Dead Space 2

Dead Space 2

59 Achievements

27-33h

PS3
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Hard to the Core

Hard to the Core

Complete the game on Hard Core setting

2.1%

How to unlock the Hard to the Core achievement in Dead Space 2 - Definitive Guide

This is an incredibly frustrating achievement, but if you do it right it will only get easier as you go along.

Here is a general overview of how to get this and retain your sanity:

*WARNING* SPOILERS HEREIN *WARNING*
*I talk about particular sections of the game in this guide in order to talk about how to survive them! If you haven't seen this whole game through to the end, please finish a playthrough on a lower difficulty before even considering Hardcore.*

AT THE START:

- You'll need the Plasma Cutter and the Force Gun ASAP. If you don't have the Collector's Edition Force Gun or a DLC Force Gun, I would seriously contemplate downloading a force gun to make your life easier as you don't get the Force Gun until pretty late in the game. Otherwise, try to make do with the PC and get the FG schematic from the locker in Chapter 7 right after you get off the Tripod elevator.

- Consider kicking up the Brightness setting a couple of notches to take the edge off some of the darker sections of the game. (Thanks to Robotic Aquatic for this tip).

- At the first power-node-locked room (this is at the start of Chapter 2), be sure to open it up. The schematic for Power Nodes is in there. You'll need that so you can spend excess credits on upgrades for your stuff. As a general rule for store visits: once you feel satisfied you have enough health and ammo, consider buying a power node from the store.

- In the early game, you should upgrade your Rig's health and put down some moderate upgrades on your Plasma Cutter and Force Gun. Take advantage of the sparse amount of enemies to use Telekinesis impalement techniques on the enemies so you can conserve ammo and credits, increasing the amount of upgrading you can do by mid-game.

SAVE STRUCTURE:

My saves were structured around places where I knew there were one-hit kills or tentacle grabbing sequences that I could easily die at. They weren't at the most ambitious locations but they can get the job done. If you want to try to get further on any one of these, go ahead, I've included some suggestions along with my actual save locations.

For instance, you might prefer more saves in the endgame. On the other hand, if you've played your cards right, the endgame should be easy enough to make the saves a non-issue. My suggestions are geared towards getting you in a situation where, by the drill ride, you're set to just blast through straight to the end.

So my suggestions are based on doing this in very moderate chunks.

First Save:
Near the start of Chapter 5. Before the Church section where you get grabbed by the Tripod and get attacked by the Pack. I saved before the Crypt, but you can save closer to the actual grab if you want to (i.e. at the save station where you move the hanging coffins out of the way, which is the last before the grab).

Why?
I had already died on the Train Brute part once and didn't want to have to deal with another tentacle grabbing instant kill.

Save One-and-a-Half:
At the disc switch, as many people have noted. As of this writing, they haven't patched out this trick. If you die after the disc switch, you'll start right before the solar array. This will hold true until you exit the single-player game or quit to the Dashboard, so you must save before you quit. This is a nice way to break up the more difficult middle portion of the hard core run.

Second Save:
Start of chapter 9, right after you reunite with Ellie and Stross in the mining room.

Why?
Frankly because I was so sick of doing the solar array. But also because the end of chapter 8 has that tricky zero-g trap navigation sequence (big bad government man turns on the rotor blades) where I didn't want to risk more one-hit kills.

Third Save:
End of chapter 11, right before the drill room. I don't believe there's a save station IN the drill room, so you should save at the store/bench area just before.

Why?
I didn't want to risk the drill ride, but in retrospect I could have been more ambitious because the drill ride was a piece of cake. If you had no trouble with the mining elevator you should be able to handle the drill ride (as long as you have health packs), so I'd say you have a good chance of saving your last save for the start of 13. If you were barely scraping through the mining elevator sequence right before this, then you might consider putting down a save here. Then again, if the mining elevator is trouble, you've got more serious problems on your hands, namely: WHY aren't you using the Force Gun?

SPECIFIC PLACES TO BE ON YOUR TOES:

- The Brute who grabs you after you are hanging upside down from the train at the end of Chapter 2. Have your plasma cutter loaded and ready to take his arm out fast. This is early on, but if you hate sitting through the opening sequence each time you fail as much as I do, you'll want to be ready for it.

- The Tripod elevator sequence in Chapter 7 before the Solar Array. If you've gotten a Force Gun, your life will be much easier. It knocks them right off the elevator. If you don't have the Force Gun, be sure to pick up the schematic for it from a locker right after you get off the elevator.

- End of Chapter 7 flying segment, after you reset the solar array. Just look up a video of this sequence and watch it before you do it so as to save yourself the embarrassment of smacking your face into the apartment block. Memorize what's coming up and where to fly.

- Mining elevator: Force gun it, you knock everyone off.

- Drill Ride: Force gun it, you knock everybody clean off the rails.

- Lasers in the Government Sector: If you have low health, you might not be able to run fast enough to avoid the lasers. All the more reason to stay stocked up with health packs from the Drill Ride on out.

- The Eye Machine: Follow this rule all the way down: if the reticule isn't blue, my finger is not on the A button. Not blue, finger off. Take it slow and you won't mess up.

- Last boss. If your Force Gun is significantly upgraded you can just hammer the trigger over and over again. Not only will it destroy the Pack, it will wear down Nicole's health. Don't worry so much about spinning around, focus on the pack in front of you and catching Nicole in the blast. If you take damage, heal.

As soon as the Marker's heart is exposed, switch to your Plasma Cutter and wail on it. This is the MOST IMPORTANT THING: when the Marker heart is done taking damage and it starts to close again, DO NOT RUN AROUND. Nicole might respawn right next to you and you will die instantly. This happened to me twice. Just sit tight, and wait to see where she spawns (usually a set distance in front of you).

My winning playthrough of the last boss, I think I barely took a step. Just Force Gun it, and then PC it.

- Anytime you see a Pregnant. Those swarm can really deplete your health. Deal with them carefully. Especially the one in Chapter 8 -- he's around a corner in a very tight room and a slasher spawns right behind you when you see him. Get your distance.

- Anytime you see an Exploder. If they land a hit on you, it's gonna be game over. Get your distance. When you hear their characteristic noise, instantly locate them and move away.

- And any section with ONE-HIT KILLS. You should know where most of these are from your initial playthrough(s). Lots of the Zero-G navigation sequences have these - spinning blades, fire rings, etc.

OVERALL STRATEGY:

- Restricting yourself to two guns really helps you with upgrades, ammo, and credit collection. You will almost exclusively get ammo drops for those guns, and any other ammo you collect can be sold to help you upgrade.

-By the halfway mark, you should be attempting to get both your HP fully upgraded and your weapons' primary fire as upgraded as humanly possible. Every so often throw a point or two into Stasis, having a long Duration and a couple more Energy will help with Brute fights and with the Big Bad Regenerating Dude at the end.

-Somewhere around Chapter 8, the tides should start to turn in your favor and you should start having more credits than you know what to do with. Use it so that you always have health and ammo on hands. If you're feeling ambitious, buy some power nodes. But first priority is having ammo and health.

- In general, hang back (until the end). Let the enemies spawn, get your back to a wall (or run back into the previous room), and take them out from safety. This is important especially in Stalker sequences. In the last 3 chapters, this does not apply. Just stasis everything and run from Chapter 13 on, except for an initial room that you have to clear to be able to hack a console.

- From the drill ride on out, just stuff your inventory full of health packs and ammo. HEAL whenever you are hit. Don't risk getting in the red. Having the Advanced Suit helps you with inventory slots - you can find this suit in a power node locked room in Chapter 11.

- By the endgame (Ch. 12), you should be set. Force Gun will let you just barge your way through the last few chapters and then you just have to do the boss fight (see tips above). I saved kind of early, but the drill ride was an absolute cakewalk so I didn't mind doing it a few times until I got the hang of the last boss.

This is my first (and maybe only) solution for this site. Please be kind in your feedback. This is drawn entirely from my experience playing through Hardcore over the last three days. If it worked for me, it can work for you. I am not usually one for the hardest difficulty setting but since I'm a huge Dead Space fan I had to take on the challenge.
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01 Feb 2011 23:39

117 Comments
Beautiful solution.
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By Vanek on 05 Feb 2011 22:17
After reading this solution, I feel like I just might be able to pull this off. Great job.
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By i5cent on 01 May 2011 03:46
this is the best solution, its complete and coherent, its hard to find both on the internet much less on someones first solution, thanks alot ill use your startegy when i go for mine. what would you say is good to use on the pack? i wouldnt want to waste pc ammo
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By Mr Squishy2 on 02 Feb 2011 16:58
For the pack, I tried to angle myself so that a single force gun shot would take out three of them. But if they come slower, I would resort to using the PC. If your back is to a wall, it will help you be able to get more of them with a round of FG ammo.
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By CousinDangereux on 02 Feb 2011 21:37
Thanks, Sideburns. Let me know how it goes.
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By CousinDangereux on 03 Feb 2011 22:00
You've made a great solution, but i know its stupid when i say Do you think you can add a spolier tag?
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By Neko Pounce on 04 Feb 2011 15:50
Sorry, I figured if people were trying for Hardcore, they would have played through once already. I'll add a spoiler tag at the beginning to just let people know that talking about different sections of the game necessitates some spoilers. I hope I didn't ruin any of this awesome game for you!
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By CousinDangereux on 04 Feb 2011 20:48
Yeah, my Chapter 5 save was me just getting frustrated and wanting some sort of foothold. Also, I wasn't sure I'd survive the Tormentor grab in that large hall. A save at Ch. 13 is great though! There's hardly anything after 13 - it may be tough, but at least it goes quick.
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By CousinDangereux on 05 Feb 2011 08:01
I would just like to say be carefull when using ALL DLC wether it be from ignition, collectors edition or downloaded from a pack because I have experienced many glitches surrounding them as have other people, these glitches include doors that dont just open, halting your progress. To counter this I left all dlc items in the safe or shop, I bought the hacker suit for an upgrade but placed it back in the safe afterwards. Using these precautions my hard core playthrough is actually the first of my 4 playthroughs not to glitch in any strange way.
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By THE FIRST 0RDER on 05 Feb 2011 16:12
Thank you very much for the guide! I'm playing in hardcore now and I repeated the beginning of the game at least 10 times because I wasn't very carefull... Now, I did the first save in the end of chapter 5. I study your guide to have more luck in the future and to finish the game successfully :)
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By DynamiteJavvy on 05 Feb 2011 20:31
@connordavisj: I have fixed it according to your specifications.
@Sideburns522: That is awesome! And he does kind of suck, so I removed it.
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By CousinDangereux on 06 Feb 2011 01:28
just an idea i noticed line gun secondary fire blows nicole up in 1 hit so u could buy tht right at the end and get 10 shots with tht ob zealot i onlly needed 3 shots with tht and about 38 shots with plasma cutter full damage
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By demont101 on 06 Feb 2011 06:51
I truly do not understand how this could get a negative vote
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By DresdenDil on 06 Feb 2011 11:13
Hey I just want to say GREAT guide. Really helped me out.
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By G#2309 on 07 Feb 2011 15:04
Great guide! Thumbs up. Isn't it funny how the thought of having to replay the last three hours can melt the resolve to push on? :)
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By Avata on 07 Feb 2011 18:07
Couldn't get the collector's edition in the UK (would if I could). I can't tell what you get in each DLC pack, does anyone what what they specifically give and which is best for the hardcore playthrough?
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By KarmaChang on 08 Feb 2011 23:19
great job the only thing i would add is the javelin gun and the refurbished plasma cutter so you will have two... call me weird but it has 10 in the clip even if you are out of ammo and have to reload the other one, and the javelin gun with the extra explosive effect really effective against brutes, and 100% agree with the zealot force gun thank god i bought the limited edition that alone made it worth it (screw the crappy plasma cutter, its for a baby)
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By SluggedVermin8 on 09 Feb 2011 06:29
Great guide. I would also add/remind people not to forget about the Peng Trophy stash room (chapter 7) and the power node door in chapter 8 because that one gives you the Vintage Suit Schematic, 2 Power Nodes, a Ruby Semiconductor, and some other stuff.
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By Vestride on 12 Feb 2011 01:44
Does anybody know if the disc change glitch applies if you don't save before you change?
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By Cyphate on 19 Feb 2011 00:08
I have to say I followed this guide pretty much to the letter. Good guide my achievement hunting friend. Also for everyone else, the gun you unlock for beating Hardcore is not only amazing, but it's freaking hilarious. It;s a foam hand that has unlimited ammo and demolishes EVERYTHING. The best part is that when you shoot, Issac says bang,bang,bang, and for the alt fire he says pew,pew,pew. Best part of the whole game imo.
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By Vestri Sator on 20 Feb 2011 18:12
@Cyphate It should, because it asks you the same question on disc 1 (do you want to revert to your last hard core save game?) even if you haven't saved yet. In that scenario, you just go straight to the beginning.

In my experience the beginning of the game was a lot harder than the last half, so hoarding your three saves for the last 5-7 chapters might make the achievement harder than it actually is.
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By perfectdozen on 21 Feb 2011 17:42
Great guide! I pretty much had the same save structure. I would like to add a bit of information ( it was obvious to me, but may not be to others and you may want to possibly put it at the top of the guide in caps). Anyways, make sure to change the in game brightness in the settings to max it out, and also up the brightness on your tv a little. This saved me so many times in really dark areas so I could pick out where multiple enemies were. By this point you've already played through the game anyways so it won't ruin the experience by upping the brightness. Believe me, your heart will be pounding from not wanting to die and having to replay large chunks of the game...
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By RVM on 25 Feb 2011 18:02
Thank you very much. This guide helped me so much.....Kind of disappointed the difficulty achievements don't stack (didn't play Zealot, played Normal and jumped right to hard core). But it did help me to get this. So thank you, and thumbs up.
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By Wildboy Wiley on 25 Feb 2011 21:51
use a force gun and plasma cutter for every part except for the last part , sell your PC and buy the pulse rifle so that you are sure to not run out of ammo to kill the marker . oh and health pack , lots of em
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By HPDeskjet on 16 Apr 2011 17:49
You should mention that for the Eye Machine, there's actually a distance counter on the console to the side. Though I'm not sure if increasing your heart rate by moving too quickly can cause anything to happen, you can't slip-up until that counter goes "below" 0 (you can actually hit 0 and it wont do anything).

I didn't notice this till I played the game again on an HDTV, but it actually made the surgery difficult to mess up.
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By Elestian on 08 Mar 2011 18:40
I'm only worried about two things. How do i kill brutes without difficulty, because i always used the contact beam which would kill them almost instantly. However you said to only use the force gun and plasma cutter. I think i need atleast one other weapon until i get the force gun after the elevator. Second how do i kill the pack/glowing yellow babies. Especially since i wont have the force gun for a while. Could i use a pulse rifle?
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By WoodenSheep#2822 on 10 Mar 2011 13:21
Excellent guide. Well written.
Shame you got votes down. I can only think that the votes down were by your m8s or something.. them having a laugh at your expense!!
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By Lord Midas on 10 Mar 2011 14:47
nicely done but as good as the game is i could never play this through on hardcore!
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By JimboJambo86 on 28 Mar 2011 11:07
If you can play through on Zeolot without dieing, then hardcore really shouldn't be too bad. I recommend playing through at least three times to memorize the areas that are more difficult for you as a player. This is the approach I am taking. Another great method sometimes is to simply run by certain enemies. Sure, it's nice to completely clean out an area before advancing, but when death results in such a drastic consequence, running doesn't seem so coward.
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By WanderSoul923 on 29 Mar 2011 12:30
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By zhoban on 30 Mar 2011 22:11
@zhoban: I plasma cuttered the Lurkers. Use your force gun to knock everyone off the rails as soon as they climb up, and then whip out your plasma cutter and work on them. If they have explosive barrels next to them, use them to your advantage. A dash of stasis wouldn't hurt either. But top priority is knocking the slashers off ASAP so you can focus on the lurkers on each side.
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By CousinDangereux on 30 Mar 2011 22:35
CousinDangereux: Okay, thanks. I'm on my second run of Hardcore and that was one section I remembered having a hard time with. I didn't really have a hard time aside from that. I mean, yeah I died but that was due to me being stupid for the most part. My first time, my save structure was Chapter 7 right as you get off the elevator just cause I died before the Zero-G area in Chapter 8 and it pissed me off a lot so I saved as soon as the "checkpoint" was done. My second save was Chapter 10 right before the two Brutes and my final one was in Chapter 13 right after you send Ellie off. I did actually die once after my final save but that was right before the Zero-G sequence in Chapter 14 because I was trying to run to the exit but I forgot to destroy the Hunter's limbs before I stasised him so by the time the door had opened he got behind me and killed me.
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By zhoban on 30 Mar 2011 22:43
I don't know why so many people think Hardcore is hard to do. Its really not. Nice guide though.
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By DreamSmasher X on 02 Apr 2011 10:38
I would like to add the fourth weapon to weapons that are good: Contact Beam. It is almost a one hit kill could it be better than that?
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By FuzzWaddle on 02 Apr 2011 13:06
I used the Plasma Cutter as a general mid-long distance solution, the Ripper for closer stuff and the Contact Beam as an all purpose emergency weapon. All have their uses but in general i found myself using the Ripper more than anything else which is strange as i didnt like it in DS1. Combined with Stasis one blade can take out up to 3 slashers, in terms of value per credit its hard to beat. You can use one blade for an entire pack encounter too, once you have upgraded the duration.

