How to: Ghost 1.0

A guide outlining some adventuring essentials and content spoilers. Guide is image-heavy, so if some text looks out of place, it's probably because an image near it didn't load. Make sure to click on an image if you need to enlarge it.

Introduction

The world needs your phase-changing, steel exoskeleton-kicking abilities...
Do YOU want to turn the Nakamura space station upside-down? Look no further, we have a mechanic ready to 3D print your chassis, so you can get started.

--- Game Modes ---

Survival - "A rogue-like experience which rewards skillful play and survival with a greater challenge & huge variety of items."

• "Story progress autosaves every room & death."
  
• "Player receives items randomly every life."
  
• "Difficulty increases the longer you survive."
  
• "On death, lose all weapons/powerups."

Classic - "A casual experience focused on becoming more powerful throughout the game by farming items."

• "Story progress autosaves every room & death." (Can bypass the death loss by exiting the game just as you take the final blow. Progress during the past room may be undone though, since you will probably revert back to your autosave.)
  
• "Player chooses which items to purchase."
  
• "Difficulty increases gradually over the game." (Mainly with zone puzzles and alarm levels.)
  
• "On death lose unsaved items."

Both Modes:

• Survival / Classic - Easy
  
  • Missions require fewer items, have fewer enemies and easier bosses
• Survival / Classic - Medium
  
  • Missions require a few less items
• Survival / Classic - Hard
  
  • "Only for experienced gamers."

Complete World Map

Notes:

• The solid yellow markers are shop locations, while the hollow ones (shaped like a floppy disc) indicate 3D Printers.
  
• The leaf icons in the green area (the greenhouse) point out harvesters, so you know where to collect material for the greenhouse mission.
  
• Death Markers will show on the map if Ghost dies. What you gain from visiting them depends on your game mode.

Adventuring Essentials

• When exploring without a map, I always recommend either going clockwise or counterclockwise until you reach a dead end. Then, return to your starting point and proceed in the other direction.
• Going clockwise on a 2D game's map would mean travelling all the way to the right, then down, then left, then up.
  
• Going counterclockwise would mean travelling all the way up, then to the left, down and then to the right. Basically reverse the directions, like you would do on Google Maps.

Movement - including Ghosting

• You can shoot while running or crouching.
  
• Can move toward fire, not just away from it. Most projectiles do not follow you, so you can dodge some shots by moving towards them!
  
• Jumping at the last minute can save you from getting hit by projectiles.
  
• Some enemies won't be able to hit you while crouching. Especially one in the Labs section!
  
• While travelling in pipeline corrridors, disable powerups such as Drones, and Jump Wave.
  
• Double-Jump and move against the flow of a conveyor belt to travel faster
  
• Double-jump before ghosting to save travel time, when travelling upward.
  
• Use Ghost Mode to control robots in places you can't get to with the Chassis.
  
• Ghost can only hack humanoid robots - what the game refers to as "intelligent."
  
• Use Ghost Mode to travel through rooms in an enemy's chassis. Beware, some door-opening consoles cannot be used while in Ghost mode.
  
• Enemies will become hostile toward any robot's body you take control of.
  
• Interacting with a deadly hazard or enemy while controlling a robot in Ghost Mode will NOT kill Ghost, but it will kill the controlled robot. Doing so will force Ghost out of the controlled robot on its destruction.
  
• Be careful where you leave the Chassis. For example, engaging Ghost Mode while jumping over a spike pit will kill Ghost because the chassis lands in the pit. Do not leave the chassis where enemies can attack it.
  
• Return to the Chassis by pressing R to leave a robot. Then, you can manually travel to your Chassis to interact with it, or save time by right-clicking!

Rooms and Room Hazards

• You don't have to clear all enemies generated by an alarm phase. Just survive, then you can leave the room with the HP you have left!
  
• Typical room hazards include alarms, lasers and spike pits.
  
• Most hazards will just damage you and reinforcements. Spike pits and some laser traps will hurt enemies.
  
• Trigger floating grenades, and they can damage enemies. These floating robots are usually found in clusters. The Beam weapon is very efficient at eliminating these hazards from a safe distance. Beware of explosive robots in pipeline areas. Use a single-shot blast to remove them without bursting any steam pipes - which normally will injure you while they are broken. Disable the powerups mentioned in the Movement section to proceed cautiously through these areas. Steam pipes will self-heal in about a minute or less.
  
