The Big Cheese wrote:
Argh, I keep getting hit by 4 Savage Wolves in an area I can't kill them.
Don't be afraid to retreat. An easy technique is to stay next to the door to shoot your foes at a distance, and when they get close you just move a few steps back through the door and they can't hit you. That may be a cowardly way to fight, but at least you'll survive.
The Big Cheese wrote:
Also, there doesn't seem to be a damage difference between the rifle or pistol.
It's not really a significant difference, yeah, but it's here. Usually Rifles hit a bit harder than Handgun, and then you have the choice between Autoguns, Mechguns, etc. The best thing to do is to take weapon with a +X to their attack, and also with special properties (I personally used an Autogun +4 for 7 levels or so, even though I just bought a Bind Lockgun +1. Heart weapons are good for Force characters and Draw weapons aren't half bad for close-combat. Master's/Lord's weapons are quite handy for quick levelling-up). Don't forget to always keep an eye to what the weapon merchant can sell to you. Keep your grinders for stronger weapons, like rare weapons (which names are always WRITTEN IN CAPS). The first rare items you'll find are probably the VARISTA and the DAISY CHAIN.
The Big Cheese wrote:
My armor doesn't seem to do much.
If it's a Frame, it's because it's a shitty armour. Anyway at low levels your equipment (apart from your weapon and your Mag) isn't really effective. Don't forget that shields/barriers allow you to parry some attacks in front of you (and to your sides to I believe). Equipment will get more interesting the more you progress. Still, even a basic equipment has some use so don't sell all your loot like crazy and pay a visit to the armour merchant once in a while.
The Big Cheese wrote:
Aaaand I don't understand the stats display for equips.
i'm so confus
ATP is your attack power
DFP is your defence power
MST is your technique power
ATA is your attack accuracy
EVP is your evasion
LCK is your luck
EFR is your fire resistance
EIC is your ice resistance
ETH is your lightning resistance
EDK is your dark resistance
ELT is your light resistance
Don't forget that while looking at a new armour, your "old" stats include the bonuses from the items you can put in your armour's slots. It may be a good idea to remove those items before buying/equipping a new armour in order to have a better comparison.