Meltdown: A Guide to Upgrades By: Alice Kojiro (MotherKojiro(AT)gmail(DOT)com) Note: This work is mine exclusively. I've spent several hours writing it. If you don't believe me, try writing one yourself. Anyway, if you need to contact me, just send me an e-mail. E-mails have 3 main criteria. First of all, they need a subject line that tells me that the message is about my walkthrough. Another important criterion is that it needs to be suggestions about the walkthrough. I don't appreciate invitations to blogs, invites to chat rooms, flaming, or anything like that. Your suggestions can be anything from spelling and grammatical errors to new sections you think I should add. The only other reason you should be writing to me is to ask me to use this guide on your website. You cannot do so without my consent, as it is illegal. All you need to do is ask and it is highly unlikely that I will deny you the use of this guide. You also have to give me credit for writing this. Failure to do so is plagiarism. I appreciate your cooperation. Thanks for choosing this guide. ~Kojiro ======= History ======= Version 1.0 - A guide that tells you what all of the upgrades for your equipment and level perks are, and what they do. ================= Table of Contents ================= I. Intro II. Thanks III. Guns A. Submachine Gun (SMG) B. Shotgun C. Revolver D. Grenade Launcher E. Flamethrower (Flamer) F. Heavy Machine Gun G. Spread Gun H. Crossbow I. Rocket Launcher J. Shocker IV. Equipment A. Melee Weapons B. Body Armor C. Head Gear D. Shoulders E. Face Gear V. Skills A. Specialist B. Soldier C. Medic D. Prestige ======== I. Intro ======== I'm part of a neat little website called SteamGifts, where people give out free Steam games that you can enter to win; the winner is chosen completely at random from the pool of entrants. I love the site, not just because I give and get free stuff, but more importantly, because I get to learn about new games. Let's be real: you know about Diablo, Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy, and all that as soon as it comes out, but there are countless great little games that fly completely under the radar. Meltdown is one of those games, which I found on that very site, and while Twin Stick Shooters usually aren't my thing, it looked interesting, so I put in, and managed to win a copy. As it turns out, this is a great game, even for those who aren't hardcore fans of the genre. I absolutely quarter munch my way through Smash TV, but I had no real difficulty with this. In fact, because of the great design, and the ability to grow stronger, I managed to solo every mission at least once without the use of 1-ups, which act as your continues. You have a really nice variety of weapons, armor, and above all, perks to accommodate numerous playstyles. The online community is pretty dead, but I even managed to find a few buddies now and again. This game has a lot of content. Despite having only 30 short missions, there are a lot of equipment options; I put 56 hours into this, which is almost as many as my first playthrough of Yakuza Kiwami 2. It's hard to tell what's going to be good just at a glance; this guide aims to fix that by be detailing everything that's available for purchase, what it does, how good it gets, and how much it all costs. If you're the type that likes to plan out your grind, this is the guide for you! I decided not to go with a full walkthrough, because the stages are pretty linear, and from what I've seen from other players, not many would prefer my more aggressive playstyle, which my students used to call "melee and pray". ========== II. Thanks ========== Phenomenon for making this game. Steamgifts and all of its staff for maintaining such a great site. The Steamgifts user, whose name I cannot remember or look up, for this gift. Everyone who popped in for those 2am "just one more misson" game sessions... and then again at 7am for an eye-opener before work. I had a blast, guys! My lady for living with all the Dubstep robot massacre. ========= III. Guns ========= I decided to give the guns their own section, because their upgrades are the most complex. Every gun has 6 different perks, each with 3 levels, and there are 2 per each of the 3 tiers. For example, the first tier of the Shotgun has Ammo Belt and Long Barrel; you will need to put 3 points into either of these perks in order to be able to put points into anything from the next tier: Focused Sights or Rapid Fire. You can also choose to put 3 points each into both of the perks from a tier, but be aware that you can only put 9 points into any gun by default, so choose wisely... Or don't; at any time, you can reset your gun's upgrades for free, and receive equivalent points that act as skill vouchers to redistribute as you see fit. Feel free to experiment! For each gun, I'll give a brief look at what it does, how I like it, and which upgrades I feel work best. Again, I love my melee attacks, so your mileage may vary. The price for each gun listed is the price to purchase that gun; the cost of upgrades is exactly the same for