Favorite Characters

[StaypuftMMM]

I find myself gravitating towards a certain combination (vanilla versions of Internationale/ Xu/ Sharp/ Banks) and would like to find some reasons to try agents I barely bothered with up to this point.

 

Please, if you're a fan of Decker, Shalem, Nika, Prism, Central or Monster (and/or any archived agents) let me know what your play style is and how this agent fits into it.  Include any pertinent information, such as what programs you use, items or augments you outfit them with and if they work well during beginning/middle/late game.  

 

Thanks everyone.  Looking forward to seeing your responses.

 

[Spider1011]

Central is one of the best agents for Endless mode imho. In late game Central's augment makes dealing with daemons so much more easy and she start with anarchy 3 too. so she can be brought to anarchy 5 fairly easy to bring in the credits from early on.

I combo her with Sharp since he can't show up in a detention center. add in Seed + your favorite hacking program and your set. I prefer Parasite but with the extra hacking on Sharp you can go with a more PWR intensive choice as well.

I'd say that's the best starting combo for endless currently.

[Lioe]

To add to what Spider said, ever since endless runs (day 5 onwards) cured me of worrying about daemons Central has become one of my favourite characters. 

 

Central is a reliable source of pwr, especially later on. And she potentially frees up 2 Incognita programme slots since Hunter/Taurus will be of little use and a separte pwr generation programme isn't as necessary after a while. (For early game I find starting with Faust useful.)

[Nxf7]

I tried Central + Sharp and found Central's augment to be overrated. First of all I don't even think Fractal2.0 is the worst archdaemon, the worst for me is Blowfish2.0. It already wastes 10 turns, turns on all cameras, +1 firewalls and 5 turns until full alert, which slows me down far worse than Fractal does. Also Central's augment basically does nothing on non-Fractal missions, there aren't enough daemons on things that matter, because cameras will never have daemons on them and daemons on safes don't matter (EMP).

 

My current day 11 endless plus run has Archive Banks, Internationale, Xu, Decker with Hunter/Oracle/Lockpickv2/Parasitev2/Datablast with 4-5 Server3's. I think archive Bank's custom econ chip is broken. Over 2k cash from consoles per mission lets you outscale the game's difficulty increases (notably, I'm more than prepared for archdaemons by day 5 and still do full map sweeps). Of course you can find the regular econ chip but that won't be immediate, it costs $800 and it's on a 5 turn cooldown instead of 4.

[Kuirem]

For Decker if I start with him I go with the archived version. He doesn't have the Cloaking but his augment is better (I win an Expert + game with him) and the gun is good to get out of tricky situation.

For augments and upgrades I try to boost his speed even more : Torque Injector to reduce Stim and Cloaking cooldowns, Chameleon Movement, Subdermal Cloak if I think I will have PWR to spare and even Net Downlink can be great.

He is my least favorite agent to get in Rescue missions.

 

Shalem is the same, I find the archived better than the original : The Ventricular Lance works on melee, he starts with a 3 ammo gun and has a decent disruptor. You can easily find a Piercing Scanner before you got to guards with 2+ armor.

Since the Archived Shalem do not start with any augment, it's possible to go in a completely non-fighting build. If I want to go in the assassination path I take a couple of Piercing Scanner (1 for On-file Shalem) usually completed with a Ventricular Lance (pick only 1 Piercing Scanner if you would rather use a Biogenic Dart).

He isn't too bad to get in a rescue mission unless I have already bought a Piercing Scanner on someone else.

 

There isn't much to say about Nika. On-file is better than Archived, she is a beast and can easily speed-run level by stunning all guards. Predictive Brawling is a must or you can go assassination with a Flurry Gun, Piercing Scanner and some Stim III. Probably the best offensive agent.

