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10 Prey tips from Arkane Studios
The developers of this superb sci-fi shooter give us their insider knowledge.
The new game gives players unique alien powers to experiment in a refreshing new take on the series. We spoke to Systems Designer Seth Shain, who gave us some top tips to help you stand a fighting chance while exploring the dark and deadly corridors of Talos 1.
1. Don’t underestimate the Huntress Boltcaster
Early on in the game, you find yourself gleefully discovering a new weapon. It’s not until you fire it, however, that you realise it only shoots foam darts. While this might not help you kill those pesky Typhons, you might want to hang on to it, because this seemingly useless weapon can actually be an incredibly handy tool.
The Boltcaster’s a tool, and it can even be a weapon – you just need to apply it creatively.
“It has a lot of extremely interesting uses,” hints Shain. “If you lean past a corner and see an enemy, you can shoot a Huntress Boltcaster bolt behind him and the enemy will be interested in that long enough for you to sneak by.
“There are some doors which you can get to the other side of and see that they’re locked, but you just can’t find a way in. In most cases there will be a button on the door, an exit button you can press – but it looks like you can’t get to it. If you shoot a Huntress Boltcaster dart at that button it will depress it and the door will open,” he reveals with a smile.
“There are touch screens in the game that you can interact with, too. If you can’t reach the screen physically, you can use the Boltcaster to shoot and interact with screens as well. It’s an extremely useful tool. There are even certain enemies in the game that respond directly to it. The Cystoids are little floating bombs that will chase you down and explode. But they respond to motion, so if you’re still and shoot a bolt they’ll chase it. The Boltcaster’s a tool, and it can even be a weapon – you just need to apply it creatively.”
The Huntress Boltcaster can be useful
© Bethesda
2. Make the most of your ammo
One bullet to explode an explosive tank that’s near an enemy is a lot cheaper than 10 bullets to do the same amount of damage.
“There are two ways to manage your ammo effectively in Prey. The first is to use your environment. One bullet to explode an explosive tank that’s near an enemy is a lot cheaper than 10 bullets to do the same amount of damage.
"There are hazards like pipes that you can light up, which shoot a jet of fire which will damage enemies. There are hazards on the ground, like puddles of stuff. You can use one bullet to light up a puddle and damage several enemies at once. All of those are effective ways of using less ammo to do more damage.
“The weapons themselves can be upgraded, and that’s also a great way to save ammo, because if you increase the amount of damage you’re doing with the shotgun and the pistol, you’re spending less ammo to do the same work. “
3. Don’t neglect your stun gun
Make use of your Stun Gun
© Bethesda
While it’s tempting to go all out on enemies, eventually you’ll find yourself low on ammo and out of Psy. This is where that seemingly basic Disruptor Stungun comes in handy.
“It’s a little electrical pulse weapon that you zap enemies with and it stuns them for a couple of seconds," says Shain. "While they’re stunned, damaging them doesn’t stop them from being stunned, so that is a great way to make your ammo last. If you get one of these shots off first and stun an enemy, then when you fire shots with your pistol, swing with your wrench, or unleash blasts from your shotgun, you’re going to be dealing a lot more damage.”
4. Using a combination of weapons and powers will deal huge damage
While it’s easy to get too reliant on the same power or weapon, players wanting to get the most out of Prey will have to combine their weapons and abilities.
It’s all about combining all your tools rather than just relying on just the one trusty thing that always works.
“We really built our combat model around asking the player to do more than one kind of thing to the enemy at the same time,” Shain explains. "If an enemy is incapacitated by glue, any damage you do to the enemy while glued will be multiplied. You’re going to be doing bonus damage to the enemy while it’s glued.
Psycho Shock shuts down enemy psionic abilities
© Bethesda
“There’s also a power called the Pyscho Shock and a weapon called the Null-Wave Transmitter – both of these shut an enemy's psionic abilities down. These are highly effective against enemies that aren’t robots, so make sure to make the most of them. Once an enemy is psionically nullified, they also have lower damage resistance, meaning you can deal far more damage to them.
"Remember, it's all about combining all your tools rather than just relying on just the one trusty thing that always works."
5. Get acquainted with Combat Focus
“It’s the only power that players can use Psy points to cast that isn’t an alien power,” Shain explains. “The player slows down a little bit, but the enemies slow down way more giving you a little bit of an advantage over them. It also gives you a bonus for stamina, depleting it half as quickly. So you can get more wrench swings in before you become fatigued.
“If you level it up, it just amplifies any damage you’re doing regardless of whether it’s a weapon or a power – it’s just like another multiplier on top of other things. So if you’re combining combat focus with the stun pistol, you stun something, use combat focus and then start wailing on it with a wrench – you’re just going to devastate the thing.”
6. Alien powers give you an edge in Prey
Prey is a game that lets you choose how exactly you want to play your character. While certain choices will have consequences, Shain reveals that favouring Alien powers will give players an advantage.
“If you’re using alien powers, there are some which are extremely effective against aliens. For instance, psycho shock is a really good tool for shutting down aliens. The thing that makes aliens so devastating is their powers, and when you can shut their powers down, even for a short while, it gives you a huge advantage. It lets you unleash damage upon them before they have a chance to get their powers back. That’s a really powerful psionic ability.”
Get robot enemies on your side with Machine Mind
© Bethesda
He hints that mind control abilities are crucial to turning the tide of battle in your favour.
“If you’re fighting multiple enemies and you can turn one of them against the others, that’s going to give you a huge advantage. Rather than having to juggle multiple threats, your enemy is juggling multiple threats.
"We have one that works on organic life and one called Machine Mind that works on robot enemies. Operators are robots that are mostly friendly and non-combative but there are a few that have turned hostile, and you can machine mind them and then they’ll be on your side.”
7. Prepare before you head into Deep Storage
“There’s an area in the game called Deep Storage and when you need to go there, you should be prepared,” warns Shain. “Don’t go in there shorthanded – stock up. Regroup a bit, do your crafting, make sure you have ammo, medkits, be ready. We start to really turn the heat up there, and I don’t want anyone getting caught out in the cold when they get to that level!”
8. How you treat humans will affect how Prey ends
“Nothing in the game forces you to kill humans,” Shain states. “You can absolutely be non-lethal when it comes to humans in the game, but there are very few humans in Prey. While some are corrupted by aliens, there’s always a way to neutralise them non-lethally. Just remember, how you treat humans will be fed back to you. How you respond to the people on the station might have an impact on the choices that become available to you at the end.”
9. Out of things to Mimic? Don’t forget your inventory
“If there’s nothing around to mimic, some players assume that they can’t mimic there, but you always have your inventory. What players need to remember is that they can drop anything from their inventory and mimic. What’s useful to mimic? Anything from your inventory!”
10. When in doubt, Operator out
“There are places in the game where you can shortcut navigation challenges by just turning into an Operator and flying out,” reveals Shain with a grin. “It’s a big Neuromod commitment to get to level three and do that, but it’s pretty cool! When you mimic an Operator, you also have their attacks, too – each of which can be useful. Don’t forget that when you’re mimicking you can still use your other powers. I want to encourage players to be creative. If you can think of it, try it and see what happens!”
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