• Be suspicious of long corridors.

Alarm Phases

• Are indicated by a console around the middle of a room, with a red light on each side from above.
  
• Alarm level goes from 1 to 20, with 20 being the most chaotic, bullet fest.
  
• You will only experience one alarm level per trigger.
  
• Alarm phase level affects alarm duration and enemy count.
  
• Type of enemy won't change much with alarm level. For example, you may still see Nakamura maids at alarm 10+. You will just see more of them in a shorter period of time.
  
• Doors will be raised, and the lights will return to normal after an alarm phase is over. Enemies will no longer spawn, but those not killed will remain for awhile.
  
• The alarm level will normally rise by 1 after the end of an alarm phase. This will not affect you until you re-trigger an alarm.
  
• Make sure to press the console just after completing an alarm phase. Break the crates that appear to collect your rewards.
  
• Alarms triggered by walking into the red light will no longer be triggered that way.
  
• Reactivate the alarm phase later by pressing the console to rechallenge and collect more reward cubes.

Recommendations

• Don't leave the Chassis to use Ghost Mode during an alarm phase....However, if you find a robot with better weaponry than you, it may be worth taking control of. Just stay near the chassis to defend it.
  
• The alarm level has a 20% chance to be kept from rising if you've unlocked Jacker's Alarm Stagnancy skill.
  
• An alarm has a 20% chance to be instantly stopped with Jacker's Alarm Fail skill.

Shops

• Shop currency is golden-yellow energy cubes. Defeat enemies to make them drop. You can also break crates (especially from alarm phase rewards) to earn them. Energy cubes decrease in size, then disappear after some time. Pick them up ASAP to earn the maximum reward.
  
• Shops are indicated by the same cube image near a door.
  
• Shops are divided into two kinds: shops that sell primarily disposable items, and shops that sell weapons (both types of shops can additionally offer repair kits to heal you, or weapon upgrades).
  
• Energy cubes are lost on death, but you can regain them easily during alarm phases. Certain skills will reduce your currency loss. You can also find upgrades that can print your robot with free energy cubes on revival.
  
• Stick to 2-3 weapons and upgrade them as you go along. If you're willing to delay weapon upgrades, spend cubes on additional weapons just for fun.
  
• Get only what you need on harder modes.
  
• Don't waste money on heals unless you're on harder modes, or you're about to pass out with alot of energy cubes at stake.

One of the shops on the space station.

--- Skill Tree ---

You only acquire 5 skill points per Tier (most, if not all are obtained by collecting a piece of an access card). Each skill costs 1 point. Choose wisely, as you can't respec your skill points at this time - your skill points are permanently assigned once you choose!

Which Skills you unlock will mainly depend on your goal and difficulty setting. If you're on Survival Mode, assume you'll be beaten up badly despite your dodging skills. On Easy Mode, try out all the weapons and look for secrets - have fun!

Notes:

• Suggestions are based on my playstyle
  
• Just because I only strongly recommended some skills doesn't mean I'm dissing the rest. I just didn't find the others spectacular. Items I left blank I have no opinion about. They are helpful, but I found the skill points better spent elsewhere on the Skill Tree.
  
• I found that some items held me back - I marked "No" after these skill descriptions. I don't recommend the items marked "No".
  
• Jacker has very helpful skills, so I feel most are equally helpful - as opposed to the other skill trees which have some skills that are vastly more helpful than others.

Sample Skill Tree on Classic - Easy Mode (By the way, the Masochist achievement only needs skill points in the last rows of the Space Station Skill Tree.)