I died twice on mine, once in chaper 13 in a lab area, just after you turn the power off. An exploder drops into the room and i was forced into a corner. Take your time in that room and stand in the doorway is my advice.

The second death was insanely frustrating as it was during the iron man flight at the end, went too far to the right and splattered. I could of cried. Glad i did it now though.
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By DradusContact on 05 Apr 2011 10:14
@Crimson Drifter - Remember to just stay still during the last boss and take a deep breath. If you're running around, it increases the chances that you run right into Nicole's spawn point.
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By CousinDangereux on 06 May 2011 20:36
lol I was standing still :D. it worked like a charm the second try though
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By Crimson Drifter on 08 May 2011 09:03
What kind of ammo do you get from drops? I know on Zealot you don't get much at all. Is it about the same as Zealot?
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By Grimslinger19 on 12 May 2011 05:29
After dumping countless hours into this game (just to be killed in the most ridiculous ways), you get to know the levels and what triggers the necromorphs to pop out.

I am finding the Detonator to be an awesome asset in Hard Core, since you can plan things out and not have to panic when dudes start popping out of everywhere.
Great guide!
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By gammatron9000 on 29 May 2011 22:47
Can you not save as many times as you want in hardcore mode?
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By BigSalad87 on 22 Jul 2011 19:12
Whats the best way to deal with that guy the regrows his limbs right after the eye poke machine guys ?
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By I AAR0N I on 11 Aug 2011 08:29
I'm finding it really hard to keep ammo. My second save is at the start of chapter 9, and I just can't seem to get very far as im running out of ammo and health too easy. What's the best way of keeping ammo?
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By tremberz on 24 Aug 2011 16:28
for the small piece on the government section lasers you said to have some health packs so you can outrun them, I found an easier way, just keep the torso of the body you used to get in (it never disappears) with you every where and when the lasers pop up, just shoot the body at it and the lasers disappear and you come out untouched (I used the same torso through the whole section)
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By Frozen is SicK on 25 Aug 2011 16:30
is no one else just gonna do it using only the plasma cutter? jesus =/ talk about not being completly hardcore . sigh
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By castaway guy619 on 12 Sep 2011 13:55
Not very hard, used the Force Gun and Plasma Cutter, saved every 4 chapters and died twice (from my own carelessness).
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By Leo Ascendent on 08 Oct 2011 23:08
Recommend the Javelin Gun against the end boss instead of the Force Gun and the Plasma Cutter combo. Just make sure you have its secondary fire jacked up or it won't help you any. Everything against Nicole is a one shot kill and the secondary fire kills the other enemies when you activate it.
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By Nonfaith on 09 Oct 2011 02:30
IF ANYONE HAS A XBOX 360 EXPLODER CHEAT SYSTEM COULD YOU PLEASE UPLOAD A SAVE THATS CLOSE TO THE LAST BOSS
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By on 23 Oct 2011 21:57
Exploder cheat system....noob.
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By Lloyd Bangs on 24 Oct 2011 13:54
I'm giving up on this achievement -_-. I cannot get past the Stasis room, I keep getting killed before I can kill the damn necromorph. This achievement... no, Hardcore mode, shoudl NOT have been made, not if it cuts back on the saves like it does. It sucks.

Call me a noob or a loser if you all want, but I beat this game on zealot mode, that is enough for me.
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By Robster80 on 13 Nov 2011 22:38
Or at least allow checkpoints!
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By Robster80 on 13 Nov 2011 22:39
DON'T GIVE UP ROBSTER! Anyways great guide, I netted this one long ago, but I was perusing and wanted to read it. Love it, but I still preferred the Contact Beam over the Force Gun. You have to wait a bit longer (ch. 9 i think) but it's so totally worth it. I forget when I used my saves, but I think that's mostly up to the player. Personally my favorite achievement ever, for the challenge, and for the fact that it makes the game MUCH scarier, as you are always on the edge of your seat!
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By justinman114 on 31 Dec 2011 01:15
Also one more thing, I would add that a place to watch out for is at the VERY END, after defeating the boss, while you are flying through the air towards your ship and that woman (can't remember her name). You can be killed by flying shrapnel here and you actually have to move around to dodge it. It sucked when I beat finally beat it and put my controller down, only to regret forgetting the end sequence in my fit of joy.
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By justinman114 on 31 Dec 2011 01:20
This might seem like a dumb questions but wouldnt most people have most of the stuff upgraded from the runs beforehand?
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By Draco719 on 12 Jan 2012 01:50
You can't carry any of your upgrades into Hardcore mode.
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By CousinDangereux on 13 Jan 2012 01:31
i already had this but this is a very gd guide and wud of helped me alot i just winged it and dint save till 10 (that groups of tripods got me to 5% health and i ran out of med kits so closeto dieing) game much scarier when u going for this i dont think i even died once but i was going very slowly i was thinking of coming here to add something or give ideas but u covered everything great job... just wish i had seen this wen i was goin for the achievment lol
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By DemonDuffeh on 17 Jan 2012 10:56
lol @ the gamesave losers.

Thanks for this solution, very thorough and I'll give this a crack soon. Been sitting on 950 for too long.
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By The Globalizer on 30 Mar 2012 20:50
This is a great guide, I followed it (almost) to the letter and just got the achievement earlier today! I died about 5 times in really stupid ways; like spinning blades in zero-g or the drill blades when Ellie turns it around for you...but thanks for the great advice!
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By Dawnchaysr on 02 Jun 2012 19:50
Nice guide. I saved at the same points to ease the tension on instant death sequences, but opted for the contact beam and its upgraded alt-fire instead of the force gun. Buy the vintage suit as soon as you can for more inventory space - it won't pay for itself in the store discounts, but the added items you can drag to sell back at a store just might. I purchased the advanced suit as soon as I unlocked it and the inventory was maxed out with 2 large medpacks, 10 medium medpacks, 4 stacks of plasma cutter ammo, 7 stacks of contact beam ammo, and 2 stacks of statis kits during the final levels. I was pretty much unstoppable.
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By Orrinator Redux on 11 Jun 2012 21:38
great guide,and force gun is a mandatory weapon(imo),use it and succeed!!!
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By NUBDGE on 01 Sep 2012 15:25
Isn't the game saving cheating and worthy of reporting on here i believe it is so if anybody wants to kind hint it towards the moderators on here by all means give these cheating asses there due it takes away form the ta score if every ass can get it by just saving rite at the end and cheating by downloading it.
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By Thief44 on 09 Sep 2012 10:59
I don't have internet. I had to make it through the game without a dlc weapon! That's BOSS!!! I ran through the game with the Plasma Cutter, Force Gun and Hacker Contact Beam until Ch. 10. I respec'd the Plasma Cutter, dumped the nodes in the Force Gun selling the Plasma Cutter, and then hit the road! First save Ch. 5, Second Ch. 9, Third Ch. 11. Contact Beam the crap out of Nicole. When the Pack came in use Seconday fire on Contact Beam and it kills/stasis' them! Repeat 3 times and BOOM! That bitch is dead!
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By CxHxUxD on 28 Dec 2012 13:59
I've been a bit more ambitious than where you have your saves (at least the first two), that drill ride's screwing me over even with the force gun (other runs I have line gun instead of force -_-)
there is a way to avoid an OHKO from the exploders though I think it's a bit picky, say some other enemy knocks you down and they explode while you're getting up, I don't think you take full damage (and yes he was in my face)
current loadout: PC, FG, SR (also useful in the elevator sequence, I had the bonus one so I'm not sure if normal one would be as powerful there, but it was knocking them off like it was nothing), and Detonator
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By Lockerdown3 on 31 Dec 2012 05:38
I have not unlocked this achievement and quite frankly, I won't be attempting it. That said, this guide is fantastic. If I ever get the urge to undertake this mammoth task, I'll be using your guide CousinDangereux.
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By LGbayb on 26 Jan 2013 23:30
I'm in the middle of doing this achievement and have been using these guides along with a walk through on YT to aid at tough parts.

I'm about to do the drill ride tonight when I get in from work.. I only have 1 save left!
I'm saving that for the Poke machine!

One thing I will say.. why download a save for the last 10 minutes..

I hadn't played this game in over a year and I'm having so much fun replaying it!
Don't skip the game.. have fun!!!
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By Par5n1p on 28 Jan 2013 08:43
What I found extremely helpful back when I did this is I played the game on Zealot to where I wanted to save the first time, then I played Hardcore up to that same point. Then back to Zealot to next save, then Hardcore. It helped keep things fresh in my mind so I didn't hit any surprises, and it worked! I only died once on Hardcore and that was on Nicole.
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By Crimson Drifter on 28 Jan 2013 15:42
Nice guide man. Pretty much followed it the whole way through with a few variations here and there. By the way, as of me writing this, the disc switch save glitch is still working. I found out on accident lol. Thanks for the guide
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By caliguy3285 on 01 Mar 2013 06:03
Disc switch is not in fact patched as of this post. You must have selected option "B."
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By Ursiform on 06 Mar 2013 06:34
Just wonderin' how can i get a force gun dlc now? I only see upgrades but nothing like the Collector's Edition Force Gun... So is there another way to get it a the start?
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By IDecreeToday on 12 Mar 2013 06:28
This might be a useful tip for people who have some problems with the mission 9 decompression window right after the divider. What I do at this point, is stay in the elevator, trigger the button to go back and then, while the door is closing, quickly shoot at the window. Don't do it the other way around! You'll be too slow and sucked in.

Now, take the elevator back. If you hit the window, then the shutter should be in front of it by the time you get down, making it easy to get rid of the Exploder that spawns near it. I've tried this twice, with success.
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By UpgradePolecat on 24 Apr 2013 07:46
I only used three PC, force gun and line gun theyre the best.
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By on 27 Aug 2013 22:25
What DLC pack has the Force Gun???
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By Fooga on 03 Sep 2014 05:23
@ Fooga: I've been told the Martial Law pack is best for an attempt on Hard to the Core.
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By MugenKairo on 09 Feb 2015 21:15
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By MugenKairo on 09 Feb 2015 21:18
When exactly is the disc switch save? I'd like to know ahead of time so I can do some Detonator ammo grinding for extra nodes, and I can't remember when the solar array bit was.
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By o DEEVIUS o on 30 Dec 2015 11:26
I have confirmed that the disk switch checkpoint exists playing on Xbox One backwards compatibility using a physical copy. Given how bc works I would assume that the same goes for digital.
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By EnhancedKanine on 16 May 2017 04:01
So I’m pretty pissed. Made it all the way to Chapter 7 without saving and was going to save at the point where I could do the power node room glitch, but I got stuck. In the room where you find the Peng treasure and destroy the circuits to shut off ANTI, I could not progress any further. As soon as ANTI shutoff and I went to the unlocked door, it continued to cycle indefinitely and wouldn’t open. I tried for 15 mins to get it to open to no avail. Four hours of progress wiped out because of a glitch. Going to restart and hope it doesn’t happen again but just in case I might save before that room to avoid being fucked again. Force gun and plasma cutter combo works magic
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By MassiveAssault5 on 25 Sep 2017 20:04
Thumbs up for this:
"Anytime you see a Pregnant. Those swarm can really deplete your health. Deal with them carefully. "

True in real life too. cry
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By MushaConvoy on 16 Apr 2018 05:49
I don't see how if you don't have to switch disc.
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By o DEEVIUS o on 27 Apr 2018 02:11
Can anybody confirm that the disc switch glitch works for the digital version? I may be attempting this soon.
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By AxelSteel15 on 27 Apr 2018 18:25
Thanks for the guide it really helped! wave
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By Jhonathan PUNK on 07 May 2018 00:19
It’s a great guide! I started this the other day and it really dials up the tension! I managed to get from the start of Chapter 6 to the start of Chapter 13 and I’ve only just used my 2nd save after sending Ellie on her way! I’ve spent 7 long chapters in terror making sure I don’t mess up, the Ishimura was the most tense part because of the Brutes but like the guide says, if you take your time you’ll be fine laugh final boss, here I come!
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By Porky on 26 Feb 2020 23:35
There's a WR speedrun named as "Maverick Hunter X" on You Tube. My 100% was inspired by this man. All tips, positions for combat and guns thanks by him.
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By Rapant on 27 Jul 2020 14:25
this is brutal got to my 2nd save at the beginning of chapter 9 and am struggling so much with ammo health and credits for weapon upgrades 💀
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By CatTully on 13 Nov 2020 04:30
Just finished my hardcore run, not nearly as painful as I thought it was going to be. Only had one death, and that was from an infector right at the end of the game as the Ubermorph hunts you down.

Primarily used the Force Gun with Plasma Cutter and to make certain enemies like Brutes easier, the Javelin Gun with the explosive shot.

My saves were on Chapter 10, because I had already played through on Zealot and struggled in the decontamination chamber. Odd since I blasted through it on Hardcore. Followed by Chapter 13 just before you enter the multi-layered room with the Brute at the bottom, and my final save was Chapter 14 just before the final run to the final boss. I was planning on using it right before the final boss but I didn't want to chance it.

It was a fun experience and this whole guide really helped out, thank you.
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By TorqueOL on 10 May 2021 22:27
Would anyone be interested in doing this achievement for me I'd be eternally greatful to you ??
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By Nazgûl1of 9 on 27 Jan 2022 15:31
Would anyone be interested in doing this achievement for me I'd be eternally greatful to you ??
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By Nazgûl1of 9 on 30 Jan 2022 15:37
@FALLENANGELSEMO sure message me
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By sobadnomad on 29 Jun 2022 03:18
Great solution my friend. Keep them coming!
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By MugenKairo on 21 Aug 2022 03:23
great guide just arrived at chapter 12 and put down my final save because i remember being stupid and running into the driller a bunch of times lolol
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By S GT on 14 Feb 2023 21:14
make sure you have more health packs than ammo because there is like 0 health dropping when you are making your way to the marker. i died on the final fight wave 2 because the enemies coming from the side deal too much damage to ignore if you arent maxed out on health items...
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By S GT on 14 Feb 2023 22:23
Thank you for the solution! I would also recommend that you make your final save in Chapter 13. Towards the end of the game, there are so many things that can instantly kill you. You do not want to repeat Chapter 11. It is an absolute slog.
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By Brave Tanuki on 04 Apr 2023 08:53
Great guide. I would recommend using your final save on chapter 13 also. I saved it on chapter 12 before the drill ride as I was nervous but as you said with the force gun it was no problem. Died a couple times in the end game and it was annoying having to do the drill ride over again. Contact beam melts the boss. Thanks again for helping me get this achievement :)
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By IAmSAMU3Lx on 11 Apr 2023 21:25
Chapter 13 onward is hell. That 3-layer room just past the lasers truly sucks
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By Octobot Super on 22 Jun 2023 16:52
Great tips! I went ahead and did the power node duplication glitch at the end of Chapter 1. After spending an hour and a half getting 200 power nodes, I decided I'd rather risk a long run mid game than do that again, so I burned my first save at the start of Chapter 2. Went through to the start of Chapter 6 and made my second save and then went all the way to the start of Chapter 11 for my third save. Having maxed out weapons and stats right at the start, plus hundreds of thousands of credits more than I needed, really made this a breeze. I only had to replay a section once, and that was because of the stupid decompression room in Chapter 9 with the exploder and enhanced stalker. This is definitely the hardest of the three hardcore achievements across the series, but it really isn't that bad.
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By iTz Canada Ehh on 18 Nov 2023 04:10
iTz Canada Ehh, only 2 of the 4 games have hardcore...

It's been over a decade but here I go again. Can conform zealot is MUCH harder than Hardcore. So of your initial run was zealot you will know where to be careful. Hard-core is just survivalist with 3 saves and less sufficient drops.
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By sobadnomad on 03 Dec 2023 23:37
FYI, and I feel like I read this somewhere so sorry if it's stolen glory, but the force gun is the exploder answer, as it does not pop their sac but will kill them with a couple of shots from moderate distance.
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By The Globalizer on 11 Jan 2024 12:31
Here's my two cents after just getting this achievement.

