Engineer Guide

From Anarchy Online Wiki [AOWiki]


This guide is based (heavily) on Muha's Engineer Guide MK III and Aramsunat's 2017 update.

Choosing a Breed[edit]

This thread covers Breed choice.

Starting to Play[edit]

When you first start, you are given a small number of items to start you off.

For an Engineer these are:

To get started, right click on the nano crystals to upload the programs. Icons for the programs should appear in your quick bar(press 'y' to open if you don't see it). Cast 'Composite Utility Expertise' to raise your skills and right click on the belt component platform to equip it. Right click on the specs to equip them. The backpack will also raise your health and nano points, so use Ctrl+1 to open the equipment window and put the backpack in your 'back' slot, under the 'Cloth' tab.

At this point you will need to choose a weapon for the starting area: pistol or grenade. This choice wont make a lot of difference right now and can be changed. Right click on your choice to equip it.

Lastly, click on the 'feeble automaton' nano program in your quick bar to create a robot shell. Right click on the shell to spawn your robot. This is bot will last you until you terminate it, it dies, or you log off. If you lose your connection the bot will wait for 2 minutes for you to reconnect before powering down.

If your account has promotional content, you can claim that now too.

If you start the game on the core Rubi-Ka server, you will start in Arete Landing. If you start on the Rubi-ka 2019 server you will start in your faction backyard.

Engineer Pets[edit]

The Engineers have robot pets that different from the pets of Bureaucrats and Meta-physicists as they tend to have high health and high damage, and are generally intended to be the Engineer's core weapons in combat. Engineers have two lines of pets that come in different types:

  • Main Line Pets
    • Automatons (level 1-43)
    • Gladiator Bots (level 47-123)
    • Warbots (level 129-182)
    • Slayerdroids (level 185-189)
    • Black Slayerdroids (Level 201-217)
    • Widowmaker (Level 220)
  • Dog Pets (level 100-220)

Pet Commands[edit]

Pets are controlled through the command line (i.e. hit enter, type in the command). But don't panic there are ways to make this much easier, which we will go over later.

The "mode" commands will change the way the pets behave until you give the pets a new mode command. These are:

  • /pet guard - the pet will follow the owner and attack any target that attacks the owner. This is the default mode.
  • /pet follow - the pet will follow the owner.
  • /pet behind - the pet will follow the owner. The difference between this and follow isn't clear.
  • /pet wait - the pet will stop and do nothing. Also sets the mode to /follow.

Other commands are:

  • /pet attack - the pet will attack the selected target, and subsequent targets that attack the pets. Afterwards, the pet will return to the owner and to the previous mode.
  • /pet terminate - the pet terminates and disappears.
  • /pet report - the pet reports its health, nano, ncu and location.
  • /pet rename "New Name" - renames the pet. The name must be at least 4 characters long. If you'd like a colourful name check here.
  • /pet chat "Chat text" - the pet says the text.


Since our pet can't heal the /pet heal command is useless to us. The command /pet emote also doesn't work on our pets.

From level 100 you can also have a pet dog. From then on, if you issue a command, other than /pet rename, it is issued to both pets. To issue a command to one pet use /pet "petname" command.

You can also issue these commands from two other places. The first is the pet window. Type "/open pet" to open this window, and you can see some of the commands are available as buttons. The second is macros, which we will go into now.

Macros[edit]

The command /macro <macro name> <macro text> creates an icon that you can place in your shortcut bar (press "Y" if you can't see that). The macro allows you to perform the command in the macro by pressing a number from 1 - 0 depending on it's position on the bar.

You can get these macros from the game help with /help pet and click on each of the links to create the macro.

You can also type /Macro Attack /Pet Attack into the command bar to create the macro.

Maximum Range[edit]

Your pet will only obey your commant up to a maximum range - 50 metres. If your pet is further away than that, for example since you issued a /pet wait command and moved away, and you issue a command, you will get the message "Pet is too far away. It can't hear your command." and the pet will do nothing. Your pet will also stop fighting if you are further from it than 50 metres. You will first get a warning "Your pet is out of range, if you dont get closer to the pet it will abort the fight and return to you." You are then given 5 second to close the distance to your pet. If you close the distance, you will get the message "You are within your pets range again." and your pet will continue fighting. Otherwise, you will get the message "Your pet is out of range, its aborting fight to return to you." and your pet will come back running to you.

Pet Runspeed[edit]

The runspeed of your pets is your own runspeed*1.2 (or maybe 1.25). This is done so your pet will be able to follow you around. However, runspeed is only determined when the shell is activated, or when you zone. You should therefore make sure that you activate shells when your runspeed is optimal. For example, don't create shells when your runspeed is debuffed. If you do, zone again after the debuff wears off. If you get a runspeed buff, zone so your pet gets the new runspeed.

Affording your Engineer[edit]

Getting enough credits to fund your character is pretty hard to start off with, this is the same for all professions, but I think more so on those that depend on their nanos.

If you find you don't have enough credits to afford the next bot up, then slow down! Take a little while to gather those credits up and relax a little. Levelling is not the most essential part of the game, having fun is.

"It's not the end of the journey that matters, it's the path you take to get there"

Before you go any further it's always worth checking out the thread on the New Arrival Forum:

Making LOTS of money as a new player

Now you've done that we'll take a closer look at some things that can help you make a few credits.

Begging[edit]

Don't do it. Too much of this happens already and this may well get you ignored by a large quantity of the higher level population. There are other ways, they may take longer but you won't annoy anyone in the process.

Some players like to help out low level players though. If you are offered credits or equipment by a higher level player or from your org, that is not considered begging, but be gracious and consider it a one time gift.

Soloing Missions[edit]

Before we begin looking at missions as a way of making credits make sure you get Clicksaver.

If you are having trouble getting Clicksaver to work there is a guide that can be found here.

Get a Lockpick, nothing worse than being stopped by a locked door, or unable to steal a poor mobs precious belongings because they were inconsiderate enough to have locked it away.

Also make sure that you get yourself a few backpacks to put all the items you loot in. Then it's simply a case of kill and loot everything you can, after all there's no team there with you.

In the next couple of sections I'll include a mission settings for you to try out. The settings below gives you a high chance of human mobs. The choice is then between XP and Money as the reward.

We use the Good / Bad setting in this case just to get missions that are nicer to do. That is avoiding assasination missions and observing missions, as well as return item mission since we want the most stuff for ourselves!

Mission Setting: Bad, Money, Order Mission Setting: Good, XP, Order

Soloing missions is an excellent (if time consuming) way of getting items and credits for yourself, and it's well worth learning to do.

Soloing team missions is even better than solo missions if you can. Of course to do this you at least temporarily needs a team mate.

Blitzing Missions[edit]

Mission Setting: Bad, Money, Order

Blitzing is a process of running, or calming (if you're an NT, Trader or Crat) through a mission purely for the reward, that means you don't kill anything. Runspeed is probably the most important skills for doing this.

The chance of recieving an xp reward is directly related to the percentage of mobs killed in a mission, we don't want an XP reward since we're not going to kill any mobs.

Always save (use Insurance Terminal) before you attempt a blitz, this way if you die during a blitz you have lost nothing except for the couple of minutes it takes to recover.

Mission Location[edit]

Location is important, the further away from the mission terminal the mission is the more credits you'll get as a reward. This doesn't mean we have to run into the middle of nowhere to get a couple of hundred more credits though. Check out getting missions from other cities or towns and see how easy they are to get to.

Jewelery[edit]

If you find yourself looting a lot of ingots, gems, rings then we can make these more valuable by turning them into jewelery. Check out Gem Cutting, Precious Metal,, Filigree Rings, Jewellery and Shadow Gem Rings for what you need, how to do it and what you get out of it. Then you can turn what are normally junk items into rings, which will get you more credits from the shops and some even can be worn for bonuses.

