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Shadowrun Returns: General Strategy Guide

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2022-03-17 04:03:23

Character Creation - The Basics

Or "Why You Should Always use the Custom Option"

There is a tip the game offers that it doesn't actually follow itself: "A jack of all trades is a master of none". This is very important and unfortunately allowing the game to generate your character will result in one that isn't optimal. Oh, it won't ruin your game -- but you won't be in as good a position as you could be compared to a custom job.

As the player character, you must specialize in at least two things. One of these things will be survival.

This is critical in Dead Man's Switch. If you go down when the AI focuses all its efforts on you, the game ends. While positioning will be very important -- the AI can be easily manipulated -- a bit of bad luck can still end your run prematurely if you don't build to survive.

That said, here's one non-negotiable build: Body of at least 3. If you don't have at least 30 HP, you're going to have to constantly keep your character in the back and behind cover. Considering you ALWAYS have to be on the run, this is not a sound plan. A body of 4 will make your life easier.

There are three stats that govern your survival:

BODY - Maximum hitpoints and damage reduction. This is your primary survival stat; shoot for at least 5. Remember, everyone guns for you if all other targets are equal.

QUICKNESS - Rules Dodge. Helps reduce physical damage.

WILLPOWER - Magic resistance. If you can consistently geek the mage first (kill the enemy magic users), this is the least important stat.

As the player character, get your body up first -- the other stats only as karma allows.

Next, figure out what you bring to the team. This is your primary role, and there are no throw-aways. Don't think for a moment that playing support makes your character weak, as good support wins the fight fast -- and the campaign runners will never match your support potential. Excellent support characters can turn a decent runner into an unstoppable killing machine.

Every runner team should have the following:

Someone capable of tanking

Someone capable of dishing out damage

Someone capable of buffs

A Decker

As long as there's a tank, decent damage, and at least one person in a support role, the team shouldn't have too much trouble with whatever comes its way. With a good player build, a team of two might provide all three qualities.

The two main campaigns give you enough resources to play 2 roles effectively. A third role might be possible closer to end game -- my combat decker was also the tank by the end of Deadman's Switch.

TankThe Tank isn't just the healthiest character, but also one with the most damage reduction. It's the tank's job to step out first and draw out your enemies so they expose their positions and allow the rest of the team to get into position. Shadowrun always provides you with a tank you can hire, so this does NOT have to be the player character -- although for Dead Man's Switch, this makes the game much easier. By pure chance, my first play through was with a tank player and I never had to reload.

DamageDoing damage means hitting consistently, at any time, without consumables. This means getting one of these skills as high as you can:

Pistol

SMG

Shotgun

Rifle

Melee Weapons (Adepts only!)

Unarmed (Adepts only!)

Spell Casting

Drone Combat

Gun specializations are required because they increase damage and allow access to techniques. Drone combat is critical for riggers because drones are weaker than runners and at level 6 provide an extra action point -- this can be obtained before the game would normally award it! Most importantly, building all these skills will require improving its controlling skill/attribute, which furthers your hit chance. Hit chance is everything in Shadowrun as it seems the normal behaviour is that nobody can hit the broad side of a barn.

While not technically damaging, Blind and Mind Wipe instantly take enemies out of the fight for a few rounds and make a huge difference -- a high spell casting ensures they succeed!

SupportIf tanking and damage are combat's meat & potatoes, then Support is the spice that makes the difference. Take an already decent character, and either give them an extra action point or adjust the playing field and you'll never need to buy a trauma kit.

When it comes to support in Shadowrun, I'm primarily talking about:

Conjuring

Spellcasting Buffs and Debuffs

As secondaries, there's:

Spirit Summoning

Thrown Weapons

Biotech

Conjuring provides the best support -- it allows the spellcaster to buff allies, or control the area via wall spells. The #1 support spell is HASTE. Get it, and once available get multiple versions so you can use the weaker while the former is on cooldown. Haste STACKS! Shadow provides either a much-needed break in combat to heal or can force enemies out of cover in order to fight.