I used the plasma cutter and pulse riffle the whole game, and got the Hacker's Contact beam when it got available.

My saves were on chapter 6 before the room with those scorpions and the fat monster with the spider belly; chapter 9 after meeting Ellie and Straus, and chapter 13 before the eye poke machine. Considering you get the "extra" save on chapter 7, I should've continued a bit further and saved at the beginning of chapter 11. This way, the playtime between my last two saves wouldn't have been so long.

I'd say after chapter 7, with the right equipment and upgrades, the game gets immensely easier.

My best advise is to be aware of enemy spawn locations. This will save you a lot of headaches.

Thank you for this guide and the comments. They were instrumental in me getting this, 14 months after I first played the game and quit trying to beat hardcore mode.
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By KingRoombaTC on 14 Apr 2024 19:25
I just had to add for the pack the ripper is the best weapon, for you can kill 5 ta 6 in one blade,and every one you kill will drop an item just back in to a wall and start mowing. The force gun just disintegrates there little bodies with no item drops sometimes so you cant stomp it out of them. The plasma cutter is risky as it might get you killed. Good luck squishy.
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By C4XSPLOSIVES on 03 Feb 2011 00:29
As helpful as this is you know there's only one tormentor in the entire game right? The necro on the train is a Brute. and the ones in the hospital lobby/church/fuel mega storage are Tripods. The only Tormentor in the games attacks you when you drop through the vent after the gunship attack. Sorry to be all correctional but I've got some OCD when it comes to these kinda things, especially in a guide
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By connordavisj on 05 Feb 2011 22:22
On my zealot playthrough, I used the hacker contact gun which trivialised the nicole fight due to the free stasis from the alt fire which is great for crowd controlling nicole and the swarms and the primary fire which one/two shots the exposed marker heart. There were also quite a lot of areas where it was useful for crowd control/AOE damage. My question is, are there enough credits and power nodes to get it sufficiently upgraded at the end game?
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By K1d lcarus on 07 Feb 2011 03:11
Great guide! Thanks for making it.

My saves were basically the same, except I saved before the mining elevator instead of after. Looking back, I definitely could have kept my last save until after the drill ride, or even up to the eye poke. The last 4 chapters or so go really fast though, and I didn't want to risk having to do the Ishimura part again.
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By DesolationPoint on 05 Mar 2011 23:11
Contact Beam is a no brainer, especially after the eye poke machine. Go the Alt Fire path to the Special Node (adds Stasis) you can just run through everything and hit Alt Fire every once-in-a-while, and since its an area effect you don't really need to aim and gets anything that may be behind/ to the side of you.

I just need to finish from the eye poke machine, would have got it today, but stupid nicole vanished and appeared right next to me with the 1 hit kill :/
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By Crimson Drifter on 06 May 2011 18:23
This videos really helpful if anyone wants to get Infinite power nodes/credits in Chapter 1 of a Hardcore play through as it doesn't require saving, although it can not work sometimes, took me a good 10-20mins to get working but after that, got 99 power nodes in about an hour before i continued on!
Its not my video so i take no credit for it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I0ksWTjgrI

Note: if you die of course your gonna lose all the power nodes you farmed, but straight after where you do the glitch is a store and a bench, so you should max out your health and plasma cutter or whatever other gun your using, then you shouldn't have to much trouble making it to chapter 5 or more with fully maxed out weapons and health.
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By LostMantella9 on 27 Dec 2011 01:42
After my last save in chapter 13 I would look at each save point and just wish I could have just once more, but I got through it (thanks to stasis and the force gun).
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By Thaldorf on 26 Feb 2012 18:03
I carried both plasma cutters (Dead Space 1 carry thru, sell and rebuying when empty) contant beam and line gun saved at chapter 9 right b4 stalker room, chapter 12 b4 drill ride and 13 at eye poke, finished in 12 hours exactly and died 3 times, im not a great player by any standards but take time and stasis alot and its not too bad.
Great guide with excellent tips
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By Jennitiger1138 on 01 Apr 2012 18:53
Just unlocked this achievement tonight after 2 gruelling nights and lots of coffee (Alfred serves a mean cup of joe). My success at unlocking this achievement was, in large part, due to following this amazing guide! Excellent job sir.

I used only the plasma cutter and the force gun. I was using the force gun almost exclusively by the end game. I did end up using my 3rd save on chapter 13 instead of right before the drill ride. Thank god because I got cut to ribbons by those godamn red spinning lasers shortly after saving. Anyways, great job on the guide.
I would like to add, that as of this moment the disc switch save glitch has been patched. I know this because I had the misfortune of dying about an hour after the disc switch and had the game take me back to my first save on disc 1. That's ok cause I just kept hearing "why do we fall master Bruce?"
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By BATMAN DCU on 19 Feb 2013 11:14
Great guide and useful comments but for a gamer who is rather noobish at 3rd person shooters, what would be the best DLC pack to get to help out with this tricky achievement?
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By MugenKairo on 18 Jun 2013 02:49
I used the Plasma Cutter and the Line Gun until I was able to get the Force Gun, and then I used all three until the Chapter 15. There I respec'd the Line Gun so I could transfer the nodes to the Force Gun, as well as the Air nodes from my Rig. In the end, I took a fully upgraded Plasma Cutter and a Force Gun with everything upgraded except ALT Fire into the final fight, and made it.

Speaking of which, it is my opinion that unless you've significantly upgraded the Force Gun that you use the Plasma Cutter on the drill ride. I had not upgraded the Force Gun much by that point and it cost me a save by trying to use the Force Gun there. My Plasma Cutter was fully upgraded except one Speed upgrade by then, and it cut through everything quickly and efficiently where the Force Gun was failing.

Otherwise, this guide helped immensely. Thanks for compiling all of this!!
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By Kimieva on 14 Mar 2014 03:46
Great guide!

Just finished my hardcore play through with only one death! On the brute at the end of the train ride in chapter 2.

I primarily used force gun, detonator mines, line gun and the plasma cutter until I was able to get the contact beam which replaced the plasma cutter.

Save points were;
Chapter 5, just before the church grab
Chapter 9, at the part where you have to blow up the tentacle and get to the tram before everything blows up
Chapter 13, just after sending Ellie on her way

Also recommend watching Major Slacks hardcore playthrough on YouTube as you play along. Super helpful tips on how to beat each area.

Good luck, felt like giving up after my first death but not nearly as bad as you think once you get into it.

Just don’t play too cautious because you tend to overthink and mess up. At least I did laugh
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By Yadamus on 28 Apr 2020 13:10
This is actually way easier than everyone had lead me to believe. It's pretty hard to die normally, and if you use the Power Node exploit, you can absolutely tear through this thing with full upgrades.

Get the DLC Force Gun (costs about $1 and comes with other cool stuff) and Plasma Cutter fully upgraded, as well as the Rig and the Stasis module. If you've got other DLC, you can also use one of the suits for an early game inventory buff. Not having to spend extra money on power nodes means you'll basically always be cashed up. Just keep an excess of health on you at all times, and stock up on ammo before the big wave based fights or "boss" battles.

As far as the actual difficulty goes, I only managed to die three times. The first time was getting my head minced off by the coffin door in Chapter 5, really unexpected. And I had two deaths in Chapter 7, both to accidentally shooting the window and failing to shoot the compression thingie. But that was no biggie, because it took me back 5 minutes earlier at most. Make sure to look up the environmental fly sections on YouTube or something just so you can watch and be prepared for which direction to go, because failing that was very easy on my first playthrough and everytime I had to do it in this one I was clenching my cheeks.


My personal saves were:

• Chapter 2, after doing the exploit glitch, just because I didn't want to do it again.
• Chapter 7, is a free save right at the start, so as long as you don't quit out the main menu or dashboard, you can play as if it's an extra save.
• Chapter 9 after meeting up with Ellie and Stross, just because I was paranoid that I would get some sort of power outage, you know how it is. No difficulty in this chapter or up to it, though. The downside to this save structure is that it means you essentially have to play for a couple hours straight which drained me.
• Chapter 13 right before the laser room. Most people say to save before the eye laser, but I've never had a problem with that, so I saved here instead, mostly because I was paranoid about environmental deaths. BUT, beware of the red three-floored room, as it's difficult for a lot of people. Which is more reason to save before it, if you're worried you'll die a lot, or after it, if you're worried you'll die afterwards and don't want to do it all again. That's your dilemma.
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By HaIfaxa on 12 Dec 2023 06:58
Alright so I just finished my hardcore run. My saves were Chapter 7 at the node room before the solar array, Chapter 10 before I started down the long corridor with the two brutes, and Chapter 13 before the eye poke machine. Looking back, I would probably have tried to extend my second save to Chapter 13 before the eye poke and Chapter 14 right before the final boss battle. My second save was out of desperation since I had run out of medikits and I was about to take on those two brutes and tons of enemies. I’ll tell you what though, the bloody force gun wrecks just about everything in one or two hits. I only ever pulled out the plasma cutter for the space segments with the three yellow sack tentacle that spits out seekers at you.

The only part which got me was the lasers in Chapter 14. Set me back a good two hours to my Chapter 10 save. Even if you stasis one, do not get close to it or you will die. I ended up having a ton of excess money towards the end. Maxed out both weapons and had the advanced suit. Good luck to all. Only took me 6 years to get this achievement lol.
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By MassiveAssault5 on 26 Sep 2017 23:26
one thing you guys might want to try at the end of the game is use the contact beam if anyone did the ignition game cause i've found that pretty much on any difficulty that the contact beam on the final boss takes one hit to get rid of it's defense and then 3 shots to take out the main boss i know what i'm saying might be confusing but i don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't finished it and the secondary shot helps knock out all surrounding enemies. hacker contact beam was the most useful weapon i had in my zealot play trough everything was a one hit kill for it
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By aNotteeObject on 18 Mar 2011 06:15
I liked your guide however what I am doing is a bit different now that I'm actually using the Force Gun. I kept the Plasma Cutter just for the Tripod in the church as well as the Tormentor. Aside from that I just use it for the Exploders, Crawlers and Cysts. Since I had downloaded the Martial Law Pack I also got the Seeker Rifle out before I had to go re-align the Solar Arrays just for the fact that one shot can destroy each bulb of the Nests. I used the Force Gun on everything else, especially Pregnants. If you can aim at the right spot it should kill them without letting them be alive enough to slash at their bellies.

On this time through my saves have so far been at Chapter 5 right before the Tripod in the church where there is a bench and a store. My second save was at Chapter 9 right before getting Ellie and Stross in the Transport, there is a bench right next to the save and if I backtrack a little bit I can get to a store. My last save will be at Chapter 13 even if that chapter is ridiculously easy. I have to say though, I had quite a bit of problems with the Drill Ride. Not so much with the enemies on the Drill Ride, more so with the Lurkers in the distance. So I have to ask, what is the best way to deal with the Lurkers?
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By zhoban on 30 Mar 2011 22:18
The CONTACT BEAM IS FAR SUPERIOR to the forcegun, check out Chad Doogle's guide below.

However, unlike him, I did not get the DLC for the contact beam early in the game, I got the DLC that had achievements only, and picked up the contact beam schematic in chapter 7 if I recall.

Up until chapter 7, I used only the plasma cutter and the pulse rifle (for the pack and tentacle enemies). I also did the node glitch trick in chapter 1 to make sure I'd max out my rig and plasma cutter, pulse rifle, and later hte contact beam, you can also sell weapons that have been upgraded with nodes for a large sum of money, then repurchase the weapon and put more nodes into it and sell more since you can't directly sell nodes, so avoid wasting time glitching credits in chapter 1 and just do nodes.

My saves were chapter 5, the beginning of chapter 9, and the beginning of chapter 13. I didn't die at all in my entire run with the contact beam just making the second half of the game far far easier. The secondary fire essentially is a 360 degree force gun but it also stasis enemies (huge help for the ishmura chapter and the cargo lift ride in chapter 12) AND it does major damage to them, it one-shots most enemies, for the enhanced enemies it takes two bursts to kill them, for the brutes I do one burst, and then use primary fire on the arms to kill them. I used primary fire to kill enemies at a distance (ie. exploders, crawlers, etc) which one shots them.

You really just have to nail the node glitch trick, I think I glitched 170 nodes and like 50k credits, although going back I would only do nodes, I would max up to 200-250 nodes if you can, forget the credits, to max my rig, plasma cutter, pulse rifle, and contact beam. I made sure I had many nodes left to sell upgraded weapons and get credits to keep purchasing the expensive ammo that contact beams usually require, even though you'll be seeing a lot of that ammo around with limited weapon purchases. I basically had at that point only been carrying around the contact beam and pulse rifle, ditched the plasma cutter, and all my other slots had medium/large health packs that I barely had to use. You don't need stasis packs since the weapon stasis enemies, you don't need to pick up anymore schematics besides the armor ones,.
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By Zorc freeks on 07 Nov 2021 00:50
I would add a little more detail about the disc 2 save exploit. I wasn't really sure what to do when I got to that point... when it asks you to reload from your last save say yes. You will start at the beginning of chapter 7. This may sound dumb but I thought if I said yes I would screw everything up and it would force me to put in disc 1.

My save structure was a little different. If you are going to use the disc 2 exploit, which I did, you can save pretty much anywhere in chapters 4/5, wherever you had the most trouble in your first runthrough(s), unless you plan on going straight through till chapter 9 or 10, which I don't recommend because you would be making it too hard on yourself. Second save was right before the decontamination room in chapter 10, and the third was right before the eye poke machine. This is definitely one of those achievements that gets easier as you go along. I burned through the last five chapters without even dying. I didn't get the force gun until late and ended the game with about 140K and 12 medkits, so don't be afraid to buy ammo, health, or even power nodes early on.

From chapter 13 on, the enemies are harder (requiring more ammo) and the stores are more infrequent, so stock up on ammo. I would recommend at least 150 in PC ammo.

Oh, and for those of you wondering whether or not to buy every suit... I would recommend doing so. You will not need the credits for much else and the inventory slots are invaluable.

Multiple weapons may do the trick, but honestly stasis and the plasma cutter with lots of ammo simplifies things and makes the achievement that much easier. Good luck all.
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By perfectdozen on 18 Feb 2011 00:33
Thanks for the guide to this exciting challenge, it really helped!

If you have the time/patience: Use your last safe just AFTER the drill ride. I recommend getting through the drill ride and proceed to the cutscene where you send Ellie off. Then walk BACK to the drill and use your last save at the save point.

Why?

1. It's tedious (and a bit frustrating) to replay the drill area and the drill ride itself whenever you die. If you save after the drill ride and end up dying near the end of the game, it doesn't feel so bad if your last save is already inside the government sector. Plus the government sector sections can be done quite quickly if you are force gunning and running, so it doesn't take too long at all to get back to the point where you last died, now that the drill ride is out of the way!

2. Saving after the Ellie cutscene means that you don't have to watch it every time you die and respawn, which saves you quite a bit of time!

Note: To anyone that doesn't have the Force Gun, don't worry. Using the Plasma Cutter and Javelin Gun works very well throughout the entire game, but still make sure to pick up the Force Gun in Chapter 7 as it becomes super useful in the places that Cousin mentions.

Thanks again for the great guide.
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By RS01 on 29 Apr 2018 19:53
If anyone struggle with the glitch method! Follow video on walkthrough but instead take the space node first instead of the one in the baloon room.

Then each time you drop the node stand sideways near the shaft so you are standing on the very same platform you will drop them on. So they respawn! They will eventually stop spawning. I reached the min goal to have 120+ nodes.

Second thing! I DO NOT use plasma cutter!

I am at chapter 7 now! Saved only on chapter 1 so far after working on the glitch thing.

Using Javelin and Pulse rifle!

Pulse is always equipped when entering new room for fast effective fire! If only one enemy or they are far away I switch to javelin. Then always switch back to pulse rifle. Both these weapons were never used when I did the other difficulties but they are both great.

Plasma cutter is not so great imo! It is cheap ammo but it is a basic "handgun" with very good aim. Pulse rifle and javelin have cheap ammo and are very good. Pulse is great in the places without air were something shoot like red rockets at you and very good against small enemies that come in numbers and also great vs Brute and against swarms in general.

I will get the force gun as my 4th weapon when I will be able to buy it!

I did pay to get the extra armor and contact beam from the start but have only used contact beam in one or two spots so far and it is great when you get overwhelmed/surrounded. To the secondary attack!
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By MattiasAnderson on 08 Apr 2024 20:36
View all 117 comments Show less comments
If you wondering why I "haven't yet won" this achievement, I have. I rarely go on XBL though.

