Not enough money to fund all agents

[Shelf]

Since I got this game i've been browsing this forum and the key thing I learned early was that detention centers and executive offices were best to storm early because of how the rest of the levels scale up as time goes on. This run there were 2 detention centers close to each other so i figured i'd hit them both and if I was lucky i'd end up with 3 agents after 2 missions. Imagine my surprise at my luck when both of them had an agent and now after 2 missions I have a full roster.

 

My problem now is that I won't have the funds to upgrade my agents, I have never had more than 3 at a time, and even then I usually acquire the 3rd later in the game. What strategy would you guys suggest using during this run, upping 1 or 2 and throwing the others under the bus to be used for their specials and pinning guards?

 

really looking forward to the rest of this run, thanks in advance for any advice guys.

 

-Shelf

[Joopac]

Vault is the answer!

When I got into this kind of lucky but tricky situation, I usually made my choice depending on the items I would acquire from security dispatch. Sometimes it would be Banks with Paralyzer 3 to rob a huge amount of money from all the guards, which really helps with funding. Sometimes it would be Shalem 11 with anatomy augment. This isn't anything with proof, but to me it felt like having all the agents makes the mission difficulty escalated faster, so it would be wiser to play it cautiously. I recommend putting one point in anarchy for all the agents first, which cost the least among the abilities and enable easier access to guards' pocket money without having to tase them. when you get enough equipment to deal with tougher guards, choose your favorite to dominate the stage and meanwhile try to upgrade the stealth for all agents evenly.

It's always cool to rescue the fourth agent! Have fun

[Peekaboo]

What strategy would you guys suggest using during this run, upping 1 or 2 and throwing the others under the bus to be used for their specials and pinning guards?

 

I'd recommend exactly that. Most of my story mode runs end with only 2 agents because somehow --bad luck I guess-- I never get agents from detention centers. It's a good idea to spend money on both armor penetration and guns in order to deal with the last few missions since they are full of guards and drones, so that leaves little room for improving other agents. Since 2 agents are usually enough to finish the level, I see no problem with leaving other agents for pinning a guard, or dragging them to a room further away from the elevator (especially after the last patch since money is even more sparse.)

[Shelf]

I ended up investing Banks to rank 4 anarchy and pretty much used Internationale and Shalem11 to just pin down guards until she could make her way over to grab their cash. Took awhile but the 1100 for the anarchy upgrades eventually paid for themselves. Vault into nanofab missions offered a shock trap II, EMP II, and an Energy Gun. Everyone ended up being useful, but no one agent was ridiculous like having three cloaking 3 vests to cycle cool-downs. If I didn't find mid-range items I probably would have just let Internationale and Shalem spend the entire game pinning bodies. It's also ridiculous how much less pressure I felt because of how much more scouting could be done in the same amount of time, often having the map scouted by start of alarm 2 and then it was just pulling Internationale, Banks, or Shalem across the map to make use of their shock trap, emp, or weapons.

 

Thanks for the tips guys, they paid off and got me off to an even bigger lead.

[ShadowSimmons]

You got it right Shelf. I always go detention centre first and do my best to save the 1100 for Banks' anarchy. After she gets preference for stealth cause like you said I'm running her all over the map to collect money. Then she needs inventory upgrade for all the junk she's collecting. You can't upgrade them all before the end of story mode so she gets the lion's share. 

 

I typically do inventory upgrades in the field. Saves agents having unused slots open. As Peekaboo said weapons with armour piercing are a priority too. 

 

Also I'm not to proud to do it but when I start a new game I have to see either 2 detention missions and a vault or 2 vaults and a detention centre or I restart immediately. I like 2 vaults better. 

[the truthseeker]

And remember, if you have many vaults (more than 2) they CAN scale so saving one for later escalations is an option (but I often need the money ASAP for nanofab early on)

[invertere]

Honestly, I don't bother upgrading anything except stealth and inventory in the beginning. I get enough income from missions to not need the extra cash from the anarchy levels, and fusion gives me more than enough power. I alternate between upping their inventories, buying weapons, and increasing stealth. Mission select normally alternates between detention centers and vaults, until I get enough money to hit a nanofab. By day two, I normally have enough to increase the other stats a bit.

[HolyDeath]

Well, one level of anarchy helps Deckard to use security doors if he manages to steal a passcard and you don't have to KO guard to be able to do so. Improving Internationale's hacking helps to squeeze extra PWR if you don't have cost-efficient programs on Incognita. Otherwise I tend not to upgrade too many stats too high, because I save for re-equipping my agents with something that has AP.