Shadowrun #25 - Drake's Stronghold

1. Upgrade, Drake's Stronghold

Items

None

Keywords

None

Enemies

*1 Karma point equals 8 Experience (EXP) points

Before confronting the nefarious Drake, now is a great time to upgrade your gear and do some serious powering-up. The following must-have items are now available for purchase:

• Dermal Plating at Dr. Maplethorpe's Office. 6,000
• HK227 Assault Rifle at Dark Blade Weapon Shop. 24,000
• Partial Body Suit at Dark Blade Weapon Shop. 20,000

If you have not yet purchased the Boosted Reflexes from Dr. Maplethorpe, do so before buying any of the items above. If you have, the priority list for these new items is the order in which they are listed.

The Dermal Plating adds two points of defense to ANY armor you have equipped (even no armor) and is probably the single best value in the entire game at 6,000 nuyen.

Next on the list is the Assault Rifle. By now, the Shotgun is a little underpowered due to the improved defenses of the enemies. The Assault Rifle has an attack power of 12 (compared to the Shotgun/Uzi's attack power of 8), meaning you will do 50% more damage with it. This makes a VERY noticeable difference, especially in the upcoming stages. For the first time, you will begin seeing double-digit damage when attacking enemies.

Finally, we have the Partial Body Suit. This armor has a defense of 5 and is an excellent bargain for 20,000 nuyen. With the Dermal Plating, you will now have a combined defense of 7. This is enough to make you invulnerable to roughly 80% of the enemies in the game, including almost all random enemies on the streets. For the psychological satisfaction of near immortality, this upgrade is excellent.

Infinite Money Trick

At this point in the game, money has become increasingly difficult to earn in quantities that allow you to buy the available items. Fighting basic enemies like you did in the beginning is no longer a possibility. If you are short now, the first couple of things to check are:

1. Have you defeated all the enemies in the arena? You should be able to do so easily by now.
2. Have you hacked all the computers you could so far? These are the ones at Glutman's office, the vacant office by the docks, and the office in the Dark Blade mansion.

If you have tapped those sources and still need money, there is a wonderful trick that can help fill your credstick. Once you passed through the portal in Bremerton, the Vampire in the Dark Blade mansion was resurrected. Return to the Dark Blade mansion and defeat the Vampire as you did before. Have the same dialogue with him as you did previously so you learn the *Bremerton* and *Laughlyn* keywords. When defeated, he will give you 5,000 nuyen.

Return to Bremerton and make your way through the ship, into the alternate dimension, and back to the Jester's Room. Pass through the portal that descends and the Vampire will revive again, repeating the cycle! Do this as many times as you want for 5,000 nuyen each time.

Although this trick has become a staple of Shadowrun strategy over the years, it is probably a bug, or at least was not something that the programmers intended for you to do. The reason this tricks work is because the Vampire's appearance is based on which keywords you have learned. If you do not know the *Laughlyn* keyword, the Vampire will always be there. Once you know it, he disappears. This relates to Bremerton because the portal in the Jester's room erases six keywords from your list when you pass through, one of which is *Laughlyn*. Regardless of why it works, be happy that it does. There are no easy ways to earn this sort of nuyen without hacking.

Karma Chameleon

If you have been slacking on raising your attributes, sdefeats, and spell levels, now is the time to make things right. The game has been easy enough to this point that you could get away with low stats, but enemies get a lot harder from here on. Here is a basic guideline of where your stats should be. If you are below any of these points, spend some time and raise them:

• Attributes

  Body: 13 or higher
  Magic: 13 or higher
  Strength: 6
  Charisma: Optional

• Sdefeats

  Firearms: 7 or higher
  Computer: 6
  Negotiation: Optional
  Leadership: Optional

• Spells

  Heal: 6
  Powerball: Optional
  Freeze: 6
  Summon Spirit: Optional
  Invisibility: 6

If you are off in any of these categories, it is most likely Body and Magic. However, both are important in the upcoming levels. You will need the extra life and will be using a lot more Magic (especially Heal and Invisibility). Boosting these stats now can save you several trips back to heal.

The ideal place to earn karma is in the catacombs of the Dark Blade mansion. As outlined earlier in the walkthrough, stand behind one of the coffins on the bottom of the screen. You should position yourself exactly below the bottommost part of the coffin. From here you can pick off the Ghouls, which will come at you continuously. This task will be even easier if you make the purchases recommended above. Once you feel comfortable with your stats and magic levels, it is time to take on Drake.

