06-30-2003, 07:53 PM
OK, time for augmentation discussion. :ph34r:
Here's the quick list of the ones I chose:
Legs: Speed Enhancement
Arms: Microfibral Muscle
Torso: Aqualung, Regeneration, Synthetic Heart
Subdermal: Radar Transparency, Ballistic Protection
Eyes: Vision Enhancement
Cranial: Aggressive Defense System
And now, the discussion:
First, I have to note the absolute most essential augmentation in the game, the Flashlight (default aug, F12). It probably accounts for 80%+ of my augmentation use. There's just so many dark corners in this dang game.
Speed Enhancement: Great aug. Not something you (or at least I) use often, but when you need it you really do. I actually use it more for the added leaping ability (opens up all sorts of options) and the falling damage mitigation (only need to toggle it for a second or two for that, so it's an efficient use of energy IMO) than speed. The alternative, Run Silent seems useless. I routinely move around crouched anyway, which pretty much makes me silent enough. If I used melee weapons more it might be moderately useful, but I still doubt it would be worth more than Speed Enhancement.
Microfibral Muscle: What can I say? Lifting big heavy stuff is really useful. Like Speed Enhancement, it opens all sorts of options for getting around. Another aug that doesn't get used much, but really pays off when you do need it. The alternative, Combat Strength, is useless because I rarely enter into melee, and besides the Dragon's Tooth can kill a non-augmented soldier in one hit (with Melee at Untrained, no less).
Aqualung: Great aug. There are tons of places you'll need to swim through, and even more out-of-the-way places you can explore for goodies. It's probably not an aug that really needs to be upgraded, though--in my game I have this at level 2 and Swimming at Trained, and I basically have to try to run out of oxygen when swimming. I probably could have saved an aug upgrade canister and some skill points and been just as well off.
Regeneration: This is the end-all be-all augmentation. If you're not dead and you have bio cells, you can heal right up. It does gobble energy like mad, but it's been my experience that bio cells are everywhere (but I'm playing on Easy, things might be different in other difficulties). Initially the rate of healing seems slow (roughly 5 points a second, and you have 6 body parts with 100 health points each), but at level 2 that jumps to 15/second at the same energy cost, which is really nice. I've stopped carrying medkits since this aug is so much more efficient.
Synthetic Heart: This one was a hard choice. The Heart is used in conjunction with other augmentations, upgrading their effective level by 1 when it's on. It does, however, use enormous amounts of energy. From a metagaming perspective, it's a great aug (free levels? yeah), but I haven't needed to use it yet. The Power Recirculator may have been a better choice. It drains a bit of energy (same as the Flashlight, which uses basically none), but lowers the energy drain of other augs by a certain percentage.
Radar Transparency: Have yet to use it. It's supposed to make you invisible to technological sight (bots, cameras, etc), but I find it easier to just hack a security computer or bypass cameras or destroy bots, especially considering this aug gobbles energy like mad.
Ballistic Protection: This aug lowers the damage you take from bullets. It's definitely useful, but combined with my sneaky ninja playstyle and the relative speed of the gunfights I do get into, something more like the EMP Shield (which mitigates damage from EMPs or open electrical fields, which not only damage you but drain energy) would have been more useful.
Vision Enhancement: I have mixed feelings about this one. I have it at level 2 (level 1 is low-light vision, 2 is thermal/infravision, 3 and 4 are short- and long-range sonar imaging) and when it works it's great, but most of the time it doesn't work. One would think this is meant to be a replacement for the Flashlight when you don't want anyone else noticing light, but if there's no light it just plain refuses to work. Very frustrating. Still better than Targeting, though--which didn't seem to give any useful information (ooh, that MiB I sniped has "low health"!), blocked part of your view with that informaton, and seemed alittle buggy (seemed to be a lag between aiming at a target and getting information).
Aggressive Defense System: I don't think I've ever used this. It's supposed to detonate grenades/rockets before they get close enough to harm you, but like Ballistic Protection, I tend not to get into those situations, and they're over quickly if I do. It also uses a respectable bit of energy to keep up. In hindsight the Spy Drone would probably be the better choice, if for nothing else than the drones could self-destruct and emit an EMP (so you'd always have a way of taking out bots, bio cells willing).
And the rest of the augmentations:
Environmental Resistance: Lessens damage you take from radiation, poison, toxic waste, etc. Pretty much useless, especially once you get Regeneration.
Energy Shield: Lessens damage from flame, electrical, and plasma attacks. Useful, but not exactly necessary if you play stealthily. Regeneration has been able to cover it for me.
Cloak: Like Radar Transparency, except you're invisible to biologicals. This one would probably be really useful for a non-killing character, since you can turn off/bypass cameras and bots, but not people. It eats alot of juice, though.