Overview
Hardcore is not difficult at all gameplay wise. The key is to treat your playthrough the way you treat combat: stay calm, never rush things, and do the same thing you have practiced before. Sloppiness, nervousness and careless mistakes are what get you killed on this mode.

General tips:
-There are no definite points on when to save. Some people breeze through fights that others struggle badly. I saved ahead of sequences where I had trouble in the past.
-Always keep full health at all times. Even if you are only missing a few blocks off the top, fill up. There is nothing worse than getting caught off guard and getting killed when you had a medpack sitting uselessly in inventory or the safe.
-Stay calm and play as you normally would. I cannot emphasize this enough. Combat difficulty in hardcore is equivalent to Survivalist. It is NOT that hard at all.
-Be familiar from previous playthroughs of where items are, and most importantly, where enemies come from.

The following is a description of my playthrough accompanied by brief tips on major fights by chapter.

Loadout: I recommend Javelin Gun, Ripper, and Contact Beam. Buy the Javelin as soon as it becomes available and upgrade the damage to the full 100 pts ASAP. Ignore everything else upgrade-wise until that is accomplished. Javelin ammo is dirt cheap and with full DMG upgrade you will be able to kill most necros in 1 shot from range, enhanced necros in 2, and pack a far bigger punch than the Cutter can provide. Efficiency wise, 400 credits for 2 spears (2 kills) is absurd, especially once you get the Vintage suit's discount. Once the Ripper becomes available, replace the Cutter with it. The Ripper turns the Pack into a joke and also tears through normal necros with extreme efficiency. Even with no upgrades whatsoever, you can kill a black slasher with a single blade. The alt-fire will also form a nice backup capability to your javelin. Finally the contact beam is there for nothing other than the alt-fire, which you should upgrade along with the Special upgrade (Stasis effect on alt fire) asap. This will kill and/or stasis everything in a large radius around you and unlike other weapons the animation cannot be interrupted by enemy attacks. It will save your ass many times especially on some of the more difficult close quarters fights. Learn to use all three of these weapons proficiently. I carried 50-70 Javelin ammo with it as my main weapon, 10-15 Ripper ammo as a close range weapon and situational backup, and ~10 contact ammo as a panic button capability.

Upgrades: First upgrade for hardcore *must* be the first two RIG HP nodes. I don't see how any other choice is justified. You immediately add +50% to your health, using only 3 nodes, on a mode where you must not die. After that, focus on maxing out Javelin DMG. After that, finish maxing out the other RIG HP nodes. After that, upgrade your Stasis and Javelin as you see fit. Once you get the Contact Beam, max out the ALT path and the Special. You won't need to upgrade the reload or capacity nodes until the endgame when you will have plenty of nodes anyway.

Major fights by chapter.

Chapter 1
This should be cake. You know the drill, scrounge for every pickup, use Stasis/TK to save ammo, etc.

Chapter 2
Hanging from the train: The first real test. The main way to die is letting an exploder get too close. Keep the cutter in horizontal and the instant necros appear take off their legs and an arm, this should kill them. Always kill exploders the instant you detect them. Do not forget stasis when you are being swarmed. Remember that TK spears/blades might not kill a necro outright but will knock him on his ass to buy you a few precious seconds. At the end when the train is about to fall, stay calm and fire one javelin into the weakspot, and you are home free.

Sidenote: I don't remember if this is the chapter, but in the first hallway where you meet exploders (With the commercial repeating "TST") it is VERY easy to die if you are inattentive. One exploder loves to come out of the wall vent in the middle of the hallway and sneak up while you are distracted by those spawning at the end of the hallway. Constantly watch your surroundings. If you turn around and he is right there, Stasis him immediately and pray it gets him before he detonates.

Chapter 3
Not much happening here, should be easy.

Chapter 4
Winding staircase leading down to the church library: Lots of necros here. Best to run down, trigger them, then run back up and gun them down as they rush you. This is a great place to save ammo by impaling one to a wall with javelins, TK'ing his arm blades to kill his friends, repeat.

First stalker encounter: Stand next to the door, nail them with the javelin as they come. You should have the Javelin DMG fully upgraded by now; if not it may take 2 shots to kill them.

Chapter 5
Dragging scene in the chapel: Stay calm and one javelin to his weak spot will end it. Immediately run back to the little hallway you entered the chapel from. All the Pack will funnel in through the tiny doorway making it easy to slaughter them. Be wary that one slasher spawns with them, he likes to wait near the doorway and catch you unawares as you exit. If you don't have full health his "grab" QTE can kill you outright.

Chapter 6
Huge fight against Pregnants/leapers, ground floor of the apartment complex: I used my first save immediately before ths fight. For the pregnants, Stasis then Ripper alt-fire to take off the legs and an arm, this usually kills them. If you mess up and they pop, shoot a javelin at the ground next to them and electrify it. This should kill all the critters. Your main threat is the leapers. Whenever you get a clear shot to stasis one, do it then kill him ASAP. Do not get cornered as they will easily leap over your fire and thrash the hell out of you. Try to catch them on the ground (e.g. coming around a corner where they can't leap) then Stasis and open fire. Ripper up close annihilates them, tear off their arms and head and they're done.

Hallway leading to the school: Watch out for the pukers that spawn from behind you as you approach the door.

Gym fight: Can be tricky if you panic. Stand up on the stage with the ripper and all the Pack will run right into it. Use ripper alt-fire or the Javelin to kill the exploding babies from range. Again remember your stasis and the area-effect of the javelin alt-fire if you mess up. Last but not least, stomp the corpses on the gym floor before the fight, or an infector will turn them into slashers. If the bodies are stomped, the infector will attack you instead. Make sure you take him out or he will run up and cause that hugely irritating QTE that lasts 15 freaking seconds where you have to tear it off your face.

Brute at the transit station: Immediately stasis him. 3-5 javelins to his weak spot will take off an arm. Repeat until he dies. If the javelins are bouncing off the armor you are missing the spot. Do NOT let him get close.

Guardian: For all guardians, stasis then cut the tentacles using ripper alt fire. Or simply shoot a javelin and electrify it, 1 or 2 uses of this will kill him. Never walk up as he has an automatic-kill attack even if stasis'd.

Chapter 7
Tripod elevator ride to the solar array: Bring extra health in case. Stand exactly in the middle of the elevator and do not move, only rotate the camera to aim. One javelin to the weak spot will kill each tripod. Just keep spinning, aiming, and firing. Heal immediately if you get hit.

Cysts: Starting in this chapter they become more common. Don't get sloppy and run right into one. Be patient, it is easy to forget where they are.

Room before the mainframe/AI section: This is the room with the decompression windows and trip mines. Stay in the previous hallway and shoot out the left window from there. Wait for it to seal itself then you can enter without fear of a cheap death. The main threat is the exploding babies that come from two sides.

Ending fight at the CEC door: Bring lots of health. I stood right at the door. You will fight Pack, pukers, leapers, and slashers coming from your 12 and 3. Kill pukers and any other non-Pack necros you spot from long range with the javelin as soon as they appear. Use the ripper to tear through Pack and any slashers that get up close. If you get overwhelmed, pull out the contact beam and alt-fire immediately to kill everything around you. Again, do not forget your stasis. Necros will try to gang rape you at the door which means 1 or 2 Stasis shots should freeze all of them and buy you a few seconds. The key to this fight is killing enemies before they get close.

Chapter 8
Zero-G with the Nest: I sniped him from range with the javelin. One shot to each sack should burst it. If you have the Javelin Special upgrade with the explosive effect, just shoot the main body and detonate. Be careful he doesn't hit you and knock you back into a flame ring.

Chapter 9
Stalker encounter: Same as before. Tease them out then javelin. The main worry is the exploders. Stay away from the vents and exploit the Stasis canisters on the ground to freeze them immediately when you spot them. A useful tactic with them also is to quickly shoot a Stasis at the ground next to them when they poke their heads out right before attacking you. Proceed to headshot them with the javelin for an easy kill.

Tripod nest: Six gas cans will blow up the bottom tank. Once you take the elevator down, TK the first two cans to you and toss them. Tripod #1 shows up. Stasis and one javelin to his arm weak spot will take that arm off (I freaking love that gun). This slows him down, now simply run in a circle until the gas cans respawn. Stasis him, toss them, repeat.

Chapter 10
Long dark engineering corridor: Use TK on the pile of crates from a distance to make the brute come out early. Same as before, stasis and javelin his weak spot. Same for the 2nd brute. When the regular necros start spawning, quickly run all the way back to the entrance then pick them all off as they run towards you. This should be a very easy encounter.

Two-way hallway leading to the centrifuge: This is the hallway with a node-box at the left side end, and the centrifuge objective at the right side end. Lots of enemies here. Poke your head in from the entrance and snipe bitches with the javelin until you can't tease them out anymore. Your call whether to go for the node. Either way, watch your back constantly en route to the objective as they love spawning from behind.

Decontamination room: Pack will appear first from both ends of the room, massacre them with the ripper. There will be a very short lull then black slashers and black pukers arrive. You should have the Contact Beam alt-fire and special upgrade all upgraded now. Stand in the middle next to the table, use it and watch them all disintegrate.

Cryo storage room: Black slashers and exploders. Again the exploders are priority #1. Be ready as they attack again after you do the hack panel. Remember that you don't need to aim for the exploder's sack, a javelin shot to the body will not only kill him but send him flying away from you.

Captain's nest: Some of the stalkers here may be black, so they may need two javelin shots. Stasis stalkers here to be safe.

Chapter 11
Dark downslope area with stalkers: Same tactics as before. Watch out for the exploding babies that spawn from behind when you approach the bottom.

Elevator ride: Slashers and black slashers will drop 2 at a time. Stand in the middle of the elevator and Contact Beam alt fire once they drop. Watch the body parts fly. Take around 15 contact ammo just to be safe.

Chapter 12
Tip: Once she starts warming up the drill, run over to the box where you got the fresh battery. Pack will appear and run towards you but are either retarded and get killed by the drill, or trickle towards you 1 or 2 at a time. You can kill them by throwing random objects/body parts at them or just use the ripper. You can pile up a decent amount of cash and ammo by exploiting this (They spawn for a good while) and it is extremely easy.

Drill ride: Bring extra health. Stand right in front of the driver booth where she is. Most necros will climb up next to you, a few on the other side. I used contact alt-fire for those next to me and Javelin for the far side ones. The dangerous part is having them climb up when you are already taking fire from the lurkers. Hold down sprint and just juke around randomly to avoid their fire. You can try to throw gas tanks or shoot them but there are so many that standing still to kill one gets you nailed by 3 or 4 others, not worth it.

Chapter 13
Government sector door: Do NOT try to hold them off next to the hack panel. This is a massive wave of necros with pukers, lurkers, slashers, exploders and leapers, many of the black variety. Best to snipe them from the hallway you enter from to trigger them to attack you, then methodically blast your way through all of them. There are two separate waves and they will be pissed. Watch for exploders as usual. Keep in mind you can kill the first wave, then leave and backtrack to the store before coming back. The second wave will spawn when you enter again.

Lab with the spinning lasers: Don't.mess.up. This section is not hard at all combat-wise. Remember you will not be able to outrun the lasers if you are slowed down from having low health.

Red-light rooms: Don't bother fighting all the way through. Sprint for the exits, stasis anyone who bursts out, trigger the door and walk backwards through it to ensure nobody runs up on you. They won't follow you through. Repeat.

Black brute: He will trigger once you approach the hack panel. Same MO as usual except he has more health, therefore I used contact beam primary fire. The stasis canister on the ground should keep him under long enough to get in 3-4 shots on the weak spot, this should easily kill him.

Chapter 14
Eye poke: Don't mess up. Save beforehand if you frequently make mistakes here. Keep in mind the computer readout lets you know how close you are. The needle goes in at "0.0".

Regenerator: Stand at the hack panel and wait for him to appear. When he does, stasis, blast him apart (Contact primary or Javelin secondary), start the hack. By the time you finish he is probably healed and coming at you. Take him apart and stasis again.

For the remainder of the level simply run through as before, you should know the layout. Ignore any items/enemies unless directly in your way. In the room where you need the door to scan the corpse, just TK the body and toss it at the door. The regenerator will come in, run up and Contact alt-fire to blow off his limbs and stasis him, proceed through the door and keep running.

Endgame
Stock up on health and contact energy. You don't need much ripper or javelin ammo anymore so sell them if you need $ although you shouldn't.

At the very beginning as you come outside kill the black leapers and make sure to snipe the black puker far off on the elevated walkway. He loves to use the slow-down vomit on you right as the regenerator makes his entrance. However he won't spawn until you advance to the intersection.

Same as before, run through and use contact alt-fire when needed. Heal whenever you get hit no matter how minor.

The final boss is absolute cake with the contact beam. Two primary shots to Nicole and one shot to the Market heart. Repeat 3 times and done.

I hope this helps anybody who has an obsessive need to beat this mode.
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23 Feb 2011 18:54

15 Comments
I'm sorry man, but I tried the Javelin gun like you said and it just was horrible for me. Even with damage fully upgraded it would take me 2 shots on the necros at the beginning of the game to kill them. Or I had to shoot then alt-fire shock them to death which also takes ammo for some reason. I think if the alt-fire would not use ammo, it might be better for me.
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By Menacing Scarab on 05 Mar 2011 20:54
Thanks for the guide! I didn't follow your advice for weapons, but the major fights by chapter part was extremely helpful.
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By DesolationPoint on 05 Mar 2011 23:13
Lot of passion in this guide. I might not be agreed with some of yours techs (weapons, expecially... I also use "classic" aim), but one can only give you a positive... ;-)
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By fbsarts on 06 Mar 2011 01:29
If you are having trouble using the javelin, try the tactics in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIkuVjOwgzY
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By L33to II on 07 Mar 2011 16:54
Amazing guide thankyou. It's obvious you put in a lot of effort keep up the good work.
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By kspart23 on 23 Apr 2011 20:13
If you combined your guide and the first persons guide you would have the best guide ever made.The great tips and the chapter hard part walk-throughs are invaluable.
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By Tizzight0 on 27 Jun 2011 02:30
Btw on the government sector when you fight off the waves of necros before the big door you can just kill the first wave and then hack the panel without having to deal with the 2nd wave.
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By Tizzight0 on 27 Jun 2011 13:15
Also not a fan of your tactics (PC, Force gun and Pulse Rifle for me) but your breakdown of sections is great!
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By BloodngunsMrphy on 03 Jul 2011 07:42
Great guide. Thanks for the help! I also love to use the PC and the Contact Beam alt fire for hairy situations! I haven't tried it on the final boss, but it sounds like a great way to end the game!
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By Gumbeaux Jr on 26 Jul 2011 16:25
GREAT guide! Just finished my hard core run and this guide was incredibly useful. I was never a fan of the force gun so I tried your trio of weapons and they worked beautifully!
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By spxyu02 on 05 Oct 2011 04:38
Just a note about chapter 2. The hallway with the TST message is just before the train station entrance and then it's the Train Ride. Hope this helps you put the two paragraphs in the correct order. P.s. Excellent guide, +1 vote from me.
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By DigitALxBullets on 16 Nov 2014 20:18
Amazing guide and thank you for recommending the javelin Gun, i came back to the game after leaving it for 18 months at the third segment(beginning of ch9) and finished it. I highly recommend upgrading the javelin Alt-fire i found it very useful especially after maxing it(the special upgrade is impoetant) .You can almost kill any enemy with normal+ Alt-fire = 2 rounds which ia very cheap you can buy 2 rounds with 360 credit using the Vintage Suit shop discount.
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By mo0ohammed19988 on 13 Nov 2020 10:35
Chapter 3 very much has a part to look out for: after deactivating the piston an exploder guy comes around the corner while you are swarmed by 3 other necromorphs. At medium range you can be instantly killed by the explosion in that small hallway. So excited to watch the opening cinematics again...
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By Octobot Super on 20 Jun 2023 14:14
I think it would help the guide greatly to mention the first encounter with the Tripod at the end of chapter 1. It is a little rough to fight on hardcore when you are still vastly under powered. I had to go elsewhere to find mention of this with a strategy for beating him (it had been awhile since I finished my zealot playthrough). Also, there are a few things of note in chapter 3 but nothing too hairy: there is a breakable/pressurized glass that could be a cheap death if not ready in advance and the section at the end of this chapter where you are in the wide open (courtyard area?) with the huge marker contains some surprise exploders that can kill you pretty quick if you don't exercise caution. I died here on my first attempt. Other than that, thanks for the walkthrough. Thumbs up.
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By Kirkless on 13 Jun 2012 20:26
"Sloppiness, nervousness and careless mistakes are what get you killed on this mode."

I would argue the thing that gets you killed the most is simply not knowing where / when enemies spawn. Having an enemy land on top of you is a death sentence since you can't aim for shit close range and Isaac is easily staggered out of doing any actions if he's hit.