 

Prism is interesting in story mode as she gives a nice extra PWR generation. Starting with Anarchy 2 will save you 400 CR which is nice. Parasite and Rapier work well with her, allowing you to use their low early cost to store some PWR on cameras to counter later Daemon or higher firewall on other devices. In Endless her augment is quickly overwhelmed.

 

Central is really great. It's a late-game version of Prism that is really strong in Endless. She will generate tons of PWR allowing you to use Hunter at will to destroy the most dangerous Daemons (Hack the Daemon Database asap). The Arnarchy 3 starter is ridiculously strong, rush Anarchy 5 and to get tons of credits.

 

Monst3r is better than he looks. In Story mode the reduction in nanofab can really make a difference, same in Endless but at some point you will probably want to switch him for an other agent. His starting weapon is really strong, being the only one with a natural +3 armor piercing. If you get an Econ Chip early you can cash tons of money with his Hacking 3.

[abardam]

The advantage to picking Shalem is that he won't show up in detention centers

 

I'm half-serious. Shalem's Desert Wind is imo the best gun in the game. I mostly play Expert Plus, and in this mode I tend to kill more than in Expert: KOing raises the alarm anyway, and you might have to KO a guard multiple times. If it's early enough in the level and I can't sneak past them I usually just put a bullet in them.

 

Another reason to pick Shalem is that he doesn't need much in the way of hard-to-find equipment. You'll need one Piercing scanner for AP3, that's basically it. You'll also need charge packs, but every nanofab has those anyway. 

 

Also, as I mentioned, you won't find him in detention centers. Xu, Banks, Internationale, are all pretty good naked, so you'll increase your chance to find them instead. edit: this argument also works for Decker!

[Arabesque]

My typical starting loadout is Internationale and Nika, with Fusion and Lockpick as my programs.

 

I have yet to go on to Endless in the full game, although I had a 40+ day run on Early Access that was lost when the game updated (oh well), but since I rely on being able to grab power quickly and from afar with Internationale, I can run Fusion and have power for Nika to stun multiple times per turn. Also, when I stun, I will drag the guards around the map, so I don't have to deal with them waking up again. However, that usually ends up with having Nika dragging a body while standing on another and having my other two rescued agents (if i have them), doing the same while Internationale runs around actually doing the objective ahaha

But, I do like Nika for her ability to attack twice per turn. When possible, I give her the Flurry gun, and that along with several Stim IIIs, makes her a tank.

 

I prefer Fusion because to me, it makes more sense than Power Drip, getting 12 PWR over 4 turns with Fusion than just 1 PWR per turn with PWR Drip. Lockpick just suits my play style best. I tried Rapier, and I didn't like it, Parasite is good, but it takes a little too long. Dagger in any form is one of my favorite programs, as well as Taurus. Taurus is one of my favorites because since I don't play as Central (as i haven't beaten Experienced mode yet heh), and some daemons hurt like Modulate or Validate, and I don't want to trigger them, so moving them is great. (also my zodiac is taurus so im kinda biased lmao) My typical third program is Leash, since I do quite a bit of moving drones and using them to my advantage. Since I do that, sometimes having them for one extra turn can be the difference between life and death for your agents. However, if it becomes too troublesome or its not worth hacking them in the first place, I usually just kill it if possible.

 

I haven't messed with augments too much, as I haven't really paid attention or just really thought about it. I have been watching some playthroughs on youtube (namely rythian lmao) and I'll start experimenting with them in my next run.

[StaypuftMMM]

Thanks for all the replies.  I appreciate seeing what others have learned during their time.

 

My last endless run consisted of me using Fusion and 4 portable servers.  This required me to make a "base" each time and hold up.  

I would like to get away from that technique and allow each agent to be on the move at all times if need be.  That would allow me to cover more map and get done quicker.  

 

With my new endless run I currently have Internationale, Sharp, Nika, and Xu.  On day 10, I'm using Seed and 0 portable servers.  Most everyone's hacking is maxed (which helps) and so far I have been ok.  Nika is sorta a wasted slot at the moment because she seems most effective utilizing her two attacks but because I am being careful with power I haven't outfitted her with Volt Disrupters.  

