Tips and Tricks - System Shock [2023] Guide - IGN (2024)

While exploring System Shock's Citadel Station, it's easy to find yourself struggling against the overwhelming odds stacked against you. Whether it's Shodan's monstrous army or the obtuse objectives which can often leave you puzzled about where to go next, it can be helpful to get a few pointers before you embark on your adventure.

Below, we've listed some of the best tips and tricks to help you survive Citadel Station and thwart Shodan's plans. So if you're just starting out or getting frustrated with the mid-game difficulty spike, we've got some key pointers to help you find what you're looking for.

advertisement

15 Essential Tips and Tricks for System Shock Remake

If you're looking for a specific tip, use the links below to cycle between each of our main pointers:

Exploration is Your ObjectiveConserve Ammo and Spend EnergyCover is EssentialTrack Down Respawn Stations ASAP
Use Death as a Learning ToolUtilise Your EquipmentUse the Correct Ammo for the Correct EnemyGet the Laser Rapier as Early As Possible
Keep Key Items in the Cargo LiftDon't be Afraid to Drop WeaponsAmbush EnemiesUse Recycling Machines to Get Rich Quick
Complete Cyberspace TerminalsUse Quicksaves as CheckpointsFind and Raid Each Floor's Armoury

Exploration is Your Objective

This first one is a key thing to learn early while playing System Shock. This game isn't going to give you any idea of what your objectives are or how to accomplish them. You're thrust onto Citadel Station and, from there, the game just says go. You're free to explore as you please, making it easy to wonder: well, what am I supposed to actually do?

The truth is that exploration should always be your focus. Investigate every nook and cranny of Citadel Station, open every door you find and focus more on discovery than standard out-and-out goals. If you're making sure to look and interact with everything, you're way more likely to come across the answer to the game's puzzle. And if you are stuck, always look through your audio logs to see if there's anything there to point you in the right direction. Most of the time, they'll directly tell you how to complete the more obscure objectives.

Conserve Ammo and Spend Energy

Early into the game, you'll learn that you have two main ammo sources: standard, traditional bullets and energy. Energy is easily replenishable, with Energy Recharge Stations dotted around the map. Bullets, on the other hand, are limited. Especially early in the game where ammo is a scarce resource, save your ammo for bigger, more intimidating enemies. It often packs more of a punch.

Instead, equip weapons like the Sparqbeam and use them to deal with the smaller enemies found throughout the station. Considering you can refill energy almost instantly, it will make sure you're focusing your ammo on the encounters that matter.

Cover is Essential

Although early in the game, combat can seem somewhat inconsequential considering you can respawn infinitely, during the latter half of System Shock, you'll run into way more situations where respawning is not an option. That means you'll need to learn how to survive in combat scenarios and one of your main strategies should be effectively using cover.

advertisement

When fighting any enemy, the best way to survive is to hide behind a wall and lean out to shoot using Q/E. You'll soon learn that most foes, unless they focus on a melee combat style, will fire in bursts, allowing you to predict exactly when they're going to shoot and counter it. Wait for your enemy to stop firing, lean out, and shoot. Then, return to your original position and complete the process again. Just be prepared to run and find new cover if the enemy tries to flank you.

Track Down Respawn Stations ASAP

When entering any of System Shock's floors, your first priority should always be tracking down Respawn Stations. These are always found in a medbay and can be unlocked by throwing a handle in the near vicinity.

Respawn Stations allow you to revive in a small pod every time you die, essentially removing the penalty for death and allowing you to come back anew. To save yourself from backtracking across huge sections of the map, make sure you're finding new ones while searching new areas.

Use Death as a Learning Tool

Want to know if that room is too irradiated for you to go in? Not sure whether that enemy reacts better to certain types of ammo? Before reaching Security and losing the ability to infinitely respawn, you should be using death to figure out how the game works, what you can and can't do and how best to navigate your surroundings.

Try out everything and make full use of the Respawn Stations. After all, there is no penalty for dying and you'll need all the information you can get to escape Citadel Station unscathed. A small secondary tip, you can also use Respawn Stations to move across an area quickly, teleporting across the ship without needing to backtrack for a few minutes.

Utilise Your Equipment

Something that's easy to forget while wandering Citadel Station is that you're constantly upgrading your built-in equipment. From Energy Shields and Environmental Protection Packs to Head Torches and Sensory Equipment, you have a small arsenal of helpful tools at your disposal, but you have to activate them from your HUD.

advertisement

Open the inventory and look at the tab highlighted by the green square in the image above. This is all your gear. Each square will activate a piece of your arsenal when clicked. Don't have them on all the time, as they consume energy, but make sure to activate the shield before entering a fight, the protection suit while in radioactive areas or the Sensory Module if you've lost a key item and need to track it down.

Use the Correct Ammo for the Correct Enemy

From the early sections of the game, you'll begin to realise that certain enemies take more damage from certain ammo types, while others are harder to kill when using specific weapons. For example, robots can take a fair amount of slugs when using the Shotgun's flame-infused Fire-Breathing Rounds, but mutant enemies will crumble when put in the same scenario.

In short, analyse your enemy and figure out what they're weak to. Heavily-Armoured enemies will find it hard to fight back against armour-penetrating rounds, robotic enemies are weak to shock-focused weaponry and organic foes will take heavy damage from fire and bullets.