Hanging back and taking things slow will mitigate a lot of this but at certain parts you just need to have stuff memorized. Like the spinning laser room near the end of the game, when you duck into one of the rooms a necromorph drops directly on top of you. Stuff like that.

I'll also add that randomly falling through elevator floors, Isaac stasising severed body parts instead of the enemy charging directly at him, and getting unfairly pinned to the wall by enemies who just stand there like dinguses get you killed as well. In fact, more of my deaths so far are from these stupid scenarios rather than dying "regularly".
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By Octobot Super on 18 Jun 2023 00:10
View all 15 comments Show less comments
There is a thread at xbox360A DS2 forums were people list the three save instances they used. I thought it would be fun to take all the responses and see where the majority lies. So here is a re-post of my calculations in that thread:

--- begin quote from different site --

So, what I am going to do it take the responses to this thread (as best as I can, I may make a mistake or accidentally miss a response), aggregate them together, crunch the numbers and figure, and find what save instances have the biggest population.

I count 75 suggestions so far. I'll first calculate the chapters used the most, and then break that down further. I didn't round up, took whole numbers only. Again, responses are from this thread only, and no other threads or sites.

If someone wants to expand on it with standard deviations, and bell curves and what not, please do!

Game Breakdown

Save 01

Chapter 01: x 01 (01%)
Chapter 02: x 01 (01%)
Chapter 03: x 03 (04%)
Chapter 04: x 07 (09%)
Chapter 05: x 38 (50%)
Chapter 06: x 04 (05%)
Chapter 07: x 07 (09%)
Chapter 08: x 03 (04%)
Chapter 09: x 05 (06%)
Chapter 10: x 02 (02%)
Chapter 11: x 03 (04%)
Chapter 12: x 01 (01%)

So first save should be somewhere in Chapter 5 based on general consensus (and a rather large margin I might add).

Save 02

Chapter 07: x 03 (04%)
Chapter 08: x 09 (12%)
Chapter 09: x 22 (29%)
Chapter 10: x 16 (21%)
Chapter 11: x 13 (17%)
Chapter 12: x 02 (02%)
Chapter 13: x 10 (13%)

The major seems to be for Chapter 9, with the second majority wanting to stick it out to chapter 10. I'll note them both.

Save 03

Chapter 10: x 01 (01%)
Chapter 11: x 05 (06%)
Chapter 12: x 11 (14%)
Chapter 13: x 43 (57%)
Chapter 14: x 06 (08%)
Chapter 15: x 09 (12%)

The overwhelming majority is the final save should be in chapter 13.

Chapter Breakdown

Note, i am going by individual descriptions and trying to infer as best as I can. If some of the responses or synonymous, that's my bad since I don't know the game 100% of when something happens. Also, some responses

Chapter 5

I had 34 worthwhile responses.

Before Diana Dies: x 11
Beginning: x 07
After to Cryo Rooms: x 06
Before the Cryo Rooms: x 04
Before the Tormentor: x04
Before Being Dragged into the chapel: x 01
Before final cutscene: x 01

Chapter 09

Start of Chapter: x 11
Before the Stalkers/Tripod Nest: x 08
After Ellie and Stross in the Tram: x 02
Before the Processing Plant: x 01

Most seemed to prefer the start of the chapter, but quite a few waited until the stalker/tripod area. Many responses seemed to convey killing the stalkers, backtracking, saving, and then going to the tripods.

Chapter 13

Before the eye poke machine: x 18
After the soldiers are overran: x 06
Beginning: x 06
After sending Ellie off: x 02
Before facing the immortal necromorph: x 01

I had a crappy time with the eye poke machine on casual!

-- end quote --

So there we go, just a sampling of a population, but I believe it bears merit to see so many responses crunched down to give a general idea where the majority of saves are going.

Thanks!
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14 May 2011 20:43

5 Comments
whoever got to chapter 12 for there first save is an insane god. lol
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By LostMantella9 on 16 Dec 2011 08:24
Great calculations mate helped me plan out where to save cheers
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By on 03 Aug 2012 12:16
Lovely analysis, but would you kindly take out the plot spoiler for chapter 5?
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By PrinceRules64 on 08 Oct 2020 23:21
Daina*
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By Octobot Super on 20 Jun 2023 12:28
Ha despite the fact I kept on look at this guide I saved at the beginning of chapter 12 right as I enter the mining drill vehicle area. I died twice getting from 9 to 12... embarrassingly I died once in chapter 11 because I was trying to use those cyst grenades to kill other cysts and I didn't spot one.
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By nad destroyer on 15 Aug 2023 23:42
View all 5 comments Show less comments
STEP 1 For the people who got the time to do so and don't want to get really frustrated my best advice is to start the game on zealot and make it to where your comfortable ether save at the beginning of chapter 4 or chapter 5.

What ever is comfortable for you then go start a game on hardcore and try to make it to the point you saved on zealot. You mine as well anyways since the zealot and hard core achievements do not stack. and it gives you a chance to learn the game.

Like visheyry said and i read on other sites you get a nice check point at chapter 7 when u change the disc so if you decide to go back to your zealot game and learn the ropes the next good point ta save is the end of chapter 8.

Then my next save was the beginning of chapter 12 right before you jump on the big drill if your confident you can take on the drill with out saving save at the beginning of 13 for that is a good choke point to get through the rest of the game. NOTE. The end of chapter 13 all the doors are unlocked so its just a matter of having lots of money ammo and health so you can just run stasis and gun through with out stoping.

Chapter 14 and 15 just run stasis and gun through for the foes just seem like they keep spawning and if you stop ta pick up stuff you will most likely die so stop at the store and pick up lots of ammo an health.

STEP 2. I used 2 dlcs the hazard pack has a suit that gives you 5% stasis duration and a shockpoint ripper i used both of those till i got to chapter 7 cause the ripper makes the foes drop lots of items and saves ammo note non upgraded ripper.

Then chapter 7 on up the martial law dlc pack comes in handy i used the the bloody force gun and the bloody vintage suit i and had a plasma cutter the hole game only carry 2 guns most the game and don't store any in your safe cause the guns you have on you and the guns in your safe foes will drop ammo for.

STEP 3 Upgrade your rig hp mostly and and air don't worry about the telekinesis damage for it is already powerful. I upgraded the stasis and forcegun a little bit.
When i got to the end of chapter 14 i had enough money to pick up the contact beam and some ammo take the nodes out of the force gun to up grade the contact beam to the stasis sp slot cause the contact beam works great on the last boss alt fire for the pack minions she spawns and to stasis her.

Then switch to the force gun to finish her then back to the contact beam to shoot the heart of the marker. The contact beam will take the heart of the marker out in three shots.

WHEN IN COMBAT. Use stasis alot before you reload. when you do use stasis always look behind you cause enemies always end up behind you. Keep moving and always looking behind you at all times in the later chapters 7 through 12. The corner tactic does work but some times it is not efficient, cause sometimes when your back is in a corner a foe might jump on your back, and you cant even tell its there. So best advice is ta keep moving always look behind you.

When you enter a room and the enemies start to spawn sometimes its best to run back to the room you came from and stay in the door way with door open and shoot the foes as they come running after you. I did it alot works great.



WEAPONS TO USE
Remember use the ripper and plasma cutter early in the game the ripper really helps you save ammo, and works great on the pack. You can kill 4 ta 5 in one ripper blade, and every one you kill will drop an item, dont use the force gun on them cause they wont drop as much.

Chapter 7 on up use the force gun, and plasma cutter. If you did not upgrade it like me you may want to Switch the plasma cutter for the seeker rifle. its power can take enemies legs and arms of in 1 ta 2 shots. Use telekinesis to impale enemies to save ammo. This really helps to save ammo.

Seeker Rifle really helps to take out the brutes, and is one of the most powerful weapons in the game. Its power can take a brutes arm off clean in 4 ta 5 shots non upgraded works great on them.

The Detonator really helps to take out the dudes that fire the heat sinking rocket thingys in zero g areas and the stalkers when enter a stalker room run in to the middle of the room to get them to stalk you then run back planting mines on the sides of boxes and walls. then switch to your weapon of choice.
When they charge you stasis and take out there legs.

The force gun works great on them for you can just blast away, and don't really have to stasis them.

NOTE. Thanks to Mathew Butler, If you have the dlc with the contact beam the SUPER NOVA PACK, Pick up the contact beam asap so you can pick up the ammo and sell it. The ammo sells for a lot and you can use it to pick up extra nodes for upgrades.

Hope this guide is useful and if anybody has any questions or suggestions on any part of the game comment and ill answer or add it to the guide.
GOOD LUCK.
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01 Feb 2011 00:07

Found a fun little cheat that can be used to earn unlimited amounts of money, and therefore, making your game much easier.

Things you'll need:

1) The Martial Law DLC Pack
2) A safe room (I used the very first room with the store)
3) Patience, as this gets very boring

Alright, first thing you need to do is make sure you have the Martial Law Pack downloaded and installed. Once you do, start up your game and head to the nearest store (for me, it was the first, as I just started my HC run). Once you get there, open up the store and "purchase" the Earthgov Detonator ("purchase" .... it's free, not really a purchase).

Aim at a wall, not directly in front of you though, as it will shoot out beams that will hit you and cause spears or something to hit you, and shoot. Now disarm the round, which can be done using the Secondary fire, you can now pick it up if you want to, or wait until you do the same for the other 2 rounds.

Once all the rounds are used, return to the store and SELL the gun, you must sell it. Now re-"buy" it, it will have another 3 rounds in it. Repeat the process above until you feel like killing yourself.

Each round sells for 200, I advise doing this before you save, why? If you do this, then die, well.... all that work is down the drain.

Now you can buy all the Med-Kits, Power Nodes (the schematic is in the locked room after the 2nd store, you'll need a Power Node to open it, and there is one conveniently in the next room you must go in) and ammo you need.
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19 Sep 2011 18:11

Power Node/Credit Glitch:

I'm surprised to have not seen this video up here already. It's one I found when looking through YouTube for any glitches similar to the one in the first Dead Space.

Full credit goes to Twerly222 for it.

It shows you how to duplicate power nodes and credits in Chapter 1. Make sure you listen to everything he says and check through the comments for some FAQ's. It might take a few tries for you to do it. I did it first time. If you consider the amount of time it may take to try the glitch, compared to dying over and over again (like I did) at various parts of the game, it may even save you time.

Here's a few extra tips I picked up from doing it this way:

- Don't duplicate more than 99 nodes. You can't carry more than that and can't go back and pick them up after going through the vent.

- Pick them all up SLOWLY. Some people have said they lose them if they just quickly tap 'A'. I recommend waiting until the 'Power Node Acquired' hologram disappears before picking another up (about 2-3 seconds). The credits can be picked up with just a second or so in-between.

- The video specifies that you SHOULD NOT pick anything up from the point of exiting the lift. I intended to stick with this, but did accidently pick up the 1000 credits I was going to glitch. I thought I'd give it a go with the power nodes anyway and it still worked, so it's worth a try if you make the same mistake.

- I used the standard Force Gun/Javelin/Plasma Cutter combo. You'll have enough to fully upgrade three weapons, your rig, stasis and kinesis and then some after this.

- This glitch almost guarantees getting all of the way to your first save point at around Chapter 5, but just be mindful that if you die, you'll have to do the glitch all over again. It took me about 40 minutes to get to around 99 nodes.

- **Most importantly, be aware that the game may act strangely up to the first disc change. Whenever you get locked in a room/enter various timed sequences, the doors will stay locked for around 5 minutes. The enemies may or may not spawn, so just stay aware. Don't put your controller down and leave, it'd be soul-destroying to come back and see you'd died after all the effort. Be patient and the game will sort itself out. I also got left hanging off the train waiting for the Brute for a few minutes.

I hope this helps anybody who found this achievement as frustrating as me and that you feel as smug as I did!
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02 Jun 2013 20:58

CousinDangereux's guide and L33to II's walkthrough of sections are excellent, but there are some things I really felt should be added.

- First and foremost, KNOW THE GAME. By the time I gave up and started over, I'd played Chapter 6 three times, Chapters 7-9 three times, and everything starting at chapter 13 a minimum of three times (I watched Isaac send Ellie away 8 times). At the very least, play the first disc twice. This leads to my next point...

- SAVES: It will be a bit difficult, but completing this is MUCH easier if you can get to the second disc without saving. By then, you not only have the infinite checkpoint, but you should be set regarding health, ammo and credits. If you have the time and confidence, get onto the Ishimura before saving. I saved before the Stalkers and Exploders in Chapter 9 because that's where my second save was previously (and it was really late). After the Ishimura, you should be fine up until chapter 13. The elevator in chapter 11 and the drill ride in 12 are not hard at all with the Force Gun (your only problem during the Drill Ride is Lurkers). My final save was after the eye machine and Regenerator's appearance.

WEAPONS - In addition to the Force Gun and Plasma Cutter, I personally recommend the Pulse Rifle. The Martial Law DLC will give you one for free (if not, pick up the schematic after train sequence). Three nodes will upgrade its capacity from 50 to 100 rounds, and just one inventory slot gives you a total of 200 rounds. This weapon will blast through the Pack with ease (they almost never drop items when the Force Gun is used) and it allows you to miss here and there in instant death sequences on the first disc (train Brute, Tripod in the Church, and the Brute after Daina is killed). Unless you have highly upgraded Stasis, it's easier for taking the legs off Brutes as well as tripods. Lastly, it's great for those annoying creatures that fire red projectiles at you in zero-g (Chapter 7 solar array, Chapter 8 after Tiedmann turns on the machinery, and near the end of Chapter 14).

After sending Ellie away in Chapter 13, sell your Pulse Rifle at the store (don't put it in the Safe or you'll get ammo for it) and buy the Contact Beam. You'll start getting energy, you can begin upgrading the alt fire, and it will take off a leg off the last Brute before the stasis canister there has even started to wear off.

At the final store in Chapter 14, sell your plasma cutter, or at least put it away. Your strategy for everything after the Regenerator's appearance is run, stasis, and Force Gun or Contact Beam alt-fire if you start to get surrounded (this will also stasis everything when fully upgraded). The Contact Beam is all you need for Nicole at the end.

- Watch out for Pregnant and Exploders, but also try to watch out for Pukers. The puke does little damage, but it slows you down A LOT making it difficult to avoid other enemies. Stasis them immediately and shoot their head off with the PC (alternatively, the Pulse rifle or Force Gun alt-fire).

- STASIS, KINESIS, and STOMP! Use them whenever possible. If you only have one or two enemies to kill, stasis and TK or even stomping off a limb can really help to save ammo. Upgrade only Duration and number of shots for stasis - the charge ("reload") is fine as it is.

- Decompression windows/rooms: Use them. One shot to a window and another to the red panel sealing it is much more efficient and quick compared to killing enemies in the room, and if you know where they are you should have plenty of time before getting sucked out. In chapter 7 before shutting down the AI, going through the trip laser (it's not much damage, really), standing in the far right corner from the entrance (hack panel to your right) and shooting out the window presents no danger to you whatsoever. The one to watch out for is in Chapter 9. It's a small room and an exploder spawns here, so either run to the back of the room and go for it, or kill him VERY carefully. If the sack bursts near the window, you WILL start to get sucked out.

- Collect Peng! This should be obvious, but if it isn't: in the Peng room, you get two power nodes, a Large Med Pack, the Peng treasure itself (worth 10K) and a semiconductor worth at least 10K (can't remember if it's Diamond or Ruby). This takes just two minutes to do and you should have a decent amount of space.

- NEEDLE IN THE EYE: Initially I had no problem, but the more frustration set in the more I messed up. The key here is GO SLOW, and I mean reeeeeeeally slow. Get the needle within 0.4 .....whatever away from Isaac's eye and barely tap A when the reticle is blue.

- NODE ROOMS - there are only three that NEED to be opened in the entire game: the first in chapter 2 (Power Node Schematic), Chapter 11 in the mines (Advanced Suit baby!) and near the end of Chapter 14 (unless you have bad luck, you'll get two Power Nodes and a Semiconductor).

Good luck and remember, killing everything in sight while going "bang bang" and "pew pew" is worth it!
It's wishful thinking, but comment if you vote no.
19
0

07 Jul 2011 02:48

So I just got this achievement a few days ago and there's no getting away from dying and getting frustrated. I would consider myself fairly good at this game and I still had a hard time, but if you keep pushing, this achievement is achievable.

