Hi there, brothers!

After a long wait, Episode 12 finally arrived, but it was not quite what many of us expected. While some of the MG's paths were still enjoyable, I feel they could have benefited from more meaningful 1-on-1 interactions with the MC. Some of the SGs, unfortunately, got the short end of the stick, with very little interaction throughout the episode.

That said, if there was one character who truly shone in Episode 12, it was without a doubt Nikita. She received a surprising amount of attention and content, and in my opinion, she was easily the best part of the episode.

And that's where this long-ass post and in-depth guide comes in.

Nikita's route is something of a “secret route,” and reaching it requires more than simply making the right choices in one episode. Your choices throughout the entire game matter.

If you are thinking about starting a new run for Nikita, From Heartbreak to Hope will guide you through everything you need to do to reach a satisfying end to Season 3 with her. Along the way, we'll avoid the choices that can lock you out of her route while keeping the overall storytelling experience as enjoyable and cohesive as possible.

From Heartbreak to Hope

A little background about myself first. I’ve been playing BaDIK since the release of Episode 4, and over the years I’ve gone through hundreds of playthroughs, refining the way I personally like to experience the story. My goal has always been to make each playthrough feel engaging, with choices that create a compelling overall narrative rather than simply chasing the most efficient route for a specific girl. Even so, I always make sure to experience as many of the possible scenes involving the girl I plan to end up with as I can.

I don’t usually do Monk or Pure runs, simply because I personally find them less interesting. That said, a Monk run can absolutely work for Nikita, so if that’s your preferred way to play, you can skip the first part of this guide and jump straight into the second part.

For everyone else, however, if you want to experience the game as a cohesive story—with romance, heartbreak, a bit of drama, and hopefully a satisfying rom-com-style ending—then follow along. This guide is designed around that kind of playthrough.

This guide is divided into two parts:

• Part I: The Heartbroken (Seasons 1 & 2) → This part focuses on your romantic relationships with Josy, Maya, and Jill. Each relationship eventually ends in heartbreak, setting the stage for what comes next.
• Part II: A Glimmer of Hope (Season 3) → After four failed relationships (Zoey, Josy, Maya and Jill), you strive to stay true to your principles; avoiding teachers, strippers, restaurant-related HOTs, and random one-time hookups, all while hoping that somewhere along the way, you’ll finally find the right one for you. Wait… who’s that girl in the background?

Part I - The Heartbroken (Seasons 1 & 2)

The goal throughout Seasons 1 and 2 is to pursue Josy, Maya and Jill, experience their respective routes, while ultimately moving on from those relationships in Season 3. The choices you make along the way are designed to build a specific narrative and shape the MC's journey toward what will eventually lead him to Nikita.

I won’t go over every dialogue choice or major decision, as I want you to have the freedom to roleplay and shape your character your own way. However, I recommend using the Scrappy Mod to adjust your affinity during two very specific scenes without having to compromise on your preferred choices.

For those who don't like using mods, don't worry. I'll point out the important choices and give you my own recommendations along the way. Just keep in mind that choosing not to use the mod will somewhat restrict your freedom when it comes to certain decisions.

Roleplay Recommendations

These are some of my general roleplaying guidelines and recommendations for this playthrough. They aren't strict requirements but following them will help maintain the narrative we're building throughout the run.

1. No restaurant. Never get involved with the restaurant and never pay for sex.
2. No teachers. Avoid all romantic or sexual involvement with Jade, Bella, Cathy, and Nora.
3. No strippers. You can enjoy the experience at the Pink Rose, as you will visit quite frequently, but don't take things further than looking and touching.
4. No one-time hookups. We're looking for meaningful relationships, not random encounters.
5. Be a DIK to Tybalt. This will come into play during Season 2 as part of the narrative.
6. Don't do anything sexual with Sage. Build a close friendship with her instead.
7. Stay with Derek at the end of Episode 3. This should be your only option when making that choice, and tell him that you're a relationship kind of guy.
8. End Season 2 with NEUTRAL affinity. This is just my personal preference.

Season 1

During Season 1, you should build up your relationships with Josy, Maya, and Jill, while avoiding all other girls, especially Jade, Sage, Bella, and Quinn.

• Jade → We should not get involved with any teachers during this run. This one should be self-explanatory.
• Sage and Bella → As much as I love them, they are not available for this run. We need to be only on Jill's path during Season 2 so that her rejection scene can trigger.
• Quinn → This one is optional, but I personally recommend dodging all her scenes. For example, you can leave the HOTs bathroom as quickly as possible in Episode 1 or trick her and lose the CUM-petition in Episode 2. I'll leave it up to you whether you want to get involved with Quinn or any other SG, though.

