System Shock Remake: Combat tips System Shock Remake guide, tips

Are you just starting to play System Shock and would like to learn the basics of combat mechanics? This page will help you during your first clashes with the SHODAN army.

Last update: 05 June 2023

System Shock Remake is quite a demanding and difficult game - to prevail in combat, you'll need to take a few pointers from the territory of oldschool gaming. Novice and new to the genre players may at first feel a little lost having to deal with mazes of corridors full of often-respawning enemies, especially since the game does no handholding in any department.

If you're one of these players, fortunately, you're in luck - on this page, we explain a few rules to which combat in System Shock adheres, and supply some useful tactics that will make fighting SHODAN's minions much easier.

• Melee combat
• Peeking and stealth
• Choosing the right weapon for the situation
• Sensing the opponent's rythmn

Melee combat

The first weapon that you will have a chance of using in the game is the Lead Pipe.

1. Even if it seems primitive and requiring close contact with the opponent, it shouldn't be underestimated. The Pipe may be a good choice, especially in early phase of the gameplay, when you don't have access to ranged weapons or don't have enough ammunition to fuel long firefights.
2. Melee combat is easy - simply press the left mouse button to perform an attack.
3. Melee weapons are also useful against less demanding opponents or to destroy the infrastructure used by SHODAN (e.g. security cameras).
4. Moreover, further into the game, you'll receive access to an implant - Berserk Combat Booster - that makes melee combat viable again, as it increases your attack power and speed of the swings greatly for a short while. Some of the boost effects stack up, so for extremely difficult fights, consider using two or more Berserks.

To learn more about available weapons, visit a dedicated page (Basics -> List of all weapons and grenades)

Peeking and stealth

System Shock Remake allows peeking from corridors. At any moment of the game, press Q or E and the hero will lean left or right.

This move can be extremely useful when exploring enemy-filled corridors of The Citadel. Combined with crouching and sneaking (by default - hold CTRL) you'll be able to detect enemies before they see you and use this knowledge to eliminate them silently and quickly with an accurate burst from the equipped weapon.

When trying to locate enemies, don't forget about sound. Most of the opponents emit characteristic, loud noises (e.g. robots beep, turrets buzz, cyborgs mumble). By listening to these sounds, you'll be able to locate opponents before even seeing them (or they you).

Choosing the right weapon for the situation

Weapons in System Shock Remake can be divided into 3 main categories:

1. Melee weapons;
2. Firearms;
3. Energy weapons.

Remember that each category has certain advantages and disadvantages which should be kept in mind.

Firearms are traditional pistols and rifles fed by conventional ammunition. This group is especially useful against mutants and some of SHODAN's cyborgs. An exemplary weapon of this type is KE-41 Minipistol, obtained early in the game.

Energy weapons require unique ammunition - a good example here would be the TB-05 Sparqbeam weapon, which is powered by the Hacker's own energy supply. Weapons from this group are especially viable against robots, as these enemies are vulnerable to electricity.

This is where we remind you of grenades. Same as with ranged weapons, there are various types of throwables, each with their ideal target.

Gas grenades, for example, are especially effective against biological opponents, while EMP grenades temporarily and successfully neutralize robotic enemies, allowing you to end them quickly, e.g. with a melee weapon.

Sensing the opponent's rythmn

Finally, we want to broach the topic of rythmn and enemy behavior. Many opponents in System Shock follow a fixed, predictable pattern of behavior. By learning these patterns, your performance in combat will improve, and you can use enemies' weaknesses to your own advantage.

A good example of this is the behavior of one of the first types of opponents - a mutant. As soon as one detects you, it will attempt to close the distance between you and him quickly, to be able to attack in melee range with its claws.

However, the claw swings are predictable, and with the reusing of the same animation, you'll be able to sense incoming hits well in advance. By rhythmically jumping away and to the mutant, you'll easily defeat him using only melee weapons.

Another enemy with predictable behavior are Hopper turrets. Although they can be deadly if you stay in the open, the laser with which they are equipped is characterized by a long charging period before firing.

After attracting an enemy turret, immediately hide behind the nearest obstacle (preferably, a wall). After the turret fires its shot and has to reload, quickly peek from the corner and send a few bursts in its direction. Then hide again, and wait for the laser to fire. You'll know that laser is going to fire thanks to the blinking orange light on the robot and a characteristic sound.

After a few sequences like these, the Hopper should be neutralized.

To learn more about Hopper turrets, visit a dedicated page of the guide How to destroy Hopper turrets?.