To make Jewelery you'll need quite a lot of Agility and Mechanical Engineering.

Monster Parts[edit]

With the use of a Bio-Comminutor (found in the Trade section of any general store) Monster Parts can be converted to Blood Plasma. These sell for substantially more than the monster parts to shops. This can be a nice way to make a bit of quick cash.

Converting Monster Parts to Blood Plasma will need a bit of Pharma Tech.

Check out the trade skill section later on to see what others you might want to do.

Skills[edit]

Essential Skills[edit]

This section covers the skills that are essential or useful to you as you progress as an engineer.

All skills are effected by something called "dribble down" from the abilities, this means a small increase in that skill based on the ability. As well as this skills can only be raised a certain amount before the ability needs to be raised as well.

The most important skills for us are those that make our bots, without those we're not much good.

So at every step the following three are essential for us:

Intelligence - Effects all nano skills, most trade skills Matter Creation - Bot Creation Time and Space - Bot Creation Computer Literacy - NCU, Belts & Grid Matter Metamorphesis - Shields Treatment - Med kits, nano kits, implants Body Development - This increases your Hit points Nano Pool - Increases your Nano points

Secondary Skills[edit]

Any other abilities you raise depend on your Breed choice. As Solitus I always suggest you raise Agility and Stamina (in addition to Intelligence).

There are three reasons for that, the first is that those two abilities also effect "Matter Creation" and "Time and Space". The second reason is that it's very easy to make implants that depend on those skills. Third is that those are the requirements for wearing Carbonum Armor.

Some of the other skills you might be interested in are below (Any weapon skills are covered in the next section):

Run Speed - Self explanatory Biological Metamorphesis - The bot heals are listed here. All Bot heals are mission reward only. Psychological Modification and Sensory Improvement - Raise to at least 66 Map Navigation - Optional, but if you raise to 80 you can have the important map upgrades (people & monsters) quickly. Otherwise use temporary implants to increase and upload maps as you level.

Perks[edit]

Provided you have the Shadowlands expansion pack you will have access to Perks.

You'll recieve a perk once every 10 levels up to level 200, and one perk for each level over level 200 giving you a total of 20 perks at level 200 and 40 at level 220.

To access the Perk menu press Shift and P.

You can a Perk configuration tool to help you decide which you'd like here thanks to Jayde.

There are no definate answers to which perks to choose, that is down to how you want to play your character and what you'd like to do.

Remember that Perks are cumulative, and the benefits of each level and each perk stack.

A couple to pay close attention to are the two below that increase our "Matter Creation" and "Time and Space" skills.

These are all the available levels of the Gadgeteer Perk.

These are all the available levels of the Mechanic Perk.

It's well worth considering Bio Shielding. This provides you with some healing capabilities as well as an Absorb Shield that gets bigger the more points you put into Bio Shielding up to a maximum of 10000 at level 201.

Don't panic if you make a mistake with Perks, while it can take time it's not impossible to correct a problem. You are allowed to reset one perk point every 2 hours.

Resetting Skills[edit]

Before I begin on this section, please read and understand the following:

IP Reset points provide the only method for you to change a character. This specifically relates to high level characters since those require the most work.

The game does change, the rules are rewritten on a regular basis and you cannot say for sure that the choices you make now will still be the best a year from now. If you have used all your IP Reset points you will have no way at all to adapt.

In many instances it is better to re-roll a character than use one of these points (before level 100 for instance).

If you're short in IP for a particular skill it is always better to level if you can rather than use one of these points.

There is no mechanism for getting more of these points.

It is possible to reset skills if you need to. Every character has access to a fixed amount of IP Reset Points, and you'll get a few more every time you hit a title change (but not at level 205).

Title Changes at levels: 15, 50, 100, 150, 190 and 205

Each point allows you to reset a single skill, and returns all of the IP you have spent in that skill allowing you to spend it elsewhere.

To do this you have to remove all weapons, equipment, armour and implants.

Basic abillities, and the Map Navigation skill cannot be reset.

Buffs[edit]

General Buffs[edit]

The first buffs you should look at getting in the game are the "Proficiency" nanos. You can find a list of Proficiency nanos here. It's highly advisable to get these as soon as you can.

After these you should look at getting the appropriate "Expertise" nanos. You can find a list of Expertise nanos here. Again it is advisable to get these as soon as you can. They overwrite the Proficiency nanos, so you cannot use both at once on the same skill.

A few other general nanos to get as an Engineer are Regeneration which increases the rate your bot will heal, Healing which you can use to heal your bot a small amount and Pet Warp which warps your pet to you, useful if it ever gets stuck or lost.

Engineer Buffs[edit]

You can find a list of all Engineer nanos here.

This list contains all of the new nanos added to our profession with Shadowlands.

Each of these Knowledge Nanos adds 80 to trade skills as listed.

Each of these Mastery Nanos adds 125 to trade skills as listed. This buff overwrites the 80 buff, so you cannot have both running.

One particular line to pay close attention to is our attack rating buffs for the bot. These are very good for increasing the amount of damage your bot does.

Where to get the Nanos[edit]

As with all professions, most nanos with no SL requirement can be found in shops up to QL 125 and as mission reward at any QL. The ones with SL req can be found in the SL gardens and sanctuaries. Clicksaver is a helpful program in getting the mission reward you desire. Please note that Funcom do not support Clicksaver in any way.

The exceptions for these are listed below:

  • Bot heals, the Sympathetic line and the Disruptive line are not available in shops.
  • Team Beacon Warp is a rare drop from any mob, or a common drop from Polymorphed Lunatic in Deep Artery Valley.
  • Shield of the Obedient Servant is a semi-rare drop of the Obediency Enforcer in Eastern Fouls Plains.
  • This list ("NanoCrystal" instead of "Nano Crystal"), except Shield of the Obedient Servant mentioned above and Sloughing Protective Field which can be found in shops, is dyna loot only, i.e. these drop from outdoor bosses.
  • The AMS/DMS buffs are dyna loot only.
  • Unsteady Hands can be bought for Victory Points in the tower shop.
  • The Miniaturization nanos are given as reward for the Scheol quests, guides here and here.


Meta Physicist Buffs[edit]

Each of these buff series has versions that add to specific nano skills, and a level locked Composite version that adds to all nanoskills.

  • Teachings - Add 25.
  • Masteries - Add 40.
  • Infusions - Add 90.
  • Mochams - Add 140.

Trader Buffs[edit]

  • Skill Wranglers - Adds nano skills and weapon skills.
  • Apprentice - Each adds 40 to one of your trade skills
  • Journeyman - Each adds 80 to one of your trade skill
  • Maestro - Each adds 125 to one of your trade skill

None of the trader tradeskill buffs stacks with each other, or with our own tradeskill buffs. However, unlike our buffs, they have no level limit, so you can get them even at very low levels.

Items[edit]

These are details of some items that add to "Matter Creation" and "Time and Space" which we can use to help us summon our bots.

