Strategy behind each pickup

There are currently 9 usable tools and weapons in the game. You start each mission with one available use, and every 10 coins collected by the player grants an additional use of that item. In order of appearance:

Shotgun: Fires a single widespread shot.
Smoke Bombs: Creates a cloud of smoke around the player.
Bandages: Heals yourself and allies.
Tranquilizer: A crossbow that puts a single enemy to sleep.
Wrench: Melee weapon that can complete most actions instantly.
EMP: Creates a temporary blackout on the entire floor.
Machine Gun: Fires a stream of shots in a tight spread.
C4: Creates an explosion after a short delay.
Rocket Launcher: Fires a rocket after a short delay.

The Shotgun is the first pickup you'll find in the game. If you have ammunition, you get an aiming cursor and a cone-shaped laser sight emanating from your character. When used, a spray of bullets encompass the entire cone, killing anyone in its path. It can also be used to break windows that you cannot normally pass through. Windows are any tiles that you can see through, but not pass through.

Firing the shotgun attracts immediate attention to other people in the area, who will revive them if given the opportunity. You can push their corpse into a bush to prevent them from being revived. Firing a shotgun from within a bush guarantees that you are not detected.

The shotgun is best used when you're about to be exposed, especially in groups of enemies. Line up your shot so as many people are in the cone of fire, and let it loose. If you manage to save up 5+ shots in a mission, it is possible to wipe out an entire floor, making any objectives incredibly easy. You are then free to trip any alarms without any consequence (just watch out for automated turrets). Your first shot attracts attention - wait for a few people to begin reviving teammates, then let loose another blast.

If being discrete is your main goal, smoke bombs are one of the best items to have. On use, it creates a 7x7 square of thick, black smoke that hides you perfectly for 4 seconds. When uses are available, the character has a backpack with a white smoke bomb decal. When it is empty, the smoke bomb icon is black.

Smoke bombs are best used to prevent guards from seeing and firing at you. They DO NOT prevent automated lasers from detecting you. Some excellent uses for smoke bombs include:

- Giving the player an extra few seconds to escape into a vent, stair well, or escape vehicle
- Instantly stop enemies firing at you. If an angry guard sees you run into a bush, use a smoke bomb while in the bush and they'll walk away as if you magically disappeared.
- Granting the player some time to revive a teammate without being seen
- If playing as the Gentleman, allows you enough time to redisguise after your cover is blown

Spamming smoke bombs does not have many practical applications, however using several to enter an escape vehicle or revive a heavily guarded teammate would guarantee your success.

Bandages can be used in single player, but are by far most effective with a full team. On use, everyone in your vicinity (including you) gets instantly healed by half their total health.

If your team is below half health, gather them together in a single spot and use it to give everyone health. An excellent place to use this would be when changing floors, as everyone is in the staircase at the same time. You can also coordinate with your team to meet in a bush or vent.

Bandages have the ability to instantly revive a teammate. Instead of taking the time to sit there and revive them, run up to their body and use a bandage, and they will be instantly revived to half health. If your teammate is in a safe place to revive, pick them up then use a bandage, which brings them back to full health.

If you have a lot of extra bandages, you (and your team) can make a break for an objective without regard to turrets or guards. Bandages are instant so you can use them on the move.

The tranquilizer, or crossbow, instantly puts a single guard or civilian to sleep. It is the exact same effect as the Cleaner gives to unsuspecting enemies. Firing the tranquilizer does not attract any attention to the area, unlike other guns. When uses are available, a white laser sight is seen. Unlike guns, tranquilizers hold the advantage that they cannot be revived until they wake up on their own.

Tranquilizers hold a distinct advantage in Zombie Mode, as they can be used to detonate Bloaters without attracting attention.

Tranquilizers are best used on targets that are significant obstacles and have others nearby. The number of uses available directly scales with how large of a group you can discreetly take out for a short time.

Out of all the pickups in the game, the wrench is the most versatile. Not only does it allow you to complete any action instantly, it also can be used to discreetly bludgeon an enemy.

Note that the wrench CANNOT instantly revive teammates. Only bandages can do that.

Some greatly beneficial uses include:
- Instantly opening a keypad door or safe without setting off the alarm
- Instantly opening a double-locked door
- Instantly getting into an escape vehicle
- Instantly deactivating a laser
- Instantly killing any enemy If many wrenches are at your disposal, you have the luxury to silently take out any guard and push them into a bush, permanently removing them from play. If a breaker is on that floor, trip the breaker and bludgeon the first three or so guards that come. Once the backup power starts coming on, let the next guard turn the power back on, bludgeon them then trip the breaker again. Rinse and repeat until your teammates have cleaned out the floor, or until you run out of wrenches.

EMPs are devices that causes all power to go out on the floor for several seconds. Similar to how breakers work, power goes out in an expanding radius (not all at once). If a breaker box is accessible on the floor, EMPs are not necessary.

EMPs allow the team to only worry about guards for several seconds. If an area is unguarded, a player can rush in, accomplish an objective, and run out undetected. Since an EMP kills the lights as well, guards are less likely to notice you. Using multiple EMPs in a row simply lengthens the amount of time the power is out. This can be used to make an escape on a floor, or break into a safe before power is restored.

The machine gun serves the exact same function as the shotgun - to kill enemies in a loud and attention-attracting manner. However, instead of a wide arc of bullets, you get a small, steady burst of bullets. Moving your cursor while firing allows you to adjust your aim, spraying bullets in a small arc.

Machine guns outclass shotguns when there are many enemies in a straight line. Try to line guards up as narrowly as possible before spraying bullets. Similarly to the shotgun, try to execute everyone on the entire floor - they will come to you after you fire the first shot. If you run out of bullets, push all the bodies you did kill into a bush.

C4 drops an explosive device that explodes everything in a 5x5 tile after 3 seconds. Vents, stairs, escape vehicles, and unbreakable walls cannot be destroyed.

C4 has many practical uses. Drop it next to:
- A wall, to break it so you can pass through
- A safe, to break it and drop all its coins
- An alarm or turret, to break it so the laser is useless and doesn't trip anything
- A laser, to break it so the alarm or turret is useless and can't be activated
- A guard to gib them (they permanently die) If many charges are available, you can freely use them to obliterate any and all stationary obstacles.

The RPG (or rocket launcher) is the last pickup you find in the game, and does not come with any formal introduction or explanation. They are commonly tucked away or hidden in secret locations.

When equipped, the wearer gets a wide red cone (similar to the shotgun) and a white laser (similar to the tranquilizer). On use, the red cone narrows to the white laser, and after exactly one second, fires a rocket that instantly explodes on the wall or person aimed at. The rocket produces a 3x3 explosion, destroying all breakable tiles in its radius.

If moving while firing a rocket, your aim is unsteady and most likely causes you to miss your target. Because of its inaccuracy while moving, it is a less useful weapon for retreating or making an escape. It is however 100% accurate while standing still, making it much more viable for executing coordinated plans. Players lose half their health if caught in the explosion.

As long as there is a nearby wall for the rocket to collide with, RPGs can break open safes. If nobody is killed in the blast, no attention is attracted to that area. They can also be used to destroy alarms or lasers that could normally not be reached using C4, however this tactic also requires a wall for the rocket to collide against. Similarly to C4, use it to destroy any walls or guards to complete the objective.