Quick Tips

Combat

• When attacking an enemy, have a plan for handling the situation if the first attack does not kill them

• Camping out to kill all enemies is usually not the goal; remember the mission, get to the objective, and get out

• You are usually faster than the guards; use that to your advantage

• Repositioning after attacking can reduce counter-attacks

• Try to get enemies to bunch up to make good targets for Area of Effect talents and weapons

• Use shotguns and concentrated fire on enemies with heavy armor

• Blades cause a lot of damage and almost no noise, as long as you are willing to get toe-to-toe with the enemy

• Don’t forget to use grenades when silence is no longer needed

• When taking a Full Auto shot, use the Page Up and Page Down buttons to adjust how many available targets are attacked by the shot

• One of the most important benefits of Overwatch is that it stops enemy movement, often in clear view of other mercs

• Many talents that debuff a target will cancel the target’s Overwatch

• Any damage to a target will cancel the target’s Overwatch

• An enemy using Overwatch can be identified by their pose, weapon aimed

• A Critical Hit or Bleeding Out status always results in injury time

• Battlefield healing with medkits helps you survive the fighting, but does not affect post-mission injury time

• Grenades do more damage to enemies close to the center of the blast

• Grenades bounce if they land on an object or wall and will only stop when hitting the floor

Stealth

• You can creep through or crouch in the obstructed part of a vision cone (the hatched portion) without being seen

• Sneaking cuts audio detection range in half

• Sprinting while outside audio and visual range of guards gets more options for cover than creeping everywhere

• Use Lure to turn a guard’s vision cone immediately and keep them busy on their next few turns

• Guards will not be distracted by sounds after they have otherwise been Alerted to enemy presence

• You can sneak through the field of a motion detector without detection, but it has a large area

• Cameras and radar will stop moving when they are disabled and restart pointing where they left off when re-enabled

• The area below a camera or radar device is a blind spot

• Just because a camera doesn't see you killing someone doesn't mean it will not see the body you leave behind

• If an enemy spots you, you can still prevent them from calling security by killing them before the end of the Turn

• You don't need to make your mercs crouch at the end of their Turn, they will automatically to avoid being spotted

Matrix

• Executing a Hard Disconnect from the Matrix causes Dump Shock (physical damage) to the Hacker

• In the Matrix a full Scan (2/2) will not identify a CPU in a neighboring node; this is a hint that the neighbor could be a CPU

• In the Matrix, raising scan on the local Node to 2/2 will let you see the active and passive IC on neighboring Nodes before you connect to them

• Never end a turn in the Matrix in an Incinerator Node

• Disable traps and blocking IC on the Matrix Node before trying to download paydata

• Trap IC in the Matrix may not be visible until you run another Scan or trigger the trap

• Passive IC can be temporarily disabled with a Sleaze program

• Active IC can be temporarily disabled with a Deception program

• Trap IC can be temporarily disabled with a Disarm program

• All IC can be directly damaged and deleted with Attack programs or talents

• Watch out for Ice Pick IC in a Matrix Node-–it can cause permanent Wounds

• Do not connect to a Matrix Node that you know has dangerous IC until the hacker has loaded the correct counter program

Strategy

• Keep close track of the turn order, and use talents and delays to adjust turn order to your advantage

• Initiative buffs given to a character who has finished the current turn will adjust their initiative in the next turn

• Hovering over an enemy on the map or in the initiative tracker displays their vision cone

• When placing a waypoint, a shield splashed by the HUD on the side of a nearby object indicates that the character will get a defensive bonus from cover

• Sometimes it is best to split up to reach multiple targets at the same time

• You can both sprint and move stealthily within a same turn, allowing you to save on Action Points

• Most Talents have a limited number of Charges. Once used, a Charge immediately starts to Recharge over a number of Turns

• Firearms are loud when used and will attract attention within a certain radius. Check the sound icon by your weapon in the bottom left to see how many will hear an attack from your current location

• Actions Points do not transfer between Turns, but if you end your Turn with AP remaining, you automatically use the Take Cover Talent

• When an enemy dies, a Body Timer is started. When it expires, someone will come looking for the missing agent

• Speed is a key tactic for a heist team, whether we are fighting or sneaking through a job

• On most jobs, the Security Tally increases every Turn and will eventually Escalate. So, keep moving

• Pressing H (default keyboard) or Y (default controller) highlights characters, enemies and important objects on the tactical map

• Looting Lockboxes is useful but don’t spend so much effort that you endanger your ability to get out safely

• Delaying your turn until a nearby guard moves is often useful