Dead Space A Terrible Gamer's Tips for Impossible Mode

Intrduction, I Guess

Like I've said, I'm a terrible gamer. You won't normally see me going for any game's hardest difficulty available at any given time but since Dead Space (2008) is my all time favorite game and I only finished it on Hard but never touched on Hardcore, I thought I could pay my dues by 100%'ing the remake at least (and the og one doesn't have achievements on Steam anyways, sadly).

Nevertheless, this'll be a short one because you don't need much to beat the game on Impossible. As others put it, it's probably the easiest "Hardcore" mode throughout the entirety of the series. Without further ado, here's the first "tip":

Elitists, Please Kindly Get B*nt

Why? Because if you happen to find yourself in a sticky situation you can simply pause and go back to the main menu and load back AS LONG AS YOU'VE HAD SAVED BEFOREHAND. Don't know if it's an oversight or an intended feature but it's a great way to save you from throwing hours of your life into the thrash.

I've seen a lot of "Hardcore, Super, Ultra, MLG, Pro, Mountain Dew" gamers criticising others for utilizing this, questioning why such a thing is even possible, crying to the devs for them to make this mode harder so they can boast about their premium gaming skills to desperately make themselves feel special for once, in search for what I assume is the only type of validation they ever get in life but don't listen them, and just simply follow these incredibly simple steps if you feel like you're close to death:

Pause -> Back to the Main Menu -> Load -> then choose your Impossible save

Just make sure you do it before your death is "finalized" aka prior to game the game loading you back and asking you to continue your run in Hard mode instead, so the time to pull this off is just before you actually die. Hell, do this if you thought you could've gotten through a certain segment taking a lot less damage as I did because not even once I was actually close to death but did this just because I thought as I simply could've done better.

And here's a bonus tip: If you find yourself getting swarmed by enemies in random spots out of nowhere, it means that the "Intensity Director" (the AI manager that's responsible for surprising you with random enemy encounters or changes in atmosphere to spice up each of your runs) have chosen to mess with you, but if you'd like to have none of that you can once again load back to where you've last saved and it will reset. Simple as that.

However, since the topic has come to that of Saving:

Save Frantically Like An Obsessed Maniac

If at any given time, at any given spot there is a Save Station,

SAVE YOUR GAME.

You're only given one save spot your entire game and into which you can save as many times as you please. So please do that and save your game often.

Have you just saved a couple seconds ago but there is another opportunity to save again?

THEN SAVE AGAIN.

Have you run out of Stasis and there is a Recharge spot but you have to backtrack a little bit?

SAVE BEFORE YOU GO THERE.

There's no need to save actually, because you've saved just now-

SAVE, WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY? WHAT DO YOU LOSE FROM SAVING AGAIN?

The good thing is that developers have actually thought about save spots very carefully so you'll most likely find Save Stations before any important ocassion, just make sure not to skip any of them as anything from the Intensity Director going crazy to the game crashing out of nowhere can happen so it's just objectively better to stay cautious rather then regretting it later.

However, I think it's time to actually talk about the first actual gameplay related tip as I've already mentioned one just up above:

Utilize Stasis And Kinesis Like Your Life Depends On It.

Because it actually does.

Stasis is the obvious one: it slows enemies down. But in any other difficulty many of us just hold on to those couple of Stasis Packs as if we're going to take them to our graves. In Impossible however, your goal is to stay alive no matter what. Therefore, use your Stasis and don't be afraid to recharge in the middle of a combat encounter. Again, you have to stay alive in this mode, there is no need or no room for you to hoard resources. I always made sure to have at least 3 packs in my inventory and I advise you to do the same. They don't cost much and you'll come across a bunch of them throughout your playthrough as well. Just remember to use it as often as you can, any combat encounter other than bosses is actually worth using Stasis so never think you can pull it off without using it, it is an absolute necessity. You really don't want to get hit in this Mode.

Kinesis is obvious too, any time that there is a stick with a shiny end or a pipe with both ends of it highlighted in blue, you simply have to use them against Necromorphs instead of your ammunition as they OTK most of them with the only exception being armored Necromorphs (you'll be able to tell the difference, they are simple not naked). Also, vent blades are helpful too, even if they are not as powerful as other throwable objects I mentioned but they are good enough to slow enemies down. The only tricky part is to effectively use Explode-y Cannisters. Because if they explode on the ground, most enemies won't die. If they explode on-impact at certain enemies' faces, they also might not die (like Leapers -Scorpion dudes- and Lurkers -those Babies- they just simply won't die to them) so use them carefully. In Zero-G segments, especially because you won't want to miss those Cannister shots with Kinesis.

But the thing is, sometimes they aren't obvious to see. Like, some pipes are located at the ceiling in a horizontal position and some of those pointy sticks are actually legs of trays that you need to stomp and break in order to use, so observe your surroundings a little more carefully then you normally do.

