Wake up, Sleeper, Citizen Sleeper 2 is here, and if you’ve read our review, you’ll know how much we love it. The dice-based RPG is back and bigger than ever. However, its mechanics can be quite overwhelming when first starting. If you’ve never played the first game (a sin, but we’ll forgive you) or are a returning player wanting some early pointers, you’ve come to the right place. Here are five things to keep in mind as you start your journey into The Belt. 

1. Fill Supplies Before Contracts

Starward Vector expands to become somewhat of an open world. And like any open-world game, that means side-missions, which in this game comes in the form of Contracts. Before you leave gallivanting off to complete one of these contracts in the hopes of finding some sweet Cryo or machine parts, make sure you’ve stored up enough supplies. 

Supplies are essential during contracts as they are used by your crewmates each cycle you’re on a contract. Running out of supplies means accruing Stress, which, if you’ve read our review, you’ll know is the biggest meter you’ll need to keep an eye on as you progress through the game. So be savvy and make sure you’re topped off on supplies before heading out so that you’re crewmates don’t go hungry! 

2. Upgrade Your Skills, Leave “Push” Abilities for Later 

All tasks in Citizen Sleeper 2 are based on certain skills. Being fully adept at the Engineer skill means you’ll be granted a massive boost to your dice roll for any Engineer-specific task. If you’re not adept at a certain skill, your dice roll could be slashed if trying to pass that skill’s task. As such, when you receive upgrade points for completing major and minor Drives (objectives), we found it best to put those points towards upgrading skills instead of your Push ability, which is geared more towards perks for your crewmates while on Contracts. 

This may sound a tad selfish, but hey, there’s not a worse feeling in Citizen Sleeper 2 than hearing that “Negative Outcome” sound indicating you’ve just accrued some Stress. It might as well be an overpowered sleeper that can handle all tasks like some mastermind savant. 

3. Be Cautious of Using Low Numbered Die

As we just mentioned, there’s nothing more disheartening than seeing that “Negative Outcome” box come up all in red after failing a task. One of the easiest ways to dodge this is by ensuring you have the best chances of success or at least a “Neutral Outcome.” If you or your crewmates have gotten a bad roll when starting a new cycle during a Contract or Major Drive mission, it may behoove you to leave some of those dice instead of risking them on a task. 

Unless you or your crewmates are very adept at one of the tasks where your low-numbered die is upgraded one or twofold, making the chances of a “Neutral” or “Positive” outcome more likely, we’d suggest leaving them altogether and simply starting a new cycle, especially if you have Supplies to spare. Taking a chance on a bad die where the outcome is 50/50 between “Neutral” and “Negative” may not be worth the Stress unless you’re in dire straits.

4. Use Your “Push” Ability Sparingly

“Push” is another new mechanic in Starward Vector that allows you to, in exchange for some added Stress to your character, apply some buffs to your crewmates. These buffs can either decrease their stress or upgrade their rolls (or both if you upgrade the “Push” ability tree). You might feel compelled to use this ability during every cycle to get through tasks quicker, but doing so can accrue Stress for your character quite quickly, which in turn could cause Glitches in the longer run. As such, make sure you’re using your “Push” ability efficiently and when you’re able to sacrifice some Stress.  

5. Be Methodical When Choosing Crewmates

Before every Contract, you’ll have the option to choose two crewmates to take along for the mission. As you don’t know the tasks that will be coming up, it’s best to ensure your crew have all the needed skills ticked before heading out. As much as you might love certain characters, you don’t want to be in a position where you come across a task where none of you have the required skill to complete it, which will significantly decrease your chances at success. 

Prioritize taking crewmates who have varied skills that supplement each other instead of those whose skills are redundant to one another. This will allow you to have the fewest roadblocks on the mission ahead. 

We hope this guide helps you on your journey across The Belt!