PRE-GAME:

Before we get started, I'm going to go over my method, it helped me so hopefully it helps you. First things first, I bought the Special Edition and recieved the suit that came with it and the Force Gun. I strongly suggest downloading them since you receive them at your first store. Not only does this give you way more health, but it saves you the money to spend on a suit that high which I used up until ch. 14. Next, the Force Gun you won't be able to get til Ch. 7, plus you save the money you'd spend on it and can put it to greater use.

Another key bit of information before starting the game is, you want to stick with 3 weapons through the entire game: The Force Gun, The Plasma Cutter, and The Line Gun (Man's Best Friend.) Not only will 99 percent of your ammo drops be for this guns, but you won't have to worry about using your money to buy more weapons and you can sell the ammo from other weapons for cash.

PLAYTHROUGH:

During your first few chapters you want to play extremely conservative, pick your shots very percisely, and when possible, use your telekenisis to throw spears or the necromorph's back claws. The more ammo you save, the more money you can save for other uses.

One of the big parts I ran into was when dropping down through the train. I died several times here. First time I ran out of plasma cutter ammo and the Force gun didn't do shit against the Brute. The second, I got too conservative with my ammo and the crawling necromorphs killed me before the Brute even came. So you need to find the middle ground of conserving your ammo and when to use it.

My first Save Point came right before the giant necromorph in the Church when what's her face betrays you and then gets lit up by the ship. I wasn't willing to risk it after I got killed by the Brute so many times. But I passed by it fairly easy. If you think you can go farther, by all means.

My second save came right before Ch. 9 began. You meet up with Ellie and Strauss and then pass this door where those necromorphs with the tail attack. I died here once already and I didn't wanna risk it again so I saved.

My final save was right after the drill ride, I suggest if you don't have alot of ammo or healthpacks to save before the drill ride, because by the end, I had no health packs left. I was stocked up so I felt pretty confident. I believe it is right before ch.12 is where the drill ride ends.

EXTRA (IMPORTANT)

-Always Always Always stay stocked on ammo and health. There's nothing more frustrating then dieing 5 chapters in when you could have bought a couple more health packs but decided to save your money. Now I'm not saying use all your money on health and ammo, because I bought a fair share of power nodes. By the end of the game I had a completely upgraded plasma cutter, almost fully line gun, and my stasis and rig were pretty high up.

-Very important that you get the schematics for the power node in the beginning of the game so you can buy power nodes.

-Towards the beginning of the game, you'll want to uprgrade your Rig's Hit Points so you can take more fire from the necromorphs.

-Be conservative with your ammo, don't blindly fire, pick your shots wisely, and use stasis alot. The Line Gun's ALT. FIRE can kill several enemies with one shot, use it to your advantage and uprgrade that sucker's speed so you can time it more easily.

-DON'T UPGRADE YOUR FORCE GUN, unless you have extra power nodes, I didn't touch my force guns upgrades until ch.13 or 14, it is powerful on its own and your power nodes would be much more useful with your two other weapons or Rig or Stasis.

-One huge factor that made the difference in my game was when I reached ch. 14, I sold my fully upgraded plasma cutter for 80,000. This gave me 40,000 to buy the Advanced Suit and then another 40,000 to buy 35 shots with the line gun and a ton of health packs. I found this very useful so that whenever the necromorph that can't die is walking towards me, you just stasis him then ALT FIRE line gun, blows him up, then stasis him again, and then run. Repeat this until you get to the very end and then unload all that line gun ammo on Nicole and the Marker. You may not like this method, but it worked for me.

-And finally, YOU WILL DIE, AND YOU WILL GET FRUSTRATED, what separates the ones who have this achievement and the ones that do is Motivations and Determination, you just gotta push through. I just hope this guide will help as it is the method I used and hopefully it will help you too. So good luck to you all and prepare to buy a new TV as you may throw your controller at it.
13
6

21 May 2011 18:35

Hey, first guide here.

First, as mentioned by some others, get the force gun if you don't have it through the collectors edition. It a great shotgun functioning, with the added plus of not detonating exploding enemies through its primary fire, and can function as a ranged one in a pinch. It, along with the plasma cutter, are the ONLY weapons you need for a hardcore walkthrough, as the plasma cutter is excellent long range, precise, dismemberment tool, and the force gun, when upgraded a bit, rips most necromorphs apart in one hit, and stuns the one that don't. It also means you only have to carry 2 types of ammo, both of which are cheaper then most weapons.

I recommend playing through the game on Zealot difficulty first, just to get a feel for what the enemies will be like. Remember another thing, which is NEVER panic. Don't blindly fire shots, be precise, but if you are in a cramped situation, the force gun will provide much breathing room. I can't stress this enough. Pay attention to audio cues, such as a cyst's(the organic proximity mines) breathing, and listening for the musics pace to slow down to make sure there are no enemies left. Don't rush ahead, but don't stay in one spot either, as an enemy could sneak up on you.

On upgrading weapons, I recommend damage the most, as it doesn't matter how many shots you can fire if it does minimal damage. On upgrading your RIG, go only for health, as there is plenty of air refill stations in most situations.

One the saves, I first recommend playing to the second disk, as it gives you a free save. From there on, save at around chapter 9, then at chapter 12, right before the drill ride section, then at 14, after the Eye poke machine.

Good luck.
8
0

02 Jun 2011 03:32

Hardcore mode is the hardest difficulty in Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. It is unlocked by completing the game on any difficulty. The experience is notably different from any other difficulty setting as checkpoints are disabled and the player is allowed only three saves for the entire game in Dead Space 2, where Dead Space 3's hardcore mode allows infinite saves but the player will not be able to reload save upon death. The enemies are around Survivalist mode in terms of durability and damage output, while ammo drops are the same size as Zealot mode. To beat Hardcore mode, a player must be conservative, enduring, patient, and skilled. New Game+ saves do not transfer over.



Hardcore mode is unlocked after beating the game on any difficulty so a player must play through the game at least once.

It is recommended to play through the game while noting possible Save Stations and item pickups before attempting Hardcore.

The player should plan out where each of his/her three saves will be, remembering that there are some extremely difficult areas in the game that the player will likely die in.

DLC like the Supernova Pack can help by giving a high-quality suit like the Forged Engineering Suit at the first Store.

To really prepare yourself, play through the game on Zealot difficulty and select "Restart from Checkpoint" each time you get hit, until you can get through most areas without taking damage. Also, try restarting a room if you think you could've been a lot more ammo-efficient. This will force you to learn important details about each major encounter (such as where/which enemies spawn and when, as well as the safest spots to engage enemies from) and develop a good strategy that you can carry over to your Hardcore run.

You can sidestep the scarce resource problems inherent to a New Game by using the Detonator exploit. This is how it works: you need to have at least one of the DLC Detonators (preferably both). Go to the nearest Store and buy them for free, like all DLC weapons. Launch all the Mines and use alt-fire to deactivate said Mines. When you pick up the Mines they go into your inventory slots, not back into the Detonators. Be careful not to launch the Mines too close to yourself or each other. Also, don't reload after you've collected the inactive Mines. Sell the Detonators and the Mines back to the Store and buy back the Detonators to start the process all over again. If you have both DLC Detonators, you can make $1,200 at a time. If you're quick enough, you can make over $10,000 in five minutes. This method is tedious and time-consuming, but you could theoretically have a fully upgraded RIG, Stasis Module, Kinesis Module, one maxed-out gun and enough Ammo and Health Packs to last you until the next Store. Having an infinite supply of Credits in Hard Core mode really helps. Note: this also works for Dead Space 2: Severed.

Considering the enemies are at Survivalist durability, one could train by playing a new game in that setting. However, to replicate Zealot ammo drops do not open boxes or lockers; instead, rely only on enemy supply drops.


The player should focus on which weapons to use prior to attempting Hardcore.

The Plasma Cutter is an all-around useful weapon as it is extremely accurate and powerful when upgraded. In fact, Players who have completed the One Gun achievement in ' may feel very comfortable using only the Plasma Cutter and one other weapon to maximize Power Node slots quicker.

The Pack are extremely dangerous and encountered many times throughout. A rapid-fire weapon like the Pulse Rifle or Flamethrower is recommended. Alternatively, the Ripper is also useful for the Pack and doubles up as a useful stopping weapon against Enhanced Slashers that may not be stopped by the Plasma Cutter.

The Contact Beam is extremely useful in Dead Space 2. It is
a one hit kill against every Enhanced Necromorph apart from an Enhanced Brute, which takes three or four shots. Its special upgade allows a Stasis burst after each alternate fire is used which is very useful in the final fight and in confined spaces with many Necromorphs.

The Detonator is also extremely useful when used correctly; not only can it almost guarantee survival of the Stalker sections, but a player can kill most Necromorphs (including most Enhanced Necromorphs) with the correct tactics.

Stasis is vital in Hard Core as many enemies will sprint at the player. Stasis will slow enemies down, giving the player time to be strategic. The first Tripod is extremely difficult without Stasis. Many players recommend upgrading your Stasis Module first.

Although this can be altered for personal taste, a very good weapon set (although it requires some of the DLC) is the Forged Plasma Cutter, Forged Ripper, Heavy Duty Contact Beam, and EarthGov Pulse Rifle. The Plasma Cutter is for general-purpose combat, the Ripper is great due to its high-kill/ammo-use ratio, the Contact Beam can annihilate Stalkers, Tripods, Enhanced Slashers, and the final boss, and the Pulse Rifle's high rate of fire is great for general-purpose combat, along with fighting Swarmers and the Pack. The chosen DLC's all are aimed at maximizing damage, so as to make best use of scarce ammo.

A well-upgraded Force Gun and Seeker Rifle combination can be a ridiculously useful combination during the final boss fight; the Force Gun against "Nicole" and the Seeker Rifle against the "Heart" can end the fight in your favor in under 30 seconds.

Alternatively, you can focus on only the Plasma Cutter, Force Gun and Contact Beam. An upgraded Force Gun will make the later part of the game a lot safer, and ammunition is also cheap. Max the Force Gun out as soon as you can. Though, strategic use of Alt-Fire and primary firing mode is still needed to conserve ammo and not blowing drops away. The Contact Beam will make any fight with big enemies very short. The final battle can be ended in under 8 seconds with a fully upgraded Damage for the Contact Beam; Alt-Fire and reloading won't be needed in this setup, so you should only upgrade Charge and Capacity (req. 13 Power Nodes to max out). Contact Beam ammunition is also the most valuable, so save some to fight big enemies and sell the rest to buy Force Gun ammo and other upgrades.

A good idea is, if you have the Refurbished Plasma Cutter, then buy it. The upgrade of one Plasma Cutter will affect both and it will give you 20 additional shots. Which will be helpful during the game, especially at the beginning.


Conserve ammo. Using Kinesis a player can do large amounts of damage by picking up poles or Necromorph blades and throwing them at the Necromorphs. Kinesis can be used to throw explosive tanks and stasis tanks at enemies. In other words, Kinesis is your best friend since it has been nerved up. However objects such as crates still won't do very much damage.

Remember that you can get free ammo from upgrading capacity. If you are out of ammo for a gun, or your clip is nearly empty, you can upgrade its capacity to get a full clip for that weapon including the bullets given from upgrading. But this is not worth getting killed over, don't go out of your way to get free ammo. The same principle applies for upgrading health and stasis energy, but again, it is not worth getting murdered over.

Note that you use Kinesis as a weapon before you get a Plasma Cutter. In this time, using Kinesis to throw a sharp object will kill a Necromorph in one hit, but after you get the Plasma Cutter, it takes two Kinesis hits.

Always remember that backtracking is an option; should you fail to conserve ammo and/or Med Packs and find yourself in need of them, you should consider turning around and heading back to the last Store (even if it means sacrificing weapons or ammo to buy other essentials). Also, take note that even if you've cleared an entire area, one or two enemies might still spawn on the way, so don't assume backtracking means safety.

Another method to conserve ammo is to shoot the legs off enemies and then stomp them. With the more rapid stomping in Dead Space 2, you can quickly kill a downed Slasher, save ammo, and get the drops while being in a safer position. However, if you do choose to stomp them, you must act quickly. Move in as soon as the leg goes off; if you waste time, especially against Enhanced Slashers, you'll miss your window. Also, the type of Necromorph that makes this strategy very selective against is Slashers, except those with leg armor. Those with leg armor, you are better off going for the arms. With Stalkers, if it has charged close, stomp it, but don't go out of your way to attack one; you'll be a sitting duck. With Pukers, the method is out completely; stomping it will only hurt you and leave you open to more attacks. Against Leapers, stasis may be necessary as they tend to move around a lot. Stomping Lurkers can be very effective as they generally have low health, but they usually run if you get too close, so stasis may be necessary.

Have at least one method of crowd control, one heavy damage weapon, and a quick-fire weapon as this will improve your chance of survival in the different Necromorph attacks.

The Force Gun can easily close the emergency doors without much aiming, or knock enemies off platforms like elevators or top of the drill machine in Chapter 12.

The Cyst can be killed by its own projectile. By grabbing its projectile with Kinesis it is possible to throw it back and kill it. Alternatively, a player can throw bodies at Cysts which will cause them to shoot out a projectile and kill themselves.

A Cyst is not always bad. They can be useful in that: One, they will also also kill any Necromorphs that wander too close, if you stay mindful of where they are you can use them as personal landmines. Two, although sometimes risky, Cysts are also an infinite supply of "organic bombs," which can be used to do massive damage to enemies while conserving ammo. The easiest way to use these bombs is to Stasis them first then walk up to them and catch the slow moving bomb.

Every Necromorph apart from the Puker will certainly die if
it has lost both arms. Aim appropriately.

The Puker's long-range puke attack can be caught with Kinesis and thrown back, instantly killing it. It will also kill any other Necromorph if it's thrown at it with the bile bomb.

Use the quick heal button while in combat. Enemies do a lot of damage and therefore waiting to exit combat before healing will cause death, and trying to access Med Packs through your RIG will only obscure your vision and leave you more open to attacks.

Stomp or use Kinesis to throw random objects to hit dead Necromorphs; this will ensure them to drop ammo or other supporting items.

If you're not sure if a Necrmorph on the floor is dead or not use Kinesis. If it is dead it will pick part of it up, if it's alive nothing will happen. This will help protect you from taking damage in grapple scenes.

Use everything in the environment to your advantage, even if it does little harm to a Necromorph. Corpses can be used to knock back charging enemies such as the Stalker, use Stasis or explosive canisters wisely and to your advantage, and use blades or claws from dead Necromorphs to weaken an enemy. Just remember that it is advised not to kill Necromorphs with Kinesis objects that won't impale them, as it takes multiple hits to kill them.

Remember that, whilst Nodes can't be directly sold, you can use them in other ways too. For example, one way to use Power Nodes is to sell an upgraded weapon and buy it back; you will lose the Nodes and can only get a small fraction of their actual value, but it can be useful to do so when in need of emergency money. If you're willing to spend a few thousand Credits to remove Nodes from an empty weapon, you can then use the reacquired Nodes to upgrade a weaker weapon with cheaper or plentiful ammo.

New Game+ saves cannot be transferred to Hard Core so prepare to start from fresh.

If you have beaten Dead Space 2: Severed, the Patrol Suit and matching Seeker Rifle will be available in the first Store, both for free. It's a better choice than the Engineering Suit, giving 15% damage resistance instead of 5%, and 15 inventory slots instead of 10. It also gives a damage boost to the matching Seeker Rifle which, when zoomed, can shoot the arms of the first Tripod with one round.

If you have an injury greater than a Medium Med Pack will cover, it is economical to go to a Bench, and respec your RIG's health. Exit the RIG, and you will see you health increase slightly (as even though you have low health, you lost your total health, increasing the overall percentage... i.e. 50 hp is 50% of 100 hp, while 50 hp is only 25% of 200 hp). Once you re-upgrade the RIG, your health will be refilled (as with ammo upgrades, health upgrades fully replenish health)

Your health is restored from buying a new RIG, but not from changing to a previously purchased RIG.

If you are going to use explosives, such as explosive tanks or explosive parts from Necromorphs, be especially careful around Necromorphs that have a ranged attack. They can destroy the explosive you're carrying and take away a lot of health.

The only items you should ever sell on Hard Core mode are Semiconductors and ammo to guns you don't use. If you're ever overstocked in Med Packs, put them in storage (or sell a few if you're confident in your abilities not to lose health) because then you can avoid purchasing overpriced Med Packs at the Store.

When you receive it, switching to the Vintage Suit just for shopping purposes is a good way to conserve money, considering the 10% discount it gives. Switching to a better, more combat-oriented suit can be done after all shopping is complete. If possible however, it is best to use the Elite Vintage Suit.

Now more than ever, Kinesis is extremely invaluable to survival. Whatever you can find to damage a Necromorph or push it back, use it to give you time to place effective shots, or just kill enemies with Kinesis alone if you are skilled with it. Remember that you can kill a Slasher and you will have two throw-able weapons to use against other enemies. Killing a Leaper yields it's tail, and Kinesis homes in on throw-able items over anything else, so you don't have to search for one in a pile of bodies.