Skill Tree - Chassis - Chassis Improvements

Tier	Skill	Effect	Strongly Recommended?
Tier 1	Repair Efficiency	Increases the efficiency of any hull repair by 20%.
	Repair Nano-Machines	Slowly repairs the chassis when it has less than 50 HP.
	Double-Jump	Allows you to jump twice. Press Jump again while in the air.	Yes
Tier 2	Titanium Hull	Reduces damage taken from explosions by 25% and from melee damage by 10%.	Yes
	Dash	Allows you to dash forward while jumping. To use, press CTRL or Down while in the air.
	Aluminum Hull	Reduces bullet damage by 10%.	Yes
Tier 3	PVC Hull	Reduces damage taken from acid and steam by 50%.
	Encapsule	While not being controlled, damage to the chassis is reduced by 50%.
	Camouflage	Cloaks your robot for 5 secs when not being controlled. Needs 120 secs to recharge.
Tier 4	Jetpack	Allows you to fall slowly to reach far places when jumping. Hold Jump while in the air.
	Autofire	The chassis shoots enemies when (while?) not being controlled for 10 secs.
	Emergency Kit	Cloaks for 5 secs, creates a destructive wave, and repairs 100 HP just before dying. Has only 1 charge.	Yes*

Notes:
* - Emergency Kit is a great skill, but it can easily be wasted before you need it. Try not to spend the skill point on it until just before the skill might be needed (such as the final boss).

Skill Tree - Boogan - Technical Improvements

Tier	Skill	Effect	Strongly Recommended?
Tier 1	Conservation	Death markers will retain 20% of your energy cubes so you can recover.	Yes*
	Defense Roll	Damage taken when rolling on the ground is reduced by 50%. Does not stack with the shield powerup.
	Battle Visor	Shows the HP of damaged enemies.	Yes
Tier 2	Core Plating	Maximum HP is increased by 50.	Yes
	Dashing Roll	Ground rolls hurt enemies.
	Repair Overclocking	Items that slowly repair your hull now repair it faster.
Tier 3	Energy Attraction	Attracts energy cubes just before they disappear.
	Item Mastery	If you have more than one of the same item, you can use it an extra time (eg. 1+1=3).	Yes
	Capacitor Efficiency	While crouching, primary and secondary weapon capacitors recharge 20% faster.	Yes
Tier 4	Energy Potential	Energy cubes have a higher value if you get to them fast enough.	Yes
	Healing Cubes	Picking up energy cubes restores 1 HP.
	Healing Items	Using any item heals you for 20 HP.

Notes:
* - Only helpful if you have a large quantity of cubes, and still need to make more purchases at shops. Can be better when combined with effects like printing the chassis with energy cubes when it dies.

Skill Tree - Jacker - Hacking Improvements

Tier	Skill	Effect	Strongly Recommended?
Tier 1	Crash and Burn	Jacker has a 15% chance to speed up robot delivery capsules, causing them to explode on impact. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes
	Hello World	Map includes extra options to show the position and level of alarms, souls, secrets, and more information.	Yes*
	Playing Turret Defense	Every 4 secs, Jacker attempts to recode an alarm turret to become Ghost's ally. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes
Tier 2	Glitch in the Matrix	Jacker has a 15% to swap functional robots with incomplete robots as they're in transit. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes
	Live Long and Prosper	Sometimes Jacker drops repair containers instead of a robot. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes
	Friendship is Magic	Every 4 secs Jacker attempts to trick a robot into thinking Ghost is an ally. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes
Tier 3	No More Fallout	Jacker always makes radioactive robots affect everyone.	No**
	Alarm Fail	Jacker has a 20% chance to to hack the system to shut down an alarm instantly.	Yes
	Alarm Stagnancy	Jacker has a 20% chance to prevent the alarm level from rising when the alarm is disconnected.	No***
Tier 4	Energon Overload	Every 3 seconds, Jacker attempts to overload a robot with so much energy that they explode into energy cubes. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes
	Hidden Poison	Every 4 seconds, Jacker attempts to hack a Protection Module to emit poison within the shield of a protected enemy.	No****
	We are Legion	Sometimes Jacker calls down a cluster of allied robots. Only works during alarm phases.	Yes

Notes:
* - The Ghost 1.0 discussion forums have stated the map may show secret locations, but not the triggers for them.
** - According to a reader, this skill is only useful in the labs. It causes "friendly fire".
*** - This skill will slow your progress toward the Alarm Level achievements.
**** - I always destroy the Protection Modules as soon as they appear, making this skill pointless.


Reinforcements summoned using Jacker's "We are Legion" skill
Allies have a green or blue eye symbol above them.

