Yeah, I want to like this game, and I love the concept, but the gameplay seems to elude me. Maybe I'm overcomplicating it, but if so that's because the game has a myriad of game mechanics to keep track of. But then there are some posts in here that are just like "lolno, just do this, then that, then this, GG you win." And of course it just doesn't work for me because it needs to be way more detailed, including commander types and upgrades.
I don't really want to get
too detailed, because I don't want to sound like my way is the only way and because it leaves much of the game's content untouched, but...
First, to lay out my personal approach, you need to get Hate and Injury high before you do anything else. Without those multipliers, you're simply not going to get worthwhile Circumstance damage, which is necessary for everything else. It's also key to get someone's Exposure high, as the penalty from Trauma tends to inhibit Circumstance growth otherwise. Pleasure is where the real Trauma growth comes in to play, but you don't want to start it too soon, or Trauma will slow Circumstance growth to a crawl; depending on what stage of the game you're in, somewhere around 1k to 10k is a good range to start Caressing. If in doubt, wait - Pleasure will grow extremely rapidly if Hate and Injury are sufficiently developed.
Accordingly, I would advise using the basic commander until you're dealing with their final set of Vulnerabilities, purely because it can target three types of Circumstance damage right off the bat. It's true you'll be a level or two of Circumstance damage lower than you otherwise would be, but I think the additional flexibility is worth it. The only other one I would really consider is Hunger/Anger, or Hunger/Mania once Detonate comes in to play. Open with Pummel and Grind (start with whichever they're weakest to), then start Humiliate or Caress, depending on whether you targeting Exposure Girl or the Target. At the start, you should begin Humiliate or Caress once Hate and Injury are at level 1, but once you expand your Capture duration, you should hold off until they're at level 2 - or even wait until the followup capture, since they'll have plenty of rounds worth of Openings to exploit.
As far as upgrades go, I would beeline the first two duration upgrades, and the first extra capture; this means picking up all the 1EE upgrades, as well as Patience, Weakness Sense, and the +20% Trauma tech. From there, everything else you need
should be visible on the tree; I'm working from memory, so my apologies if I missed one. I say this because you're going to need to start cracking Vulnerabilities to earn EE, - it's necessary both for the direct rewards, and in driving them to more sinful resting actions to increase your long-term income. You can break their minor vulnerabilities without a decent commander, but it's much easier with one.
Once you have those, I'd recommend picking up the next set of techs that extend your extermination meter and evacuation progress; this is generally better than picking up a third capture, especially considering the EE cost of the third capture at that point in the game, but it depends on the Chosen team. Some chosen are just plain too annoying to leave free, like ones with a strong Distract ability. Either way, from there, focus on the rest of the techs that let you fight longer - it's basic, but it works. There are a few fun techs that you should pick up, like the one that lets you immediately start an attack after surrounding, but you can probably use your own judgment there.
Do you have any questions? I'm a bit tired at the moment, so I'm not sure that was all as clear as I intended...