Remember to be especially cautious during Chapter 9 after your encounter with a Divider; after taking the next elevator up, you will be in a small room with a decompression window, an Exploder, an Enhanced Slasher and little room to maneuver. As such, either practice completing said room or save beforehand to minimize chance of death. Fortunately, the Force Gun can save you if you shoot it anywhere in/near the decompression window.

In Chapter 13, you will eventually come across a Power Node door opposite a Bench; be extremely careful in choosing to use it or not, as entering the room will yield 2 Power Nodes and possibly a Ruby Semiconductor, but will spawn a Divider. As such, decide whether you desire a Node and a little cash at the expense of ammo and health, as there is no store for until near Chapter 14 and you may regret trading vital supplies at such a late time in the game for a small prize.

Be weary of decompression windows; they can be used to kill multiple Necromorphs but can also kill you if you're not fast enough at closing the emergency doors. When around a decompression window, be careful of how you use Kinesis, and especially when shooting or throwing an Exploder's pustule or using an explosive tank.

Remember during the Tripod Nest fight, the explosive canisters can be a good way to deal damage and get drops without using ammo. Be weary, however, for the Tripods will not hesitate to attack. And staying in the area for too long after destroying the tank on the floor will cause you to die, so leave ASAP.

When in Zero-G areas, be weary of moving parts that will kill you, and be on the lookout for Enhanced Lurkers, which are very hard to see due to the dark environment.

A good tip for getting through the NoonTech Diagnostic Machine (eye needle section), is to bring the needle down very carefully. Isaacs heart-rate and the needle distance are visible on the screen inside the machine. Bring the needle down to about the 0.1-0.2 distance, make sure Isaac isn't feeling panicked, then wait until the light is staying consistently blue and Isaac's eye is still before you bring it down.

Once you reach the beginning of Chapter 14, and you have used up all of your saves, do NOT be shy to run, since this is the period where you will encounter the Ubermorph. Dismember it efficiently and move on as fast as possible, its very easy to become overwhelmed by the countless enhanced Necromorphs that appear in its aid, so be alert and be aware.

DO NOT use the boosting for the very last section of the game where Isaac has to get abroad the gunship to escape, this makes it tedious and difficult to see where the debris is and how to maneuver into space; be aware of your movement and space.

It is recommended not to focus on achievements/trophies on Hard Core and to save those for easier difficulties as many of these could result in death.
7
2
This game was GwG last month, so I want to share some things as of 2018. First of all, my principle is not to pay an extra cent at all for the sake of achievements. Besides, a game advertised as "free" should be a free game indeed. I didn't buy any extra DLC of armor or weapons and still I only died twice while attempting to get this, so it's definitely possible to do this without purchasing extra gear with real money.

The other solutions here are great, they cover a lot. I just wish to add a few things. Read the one from Captain 5olo and watch the money/node glitch video, so you'll understand what I'll be talking about.

CLARIFYING IMPORTANT THINGS
Chapter 1 big fight
- The guy in the video defeats the Tripod by using DLC weapons. If you don't have those, it's okay. The plasma cutter will do the job, just be conservative when using it from the start. Try not to miss much since at that point in the game you cannot pick up any extra ammo from the ground in order for the glitch to work. Your stasis ability at this point will consist of only 2 shots, so freeze him, shoot one of his arms in the middle sweet spot and run away. You will have to keep running to the refill charge at the wall. Remember it has a cooldown timer, so be calm, don't panic, keep the Tripod busy and away. When running from it, try to zig zag because sometimes he will jump up and land closer to you. You can try to shoot him twice when he's frozen, but chances to miss are 50/50 since stasis will be about to wear off. After about 3 shots on each arm it will go down. Unlike the video says, DO NOT approach him anymore. DO NOT "make sure he's dead". Just walk away, the doors will be opened. Keep going around him and he'll eventually disappear. If you get close he will still fight, as opposed as if you do what I just said.

Having over 99 nodes at once
- Unlike one of the other solutions says, you CAN have more than 99 nodes at once after doing the money/node glitch. I made a total of 123 and had them in my inventory at once, without a problem.

- While doing the glitch, I also accidentaly picked one up after cloning about half of the total I made, but it still kept working for a good while longer. So I'd recommend avoiding picking them up, but in case it happens, don't freak out.

- You DO NOT need to copy the money as the video show, just the power nodes. The reason is because you won't need to upgrade all of the weapons, just about 4 of them (if you want) in addition to your armor and the stasis skill trees. So, by having 123 nodes in total, besides the ones I found throughout the playthrough, I had more than enough for all my gear and the ones I didn't need I used on weapons I didn't want to keep. After buying and upgrading them I sold them for a lot of money, so use that trick to convert power nodes into money. It won't work on DLC guns though, since you buy them for zero credits. If you have 2 versions of the same weapon because of DLC, upgrade at the workbenches the one that you buy from the store, not the "free" ones.

I don't think my saves were the best, but they helped me to get me there. After getting past them is easy to think "I should've waited more before using that save...". That's normal.

SAVES

My 1st save was after picking up all of the 123 power nodes I had cloned. Then I backtracked to the store and used that saving point. The reason people like me use that save is because we don't want to go through all of the pain and boredom of having to do the glitch all over again. It did pay off, since I died the first time in the church at chapter 4. But if you are even more careful than I was and know what weapons you need, I think it would be better to use the 1st save at chapter 7.

My 2nd save was used on chapter 7, the reason being that I had already progressed a lot since my 1st one and also because I was afraid to fail the freefall QTE like I had during the Zealot difficulty. Well, you don't have to worry about that. The sequence for that QTE is: right, left, left, right, then through the cilinder, then slightly left to get through that awkward passage, then right. That's it. Even if I hadn't used one save before this one I'd probably still use a save somewhere around this chapter, just in case I messed up before getting to the 13th.

My 3rd save was at the beginning of this chapter. I was kinda torn and wanted to wait until the eye poking machine, but despite being confident in my armor, weapons and economics (had stuff in the storage, had nodes and 200k in credits), I honestly didn't know what to expect from the first fight. I remember it was tough on Zealot because I still didn't have a good strategy, so I didn't want to risk getting sent all the way back to chapter 7. If you still have 2 saves left, then I'd recommend saving here as well.

WEAPONS

- People say: keep only 2 weapons on you, otherwise you'll get more random ammo. Well, you get random ammo even having only 2 weapons on you. But it's good to keep no more than 3. You don't need more than that.
- People also say: the Force gun is awesome. Well, I tried it on Casual and Zealot and while it did make it easy to defeat little guys, it never 1 shot a big enemy. They'd be throw away and come back. So I didn't give it another chance here. On the other hand, blessed be those who pointed out the Javelin and the Contact Beam.
- The Javelin was my main weapon for most of the game. It kills enememis with one shot, its secondary fire deals eletric area damage, which is great against any group of small creatures and on the top of that, after you upgrade it the secondary fire also make its shots blow up. And there's more: this gun has the cheapest ammo, so you can always stay stocked up.
- My secondary weapon was the Pulse Rifle, the reason being that it has the largest ammo clip allowing you to miss and still do crowd control. It's also great for dealing with those giant things that look like an anus and spit little guys at you since it shields you by not allowing none of them to get too close. The same is true for crowd controlling those big headed children with long claws. Also, its secondary fire is all you need to survive the elevator ride at the start of chapter 7.
- Last, the Contact Beam is great because its secondary mode can save your life when surrounded by tough enemies with just 1 shot, so I used it in panic situations where freezing one enemy at a time and using the Javelin wasn't possible.
5
1

14 May 2018 19:44

In order to get this achievement, you need to complete the Hardcore mode which unlocks after beating the game once

This mode only allows to save 3 times during the whole playthrough

This is the strategy I used:

Start the game and continue as you would do, until you reach a room with some red balloons, from this point on follow this video:


Take your time to get all the resources that you can.

Once you feel that the amount is enough (120 nodes for me) go back to the room where you got your suit and SAVE the game, this would be SAVE 1

After this make sure to upgrade your RIG, stasis and the following weapons:

  • Plasma cutter (Main and gimmicky gun)
  • Force gun (if you got the respective DLC) this will dispatch many groups of enemies quickly. If you don’t have any DLC make sure to pick its respective schematic at chapter 7
  • Pulse rifle (if you got the respective DLC) this will dispatch many groups of enemies. If you don’t have any DLC make sure to pick its respective schematic at chapter 3
  • Detonator (if you got the respective DLC) this will allow you to set traps that will kill annoying enemies like the stalker with no issue. If you don’t have any DLC make sure to pick its respective schematic at chapter 5
Then continue with the game keeping in mind the following:

General tips

  • Make sure to explore every corner of the levels
  • Go slow, take your time to find and kill enemies
  • Make sure to kill the Exploders once they appear, as their attack could mean an instant kill. You will be alerted when you start hearing laments and wails.
  • Make sure to kill the Crawlers once they appear, as their attack could mean an instant kill. You will be alerted when you start hearing baby sounds
Chapter 2

Once you enter the Train make sure to have enough Plasma Cutter rounds, since at the end of the level you will required to shoot fast a Brute, the plasma cutter is the best weapon for this.

Chapter 4

Make sure to keep Detonator ammo for your encounter on the round place with the Stalkers.

Chapter 5

Make sure to have enough Plasma Cutter rounds, since at the end of the level you will required to shoot fast The Tormentor, the plasma cutter is the best weapon for this.

Chapter 6

Make sure to keep Detonator ammo for you encounter with the Stalkers.
Be careful with the Crawlers.
Make sure to keep Detonator ammo for you encounter with the Brute at the end of the level.

Chapter 7

Make sure to have Force Gun or Pulse Riffle ammo for the elevator section with the Tripods.
Even though is easier on this game, keep an eye on your air meter on the space section.
Once you reach the final section where you need to sort trough rubble, use a YouTube video if you need further instruction with the section, alternatively you can follow these directions once you are lunched:

  • Right
  • Left
  • Left
  • Right down a little bit
  • Left, then through the rubble
  • Right, down though the green pipe on the rubble
  • Right
  • The middle of the building
Chapter 8

Take your time on the Zero G section, use stasis when required.

Chapter 9

Use your SAVE 2 at the beginning of this level.
Once you reach the section where you need to put some gear on the machine be aware that when you grab the big disc a small Necromorph will appear, kill it quickly.
Make sure to keep Detonator ammo for you encounter with the Stalkers.
Kill the Cyst every time you see them, take a safe distance while doing it. Depending on the Cyst location, they could be killed but their own ammo simply by throwing them objects from the environment.
When you reach the last section of the level (the round one), use statis to freeze the Tripod while you throw gas cans to the big round thing, since killing the tripod, will make another one to appear. Once you destroy it, run through the exit.

Chapter 10

Make sure to keep Detonator ammo when you reach the long hall, since 2 brutes will appear as well as many enemies from both directions.
Make sure to keep Detonator ammo for you encounter with the Stalkers.
Make sure to keep Force Gun ammo for the decontamination section.

Chapter 11

Change your suit to the Advanced Suit once you find the schematic.
Even though is easier on this game, keep an eye on your air meter on the space section.
Kill the Cyst every time you see them, take a safe distance while doing it. Depending on the Cyst location, they could be killed but their own ammo simply by throwing them objects from the environment.
Make sure to have Force gun and pulse riffle ammo for the elevator section.
Keep your hand at the controller on every Cut Scene as 2 QuickTime events will appear where you will ned to press cn_A repeatedly.

Chapter 12

Kill the Cyst every time you see them, take a safe distance while doing it. Depending on the Cyst location, they could be killed but their own ammo simply by throwing the objects from the environment.
Once you reach the top of the vehicle keep yourself next to Ellie, and use the Force Gun to kill any close or distant enemy that might appear.

Chapter 13

Make sure to keep Detonator ammo for you encounter with the Stalkers.
Once you reach the hallway with the Cyst, kill it and use SAVE 3.
From now on be very careful with the laser section, kill enemies first and then run with enough distance from the lasers
On the eye section, even tough the sounds will make you feel desperate, be calm, there is no time limit, only hit cn_A when the light is BLUE.

Chapter 14

Force gun and stasis on everything.
Do not let enemies accumulate, use all the necessary ammo
Make sure to cripple the The Ubermorph every time he is next to you.
Take your time on the Zero G section, use stasis when required.

Chapter 15
Force gun and stasis on everything.
Make sure to keep Force Gun and Plasma Cutter ammo for the final encounter.
Use the force gun with the shadow packs and the plasma cutter with Nicole and the Marker’s heart.
Once the heart start regenerating, DO NOT MOVE until Nicole appears, since this might trigger an instant kill.

Now for final section you need to move through debris, these are the directions you should take:

Right
Left
Right
Left a bit down
Final quick time event (A repeatedly )

And after the credits finishes the Achievement will finally Pop!
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19 May 2022 18:12

This is a personal solution that varies from the others on site.

*Possible Spoilers to the story*

Prior to attempting this achievement I did research on strategies for this achievement. But decided in the end I wanted to put my own twist on things.

Most guides I've seen tell you get the force gun as early as possible. I disagree as I find the contact beam a much better option. The contact beam will kill many enemies early on in one hit. Three shots from it can even take out a black brute if placed correctly. The gun is extremely helpful in taking out the multiple spots in the game where you can potentially die in one hit. It also makes the final boss a cake walk... (The fight lasted all of 10 seconds.)

Also the alt-fire of the contact beam can save you in many situations once it is fully upgraded. It slams the contact beam down sending out a ripple of stasis that can hit multiple enemies while inflicting damage. Very overpowered

My save structure for this comes with the catch that you have to at least make it to the end of chapter 8 right after you reunite with Ellie and Stross. Which is not as hard as it may seem.

The first save: The end of chapter 8/ the beginning of chapter 9 after being reunited with Ellie and Stross.

I personally had no trouble on the first disc and decided to save all of my saves for after the disc switch. Thanks to the glitch where you can die after switching the discs and it only sends you back to the beginning of the disc.

In the first disc I only died once which was right as you get stasis. If you don't stasis the necromorph before it gets to you; you will die instantly. Now this is very early in the game and isn't a big deal but if you have to do the intro a few times it may get frustrating.

The other two areas people usually die are the brute at the end of chapter 2 and the tripod at the end of the church but you can certainly get by on one attempt.

Otherwise, just take your time and save ammo when you can. You should make it to the disc switch no problem. I choose this spot because I felt with the game only going up to chapter 15 it would be manageable to shoot for 9, 11, and 13 as my save points and break the game down by two chapters at a time.

The second save: Chapter 11 directly before the drill ride.

This was a frustrating save for me. I actually wish I hadn't used this save but I was extremely worried about the drill ride being difficult. In reality that was very easy. I also made the mistake of not getting the drill completely ready before using the save so anytime I died I would have to go through that again.

If I were attempting this achievement again I would actually wait until after the drill ride and save after the sequence with Nicole that follows Issac releasing Ellie's ship without getting on. Save next to the elevator and store. As soon as you go down that elevator there's a massive fight with numerous necromorphs that killed me at least 10 times.

Make sure to have a few extra med packs for the drill and you should be fine!

The third save: Chapter 13 directly before the eye drill.

This save was vital to me. I never died by the eye drill but it was much less stressful having a save. I also saved before spending any credits at the store so I could change my equipment if I thought something would be more helpful.

From this save point you'll have a pretty easy time running through till the end. And if you have the contact beam fully upgraded the boss won't be a challenge. Beat the boss on my first go when I made it to her and only had to restart once after this save. So if you can make it here surely go for it. The rest will be cake.

Overall this isn't as hard of an achievement as it seems. I did it in one night over the span of about 12 hours. So while it may seem intimating on paper it certainly is achievable.

Let me know if this guide needs any improvements, good luck!
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12 Jun 2017 21:51

Hardcore is basically Normal difficulty, with a twist - you can only save 3 times, no more than that. The game will warn you and indicate how many save opportunities you have left whenever you approach a save point. Ammo drop rate varies between Normal and Survival difficulty. The game is fairly generous with Medpack drops, especially towards the end of the game.

Completing the game on Hardcore does NOT unlock Zealot difficulty trophy (i.e doesn't stack) and vice versa.

This setting is not for those with faint of heart and lacking dedication. Enemies are moderately tough and ammo is a somewhat limited resource. In addition you will need to be able to play for long hours as the game has 15 Chapters. You-will-be-dying-and-restarting, alot. Your first ideal save point should be somewhere in Chapter 6 or 7. Your second save point should be somewhere in Chapter 9 or 11. And your last save point at the end of Chapter 13 or end of Chapter 14 if you can make it that far.

