A beginner's guide to Scars Above - how to survive, what skills to choose, what is elemental damage and other tips

 

Pack your backpack and go on an adventure with Dr. Kate Ward as she investigates alien artifacts in Scars Above. You will find a mixture of different genres: finding leads in the spirit of Detroit: Become Human and a combat system like in Remnant: From the Ashes. We have prepared a guide for you that will help you get comfortable and take confident first steps.

Difficulty selection

The game has 3 difficulty levels:

• Intern.
• Specialist.
• Commander.

This can be changed at any point in the game, but we recommend choosing a medium difficulty - "Specialist". The combat system can create a lot of problems, so it makes no sense to complicate the game even more. Later, you can increase it if you feel that the game is too easy.

Pay attention to endurance

You play as a scientist, a girl. She is smart and quick-witted, but there are problems with her stamina. Melee attacks, running, and rolling will quickly deplete the stamina bar, leaving the player vulnerable. Enemies use combos of 1-3 attacks, you have enough dodges for this. In combat, try not to run and do not make more than 3 hits in a row, otherwise, you risk starting from a checkpoint.

How to Survive in Scars Above

There is no regeneration in the game, you will have to use the available tools to survive. There are several treatments:

• Approach the alien pylon and activate it (analogous to a fire in Dark Souls ). You will fully restore your health, get healing charges, and replenish some of your ammo and batteries. But all the enemies will return to their places;
• Activate the health stimulator (default button "Q" ). The number of charges is limited, and in order to increase the supply, you will have to look for ampoules on the map;
• Use the Healing Injection consumable. Initially costs 20 fibers, but you can reduce the price by learning the corresponding skill. Restores approximately 30% of health. There are a lot of fibers at the location, so it is recommended not to save them.

To avoid damage, you can use rolls, which will make you invulnerable at the moment of a somersault. But it's worth noting that some enemies have an area-of-effect hit, and if you jump in the direction of the hit, you'll still take solid damage.

Do I need to kill all the enemies in the location?

Each type of enemy must be killed at least once in order to gain knowledge and new abilities. If you find yourself in a new location, then it is better to completely clear the area - this will allow you to calmly explore the map and look for cubes with experience. In other cases, there is no need to kill everyone every time. You can freeze the most frisky enemies and just run past to the next checkpoint. Resources occasionally fall from opponents, but the time spent and ammunition is not worth it. Cubes are collected once, and if you die in the process, they do not roll back.

Explore locations carefully

In order to raise the level or improve the weapon, you will have to explore the location far and wide. Look for small purple cubes that fill up the knowledge bar to learn new skills. Weapon upgrades are found in small containers and are scattered throughout the game. If you move from one story marker to another, the game will become impassable pretty quickly.

At character level 4, you can take the skill "Intelligence", which will add the ability to the scanner to mark all interesting objects nearby. This kills the atmosphere of exploration a little, but it will help you quickly understand where important items are hidden in the location. Each cube gives a different amount of experience, depending on its location.

What skills to choose

There are not so many skills in the game, and they are arranged in the form of a pyramid. The higher the skill, the more points, and conditions you need to get it. Abilities can be reset at any time and try a different combination, so the player is free to experiment.

• We recommend taking the Xenotronics skill at the start, which will help you use gadgets more actively;
• "Biomass Fusion" reduces the cost of consumables, which means they can be used more often;
• At level 4, the skill "Intelligence" is required.

Now, look at your weaknesses. You can increase health, and stamina, or take the Second Wind skill, which will help you survive a protracted battle.

"Melee Kill" is an indispensable skill that allows you to restore 25% of your health if you finished off a monster with melee weapons. Between tough battles, small spiders often appear, which die in two hits and deal very little damage. Even if you miss one or more hits, you will still restore full health.

How to study organisms

From time to time you will be required to study certain objects or living organisms. Use the cursor to explore the entire available area and interact with points of interest. You won’t be able to find everything the first time, so you can use the trick. While listening, quickly move the cursor from side to side, like a scanner. When you are nearby, you will hear a characteristic squeak, it will help you find the right place to explore.

What is elemental damage

There are 4 elements in the game:

1. Electricity.
2. Fire.
3. Freeze.
4. Acid.

Each enemy has its own weak and strong elements, so you have to study and adapt. As a hint: crystals of the corresponding color are scattered over the body of enemies. Hit this weak spot to deal massive damage or even kill the enemy in a couple of seconds.

In addition, the elements can be combined. So, for example, wet enemies take increased damage from electricity, and your shot begins to hit a small area around the target. The weather in the game also makes its own adjustments. In the rain, you will not be able to set fire to enemies using a thermal gun, and the damage will be many times less. But you can easily freeze even a large enemy. For the effect to work, you will have to repeat the attack (on average, it will take 3 shots).

Arson is effective throughout the game. It takes a lot of time but deals huge damage over time. If you hit weak spots, then the effect bar fills up faster. For example, if you hit the head of an arachnid scorpion, it will instantly light up. This is enough to kill him with just one shot. Use the environment and get an extra edge in combat. Lure enemies into thin ice or water while dealing massive electrical damage. But also keep your distance, because the player is not immune to his weapon.

Gadgets you can use

There are a total of 9 devices in the game that will help you survive. You can divide them into two categories:

1. Devices that require a battery.
2. Consumables that are created from fibers.

The appliances have a total number of charges (batteries), but you can still use them often, as all batteries are replenished during the activation of the alien pylon.

A little more about gadgets:

• Resistance Stimulant - removes all negative effects, such as toxicity. Very useful, it will help save more than one flask of treatment;
• Healing injection - restores a portion of health. Not to say that much, but really helps;
• Ammo Box - Fully replenishes ammo. Very rarely used;
• Battery Recharge - Restores one instrument battery charge. Never used, skills very well compensate for the limited number of charges;
• Protective barrier - absorb 5 attacks within 60 seconds. It does not matter if it is weak or deadly attacks of monsters. It helps a lot during boss fights, and also reduces the number of restarts;
• Flammable liquid - you pour flammable liquid in a large radius. It will help to get rid of large clusters of enemies or just when you need to take a breath. Most monsters stop attacking when they are on fire;
• Hologram decoy - distracts enemies. Useful thing if you don't want to fight or there are too many enemies;
• Gravity Trap - Slows down time in a small area. Mainly used for solving puzzles. In battle, she did not prove herself;
• Spatial Displacement - Virtually freezes time, allowing you to regroup. Unlocked at the end of Chapter 5 and can be used both offensively and to avoid combat.