Spells like Armour and Aim can also make a difference. Heal is decent but as it only heals the 'most recent wound' it can be ineffective.

Spirit Summoning is a secondary because it requires a situational battleground (the skull indicates a spirit to summon) or a consumable, and spirits can be risky to control. They can be devestating offence or critical support, but there's always a chance they'll turn. It's not bad, but it's not always available or reliable.

By "Thrown Weapons", I'm talking about grenades. Flashbangs and other stunners are just as good as damaging weapons and can turn the tide of a fight surprisingly quickly. Since they're consumed when use, this is a secondary as well.

Finally, Biotech is a good skill but requires a consumable and being close by or applied to oneself, so it's probably the lowest support skill. It's not bad by any stretch, but it doesn't make the same difference in a fight that a Haste spell might.

Character Creation: Stats

BODYImportance: EVERYONE, especially Tanks

Regardless of role, don't neglect your Body stat. You go down, the game's over in "Dead Man's Switch" and even in "Dragonfall" expect the majority of the bullets to come at you. You won't need it too high initially, but a minimum of 3 is advised -- 4 for "Dead Man's Switch".

Body reduced the damage you take and how much health you have. It's extremely important for your character especially. Build it up to at least 5 as karma allows.

CHARISMAPrimary Importance: Support

Secondary Importance: Conversation Options

Rules: Shaman

This is the #1 stat for Shamans, who cast defensive support spells and summon spirits. It's secondary use is for conversation options -- some are important, others will net you better rewards. Dragonfall requires a Charisma of 6 to take all optional non-violent routes.

INTELLIGENCEPrimary Importance: Support

Secondary Importance: Healing Items

Rules: Deckers/Riggers

The ruling stat of Deckers and Riggers (yes, I KNOW it's also supposed to be important for magic users in the paper and pencil version, but not in this game). The more Intelligence your character has, the harder the character hits things in the Matrix and the harder the character is to hurt. Intelligence also helps your drones hit better.

This stat also rules Biotech, which gives a bonus to healing item use and at level 2, allows you to see enemy hit points.

QUICKNESSPrimary Importance: Offence

Secondary Importance: Tank

Rules: Gunplay

Gunplay and dodging both rely on Quickness. If you're going to use guns -- and anyone not using magic is going to use guns -- you NEED quickness. Quickness does NOT impact the number of AP available.

Quickness rules the Dodge skill, and is thus a Tanking secondary after Body.

STRENGTHPrimary Importance: Offence

Secondary Importance: Conversation Options

Rules: Adapts/Melee Fighters, Thrown Weapons

Strength is the primary offensive stat for Adapts and anyone interested in melee combat. It also helps for throwing grenades. This stat is the least important to anyone not interested in close combat, and is the most expendable attribute in Shadowrun. Set this stat to '1' because it's only really useful for Adepts.

WILLPOWERPrimary Importance: Offence

Secondary Importance: Tank

Rules: Mages, Adapts

Willpower does two things: Casts spells, and resists spells. If you plan to be a mage, you want this. Adapts use this for Chi casting, and besides that it helps resisting spells -- something only the tank might need to worry about, and even then high Body is far more useful.

NOTE: Magical healing is extremely unreliable since it only heals the last wound received -- if you're hit with a spell that does damage over time, instead of healing that serious 10 point would, it might just heal the 3 point would you took right afterwards! While it can be a lifesaver, the player character will want to ensure medkits are available to self-heal.

Character Creation: Skills At Creation And Development Tips

Starting SkillsYou will need to specialize.

And the most optimal route requires a custom built character. Just note that "Dead Man's Switch" does a really lousy job at equipping characters -- for example, even though one might punk down 4 into Spellcasting doesn't mean you'll start with any spells in the flashback.