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2. Drake Tower, Drake's Stronghold

Items

DF_DR 1-4, DF_DR 2-4, DF_DR 3-4, DF_DR 4-4, DF_DR-MATRIX, DF_DR-VOLCANO, (Drake's phone number)

Keywords

none

Enemies

*1 Karma point equals 8 Experience (EXP) points

Lobby

The entrance to Drake Tower is occupied by a single Mage, who should not be that difficult. You will quickly discover that the elevators are not working. The only way to reactivate them is by hacking into the computer at the reception desk. It is important that you have examined the Password that was dropped in the Rust Stilettos hideout. This password will allow you to bypass the node blocking your path.

Once inside the Matrix, head right for the CPU and either reprogram it (A- button) or attack it (B-button); both will activate the elevator. Head into the elevator that opens on the left and be prepared for an intense fight.

Second Floor

As soon as you exit the elevator, four Samurai Warriors begin blasting you. it is possible to be dead before you even really know what hit you. You have about a split second heads up, but you can use this time to cast Invisibility. This causes the enemies to stop firing at you, and you can go ahead and pick them off without fear of reprisal (unless you take too long and the spell wears off). Is this a little cheap? Maybe, but there are not many better options. You can get stun-locked like crazy as you try to move around, or you can take advantage of magic.

Once the enemies are dead, there are two computers on the floor that you can access. As will be the case with most floors, there is usually a data computer that holds a file (or file fragment) and possibly nuyen and a CPU computer that controls the elevator to the next level.

The data computer can be found in the top cube on the far right side against the wall. You will notice a node blocking your path when you come to the first line. As will be the case in many computers from now on, the password to bypass this node is located in one of the datastores on the same level. Take the south line and transfer data from each of the stores. While you do not actually need to do this for all of them (only one has the password; the rest are trash data), it is easier to do so as a rule of thumb so you never miss anything important, like bank accounts. Once the lines are open, take the line to the section on the right and transfer the data. You will have found a file called DF_DR 1-4 (a file fragment that cannot be accessed) along with 8,000 nuyen from Drake's account.

The CPU computer can be found near the bottom of the floor, just to the right of the couch. It will have a similar structure as the data computer, requiring an intra-level password to access the CPU. Once the CPU has been reprogrammed or destroyed, the elevator will be activated. Elevators to higher floors are always on the left, so take that one.

Third Floor

The third floor enemies are similar to the second, except that one Samurai Warrior has been replaced by a mage. Use Invisibility again and take care of business.

This floor has three computers. The data computer is the first one on the second row against the left side wall. You will notice a node blocking the lines as soon as you enter. Simply attack the directory (yellow arrow) and the node will be removed. Once you have retrieved the data, you find a file named DF-DR 2-4.

The CPU computer is the first one directly below the right-side elevator. Once again, reprogram or destroy the CPU to open the way to the fourth floor.

Finally, there is another computer against the right-side wall. It is the third one down from the top. This computer has three relatively difficult sections, but none of the data seems to be anything more than trash. You should save your health and ignore this machine; just take the elevator to the next floor.

Fourth Floor

You are greeted by another four Samurai Warriors. Dispense as usual. Once dead, the data computer is located directly SW from the right-side elevator. It is in its own cube and will yield the DF_DR 3-4 file once hacked.

The CPU computer sits on its own in the far right corner. By now, some of the Matrix levels should start to look familiar, as this Tower reuses many of them. As a useful way to save life, the ICs are always at the same spots. This can benefit you a lot if you remember those locations. Activate the elevator and head up to the fifth floor.

Spatter

If you have the Shadowrunner, Spatter, in your party when you reach the fourth floor, he will suddenly betray you and start attacking. At this point, whether you defeat him or leave the floor, he will disappear from the game forever and cannot be hired again. Real bummer, as Spatter's Armor spell is quite useful in this part of the game. Still, it is best to defeat him off before this floor or not bring him here at all.

Fifth Floor

Three Samurai Warriors and a Mage again. Once defeated, the CPU computer is directly below the right-side elevator. In addition to granting passage to the next floor, one of the datastores holds the password to clear a node on the next level. For this reason, make sure you collect all the data.

The data computer is on the right side of the screen and is the second computer down in the second row from the windows. Hacking this computer will produce the DF_DR 4-4 file. Assuming you collected the other fragment data files, these four pieces will combine to form two files called DF_DR-MATRIX and DF_DR-VOLCANO. The Volcano file reads "If I am forced to leave the hideout in order to deal with your incompetence, you will all suffer greatly. Report directly to me! Volcano-233-435. Drake." This adds DRAKE'S PHONE NUMBER to your directory.