each level of each gun, seen just below. Note that a capital C after a number is how many chips it costs. Level 1 - $30 1C Level 2 - $70 1C Level 3 - $100 1C Level 4 - $150 2C Level 5 - $180 2C Level 6 - $200 2C Level 7 - $220 3C Level 8 - $250 3C Level 9 - $300 4C Level 10 - $400 5C Level 11 - $600 5C Level 12 - $1000 6C "Level 12, you say!? Madness!" Yes, by default, your guns only reach Level 9, but every time you gain a prestige level, you can upgrade each gun one level further. To further complicate things, some guns are unlocked when you reach a certain level, but the other half are unlocked when their "predecessor" reaches its maximum level, which is 9 without prestige, but increases by one with each prestige level. For example, to unlock the spread gun, you have to max out the upgrades for your shotgun. If this prestige thing makes no sense, don't worry; it's covered in the last section of the guide. One last thing is the format; each gun will be laid out as such: -------- Gun Name -------- Level at which it is unlocked/gun to max out to unlock Initial cost (upgrades are all the same) Total Cost (includes initial purchase and all upgrades) Perk 1 Tier 1 - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk 2 Tier 1 - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk 1 Tier 2 - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk 2 Tier 2 - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk 1 Tier 3 - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk 2 Tier 3 - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Stuff about the gun, how I like it, and which perks I think are best ----------------------- A. Submachine Gun (SMG) ----------------------- Level 1 N/A (You start with this) $3500 35C Heatsink - Reduce Heat 20% - 40% - 60% Nanite Ammo - Ammo Regeneration +1% - 2% - 3% Heavy Barrel - Damage +6% - 13% - 20% Rapid Fire - Fire Rate +15% - 30% - 45% Explosive Bullets - Exploding Bullet Chance 33% - 66% - 100% Ice Cold Bullets - No Heat Generation 20% - 40% - 60% This is your starter gun, and it's not bad. As expected, it rapidly fires weak bullets that wear your enemies down. I usually use it to do exactly that, and then rush in for a melee kill, snagging a nice experience bonus. Because of its rapid fire rate, Heatsink isn't a terrible investment, so you can keep on shooting, but Nanite Ammo makes your ammo regenerate, which is very helpful if you haven't maxed out the Specialist skill tree yet. Heavy Barrel increases your damage, which is always a wise investment, and Ice Cold Bullets keep your heat down very effectively. I honestly have no idea what benefits Exploding Bullets has, other than looking neat. ---------- B. Shotgun ---------- Level 2 $50 $3550 35C Ammo Belt - Ammo Capacity +20% - 40% - 60% Long Barrel - Range +3% - 7% - 10% Focused Sights - Critical Chance +3% - 6% - 9% Rapid Fire - Fire Rate +15% - 30% - 45% Knockback Bullets - Knockback Chance +10% - 20% - 30% Slugs - Damage +6% - 12% - 18% BUY THIS NOW! The shotgun isn't the best gun, but it's super cheap, and really effective for the earlier missions; you can go very far with this gun! You can one shot tougher enemies - those damned missile tanks come to mind - and it's great for punching through the shields on turrets. If you're really skilled, you can put yourself at just the right distance to weaken an enemy with this for a melee kill follow-up. Long Barrel adds much-needed range, Rapid Fire makes this very quick, and Slugs make you an absolute monster. ----------- C. Revolver ----------- Level 9 $600 $4100 35C Rapid Fire - Fire Rate +15% - 30% - 45% Ammo Belt - Ammo Capacity +15% - 30% - 45% Focused Sights - Critical Chance +5% - 10% - 15% Fast Mags - Reload Speed +16% - 30% - 50% Piercing Bullets - Penetrate Chance 33% - 66% - 100% Double Action - Double Fire Chance 33% - 66% - 100% This weapon isn't great. It's a sniper weapon, which is fine, but not only are you usually dealing with large crowds, it isn't that strong, so it doesn't even snipe all that well. It's slow and has low ammo, so either Tier 1 upgrade will help. I've never gotten much use out of reloading speed, and Focused Sights will give you a decent chance at being able to snipe enemies. Double Action fires 2 bullets per shot, which increases damage, but do be aware that this also consumes 2 bullets from your ammo; it's a good perk once you've maxed out the Specialist skill tree. ------------------- D. Grenade Launcher ------------------- Level 14 $1000 $4500 35C Long Barrel - Range +4% - 8% - 12% Rapid Fire - Fire Rate +16% - 30% - 50% Shrapnel - Damage +11% - 22% - 33% Shockwave - Knockback Chance +33% - %66 - %100 Cluster - Multi-shot Chance 33% - 66% - 100% Blast Radius - Blast Radius +20% - 40% - 60% This is one of my favorite weapons, and from the moment I got it, I never let go of it. It takes some time to get used to the grenades not exploding on impact, and I actually hated this when I first got it. Once you do, and you've upgraded it, you will be capable of absolute devastation at a pretty decent range. Not only that, but this lobs its