Skill Tree - Ghost - Ghost Improvements

Tier	Skill	Effect	Strongly Recommended?
Tier 1	Haste	Increases Ghost form's speed.	Yes
	Energy Derivation	Energy cubes can now be picked up in Ghost form.	Yes*
	Interference	Ghost paralyzes robots she moves through in ghost form for 5 sec.	Yes
Tier 2	Death Shield	When you pick up any of your death markers (generated upon death), a shield will protect you for 5 secs, and your hull will regenerate 40 HP.
	Urgency	Controlled robots walk faster and take 50% less damage.	Yes
	Concentration	After 1 sec standing still or crouched, Ghost's primary weapon causes +2 damage. Also works with controlled robots.
Tier 3	Soul Attraction	Souls are attracted from much farther distances.
	Motivation	When destroying an enemy, damage is increased by +1 for 2 secs. The maximum damage bonus is the current alarm level. Also works with controlled robots.	Yes
	Death Spirits	When picking up any of your death markers (generated on death), 4 digital ghosts are summoned to attack your enemies.
Tier 4	Abuse the Force	Controlled robots deal 100% more damage.	Yes
	Espionage	Robots destroyed while posessed drop 20% more cubes.
	Soul Detection	When in Ghost form, you can detect hidden soul activation points when close enough.	Yes**

Notes:
* - Mainly useful if you're too far from the chassis to walk over and pick up the cubes before they disappear. Soul Detection is super handy if you want to start a massive brawl with controlled robots, and/or you're many rooms away from your body.
** - Patience is key with this one. You'll probably want to increase Ghost form's speed aswell.


Ghost's Interference Skill - paralyzes enemies for 5 secs when passed through in Ghost form.

Skill Tree - Nakamura Space Station Improvements

Tier	Skill	Effect	Strongly Recommended?
Tier 1	Energy Retention	Energy cubes now hold their energy 5 secs longer.
	Defense Repair	After an alarm is finished, base repair units are extracted for your use.	Yes
	Implement Special Template	Significantly increases the number of augmented enemy robots during alarms.
Tier 2	Weapon Improvement	Weapons can be upgraded one extra level in shops.	Yes
	Luck	Gives a 50% chance to obtain 2x more energy cubes as an alarm phase reward.	Yes
	Reinforce the Guard	Doubles the number of gun-wielding droids.
Tier 3	Printing Optimization	Reduces shop prices by 20%.	Yes
	Repair Kits	Robots may now drop repair kits.	Yes
	Defcon 3	All alarm levels on the space station are increased by 3.	Yes*
Tier 4	Autodestruction	You can self-destruct controlled robots.	Yes
	Material Saving	All robots have 20% less HP.	Yes
	Cleaning Service	Repair Kits and Weapon Rechargers now disappear after 3 secs.

Notes:
* - Raising all alarm levels by 3 should help you achieve some of the higher alarm levels quicker. If you're missing some levels in-between, backtrack to areas such as the center of the lab.

--- Inventory ---

Your inventory is divided into several categories. All contents are either bought in shops, or picked up along your exploration of the space station. To pick up an item, powerup, weapon, upgrade or geek, simply walk over it and it will transfer to your inventory.

Items, Powerups & Upgrades

Items - Mostly disposable things that help you restore HP. One-time use combat effects are also available.

Powerups - Powerups are similar to Upgrades, but are more independently functional and oriented toward combat. Powerups can be toggled on or off.

Upgrades - Upgrades are self-enhancing pickups. They usually modify existing features, like bullet count, damage absorption, etc.

Weapons & Secondary Weapons

Notes:

• Ammo and usage is infinite, except on non-weapons such as disposable items.
  
• Your primary weapon has 32 charges (plus optional upgrades).
  
• You cannot fire your primary and secondary weapons simultaneously.
  
• Weapons can be upgraded to level 4, without the Skill Tree bonus (can go to lv. 5, if you have the skill for it).
  
• Make sure to toggle which 3 secondary weapons will appear on your hotbar. Scroll with your mouse to change which of those three will be fired when you Alt click.

Recommendations:

• Primary Weapons: Your starting weapon has unlimited range, making it versatile. Missile Gun is also highly useful, especially combined with the Side Shot Powerup (even if the extra shots are just regular ones, not missiles).
  