However, Shadowrun is game where different classes have skills that may have diminishing returns until much later in the game, so sometimes it will be a waste to put too much into a skill too soon. For example, Deckers could be sacrificing survivability in exchance for dealing with Matrix enemies who could just as easily be killed with lower skills, whereas a Riggers' drones can get AP bonuses, making the sacrifice worth it.

Don't invest more than 4 points in any skill or attribute during character generation -- you won't need it higher and your other areas could be weak enough to cause problems. Once you get some karma you can boost them further.

Here's my suggestions for each class:

Street SamuraiInitially you won't have much in the way of gear or resources and only one gun available at the start. Since you're not allowed to start with cyberware, it means if you're a street sam, you're a gunner. Considering you won't be able to afford more than one gun, specializing in one will give you an early game edge -- doing much more damage and having better techniques available.

Suggested: RANGED COMBAT 4

This gives you the Overwatch option, and it lets you wait for the fools to wander into your line of sight. Your allies won't have this when you start the game but one person who can ambush is better than none.

Afterwards, you'll want to pick a weapon specialization:

Pistols are meant for single-shot, close range combat. The first real boon comes at Pistols 4, where it costs you nothing to reload your weapon -- very useful for keeping the stream of damage up! Pistols get the most tricks but require a lot of investment to see them.

SMG's are for burst fire, close-to-medium range combat and preferably for multiple opponents. Your first edge will be "Spray and Pray" at SMG 1, with Aimed Shot at 3.

Shotguns are geared for high damage and multiple targets at close to medium range. Note that you can accidentally hit your allies at medium (6 unit) range or more do to the cone of spread shotguns have. Their last special perk is at 5, and their first -- kneecap -- might not do much damage but the AP cost can really mess up the opposition.

Rilfes are good for any range but are the only long range weapon. If you're not sure what weapon specialization to go with, go with rilfes. Rifles have the second most amount of techniques.

Decker

You won't be doing much hard decking initially, and since you're also ruled by your deck, forget about putting more than 3 points into Decking initially since you won't get access to anything better for a little while. As the game progresses, save some karma and watch the vendors -- as soon as better decks are available, get your decking skill up so you can use the best deck they're selling at the time and you'll have no problems in the matrix. 3 points will suffice and let you get rid of the crappy Sony deck ASAP.

Suggested: Put your other points into Body and RANGED COMBAT. Magic doesn't mix well with tech, so you're better off lending a hand in firefights. You might want to consider ESP Control for help in the matrix, but I found the programs aren't needed if your Decking/Intel is good.

Rigger

The Rigger is a class that doesn't have diminishing returns for its target skill of Drone Combat. Every single point invested in Drone Combat gives a bonus of some kind. Once your body is at 4 or 5, this is basically the only skill you need since your rigger should keep his/her meat out of danger. (A friendly reminder: Each drone active drains an AP per round. If you activate 2 drones, your rigger can't move until you're awarded the third AP later in the game. So get your rigger to safety THEN activate the drones!)

Shaman

The shaman is a tricky but potentially potent build. As a shaman, you're ruled by Charisma, regardless if you're summoning or conjuring. Now the tricky part about being a shaman is the fact that Conjuring doesn't do direct damage. The other problem? Spellcasting and guns require investment in Willpower or Quickness. This is expensive from a karma perspective.

However, Conjuring spells aren't resisted so the hit chance isn't an issue. That means that the shaman only needs to invest in conjuring as spells become available, much like the decker.

Suggested Mimimums:

Conjuring: 1

Summoning: 3 (for totem)

Build up conjuring only to unlock new spells as they become available. You can then either focus on Summoning (it will allow you better spirit control), gunplay (since that means boosting Quickness you'll take less physical damage) or spellcasting (the willpower increase means less magic damage). For Deadman's Switch, I suggest getting some gun skills.

Mage

The mage is straightforward: Spellcasting. You want to survive, and you want to hurt them. The mage is THE most straightforward offensive class there is since you needn't even worry about a gun specailization.