 

Wish I could go back in time and try Central (as other's have suggested) because it would be nice to know there's a +5 power coming during those unavoidable daemons.  Is there a way to properly make use of Nika with the way I am trying to play?  Maybe I should dump her with the hope of getting another agent I would like more…  Not a lot of options though.  Probably end up with Banks yet again, as she seems most beneficial for how I like to play.

[StaypuftMMM]

The advantage to picking Shalem is that he won't show up in detention centers

 

I'm half-serious. Shalem's Desert Wind is imo the best gun in the game. I mostly play Expert Plus, and in this mode I tend to kill more than in Expert: KOing raises the alarm anyway, and you might have to KO a guard multiple times. If it's early enough in the level and I can't sneak past them I usually just put a bullet in them.

 

Another reason to pick Shalem is that he doesn't need much in the way of hard-to-find equipment. You'll need one Piercing scanner for AP3, that's basically it. You'll also need charge packs, but every nanofab has those anyway. 

 

Also, as I mentioned, you won't find him in detention centers. Xu, Banks, Internationale, are all pretty good naked, so you'll increase your chance to find them instead. edit: this argument also works for Decker!

 

I actually almost started with Shalem this round because his starting set is pretty nice and I also thought the same as you (if I make use of him now, I won't find him in a Detention Center later).  

 

Really wish all the agents could be found in the Detention Centers though because I would probably start with him and then dump him later for Central.

[Nxf7]

With my new endless run I currently have Internationale, Sharp, Nika, and Xu.  On day 10, I'm using Seed and 0 portable servers.  Most everyone's hacking is maxed (which helps) and so far I have been ok.  Nika is sorta a wasted slot at the moment because she seems most effective utilizing her two attacks but because I am being careful with power I haven't outfitted her with Volt Disrupters. 

I'd suggest T.A.G pistol and Flurry gun for Nika but since you're on a power diet I doubt you're up for that.

 

You can always just give her 2 Neurals, or 1 Neural and 1 Bio-genic dart.

[dracohey]

On my last expert, Ironman, 1 min, time attack run I used monst3r and archive banks to make the most out of the econ chip (handing it to monster and while maxing his hacking quickly) to buy my way to victory. Not having a disruptor really made me play differently then normal for the first couple missions.

 

My usual favorite load-out is Banks and Prism with Parasite and Seed. Generating power while hacking for free feels almost like cheating, and a free paralyzer is fantastic with both agents having anarchy. So I can avoid knocking out most guards and if I ever have to take someone down, at least he wont be getting up for a while.

 

For endless and expert plus sharp is just fantastic. Getting 5 free augment slots is invaluable especially with free 1-2 KO damage attached, making the alarm for KO-ing in expert plus much less punishing.

 

Never really used any shalem or archive nika, although I definitely see the appeal due to his starting items. One last benefit to prism/central/sharp/monst3r is that you are less likely to pick up shalem in a detention centre lol.

 

I almost never start with Internationale. I find her augment useful but kind of boring and unrewarding to use.

 

Fusion is hands down the best power program, the potential value of 4 power a turn and guarantee to be able to use at least 1 program a turn is amazing compared to the slow Power Drip, the Fusion that can slow you down/be mismanaged and Faust which is a huge liability.

 

Rapier and parasite are my favorite starting hacking programs, i like to end a level as quickly as possible and both of those programs allow me to do that (and work amazing with prism). Other programs I love are ping, lockpick 2.0, and Parasite 2.0.

[0celot]

Thanks for all the replies.  I appreciate seeing what others have learned during their time.

 

My last endless run consisted of me using Fusion and 4 portable servers.  This required me to make a "base" each time and hold up.  

I would like to get away from that technique and allow each agent to be on the move at all times if need be.  That would allow me to cover more map and get done quicker.  