shots, meaning that cover won't help enemies. Long Barrel is nice, but doesn't make as much of a difference as Rapid Fire, and Blast Radius can pick up some of the range slack, but in all directions. Shrapnel is great, of course, because who doesn't want extra damage? Knockback isn't a favorite of mine, because I'd rather take care of enemies permanently, and the best way to do that is to have them clustered together. Cluster fires 2 or 3 grenades with each shot, and that eats ammo, but the damage and range make it more than worthwhile; Blast Radius is a good supplement if you have prestige levels. ------------------------ E. Flamethrower (Flamer) ------------------------ Level 20 $1600 $5100 35C Heatsink - Reduce Heat 16% - 40% - 50% Ammo Belt - Ammo Capacity +20% - 40% - 50% Long Barrel - Range +10% - 20% - 35% Afterburn - Engulfed Chance 33% - 66% - 100% Napalm - Damage +5% - 10% - 15% Spread Nozzle - Spread Radius +16% - 30% - 50% This is the only weapon that I found to be completely useless, which is sad, because flamethrowers are usually a lot of fun. They're usually great DPS weapons, but this just doesn't hit fast or hard enough to do well at that, and its short range and thin stream mean that even the Submachine Gun is usually the better choice. Heatsink is a must, because it heats up (duh) very quickly - another big fault that it has - and ammo usually isn't a problem; certainly not as big a problem as overheating. Long Barrel helps with the range problem, and is probably the better choice for Tier 2, because Afterburn lights enemies on fire for damage over time, which is not that useful for a game like this. Definitely go with Napalm, because you'll need all the extra damage you can get, but Spread Nozzle is an okay addition, if you have prestige. -------------------- F. Heavy Machine Gun -------------------- Max out Submachine Gun $2000 $5500 35C Heatsink - Reduce Heat 20% - 40% - 50% Nanite Ammo - Ammo Regeneration +1% - 2% - 3% Heavy Barrel - Damage +5% - 10% - 15% Long Barrel - Range +4% - 8% - 12% Piercing Bullets - Penetrate Chance 25% - 50% - 80% Focused Sights - Critical Chance +3% - 6% - 9% This is like a better Submachine Gun, though it doesn't have Ice Cold Bullets, so it will heat up more quickly. Heatsink vs. Nanite Ammo is, again, a question of whether you have maxed out the Specialist skill tree. Heavy Barrel is added damage, which is useful, as always. I usually pick Piercing Bullets in Tier 3, because when your bullets go through enemies and hit others, you can control an advancing army pretty effectively. ------------- G. Spread Gun ------------- Max out Shotgun $2500 $6000 35C Ammo Belt - Ammo Capacity +20% - 40% - 60% Long Barrel - Range +4% - 8% - 12% Focused Sights - Critical Chance +3% - 6% - 9% Rapid Fire - Fire Rate +16% - 30% - 50% Knockback Bullets - Knockback Chance +10% - 20% - 30% Slugs - Damage +6% - 12% - 18% While the Shotgun is the letter of a shotgun, this is the spirit; think Contra, but with a much shorter range. OK, now imagine incredible DPS as each shot rips through whatever's close to you. This is for close-quarters crowd control, and is great for bosses, because it deals a lot of damage very quickly, though not as effective for the final boss because of how it attacks; getting close is a big mistake. Its biggest flaw is its range, so grab that Long Barrel right away, and Rapid Fire for even crazier damage. Slugs, of course, turn this thing into an absolute woodchipper, so grab those, too. If you have prestige, I'd recommend Ammo Belt, just to keep this thing going even longer, but with the number of hits you'll be getting, Focused Sights isn't a terrible choice, either. ----------- H. Crossbow ----------- Max out Revolver $3000 $6500 35C Heavy Barrel - Damage +11% - 22% - 33% Ammo Belt - Ammo Capacity +15% - 30% - 45% Focused Sights - Critical Chance +10% - 20% - 30% Fast Mags - Reload Speed +16% - 30% - 50% Piercing Bullets - Penetrate Chance 33% - 66% - 100% Double Action - Double Fire Chance 33% - 66% - 100% This gets a little closer to what the Revolver was trying to do, but I don't like this quite as much as I did its spiritual cousin: the Army Carbine in Bastion. I did get good with this, but it was more a function of my making it work than its actual competence. Once again, this is a sniper weapon that just doesn't quite have the punch to make itself useful. It does have more punch and better range than the Revolver, though, so I still had some fun with it. Heavy Barrel is a must for something like this, and Focused Sights gives you a better chance to kill your target; I never got much use out of reload speed, espeically with a weapon this slow. Double Action is a great choice for more damage, but Piercing Bullets is not to be underestimated, especially with range like this; my favorite thing to do with the Crossbow was to line up trick shots, and ghost 3 or 4 enemies all stupidly standing in a nice line for me. With prestige, you can have them both! ------------------ I. Rocket Launcher ------------------ Max out Grenade Launcher $3500 $7000 35C Long Barrel - Range +4% - 8% - 12% Rapid Fire - Fire Rate +16% - 30% - 50% Shrapnel - Damage +11% - 22% - 33% Shockwave - Knockback Chance +33% - %66 - %100 Cluster - Multi-shot Chance 33% - 66% - 100% Blast Radius - Blast Radius +16% - 30% - 50% Here's your sniper weapon! This has better range than the Grenade Launcher, but if your enemy is behind cover, the rockets will just sail uselessly over their heads, so I liked grenades better. It's still a great weapon that's fun to use, though. It's a toss-up between Long Barrel and Rapid Fire; they're both helpful, but luckily, if you want to find out for yourself, the game has that great skill refund system, so you can experiment to find what works for you. Shrapnel means more damage, so of course, that's the prize of Tier 2. Like the Grenade Launcher, Cluster and Blast Radius are both great, but the former is the more useful; it's the kind of 3-Way Shot you'd see in a Scrolling Shooter from back in the day. With prestige, I'd say to get them both. ---------- J. Shocker ---------- Max out Flamethrower (Flamer) $5000 $8500 35C Heatsink - Reduce Heat 15% - 30% - 45% Ammo Belt - Ammo Capacity +10% - 20% - 30% Long Barrel - Range +4% - 8% - 12% Chain Lightning - Extra Bolts 1 - 2 - 3 High Voltage - Damage +6% - 12% - 18% Electrocute - Electrocution Chance - 15% - 30% - 45% Imagine a flamethrower, but that shoots chain lightning. This was the last gun that I picked up, but I never put this down, either. It does better damage than the Flamethrower, and while that needs almost all of its perks to be adequate, this is a good weapon that becomes almost broken with its perks; a true upgrade. For constant stream weapons like this, Heatsink is always your friend. Long Barrel is helpful, but Chain Lightning means that when you hit an enemy, electricity will arc to as many as 3 additional nearby enemies; the crowd control potential with this is just unreal. High Voltage is a damage boost, so I highly recommend that. Electrocution leaves an enemy stunned (like those annoying floating spheres do to you all the time), but doesn't work on bosses, and doesn't reach 100%, so it's up to you whether you'd rather have this or Long Barrel. Personally, I used Long Barrel instead, and still managed to solo the final boss without using a 1-up my first time, so you probably won't need it. ============= IV. Equipment ============= Everything else goes here, because upgrades are super simple. In fact, melee weapons can't even be upgraded, and just do straight damage with no perks. To understand the armor, it is helpful to understand the difference between shield and health. There is no "defense" in this game; you have a shield that absorbs all damage, until it runs out, at which point, you start losing health from attacks. The shield regenerates after a moment when you're not actively taking damage, but only health normally has pick-ups to recover it, though with level perks, you can get shield pick-ups and health regeneration. The format will be as follows: Melee Weapon - Level unlocked - Price - Damage Range Armor Name - Level Unlocked Puchase Cost - First Upgrade Cost - Second Upgrade Cost Perk - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars Perk - What it does at 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars My thoughts on this item Like with guns, a number with a capital C afterwards is how many chips an upgrade costs. Unlike with guns, however, purchasing a piece of armor will put it at 1 star, rather than zero, so each item has only 2 upgrades. You will also see items with a number and a capital P after it in the level requirement; this denotes the prestige level that must also be reached to unlock the item. Note that some items are incompatible with each other. I do not have that information in this guide, but may add it if enough people want it. All you need is one of the items to figure it out; equip that, and go to purchase the other item in question, and red text will indicate that these 2 do not go together. ---------------- A. Melee Weapons ---------------- I use melee weapons pretty heavily, not just because that's my usual playstyle, but also because you get more experience by killing an enemy with one. You only have to deal the killing blow with a melee weapon for this bonus. Yes, the Fire Axe and Battle Wrench have different prices, but the same attack power; I was not able to find any real differences between them. Combat Knife - Level 1 - N/A (You start with this) - 30-36 Chainsaw - Level 6 - $800 - 40-59 Plasma Cutter - Level 16 - $1600 50-62 Fire Axe - Level 26 - $3000 60-75 Battle Wrench - Level 40 - $6000 60-75 ------------- B. Body Armor ------------- This is your main armor, of course, and most of them have accompanying shoulder and head gear, which have the same perks, but to a lesser degree. Equipping all 3 pieces to one of these sets does not give you any additional bonuses, but in many cases, resistances will add up to 100% with all 3, so you will acquire an immunity. Tactical Armor - Level 1 N/A (You start with this) - $50 1C - $100 2C Ammo Capacity +5% - 