You may want to consider some gun skills for Deadman's Switch regardless.

The Adept

EDIT: The Shadowrun engine has had tweaks made recently to make Adepts a force, but I don't know if this impacts Returns as it's been ages since I played after writing this guide.

If you're the player character, and an Adept, you need to resign yourself to tanking since you're forced to fight so close. You can do great things, especially when paired with a Conjuring Shaman, but having to get so close to the enemy means being able to survive damage. That means making smart use of cover.

It also means that you'll need to invest more in Body first. Don't go out without a body of at least 4, and Close Combat of 4 as well, considering that the movement cost invested in close-quarters combat also means you need to make every strike count.

Afterwards, you'll want to focus on either Unarmed or Melee combat for the damage bonus, investing in Chi Casting based on the availability of Adept skills. The Adept is a trickier build due to the fact you have to focus on Body to survive, Strength to hit, and Willpower for your Chi casting, and then you also need to worry about your specializations for extra damage.

Combat with your Adept will be far more tactical. If possible, try to force enemies into choke points -- Adepts can access sweeping melee strikes to hit close groups.

Your Other PointsAll character benefit from Biotech and Dodge. Charisma wil always have an eventual impact on dialogue, either as a stat check or for an etiquette, so a Charisma of 2 is recommended if you have a couple of points laying around.

Combat Basics

The Computer CheatsAn unfortunate element of Shadowrun Returns is that it doesn't use proper rules of Iniative. Instead of individual characters moving at different times, the computer has a designated turn for each initial combat situation and it's usually first.

This is a flat-out poor design and makes life difficult. The computer prefers to attack the player character, regardless of actual threat at the time, and often can move before the player can do anything.

This is just something to deal with -- there's no single strategy to counter it. If you know combat is coming, you can move from cover-to-cover but sometimes you just have to deal.

Get to Cover!As soon as combat starts, get your team to cover. Any cover is better than none, and the computer picks its targets based on who's the most exposed.

That means that the more fragile the runner is, the more important it is they have good cover. Not only will they be harder to hit, but they're lower on the computer's priority list to attack.

Tank characters can exploit this by purporsely exposing themselves to attack.

Cover to CoverAlways move units from cover to cover when there's enemies around. It might be slower, but it's much safer.

Watch Your GroupingTry to avoid crowding everyone in the same area, even if it's great cover. Any unit that can toss a grenade or area of effect spell will do so, even if it means hitting its own units. This is important for Riggers who leave their drones on "Follow", since they're a prime candidate for suck attacks. Either keep them too far back to hit, or make better use of their drones for flanking purposes.

Strength in NumbersFocus on killing enemies over wounding a group. While being wounded negatively impacts their ability to hit, one less enemy is one less problem. Focus fire on one target when possible.

Overwatch Is Your FriendAs soon as the enemy spots you, they'll move in to attack. This means even if you just pop out into their line of sight for one action, and then run back to cover, they'll all charge forward.

Now, if you have your team on Overwatch watching a choke point, the first fool following you in is going to eat fire from all directions. Two characters set to Burst Fire on Overwatch will almost certainly kill most enemies who wander into their line of sight. And when on the chase, the computer will likely move EVERYONE into the choke.

Now if two characters are lying in wait with burst fire, and two more are just waiting to toss grenades and Area Of Effect spells, this means that the entire group of enemies will use up their turn walking in and getting shot.

Then the NEXT turn is your team throwing grenades, spells, and ANOTHER round of burst fire. The ambushed enemies will likely be fewer in numbers and badly wounded. They usually don't last long afterwards.

Line of Sight is a PainThe interface of the game doesn't make figuring out your line of sight easy due to the angle and lack of transparency of scenery. Be careful about your line of sight or you'll waste turns moving -- there's no UNDO in Shadowrun Returns.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=257755690

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