• Secondary Weapons: the Beam (for clearing all small enemies - especially explosives - and for the piercing damage), the Shotgun (for heavy, close-range damage), and a gun with heavy fire rate, like the Machine gun.

Beam Gun demonstration on a Harvester and its minions.

Geeks

Geeks are purely aesthetic changes to the game. Usually a room reward from collecting secrets. Worth looking for at least casually - as you progress through the game. I can't tell you much about Geeks without mentioning Souls, so I'll go over that a bit.

Recommendations:

• Check walls using the Beam weapon to find the easiest secrets (destructibles).
  
• Not all rooms have destructible walls as secrets.
  
• Souls can be picked up in Ghost Mode. Move towards the glittery stuff in the air, and it'll be absorbed by you - that's a Soul. It's faster to collect them in in the chassis, but some Souls are cut off by platforms, doors, etc. One you collect all of the souls in a room, it'll swirl around you and materialize into Energy Cubes, an item, Geek, etc. in the middle of the room.

Souls in the Labs Boss room

Geek Example - Labs Zone

--- Enemy Habits and Attack Patterns ---

Please note: all aggressive enemies deal contact damage, but some enemies will shoot at you (Ranged) while others will come at you with sharp objects (Melee). Base Repair Units indicate when an enemy can "regrow" from shattered debris attached to the floor or ceiling of the space station rooms.

• Enemies can be bypassed in hallways and such. Avoid alarms and other combat opportunities when your health is low. You can use a 3D Printer to restore HP, not just revive :)
  
• Some enemies (such as bosses) must be defeated to continue exploring the map. The boss in the Crushers must actually be unlocked before you proceed to the final part of the story.
  
• Most enemies become hostile when close in proximity to you. You can avoid some entirely if you explore rooms carefully, and use Ghost mode to turn enemy robots against each other.
  
• Control enemies and use them to clear a few rooms ahead - leaving your chassis in a safe place. The hefty, missile-launching robots are best for this. Beware, enemies can respawn!
  
• Humanoid robots can use elevators to chase you around a room.

Bosses

General Info & Recommendations:

• There's 1 main boss per zone.
  
• Make sure to recharge your weapons, heal & save before the fight.
  
• Check your inventory to make sure you remembered to turn your powerups back on after going through pipelines.

Bosses :

1. Center Zone - Beetle

• The Beetle's weak spot is on the soles of his feet. Make sure to aim at those to deal damage.
  
• His most damaging attacks are stomping on you and releasing shockwaves.
  
• He will raise his feet for a few seconds or jump up in the air. Either way, he will stun you no matter how far away you are on the ground. Don't be caught in this - jump just before he hits the ground.
  
• His minions can also be annoying, so make sure to destroy the capsules, or mini-beetles that emerge from them before too many crowd your movement area.

2. Greenhouse - Plant Thing

• The plant has several ways to annoy you. You may think the laser below is the only ground problem, but the plant creature will raise thorny whips on the main platform in this room.
  
• The plant will shoot rockets - jumping just before impact will save you some trouble.
  
• The plant will try to eat you when you're on the far right of the screen.

3. Center Zone - Biped

• This boss seems very easy until you realize the HP meter isn't dropping at fast as you need it to.
  
• The easiest strategy is not one I found myself - according to the discussion forums, you can use Ghost Form to take control of the Biped...
  
• If you decide to use brute force - and can't finish the Boss in 20 seconds - notice the small ledge on the right of the screen. Don't jump onto it, but jump up beside it (to the right) and fall back down. Repeat this to make a break in the heavy fire.
  
• As the Biped moves toward you, it's harder to avoid some damage, but you should be very close to defeating it by then. (Stand right next to it while firing before the 20 sec timer is up, then move to the right.)

4. Labs - Science Experiment

• There's a few interesting things that will happen during this fight. First of all, this boss can heal. You need to deal enough damage that you are making progress towards 0 even after the boss heals some damage you've dealt. This is not the main problem.
  
• It appears that if you deal too much damage in a short amount of time, she sends out an unblockable shockwave that stuns you. Then she attacks you for massive damage. I got around this by using my primary weapon to attack her while she's out of the healing chamber. It doesn't have a high DPS compared to my econdary weapons such as the Beam.
  
• Just after she heals, she waits quietly in the healing chamber. Use double jump to sneak in some extra damage during this time.