I think that's all of them...
- WL
Here's the quick list of the ones I chose:
Legs: Speed Enhancement
Arms: Microfibral Muscle
Torso: Aqualung, Regeneration, Synthetic Heart
Subdermal: Radar Transparency, Ballistic Protection
Eyes: Vision Enhancement
Cranial: Aggressive Defense System
And now, the discussion:
First, I have to note the absolute most essential augmentation in the game, the Flashlight (default aug, F12). It probably accounts for 80%+ of my augmentation use. There's just so many dark corners in this dang game.
Speed Enhancement: Great aug. Not something you (or at least I) use often, but when you need it you really do. I actually use it more for the added leaping ability (opens up all sorts of options) and the falling damage mitigation (only need to toggle it for a second or two for that, so it's an efficient use of energy IMO) than speed. The alternative, Run Silent seems useless. I routinely move around crouched anyway, which pretty much makes me silent enough. If I used melee weapons more it might be moderately useful, but I still doubt it would be worth more than Speed Enhancement.
Microfibral Muscle: What can I say? Lifting big heavy stuff is really useful. Like Speed Enhancement, it opens all sorts of options for getting around. Another aug that doesn't get used much, but really pays off when you do need it. The alternative, Combat Strength, is useless because I rarely enter into melee, and besides the Dragon's Tooth can kill a non-augmented soldier in one hit (with Melee at Untrained, no less).
Aqualung: Great aug. There are tons of places you'll need to swim through, and even more out-of-the-way places you can explore for goodies. It's probably not an aug that really needs to be upgraded, though--in my game I have this at level 2 and Swimming at Trained, and I basically have to try to run out of oxygen when swimming. I probably could have saved an aug upgrade canister and some skill points and been just as well off.
Regeneration: This is the end-all be-all augmentation. If you're not dead and you have bio cells, you can heal right up. It does gobble energy like mad, but it's been my experience that bio cells are everywhere (but I'm playing on Easy, things might be different in other difficulties). Initially the rate of healing seems slow (roughly 5 points a second, and you have 6 body parts with 100 health points each), but at level 2 that jumps to 15/second at the same energy cost, which is really nice. I've stopped carrying medkits since this aug is so much more efficient.
Synthetic Heart: This one was a hard choice. The Heart is used in conjunction with other augmentations, upgrading their effective level by 1 when it's on. It does, however, use enormous amounts of energy. From a metagaming perspective, it's a great aug (free levels? yeah), but I haven't needed to use it yet. The Power Recirculator may have been a better choice. It drains a bit of energy (same as the Flashlight, which uses basically none), but lowers the energy drain of other augs by a certain percentage.
Radar Transparency: Have yet to use it. It's supposed to make you invisible to technological sight (bots, cameras, etc), but I find it easier to just hack a security computer or bypass cameras or destroy bots, especially considering this aug gobbles energy like mad.
Ballistic Protection: This aug lowers the damage you take from bullets. It's definitely useful, but combined with my sneaky ninja playstyle and the relative speed of the gunfights I do get into, something more like the EMP Shield (which mitigates damage from EMPs or open electrical fields, which not only damage you but drain energy) would have been more useful.
Vision Enhancement: I have mixed feelings about this one. I have it at level 2 (level 1 is low-light vision, 2 is thermal/infravision, 3 and 4 are short- and long-range sonar imaging) and when it works it's great, but most of the time it doesn't work. One would think this is meant to be a replacement for the Flashlight when you don't want anyone else noticing light, but if there's no light it just plain refuses to work. Very frustrating. Still better than Targeting, though--which didn't seem to give any useful information (ooh, that MiB I sniped has "low health"!), blocked part of your view with that informaton, and seemed alittle buggy (seemed to be a lag between aiming at a target and getting information).
Aggressive Defense System: I don't think I've ever used this. It's supposed to detonate grenades/rockets before they get close enough to harm you, but like Ballistic Protection, I tend not to get into those situations, and they're over quickly if I do. It also uses a respectable bit of energy to keep up. In hindsight the Spy Drone would probably be the better choice, if for nothing else than the drones could self-destruct and emit an EMP (so you'd always have a way of taking out bots, bio cells willing).
And the rest of the augmentations:
Environmental Resistance: Lessens damage you take from radiation, poison, toxic waste, etc. Pretty much useless, especially once you get Regeneration.
Energy Shield: Lessens damage from flame, electrical, and plasma attacks. Useful, but not exactly necessary if you play stealthily. Regeneration has been able to cover it for me.
Cloak: Like Radar Transparency, except you're invisible to biologicals. This one would probably be really useful for a non-killing character, since you can turn off/bypass cameras and bots, but not people. It eats alot of juice, though.
I think that's all of them...
- WL