Thanks to Martinn for the majority of this list

  • Neleb's Nano-circuit Robe - Found in the Steps of Madness at 800 2800 in Greater Omni Forest.
  • Notum Focus - Drops off the Forefather in the Smuggler's Den.
  • Platinum Ring of the Three - Drops in the Temple of Three Winds.
  • Notum Ring of the Three - Drops in the Temple of Three Winds.
  • First Circle of the Inner Sanctum - Drops in the Inner Sanctum.
  • Second Circle of the Inner Sanctum - Drops in the Inner Sanctum.
  • Third Circle of the Inner Sanctum - Drops in the Inner Sanctum.
  • Black Cloak Hood - Drops from the named boss mobs at the temples in Penumbra.
  • Gaily Painted Hood - Drops from Tarasque in the Camelot dungeon (18 hour spawn)
  • Metal Armlet of the Quartet - Drops from Primus and Secundus Mobs in the Ace Camp or the Caves.
  • Sleeves of Azure Reveries - Drops from the Mercenaries at the Ace Camp.
  • Gloves of Azure Reveries - Drops from the Mercenaries at the Ace Camp.
  • Ebony Figurine - Drops from Primus and Secundus Mobs in the Ace Camp or the Caves. Very Rare Drop.
  • The Expensive Kevlar Vest of Professor Jones - Drops from Professor Van Horne. Very hard to get. Nanomage Only (18 hour spawn)
  • Pants of Participation - Drops from the Generals in Pertetual Wastes. Very hard to get. Clan only.
  • Threatening Trousers - Drops from the Generals in Pertetual Wastes. Very hard to get. Omni only.
  • Flower Guard Triplate Metal Helmet - Drops from Juggarnauts. Clan only.
  • Pensive Spirit Phulakterion/Watchful Spirit Phulakterion[/i] - Drops from mini-bosses in the catacombs beneath the temples in Shadowlands, and highest qls from Lord of the Void (a dragon that lives all around inferno and in Nasc. Adds to MM MC BM / TS PM SI. Can use one them both, one in each hand

Bots, Buffs and Over-equipping (OE)[edit]

This applies to weapons as well, but my primary concern here is to explain how it applies to our pets.

What are Over-Equipping Rules?[edit]

These rules were introduced several patches ago in an attempt to combat the growing number of characters using items and pets substantially over their skill levels.

For weapons and armour it reduces the effectiveness in increments of 25%.

OE does not apply to NCU memory, Belts, Implants, HUD items or Util items.

For pets it simply makes them stop responding entirely and they enter Behind mode (will follow you around but not respond to other commands).

"What has that got to do with me?"[edit]

In effect this gives us two things to consider whenever we make a bot or put on a piece of armour. The first being how we get all that extra skill in the first place, the second is how much do we have to maintain in order to continue using it.

Lets use the Slayerdroid Guardian as an example. This requires 874 "Matter Creation" and "Time and Space" to cast and activate the shell.

Now before the OE rules were introduced that meant you could get Mochams and a 132 Wrangle and make that bot at a very early level and continue using it until you logged off even if those buffs ran out.

What OE rules changed was that you need to be able to maintain 700 MC and TS to continually use the bot.

With a weapon instead of a pet the weapon would become 75% effective at the first OE level. If your skills were even lower, then the gun would drop to 50% effective.

Doing the Math[edit]

You can figure out exactly how much skill you need to use something, or the highest you can possibly use without being effected with these two little formulea.

Amount of Skill Required to Control = Amount of skill to make or wear * 0.8 (Round up result to the nearest whole number)

Maximum amount within OE = Current Skill * 1.25 (Round down result to the nearest whole number)

"There must be an easier way?!"[edit]

Fortunately for us there is, a player made bot known as Helpbot can help you out with what you can and can't use.

Simply send helpbot a tell and ask him:

/tell helpbot OE <skill>

Enter your skill and he'll show you the result of both of the formula I have above.

Armor Choices[edit]

In general armor is used for two purposes - improving your AC and getting other modifiers. As Engineers rarely stand in the front, and we have our own AC buffs, AC is less important to us. We therefore focus on what other abilities an armor set can give us. There are ALOT of armors in the game. We will highlight some of the most useful ones.

Beginner Armors: Levels 1-100[edit]

  • Newcomer's Body Armor Newcomer's Armor - This is a suit of leveling armor that will level up to level 200 with the user. It adds some Health, Nano, NCU and can be purchased in basic ICC Armor stores cheaply early on. The down side is that it must be leveled manually (by removing it and right clicking it), it costs credits to level up, and has a max level of your own level.
    • On the main Rubi-Ka server (RK5) newcomer's armor also comes from Arete Landing and can be upgraded to a sided version.
  • Omni-Med Suit Shirt Omni-Med Suit - This armor is meant for treatment buffing but it can be very useful early on. From omni shops, cheap. Modifies treatment and first aid, for better treatment labs and stims.
  • Carbonum Breastplate Carbonum Plate Armor (QL Range: 1 - 200) carb armor - Used to be considered one of the best beginner armors. Easy to get from ICC Armor terminals and can also be created through a tradeskill process. Can then be upgraded to the Storm version (for clan) or Omni version (for omni) (guide here). Agility/Stamina reqs which some breeds find hard, but still a good choice, even if at a slightly lower QL.
  • Living Cyber Armor Male Body Living Cyber Armor - Another leveling armor that adds health, nano, and middle of the road AC values. Parts of it drop in the Condemned subway and some parts can be gotten from quests.
  • Predator Armor Vest Predator Armor - This armor drops from named predator mobs in Elysium. It has good all around armor values and some valuable general buffs.

Special Armors

  • ImgMissing.jpg Promotional Armor - Funcom (the maker of the game) will often have subscription promotions that include a suit of armor. This armor generally levels and has middle of the road stats and often an XP bonus. As a leveling armor it has the same draw back of being locked to your level.
  • ImgMissing.jpg Crude Silencer's Armor - This armor is purchased from the cash shop for Funcom Points. It middle of the road for what you purchase it and doesn't level, but does come with shoulder and neck items.
  • ImgMissing.jpg Serpentine Armor - This armor is exclusive to the RK 2019 server and each part must be gotten through a quest.

Back Armors

  • Exarch Robe Exarch Robe - This is a classic back armor from Temple of the Three Winds that is very useful for many levels.
  • Neleb's Nano-master Robe Neleb's Nano Master Robe - This is an upgraded version of the robe that drops from Neleb in the Steps of Madness dungeon. The upside is that it gives a lot of high nano skill buffs at an early level, the down side is that it requires a lot of nano skills to equip. For nanoskill buffing you can't get better armor till the Reanimated Cloaks.
  • Perfected Alien Tank Armor Perfected Alien Tank Armor - Assembled from parts from the Sector 10 alien playfield. It has a lot of nice core AC with some good buffs.

Intermediate Armor: Levels 100-190[edit]

The right time to switch into your intermediate armor is when you have the requirements to equip it. When this happens depends on your breed on on the armor choice.

The Intermediate armor choices are made of armor sets, where usually each item adds to some specific abilities. You can mix and match to add to the abilities you find most useful.

  • Miy's Nano Armor - A Int/Psy based armor with good AC values and nano skill buffs. Drops in random QLs from Rubi-Ka mobs. The gloves, arms, and chest are especially useful for engineers because of the nano skill bonuses.
  • Goddess Armor - This can be seen as an upgrade of Predator Armor and drops from the Dark Ruins Team Instance final boss. The gloves are especially sought after because of their xp bonus.
  • Superior Sentinel Armor/Omni-Armed Forces Armor - Requires 550 Strength+Agility/Strength+Stamina, as well as TL6. Quest reward, (guide for clan/omni). Largely out classed at this point but the it is a viable alternative if you are strapped for cash.
  • OFAB Armor - Armor with good all around bonuses that can be upgraded with Bio-Material from LE Alien Mothership missions. Costs victory points to buy.

Back Armors:

  • High Exarch Robe
  • Perfected Alien Tank Armor
  • Reanimator Robe
  • Robe of the Reanimated Summoner
  • Notum Tank Armor

Endgame Armor: Levels 190-220[edit]

  • OFAB Engineer Armor - This armor is a good stand by since it can be purchased in QLs up to 300, can be upgraded, and has special edition shoulder armor and back armor with useful buffs for Engineers.
  • Molybdenum Armor - Depending on your side that will be either Jathos' for clan or Kegern's for omni. Neutrals can use both. Drops from the biodomes (guide here). Has good HP bonus. Can be up graded with items from the Inside the Machine team instance (DB2)
  • Alien Armor/Combined Armor - One of the best armor sets for adding all around skills bonuses but also requires a costly and skill intensive process to make. Engineers benefit the most from Scouts (Nanoskills, Evades, and Tradeskills), but also find Sharpshooter (Ranged Weapons and Evades) and Commando (All Weapon skills and add damage).
  • Dust Brigade Armor - Locked to level 216+ this armor drops from DB1 and DB2 team instances
  • Beast and Awakened Beast - The base armor drops from The Beast in Pandemonium and can be upgraded with parts from the Pyramid of Home. Wearing a full set of Awakened Beast armor allows the user to use a special full heal ability.