In addition to the file, you also pick up 10,000 nuyen if you accessed the right datastore. Quite a nice little score. With the nuyen in hand, take the elevator to the next floor.

Sixth Foor

The final floor has another three Samurai Warriors and one Mage. The enemies in Drake's Tower do get slightly harder as you head up (they get a few more HP each on every floor), but they should still be manageable with the Invisibility spell.

Not so coincidentally, there is a video phone by the elevator bay. You can use it to call Drake with the number you just received. You will finally get to see his picture and listen to him threaten you. Drake does not respond to any keywords, so talking to him is more for amusement than necessity.

The sixth floor only has one computer, which is located in the office on the far right. From the looks of it, this was probably Drake's office.

Roof

The roof contains a couple of large sentry guns that begin blasting you as soon as you show up. As with all the other fights, cast Invisibility and they go down easily.

On the right side of the roof is a helicopter and pilot. The pilot quickly sees that you mean business and asks you to name your destination. You need to ask him about *Volcano* and he will fly you to Drake's hideout.

Before leaving, it probably makes sense for you to head over to the hotel to heal and save the game. Odds are you expended a lot of MP within the tower, and you will want to be fully healed when you enter the Volcano. Also, if you have not completely upgraded your weapons, armor, or cyberware, use the nuyen you recently hacked to make these purchases.

Although probably a point of trivia, the Fully Concealable Jacket becomes available for sale at the Dark Blade weapon shop now that you are reached the roof. This item has a defense of 3 and is weaker than the Partial Body Suit that is already available, so just ignore it.

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3. Drake Volcano, Drake's Stronghold

Items

DF_DS-AI END, DF_DS-AKIMI, DF_DS-FAILURE, DF_DS-TARGET, Password, Serpent Scales, (Akimi's Phone Number)

Keywords

Aneki

Enemies

*1 Karma point equals 8 Experience (EXP) points

The Volcano

The helicopter drops Jake off at the helipad just outside the complex. The Volcano consists of a series of five levels with increasingly more difficult enemies as you descend further into the ground. Your fighting and hacking sdefeats will be tested like never before, as the Drake Volcano is very difficult. Drake's soldier of choice is the Troll Decker, a large, hearty warrior packing tremendous firepower and a lot of HP. There are also numerous scientists here (some scared and some crazy) working on research projects. They will cause trouble, mainly in the form of sounding the security alarm or manning sentry guns.

One other thing to note is that Jake cannot hack into all the computers that have a label. You will need to examine each machine. Ones with a DCG logo can be entered; many others are inaccessible. The Matrix sections are much tougher here than all the ones previously, so make sure you have at least 80 or so HP before entering. Enter the complex and take the elevator down to Sub-level 1.

Sub-Level 1

           5  5   X
    +------------------------+
   3|       |     |
    |-+     +-----+   |
    |-+     |   +------+
   2|       |     |
    |  E   1|     4
    +-------------+


E: Entrance (from sub-level 0)
1: Scientist (alerts security)
2: Scientist (alerts security)
3: Scientist (alerts security)
4: Scientist (alerts security)
  Computer: Reprogram elevator and find DF_DS-FAILURE
5: Computer: Disables security alert
X: Exit (to sub-level 2)
    

Each sub-level is comprised of a series of hallways and inner labs. The floors are not very large, but some parts can be a little confusing due to all the rooms. The first sub-level is relatively easy. If you have the Dermal Plating and Partial Body Suit, your defense should be high enough so that the Troll Deckers cannot hurt you. do not get used to this, as they become more dangerous very soon.

You can either spend a lot of time on this floor exploring numerous empty rooms where scientists will alert security, or you can go right for the CPU computer and leave quickly. If you do stumble into a room with a scientist, he will signal the alert and Troll Deckers will fill most hallway segments. This gets very annoying. This floor has a computer that can be used to disable the alert.

From the elevator bay, head right and follow the walkway over one screen until you come to an intersection. Head down and enter the room. Hack the computer and reprogram or destroy the CPU. If you transfer data from the datastores, you will find a file called DF_DS-FAILURE, which reads: "The Rust Stilettos gang have failed to fulfill their instructions to destroy Jake Armitage. Other arrangements must be made. Drake Towers." This ties the plot events up a little but is not useful for much else.