Do refer to the Hardcore Difficulty Guide for useful tips and strategies. If you feel that this difficulty is too much for you to handle, consider investing in the Supernova Weapons & Armor DLC pack as the free items can turn this mode on its head as long as you make full use of your experience gained from previous playthroughs.

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Beating the game on any difficulty unlocks the Hard Core setting. The difficulties DO NOT stack in this game so beating it on Hard Core does not unlock Mission Impossible.

Hardcore Tips

  1. Weapons: I recommend buying only the force gun and using it in conjunction with the Plasma Cutter. Having more than these weapons in your inventory or safe will cause ammo to drop for weapons that you do not use and will spread your ammo very thin for the guns that you do use. The Bloody Force Gun that comes with the Martial Law DLC will allow you to get this gun at the first store for free as opposed to waiting until Chapter 7 for the schematic.

  2. Armor: This is much easier if you have bought the CE or Martial Law DLC Pack as you will get a 15 slot, 15% armor suit at the start of the game making inventory space and damage control more manageable. The Bloody Vintage Suit that comes with the Martial Law DLC gives you an additional 5% damage with the Force Gun. NOTE: You can equip any suit to get the extra inventory slots and armor, and then revert to another suit and still keep the # of slots and the armor bonus of the best suit.

  3. Inventory: Keep 4-5 medium med packs. The large med packs are extremely expensive at 10,000 credits. The medium med packs are half the price and do the trick, while allowing you to keep your credits for the more essential items you will need. Keep 3 stacks of stasis kits (9 kits) for getting yourself out of tricky situations. For ammo, I recommend 2-3 stacks of plasma cutter ammo as it is fairly expensive and you will only need it in precision situations (i.e. Hangar Boss in Ch. 1, Brutes, and final boss) where hitting a particular part of a necromorph really matters. 5 Stacks of Force Gun ammo should leave you with plenty of wiggle room until you get to the next store. Plus, force gun ammo is cheap! Use any spare money you may have after restocking to buy power nodes to keep your equipment upgraded.

  4. Saves: I recommend using your saves in the later chapters and utilize the disc switch glitch as your first save, but remember you can't shut your game off until you actually use a save. If you are having trouble getting to Chapter 7 without saving you can use it early, but I wouldn't recommend using it any sooner than chapter 4. If you make it to the disc switch without using a save, then I recommend saving on Chapters 10 before the hallway with the two Brutes, Chapter 11 (before entering the 'Exploration Mine' and the Drill Ride) and 13 after defeating the final Brute. For your Chapter 13 save, take the Elevator up to watch the cutscene of the Marker, then ride back down and save so if you die you don't have to rewatch it.

Here are some additional threads with tips from other members that may prove useful.

Hardcore Tips by SquaredSumo705

Hardcore Tips by Jumnious

Hardcore Tips by DreamDevice

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The whole difficulty of the hardcore level is that you start the game completely naked (if you didn’t pre-order the game or buy bonuses) and during the entire game you can save 3 times.

The most convenient places for saving are chapters 4-5 (first), 8-9 (second), 12-13 (third) from weapons you need to take rapid-fire and powerful ones. Plasma cutter and force gun can be said to be the main ones during the passage. The first is universal, the second knocks back opponents if they are close.

The most important tactic is:

1. Don’t be arrogant, destroy everything from afar.

2. Always have ammunition with you as for preparing for a world war. First aid kits and ammo are our friends.

3. The most important thing is not to be distracted by other trophies, get everything in advance.

4. DON'T BE AFRAID! Be ready to squeeze the crap out of the heads of the necromorphs!

Video guide (en).
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04 Feb 2011 02:19

9 Comments
An easy way to defeat Nicole and the final flight.

You will need a Power Cutter pumped up to 6 rounds and 6 rounds for it. You don't even need to leave the place.
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By Abbath on 22 Jul 2015 09:47
Yes, guys, it’s difficult, but nothing is impossible

My saves: beginning of chapter 7, end of chapter 8 and beginning of chapter 13

But I advise you to save at the end of chapter 8 (but this is for those who are confident, because in the 8th chapter you will have to make your way through the technical compartment, so I still advise you to save before this moment), the beginning of 11 and the beginning or a little further of chapter 13

because in the interval between 9 and 13 there can be quite difficult moments (the same elevator or drill, for example)

I played through the game with a pipe cutter, a very good and quite powerful weapon, especially when pumped up, I also used a laser pistol, a power pistol, a power cutter and a detonator.

When you find a pulse rifle, keep it in your backpack and upgrade it for as much damage as you can, because alternative fire will help get rid of children and small crawling bugs (this is until you buy a power pistol), also alt. the pulse rifle's fire will help you in the elevator with the tripods.

The laser pistol is very helpful in the fight against hunters (we shoot at the legs), and alt fire is very helpful in battles with the Brute (Thug) (throw Alt Fire into stasis and undercut him)

In Chapter 11, the elevator ride Power cutter alt. fire.

In Chapter 12, when traveling on a drill, you will need a power pistol and a power cutter (a pistol for small ones, and an alt-fire cutter for those who climb on a drill)

In Chapter 13, be careful with the needle, don’t rush, it’s better to spend more time here than to go through it again from saving.

Well, chapters 14 and 15 are a laser pistol, a power pistol, a power cutter (you can remove components from the turbo cutter, as well as from the ditonator)

Buy first aid kits, cartridges and a stasis battery (2-3 backpack compartments)

We run and knock down all the alts along the way with the fire of a power cutter and run further without stopping, in some places you can finish off with a power pistol.

Final battle:

We throw Nicole into stasis and viola fire the laser pistol at her feet, quickly switch to the cutter and shoot at the node, if children run up, then viola fire the cutter.

And be careful when flying to the ship.

Here is a very good video walkthrough. This helped me a lot:

from chapters 1-4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj8S...0&feature=plcp

from chapters 5-8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRM5...feature=relmfu

from chapters 9-12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbE...feature=relmfu

from chapters 13-15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r8p...feature=relmfu

By the way, the passage is very interesting, there is both improvisation and real hardcore when, in order to buy nodes and upgrade weapons, you sell almost everything that falls from enemies.
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By BRAIAN on 22 Aug 2012 17:40
Step 1 . In the first chapter, a glitch on power nodes helped (of course, without standard save-load methods). I did absolutely everything as shown in the video:

Infinite Power Nodes/Money - No Save/Load Glitch

Thus, in an hour and a half (with breaks for smoking), I glitched about 80 power units. Of course, this is a little read, but Platinum is not the most ordinary.

Step 2 . I connected the computer to the TV, and on the computer I launched a video with the corresponding episode of the game. A curling iron is connected to the TV and DS2 is running.
The algorithm is as follows: I watch a video from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, press 1 button on the TV remote control (switch the source from PC to PS3), go through the episode I saw.

First I used a series of these videos:
Dead Space 2: Hardcore Difficulty Campaign Walkthrough

(13 videos for those who know English. The author explains his actions, strategies and tactics very well). The video series is not finished - only up to chapter 9(

I completed the game on hard drive in 6 days, saving in the following chapters:
  • 5 (didn’t go further for fear of losing the attached nodes))
  • 7 (in front of specular reflectors and rays, this is in space)
  • 13 (the very beginning, after the unsuccessful “docking” of our capsule)
Using this method, I reached the second save without dying, because I knew what awaited me ahead.
Then he died in 8-9 chapters, which undermined morale a little. But, gritting my teeth, I carefully reached chapter 13.
As a result, 7-8 attempts from chapter 13 until the game credits.

Step 3 . Weapons used in chapters 1-13:

  • Plasma Cutter
  • Pulse Rifle
  • Force Gun
  • Contact Mines (Detonator)
Weapons used in chapters 13-15:
  • Pulse Rifle
  • Force Gun
  • Power Cutter (Contact Beam)
  • Laser Cutter (Cutter Line Gun)
Each type of weapon is good in its own way and in different situations.
I can only note that:
  • The power pistol is very good at short range , where 70-80 percent of the battles in the game take place).
  • Power cutter ( Upgrading the “special” point adds a stasis effect to the alternative fire)
+
  • Advanced RIG (ICS combat) (can be found during the first playthrough of the game in the storage room, which opens using a node in Chapter 11, costs 40,000 credits and increases the duration of stasis by 50 %)
=
An easy run after the episode with the Vision Machine and before the final battle.
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By Odeguard on 02 Oct 2012 01:56
Much has already been said. So I'll be brief. Maybe someone will find my experience of getting this trophy useful.

1. Used the Supernova DLC pack.
2. Glitch: Video
A more convenient location of the nodes than in these other videos + credits!
3. Video walkthrough: Video
4. Weapons used ( all from DLC ):
- Cast plasma cutter (basic, fully pumped)
- Improved detonator ! (pumping at your discretion)
A few words about the detonator. This is an alternative to the much-touted Force Gun, only with greater capabilities and tactical solutions. While playing in other modes, I didn’t pay attention to it. But on hardcore it really helps. Using the specific feature of the detonator DLC (placed mines/collected/sold an empty detonator for O/bought a charged detonator for O/repeated the cycle) we have unlimited ammunition! Used it often and effectively!!! We watch the video, we know where the bastards will come from, we mine everything.....and only feathers fly in different directions) Also against creeping insects - stasis and a mine in them. And many more places. Generally universal! It only lacks a protective casing like in the third part, but oh well...
- A cast laser cutter (you can use a pipe cutter, depending on who can handle it better) sometimes as an auxiliary weapon.
- Improved power cutter (just carry it with you, save up charges) used against wild boars (brut), throw stasis and shoot. End of 11 in the elevator and from chapter 14 - alternatives to victory Download completely!!!
5. DLC suit - Cast engineering (+15% to health from using first aid kits) until you find the Combat one . When we find Classic , we only change clothes in the store. We make purchases with a 10% discount. ICS : We pump up full health, air at our discretion (in Chapter 14, if you hesitate, it may not be enough), no damage is needed. We download stasis completely!
6. Saved:
Chapter 5 - in front of the hole, then a battle with a tripod and a bunch of kids.
Chapter 9 - the very end, in front of the nest of tripods.
Chapter 13 is the very beginning, after the ride on the storm.

PS The main thing is to get to the first save, then it will be psychologically easier.
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By Stayer on 23 Jan 2016 17:13
I always fully upgraded the sniper, with full health the final battle is not difficult, a few shots at the node and that’s it.
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By Leff on 05 Nov 2012 16:52
1. No need to worry about super suits and glitches! The game gives you the opportunity to go through on your own. Yes, it’s hard, but victory is sweeter.
2. Any weapon you like. The main thing is how you use it. I went with a plasma cutter and a pulse rifle until the last minute. Before the final, I sold everything and bought a power cutter at the suggestion of "Abbath".
3. Completely downloaded stasis and ICS, the rest is at your discretion. You always have 6 pieces of stasis and 5-6 pieces of an average first aid kit with you. from the 13th chapter it is better not to enter into battle, most of the rooms can be run through until the finale, I also escaped from the last Brute. Such battles are expensive and do not pay off in dropped items.
4. Stasis is our everything
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By Sanginboy88 on 08 Mar 2016 10:29
The impossible regime took a week with approaches once a day for 2-3 hours. I had a lot of fun. Saved in 6, stupidly in 7, and 11 chapters. Up to chapter 7, the main tool is a cutter, up to 11 - contact mines, which give a good balance of removal to loot. After the needle-in-the-eye, I disassembled all the components, equipped a power cutter and a laser pistol. In difficult places everything worked out, but when you relax, that’s when they knock you down. Got the stupidest death from a Strauss screwdriver :-)
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By JohnHvat on 15 Dec 2016 08:35
Personally, I used a pipe cutter and recommend it to you. A pumped up pipe cutter, namely its damage, helps a lot from 7 to the end of the game. All in all, a very useful weapon.
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By Agro on 24 Mar 2012 05:49
The most useful guns are a plasma cutter, a pulse rifle (automatic) and a plasma pistol (emits a wave and throws everyone away).

Use all available means - bayonets, gas cylinders, static cylinders, necromorph body parts.

If one necromorph comes at you, shoot off his hand and take it with stasis, then shoot at the necromorph. Fast and economical way.

For hunters (those who run out from behind cover and run to attack you from afar), shoot at the legs.

If there are a lot of opponents, take out a plasma pistol; when they are at a distance from you, hit them with a plasma cutter or pulse rifle.

If possible, avoid clashes with enemies.
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By beaTz on 25 Jun 2012 07:00
View all 9 comments Show less comments
You will need a Plasma Cutter and a Force Gun. If you pre-ordered the game or bought the collector's edition, then you already have the entire kit for completing the game in the first store. If not, you can buy any other weapon until you find the Force gun, the diagram of which can be found after the moment with the elevator and tripods. The good thing about this weapon is that it is very convenient for them to fight off a crowd of necromorphs. He kills children and small insects (like those that jump out of the Pregnant Man’s belly) with one shot. The closer you are to the target, the stronger the damage will be.

Saves:

1. Should be around chapters 5-7. I made it to 8, but there are a few points where you can die. It can be tight in the same elevator.

2. Around chapters 9-11. It's best not to try to make it past 12, because the Necromorph elevator towards the end of 11 might catch you by surprise.

3. 13-14 chapter. It's better to save before you get into the machine with the needle, because you might accidentally die. The subsequent chapters are very short, so it’s better to go through them a couple of times, half the game again.

Upgrades.

1. First, increase X’s health by two units.

2. Then pump up the Plasma Cutter to the maximum. There is no need to increase the ammo volume and reload speed. Try to get the "Special" for this weapon as quickly as possible.

3. Now you can pump up stasis. You shouldn't waste power nodes on reload speed. Focus on the number of charges and duration.

4. Fully upgrade your health. There is no need to pump impact force and air. By this time, the monsters will already be strong and you will still have to stick two stakes into them, and the air is always enough for your eyes.

5. We are trying to fully upgrade the Force Gun.

Well, a few more tips:

1. Always have 3-6 (depending on the suit) ammo slots for the Plasma Cutter with you. And also 4-6 slots with first aid kits.

2. Don't spend all your money on power units. There are already enough of them in the game. Buy them only if you are sure that you have enough ammo and first aid kits. The same goes for new costumes. Keep money with you, you may need it if you get badly damaged in battle.

3. When you buy a new suit, your health is completely restored. The same thing happens if you buy a new health slot.
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13 Feb 2011 21:55

1 Comment
A trophy that will really make you push yourself, regardless of your skill.
So:

- saving:
1. I saved in the middle of chapter 7, before riding the tripod elevator. But it’s better to save a little further, at the very beginning of Chapter 9, when Isaac goes for the trolley, because at first it will be very sweaty there.
2. At the end of Chapter 12 before riding the storm - but if you memorize the spawn locations of necromorphs, then save before going down to the first floor after Isaac saves Ellie at the beginning of Chapter 13.
3. According to your choice, you can do it in front of the vision machine to avoid failing at this moment, or at the beginning of Chapter 14, when you run to the Obelisk, or right on the last save before the Obelisk.

- weapon:
- plasma cutter (due to its versatility);
- sniper rifle (due to lethality) (if there is the Severed add-on, then after completing it, Weller’s suit and his sniper rifle will immediately be available to you in the main game, both things are free, so take them in the first store);
- power pistol (knocks down especially arrogant enemies or stuns them) (diagram somewhere in Chapter 9);
- power cutter (will save your nerves in some dangerous locations) (I have DS: Ignition installed, so in the same ninth chapter you can find a diagram for a free and improved hacker power cutter in the last room of the aqueduct).
Upgrade at your discretion - the main thing is that by the end the sniper rifle and the power cutter are fully charged (in particular, the alternative damage and clip in the sniper and the clip in the power pistol) in order to quickly deal with Nicole and Obelisk. I spent all my money on power units, only in the last store I stocked up on cartridges.

- costumes:
- Weller suit 15% armor and 15 inventory cells (if there is no add-on, then use those suits that you will come across as you progress);
- combat suit (diagram somewhere in Chapter 12).

In your inventory, always carry four medium first aid kits and 2 stacks of stasis batteries and a stack of cartridges for each weapon. Move extra first aid kits and cartridges to the safe, sell unnecessary ones.

During your first playthroughs, remember the dangerous moments (such as: the fight with the tripod at the end of the first chapter, the fight in the Unitologists' residential complex, the fight with the tripod and the pack in the church, the fight with the executioner at the end of the fifth chapter, the elevator with the tripods, all shootouts with hunters and rooms with decompression windows, a fight on the elevator in the mines, a ride on the storm and after it, the final race to the Obelisk) and replay them several times to develop tactics for optimal passage of such moments.
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By Dimtyr on 01 Apr 2017 20:25