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System Shock 2

Character Building and Advancement FAQ

or "Getting through Shock 2 on Impossible"

by Aaron Gunstone
v1.01


Contents:
0 - Change History
1 - Introduction
2 - Disclaimer
3 - Cheats
4 - Ammo
5 - Cyber Module Use (skill section)
6 - OS Upgrades
7 - Strategy Summary
8 - General Tips
9 - Contacting me


0 - CHANGE LOG
--------------
v1.01 - Oct 27th 2001
- Site permissions added.
- Typos corrected.
v1.00 - Oct 22nd 2001
- FAQ released. First version.

1 - INTRODUCTION
----------------
Why a System Shock 2 FAQ? Well, I know it's been around a few years now, but
it's a *fantastic* game, and I know it better than most. I'm just finishing it
for the fourth time now, and damned if I could find anything of worth on the
net
about it. So I decided to write my own :)

This is not a walkthrough, or in the true sense of the word a FAQ, since I'm
not
really answering any questions. Really, it's a comparison of the value of the
different skills, weapons, abilities and upgrades available to you, and how
best
to make use of them.

For the record, I have completed it on the "Impossible" setting, with both Navy
and Marine characters. I haven't played through with an OSA char, but have
seen
several others do so.

And, in opposition to one "FAQ" I have read, it *is* possible to complete the
game in under 10 hours, on the "Hard" setting, without cheats, although only
just. In two sittings ;)

I assume some knowledge of the game - I guess this is aimed more at someone
who's completed the game already, but wants to do it on "Impossible", or just
again because it's great :)

SPOILER ALERT:
Although I have avoided spoilers wherever possible, some advice only makes
sense
in the context of certain information about the order in which you progress
through the game, where things are located and so on. I have been careful not
to reveal any of the plot, but you read at your own risk.

2 - STANDARD DISCLAIMER AND LEGAL BUMF
--------------------------------------
This is my own work. If and where I have used the work of others, it is
credited.
If you want to use, reproduce or distribute it, in whole or in part, you MUST
ask my permission (illarion@lineone.net), and credit me fully.
This FAQ remains under my copyright - (c) Aaron Gunstone 2001.

Currently, I have posted this FAQ on:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com

If you find it elsewhere, either it is being used without permission, or (more
likely), I haven't got around to updating it yet ;) But still, please let me
know - illarion@lineone.net

3 - CHEATS
----------
Cheats are there for the game designers to test things, and for gamers not
serious about their games. Play for challenge, not to swank around invincibly.
You will find no cheats here - look elsewhere, you can hardly miss them.

4 - AMMO
--------
It's not hard to keep alive in Shock2 - there are at least 50 med hypos and 20
medical kits in the game, give or take, and you'll probably pick up 30 or more
healing glands too (make sure to *always* search eggs!).
More significantly, effective use of the autodocs makes even *using* these med
supplies largely unnecessary, at least on the early decks.
The problem is ammo. Everything you do should be geared toward saving ammo,
making the best use of available ammo (don't ever miss - take a hit if you need
to, but don't waste the ammo), and using all available ammo. This is the
reason
I keep the shotgun right up to the, umm, level after the Rickenbacker (don't
want to give spoilers) - there is lots of shotgun ammo around, which would
otherwise be wasted. If it's REALLY of no use to you, use the recycler to turn
it into nanites (and I think there is a psi power which does this too?) - but
this is very inefficient, so make it a last resort.
I actually used the stasis cannon for a while, although I don't like it, just
so
as not to waste the prisms the abound on the Rickenbacker. (I already had
Heavy
Weapons to 3 for extra damage on the grenade launcher).

5 - CYBER-MODULE USE
--------------------
What you spend your modules on (plus your initial choices) defines your
character. On "Normal", it's possible to get just about everything, but on the
harder levels, you will need to specialise. To that end, here is a quick
summary of each skill, ability and stat. Recommendations are based on "Hard",
if not otherwise stated.

TECH:
Hack - Far and away the most crucial skill. Allows access to lots of items
otherwise unavailable (in security crates), and hacking the security system
(and
turrets if possible) is usually the best way of dealing with turrets and
inaccessible cameras. Aim for Hack=4 somewhere on Engineering, and 6 somewhere
on the Rickenbacker.

Maintain - Second most critical skill, improves ability to maintain weapons
(obviously), and also maximum charge in powered items (i.e. Power Armour and
Implants).

Modify - You *will* want to modify your weapons, but it's not necessary to
raise
modify above one. Read on...
Modify=1 allows you to perform the first mod on the pistol, shotgun, assault
rifle and grenade launcher (among others) - the four most important weapons.
Perform the 2nd mod with French-Epstein devices (one-shot, auto-modify devices)
- there are at least three or four of these in the game.

Repair - Not needed. Allows access to the shotgun early, as you can take it
off
a hybrid, but you already have the pistol, which is better :). Also a few
extra
replicators, not particularly exciting.
Finally, one broken doorlock keypad on deck 5, which has a recharge station
behind it. This is useful, but you can get in via a crawlway, open the door
from inside, and wedge it open with a large item (spare armour, weapon etc).
I never buy repair.