Back Armors

  • OFAB Engineer Protective Gear
  • Burden of Competence/Awakened Burden of Competence
  • Bastion "Collatz" back armor

Weapon Choices[edit]

While weapons are are useful for fighting, in Anarchy Online they can also be useful for the bonuses they give your character. For engineers, their bots are their primary weapon, with focus going to getting out the best bot you can control at the lowest level possible. That said, an engineer's personal damage is also important.

Engineers have a couple core weapon sets

Weapon Group Skill Support Buff Support Perk Support Symbiant Support Notes
Pistols Yes Yes Yes Yes Highest damage option
Grenade Yes Yes Yes Yes IP conserving option
Martial Arts -- Yes Some Some in Alphas Can be low IP, Fight as a Slayerdroid
Shotguns -- No Some Some in Alphas High Crit End Game Option
Ranged Energy -- No Some No

Beginner Weapons[edit]

In general, your first priority in the early levels is to launch and control as big a bot as possible, so your weapon of choice is the one that will help you achieve this goal. This is true at least until you can launch the best RK bot. Some people even do this until they can "self" the best RK bot, meaning they can launch it without outside buffs. As pistols are the easiest to equip, pistol being a green skill, and they happen to have the best mods, they are the best beginner weapons.

Weapons that help in launching a better bot:

  • Soft Pepper Pistol: Adds MC. Of special interest are the QL1 and QL51 ones, as they have low requirements and add 2/14 MC. Guide here.
  • Second-Hand Old English Trading Co.: Adds 5 int, and you can dual wield it. Rollable.


Another option is to use a MTI-B94. This weapon adds to your experience modifier, which means you will level faster.

If you really must use a weapon for effect, you have a choice of several low level pistol and grenade weapons. Beginner Pistol Weapons:

  • The Original Electronicum: Reasonable damage. From Backyard vendor in Jobe up to QL50. After that boss loot only.
  • Eyemutant Orb Laser: Low multi requirement, high minimum damage. Guide here.
  • Solar Powered Pistol: This weapon will accompany you for a while if you want, as you keep upgrading it. Guide here.

Beginner Grenade Weapons:

  • Red Line Grenade Launcher: Slow, but has nice damage, and sounds great. Dyna loot.
  • MTI Pocket Launcher: Only available up to QL50 from shops.
  • OT 12: A lot of noise and damage, but extremly slow.


Intermediate Weapons[edit]

When you move to the intermediate weapons, it is time to decide what weapon type you are going to use. Most intermediate weapons tend to be Pistols.

Intermediate Pistol Weapons:

  • Customized IMI Desert Reet 1000 (CDR) - High min damage and low high damage make it best for SL mobs. Fast burst/fling recharges and no MBS. Drops from either the Lab Director in the Biomare Dungeon (guide here) or the Notum Soldier (Spawned by PH. Coords: 2000x2400, Eastern Fouls Plains).
  • Flux Pistol - Slow but with exceptional low damage, making it good for SL mobs. Drops off SL sided mobs.
  • Upgraded Solar Powered Pistol - see above. Especially good for RK mobs.
  • Pain of Patricia - Mainly for RK mobs. Drops from Patrica Johnson at ace camp (guide here).

Intermedate Grenade Weapons:

  • OT Hurler: Reasonable damage on RK mobs. Rare dyna loot.

Endgame Weapons[edit]

When you arrive at the endgame you will probably know exactly what weapons style you want. Pistol setups tend to do the most damage, while Grenade costs less IP.

Engame Pistol Weapons:

  • Turnspirit Pistols: Maker/Creator for clan, Ingenious/Innovatory for omni. Very high max damage make this good for RK mobs/aliens, but no specials and low min damage. Clan version is made from Sacrosanct Pistol + Turn Spirit of Bacam-Xum, omni version made from Inamorata Pistol + Turn Spirit of Aam. The weapons drop off sided mobs, the turn spirits can be bought from Yutto Manuals in form of Turnspirit Flesh Pouches and they drop from the heck bosses in inferno (near incarnator).
  • Kyr'Ozch Pistol - Type 1 and Type 4: Type 1 does fling and type 4 does burst. The very high MR requirement means you will not get the same ql on both hands. Until your burst is around 1300 it is best to have a higher type 1. Found from aliens, type 1/4 upgrades found on Generals/Admirals of city aliens.
  • Ofab Peregrine Mk 6: Currently the best pistol weapon. You buy it in the tower shop for Victory Points, which you get by either killing aliens in the mothership or joining PvP in the battlestations. You then need to upgrade it five times with Kyr'Ozch Bio-Material - Type 812 (any ql), found on the boss in the mothership. Can be dualed, even at ql300.

Engame Grenade Weapons:

  • Prohibited Hand-Mortar of Bacam-Xum: Primary reason to use Grenade, mainly due to the mods.
  • Premium Nizno's Bomb Blaster: Best damage grenade for SL. Tradeskill, guide here.
  • Kyr'Ozch Grenade Gun - Type 1: Best damage grenade for RK. Found from aliens, type 1 upgrades found on Generals/Admirals of city aliens.

Bot Performance[edit]

This section covers the items you can use on your robot to enhance it's performance. Trimmers can be used as many times as you need and won't disappear on use. NCU Upgrades are single use only.

We will also go over pet buffs

Permanent Effect Trimmers[edit]

When used these trimmers have a permenent effect on the robot, so you only need to use them once per bot. Note however, that it is not 100% agread that the effect lasts when you zone, so you might need to redo them every time you zone.

Agg/Def Trimmer[edit]

This line of trimmers can be bought from the Devices terminal in general stores. The maximum Quality is 100 which represents either full defense or full offense.

  • Positive Trimmers - These increase the attack speed but decrease the bots ability to evade.
  • Negative Trimmers - These decrease the attack speed but increase the bots ability to evade.

This range of trimmers basically alters the position of your pets Aggressive-Defensive slider. The effect is much the same as altering your own, at full offense the bot hits faster but has less effective evades so gets hit more.

The majority of our bots are more than capable of taking a little punishment though so we tend to favour the Positive Trimmers over the Negative ones.

Taunting Trimmer[edit]

This trimmer is made using components that can be easily bought in the shops. The Quality ranges from 30 to 200 and will require Mech Eng and a small amount of Chemistry to build.

The components needed are:

  • XU-11 Serum - From Pharma Tech Components
  • Chemical Impact Injector - From Melee Weapon Components
  • Trimmer Casing - From Mechanical Engineering Components

Which will give you:

  • Trimmer - Increase Aggressiveness

This trimmer adds a relatively small taunt value to your pets hits. In effect each hit making the mob more angry at the robot. Used in conjunction with Trimmer - Positive Aggressive-Defensive this can make the pet very good at holding the mobs attention.

Temporary Effect Trimmers[edit]

These trimmers last only for a timed duration. They all lock some skills to make sure they cannot be used too often.

Tradeoff Trimmers[edit]

These can be used once every 5 minutes, and the effect lasts for 5 minutes. They increase one ability of the robot at the cost of another. They also give a minor skill increase to the skill they lock (3 for ql200). They can be found at the Devices terminal in general shops, and can also be rolled as mission reward.