10% - 15% Ammo Regeneration +1% - 1% - 1% Pretty basic, with no shield or health bonuses, but regenerating ammo is very helpful, especially in the beginning, before you've maxed out the Specialist skill tree. Enforcer Armor - Level 10 $400 - $150 2C - $250 3C Health +10 - 15 - 25 Shield +5 - 10 - 15 This has pretty decent health and shield bonuses for early in the game. Carbon Armor - Level 18 $700 - $250 2C - $350 3C Shield +5 - 10 - 15 Shotgun/Spread Gun Damage +7% - 14% - 20% Weapon Fire Rate +3% - 6% - 10% You sacrifice a health bonus for the sake of powering up a gun that's already strong, and being able to fire more quickly. Honestly, I don't think that's a great trade-off. Stealth Armor - Level 25 $1200 - $200 2C - $400 3C Move Speed +5% - 10% - 15% Dodge Speed +5% - 10% - 15% Melee Weapon Damage +8% - 16% - 25% No health or shield bonuses, but your melee weapons hit a lot harder, and you become much faster. If you're all about melee and have decent skill and reflexes, then this is a great choice. Shadow Armor - Level 31 1P $2500 - $400 3C - $600 4C Health +7 - 14 - 20 Gun Damage +3% - 6% - 10% Poison Resistance +15% - 30% - 50% Decent if you like guns, but honestly, I've never once encountered anything that can poison the player, so I don't think that poison resistance actually does anything. Company Armor - Level 38 $2000 - $400 2C - $600 3C Health +10 - 20 - 30 Shield +10 - 20 - 30 Machine Gun Damage +5% - 10% - 15% This makes the Enforcer Armor obsolete, making it a solid choice, and the increase to damage done by the Submachine Gun and Heavy Machine Gun is a nice extra, though you'll likely have moved on by the time you get this. Hazmat Armor - Level 44 $2000 - $1000 2C - $1200 3C Electrocution Resistance +20% - 35% - 50% Shield +10 - 20 - 30 No health bonus, but a shield bonus equal to that of the Company Armor with the added benefit of resisting electrocution, which is super annoying. If you know that you're going to be fighting a lot of those floating spheres, this might be a good choice, but I stuck with the health bonus, myself, as that helps against all enemies. Guardian Armor - Level 46 1P $3500 - $1500 3C - $2000 4C Shield Regeneration Speed +10% - 20% - 30% Shield +15 - 30 - 45 Projectile Range +3% - 6% - 10% This has a very high shield bonus, and also increases your shield regeneration speed! I used this one almost until the end of the game, and the added range is great, if you like using things like the Spread Gun or Grenade Launcher. Nano Armor - Level 41 2P $4000 - $1200 3C - $2000 5C Shield +10 - 20 - 30 Critical Chance +1% - 2% - 3% Revolver/Crossbow Damage +5% - 10% - 15% Critical chance is always a gamble, especially when it's that low, and even with the damage bonus, the Revolver and Crossbow still aren't strong enough to be great sniper weapons. I didn't care much for this one, especially at such a high price. Titan Armor - Level 44 2P $4500 - $2000 3C - $2500 5C Health +10 - 20 - 30 Fire Rate +5% - 10% - 15% Flamer/Shocker Damage +5% - 10% - 15% The health bonus is OK, but it's not super high, and a shield bonus would be more useful. I used this with the Flamethrower, and it still wasn't a great weapon, so I don't think it's enough of a boost, though it might be great with a Shocker. By the time I got the Shocker, I already had something better, so I didn't care too much for this one. Juggernaut Armor - Level 50 3P $5000 - $3000 4C - $4000 6C Health +15 - 30 - 45 Heavy Hit Resistance +20% - 35% - 50% Knockback Resistance +20% - 35% - 50% Great health bonus, and despite the lack of shield bonus, this resists hitstun. This is so useful, especially to those who favor melee, because your combos will go uninterrupted unless you get electrocuted or die. I wouldn't bother with it, unless you're wearing the other Juggernaut items, though, as inconsistency in hitstun can do more harm than good in the grand scheme of things. I actually prefer this over the Guardian Armor, because its shield regeneration speed boost isn't quite enough for it to outweigh the lack of hitstun. ------------ C. Head Gear ------------ Though these mostly follow the body armor, there are also a number of unique items here. In fact, this is the largest category in the entire game. Default - Level 1 N/A (You start with this) - N/A - N/A (Cannot be upgraded) Experience Gain +10% Move Speed +6% For a starting item, this is great; the increased experience is extremely helpful before you reach Prestige Level 3, and being able to move faster is a huge help for beginners. Head Rag - Level 4 $150 - $50 2C - $100 3C Health +5 - 10 - 15 Health bonuses are always a good investment, and this gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Baseball Cap - Level 8 $300 - $100 2C - $200 3C Coin Drops +10% - 20% - 30% Most of this game is grinding, so I wore this for most of the game. That said, you can get an awful lot of money from mystery boxes at the end of a mission, if they decide to be kind to you. Carbon Mask - Level 16 $400 - $150 1C - $250 2C Shield +3 - 6 - 10 Fire Rate +2% - 4% - 6% Not a bad choice if you prefer