Key Scenes

If possible, try to get the following scenes during Season 1:

1. Make out with Josy on the park bench → Happens automatically in Episode 1.
2. Maya lures you to CUM-petition → Happens automatically in Episode 1.
3. Make out with Maya in her room after CUM-petition → Happens automatically in Episode 2.
4. Fingering Maya on her bed → Choose to leave the DIK shot party early to spend time with Maya in Episode 2.
5. [IMPORTANT] Have sex with Josy in her parents' bedroom → Choose to stay during the date with her in Episode 2.
6. Jill using your hand to get off in her bed → Don’t wear the Dildo helmet at the beginning of Episode 3. This scene is affinity-dependent: you need NEUTRAL or CHICK affinity to not wear the helmet, so some of you may not be able to get this scene.
7. Maya hand job + thigh job → Offer Maya your help with the scavenger hunt in Episode 3.
8. Touching Jill’s breast and kissing in the showers → Choose to shower together during the tennis date. This scene is affinity-dependent: you need CHICK affinity during the date, so some of you may not be able to get it.

Getting Rejected by Josy & Maya

To get rejected by Josy and Maya, you need to have DIK affinity during their library scene at the end of Episode 4. If necessary, you can change your affinity using the Scrappy Mod.

For those who don't want to use the mod, you have two options:

• Choose to stay friends with Josy and Maya → I think getting properly rejected by them works better from a storytelling perspective, but if you don't want to alter your previous choices, this is the alternative.
• Have DIK affinity → You need at least 2 more DIK choices than CHICK choices among the seven major choices you've made at this point. In other words, you need at least 5 DIK vs. 2 CHICK.

My personal recommendations for those seven choices and their reasoning are:

1. Troy Fight → DIK. Fight Troy. You can always bury the hatchet with him later. (Even though I personally preferred the CHICK choice.)
2. Quinn's Restaurant → CHICK. We don't want to get involved with the restaurant, and we won't be paying for sex during this run.
3. Steve Crying → DIK. The MC has always hated Steve. (Even though I personally preferred the CHICK choice.)
4. Alphas in the Gym → DIK. Stand your ground and fight the Alphas.
5. The Pink Rose → DIK. Party without limits. You have a semi-free pass here: you can touch and grope the strippers without future repercussions and even get Envy's private dance, as long as you don't go any further when she asks. From a roleplaying perspective, this is the MC's first time in a strip club, and he's already had quite a few beers during Hell Week, so it makes sense as a fun first experience. However, he won't go as far as getting a BJ or having sex with any of the strippers during the whole run.
6. Jade's Advances → CHICK. Yeah... we don't want to open that whole can of worms.
7. Rooftop Smoke → DIK. With everything going on with Josy and Maya, this can be the reason the MC tries weed for the first time, simply to relax a little. If you've been avoiding Quinn, don't have sex with her on the rooftop. (Even though I personally preferred the CHICK choice.)

If you've followed along so far, you should now have gotten the Josy and Maya rejection, which is, in my opinion, one of the best scenes in the entire game. With that out of the way, we can move on to Season 2.

Season 2

So, you’ve been through the Josy and Maya heartbreak, but don’t lose hope just yet—we still have Jill. During Season 2, we’ll continue building our relationship with her. There are fewer things to keep track of this time around, but there are still a few important choices I recommend making along the way.

• Take a dick pic on Tybalt’s phone in Episode 5. This will come into play later.
• Tell Derek how you feel about Josy/Maya in Episode 5. You can either tell him that you still have feelings for one of them or that you've moved on. The choice is entirely up to you, but I recommend picking one and sticking with it for some extra heartache during their respective scenes in Episode 10.
• Punch Tybalt in Episode 5. And you must replay the scene at least three times.
• Pay attention to what Jill says about Rusty in Episode 5. She mentions how he acted differently around his friends compared to when he was alone with her. Make sure to get the scene “Making out with Jill on Bella’s couch.”
• [IMPORTANT] Make sure Jill likes you. There are several requirements for this:
  • You must have told Jill that you're a nice guy during your date in Episode 4, or impressed Bella enough for her to recommend you to Jill in Episode 3.
  • You must have made out with Jill on Bella's couch in Episode 5.
  • You must have done at least one of the following:
    • Kissed Jill at least once in Episode 4.
    • Have CHICK affinity.
• Practice the song for Jill on your guitar at least two times. You can do this during the Free Roams in Episodes 4, 6 and 8.
• Go on a birthday date with Jill in Episode 6. Don't call Sage during the third Free Roam event of this episode.
• Hurt Tybalt five times during the tennis match in Episode 7. This will come into play later, but pay attention to Jill's reaction—she notices that you did it on purpose.