Do all of these and you'll easily get to conserve ammo, so much so that you'll find yourself in need of a Store to, well, "store" them in to make room in your inventory.

Talking about observing your surroundings actually made me remember one very important thing, so before going into preferred loadouts (there is only one viable combo of weapons you need to use anyways) let me remind you of a simple rule of thumb:

Stomp Every Body You See.

Every single one of them indeed.

For some reason, the majority of written or visual guides don't mention that if you want those manta ray looking mfs -officially called "Infectors"- to not turn dead bodies into potential enemies, you need to stomp them enough so they can't do that. It usually takes 3 stomps in order to completely dismember any given dead body, and trust me it'll worth your time.

Yes, sometimes there are rooms filled with bodies but up until Chapter 11 just trust me and follow this rule, you'll save so much ammo, time and headaches. It's not like you're speedrunning the game, if you enter a room full of bodies just Kinesis them near you, stomp them all and you'll only need to worry about Infectors by themselves afterwards. They are rather easy to kill as well, just be careful because they'll charge you as soon as they enter a room.

Just want to hammer it in, stomp LITERALLY every dead body on sight. Doesn't matter where or when, just do it and let that turn into a muscle memory. Start from the very beginning so you'll gain the reflex to do it immidiately as you see a dead body. Again, your aim is to stay alive and turning that whole journey into smooth sailing comes from taking your time and being mindful of little thing like this (and a couple of cheats like the one mentioned at the beginning of the guide). Calm down and don't run as much. That's the key.

I'm out of ideas for transitioning between pharagraphs so here's everything you need to know about-

Weapon Loadouts And Upgrade Routes

Before going into another rant, here's how to prioritize regarding your upgrades:

1)Damage Upgrades for Plasma Cutter

2)HP Upgrades

3)Damage Upgrades for Flamethrower

4)Stasis Upgrades

5)Any other Upgrades on F.thrower/Plasma Cutter (choose the route that'll take you to the closest Damage upgrade)

6)Any other Suit Upgrades (choose the route that'll take you to the next HP/Stasis upgrade, prioritizing HP, of course)

Easy as that, there's no need for "deep planning" as other guides will suggest. Just assess how many nodes you have and don't forget about what you need to prioritize. So, basically improvise with caution. What you can upgrade will depend on the situation.

Buying Nodes is also an option and I did but carefully, and you'll need to do it eventually as getting stronger is the best and only way to stay alive in and against later chapters and enemies respectively, so once again, don't hoard and when there is a bench and if you happen to have a Node, use it. Just try to not get your Credits lower than 20k because new suits cost around 10k to 60k and you'll definitely want to get every new suit because getting your health up is crucial and having around 20k of credits at the beginning or end of every chapter will give you enough room to get more credits for the upcoming Suit. If you happen to accumulate a lot of Nodes especially at the latter end of the game, don't use them in vain, because most likely you'll come across new Suit Schematics very very soon. Save them for that instead.

And lastly, yes when you upgrade HP and Stasis Capacity both of them will automatically fill up saving you from using a Med or a Stasis pack but don't worry when you couldn't time it right as everyone's playthrough will yield different results and situtations. Just upgrade and don't look back.

RANT TIME (and technically loadouts)

As you've probably gathered from above, there are only TWO guns you'll need: Plasma Cutter and Flamethrower. Forget each and every other guide you've read or seen, Flamethrower is the best gun in this game right after Plasma Cutter. Wall of Flame is simply the most overpowered alternative fire in the game, period. No other weapon in the game can both halt enemies at their place AND damage them (most of the time actually killing them btw) at the same time, period (except bosses but you have P.C. for those). Whenever you're stuck in a corner, aim at the ground, press space, watch every enemy stop at their place and start moving them down with either P.C. or F.thrower. Wall Guardians? Get only a little close (any closer will result in insta-death so be careful), Stasis them as their tentacles show up, and just aim your F.thrower, click left and in seconds they'll be no more.

I saw countless guides ranking F.thrower as low as C tier and they couldn't be more wrong. It's so annoying actually, and those people call themselves "experts". Ugh. Sorry but any other gun in the game is for entertainment value and only the abovementioned combo is the utmost useful one. Don't even think about others, get the mentioned two and go on your marry way. Most importantly btw, never equip any other guns or make them sit in your inventory as you'll get ammo for the guns you don't even use. F.thrower and P.C. are the ones you need to equip. That's it. Even if you get others, deposit them as soon as possible to maximize your ammo drops for the only guns you'll actually use. You'll thank me later as you'll almost drown under the amount of ammo you'll get.

F.thrower is "S Tier" while P.C. is "S+". I'll die on that hill any day, everyday.

