Ok, my way may seem a little bit unrthodox, an I'm pretty sure some more expirienced Mancer players will discourage [ie Mirikon, Firebug] [or I'm just over reacting
]
1) Give me a moment to build it up.
2) Using Resonance Action, Threading Complex Forms and Compiling sprites will not rise your OS. If you have Focused Concentration Qualitiy on RTG 1, and some Edge you could sustain complex form like Difiusion of Data Procesing To bypass limit, 'cast it' on Level 1, and sustain it with no drawbacks. You could command your Sprites to do it for you, but this is rather expensive.
This was the 'entry point'. Use Diffiusion of DP on host [reduces chances to detect you, as it affects Pool
and Limit for Matrix Perception], infiusion of Sleaze on you could help, but requires high Level. Use your sprites as they can teamwork with all that you do on matrix [that would be matrix actions and threading, no help on compiling thou]. Use their powers a lot. This is your only real advantage over decker. They have Agents ofcourse, but Sprites are more ela
stic if used properly.
How to get on the host? If you have high skill just Hack on the Fly, If you have better Resonance, use Puppeter to make the host invite mark on you. But this is rather bad solution. Use data tap and just tap into simple device, jast like regular Hacker, and than hack on the fly against lover stats
If you have 3 marks, you need nothing more. Just get into the host and You are linked up to all diveces directly now. Matrix search for paydata, maps, layouts, security harmonogram... Command Device will do the rest. Static veil, Resonance veil, are both good solution for hiding if you get hot.
3) Simple, Diffiusion of DP, teamworked with sprite of course, than What ever you want... [why not firewall? of course you could simply difiuse his firewall same way and use data spike, and it should do the job, but: ] When target has low DP, Pupeteer, comand it to format xD... Or if it is streetsam, use his cyberlimb to face palm his head off,...
4) Hmmm,... Easiest would be hack on the fly... 2 marks is all you need. Potentially you could use Pupeteer but this will case you to resist Fade a lot! As substituting it for command all the time [once each combat turn] is just ineffective. But:
Pupetter to just open it, than get in and data tap it! This will be the easy way
5) Dronomancer,...? That is tricky. For now only thing you can do about it is Man in Machine echo that is a substitute for Control Rig. So You can jump in, but forget about army of drones, as you will not use RCC. RCC generates Persona of its own, so this is call between your living persona, and rigging Persona with out complex forms nor sprites. One thing you could think about is resonance link. Quite usefull for distance action, especially with Focused Concentration exploit. But! be aware! Biofeedback is a Bi7ch, and you will take a lot of in while jumped in, and forget about RCC taking it on itself nor firewall programs. This is risky. So consider A sniper drone [if you have proper echo, you simply get +4 to use a vechicle while jumped in (+2 HotSim, you are a mancer after all, +1 ControlRig, +1 Jumped in)], and it is for all vechicle actions, including shooting with gunnery. Use a Machine Sprites Diagnostic power on vechicle, that is yet another Teamwork that will give you another bonus. If you are prepared, you can get a dice pool of juicy 22 on CarGen [not exacly, you need the echo still to jump in, so this would be the first 13 karma expense] on 'shootin' 'n' 'drivin' 'n' stuff...
6) So Tips on how to use mancer:
-Sprites are your friends, will gladly teamwork on most of your job.
-Did I mentioned that sprites are your friends? You need to use a device in meat world, Machine sprite diagnostic. You need help in combat, there is a proper sprite. And so on. Just remember that limit for your sprites is LOG not CHA [errata].
-You are
not a combat Hacker, when a fight starts, and you are not prepared for it, you will die! Decers & ICs will have better dice pool. You should avoid combat at all cost. If it starts it should be with your ambush on them. Using your sprites. Consider it a ninja tactic. Oh, than Resonance Spike would be your Ninja Dart, as Resonance action it does not rise OS
and does not get you spotted by non resonance users. That would be hosts and deckers
You could potentialy Tatalite a Spider, just with 1 os rating, from than on his OS will rise, but he will not notice it as he would never use BabyMonitor on his host, right?
just wait until he will rise his OS really high.
-Consider sacrificing one essence [that would be resonance] for synaptic booster [that bioware with +RTG to LOG] as you will be using LOG on all non resonance software dicepool, that will be a lot.
-Alwso consider Pain Editor. It is a High End stuff, but if you will lay your hands on it consider: +1 WIL [resist fade & BIofeedback], and no negative modyfiers for wounds. That will alwso do a lot. As you will need to thread high Level complex forms as you will be sourounded by High Device rating devices. Stupid rtg 4 commlink have 8 dices for defence against all your complex forms! rtg 6 will have 12. That is on avrage 3 Hits, so you will need at least 4 or 5 to have net hits. That means you will need a atleast level 4-5 complex form to hack a ordinary commlink! Of coure you could use help of your sprites, to team work the roll... but level will still be your limit.
-Or you can take the nasty combo RES 7 EDG 8 if zou want to be human... This is creazy $hit you know. 8 Rolls with no limit and +8 to roll...? Per game session? On regular run you will roll like 10 times at all, [and few for your sprites]. And 7 RES? For a nice dicepool in Complex forms and nice Sprites... Consider Registering a sprite of LV 14, just for fun
and really heavy support.
-Don't bother about team gadgets. You can do
nothing about it. Your persona can not slave anything, so you can not share your high matrix attributes...
-...about matrix attributes if you have mage in the team,... let him boost all of yours. You will need LOG [Data processing and standard hacking], WIL [resist Fade and biofeedback], INT [Sleaze,... Sleaze,... Sleaze ninja
], CHA [only limit on Attack, no dice pool related (yea,... data spike, really? When you can use Resonance spike, for more effort, and Damage from marks bypass that limit anyway, right?] In that order.
-So Good priorities are Attributes, Skills, Resonance, Race, Resources. Alwso in this order. Attributes, you might want: 20 in mental stats... WIL 5 LOG 6 INT 5 CHA 4, and buy for 30 karma 3 physical attributes to rise them up to 2, and leave one on 1. BOD 2, AGI 2, REA 2, STR 1. Body for damage track, Agility for defence, Reaction for pilot, and str,... to mule all your heavy gear including HMG and UBERDECK!!!,... lol nope
Sorry for wall of text, soon I'll build up a Mancer around this idea.