 

With my new endless run I currently have Internationale, Sharp, Nika, and Xu.  On day 10, I'm using Seed and 0 portable servers.  Most everyone's hacking is maxed (which helps) and so far I have been ok.  Nika is sorta a wasted slot at the moment because she seems most effective utilizing her two attacks but because I am being careful with power I haven't outfitted her with Volt Disrupters.  

 

Wish I could go back in time and try Central (as other's have suggested) because it would be nice to know there's a +5 power coming during those unavoidable daemons.  Is there a way to properly make use of Nika with the way I am trying to play?  Maybe I should dump her with the hope of getting another agent I would like more…  Not a lot of options though.  Probably end up with Banks yet again, as she seems most beneficial for how I like to play.

I haven't really felt the need to ever really use Nika's second attack on the endless run i'm doing. Usually I give her a Volt III and just give Nika's Volt Disruptor to Sharp who is my primary attacker.

As to the power cost, it's not an issue very much. On endless the main reason why you'd hurt for power is because the large amount of firewalls are expensive to break, but if you need to use the PWR for attacking then just don't break so many firewalls that turn that's all and make sure you have a renewable source of PWR on-hand like a server or three. I've gotten myself into trouble by forgetting to save PWR for attacking but not often, and I can usually get out of it (e.g. by using a ranged/backup weapon if necessary).

If you really think a second attack is necessary then just give Nika one Neural and one Volt disruptor. You can use the Neural first and then switch to the Volt while the Neural is on cooldown.

[Spider1011]

when evaluating the usefulness of agents you have to differentiate between endless and story mode. in story mode the goal is getting some way to get through level 3 armor and making the best of what you find to prepare for the final mission. in endless mode you're working towards your optimal loadout. also as the firewall strength and number of daemons increases so the relative power of some tools changes as the game progresses. in story mode you usually won't have the money to fill every slot with high level items. in endless mode you will eventually. the number of available slots is programs < augments < inventory. this is important when you can have different solutions for the same problem. the above  order though is just slots available. as for importtance I often find myself with augment slot available when my program slots and invertory are filled up. your milage my vary though

 

with this in mind lets look at what each agent brings to the table and compare them to altenative solutions in regard to endless and story mode.

 

Decker

Neural Networking: Melee range daemon identifier, like a Scan Chip without the cooldown. Daemon Sniffer can do the same anywhere but it's a program.

Not enough daemons in story mode to make it worthwhile. In endless it will eventually become quite nice to have since you'll not always find the daemon database right away or it might have a damon itself. won't help with cameras and lootable devices can be EMPed but it also helps with Plastech since the daemon database doesn't identify possed devices.

Modded Cloaking Rig: Cloaking Rig 2 without the speed requirement. will be eclipse by the Cloaking Rig 3 in endless mode but in story mode the missing requirement means you can give it to Monst3r or Central in the final mission.

 

Decker Archive

Sensory Injector: 2 AP when see/noticed iis somewhat unique but of limited usefulness. Wings gives two AP to all agents on a 2 turn cooldown bit it's a programm. also it's relative pawer falls off as your base speed increases.

Refurbished Revolver: Ealy safety net. Inverntory efficient while its full but since you can't reload it that won't last long.

 

Internationale

Wireless Emiter: scouts Mainframe Devices at range and let's you use consoles at range. A Wireless Scanner (found at Sec. Dispatch) does the scouting part.

The scouting part can combos nicely with anything that favours hacking at a steady pace (Seed, Parasite, Prism) and the ranged console access saves moves and can give you a needed early PWR spike. That said in late game I use the consoles for Prototype Chips so the that point becomes moot. this can effect the early game as well if you use Banks Econ Chip or find an Accelerator Chip. The scouting part falls off as well as a fully decked out Program suit can usually deal with anything you find instantly. Finding Barrier Guards and especially camera drones early is still quite nice though.

