Disguises what are they good for?

[swillo]

I have played many different games in Kenshi, but the one thing have not used at all is the Disguise ability.
The only time it has come into effect is when I have been wearing some looted part of someone's uniform and someone opposed to them attacked me because they thought I was part of the group I killed to get the item.

So I'm wondering if anyone has put disguises to good use? what was the best way that you used them ect…?

[Shidan]

Disguises were more useful when dialog couldn't tell you were still an enemy through them. So for example, you used to be able to disguise yourself and then walk through a hostile town like you weren't an enemy, shopping turning in bounties, etc. Now all those dialogs are disabled even when disguised unfortunately.

Though even in the new system they have a couple uses. For instance, the grant you access to restricted areas without alerting the guards. Back in the day I used to rob armouries and HQ buildings for rare loot thanks to disguises.

I've also found them very useful for escaping slavery in entertaining ways. One time I managed to end up with a lone slaver in a building, with two of my enslaved characters in there. We closed the door to prevent anyone else from noticing the fight, and started attacking him. He was stronger than us, but I kept the two of them on opposite side of him, switching between offensive and defensive mode so that he was always attacking the defensive character. We managed to take him down, so we locked him in a cage, and had one of us dress up in his outfit. Then we waited till night, picked up the slave character, and walked out the front gate with nobody the wiser. One of my favorite escapes.

So yes, they do have their uses, though they are limited. The biggest factor to consider is stealth. Your stealth skill is what gauges how effective your disguise is. So if you wear a disguise with huge stealth penalties, it makes for a terrible disguise. Stealth mode itself can also be useful for disguising, as if nobody can see you they cannot break your disguise. And if you're in disguise, being spotted in stealth won't trigger alarms unless they see through the disguise too. They can be a very powerful combo.