Research - Only get level one, and only on Deck 3 when you need it to research
Toxin-A. One is enough to research all the extra-damage organs, the psi-gland,
healing gland and the psi-booster. None of the other items (alien implants,
exotic weapons and wormskin armour) are that good, and the modules would be
better spent elsewhere. Crystal shard is somewhat of an exception, more detail
in the weapon skill section below.

WEAPONS:
Unfortunately, the weapon classes are *very* unbalanced in SS2 - one of the few
flaws with the game.
Standard - Most important by a HUGE margin. The Assault Rifle is very *very*
much the best weapon in the game, and therefore Standard=6 is pretty much a
mandatory choice for all characters. I made the mistake of not taking Standard
past 3 the first time through, and couldn't BELIEVE what I'd missed second time
around. With the correct ammo, 3 shots will kill anything (non-boss),
including
Rumblers, Psi Reavers and Combat Droids.
Pistol is good, but obviously superseded by the assault rifle.
Shotgun is naff compared to the assault rifle, but take it anyway - there are a
lot of shells around, which would otherwise go to waste.
Never use the alternative settings with standard weapons - they are all less
ammo-efficient than the standard ones, and I think also degrade the weapons
faster.
Aim for standard=3 somewhere on Engineering (easy if you take +2 standard as a
career choice ;), and standard=6 on Hydroponics (deck 3), as the first two
assault rifles are there. It's best to switch to an assault rifle from the
pistol ASAP, as it effectively makes your ammo go 25% further.
Summary? By far the most effective class, all weapons useful.

Energy - Don't use ammo, just charge from recharge stations (or the "Electron
Cascade" psi power - the best psi power ANYWAY IMO, and even better if using
energy weapons!). Amazingly effective vs robotic enemies, but almost useless
against organic.
I chose energy weapons to specialise in on my first time through, and it was a
mistake. When the enemies become largely organic, on level 8, the game becomes
very tricky. Energy weapons thus need backup, however neither of the two
choices are very appealing. Standard weapons (assault rifle) works great, but
obviates the need for the energy weapons at all, since with AP ammo it's
virtually as good as the EMP Rifle. Exotic weapons work ok, but see their
section below.
The laser pistol, at skill 1, is nice as a free way of getting rid of cameras,
worms, eggs etc, but probably not worth the inventory space and modules.
Laser rapier is not as good as the crystal shard or psi-amp weapon, but might
be
ok if you already had energy for the EMP rifle and wanted a better melee weapon
than the wrench.
Summary? Energy weapons are fun, but not all that practical.

Heavy - Heavy=1 is an extremely good investment, as the grenade launcher is a
fantastic weapon, and you get an awful lot of grenades throughout the game.
I'd
just dump the launcher and any grenades you find near the elevator - deck three
is good, as there is a recharge point there too - and only come back for them
when you leave the Von Braun after finishing Deck 6. Buy heavy=1 at this point
too.
You may want to upgrade heavy a few levels for additional grenade damage, this
will also give the stasis cannon at heavy=3, so the prisms aren't completely
wasted. Frankly though, I think the stasis cannon is a waste of inventory
space.
The fusion cannon is ok, but is overshadowed by the other level 6 weapons. You
might want to keep it to use prisms, if you have a lot of spare modules (around
the end of the Rickenbacker, or a little further on).
Summary? Grenade launcher is a must, the rest are very much curiosity items.

Exotic - I wouldn't bother. They're interesting, but you don't get them until
(comparatively) late, you have to buy research as well as exotic skill, AND you
need much higher maintain/repair skill to work on them than on other weapon
classes. This all combines to make them WAY too expensive for what they do,
especially since the assault rifle is still better.
The Crystal Shard is the best melee weapon (except maybe the psi-amp one, but
that is temporary, and irritating since you can't use psi-powers while it's
on),
so if you're set on playing a melee character it *might* be worth it - but
frankly, even the wrench is *so* deadly with the "Adrenaline Overproduction"
psi-power on, I don't think it's necessary.
Summary? The worst weapon category, excessively expensive.

STATS
-----
Pretty obvious these. All are useful (except Psi, to a totally non-psionic
character), but some are more useful than others.

Strength - Probably the most important, as inventory space is *always* at a
premium. I aim for 5 natural, +1 from BrawnBoost implant, so I have maximum
space.

Agility - Also very important, movement speed and recoil are both very
important. Very low AGL is crippling, especially for a melee character (and
thus in the early game).

Cyber-Affinity - Worth getting to at least 3 or 4 - really helps with tech
tasks.

Endurance - Not that important. Only affects hitpoints and Rad/Tox resistance.
There are an abundance of hypos for the latter, and loads of healing items for
the former. Still, raising it to three or four later on will help when you
meet
nastier enemies.

Psi - CRUCIAL for a principally-psi character, less important otherwise. Handy
later on, when you're relying on Electron Cascade to keep items charged.