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Welcome to the Ares Weapons Emporium.
You will learn to love it.
That's right, universal gun clips. The same clip will work in EVERY gun. Shotguns, SMGs, pistols... In fact, it'll even have the proper number of bullets.
Yes, these guns of the future rock you like a hurricane.
The Ares Predator... Probably my #1 choice for a pistol in this game. For the price (around 650 nuyen), the bullet clip size (15), and stopping power (medium damage, medium power)... It truly is the way to go.
I don't recommend taking on a Ghoul Run unless you are packing an Ares Predator, Browning Max Power, or a Ruger Super Warhawk. You need something that drop these zombie bastards fast and with vengeance. And the less reloading you have to do -- the better.
Though for as rough as these runs are, I wouldn't do it for any less than 20 nuyen a kill.
The upper right building in the Redmond Barrens is abandoned. Apparently ghouls and other foul creatures live here. But we're getting paid good money to whack these bastards, so in we go!
But later on, it gets even better. You can weasel your way up to like 120 nuyen or more per kill.
These bastards punch and they punch hard. Plus they usually attack in groups of up to 5. Just open up on them like you're The Punisher, they'll go down in just a few bullets (usually 3 or so).
The best thing to do is to walk in the opposite direction from them, or in a diagonal, and then take potshots at them with your Ares Predator. Because if they catch up to you, they will put the hurt on you, and fast.
Also, beware the Dick Tracy looking guy in a beige trenchcoat and matching hat. He runs twice as fast as everybody else, hits like a truck, and should be gunned down as quickly as possible to save your skin.
Up in the middle North of the Barrens is this fellow Boris and his greenhouse. He claims to be a fixer... But really, I just wonder what he grows in his 'greenhouse'...
That aside, I don't trust this Boris fellow. He looks like a rat.
Despite it's name being The Little Chiba Chop Shop (whether it be bodies or cars, I do not know, and I advise you do not ask), do not fret. These guys are great for healing or cyberware installing. A bit more expensive than other options later on in the game, but it's the best you can get this early on.
A Datajack is useful if you want to do any decking (or namely, use a cyberdeck at all) and get into the matrix. Or you can hire a runner to do all of your decking for you. Definitely high up on my purchase list.
Cybereyes allow you to see invisible enemies and give you a combat advantage, apparently (don't trust everything you read, though, I'm not sure I could ever verify that latter claim). Still, I always get this upgrade.
Be like Wolverine. All the cool kids are doing it. Seriously though, hand razors suck, but Cyber Spurs? These things are a beast. They can even outperform most firearms against heavily armored targets. If you were a street samurai in the P&P game, you'd probably want these... However, I usually avoid them, as I prefer a gun to having to punch the crap out of anybody, because they usually are punching and shooting back.
A smartlink requires your gun to have a smartlink adapter on it. But you can only use that on pistols or SMGs, since shotguns cannot be accessorized. Since I love shotguns, I skip this, as the .5 essence is better spent elsewhere IMO. Also, you can get smart goggles which do basically the same thing later on - but they do take up an inventory slot. Just put a laser sight on your pistol and call it a day. I'm willing to bet you don't notice the difference.
Here's some street samurai material right here. Wired reflexes are where it's at, as you can move and shoot faster (quickness). Dermal armor is your body, and muscle replace is your strength.
If I was a street samurai, I'd do 2 levels of wired reflexes for 3 essence (first level is 2.0, second is 1.0, third is 2.0 again -- not sure why, but it works out well), then get 3 levels of dermal armor and a smartlink for 2 more essence. With your remaining 0.9 essence (you have to have at least 0.1 essence left), you can still buy cyber eyes, a datajack, and cyber spurs if you so desired. Muscle replace is pretty worthless in my mind, but if you want to punch people to death, maybe it would be right for you.
As for my shaman, we want to have essence remaining to keep our magic high... So I just went with dermal armor for .5 essence since I skipped out on the smartlink. This is coupled with my datajack and cyber eyes, so I am only out .9 essence -- and as long as I stay at 5.0 to 5.9 essence, my magic stays at 5. That extra point to body is rather handy, too. But, some people don't like to cyber their shamans at all, for that extra magic casting edge.
Now since I have a Predator and some money (with an Ares Predator and ghoul runs, money and karma is pretty easy to come by in the Barrens), I tricked it out with a silencer and a laser sight. There's some good upgrades for SMGs, such as Gas Vent II and III and Sound Suppressor (except I hate SMGs, but to each his own). You can also get the smartlink add-on here, too.
You have to love the random event system. These little "interrupts" happen all the time during the game while you're just walking around. Weigh your options carefully, and be prepared for a possible shootout to occur if things go south. Walk away is usually the safest option, as you may otherwise find yourself under attack from ghouls, gangers, or even Lone Star.
Every Grunderson run nets you 1 karma, and ghoul runs usually net about 3. So make sure to spend it to get more out of the runs!
I installed a datajack and the cybereyes. Notice my magic and essence have gone down because of this. I went back later and purchased the dermal armor, too.
You can see all of your happy cyberware on the main menu.
Several characters in this game will give or sell you contact information. There are some very worthwhile items in the game that you absolutely need contacts to get.
Go to your nearest vid-phone and give your contacts a call.
Anyway, she's rather talkative for not wanting to have her face seen, you know? Damned paranoid people. You'd think the government or the megacorps were always watching, or something...
Time to get Michael's stuff. There's actually quite a few goodies in his magical mystery box (but sadly there is no free boat).
Excellent. A Doc Wagon wristband (a lot of good it did your brother, since he apparently wasn't wearing it when he got fragged) and a cheap-ass cyberdeck. Your brother must have been both an idiot and a script kiddie.
And the magical holopix and some 500 nuyen. So we actually came out 250 nuyen ahead on this deal; sweet!
Now that you have Michael's stuff, you can FINALLY get a ride from a TAXI to Seattle. Before they said they couldn't get down to the Barrens to get you, for some reason [the "magical blocked path" effect of video games, of course]. Pay the nice man some money (we can get around paying on cab fares later, don't you worry), and we're off to Downtown Seattle!
Continue to Part 4: KILLING IS MY BUSINESS... AND BUSINESS IS GOOD
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