  • Trimmer - Divert Energy to Avoidance - Increases your bots Evades at the expense of it's Maximum Health. The trimmer is currently bugged and increases Poison AC instead of Duck Explosions. It can be very useful for PVP as the damage the bot takes when you use it will break calms. Locks Electrical Engineering for 5 minutes.
  • Trimmer - Divert Energy to Defense - Increases the bots Armour Class at the expense of it's Attack Rating. Locks Mechanical Engineering.
  • Trimmer - Divert Energy to Hitpoints - Increases the bots Maximum Health at the expense of it's Defensive Ability. Locks Electrical Engineering for 5 minutes.
  • Trimmer - Divert Energy to Offense - Increases the bots Attack Rating at the expense of Armour Class. Locks Mechanical Engineering for 5 minutes.


Damage Type Trimmers[edit]

These trimmers change the damage type your robot does for 10 minutes. They decrease the hitpoints of the robot by a significant amount. They lock Mechanical Engineering for 60 minutes, so they can only be used once every hour. All in all, most engineers don't find them very usefull. They are made by combining an energy core of the appropriate type, with Trimmer Casing. Energy cores are found on minibosses in alien ships, or in apf. Trimmer Casing is from Mechanical Engineering Components.

  • Trimmer - Fire Damage Modifier - from Heated Energy Core
  • Trimmer - Energy Damage Modifier - from Charged Energy Core
  • Trimmer - Cold Damage Modifier - from Cooled Energy Core


Note that these trimmers appear to be bugged, and they cause the bot to appear to have zero HP and stop moving. Zoning solves the problem.

Improve Actuators Trimmer[edit]

This trimmer adds to the damage your bot does and to its health. The effect lasts for 10 minutes, but it locks Mechanical Engineering for 60 minutes. It can be useful in a tight spot due to the immediate healing it does. To make it combine Smelly Liquid, found minibosses in alien ships and in apf, with Trimmer Casing from Mechanical Engineering Components. The result is

  • Trimmer - Improve Actuators

Note that it can only be done up to ql244 since the casing can only be found up to ql220.

NCU Upgrades[edit]

Android NCU Upgrades provide additional NCU space for your bot, 110 more NCU at QL200. These do not come without a price though, each upgrade lowers the Armour on your bot (400 AC with a QL200 upgrade).

For the most part these NCU Upgrades are unnecessary as the bots generally have enough room for you to run a reflect shield, damage shield, AC buff and an Attack Rating buff. However you may want a keep a few handy if you really need them, especially since they drop fairly regularly in missions.

The lower Quality NCU upgrades tend to be more useful than the higher level ones as you're unlikely to need 110 more NCU on a robot.

Implants[edit]

First of all, implants are essential to your character, all the Nano Programs and weapons in the game assume you have them to a greater or lesser extent.

A good implant set can make the difference between you being very happy with your character or having problems with your character.

Throughout this section I'm going to try to avoid stating that you must implant certain things wherever possible. However, some statements like that are inevitable.

Profession Specific Pre-made Implants[edit]

You can buy profession specific implants for each profession up to quality level 100 from the general stores.

These implants are far from what most of us consider perfect, but they can save you the time and money building your own if you really don't want to until later on.

It's also worth checking the booths of other professions as sometimes you can make a better set by combining aspects of different professions.

Please take care if you do use these implants, especially if you're a Nanomage character. The implant set I have suggested below contains heavily implanted Life because as Engineers we don't have all that much, and as mentioned at the beginning out of all breeds Nanomage has the least life.

This is particularly important if you open a chest with a bomb in it. If you don't implant life and are Nanomage you will most likely be killed by any such bomb.

Eventually of course you'll have to build your own.

Implant Design[edit]

Designing implants is one of the most complex parts of the game and takes a long time to get used to, but if you have doubts or are unsure then just ask.

The first thing you should do when you are considering making your own implants is download Nano Nanny. This small program will really help you out as the number of combinations possible is very very large.

You should consider which skills you need to increase, of course there will be many conflicts within the implants if you wanted to increase everything so you have to be a little selective.

For each implant there are 3 slots, Shining, Bright and Faded. Each of these slots provides a different amount of skill increase, Shining provides the most, Faded the least.

So lets think about which skills are important to us as Engineers and whether or not we'd like to implant them.

Essential Skills to implant

Matter Creation - Required to make your bot Time and Space - Required to make your bot

Highly Recommended

Intelligence - Effects all nano skills Matter Metamorphesis - Required for engineer shields Max Health - Increases your Hit Points, keeps you alive longer.

Recommended

Bio Metamorphesis - Required to heal your bot Weapon Skill - Depends on which weapon you choose, but I would suggest implanting the skills above carry higher priority. Run Speed - Being able to move faster is just useful, you should have spaces to implant this without conflicting.

Choices

Sensory Improvement - I personally don't recommend implanting this because it conflicts with skills I consider more important like Intelligence. Psycological Modification - As above.

As I've said, "Matter Creation" and "Time and Space" are both essential skills, however those use the same spots in the implant set so you have to balance the skills. So as an example you would install Shining "Matter Creation" and Bright and Faded "Time and Space" which balances the increase of those skills.

It's worth remembering that if all implants are of equal quality level, then:

Increase from shining = Increase from Bright + Increase from Faded

Experiment in Nano Nanny, it's free and once you learn the process it makes designing implants for you, or any of your other characters much easier.

Above everything else I want you to remember that anything I write here isn't set in stone and if you disagree then try your set up.

Common Issues[edit]

Ability Requirement on Implants - It's possible to alter the ability requirement on an implant a certain amount. You can see this change with the following example:

In Nano Nanny next to head implant select the following clusters.

Shining Time and Space Bright Ranged Init Faded Sense

Then build the implant (a function of Nano Nanny to simulate an implant build) at any quality level. Checking the results will reveal it requires Intelligence.

Repeat this process but this time only with these clusters:

Shining Time and Space Faded Sense

This time the resulting implant requires Agility.

Max HP or Body Development? - In general the increase in HP provided by implanting HP directly is greater. There is an exception to this though. The Atrox breed gets more HP per point of Body Development than any of the other breeds, which makes implanting Body Development more beneficial for your character.

Sample Implant Design[edit]

This Implant set is purely generic and has no weapon skills implanted (except where the ability requirement needed changing), those depend on your weapon choice and the set will need altering in accordance with that.

The set itself will require you to have Agility and Stamina raised to wear it, although alterations could be made to change those requirements.

  • Head - Shining: Time & Space, Bright: (empty), Faded: Sense
  • Chest - Shining: Max Health, Bright: Matter Met, Faded: Strength
  • Ear - Shining: (empty), Bright: Concealment, Faded: Intelligence
  • Eye - Shining: Aimed Shot, Bright: Intelligence, Faded: Matter Creation
  • Left Arm - Shining: (empty), Bright: Strength, Faded: Matter Met
  • Right Arm - Shining: Strength, Bright: Chem AC, Faded: Mech Eng
  • Left Wrist - Shining: (empty), Bright: Run Speed, Faded: Nano Resist
  • Right Wrist - Shining: Run Speed, Bright: Nano Resist, Faded: Fling Shot
  • Leg - Shining: Agility, Bright: Stamina, Faded: Max Health
  • Left Hand - Shining: (empty), Bright: Trap Disarm, Faded: First Aid
  • Right Hand - Shining: Trap Disarm, Bright: Matter Creation, Faded: Treatment
  • Waist - Shining: Fire AC, Bright: Max Health, Faded: Stamina
  • Feet - Shining: Evade, Bright: Agility, Faded: Duck

Soloing & Teaming[edit]

This is where it all comes together, in this section I'm going to give a few pointers and suggestions to make everything that we've done up to now work.

At this point I will assume that anyone reading this section is new to the game and operating with the normal engineer set up. So some of this section may not be relevant.

Terms & Concepts[edit]

Before I go ahead and start suggesting things to try I'll just quickly run through some of the terms and concepts we'll be going through.

