2. Dead Space 3 General hints and tips

I suggest reading through this entire walkthrough, so you can get a basic understanding of what is expected for completion. There are no spoilers.

Dead Space 3 is mostly linear. The game has an objective locator, which can be activated by pressing in the right stick. This locator draws a blue path to your objective and can be toggled with the d-pad to instead show the direction to the nearest bench or suit kiosk.

A major change from the previous games is the bench/weapon/resource system. You can still find weapon blueprints to build basic weapons (Ripper, Line Gun, etc), but you can also find blueprints for pre-designed "advanced" weapons (which are really just templates for weapons that you could build yourself from parts). You can also build your own "advanced" weapons and consumables (ammo, med packs, and stasis packs) from weapon parts (frames, tools, tips, attachments, and circuits) and resources (tungsten, semiconductors, scrap metal, somatic gel, and transducers). Resources are readily found throughout the game, primarily from dead enemies, in lockers, or in breakable containers. Weapon parts are one of the collectible types and are found in specific locations throughout the game.

Ammunition is also different than in the previous games: there is now only one ammo type and it works with all weapons.

Also worth noting is that the save system is slightly different than in previous games. There are two ways to save your game:

1) Autosave. This happens automatically after reaching certain areas or completing certain tasks and creates a "checkpoint." An autosave icon in the upper right corner of the screen indicates when this happens.

2) Save and Quit. You can choose to do this through the game menus. This option only saves your character status (any items you've acquired or achievement progress you've made since the last save) and does not save your story progress. Continuing will put you back at the last checkpoint you had reached, so when you want to stop playing, try to first reach a checkpoint with an autosave.

Like in previous games, the best way to kill enemies is to sever their limbs. There are two achievements for severing limbs that will eventually come through normal play.

As you progress through the game, you will find Scavenger Bots (the first is story-related and cannot be missed). These bots can be deployed anywhere to search for resources. They have a location detector function to help locate high-yield deployment points (there is an achievement for deploying your bots from 15 such locations). The bots spend 10 minutes searching for resources and, once done scavenging, can be retrieved at any bench.

I suggest only searching for these high yield spots up until you unlock the Metal Detector achievement. In my experience, the quicker you deploy your bots, the quicker they get back, resulting in more Ration Seals (which are used to buy resource packs).

Most collectibles can be found with minimal exploration, but a few are in somewhat tricky locations and likely will require a guide. I suggest trying to explore thoroughly as you work through your first playthrough, then using a collectibles guide find what you missed. The game has a progress tracker that tells you how many of each collectible type you have for each chapter, making it easier to zero in on the collectibles you might have missed in your first playthrough.

There is a new consumable item called a Tungsten Torque Bar that can be crafted at the bench. This is a single-use item that is needed to unlock certain doors. There are a total of eight such doors in the game and each contains at least one collectible.

You can earn 47 achievements in your Standard playthrough, replaying chapters after completing the story to complete anything you missed initially. The final three achievements will come from playing through on the three game modes unlocked by completing the game on Standard mode.

The reward for completing Classic mode is a godly weapon called the Devil Horns, which looks like a giant red foam finger. The primary fire is a semi-automatic rifle and the secondary fire is a shotgun. It deals insane damage and has an ridiculously large clip size. This weapon is intended to only be available in Standard and Classic modes, but there is a way to get it in to both Pure Survival and Hardcore modes ONLY IF YOU ARE PLAYING THE PHYSICAL VERSION OF THE GAME AS THERE IS NO WAY TO REMOVE THE TITLE UPDATE FROM THE DIGITAL VERSION:

1) Beat the game on Standard mode to unlock Classic, Pure Survival, and Hardcore modes.
2) Beat the game on Classic mode to unlock the Devil Horns. It can now be accessed in Classic mode and Standard mode.
3) Disconnect from Xbox LIVE and clear your system cache.
4) Start or continue a Pure Survival or Hardcore mode game and get to a bench. The Devil Horns will be there! Equip them and save/quit.
5) Reconnect to Xbox LIVE and re-download the latest title update. Continue your Pure Survival or Hardcore game and you will still have the Devil Horns.

If you have not yet played Pure Survival or Hardcore mode, you will need to advance the story until you get to the bench in Chapter 3 (aboard the Roanoke) to get the Devil Horns.

If you had already advanced past chapter 3 in your pure Survival or Hardcore playthrough, then disconnect from Xbox LIVE, clear your system cache, load up your game and go to any bench (chapter 4 starts in a room with a bench). I had already completed both modes and the Devil Horns were at the first bench I visited.

NOTE: The Awakened DLC includes an update that prevents the Devil Horns from being accessed in Pure Survival and Hardcore modes. If you try to delete the DLC and clear cache, the game will not allow you to load any of your previous saves. It does not matter if you've never played the DLC.

If you downloaded the DLC before completing your Pure Survival and Hardcore playthroughs, there is a workaround to get the Devil Horns but it involves another full standard playthrough, so it might not be worth it. I completed Pure Survival and Hardcore before the Devil Horns exploit was discovered and it wasn't that bad.

Start by completing your standard and Classic playthroughs to unlock the Devil Horns. Then delete the DLC from your hard drive and complete a new standard playthrough (not a new game+). At this point, you can follow the steps above (starting on #3) to access the Devil Horns in your Pure Survival and Hardcore playthroughs. Just be sure not to redownload the DLC until you're done with all your playthroughs.