 

Internationale Archive

Network Siphon: at the point where it becomes strong most stuff should be hacked and you shoud be on your way out. even with Blowgish 2.0. so unless you like using Volt Disruptors (I don't) this augment is kind of underwhelming.

 

Shalem 11

Enhanced Optics: equivalent to a Piercing Scanner. Forces him into a ranged build which, in endless, you probably want one of anyway. but any unagmented archive agent can do the same and you don't neccessarily need all augment slots for it anyway.

Desert Wind: with the augment it puts you one Piercing Scanner away from being set for the last mission. in endless it doesn't combo too well with the non-lethal Biogenic dart. I think there can be a discussion about the merit of having 1-3 Piercing Scanners paired with the different weapons but it won't fit in this post. I'll just say I prefer Flurry Guns and Biogenic darts for late game.

 

Shalem 11 Archive

Some good starting gear but nothing special. overall weaker than his on file version I'd say. but he provides 1 KO armor penetration without a drawback from the start.

 

Banks

Crypto Computer: Unlock doors. Lock Decoder does this but it takes 2(3?) turns at which point you might just take the way around. Except for Security Dispatches you can get anywhere without a "key" but having the option available can make some mission significantly easier.

Custom Paralyzer: Paralyzer 2 without the requirements. nothing special

 

Banks Archive

Banks Econ Chip: One turn less cooldown than the regular Econ Chip but more importantly it's available from day 1. together which Seed , to remove most PWR needs from hacking, I'd argue this is the most powerful item in game!

 

Dr. Xu

Subdermal Tools: Melee EMP Attack. EMP packs are the only other source of EMP. EMP packs have an AoE put also a long cooldown. extremly Strong in early-midgame and the best PWR saving augment imho. falls somewhat off in late game because of magnetic shielding and the availability of EMP packs 3. is even more useful in Expert+ because disabeling heart monitors is more important.

Modded Shock Trap: Shock Trap 2 without the anarchy requirement. Eclipse by Shock Trap 3 in the late game but provides a way to take out armored guards from day 1.

 

Dr. Xu Archive

Thermal Generator: Even if you can trigger it every turn it's still only equal to a single deployed  Portable Server 3.

Tony's Modded EMP: EMP Pack 2 without the requirement. nice to start with but nothing special.

 

Nika

Adrenal Regulator: An extra attack and extra moves on attack. An attack can be gained from a Stim 3 which also gives moves. it stacks with Predictive Brawling.

While you can pull of some nice moves with her I find usually don't need the extra attack. and on Expert+ taking out guards left and right has an extra alarm penalty.

I haven't tried her out as a ranged specialist yet though which might be a good option.

Nika's Volt Disrupter: 33% cheaper than a Volt Disruptor 1 but you should still have plan for the increased PWR use. if you want to use it against level 3 armor you need 3 Penetration Scanners leaving you with no free space for something else.

 

Nika Archive

Discharge Re-router: Cooldown reduction on Disruptor use is unique. Can apparently be abused with the right amount of Disruptors, Stim 3 and Predictive Brawling to get an endless amount of AP. I'd expect that to be patched though. I have no expirience with it but it might be quite good if combod with Torgue Injectors and a good item loadout. though on Expert+ the alarm increase will probably hamper it somewhat.

 

Sharp

Modular Cybernetic Frame: basically 2 extra augment slots and +2 KO damage. in story mode it requires a significant investment and is a bit risky but in Endless it's one of the strongest augments in imho. it makes Sharp the best prospect for the melee specialist. with very long knockouts.

 

Central

Antiviral Proxy: 5 PWR on daemon install. weak early and mid gmae but in endless mode this eventually becomes the strongest PWR generating augment.

 

Monst3r

Fabricator Multithreading: 15% cost reduction on Nanofabs. that's 150$ for every 1000$ you spend. MicroSLAM will net you more and for a max credits start take Archive Banks.