Dangerous Areas And Chapters

I don't exactly know why most people make a big deal about "enviromental hazards" but as long as you don't sprint around like a headless chicken, you won't die to any of them. As long as you Stasis stuff like Fan Blades, Doors and that one part in Chapter 8 (and you should btw becuse in those segments there are always Stasis Recharge Stations), don't charge into flames in that one part in Chapter 9 (who dies or takes damage in that part anyways? You ain't no speedrunner, you don't need to run, chill) and you'll be okay. Like the Nuclear Warhead Room, you're in a room with a Nuclear Bomb of course don't shoot the dude's exploding sack?! I did it AFTER I've saved in my first playtrough to see what happens and laughed my ass off. And my brain is as smooth as it gets. So weird.

Another thing I don't get is the fact that people say in Impossible, the first 4 chapters will be hard. No? Because if you utilize Kinesis and don't hold back on Stasis you won't even come near death. You know what was the hardest Chapter in the game? 7th! Mining Section of the game has so many tight spaces that you'll struggle to utilize Exploding Cannisters because once they get caught by the tiniest part of a wall/ceiling they'll explode on impact and you'll take heavy damage. No other part of the game has these tight corridors so it's easier to use the environments to your advantage. Just don't forget, stopping for a second whenever you enter a new room will save you from taking so much unneeded damage. Just take it slow and enjoy the ride as those two go hand-in-hand. And re-Load generously.

Don't worry, the end is nigh.

Bonus Tips Apparently ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Use this (or anyone else's) Speedrun videos, ONLY on certain segments. Here's the one I used (I know, I'm ready for Clown emojis because I'm citing a Speedrun whilst sort of "condemning" it in the guide but you'll get it):

I initally looked this up just to see if you can just make Chapter 5 and 8 go easier and I'm glad I did because no matter the difficulty, Hunter segments are always the scariest parts of any game I've played and I just continued to watch because many of his tips were pretty useful as well.

-So starting from 1:12:36, do as the guy does. You don't need to Stasis the Hunter, and the only thing you need to do is to run 'till the end of Chapter 5. And I also used the Contact Beam as he did but just then and never again.

-Do as he does and says for the segment starting after 2:58:39, just put down a couple Wall of Fires infront of you and watch out for the Necromorph that'll be dropping down before you. These segments will especially highlight how useful F.thrower is and going to be. Just don't forget to loot everything (including the room beside you) after your encounter.

-As you see on 3:03:10, only shoot that Tendril as you'll conserve ammo and for another tip, only shoot the absolute necessary Tendrils at earlier parts as well to both save ammo and time. Certain Tendrils make for good covers against enemies.

-Listen to what he says at 3:07:45, that's a really useful tip, and you'll save a pretty good amount of ammo if you can manage to do that. Once again, Wall of Fire is such a useful thing for these segments, turning them into child's play.

-People make a big deal out of these segments individually: 46:08 and 2:37:27 (there is one more between I think but anyhow) yet those guides were aimed at consoles and a couple decently placed shots should get you out of those situations easily. They are OTK though so if you struggle, just re-Load.

I just wanted to share this because even though you won't want to play Impossible Mode like a speedrun, some of the "tactics" were very useful. I watched the entire video during my breaks to get a better idea of the game's more "skippable" parts. As Impossible wasn't my first playthrough (as it shouldn't be yours either) it wasn't like I was getting spoilers anyway. So use it to your pleasure, but it won't be too useful as it's a "Contact Beam Only" run.

You made it. Next part is the end. We will be whole agai-

Conclusion And Side Quest Warning

As other guides would suggest, just don't attempt any other side quest than "Premediated Malpractice" as most other missions don't worth the risk of backtracking required to complete. But in "P.Mediated M.Practice"s occassion, it gives you the Prototype Stasis which becomes very useful on the latter end of the game, however Intensity Director really didn't like the fact that I attempted that so even if it was a calculated risk, you may not even want to do that if you are already having a hard time but, I just don't think you will, Impossible Mode really isn't that hard.

So, this'll be all (Yes, finally). This managed to become way longer than intended but hope it'll help you as even with my terrible gaming skills I managed to pull it off and went on to 100% Dead Space as I hope you can achieve so too, again it ain't too hard after all.

Thanks for reading and if you have time, maybe check my stupid vid down below?

(Sorry for all the rants and stupid unnecessary commentary about other guides but I couldn't just hold it down. Even to the risk of repeating myself once and once again, please don't underestimate Flamethrower, it ROCKS. Wall of Fire 'till I die baby!)

(P.S. Forgot to mention that you can't start a NG+ save on Impossible, it needs to be a fresh playthrough. This info was a bit hard to come across so that's why I felt to need to share it.)

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3114413136

A Terrible Gamer's Tips for Impossible Mode