  • Mobs - Short for Mobiles, can be any creature in the game not controlled by a player.
  • Hate List - A mobs list of enemies in "Must Die!" order.
  • Aggro Slider - The Agg / Def Slider in the stats window.
  • Line of Sight (LOS) - Self explanetory
  • Calms - A nano program that stops a mob fighting and makes it unable to attack unless attacked first. (Orange effect around the target)
  • Mez - Short for Mesmerize, same as calm.
  • Root - A nano program used to fix a mob to the spot, this won't effect its combat abilities. (Light Blue effect around the target)
  • Snare - A nano program used to reduce the run speed of a mob. (Green effect around the target)
  • Blind - A nano program that reduces the attack rating of the target (Black Cloud effect around the head of the target)
  • Tank - The primary damage taker in any situation, a successful tank must be able to hold the mobs attention.
  • Puller - Person responsible for drawing mobs towards a team, or for the splitting of groups of mobs into bit sized chunks.
  • Taunt - A device, nano program or component of a nano program that increases mob hate towards the user.

Pets in Combat[edit]

Our robots are, in effect, controlled mobs. This means they are subject to many of the rules and behavioural patterns that govern regular mobs.

So like a mob your pet will have a Hate List.

Mobs or Players might be added to the Hate List because:

  • Old Command - You told your bot to attack a mob by mistake or changed your mind.
  • Mob / Player Attacks Bot - Something or someone attacked your bot.
  • Mob / Player Attacks You - Something or someone attacked you.

Which ever state the bot is in it will build a hate list, even if the bot is standing there in Wait mode it will add attackers to its list.

If the bot is in Guard mode it will immediately engage the first attacker, in a team situation that's any mob that attacks any member of the team. If in Attack mode it will engage the attacker as soon as it's current target is finished.

In any other mode it will not act on this list until you give it a command. Then, depending on the command, it will either start to work through it or disregard it entirely.

If you set your bot to attack mode it will then engage the target you select, followed by each mob on the Hate List.

You can clear a Hate List at any time by issuing the command "/pet wait".

The following example should hopefully illustrate this:

You're in a team consisting of yourself, a Crat, a Doctor and an Enforcer.

We'll assume that the team is built up of bad and good players. No sterotypes intended, just as examples. This is a very common situation.

Ahead of you is a big room with 2 mobs in it, and 11 mobs surrounding it all in their little rooms.

The Enforcer isn't so bright, he prefers the head on method of rushing into a room and hitting things. He has no regard at all for the mobs that are watching his little display, and indeed little regard for the wellfare of the rest of the team.

He firmly believes that the crat should calm them all and the doc should heal him. If they don't then the fault lies entirely with them.

Fortunately for the Enforcer both the Doc and the Crat are very good if a little annoyed at the play style of your Enforcer teammate.

So the fight commences, the Enforcer engages the first mob, you send your bot to attack it. Everything is going fine.

Then in the age old fashion the cry "ADD!" rings out as 4 of the mobs from surrounding rooms attack a mixture of you, your bot, the Enforcer and the doc. Thankfully the crat manages to swiftly calm these.

During this your bot has started to build a Hate List. The first being the mob it's currently fighting, it won't switch until that mob is dead. It's also added onto it's hate list all the mobs that just joined the fight and are now calmed.

The fight ends, everyone is in a bad way and needs to recharge for a moment, but your bot has just moved right onto the next target!

Rewind...

You see the adds, wait until they're calmed, then you issue the Wait command to your bot. Then immediately after the attack command to the current target that everyone is fighting.

You just cleared your bots Hate List, it will finish it's current target and enter Guard mode until other commands are issued.

The fight ends and everyone recharges. Your bot waits patiently for you to issue another command. While the mobs stand around looking bored.

Controlling your bot effectively is very important, you generally cannot let it go on an uncontrolled rampage, it'll upset people in a team and may make soloing hard work.

Solo Play[edit]

At low to mid levels, engineers are a good profession for this, the bots ability to tank make us able to solo missions well above our level. In effect it is essential that the Engineer and the Bots behave as a small team.

Every mob in the game uses Hate Lists to determine who should be attacked. The idea is to always be lower down on this list than the bot.

Reasons you might move up this list include:

  • Damage - If you do more damage than your bot or team members then you might find the mob starts to hit you instead. Unless you want this to happen adjust your "Aggro Slider" so your defenses are favoured over your attacks.
  • Healing - Healing nano programs carry an indirect taunt value, healing a target near the mob, specifically a target the mob is attacking will move you up the "Hate List".
  • First Seen - If the mob sees you before anything else you will automatically be at the top of the "Hate List".
  • Passive Agro - Pets generate passive hate for their owners if the pet owner is not shooting the mob.


What this means is that what you want to do is first send your attack bot. Let it do a bit of damage, and then send your dog (if you have one) and start attacking, but do moderate damage. Don't use special attacks or damage perks.

At very low levels the bot won't be able to taunt the mobs, or hold the mobs attention very well on its own. In this situation you can use Line of Sight (LoS) to your advantage. This especially applies when healing. If you remain out of Line of Sight (of the mob) and heal the bot it's unlikely that the mob will switch its attention to you.

To make the bot collect more hate then you use Trimmers, as well as anything you can do to make the bot hit harder or annoy the mob more. A Damage Shield for example won't do very much extra damage, nor will it really shield you or the bot from much. But casting it on your bot will mean the mob is being annoyed slightly more each time it hits.

One of the hardest things to do is learning to seperate mobs. If two mobs are in the same room attacking one will immediately catch the attention of the other. The prefered method to deal with this situation is by pulling one mob into another room. You do this by waiting in the mobs room until it flashes up an attacked by message. At which point you have to get to the first room as fast as you can!

Pulling with a reflect or a damage shield running is much harder, the only way to pull a single mob in that instance is by not letting the mob hit you at all. If the mob you're pulling takes any damage then it will be noticed by the second mob and the effort is wasted. This is a risk, if your bot (or your team members later on) can't pull the aggro from you or heal you then it might be an idea to use the mission door.

As you level and your skills increase you may want to get the Blind line. Engineer blinds are the most powerful in the game, they reduce the attack rating of the mob to such an extent that they can be incapable of hitting you. All our blinds are in the form of a 20 second area pulse which effects all hostile targets in the area. However, if the mob takes even a single point of damage the blind will be broken and the mob back up to full power. Our blinds are also very short range and contain a taunt, so use with care.

Along with these is a Snare line that pulses out from the bot (every 30 seconds). The snare contains a taunt which improves chances of the mob attacking the bot.

Team Play[edit]

Acting as part of a team can be very hard work at times, some teams are better than others.

As a new player to this game you'll discover many low level characters that are refered to as "Twinks". These characters are normally alternates of higher level characters which have been improved using the resources of that higher level player. Whether that is by getting the best possible implants in, the best possible armour on or any other method of making a character better than average.

A team of twinks isn't necessarily a good team though, any team needs to be able to work together and communicate. Approaching any scenario with a little care will make the play experience better.

This is where we come onto team roles.

Some teams won't bother and will just run through the mission killing everything, looting everything and just hoping that no one dies in the process.

Other teams will use strategies, which in theory at least, allow them to contend with greater challenges than the first type.

Some professions are better suited to certain jobs than others.

Traditionally Enforcers and Soldiers are tank professions, they have taunts and are equipped to take a great deal of damage.

Fixers can also tank sometimes, but because of their speed they can make very very good pullers.

If a team is willing to use these kinds of methods then they can very quickly and efficiently clear a mission full of creatures much higher level than themselves.

Be a little more careful in teams with some of our programs. The snare program the bot has can attract adds and break calms (except single calms made by crats).

The Blind program and other offensive auras we have also break calms (except single calms made by crats).

Offensive and Defensive Auras[edit]

One final thing I want to cover in this section is a bit more of a detailed description of our defensive and offensive auras.

