Thirith on 15/2/2017 at 07:26
I'm totally with henke re: the UI/controls; as I get older, I realise that inconsistency in these respects (e.g. controls that work one way in one case and another way elsewhere, for no good reason) bug me more and more. Still, as I get more comfortable with the game, I'm also enjoying it more; it's just that the learning itself doesn't feel good, it feels more like I'm overcoming a frustrating hurdle to enjoying the game.
Couple of questions:
* Can I replay missions like the early bank job ad infinitum? And will I always get rewarded with XP and money?
* I can currently research two things, a laser gun and a machine pistol, without much of a clue as to how useful they might be. Is this one of those games where I research everything sooner or later, or do the choices of what to research matter? (Without more info, I'm likely to just hold off on research until I see something that looks useful, but they're not exactly presenting such information well.)
* When an agent dies and I activate a new clone, do they start at zero with respect to the skills I've acquired for that class?
icemann on 15/2/2017 at 11:07
I'm not 100% certain but I think that when your agents die, their stats degrade to a certain point which each death. Stats wont degrade below a certain amount. It takes away from the entire point of collecting better cloning stock though if that's the case.
I was going to answer your research question, but I've forgotten how that bit worked as it was quite a while ago when I last played this game, and a google search brought up no relevant info. Grrr.
If I remember right, researching one thing leads to similar things being researchable later. That said, I recall not having researched a fair bit of stuff by the time I got to the end of the game.
Malf on 15/2/2017 at 13:00
Sorry, was going to post this earlier, but the forum crapped out:
Quote Posted by Thirith
Couple of questions:
* Can I replay missions like the early bank job ad infinitum? And will I always get rewarded with XP and money?
Well, it's not so much doing the mission again (unless you outright failed it, then you should be able to do it again), but you can repeatedly invade compounds and enter the green doors.* I can currently research two things, a laser gun and a machine pistol, without much of a clue as to how useful they might be. Is this one of those games where I research everything sooner or later, or do the choices of what to research matter? (Without more info, I'm likely to just hold off on research until I see something that looks useful, but they're not exactly presenting such information well.)
Basically, just research everything you can, with whichever you think will benefit you the most first. The only thing to make sure of is that you never equip Prototypes on agents before having researched them. If you do, I think you lose the chance to research them.
With weapons, it's generally about what enemies you think you'll be facing, as different types affect different things. Lasers are good against shields, poor against armour, while the opposite is true for plasma weapons, while conventional weapons do equal damage to both shields and armour, most of the time doing less damage than their energy counterparts, unless they're the same price, at which point it looks like they do the average of the energy weapon's damage versus shields and damage versus armour.
In general, it's probably best to have a mix of weapon types across all the classes: one agent with a primary laser weapon, one with plasma, one with conventional and the laser sniper, as the Infiltrator, while maxing out quickly, gets the least variety in weapons, so the laser sniper rifle is the top of the range.* When an agent dies and I activate a new clone, do they start at zero with respect to the skills I've acquired for that class?
Okay, skills remain the same. You don't lose skill levels when adopting a new clone. The things that change are the bonuses to speed, health, aim and energy. If you die, but choose to retain the same clone, the clone "degrades", meaning these bonuses reduce in effectiveness. By how much isn't clear, but it's always worth sending as many high level soldiers back for cloning as possible to make sure you've got suitable replacements if your pool degrade too much.Thirith on 15/2/2017 at 13:08
Brilliant, thanks. I was a bit frustrated by the game the last few days, because practically all of the missions seemed to require a character that was at Hacking level 2, so I basically ransacked the bank again and then went around surreptitiously shooting guards in the back of the head until I was able to level up.
PigLick on 15/2/2017 at 13:21
is this any good as a 2 player game at all?
Malf on 15/2/2017 at 13:45
We've been playing it 3-4 player a lot, and I find it a LOT more enjoyable multiplayer. It really works well, the whole division-of-labour style gameplay giving players distinct tasks. With 2 players, you'd each control 2 or you could take control of 3 while the other player controls 1 and vice versa.
icemann on 15/2/2017 at 18:29
That would be fun :).
Liking the immersion factor? I found it to be on equal level to Syndicate Wars (one aspect that was better in SW than in the original game). By immersion I'm meaning in turns of the environment, general sounds, music, the city setting etc etc.
Thirith on 16/2/2017 at 08:01
This morning I tried infiltrating the Dracogenics Compound, one of the side missions in the first district. My guys all went out in a blaze of glory, but they all gained a couple of levels in the attempt, so it was worth it. My next plan: hijack a bunch of soldiers and send them back to base, and then I might make another attempt at that compound.
I agree with Malf, though: I prefer the game in coop.