Overclocked Neural D.A.R.T.: the only weapon with armor piercing 3. CD is one turn more than the biogenic dart. unfortunately it comes with a daemon install on use. you can pair it with Central and/or Brimstone but a certain risk will remain which I personally don't find appealing.

 

 

So here's my personal 1-5 * rating for each character for endless and story mode. this is from an Expert+ difficulty point of view.

 

Story:

Dr. Xu: *****

Banks Archive: *****

Internationale: ****

Shalem 11: ****

Banks: ****

Decker: ****

Shalem 11 Archive: ***

Dr. Xu Archive: ***

Nika: ***

Sharp: ***

Central: *** (***** if your doing Faust+Brimstone)

Decker Archive: **

Nika Archive: **

Prism: **

Internationale Archive: *

Monst3r: *

 

Endless:

Banks Archive: *****

Sharp: *****

Central: *****

Dr. Xu: ****

Banks: ****

Decker: ***

Internationale: ***

Shalem 11: ***

Shalem 11 Archive: **

Nika: **

Nika Archive: **

Dr. Xu Archive: *

Decker Archive: *

Internationale Archive: *

Prism: *

Monst3r: *

 

[JimThePea]

Archive Banks and Archive Internationale are my faves of the moment, but you really want to get a Torque Injector into your Econ Chip user so you can hit every terminal for creds without ending up on alarm 6.

 

I like using Internationale and Prism too, even though it's mostly overkill on PWR in story mode this allows me to really push speed as the agents never have to wait around for PWR to generate.

On paper, both Monst3r and Central don't look like a great choices for story mode because you end up with only 4 or 5 agents max in the final mission rather than 6, but the tradeoff is that both those agents will have improved stats when that mission comes around. When the mission relies on you getting both agents to certain locations, it really helps to have them at max speed with cloaks and stims.

[StaypuftMMM]

Archive Banks and Archive Internationale are my faves of the moment, but you really want to get a Torque Injector into your Econ Chip user so you can hit every terminal for creds without ending up on alarm 6.

 

 

Banks Archive

Banks Econ Chip: One turn less cooldown than the regular Econ Chip but more importantly it's available from day 1. together which Seed , to remove most PWR needs from hacking, I'd argue this is the most powerful item in game!

 

First of all, thanks for the responses everyone.  I appreciate reading people's viewpoints and gaining insight.  

 

Is the Econ Chip from Archive Banks that great?  Personally, I feel after day 7 or so I usually have as much money as I need and the only thing holding me back from outfitting everyone exactly as I want is not the money but finding the augments, weapons, gadgets, etc in missions.  So I think her specialty would become unimportant quite quickly.  However, I have never used it and everyone else's feelings my be because they play the game differently.  Possibly you do not play much farther past day 7 so having agents outfitted earlier is a huge bonus.  Along with that, my experience is coming from Endless (whatever Klei's regular setting is) so maybe that makes a difference as well.  

 

Anyway, looking forward to seeing you both (or anyone else) elaborate on that topic if they wouldn't mind.  Thanks!

[JamesTheLimey]

Is the Econ Chip from Archive Banks that great?  Personally, I feel after day 7 or so I usually have as much money as I need and the only thing holding me back from outfitting everyone exactly as I want is not the money but finding the augments, weapons, gadgets, etc in missions.  So I think her specialty would become unimportant quite quickly.  However, I have never used it and everyone else's feelings my be because they play the game differently.

 

I always seem to need more money, but I haven't reached Day 7 yet so...

 

Based on my experience of the posts on this board so far, it really does seem like there is no single ideal agent or one way of completing the game.  There are even some people who still like Shalem!  (No, I'm not trying to turn this thread into one of the "why Shalem sucks/is actually fine" threads.)  This is a huge testament to the great game design if ever there was one.

[StaypuftMMM]

I always seem to need more money, but I haven't reached Day 7 yet so...

