Hammer Time

From Sci Wiki

Pick a target and hammer 'em.

Sounds too simple, right? But it works, as long as you're careful
who you hammer and with what. You also need to pay attention to
those battle messages to see how well you're hammering them before
you take the next shot.

Who To Hammer:

First of all, you normally want a target about midway through the list
of targets in the Scuffle Room when you hit the "Find An Opponent" button.
Too low and they won't net you enough rep; worse, you're more likely to
lose more rep. Too high and they're probably too tough for you.

You've got to look at their profile before you start shooting, especially
if you have a Spy. Your Spy will tell you what weapons they had the last
time they were scanned and what gear they were using. To look at their
profile while in the Scuffle Room, you click on the question mark next to
their name.

Aside from their weapon and defense types, you need to pay very close
attention to their gear. If they have a Superhero Cape and/or a
Birthday Cake and you don't, you'd better tread lightly because they're
probably going to trounce you. If they aren't using any gear, even
better; get yourself a couple of medpacks and whomp 'em.

Try not to fight too many opponents in one session. You want to pick one,
adjust your equipment and gear to your best advantage against this one
opponent, and keep going until your reputation winnings drop too low.
Remember, it costs rep to adjust your weapon and defense so you don't
want to have to do that a lot if you can avoid it.

With What to Hammer:

Obviously, you want to adjust your weapon's damage type and your defense
to counter whatever your opponent has. But the design of your equipment
is about more than just damage type.

Personally, I like having a beam weapon. Dishing out damage is important.
I'd rather get in one good hit than three grazing shots. One good beam
weapon design has a large body, a medium battery, and two enhancements.
The two enhancements you want to have on this weapon are a scanner and a
scope. The scanner helps keep the scan database up to speed so your Spy
can do his or her dirty work and the scope offsets the inaccuracy of the
beam weapon.

Defense is also really important, of course. One good defense design
has a large body, a small battery, and three enhancements. The three
enhancements you want are a reflector, a regenerator, and a defensive
power converter. The reflector sends a small amount of damage back at
the attacker and the regenerator heals a small amount of damage taken.
The power converter tends to overload with the larger batteries, but
doesn't do that so much with the small battery. The jury's still out
whether the power converter offsets the small battery's effectiveness
enough to justify the enhancement slot. You might also drop the
power converter and upgrade to a medium battery.

Gear, though only recently introduced as of the time of this writing, is
becoming very important. You want a medpack as soon as you can get one
and you want a Superhero Cape as soon as you're tough enough to take on
the Superhero and win. If you're lucky enough to have gotten a Birthday
Cake, you want that even more than you want a medpack. Hopefully there
will be a way for beginners to get their hands on a Birthday Cake or
the equivalent sometime in the future.

And do not forget about minions. You want a Spy to tell you what your
opponent is likely packing. You want Soldiers to counter enemy soldiers
and to attack your opponent. And you want Saboteurs to sabotage your
opponent's defenses so you have an advantage in combat.

What To Look For While Hammering:

Pay attention to those battle messages. You need to watch how fast your
health is dropping against a particular opponent; if your health is
dropping too fast you may need to alter your equipment or change your gear.
You need to pay attention to whether your Spy was correct about your
opponent's weapon. You need to watch whether you are being damaged by enemy
soldiers; that means you probably need more soldiers.

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