You're standing in front of a dark closet in a school hallway and everything feels just a little bit off. If you’ve played Undertale, your instincts are screaming at you. You want to be nice. You want to see the best possible ending. But then the game looks you in the eye and tells you that "your choices don't matter." It’s a total head trip. Honestly, trying to figure out the deltarune spoilerless good route on your first go is nerve-wracking because Toby Fox loves to subvert expectations.
You want the pacifist outcome. You want the happy credits. But how do you actually get there when the game's mechanics seem to push you toward conflict?
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The good news is that playing a "good" or "pacifist" route in Deltarune is actually more flexible than its predecessor, but the stakes for the world-building are just as high. It’s about more than just not pressing the fight button. It’s about how you treat the people—or "Darkners"—you meet in the Dark World.
Why the Good Route Feels Different This Time
In Undertale, if you accidentally killed a single Loox, your True Pacifist run was dead in the water. Deltarune is a bit more forgiving on the surface, but it tracks your behavior in a way that affects the "Recruit" system. This is the heart of the deltarune spoilerless good route.
Think of it this way: instead of just sparing enemies to get through a room, you are trying to convince them to move into your town. If you beat them into submission, they aren't exactly going to want to hang out with you later.
Kris, Susie, and Ralsei have a complicated dynamic. In Chapter 1, Susie is basically a loose cannon. You’ll spend half your time just trying to stop her from axing everything in sight. This is the first hurdle. To keep your route "good," you have to use the Warning command or find ways to make enemies fall asleep before Susie can land a finishing blow. It’s chaotic. It’s messy. It’s exactly what makes the game feel alive.
The Mechanics of Mercy
To stay on the path of the deltarune spoilerless good route, you need to master the Act command. Every enemy has a "Check" description that usually hints at what they want. Some want to be complimented; others want to be ignored. Once their name turns spareable (usually indicated by yellow text or a "tired" condition), you use the Spare command.
But wait. There’s a catch.
In Chapter 2, the game introduces the "Recruit" mechanic. If you Spare an enemy by reducing their health to zero or using violence until they flee, you do not recruit them. To get the best possible outcome for the town and the ending of the chapters, you must Spare them through Mercy or by making them tired and having Ralsei cast Pacify.
If you mess this up, you'll see empty slots in your Castle Town. It feels lonely. You don't want a lonely castle.
Managing Susie and Berdly
Susie is the biggest challenge in Chapter 1. You can’t control her directly at first. You have to use Kris to "Warn" enemies that she’s coming. This makes them dodge her attacks. It feels counter-intuitive to keep your own teammate from hitting things, but that’s the soul of the pacifist run.
By Chapter 2, Susie is more cooperative, but then you have to deal with NPCs like Berdly. Without giving away the plot, just know that your approach to "Mercy" applies to bosses too. You don't have to be a perfect saint who never takes a hit, but you should always look for the non-violent solution in the Act menu, even when things look dire.
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Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Lots of people think that if they take damage, they've failed. Nope. You can get hit. You can heal. You can even let your party members fall in battle (though it makes winning a lot harder). The only thing that hard-locks you out of the deltarune spoilerless good route results is consistently choosing "Fight" until an enemy’s HP hits zero and they vanish.
Another thing: Check your inventory. Some items are purely for healing, but others can be used in specific encounters to trigger unique "Act" responses.
- Don't ignore the NPCs. Talk to everyone in the hubs.
- Keep an eye on the TP bar. Your Tension Points (TP) are generated by "grazing" enemy attacks (standing close to bullets). You need TP to use Ralsei’s Pacify spell or Susie’s non-lethal abilities later on.
- The "Noelle" Factor. In Chapter 2, you’ll have a segment with Noelle. Just... be a decent person. Don't pressure her into doing things that seem "cold." If you find yourself taking a detour into a dark alleyway to force her to use ice magic on enemies who aren't attacking, you've veered off the good route into something much darker.
The Castle Town Reward
The real "prize" of the deltarune spoilerless good route isn't just a different cutscene; it’s the evolution of the Castle Town. As you successfully recruit Darkners, the town fills up. Music changes. New shops open. You get to see these characters interacting in a peaceful environment.
It turns the game from a standard RPG into a community-building simulator. It’s incredibly rewarding to walk through the town in Chapter 2 and see the enemies from Chapter 1 living their best lives. If you played violently, that town stays a ghost town. It’s a bummer.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you want to ensure you stay on the right track without looking at a wiki every five minutes, follow these simple rules:
- Always Check first. The flavor text is funny, but it also tells you exactly how to end the fight peacefully.
- Graze for TP. Get comfortable being close to danger. You need that magic meter filled to cast Spare-related spells.
- The "S" Rule. If an enemy's name is Spareable (Yellow), use the Spare command immediately. If they are tired (indicated by a crescent moon icon), use Ralsei’s Sing or Pacify.
- Listen to Ralsei. He’s basically the moral compass of the group. If he suggests a peaceful way out, he’s usually right.
- Explore the Overworld. Before you leave the Dark World at the end of a chapter, walk back through the areas. You might find characters you missed.
The deltarune spoilerless good route is about patience. It's about the idea that even if your "choices don't matter" in the grand scheme of the universe, they matter to the people you meet. Toby Fox is playing a long game here, and while we only have two chapters so far, the foundations you lay now by being a pacifist will almost certainly pay off in the chapters to come.
Load up your save, head into the Dark World, and just remember: you don't have to fight to be a hero.
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Next Steps for Your Journey:
- Check your Recruitment status: Open your menu in the Dark World and look at the "Recruits" tab to see if you've missed anyone in the current zone.
- Visit the Tutorial Master: If you're struggling with the grazing mechanic, head to the beginning of Chapter 1 or 2 and find the NPC who explains TP; practicing there will make boss fights significantly easier.
- Talk to Sans: Seriously. Just go talk to him in the light world. It has nothing to do with your route, but it’s always worth the time.