If being a role-playing game with deep mechanics was not enough, Soul Hackers 2 is also a spinoff of the Megami Tensei franchise. Combine the two and you get a fairly complicated game that will leave even veterans scratching their heads.
The following are a few tips and tricks that you can note before jumping into the game. These will help you gain a better understanding of your environment, especially during battles.
Choose the appropriate difficulty
Soul Hackers 2 offers three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. For most players, Normal difficulty is ideal. It provides a decent challenge while also not being tedious like Hard difficulty.
However, if you find Normal too difficult and time-consuming, there is no shame to select Easy difficulty. Ultimately, you should have fun playing at the difficulty you selected. So, choose the difficulty that suits you!
That being said, do note that you have to defeat the final boss on Hard difficulty to unlock the “Hardcore Hacker” trophy/achievement. Hence, completionists will have no choice but to play the game on Hard mode.
Note the strengths and weaknesses of enemies
Soul Hackers 2 features an elemental system that is similar to Pokémon where each opponent is affected by a certain attack depending on their affinity. These affinities can be resistant, neutral, or weak to a certain type of attack.
For example, some enemies might the weak to sword attacks but resilient against gunshots. So, approaching each fight with the knowledge of your enemy’s weakness can make it a lot easier and will save you from frustration.
Some enemies also have a weak spot that can be targeted for bonus damage. Striking an enemy’s weak spot will summon demons in the background. Once your turns are done, the demons will carry out a “Sabbath” that causes the enemy to take extra damage.
The amount of extra damage dealt depends on the number of demons that appear in the background which in turn depends on the number of times you struck the enemy at their weak spot.
Pay attention to your team COMP skills
As discussed earlier, every enemy you face will have a weakness or resistance to certain elements. It’s your job to exploit your enemy’s weaknesses. You can equip one demon on each party member so choose your COMP skills wisely.
Bear in mind that you only have 4 party members. Therefore, at a time you cannot have attacks that all demons are weak to. Just try to keep using the elements that are a weakness of those enemies who are giving you a hard time. You will have limited money so getting the right skills is essential.
Also, try to keep at least one member of your party as a healer all the time. This will save your life in clutch situations lot. Also, remember to bond with all your allies equally, this will help a lot with your soul points.
Use your Soul Points
Once you stack up on soul points for a certain teammate, you will get access to soul matrix dungeons for that teammate. Completing these dungeons will grant you unique skills for each of your allies. These skills can be very useful so pay attention when you unlock the soul matrix dungeon for one of your teammates.
Always have a good food buff
The eating mechanics of Soul Hackers 2 allow you to give a variety of food to your teammates, but it is important you give them food that applies a good food buff to help in dungeons.
You can purchase new food while exploring new regions but make no mistake, having a good food buff will aid you in battle.
Buy useful items as much as you can
Stocking up on items is never a bad item. Who knows when any of these items might come in handy? These items can help to revive a fallen ally or get new demons as most demons require an item when you try to recruit them.