 

Based on my experience of the posts on this board so far, it really does seem like there is no single ideal agent or one way of completing the game.  There are even some people who still like Shalem!  (No, I'm not trying to turn this thread into one of the "why Shalem sucks/is actually fine" threads.)  This is a huge testament to the great game design if ever there was one.

 

Yes, I totally agree.  The variety of possibilities and perspectives is great which is why I made this post.  

[JimThePea]

First of all, thanks for the responses everyone.  I appreciate reading people's viewpoints and gaining insight.  

 

Is the Econ Chip from Archive Banks that great?  Personally, I feel after day 7 or so I usually have as much money as I need and the only thing holding me back from outfitting everyone exactly as I want is not the money but finding the augments, weapons, gadgets, etc in missions.  So I think her specialty would become unimportant quite quickly.  However, I have never used it and everyone else's feelings my be because they play the game differently.  Possibly you do not play much farther past day 7 so having agents outfitted earlier is a huge bonus.  Along with that, my experience is coming from Endless (whatever Klei's regular setting is) so maybe that makes a difference as well.  

 

Anyway, looking forward to seeing you both (or anyone else) elaborate on that topic if they wouldn't mind.  Thanks!

 

Well, you're definitely right about money not being an issue after the first week, but the chip pretty much guarantees not being behind the difficulty curve. It's much better for Story of course, which I kind of prefer to Endless anyway.

Worth remembering that in Endless you've got a lot more time to make an early bought Econ Chip worthwhile, even if that extra turn of cooldown is nasty. So maybe not A. Banks for Endless, but honestly though, in the later days when you've got a mountain of stats and gear behind you, is any unique ability really making a difference? I've yet to play Endless with Central though.

[StaypuftMMM]

Well, you're definitely right about money not being an issue after the first week, but the chip pretty much guarantees not being behind the difficulty curve. It's much better for Story of course, which I kind of prefer to Endless anyway.

Worth remembering that in Endless you've got a lot more time to make an early bought Econ Chip worthwhile, even if that extra turn of cooldown is nasty. So maybe not A. Banks for Endless, but honestly though, in the later days when you've got a mountain of stats and gear behind you, is any unique ability really making a difference? I've yet to play Endless with Central though.

 

You make some great points there.  

Unless everything falls into place perfectly, there is a decent chance (in Endless) of playing catch up for several days due to poor programs or outfitted agents.  

 

I guess I never really thought about how useful Archive Banks would be for Story Mode either.  That small window of time isn't much before the final mission so her Econ Chip would definitely come as an advantage there.  Always forget about the campaign because I only played it through once before unlocking Endless.

[Spider1011]

But you have to find that Econ Chip first and it costs like 600 or 800 credits IIRC. which is affordable but not exactly cheap for the first few days. A.Banks guarantees it. you start without a neural disruptor though and if you want to combine her with a hacking character you can have a tricky 2nd day depending on your shopping luck. but with some luck and skill you can leave the first mission with an extra 1k credits. and it only gets higher from there. so as soon as you manage to pick up some crucial items and programs it'll be free sailing for the most part.

 

 

As for unique augs/gear you don't neccessarily need them. take 4 blank slates and fill them up with all the regular level 3 gear you want and you should be able to beat any day 10 mission handily. Sharp make the biggest difference imho. properly geared and augmented you're looking at 6+ turns knockouts. who needs paralyzers anyway. Centrals augment while really strong still only gives you PWR you can just bring another Portable Server 3. Banks Crypto Computer is unique and useful but you can still do witrhout it and if you start wiht A.Banks you can't get it anyway. Everything else feels even more neglible.

 

[Kuirem]

Nika Archive

Discharge Re-router: Cooldown reduction on Disruptor use is unique. Can apparently be abused with the right amount of Disruptors, Stim 3 and Predictive Brawling to get an endless amount of AP. I'd expect that to be patched though. I have no expirience with it but it might be quite good if combod with Torgue Injectors and a good item loadout. though on Expert+ the alarm increase will probably hamper it somewhat.