Getting Rejected by Jill

Getting rejected by Jill works very similarly to Josy and Maya. After the tennis match in Episode 7, you'll have a scene in your bedroom where you must choose to Fight for Jill. You need to have DIK affinity during this scene.

If necessary, you can change your affinity using the Scrappy Mod. For those not using the mod, you need at least 2 more DIK choices than CHICK choices among the twelve major choices you've made at this point. In other words, you need at least 7 DIK vs. 5 CHICK.

My personal recommendations for the five choices (continuing the list from before) are:

1. Fight Caleb → DIK. No reason not to defend your brothers.
2. Punch Tybalt → DIK. Yes! Hit him! And replay it!
3. Fight Tommy → CHICK. No need to fight Tommy. We don't really hurt him, and having him sucker-punch you and then apologize right afterward makes for a better narrative, in my opinion. But you can fight him if you want.
4. Fake ID → DIK. Go on a night out with Tommy. It's a good bonding moment narratively, and you shouldn't be able to get the Envy/Sandy or Nora scenes anyway, since we went on Jill's birthday date.
5. Volunteer → CHICK. Volunteer at the retirement home. Even if you won the Hell Week contest, who cares about Madame Rose? Besides, she doesn't really fit the criteria for this run.

Note: These choices are equivalent to 8 DIK vs. 4 CHICK, so you can change one DIK choice to a CHICK choice if you want. But you should really punch Tybalt.

If you did everything correctly, you won't get the lewd scene of Jill touching herself in her bedroom while thinking of you.

Episode 8

Finally, Episode 8 will show the outcome of some of the choices we've made throughout the two seasons.

During Tybalt's presentation, his speech is affected by what happened during the tennis match in Episode 7 and the dick pick from Episode 5 will come into play. And because of the Josy scene in Episode 2, she will recognize it’s you, which Jill will notice.

Even though the breakup has technically already been decided by having DIK affinity during the “Fight for Jill**”** scene, I like to imagine that Jill has also made up her mind because of how you treated Tybalt. Jill hates bullying, even when Tybalt arguably deserves it, and seeing you deliberately hurt him during tennis doesn't exactly help your case. Your involvement with Josy, doesn't help either. She likely sees you as someone who changes their behaviour depending on the people around them, similar to how she described Rusty.

From here, just play through the episode normally. Make sure to help Jill during her recital as this will be needed for a scene with Nikita in Season 3. If Jill is the only girl you've dated throughout Season 2, you'll still be able to choose her at the Crossroads and get the breakup scene. This will also quietly push you onto the Others route.

Congratulations! Your heart has been broken once again, but you've made it into Season 3 as a single guy while staying true to your principles.

And now, finally, we're getting closer to Nikita.

Part II – A Glimmer of Hope (Season 3)

For those looking for an optimal guide for Nikita, this is the part you've been waiting for.

Even though this next event happens at the end of Season 3, it is also the most important requirement for Nikita's path, so it's the first thing we need to go over.

Never Have I Ever - Quinn's Drinking Game (Episode 12)

From Episode 9 onwards, you can check your phone, go to Stats, and click on Girls to view your Sexual History. We need to keep this number low. If you've been following along with Part I, you should only have Zoey, Maya, Josy, and Jill listed there. You are allowed to have a few more, but I strongly advise against it. You need to keep this number below 9. Reaching 9 or more different sexual partners can prevent you from getting Nikita's route.

However, your Sexual History isn't the only thing you need to keep track of. From now on, any girl you kiss, touch sexually, or engage in any remotely sexual activity with can count toward the requirements, even if she doesn't appear in your Sexual History. So don't assume you're safe just because the number in the Stats menu hasn't changed.

I'll point these interactions out for each party below.

Halloween (Episode 9)

• Tiffany → Choosing Tiffany for the Shot Competition and licking her pussy counts as one.
• Riona → Making out with Riona at the Halloween party counts as one, provided you haven't done anything sexual with her before, as she would already have been counted.
• Tara → Kissing Tara (the girl in the ghost costume) counts as one.

Note: When you go to sleep at the end of the Halloween party, three girls (Tara, Tiffany and Gina) will crash in your bed. I recommend being a gentleman and sleeping on the couch.

