Ok, so wha'ts the general opinion on cyber vs bioware? Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Raiden]

yeah, what do you like about both? if you had to pick, which would you use, (exclusively, thank god we don't in game eh?)

what do you think about cyberlimbs? viable? if so, with integrated weapons? or just pure enhancements? how much cyber is to much? post all your thoughts here!

[Jaid]

depends on what you're doing.

cyberware is, unsurprisingly, better at interacting with technology. if that's important to you, you want cyberware. for example, if you intend to be a hacker, or a rigger, or if you intend to make use of certain kinds of nanotech or skillwires.

cyberware is also generally speaking substantially cheaper in nuyen, which can be quite helpful also.

bioware on the other hand is generally much cheaper in essence... but doesn't perform well in interfacing with technology and can be very expensive compared to cyberware.

a hacker, given the choice between only one or only the other, would be a fool to choose anything but cyberware. a street samurai could go either way, but i would recommend bioware as being slightly superior, unless you're on a tight budget.

cyberlimbs... well, those things are kinda screwy. they can be made to work, but all that stuff i said about cyberware being cheap kinda goes out the window if you want to invest heavily in cyberlimbs.

[FuelDrop]

Agreed that it depends entirely on what you're doing, but if I had to pick one then I'd probably go Bioware, take Type O System and biocompatibility once i'm in play, then cram as much as I can in.

That said, for your average gang member who's only ever going to have one or maybe two pieces of 'ware, cyberware has the advantages of low cost and availability.

[Medicineman]

There is no Vs ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Yin & Yang
Cyber & Bio in combination for maximum Effect
Cyberwaresuites & Bioware for the Streetsam or Rigger and Bioware with a bit of Cyber for some Awakened Chars

what do you think about cyberlimbs? viable? if so, with integrated weapons? or just pure enhancements? how much cyber is to much? post all your thoughts here!

Viable ! both half and full Limbs.
often with integrated Weapons from Climbing Claws( for the B&E for Climbing, Glass cutting and Self Defense ) to Holdouts with S&S Ammo or Auto Pistols with additional Clip as Back Up Weapons. But never (IIRC) as main Weapons
6.01 Essence in 'ware is too Much (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)
The Charconcept is more of a Concern to me than the Essence.
Exception: When I play an Awakened I try to keep the Essence at 5.0x or Minimum 4.0x

HokaHey
Medicineman

[Makki]

Cyberware is so 60s (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smokin.gif)

[tsuyoshikentsu]

There are a number of options for each that are exclusive; there's no bio-skillwires, nor a cyber-pain editor. For that reason alone I usually like to combine the two, but in all honesty I actually prefer (even on non-Awakened) to keep both as limited as possible.

[NiL_FisK_Urd]

I tend to use mostly legal cyberware, like skillwires, a commlink or an attention coprocessor. And nothing beats discounter bioware (= used), esp. Muscle toner and Muscle Augmentation.

[Midas]

If I had to choose one or the other, I would tend to go Bioware because it is much more essence-friendly so you get more bang for your humanity than with cyber. I agree heartily that hacker/rigger types would be better off choosing cyber, though.

Saying that, I agree with Medicineman - that lower-essence-total-gets-halved bonus is too good to ignore, and being able to cherry-pick from both categories gives you the best of both worlds!

[UmaroVI]

You always want to cherry pick from both.

Cyberlimbs are viable. Take a look at some of the characters in my sig (Mercenary Rigger, Ronin, Negotiator, Bad Enough Trog [1st link] and Shikima [2nd link]) for some examples of cyberlimb use.

Cyberguns blow chunks - you need Exotic Range Weapon: Cyber XYZ Gun to use them. Cyberspurs and shock hands are both decent weapons, though.

[StealthSigma]

yeah, what do you like about both? if you had to pick, which would you use, (exclusively, thank god we don't in game eh?)

what do you think about cyberlimbs? viable? if so, with integrated weapons? or just pure enhancements? how much cyber is to much? post all your thoughts here!

I have a sniper that exclusively uses bioware with the exception of a datajack and simrig.

[Xenefungus]

I think bioware only can be a viable approach for a stealth focussed character. Cyberware scanners are everywhere.

[KCKitsune]

If I had to choose one or the other... Bioware hands down. If you need to interact with tech you can use a 'trode net and an external commlink. For cyberlimbs... hands down the best investment for the Essence. In a cyberhand you can squeeze in a Radar and an Ultrasound sensor for .25 Essence. You can also drop the Ultrasound sensor for a Rating 6 nanohive. Again it only costs .25 Essence for the hand.

Now for cyberware scanners... don't take an illegal cyber weapon and you're good to go because there's nothing illegal about cyberlimbs. If you do take an Illegal weapon, then hide it... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Xenefungus]

Also other illegal ware.

[Stahlseele]

use cyber only for stuff you can NOT achieve with bioware or external gear, as long as you can afford it . .

[Falconer]

I have to agree... they didn't make bioware costly enough in terms of $$$$ to make cyberware competitive. That and the pain of having to deal with cyberware scanners and explaining your way past checkpoints...

For most purposes if given the choice between cyber and bio... go with bio. It's better in the long run... though in some ways cyber might fit the character concept better. (an ex-ganger is more likely to have cheap cyber than expensive bio for example).


That said... cyberlimbs are generally a dead end. but they do two things very well. Half-limbs are great for getting free capacity for other things while still using your normal non-gimped attributes. (full body muscle-toner 4 beats the pants off a cyberlimb for example). You can 'compress' a lot of expensive cyber into a single limb... for example a high rating nano-hive, embedded commlink, embedded sim-module could easily eat up nearly 2 essence.. but only take 6 capacity of a 0.45 essence half limb. Also it's much easier install/uninstall things out of cyberarm capacity than your own body.

Though for some character concepts a cyberlimb is a great fit... example a decker or rigger with a single cyber-arm (possibly modular! so you can replace the lower arm/hand). You're already probably paying 0.4 essence for the commlink and sim module, so going up to 0.45 for the limb and having extra capacity instead... These characters will typically dump stat agility for example... so a single good arm is all they need to use a pistol or one-handed SMG like a pro. I like modular, because then I can put my legal stuff in the upper arm like the commlink and such.. and make a completely illegal lower arm with things like a cyberarm-gyro and smuggle it seperately from my body for when you need a boost to your combat abilities. Or for just appearances sake.. a non-obvious lower arm/hand for disguise purposes.

[Raiden]

or you could go full cyberlimbs and have about 1-1.4 ess left. :3

[Stahlseele]

Cyberlimbs help a bit with durability though, because you get additional damage boxes and you can tack on armor like nobodys business . .
And the Grapple-Hook-Hand-Cannon or the Drone-Arm or the Hover-Feet are incredibly fun stuff and value for money to boot!