guns; this is a decent shield bonus for head gear, too. Beret - Level 20 1P $600 - $350 2C - $500 3C Health +5 - 10 - 15 Experience Gain +5% - 10% - 15% This is just about the only thing I wore at Prestige Levels 1 and 2, because it has the same health bonus as the Head Rag, and experience is the only thing that really matters before hitting Prestige Level 3. Yes, the game calls it a Berret; that is not the correct spelling. Stealth Mask - Level 22 $600 - $200 1C - $300 2C Move Speed +3% - 6% - 10% Dodge Speed +3% - 6% - 10% A great companion to the Stealth Armor, if you prefer using skill to avoid attacks over using armor to absorb them. Cowboy Hat - Level 28 $800 - $400 2C - $600 3C Shotgun/Spread Gun Damage +3% - 6% - 10% Reload Speed +5% - 10% - 15% This is a decent choice if you like slower weapons, but I didn't use it too much; the Shotgun and Spread Gun have plenty of power on their own. Shadow Helmet - Level 33 1P $1200 - $500 2C - $700 3C Health +4 - 8 - 12 Gun Damage +2% - 4% - 6% Poison Resistance +10% - 20% - 30% Like with the Shadow Armor, it's okay if you like guns, but I don't think that the poison status even exists in this game. Also, the only face gear that is compatible with this is the Headphones. Shamaugh - Level 40 2P $1200 - $400 2C - $800 3C Grenade/Rocket Damage +5% - 10% - 15% Weapon Cooldown Speed +7% - 14% - 20% This is a great choice for explosive enthusiasts, as they can overheat quickly. Hazmat Helmet - Level 47 $1200 - $400 2C - $600 3C Electrocution Resistance +10% - 20% - 30% Shield +7 - 14 - 20 Not a bad choice, especially if you hate being electrocuted. Since there is no Company Helmet to provide both health and shield bonuses, this one's an easier choice than the Hazmat Armor. The drawback is that it's a full helmet, so all face gear is incompatible with it. Guardian Helmet - Level 46 1P $2000 - $1200 2C - $1400 3C Shield Regeneration Speed +3% - 6% - 10% Shield +5 - 10 - 15 The shield and shield regeneration bonus are great, but as a full helmet, you cannot wear face gear with it, and the Gas Mask provides the exact same bonuses, so I'd wear that with a different piece of headgear instead. Nano Helmet - Level 39 2P $2000 - $800 2C - $1000 3C Shield +5 - 10 - 15 Revolver/Crossbow Damage +3% - 6% - 10% Good shield bonus, but all the Nano equipment put together still can't make the Revolver or Crossbow very powerful. That said, the bottom of the helmet is open, so you can equip a few items from the face gear category. Titan Helmet - Level 45 2P $2500 - $1200 2C - $1500 3C Health +5 - 10 - 15 Fire Rate +3% - 6% - 10% The health bonus is good, and the increased fire rate decent, but like with most other full helmets, all face gear is incompatible with this. Juggernaut Helmet - Level 49 3P $3000 - $2000 2C - $2500 3C Health +8 - 16 - 25 Heavy Hit Resistance +10% - 20% - 30% Knockback Resistance +10% - 20% - 30% An excellent health bonus, hitstun resistance, and its face gear compatibility is pretty good for a big helmet like this. Like with the other Juggernaut equipment, don't bother unless you have all of them on, because inconsistent hitstun does more harm than good. I like to pair this with the Gas Mask for added shield and shield regeneration. ------------ D. Shoulders ------------ These act largely as a companion to the body armor, or a substitute, if you like to mix and match your perks. In fact, each one of these matches a corresponding piece of body armor, and vice versa. As an added bonus, they're all pretty cheap both to purchase and to upgrade. None - Level 1 N/A (You start with this) - N/A - N/A (Cannot be upgraded) Move Speed +6% A pretty decent start, increasing your move speed, which is good for beginners. Tactical Scarf - Level 2 $100 - $40 1C - $80 2C Ammo Capacity +2% - 4% - 6% Having more ammo can be helpful for guns with smaller capacity, but the Tactical Armor regenerates your ammo over time, which is much more useful. Enforcer Pads - Level 7 $300 - $50 1C - $100 2C Health +3 - 6 - 10 Shield +2 - 4 - 6 A great early choice, as it provides both health and shield bonuses. It doesn't provide anything else, but they're pretty big staples. Carbon Pads - Level 14 $400 - $50 1C - $100 2C Shotgun/Spread Gun Damage +3% - 6% - 10% Fire Rate +1% - 2% - 3% Without the shield bonus, this isn't great, and the fire rate increase isn't significant to make it worthwhile, nor is the boost to Shotgun and Spread Gun damage much of a benefit, since they're already very powerful. Stealth Pads - Level 20 $450 - $150 1C - $200 2C Move Speed +2% - 4% - 6% Dodge Speed +3% - 6% - 10% Melee Weapon Damage +3% - 6% - 10% Unlike the mask, these contribute to added melee weapon damage, so they're a good choice, if speed, skill, and close combat are your thing. Shadow Pads - Level 34 1P $800 - $200 2C - $300 3C Health +2 - 4 - 6 Gun Damage +1% - 2% - 3% Poison Resistance +10% - 15% - 20% Like with the other Shadow gear, you get minor bumps to a few things, and that resistance to a status ailment that I'm not entirely convinced exists. You can certainly do better. Company Pads - Level 36 $500 - $200 2C - $300 3C Health +3 - 6 - 10 Shield +3 - 6 - 10 Machine Gun Damage +1% - 2% - 3% Slightly better than the Enforcer Pads, but the health bonus is exactly the same, and the boost to Submachine Gun and Heavy Machine Gun damage is minimal. Still better, but not by much; at least they're cheap. Hazmat Kevlar - Level 46 $600 - $200 2C - $300 3C Electrocution Resistance +10% - 15% - 20% Shield +10 - 20 - 30 I thought I'd made a typo, but no, that really is the shield bonus for a piece of shoulder armor, and that makes it a great choice all on its own. It's likely an oversight, but one that I wish I'd noticed while playing through. Benefit from my mistake! It is incompatible with the Shadow Armor and Juggernaut Armor, but since the Shadow Armor isn't great, and the Juggernaut Armor should be worn only with Juggernaut Pads, this isn't an issue. Guardian Pads - Level 41 1P $900 - $300 2C - $400 3C Shield Regeneration +3% - 6% - 10% Shield +10% - 15 - 20 Projectile Range +1% - 2% - 3% A good shield bonus, a slight increase in range, and a boost to shield regeneration; this is a very solid choice. Once you unlock the Hazmat Kevlar, the extra shield might be worth it over this, though, as the regeneration rate isn't going to increase enough to make it worth just having as much as 10 extra shield, and the added range is very slight. Nano Pads - Level 37 2P $1000 - $500 2C - $700 3C Shield +3 - 6 - 10 Critical Chance +1% - 2% - 2% Revolver/Crossbow Damage +2% - 4% - 6% With a small increase to shield (the best is equal to the Guardian Pads' worst), a likely oversight in the critical bonus, and a very small increase to guns that won't hit hard enough even with the other Nano equipment added to this, they're not a great choice. Titan Pads - Level 42 2P $1200 - $600 2C - $800 3C Health +5 - 10 - 15 Fire Rate +5% - 10% - 15% Flamer/Shocker Damage +5% - 10% - 15% The health bonus is decent, but the Flamethrower isn't a great weapon, so these aren't a terribly strong choice, especially for how much you need to unlock them, and for how much they cost to buy and upgrade versus better choices. Juggernaut Pads - Level 48 3P $1500 - $800 2C - $1200 3C Health +7 - 14 - 20 Heavy Hit Resistance +10% - 15% - 20% Knockback Resistance +10% - 15% - 20% An excellent health bonus with hitstun resistance makes these my favorite, but only when combined with the other Juggernaut equipment. Remember, Kids: inconsistent hitstun does more harm than good! ------------ E. Face Gear ------------ This is the miscellaneous, etc. of Meltdown; not all of it goes on your face, but I didn't know what else to call it. These don't correlate to any of the other equipment, so their effects are a little all over the place. This is also the category that suffers most from compatibility, particularly with helmets. None - Level 1 N/A (You start with this) - N/A - N/A (Cannot be upgraded) Move Speed +6% Another good start, adding a helpful speed bonus for new players. Sunglasses - Level 3 $150 - $100 1C - $150 1C Experience Gain +2% - 4% - 6% These are good before you reach Prestige Level 3, as nothing matters but gaining experience until then. They're also very cheap. Face Rag - Level 6 $200 - $50 1C - $150 2C Health +3 - 6 - 10 A nice health bonus, especially for how little it costs; this is a good choice earlier in the game, unless you're grinding. Eye Patch - Level 12 $450 - $250 1C - $450 2C Mystery Box Drops +1% - 2% - 3% At 3%, I'm not sure how much more often you'll be getting mystery boxes, and even then, it doesn't guarantee that they won't be empty. Maybe wear this if you really need money and/or experience, but not chips. Headphones - Level 17 $400 - $250 1C - $400 2C Chip Drops +1% - 2% - 3% I wore these almost the entire time, because chips might be the hardest thing to get; experience and coins are consistently dropped, but chips are random, and whether or not this helped much, it brought me peace of mind. Mustache - Level 24 $800 - $400 1C - $500 2C Knockback Get up Speed +10% - 20% - 30% Heavy Hit Recovery Speed +10% - 20% - 30% Unlike the Juggernaut equipment, this doesn't prevent hitstun, but allows you to recover from it more quickly. Naturally, this makes it useless if you're wearing a full set of Juggernaut gear, but it might be helpful for not getting shot to pieces while you're stuck lying on your back. Hannibal Muzzle - Level 29 $1000 - $400 2C - $600 3C Health Regeneration +1% - 2% - 3% Overall Damage +2% - 4% - 6% This can be pretty helpful for a number of playstyles, especially if you haven't been putting a lot of points into the Medic skill tree; the damage boost is small, but it's for all weapons, so it doesn't force you to use one thing or another. Hockey Mask - Level 35 1P $1500 - $600 2C - $800 3C Health +5 - 10 - 15 Melee Weapon Damage +5% - 10% - 15% Great for people who like melee combat, as not only does it increase your melee damage, it also increase your health, in case you get hit while you're in close or while approaching the target; this isn't Devil May Cry, you know. Gas Mask - Level 40 2P $2500 - $1200 3C - $1500 4C