Dead Space 2

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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!

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!