Get the Laser Rapier as Early As Possible

There are several weapons in System Shock that are worth going out of your way to track down, but few can match the Laser Rapier. A laser sword that runs on energy power, this thing is an absolute unit with massive damage output, making it an early-game essential considering you get it in Maintenance.

This thing is pretty great on its own and the best melee weapon by a mile, but it becomes unstoppable when partnered with the Beserk Combat Stims you find dotted around Citadel Station. When you use the stim, the damage output of the sword reaches astronomical levels, allowing you to take down some of the hardest bosses in the game in just a few blows.

It's such a good combo that it becomes a very viable way to defeat end-game bosses within seconds. Make sure you grab it early. The map location is shown above.

advertisement

Keep Key Items in the Cargo Lift

Take it from someone who got soft-locked and had to replay six hours of System Shock because they carelessly dropped a key item from their inventory, this game does not have any sympathy for you not knowing the worth of a specific item. Whether it's Remote Explosives, Abe's Head, the Isolinear Chip or anything else the game gives you without explaining exactly when or where you'll need it, use the Cargo Lift to store any named item without the "Junk" tag next to its title.

Losing these can prevent you from progressing permanently, and while there are systems for if items fall out of bounds (you can check the Garbage Chute in Recycling to find any item that's fallen off the map), these aren't particularly reliable. Store every key item and you will never need to hunt down where you threw it to make space for more ammo.

Don't be Afraid to Drop Weapons

As you get later into System Shock's campaign, you'll begin running out of space in your already packed inventory. When coming across new weapons, drop old weapons if you feel the new ones are better alternatives.

For example, the Mini-Pistol is a great bit of kit while exploring Medical and Research, but mid-to-late-game enemies will eat pistol shots like they're nothing. However, the Skorpion uses pistol ammo, fires multiple rounds a second and deals higher damage. If you find one, swap the pistol out so your arsenal is growing bigger, stronger and more efficient over time.

Ambush Enemies

During late-game scenarios, System Shock will have absolutely no qualms about putting you in overwhelming situations with multiple high-level enemies capable of ripping you apart. Defeating them can be tricky, but this is where you need to use your wits to outsmart them.

Whether it's luring enemies into carefully placed Proximity Mines, funnelling them into a single file line perfect for you to gun them down or baiting them into close combat so you can take them out with the Laser Rapier, find opportunities to exploit the AI and take them.

advertisement

Use Recycling Machines to Get Rich Quick

Around Citadel Station, you'll find several Recycling Machines that can be used to scrap junk items and earn money. While exploring, collect expensive items and throw them into the recycling machines to begin making big money.

Don't have the inventory space? No worries. You can also vaporise items to create a pile of scrap that you can throw into the recycling station. You'll earn less money, but it's far more convenient. Considering money funds some very powerful weapon upgrades, it's more than worth your time to load up on cash.

Complete Cyberspace Terminals

From early into System Shock Remake, you'll find Cyberspace Terminals that allow you to hack into the ship's digital matrix. While inside, you'll be able to unlock crucial parts of the ship, including areas mandatory to the story, storerooms filled with supplies and shortcuts.

Make sure to complete every Cyberspace Terminal you come across, even if they can be pretty brutal. Considering there's very little penalty to losing but tons to gain from successfully completing a terminal, you'll rarely regret making the effort.

Use Quicksaves as Checkpoints

This is for late-game players more than those just starting out, but when you reach Security, your ability to Respawn is completely taken away. When this happens, make quicksave your new checkpoint system. Whenever you clear a room, quicksave, then move on to your next objective.

It may seem simple, but forgetting to save can force you to replay long stretches of content once Respawn Stations are taken away, so keep on top of saving to stay in the fight.

advertisement

Find and Raid Each Floor's Armoury

While exploring each floor, you'll come across an armoury. These areas are small vaults filled with weapons, ammo and explosives. They're signified by a yellow sign with a grenade emblem.

Make sure you're finding and looting these when you need an ammo refill. It's almost always worth the effort to keep your arsenal in the best shape possible.

Looking for even more System Shock Remake Guides? Why not check out...

  • Complete Walkthrough Guide
  • Puzzle Solutions Guide
  • Code List - All System Shock Codes
  • Keycard List - All System Shock Key Card Locations

Up Next: Boss Guides - Strategies and Tips

PreviousHow to Find the Reactor Self-Destruct CodeNextBoss Guides - Strategies and Tips

Top Guide Sections

  • Walkthrough
  • Puzzle Solutions Guide
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Boss Guides - Strategies and Tips

Was this guide helpful?

In This Guide

Tips and Tricks - System Shock [2023] Guide - IGN (1)

System Shock

NightDive Studios

ESRB: Mature
Xbox Series X|SXbox OnePlayStation 4PlayStation 5

+2

Tips and Tricks - System Shock [2023] Guide - IGN (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Gov. Deandrea McKenzie

Last Updated:

Views: 5397

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (46 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Gov. Deandrea McKenzie

Birthday: 2001-01-17

Address: Suite 769 2454 Marsha Coves, Debbieton, MS 95002

Phone: +813077629322

Job: Real-Estate Executive

Hobby: Archery, Metal detecting, Kitesurfing, Genealogy, Kitesurfing, Calligraphy, Roller skating

Introduction: My name is Gov. Deandrea McKenzie, I am a spotless, clean, glamorous, sparkling, adventurous, nice, brainy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.