Correct upgrades are key to surviving Loopmancer. The main hero Xiang Zixu can cheat death by reliving the previous day, but losing all of his saved money. However, funds already invested on upgrades will be retained during the next loop.
As a rogue-like style game, Loopmancer is designed around dying many times before mastering everything. Players will likely lose many of their unspent e-Coin currency in unforeseen situations. But with subsequent runs, it will be possible to turn Xiang Zixu into a powerhouse cop.
Players can gain bonus e-Coins by speaking to the Director in his office after each successful mission. However, players can only accept either e-Coins or Cores. This can at first lead to a delay in gaining more Loopmancer skills or cosmetic items. However, by purposely dying and investing one can eventually purchase many powerful upgrades.
Priority Upgrades in Loopmancer
There are two types of upgrades in Loopmancer: personal ones Xiang Zixu can pick up, and e-Coin investments for weapons, gear, and chips. Due to each level being randomly generated, the exact location tends to change. However, they tend to always spawn in the same relative region, such as near a boss encounter or a friendly NPC like Mona and Funk.
Xiang Zixu Upgrades
In each stage, players can access direct upgrades hidden around. Note that these types of upgrades only last for a single loop. If players are killed they will lose every boost, but can subsequently make new choices while repeating Loopmancer. There will have two options for which of Zixu’ stats to enhance. Below is a priority list of which to go for, if both happen to appear for the particular upgrade module:
- Ferocity: +7% Melee damage
- Sharpshooter: +7% Ammo Capacity
- Resilience: Max HP +6
- Blood Bank: +1 Healing Soda Carrying Capacity
- Expansion: +9% use of Tactical Gear
- Stamina: +9 Stamina
Weapon and Gear Upgrades
A more permanent form of upgrades is by customizing weapons and other items. When visiting the police station, Ray will offer to upgrade any items Zixu currently has equipped. Note that Funk will not upgrade weapons on the field, even ones purchased from his shop. This means players will need to survive their current run and bring said items to Ray. Additionally, any weapon, gear, or chip acquired through investment can be upgraded at its stage terminal.
Machete
The large Machete knife is one of the initial weapons Ray will offer Xiang Zixu during the first real loop. It has a faster swing than the Fire Axe and more damage than the Alloy Tonfa, giving it a nice balance. Players will want to first upgrade the Machete’s damage and then its overkill counter. This can easily be the main melee weapon used throughout Loopmancer.
Quarterstaff
The Quarterstaff is a possible weapon terminal inside Longxi Town. It has significant range, damage, and will propel Zixu forward at the end of the combo. Its overkill special move can be quite powerful, but the raw damage is still impressive. Therefore players will want to upgrade damage and overkill at a 1:1 rate.
PAR-M SMG
The PAR-M SMG is a gun Ray will give during the second day of Loopmancer's investigation. This is regardless of which lead players follow, Ditch Village or Kouga Industry. As it is a rapid fire gun, players will want to first upgrade clip size, followed by a number of reserve clips, and finally damage.
Loopmancer is currently available on PC, and will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch later this year.