Sub-Level 2

       E
     +-----+
     |     |
     |     |  +-+-----+
     1     +---+-+   |   X
                -| +----
               2-| |
                | |
                +--+

E: Entrance (from sub-level 1)
1: Computer: Trash data
2: Computer: Reprogram elevator
X: Exit (to sub-level 3)
    

Sub-level 2 is shorter and more straight-forward, as there are not looping sections to cause confusion. You can ignore the room to the left of the elevator, as the computer in that room only contains trash data. On the first screen to your right, a loony scientist will alert security and hurl a bunch of grenades in the air, likely defeating himself in the process.

This floor does not have a computer to deactivate the alert, so will just have to deal with it. Follow the path and enter the door on the third screen. The computer in this room can be used to reprogram the elevator. Exit and keep following the path. Just before the elevator, you will encounter a scientist operating a sentry gun. This gun can take down your HP in a hurry, so it is a good idea to cast Invisibility and pick its operator off harmlessly. Once the scientist operating the sentry gun is defeated, head down to the next sub-level.

Sub-Level 3

         X
         |
         6
        +-6.6-+
        | 6 |
     E  | 5 |
     |  +--+--+
     |    |
     1|2....2-|
     |    |
     +-------+
         3|
         4

E: Entrance (from sub-level 2)
1: Nothing
2: Nothing
3: Nothing
4: Computer: 25,000 nuyen and DF_DS-AI END
5: Computer: 12,000 nuyen and DF_DS-TARGET
  Computer: 5,000 nuyen
  Computer: DF_DS-AKIMI
6: Computer: Reprogram elevator
X: Exit (to sub-level 4)
    

Sub-level 3 is slightly more confusing than the previous one, but it does have a good amount of nuyen up for grabs. In the first room, defeat the Troll Decker and take the door on the right. You can pass through a room with a scared scientist and come out on the other side of the floor. This allows you to bypass a crazy, grenade wielding scientist who alerts security. Take the walkway down and you will come to a small corner with two adjacent doors. Head through the bottom one and you will find a computer with 25,000 nuyen and the DF_DS-AI END file. This file discusses the AI computer being developed by Aneki to control the Matrix. Aneki is also not too thrilled with Drake's inability to handle Jake.

Head back out the door to the walkway and up to the next screen. You will now be at a U-shaped hallway with a door in the middle and one on each side (rooms 5 and 6 above). Take the middle door into a room with four computers. The topmost computer is inaccessible. The computer below this has 12,000 nuyen and the DF_DS-TARGET file. The computer to the right of that one has 5,000 nuyen. Finally, the bottommost computer has the DF_DS-AKIMI file. The Target file explains that the termination of Jake has been moved to priority number one. The Akimi file discusses the dangers posed by the Mage, Akimi, and gives you AKIMI'S PHONE NUMBER. Akimi is the most powerful mage Shadowrunner in the game, and this number allows you to recruit her services once you exit.

Take the top door into another room with two computers. The computer closest to the entrance can be accessed, and this is the one that reprograms the elevator to the next floor. Head through the top door again. Two sentry guns will be blocking your way this time, yet the Invisibility spell will prevail once more. Take the elevator down the fourth and final floor, which will be in a state of "maximum security" alert as soon as you arrive.

Sub-Level 4

       1
       |
       |
       A   3|
       |    |
       |    2
       |    |
       |    |
       |    |
    E  |--+ +++|
    ------|--|-+++|
       +--+ ++-+

E: Entrance (from sub-level 3)
A: Gold Naga (and Serpent Scales)
1: Nothing
2: Drake's Room
3: Pushkin
    

Sub-level 3 is very difficult but fairly straight forward. After exiting the elevator, the right side of the floor open up and contains three Sentry Guns and a Troll Decker. This combination spells instant stun lock and quick death without the Invisibility spell. If, for some dire reason, you were out of MP and still wanted to clear this room, inch ahead from the elevator hallway slowly so that you can see the first Sentry Gun. You can take this one out without getting into sight of the other two yet. Once defeated, head into the room and then walk south along the wall. You can now take out the Troll Decker one-on-one. Finally, walk slowly upwards and eliminate the remaining two guns one at a time. You will still lose a fair amount of HP doing it this way, but it does make it possible.