The in-game description states that it is limited by one per turn. Unless it's bugged it can't be abused.

 

I'm surprised you rated Banks so low, she can save a lot of turn by opening locked doors. Her interest is that she counter the RNG of locked door placement. Of course if the door placement is ideal her augment can end up completely useless but even in story mode you should save a couple of turn per mission at least.

 

Also if you increase the alarm multiplier Archived Internationale became ridiculously strong. Try a game with her and Alarm Multiplier x5, you have infinite PWR. She can also gives great PWR if you decide to kill a lot of Guards for an assassination style run.

 

Finally, unless you want the achievement or you like the combination don't go Faust + Brimstone + Central. Because Central already generate PWR it's better to go with Seed + Brimstone.

[Spider1011]

The in-game description states that it is limited by one per turn. Unless it's bugged it can't be abused.

 

I'm surprised you rated Banks so low, she can save a lot of turn by opening locked doors. Her interest is that she counter the RNG of locked door placement. Of course if the door placement is ideal her augment can end up completely useless but even in story mode you should save a couple of turn per mission at least.

 

Also if you increase the alarm multiplier Archived Internationale became ridiculously strong. Try a game with her and Alarm Multiplier x5, you have infinite PWR. She can also gives great PWR if you decide to kill a lot of Guards for an assassination style run.

 

Finally, unless you want the achievement or you like the combination don't go Faust + Brimstone + Central. Because Central already generate PWR it's better to go with Seed + Brimstone.

I haven't used it myself but I saw a post with a screenshot here on the forums. that's why there's an "apparently" in that sentence.

 

I forgot an additional star for Banks on the Story mode list. she's clearly above average but not top notch imho.

 

that ranking was from a regular Expert+ difficulty standpoint. changing the settings around it will affect this of course. with the high alarm multiplier you need to be carefull not to waste the PWR gain because of the 20 PWR cap though.

 

no need to pick Brimstone unless you want the achivement or an extra challenge. in story mode the revesal is not worth due to the low nomber of daemons. and in endless you can pick it up along the way if you want to. no need to gimp your early game.

 

[Nxf7]

Sharp make the biggest difference imho. properly geared and augmented you're looking at 6+ turns knockouts. who needs paralyzers anyway. Centrals augment while really strong still only gives you PWR you can just bring another Portable Server 3. Banks Crypto Computer is unique and useful but you can still do witrhout it and if you start wiht A.Banks you can't get it anyway. Everything else feels even more neglible.

There's certainly enough variety so that most will fit into differing strategies. Agreed that Sharp's is pretty good, but with how much I use Shock Traps I think the +1KO augment is useless, It's just too easy to babysit an enormous pile of guards down with a single Shock Trap 3.

 

 

 

The in-game description states that it is limited by one per turn. Unless it's bugged it can't be abused.

 

I think it's referring to the 1 attack per turn limit apart from using Stim 3's. I haven't found a Stim 3 in my current run to test but I'm assuming it should still work since the patch notes of the 21st of May hotfix doesn't say anything about Nika.

[himmatsj]

I have completed Expert, Expert Ironman, Endless 5/10 Days and also did a Time Attack + Faust/Brimstone run.

 

Internationale is integral to my team. Early on I used to team her with Banks, but I believe my Expert run and the Ironman and Endless were all done with Prism. Her +2 power a turn were very useful. Nothing beats a Seed + Lockpick starting combo I feel. You can gamble on using ???? (I forgot the name, the one which increases one power cost every alarm level), but you best pray you find Lockpick/2 early on. I always chose Ping as well, and Hammer and Datablast and/or the Daemon Decoder.

 

My Time Attack run was done with Central instead of Prism...power wise I was never in trouble.

[0celot]

You can gamble on using ???? (I forgot the name, the one which increases one power cost every alarm level),

Rapier