Stuff I wish I'd known before playing for the first time.

For my first run through, I made a Street Samurai elf called Almalexia. She was a street kid from the Barrens, turned hired gun.

I played through the first game, Returns, and she did well for herself, became a deadeye shot with a pistol, and a charmer to boot. (Invested karma in quickness and charisma)

I then played Hong Kong, because I didnt realised that was the 3rd one. I couldnt find a way to import my character from returns, so I remade Almalexia, level 1. She levelled up the same stats, from scratch.

I then played Dragonfall, which you may deduce is the second one. Well done for being smarter than me!

It was only then that I found out that you can press alt+f1 to open a cheat menu, with which you can give yourself enough karma points to remake your old character as you see fit.

Man do I wish I'd known that when I'd started HK.

Does it count as cheating? Maybe, if you use it all the time. I'll admit there are some battles that I used god mode for.

This game is awesome, it would be better if id learned to :

1. Create the same characters at the start of the sequels
2. Played the games in the right order

If Id done it properly, i wouldve levelled Almalexia like this

Returns: Get good with Pistol, Charisma.

Invest in some extra dodge and body points. Be lethal in battle, and have maybe 3 etiquettes unlocked by the end.

DragonFall:

Get good with the katana. Youre a street samurai, after all. level that up as you play through the campaign, using pistol as a backup strat when it gets hairy. You wont be too OP if you dont spam using the pistol.

Level up charisma and unlock all available etiquettes in this game. I find the game loads more fun when I can say the clever thing in dialogues, and I love doing the fancy trick that bypasses another grinding fight.

Also, always take a decker. The missions you dont need them are fewer than the missions you do. Perhaps consider getting a cyberlink and becoming a decker, although Alma was always body purist

A few extra points in things like wisdom/shamanism, for good low-level perks. You unlock a totem
at level 3 - a free spell that can come in useful.

HongKong: Get good with Chi and Magic. This will only bolster your katana melee skills with extra deadly abilities. Spend the rest of the karma points freely.

A really good decker comes part of your team in that game, and you wont really need your own decking skills.

Don't be a rigger.

The perfect Rigger already exists and his name is Rachter.