Weapons - When to purchase upgrades?

[Ancient Toaster]

Seems like early game the weapons you can buy don't offer much in the way of an actual upgrade over the starter weapons. Case in point - The starter AK-97 has a damage of 10 with a capacity of 24. The upgrade to that is Damage 11, Capacity 30. That can't be worth the nuyen right?

Right now I'm just spending money on Cyberware. Is there going to be a point where weapons really need to be upgraded or are they always very small incremental damage increases?

[Clockwork]

There's 2 points in the game only when I buy weapons :
- The first point is a bit around mid-campaign when the guy asks me to retrieve stolen goods
- The second point is later on after retrieving Alice's information.

Doing that and not buying any consumable, I can buy practically anything I want.

[Talon]

I hope you're spending money on bioware or Alpha-grade cyberware otherwise I have some bad news for you...

[Ancient Toaster]

Originally posted by Talon:

I hope you're spending money on bioware or Alpha-grade cyberware otherwise I have some bad news for you...

I bought a basic Leg Cyberware, a Data Jack and the basic vision enhancements early on.

[Ancient Toaster]

Originally posted by Talon:

I hope you're spending money on bioware or Alpha-grade cyberware otherwise I have some bad news for you...

So I'm new to this series so I guess I fell for the Cyberware trap. I can replace those existing augs with the better ones right, or does that also take more essence?

[Ancient Toaster]

Originally posted by SpenReyn:

To your original question, I usually haven't had any money problems with the game, I upgrade my weapons whenever something new becomes available, but I usually leave Cyberwear until after the good stuff shows up late in the game.

Money started out tight but it hasn't been a problem anymore.

I took the above advice and purchased a weapon upgrade after retreiving some goods for the Gun Vendor (did a Run) and it was a nice upgrade and seemed to be worth the investment. The guns prior to that all added very miniscule amounts of damage.

I am able to aford the Cyberware Alpha stuff that I wanted and some guns, and I still have some money to spare so it's not a big deal.

[frdnwsm]

Just as a side note, if you manage your cash, by the time you head for Apex, you can buy a Vindicator ... not for Eiger, but for Glory. Big strong Eiger can't handle the sheer weight of the weapon, but Glory has two cyberarms, giving her a strength of 8. She can swing that puppy around like a pistol.

Her accuracy at long range stinks, but she's going to be pumping her adrenaline up and running in close anyway, and at close range she can do some significant damage with it. Haste plus adrenaline gives her 5 AP, which she will need to
A) Knock target out of cover with hand razor attack
B) fire the Vindicator and then
C) head back to cover.

Just for laughs, I also give her the Remington Roomsweeper, which is a found item.

As for Eiger, she comes with both short range and long range weaponry, so give her a medium range assault rifle and she's good to go. Note also that if you choose the proper option on her personal side quest, she gets a VERY nice weapon out of it. (If you blow it, you get a grenade upgrade ... whee.)

Oh, right ... cyberware. Unlike SR:Hong Kong, the cyner affinity skill doesn't exist, and cyber is expensive. Yes, I'd agree; get other gear first and grab the better cyber stuff later on.

[frdnwsm]

P.S.

Unlike SR:Hong Kong, you can't give found items directly to a companion runner, but there are ways to get around this. Getting the Roomsweeper for Glory is especially tricky, but it can be done. I leave the tactical solution to your ingenious minds.