Things I Wish I Had Known, WOT Edition:
There are 4 base class choices (which each start with 31 skill points), plus Recruit (start with 0 skill points) and Veteran (start with 120 skill points). IIRC, you have to play once as Recruit to unlock Veteran, but I think Recruit is available immediately. Playing as Recruit or Veteran gives you additional dialogue options in many conversations, and there are class specific perks for choosing those dialogue options enough times (the Recruit perks give you bonus skill points, which helps ease the pain of starting with 0). Also, there’s a mission where you normally* have to choose between completing objective A or B, but playing as Veteran gives you the option to complete both. If you play as Recruit your first time, I strongly advise setting the difficulty no higher than Normal.
After you complete the initial group of missions and the game let’s you off the leash, you get to choose a specialization, which means picking 3 skills which you can max to Rank 15 (limit is 10 for all non-specialized skills), and it also gives you a one-time opportunity to un-spend and reallocate all of the skill points you’ve earned. I wish I’d known this the first time I played, because it would have spared me the worry about designing the perfect character build before I even knew what the various skills did.
The technical skills (specifically Sabotage and Technical Aptitude) can sometimes give you mission/dialogue choices that are otherwise unavailable.
Sabotage to Rank 2 is a must, because it helps with lockpicking, hacking and electronic bypass, which you will do a lot (really really a lot).
Repeat each of the 3 training exercises (weapons, gadgets, stealth) until you get a score of at least 100, because that gives you access to 3 bonus exercises.
Take your time in missions and explore, because you can find a lot of cash, gear, ammo and Intel that you’d miss otherwise. Read the Intel you find (or buy), as it can give you clues to defeating the troops of the various factions more easily, and help you navigate conversations in a way that increases/decreases your standing with individuals as you wish.
In some missions you’ll find evidence that a company has done something illegal, and you’ll have the option to A) forward the data to a reporter, B) sell it on the black market, or C) use it to blackmail the company for cash. Option “C” is always the most lucrative, there’s no negative consequence for doing it, and you should be able to achieve max positive rep with the reporter without sending her any of those files. In my first game I sent her all of them, then looked it up after I finished and realized I’d turned a $135,000 asset into $9,000.
When the world opens up and you can travel to any city at will, consider visiting each city once and talking to the local black market contact (Heck, Grigori, and I forget who in Rome) before doing any real missions, because it will really expand your purchasing options.
The Mk2 and Mk3 versions of the various gadgets should be your last purchases, after getting your weapons and armor set up the way you want them.
Before the final mission (you’ll know when it’s that time), if you think you’re going to play again as Veteran, sell anything that isn’t critical, because I’m 95% sure that cash carries over into your next game, but I’m 100% certain that weapons/armor/gadgets/mods do not.
*I’ve read that having enough points in a particular skill will also let you complete both objectives, but I’ve never tried it.