Xmas Panty Party (Episode 11)

• Felicia → Kissing only Felicia under the mistletoe counts as one.
• [IMPORTANT] Charlotte, Felicia & Leanne → Making out with all three girls counts as three, but it also automatically locks you out of Nikita's path, as she sees it happening in the background and loses all interest in you.
• Erin & Mia → Helping them with their Dirty Bowl mission adds two girls to your count.
• Heather → Choosing Heather to suck your dildo during the Dildo Sucking Competition counts as one.
• Sally → Making out with Sally during her Dirty Bowl mission counts as one. You can still choose to help her without making out with her, which I recommend because if she drinks during NYE, Nikita is right next to her and seems displeased.

Of course, any sexual act with a girl throughout all three Seasons will add her to your Sexual History and count toward the total.

You need to keep this number below 9. If you reach 9 or more, you won't be able to get the Nikita ending in Episode 12. Keep in mind that Zoey, Maya and Josy will always drink during Quinn’s game because of canon events: Zoey was your ex-girlfriend before the story even began, and you kissed Maya and Josy early in Season 1 (both are unavoidable events).

Quinn will also give you a different comment depending on your score, so it's worth keeping an eye on it throughout the run. The lower, the better for us.

If you’re looking for a more in-depth guide to Quinn’s Never Have I Ever, check out this comment. It includes a complete list of all the girls, as well as which interactions count and which ones don’t throughout all Seasons.

A big shout-out to our brother VeronisX for putting together and providing this incredibly helpful guide! It's thanks to him I could get all of those sneaky interactions. Be sure to show him some support and check out his other guides as well—they’re definitely worth a look.

Love you, brother. ❤️

Nikita’s Scenes

With that segment out of the way, we can finally focus on all the steps needed to experience all the available content Nikita is involved in:

STEP 1 → Be on the Others route at the beginning of Season 3. Getting rejected by Jill also works.

STEP 2 → Talk to the thirsty ghoul girl (Nikita) in Derek's room during Halloween in Episode 9. This is unavoidable in Others route. There are a few different lines of dialogue if Jill rejected you.

STEP 3 → Choose to participate in the Faculty Party instead of the Fighting Competition in Episode 11. You will get a bonus scene with Nikita in Episode 12.

STEP 4 → Get her a drink during the Xmas Panty Party in Episode 11. After giving her a drink, do not kiss Felicia or other girls under the mistletoe.

STEP 5 → Stay at the Xmas Panty Party and don't go to Bella's. This is unavoidable in Others route.

STEP 6 → In the last free roam of the Xmas Panty Party, go to the hallway where the punch is and where you got the drink for her earlier. You will chat with her and she leaves before midnight, saying that maybe she is Cinderella when you ask for her name.

STEP 7 → Reject Zoey at the end of the Panty Party in Episode 11. You can rekindle your friendship with Zoey during Season 3, but in the end, you must reject her love confession.

STEP 8 → You will learn that her name is Nikita from Derek, and you will chat and flirt with her during science class and lab in Episode 12.

STEP 9 → Respond to her rooster cluck in the next Free Roam event with “@Niki Found You. Followed.”

STEP 10 → You will notice her during the Faculty Party and chat with her some more.

STEP 11 → During the first Free Roam in the NYE party she will wave at you while dancing in the gymnasium. (Fuck you, Darius).

STEP 12 → You will have an important conversation with her on the balcony during the second Free Roam in the NYE party.

STEP 13 → Pass Quinn's Drinking Game (Never Have I Ever) with < 9 girls drinking. If you followed my guide, watch as all your failed past relationships take a sip right before your eyes (Zoey, Maya, Josy and Jill). Quinn will make fun of you, you will get sad, but Nikita will feel sorry for you.

STEP 14 → If you told Derek in Episode 5 that you still had feelings for Josy/Maya, and then doubled down by telling Josy/Maya in Episode 10 that you still had those feelings, you must reject them after their breakup.

STEP 15 → Choose Nikita for the midnight kiss at the end of the NYE party. Grow some balls, cross that line and LIVE IN THE MOMENT.

STEP 16 → Wait for Season 4 to see if this relationship will actually pay off.

And that's it! After three seasons of heartbreak, questionable decisions, and a whole lot of emotional damage, you've finally made it to Nikita. Hopefully, our lovable knucklehead MC has finally found the girl he's been looking for.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did. Now we wait for Season 4 to find out where this little glimmer of hope will take us.

Until then, brothers. Stay strong, Be a DIK, and LIVE IN THE MOMENT.