Pragmata combines two fairly simple halves into a complex whole as it fuses Hugh’s gunplay and Diana’s hacking into a multitasking, multi-genre mashup. You’ll learn more about how to juggle it all as you play, but here are a few tips to get you going.
There are fewer healing items than you think, so go back to the shelter
Pragmata isn’t necessarily a difficult game, but it does require you to work smarter as you fight your way through the space station. You’ll have a set amount of healing items on your person every time you leave your home base, and you’ll stumble upon the occasional life-giving item on your travels, but they’re scarce. What isn’t scarce, however, are checkpoints that let you go back to the shelter from almost anywhere on the ship. Each time you go back you’ll get a complete reset of your health and healing items. Even if you don’t want to make the detour, it’s almost always worth it.
Your hack won’t be interrupted unless you’re hit
In order for Diana to hack an enemy, you have to focus your aim with the left trigger while using the face buttons to move across the grid. When you’re aiming down sights, Hugh moves slower and is more susceptible to damage. So it’s obviously in your best interest to lower your aim and dodge every now and then, right? Well, your first instinct might be to keep aiming and try to pull off a clutch hack, but you actually don’t have to make that sacrifice so long as you keep Hugh from taking damage. Lowering your weapon or moving out of hacking range won’t immediately reset your hacking progress, so you can make moves during in-progress hacks. Don’t feel like you have to keep your gun trained on an enemy at all times.
Switching weapons is better than waiting for cooldowns
Hugh’s primary weapon has a cooldown that reloads its ammo over time. The rest of his arsenal has to be replenished through finding new guns or ammo drops throughout the game. So while your primary fire might seem like the most economical choice, it can leave you defenseless if you’re not swapping weapons throughout fights. If you’re waiting for your main firearm to cool off, swap to something else, even just for a moment, instead of leaving yourself open to enemies.
Heat is your best tool in fights
As you upgrade your abilities in Pragmata, the game will start giving you ways to build up your enemies’ heat, which opens them up to more damage and can help you identify weak points. Diana can learn hacking abilities that heat up foes, and some of Hugh’s weapons like the Homing Missiles can specifically build heat when they connect. Diana can also equip a Combust Mode for her hacking module that adds heat building nodes to the grid. Overheated enemies go down much quicker than ones who are running cold, so light ‘em up.
Decoy generator is one of the best weapons in the game
One of Hugh’s weapon types is geared toward defense and distraction rather than dealing damage, and this Decoy Generator is one of the best tools in your arsenal. As the name implies, it creates a hologram decoy of Hugh that distracts enemies and draws their attacks. It works on just about anything, even powerful bosses (though they will destroy it much more quickly than the average robot). An enemy can be looking right at you when you deploy it and it will still pull them off you. It’s great for getting out of tough situations and reorienting yourself.
Simulation missions are worth doing for the rewards
Throughout Pragmata, you’ll unlock simulation missions in the shelter that may sound like a glorified tutorial, but the rewards you get for doing them are well worth the time and effort. A lot of Pragmata’s progression takes the form of incremental growth rather than a singular weapon or ability that completely changes the game, so any perk you can get is worth seeking out.
Timing and coordination is key
Pragmata’s biggest challenge is juggling both Hugh and Diana’s abilities at once. On their own, both their shooting and hacking kits are fairly straightforward. It’s having to control both of them in real time that makes the game harder. However, one of the first things you need to wrap your head around is that both characters operate independently from each other, and a lot of one’s abilities don’t cancel the other’s out. That’s why you can shoot and hack at the same time if you can coordinate. A lot of that comes with practice, but once it clicks that the abilities of Pragmata’s leads are meant to be used in tandem with one another, with you firing bullets and hacking nodes at the same time, you’ll embed the multitasking element into your muscle memory. Charge Hugh’s weapons while hacking, break down enemy barriers as you fire bullets into them. That’s how you’re going to get the best of both worlds.
