ALL UPGRADE FEEDBACK
Updated: Any attempt to edit the original post removed all spacing in the post, so it's over here now.
Thanks to way2g00, thedinobot and grill for info that i didn't have and advice. Some of their knowledge melded in here.
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Upgrade thoughts; i know many of you want as much info as possible before you buy, so I'm going to weigh in and discuss some of these upgrades. I usually play solo or 2 player, so that's where my experience is stated from. Mostly i agree with Grill and his excellent thread here, any discrepancies will be seen below.
This is mainly just to get more information to the masses. I hope it helps...
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GLITCHES: After getting the flaming stowed riot shield upgrade, i noticed that grenades were igniting enemies if they were hit with it. Once i got CSA, turrets, both mounted and portable, began igniting enemies when shot.
Class upgrade ability glitches: both the medic and tank abilities occasionally down you.
Sometimes, activating Tank's ability will drop you down, then it may show it working while you are down, then it may be reset when you get up or it may not reset.
Often this will result in the game giving you 10 downs in a solo game from one glitch. It may also rack up several revives as well.
With double class, sometimes the maxed class ability lasts as if it was only at +3, most common with Weapon Specialist and Engineer, i think. This part happens in public matches/custom/solo. I'm testing, with success so far, that if i activate the abilities early, they don't have this glitch, but if i build them to +4 before using them, they do not last as long as they should.
I've had the Tank ability not turn the screen grey nor show it pulsing, though it was working and brought up the load bar when done.
Once I was at 200 life (tank + medic, full health) activated the medic ability to revive my friend while not being attacked and I dropped dead on the spot.
So be wary of the upgrade glitches as they are uncommon, but not rare.
Public testing: I have not had this glitch once in a public game, only solo and custom/2 player.
CSA glitch: If you have csa on and then put on Earn Your Keep relic, then turn off the relic, you will revert to basic ammo. Solo, you must turn off csa and then turn it back on to get it back. In custom (and presumably public), csa simply turns off from the relic and needs to be turned back on. Not a big deal, just fyi.
Electric knife glitch: sometimes does nothing for entire games. Sometimes triggers in less than the stated 4 second reset time. This is clearly glitched, but not a very important upgrade anyway.
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In order; listed more or less as buy it, depends on player, and ignore (buy late).
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UPGRADES:
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Faster revive: Buy it late. It doesn't effect solo, but definitely helps someone get you up faster. You get revived faster, not people that you revive (unless they have it too). It isn't very important, the speed boost is underwhelming.
Tests: Without spinning;
Nonmedic: 6 seconds with upgrade, 7 without.
Medic: 3.5 seconds with upgrade, 5 without.
Start with a locker key: Depends. It's not hard to get the gun you want. Random guns are meh. But it's a free gun with max regular ammo. Depends on maps that you play most.
Thedinobot points out the interaction with 'keep valid attachments', so even if you didn't like the free gun, the attachments carry over to the one that you buy, which is pretty cool: start a game, grab a locker gun, if you don't like it, it was still free attachments. Especially helpful with Master Scavenger; get a locker gun and start searching for arks.
More cash: Depends. Everyone can throw out some ammo on hive 0. Or a free shield. Or 4 players drop armor = 80% armor (not the best idea). Definitely not necessary, but nice to have at the start of every game. First hive, 'take no damage' challenge? Throw out explosive ammo for an easy win. Judge for yourself how important this is, noobs will benefit most until they get the hang of the game, but great for all. By throwing out early specialized ammo (incl csa), you increase the chance of getting more from scavenging (just be sure to have a gun with the specialized ammo in hand as you search). Remember, you can hold LT and A for 2 seconds to throw out $1000 (not solo), so that another player with 'more cash' can take it and drop csa for $2000.
Flaming stowed riot shield: Buy it. Casual, kills scouts. Regular, hardcore takes half of their life. It also makes you aware of back-attacks from the sound of them bursting into flames. Free damage is good. This won't fail the melee damage only challenges if they get burned a little. I guess the shield is still melee on your back. Also, during a pistol only challenge, one cryptid killed itself on my rear shield and it counted towards the pistol challenge (it took zero pistol damage).
Higher quality incendiary ammo: Depends. It does work better. With pistol ark, wounded scouts burn, then pop. Makes the second best (non teeth) ammo second-bestier. If you get tired of the explosive ammo, try it, best left for late purchase. You can kill in less shots than explosive with a little time. Great for gargoyles and other distance creatures; let them burn a little as you concentrate on the swarm. Presumably combos with csa. Seems best with weapon specialist.