Shield +5 - 10 - 15 Shield Regeneration Speed +3% - 6% - 10% The shield boost is great for this category, and the shield regeneration speed bonus is helpful, too. This cannot be worn with the Guardian Helmet, but has the exact same bonuses as the Guardian Helmet, so you can combine it with something even better, and still have the Guardian Helmet's perks. This is what I use when I'm not grinding. ========= V. Skills ========= Skills are little perks that you get for leveling up. With every level, you get one skill point, which you can spend in any skill tree, but you must put 3 points into a skill until the next tier is unlocked, much like with guns. Unlike with guns, however, the three paths are completely separate, so you cannot, for example, unlock Soldier Tier 2 by maxing out Specialist Tier 1. In the long run, it doesn't matter what you choose, because your level cap is 55, and 54 skill points will max out everything. If you happen to mess up along the way, and can't wait, you can reset your skills, and get all of your skill points back to redistribute, but it costs coins; the more skills you've purchased, the more it costs. The format is as follows: Skill Name - What it does with 1 Star - 2 Stars - 3 Stars ------------- A. Specialist ------------- The Specialist class is a bit difficult to define, but it focuses mostly on guns. If you rely heavily upon firearms, this is a good place to start. Battery Tap is a neat perk, as enemies will start dropping batteries that will restore your shield when picked up. Nano-Ammo is probably the best skill here, as it will regenerate ammunition for all guns. Specialist - Ammo Capacity +5% - 10% - 15% Cool Run - Overheat Cooldown +10% - 20% - 30% Hot Metal - Fire Rate +15% - 30% - 45% Battery Tap - Shield Battery Drops +10% - 20% - 30% Ice Kill - Heat Decrease (upon kill) 5% - 15% - 20% Nano-Ammo - Ammo Regeneration +1% - 2% - 3% ---------- B. Soldier ---------- As expected, the Soldier class is all about dealing more damage. Personally, I found that only the first 2 skills were all that useful, but your mileage may vary. Last Round deals more damage not on the last bullet that you have, but the last bullet that you fire before the gun overheats. Fury increases your critical hit rate when you kill an enemy for a limited time; there is a timer in the HUD, and yes, it can stack all the way to 100%. Meltdown causes enemies to explode upon death, damaging all other enemies around them, but only if the killing blow was a critical hit. Soldier - Max Damage +5% - 10% - 15% Brawler - Melee Weapon Damage +10% - 20% - 30% Finesse - Critical Chance +1% - 2% - 3% Last Round - Last Bullet Damage +20% - 40% - 60% Fury - Critical Chance (upon kill) +1% - 2% - 3% Meltdown - Explosion Damage (upon critical kill) 100 - 150 - 200 -------- C. Medic -------- The Medic is my favorite class, since it does a good job of keeping you alive. Just look at the Surgeon skill: if your melee combo happens to hit twice, you'll recover a whopping 90% of your maximum health! Vampire regenerates less, but it heals you no matter how you kill the enemy. Neo sometimes causes your death to just not happen, throwing the words "THE ONE" onto the screen. Between all of that, the permanent health and shield bonuses, and the ability to regenerate health (instead of just shield), not a single skill goes to waste here. Medic Medic - Health +5 - 10 - 15 Extra Juice - Shield +5 - 10 - 15 Nano-Meds - Health Regeneration +3% - 6% - 10% Surgeon - Regenerate Health (upon melee hit) 15% - 30% - 45% Vampire - Regenerate Health (upon kill) 5% - 10% - 15% Neo - Chance to Dodge Fatal Blow +15% - 30% - 45% ----------- D. Prestige ----------- Prestige is kind of a strange idea: you shell out a decent amount of coins to reset your level, reset your mission progress all the way back to 1, and reset all of the items you've purchased and upgraded. So, why would you ever do this? You will get a small boost to your stats, you will be able to unlock new items, and your guns will be able to be upgraded an additional level. There are 3 Prestige Levels, and before you attain them all, I'd recommend keeping your purchases to an absolute minimum, because your coins and chips do not reset. Once I found that out, the only things I bought and upgraded were the Shotgun, Beret, and Headphones. Once you gain your first Prestige level, your banner will change its font color, and instead of stars, you will have the Meltdown logo in a certain color; most of this will be invisible to you, but other players will see it. The format for each level is as follows: Level # - Color - Cost - Stat Bonus - Max Gun Level Items now unlockable at this prestige level Level 1 - Yellow - $2000 - +5 Health - Level 10 Guns Shadow Armor Guardian Armor Beret Shadow Helmet Guardian Helmet Shadow Pads Guardian Pads Hockey Mask Level 2 - Red - $3500 - +5 Health - Level 11 Guns Nano Armor Titan Armor Shamaugh Nano Helmet Titan Helmet Nano Pads Titan Pads Gas Mask Level 3 - Green - $5000 - +5 Health and Shield - Level 12 Guns Juggernaut Armor Juggernaut Helmet Juggernaut Pads