These auras have two components, the main component (server) runs in your own NCU, this will pulse out every 20 seconds or so the other half of the program (client). The client is the important bit since that's the one that provides the modifiers. You will end up with server and client running in your NCU when you run it, all other members will only have the client side.

This list contains all our defensive auras, they range in effect from AC auras to Damage increasing auras. You'll only be able to run one at a time.

Which you use depends on the situation really, the reflect and damage shield auras are only useful if members of the team are using those kinds of shield. The AC aura is one of the most useful in my opinion.

Damage buff auras aren't used much but you might want to consider them, the highest adds 25 extra damage for a cost of 2 NCU.

Offensive auras can be very useful. We're the only profession that can debuff certain types of shields, and we possess the most powerful blinds in the game.

This list contains all our offensive auras. Going to look at these more closely than the defensive auras.

Please note that all our Offensive auras break calms (except single calms made by crats), and carry a chance to draw in extra mobs to the fight so use them with care.

Damage Shield Debuff[edit]

This line of auras reduces the damage you take from any damage shield. There are 5 nanos in this line.

I find these most useful when facing boss mobs with obscene damage shields. It does seem to have some problems landing on occasion, but boss mobs have pretty obscene nano resist.

However, teams can be very grateful when the 150 damage they've been taking per hit is substantially reduced.

Disruptive Field Negator -4 Damage Disruptive Shielding Negator -14 Damage Disruptive Barrier Negator -28 Damage Disruptive Retaliatory Negator -44 Damage Disruptive Retributive Negator -61 Damage

Reflect Shield Debuff[edit]

This line reduces the effectiveness of reflect shields, it reduces the percentage of damage reflected, which makes it very powerful against all reflect shield users.

This includes the Soldier program Total Mirror Shield and the NT program Nullity Sphere.

Disruptive Field Harmonics -15% Disruptive Cocoon Harmonics -22% Disruptive Phase Harmonics -36% Null Space Disruptor -48%

Blind (Add All Off Debuff)[edit]

The Blind line is very useful in many circumstances. This one has a negative Add All Off modifier. Add All Off directly effects Attack Rating. Attack Rating this is the number used to figure out whether something hits, misses or critical. The blinds simply reduce the Attack Rating value by a very large amount.

The blinds can be used to completely shut down a mob making it unable to hit you, this doesn't stop it fighting, just makes it miss more often, especially if the target has high evades. Of course on high level mobs the effect is just making the mob do less damage, and many mobs completely resist the effect.

In effect this line provides us with some basic crowd control, it's not as effective as a calm, but it does give us an option in a difficult situation.

Blinds are short range and will break on a single point of damage, including damage from your own reflect and damage shields. As most players have a reflect and a damage shield running on them (from the Bioshield perk line or from buffs) this means that in order to keep the blind active on must avoid being hit, which again is easier with higher evades.

They also break if another offensive program lands on the target, such as a debuff. Note especially that the snare aura that runs on the bot counts as an offensive program, so each time it pulses it might cancel the blind.

School: SPACE

Disruptive Photon Deflector Disruptive Photon Deflector Modify Add All Off -370
Disruptive Photon Absorber Disruptive Photon Absorber Modify Add All Off -640
Disruptive Photon Devourer Disruptive Photon Devourer Modify Add All Off -890
Disruptive Photon Annihilator Disruptive Photon Annihilator Modify Add All Off -1095
Disruptive Void Projector Disruptive Void Projector Modify Add All Off -1210

Trade Skills[edit]

Introduction to Trade Skills[edit]

This is probably one of your biggest choices. Engineers really excel in this field, but it's not an easy path. For a start there's a lot to learn, every trade skill process has different rules. But most importantly this will absorb all of your free IP all the way until well into Title Level 6.

As a result of the IP sink involved in trade skills it's next to impossible to keep more than a couple of these up before level 125.

You should also remember that there is no such thing as a Trade skill only engineer, you have a choice of pure Combat Engineer or a Hybrid Trade skill / Combat skill Engineer. This is because you can't level off trade skills, the only way to level is through combat.

A comprehensive list of items for trade skills has already been created and compiled by Caddock which can be found here.

Trade Skill Processes[edit]

Trade skill abreviations:

Mechanical Engineering - ME Electrical Engineering - EE Quatum Field Tech - QFT Weapon Smithing - WS Pharma Tech - PT Nano Programming - NP Computer Literacy - CL Psychology - Psychol Chemistry - Chem Breaking & Entering - B&E Quality Level - QL

  • Implants (Req. NP) - The most popular trade skill, all normal implants (not Jobe implants) require NP in varying amounts. The skill requirement for this process varies from implant to implant, but around 5 NP per QL is enough for most implants.
  • Nano Crystals (Req. NP/CL/EE/QFT/ME) - Guide.
  • Implant Disassembly (Req. B&E/NP) - This requires an Implant Disassembly Clinic. Only standard implants (not refined and not Jobe) can be stripped. Needs 4.75 B&E per QL and a small amount of Nano Programming.
  • Maussers (Req. WS/ME/B&E) - The main use for this skill is building fixers their Mausser Chemical Streamers. This process needs 4.2 WS per QL and 4 ME per QL for the last step. Guide
  • Stims & Emergency Treatment Labs (Req. PT) - For making Emergency Treatment Labratories at varying quality levels. Guide
  • Aggression Enhancer (Req. ME/WS) - The Aggression Enhancer and Aggression Multiplier can both be upgraded to the linked forms. Requires 4.5 ME and WS per QL. Both of these are done by combining 3 charges of Essence of Pure Jealousy with the standard versions of each item. You find Essence of Pure Jealousy on a mob called Jealousy in the Steps of Madness dungeon.
  • Virral Triumvirate Egg (Req. ME/EE) - This item is requires ME to complete most parts, EE is required for the completion of one step. You'll need to be able to get up to 1000 ME for this process. Guide
  • Augmented All-Matching Bow Tie (Req. Psychol) - Guide
  • Over-tuning Tank Armour (Req. QFT/B&E) - Guide
  • CAS & Barter Armour (Req. Chem/NP) - Guide
  • Metallic Mantis Armour (Req. Chem) - Also needs Shape Soft Armour. Guide
  • Carbonum & Junk Metal Armour (Req. ME/EE/Chem) - Very similar processes. Carbonum Guide Junkmetal Guide

Charging for Trade Skills[edit]

Whether you use them or not Berael maintains a price list for all trade skill processes should you need a guide about what to charge people if you wish to.

Special Tools[edit]

There are some items in the game that can only be found in a limited number of places. Most of these aren't a problem as you can always get them later on. However, 5 of these items can only be found easily in Missions at relatively low level.

  • Robot Instruction Discs - These three can only be found as mission loot at the same levels as the discs.
  • Shape Armour - These two can only be found as boss loot (indoor or outdoor) on approximately level 60 bosses.

Maximum Skills for each Breed[edit]

If you're making a character specifically for Trade skills then your Breed choice is very important.

Below are the maximum, unaugmented trade skills for each Breed. Each one assumes you're level 200 and have maxed all abilities.

Nanomage

  • Mechanical Engineering - 721
  • Electrical Engineering - 721
  • Quantum FT - 727
  • Weapon Smithing - 721
  • Nano Programming - 727
  • Compter Literacy - 727
  • Chemistry - 719
  • Pharma Tech - 665
  • Psychology - 663
  • Tutoring - 726

Opifex

  • Mechanical Engineering - 725
  • Electrical Engineering - 722
  • Quantum FT - 713
  • Weapon Smithing - 715
  • Nano Programming - 715
  • Compter Literacy - 715
  • Chemistry - 717
  • Pharma Tech - 669
  • Psychology - 661
  • Tutoring - 717

Solitus

  • Mechanical Engineering - 719
  • Electrical Engineering - 719
  • Quantum FT - 719
  • Weapon Smithing - 718
  • Nano Programming - 719
  • Compter Literacy - 719
  • Chemistry - 719
  • Pharma Tech - 659
  • Psychology - 659
  • Tutoring - 719

Atrox

  • Mechanical Engineering - 709
  • Electrical Engineering - 711
  • Quantum FT - 699
  • Weapon Smithing - 713
  • Nano Programming - 699
  • Compter Literacy - 699
  • Chemistry - 713
  • Pharma Tech - 643
  • Psychology - 639
  • Tutoring - 699

Tutoring and Why It's Important[edit]

Tutoring is required to be able to use Tutoring Devices, these are items in the game that allow you to termporarily increase one of your own trade skills.

