail to Cayenne
Sail to Caracas
Sail to Veracruz
Go to the Tea Stall
Talk to SailorSail to Havanna
Go to the Item Store
Buy Nautical Chart: American East coasts charts
Note: If you aren't doing a speedrun and already have a Spanish speaker in your team (Jaca, Carlos, Beluget, Katelyn, William, Costello), you can claim the America Coastal Port Inspection Record and then skip until the part where you go in the Library to read Footprints. The entire next part is about getting a Spanish speaker, and if you don't need it, you can skip it.
Sail to Nassau
Grab the treasure (20 000 gold) at the southern part of the Florida PeninsulaGo to the Black Market
Buy the Broken Golden Deer Nautical Chart
Buy the Nautical Chart: the New World
Use the Broken Golden Deer, New World, American West Coasts, and American East Coasts Claim the America Coastal Port Inspection Record
Note: That's half the quest done. Now for the annoying part.
Sail to Azores
Sail to Lisbon
Sail to Genoa
Go to the Bookstore
Buy La Galatea
If necessary, sell any remaining equipment and ship material you might have. This includes Zheng He's Nautical Charts III & IV that we haven't used yet
Teach Spanish to Yun Mu under the Skill Menu
Note: Yes, you read it correctly, we have to do a side-trip all across the Atlantic, just because we need a Spanish speaker. Buying the book is the best solution, as all others require lengthy work to get (the easiest, William Ansel, requires moving between multiple ports, and would mean we'd need to go to London first).
Note 2: this is what was meant by running out of money. In both my games, I could not buy the book without selling equipment. You don't need it anymore at this point, so it's a moot point, but it still means that cash is short.
Go to Pier
Level up Maltim to as much as possible. Put all points into Sail Control.
Assign Maltim as your second Sail Master with Garaba
Note: That's another advantage of using Genoa; you get Maltim Almeida Blanca. Starting at level 30, his Supply Utilization ability makes long voyages a lot easier. It'll help going back to Asia in as few hops as possible.
Sail to Seville
Auto-Sail to Havana
Go to Library
Read FootprtintsSail to Veracruz
Go to the Tea Stall
Talk to JimenezGo to the Trade Center
Buy 2 PotatoSail to Caracas
Auto-Sail to Zhangzhou
Note: You won't have either the necessary supplies or the Mapping level to make it across in a single hop. You can do it in three (Lambayeque/Samoa/Zhangzhou), but the first part is close to the limit on supplies.
Go to the Maritime Trade Bureau
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924434374
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