5. Crushers - (Shadow) The Crusher

• A little cutscene hints that Shadow has turned on the Crusher to dispose of you...This boss is really easy. Just make sure to shoot to the left (into the crusher), but clear the path to the right by targeting the middle of the columns.
  
• Unlimited range on your primary weapon really helps here. Be sure to try the Missile Launcher, too. I think it's the secret reward from the Labs boss room.

6. "Save Jacker" Mission

• This boss can knock out your controlled robot easily, due to its low HP. Make sure to get the Urgency skill if you are uncomfortable with this area and its boss.
  
• The purple projectiles are most damaging. Always avoid them. Thrown barrels can be avoided by jumping when they are thrown at you. Jump again to avoid the rebound off the wall!
  
• At a certain point during the fight, the boss will rip a tank and some kind of tower out of the ground. Do not stand near them while they're being moved, they deal heavy damage!
  
• While the boss is blocking your shots, you need to get under it to get some damage in. The boss will try to move away, but it cant while lifting barrels to drop on you. Use this opportunity to take it down!

7. Center Zone - Coder


Make sure to keep following the target amid all the chaos. Jacker's reinforcement skills really help here. Not much else to say. Congrats, and don't forget to see both endings!

Mission Statement

Thank you for reading this guide. Feedback is important - please rate and comment!
If you want more, go to my guides section and “follow”!
I have written dozens of --> guides on Steam games. <--
I enjoy helping people play games, but I can’t do it alone!
Encourage your friends to write guides…for games!
-Catherine

The End!

[sinot]

Boss 4 is very easy. Fire one or two shots at a time, no more. The boss will return the shots, which you can easily evade. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes she will deposit some enemies, which you can quickly defeat. Keep firing and eventually you will wear her down. When she returns to the chamber to heal, posess one of the guards and fire at the pipes to destroy them. When you see the boss return to the central area, return to Ghost (if you don't fire for too long, the boss will attack you with a fairly heavy attack). Eventually you will destroy the pipes and the boss can no longer heal, then you can finish her off (still with one or two shots at a time, to prevent the massive stun attack).

[Combat Wombat]

The alarm rewards, shops, and some of the skills are different in survival mode than they are in classic mode.

[Kongdej]

Spoilers: To defeat boss 4 you can ghost into one of the security droids and shoot the fluid pump that powers the boss's healing - didn't really take a good screenshot in the moment, but the droids are here and you shoot up through the tunnel: http://prntscr.com/o4lg7u

[That Wun Wabbit]

I am so glad to hear that. Holy cow, has it really been 2 years since I wrote this? I love this game! Still play it sometimes ;)

[N0S4A2]

This is one of the best guides I've ever read for any game ever. Organized and easy to skim or peruse through, well structured outline. Well done

[That Wun Wabbit]

After the boss battle is over, you basically get teleported out front of the boss room. So there's no rush to go back and get stuff, you can get it later.

As for Coder, I'm sure there are some boss-specific guides. I haven't booted up this game in awhile, so I don't have any advice at this time

[Cyborg Gamer]

Any more advice on the big canter zone coder. this one is giving me trouble. If i haven't got all the souls should I go back for them?

[Diesel Do]

Just a note about no more fall out, it is not only applicable in the labs....any robot that has radio active trails is effected. there trail will hurt mobs not just you (the yellow glowing trail they leave) please update guide. It is most useful when pursuing mashochist acehivement as these mobs will apperar more often

[That Wun Wabbit]

@Machiav
Thanks for the tips. Didn't know about either of those. You can choose which robot to take into the Jacker mission boss? I just though each one got left behind as the puzzles progressed. It's been awhile since I've played though. That's awesome if you can choose!

[Machiav]

Nice guide :). Two remarks:

Lab boss:
1) control robot on the right side of screen.
2) with robot shoot bariers between him and healing pipe
3) don't bother with fighting with robots, after its killed take another one
4) destroy healing pipe, from now on boss will not regenerate

I am not sure, yet (finished only once at medium level), but if You are not atacking him, this boss he is not atacking You.

"Save Jacker"
There are three robots to choose (one with missile, one with energy gun and one with cloak). I have used the one with energy gun it bypass the barrier and makes fight easier.