This main room contains a doorway on the right and a hallway at the top. Take the hallway for now. The next two screens are very long and each contains a Naga. Nagas can inflict a lot of damage (their attack is 15) and have a fair amount of HP. Try to move close enough so that you are not losing your targeting as they move. The Nagas are also susceptible to Freeze if their movement is giving you trouble. The third screen has a Gold Naga. After it is defeated, this Naga drops the SERPENT SCALES, the final item needed to learn the ARMOR spell. However, you may not want to pick the scales up just yet.

If you do not pick up the Serpent Scales, the Gold Naga will return every time you revisit the screen. Some players claim this is the best spot in the game to earn karma, as you receive about 6-7 karma each time you defeat the Gold Naga. If this is your game plan, it is better off if you wait until after defeating Drake than attempting to do it now. For one, it can be very magic consuming and there is no easy way to recover other than to go all the way back through Drake Tower. Secondly, if you return later, you can come back with better weaponry, which makes the Naga a lot easier. Note that once you pick up the Serpent Scales, you can never fight the Gold Naga again.

There is a great bug that can work in your favor to make fighting the Gold Naga incredibly easy. If you re-renter the screen from the back, behind the Gold Naga, there is a chance you can catch the foe "off guard" before the game activates it and has a chance to load its HP correctly. When this happens, the Gold Naga dies in a single shot. It can be hard for Jake to time this, but Shadowrunners will seem to pull it off every time. This makes earning the final amounts of karma SIGNIFICANTLY easier. If you go this route with a Shadowrunner, Frogtongue is a great choice given his relatively high defense and cost effectiveness.

Whether you take the Serpent Scales now or not, head back down into the main room. You will be forced to defeat the three Sentry Guns again. Once defeated, take the door on the right into a large room with intersecting walkways and three Troll Deckers. You will notice that these Troll Deckers are much more powerful than the ones on previous floors, so try to split them up and only take on one or two at a time. As always, Invisibility also works well.

Head right and take the walkway up. The next screen has a couple of crazy, grenade-throwing scientists. They go down quickly and can also be ignored entirely if you prefer. The door at the end of the hallway leads to your arch-nemesis, the all powerful Drake. Make sure to restore your HP before entering. Also, if you do not have at least enough MP to cast Freeze 2-3 times, you should strongly consider leaving the volcano to recover. The odds of survival are extremely slim.

Drake

As soon as you enter Drake's room, ice chunks begin falling from the ceiling and inflicting damage. You should quickly use the Jester Spirit. This will temporarily halt Drake and allow you time to move into position. You should head right in from of him and select the Freeze spell. The Jester Spirit will remove a large chunk (almost 3/4) of his HP, making the fight a lot easier. You are not required to use the Jester Spirit, but Drake can be extremely difficult otherwise.

Drake is massive and can only be harmed by targeting the head. Try to cast Freeze as soon as you can, otherwise you face the wrath of his fire breath. There is no kidding around when it comes to this attack. Drake's fire breath can technically hit for 160 HP per round, which will likely defeat you instantly. Not to mention, you are completely stunned while getting hit so Heal and other spells will not work. It would be VERY frustrating to die here, so be careful. As soon as you see the Freeze spell begin to fade, cast it again. Do not let Drake thaw out and get a breath attack off. In case you were wondering, Invisibility does not work here, as Drake still manages to see (and attack) you.

Another way to handle Drake is to pick up the Serpent Scales, leave the volcano, get the Armor spell from the Dog Spirit, and cast that as soon as you enter. The Armor spell will be strong enough to prevent any damage, but it does not prevent the perpetual stun lock. There is a chance that the spell will wear off and you will not be able to recast fast enough. This danger is generally avoided if you use the Freeze strategy instead.

After quite the battle, Drake will be defeated. The screen should flash and renew with Drake's body in gray. Interestingly, if you attack Drake's corpse, the game will give you the warning that you "should not attack others who mean you no harm." Are you kidding? You will eventually lose karma if you keep blasting Drake. What a joke.

Head into the final room on the left and you will come across a scientist named Pushkin. Pushkin explains that he was being kept hostage because Drake knew a courier with the Anti-AI program was seeking him out. In case you have not yet figured it out, Jake is the courier. If you ask about *Drake*, he will mention that *ANEKI* has developed the AI computer and has been behind the entire plan. To move things along, you need to ask him about *Head Computer*. Pushkin now realizes that Jake is the courier and gives him a final mission: release the Anti-AI program into the Aneki AI computer. Pushkin gives you the PASSWORD you need to enter the Aneki building.

Once the conversation ends, you are automatically placed on the helicopter back to the roof of Drake Tower.

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