The devices start at Quality Level 1 and go all the way up to 200. Providing an increase of up to 50 points.

That is an increase of 0.25 skill per quality level, but we don't work in bits of numbers, only full numbers. So QL1-7 provide a skill increase of 1 point, QL8 - 12 an increase of 2 points, up until the increase of 50 points with a QL200 device.

Tutoring is absolutely essential for many high level trade skills, but it takes a long time to make it really useful. Especially since the highest quality devices need 1000 tutoring to use.

So while you might want tutoring eventually, it's probably little use to you before level 150.

Where to find out more[edit]

Tir School of Engineering - An excellent site run by Lyricia. Anarchy Arcanum - Another useful site which details trade skills and quests amoung other things. Engineer Forum - Don't forget here! Many of us have been doing trade skills a long time now so always ask on the forum itself if you need to.

Player Vs Player[edit]

Note: This section is extremly outdated and is pending rewrite.

PVP is an important part of the game and no guide would be complete without looking at this subject. By its very nature PVP is a fairly advanced subject, and any success requires a fairly broad knowledge of the game.

Lower level PVP is currently heavily dominated by twinks (Characters made using the resources and knowledge of a higher level character), which makes it difficult for new players to get into.

This section of the guide was written in conjunction, and with the help of the rest of the members of this forum since my knowledge of PVP as an Engineer isn't so good... so don't ask me about it in game

Combat Specialist or Trade-skill Specialist[edit]

This is one of the first things that effects your ability to fight other players. Trade skills as I've mentioned earlier are a massive drain on IP, to the extent where Combat related skills have to be neglected to a certain extent.

So first of all, if you want to be really good at fighting then trade skills have to become secondary.

Skills[edit]

For any combat based profession that is required to take damage Evasion skills are essential. This includes Evade Close Combat, Dodge Ranged, Duck Explosions, Nano Resist and Run Speed. You will be taking damage in PVP, no human fighter will target your bot over you, other than to root, scare, charm or calm the robot.

In addition to these you need to select a good weapon and make sure you fully utilise any advantages you have over other professions.

For your weapon choice you should look at maxing all the skills associated with using the weapon, the Initiative type for that weapon.

Nano Init would also allow you to instantly cast the root / snare breaker on the pet and the offensive auras.

Maxing out the skills associated with the specials on weapons will decrease the recharge time of that special attack, the fastest this will become is once every 10 seconds.

Weapon Choices[edit]

Note this is not a definative guide by any extent, I leave the choices to you, I just wanted to present you with some options. The choices for PVP combat differ as you level. Some weapons to consider at lower levels might be:

  • Manex Catastrophe - Heavy burst damage, generally a slow weapon. No longer drops in game.
  • X-3 Rifle - Rifle and Aimed shot are very popular in PVP.

At higher levels:

  • Pain of Patricia - A level 175+ pistol as mentioned earlier. A very respectable choice. Improves even more if you implant Pistol further as opposed to the Nano skills used to summon your bot.
  • Martial Arts - Fast but highly crit dependant. Utilises slayerform and the damage is relatively good.

In addition to your weapon choice a scope should always be considered:

  • TIM scope - This is available from TIM in the Foreman's dungeon. Basically a scope to increase Ranged Init, with only a small crit bonus. Very useful for slower but heavy damage weapons like the Manex.
  • Vision Enhancer - This and the next scope reduce initiatives as a price for gaining a critical bonus.
  • Low Light Targetting Scope - This particular scope doesn't drop anymore and can only be bought from players. As a result it's hard to obtain and very expensive.

Ranged or Close Combat?[edit]

In general I believe Ranged Combat styles to be better for PVP as an Engineer. It allows you the chance to avoid damage by simply not being close enough to your opponent.

Unlike our Close Combat (Martial Arts) combat style a Root program isn't likely to be the end of the fight for you.

Nanos[edit]

  • Special Blocking shields - Each one of these programs blocks a certain amount of special attacks dealt against you. These include Burst, Full Auto, Dimach, Brawl, Aimed Shot etc. Essential for any fight.
  • Blind Auras - Very powerful auras, but each breaks very easily.
  • Reflect / Damage shield debuff auras - Works against anything from Nullity Sphere to Corruscating Screen.
  • AC, Reflect & Weapon auras - These add additional reflect damage. More damage reflected back each time they hit you. More AC for you. More damage.
  • Snare aura - This one runs on the bot, reducing your opponents run speed drastically to stop them escaping the claws of your bot.
  • Root protection programs - Give your bot a resistance to root and snare programs, however short duration.
  • Root Breakers - Break the roots and Snares and enable your bot to run free, obliterating everything in it's path.

Tactics[edit]

Tactics are something you have to develop for yourself, it takes lots of practice and a great deal of game knowledge to be good at PVP.

"No battle plan, no matter how perfect survives contact with the enemy"

Remember that you don't have to fight, and there's no point in agreeing to a duel you have no hope at all in winning, the most fun duels are those that are close, even if you lose.

Learn about the other professions, their strengths and their weaknesses.

"Trimmer - Divert Energy to Avoidance" can be used to break calms cast against your pet as it does damage to the bot.

It is highly recommended that you obtain at least 2 root grafts. These are time locked and each will only be usable every 15 or 30 minutes or so at QL200.

  • Hacked Boosted-Graft: Feet of Stone - locks Matter Creation
  • Hacked Boosted Graft: Detain Suspect - locks Psychological Modification

For mass PVP our Reflect booster and Damage shield booster Sympathetic Shields can cause a lot of pain to anyone using AoE weapons against you and your friends.

Assume an NT casts an Area Nuke. If you were standing in a group of 10 people, everyone with the highest soldier reflect shield (which gives back 46 damage per person to an attacker); adding on Sympathetic Reactive Cocoon would have the effect of increasing the damage the NT takes from 460 to 1070 in return for his nuke - without anyone having to fire off a single shot.

Things to watch out for[edit]

  • Bureaucrats can charm and calm your robot.
  • Traders can calm and root pets, but generally won't charm because they wouldn't last long.
  • NTs can root and calm pets

If you're fighting a player filling their NCU with junk programs in order to prevent them running buffs is considered an exploit.

Overwriting Soldier Reflect shields and Adventurer or Enforcer Damage shields are also considered exploits.

For clarification using flaws in the Game Mechanics to obtain unintended benefits is considered an exploit. I only list these here because they come up repeatedly on the forums. So if you have read this and you use it then you have been warned. If you would like clarification of these statements then please e-mail Exploits@anarchy-online.com

With everything said PVP is supposed to be fun, if you don't enjoy it then you don't have to do it.

Anything Else[edit]

Making References & Tracking Damage[edit]

If you find you do a lot of trade skill work a reference is really useful for compacting a lot of information into a small space so check out this for Ref Maker.

You'll also find Damage Dumper on the same site, that program allows you to track the damage of you and anyone else you set it to. Useful if you're curious about how much damage you're doing compared to others.

To do list:

  • Edit the recommended skills list, based on the recommended skill interface introduced in 16.3
  • Rewrite the PvP section: some suggestions
  • Add more about the role of engineer in team and in NW wars, maybe this
  • Add a section about token boards, and how to get tokens.
  • Discuss flags like this.
  • symbs vs. imps