Electric knife: Ignore. Inconsistent and glitchy, but looks cool when it works.
Sniper deadeye: Depends. You like snipers? Buy it, otherwise buy it late. Makes all shots critical and 'kills will earn more cash' means that it gives critical kill points. Example; $300 for Scorpions/Hunters instead of $200 (early in game). Tdb points out that it combos with 'cryptid slayer ammo' splash damage (and fire) and critical hit points. Probably similar with explosive ammo.
Seeker explosion protection: Buy it early. Hard to see it in my mind at first, but in use, it is well worth the measly 5 teeth. Seekers take 1/3 of your start health (regular mode, not tank), with this, they take 1/4. Affects bombers as well.
Toughness: Buy it late. Flinch is rarely an issue, annoying once in a while, but not my top priority. thedinobot points out how nice this is versus the seeder spore-turrets and similar, so consider that when deciding. You still do flinch almost as much, but it looks way less flinchy. Testing shows that your gun is still thrown off farther than it shows.
Hypno-knife a Rhino: Ignore. Amusing to have, but not a game breaker. Better with Master Scavenger improved hk.
Start with a skill point: Buy it early. 20 teeth is easy enough to get for this excellent upgrade. Should be one of the first buys, if not the first. Especially good in HC.
Faster health regeneration: Buy it. It is only 5 teeth. From my experience, it reduces the time after you take damage for you to start to heal as well as increasing the rate of regeneration. Pretty good actually.
High grade armor piercing ammo: Depends. Like solo/pistols only? In that scenario, this will take down Hunters/rhinos much easier. Otherwise ignore this as shooting the ground/explosive ammo splash damage works better at getting around armor. Presumably combos with csa.
Damage upgrade: Buy it. It is cheap enough and every little bit helps. Much more noticeable on solo. I wish that i knew what weapons did what damage and what each creature's hit points are. Without that info, it is hard to judge, but i imagine that it does effect some scenarios, getting a kill that would otherwise not have been. More noticeable on automatic guns; the more bullets, the more it matters.
Stun armor: Ignore. Cryptids that hit you get stunned for a second if you have armor. Not very important.
Sentry armor: Buy it early. At least doubles the time it takes Hunters/scouts to kill it. Makes it comparatively immune to Rhinos. Even stronger solo. Everyone uses sentries at some point, it makes them take way more abuse and it is only 5 teeth. Test: 5 seconds at hive zero for a scout to kill a sentry without armor, 12 seconds with armor.
Medic upgrade: Buy early. One of the best upgrades. Instantly picks people up if you are next to them, heals you and others in the white fog that surrounds you and stays centered on you as you move (simply run to the next downed player, 'e will get up as soon as the circle gets to that player). Use in emergency. About 7 seconds maxed.
Engineer upgrade: Depends. Clearly if you love playing engineer, you will want this shield. Note that it stays where you activate it. Gas clouds can get into it (example: scorpion shoots you, you put up shield, gas cloud will get you in the shield), though it stops the scorpion shot in the air like a trophy otherwise (without releasing a gas cloud). Charging rhinos/Hunters can get through too, though they turn and leave after. Use in emergency. Appears as a flattened sphere of tv static ('snow'). About 7 seconds maxed (glitched? Varies). When you activate this, creatures with no other targets will just sit there, so this is great for making a rhino just sit by your ims while you shoot him for an easy kill in solo games. The worst of the abilities, but not bad at all.
Weapon specialist upgrade: Depends. If you love the weapon specialist class (as most do) get it, otherwise buy it when ready. Unlike the other 3, use this one anytime that it is ready and there are lots of enemies, don't hold for emergencies, try to continually prevent them. This one will benefit most from the 'class upgrade frequency boost'. It gives infinite ammo, damage boost to you and less to teammates, feral vision (Leper finding), and reloads your magazines. About 10 seconds max (varies, glitched?). I consider this ability third best, but since it is in a class by itself compared to the other 3, you might consider it differently.
Tank upgrade: Buy it. The second best ability easily. Use in emergencies to stave off a down or to draw craptids away from downed teammates/drill repair. Note that cryptids will not stop attacking a drill/sentry to come after you. Great for escaping death by rhino/scorpion gas. Fun for stabbing the rhinos/mammoths to death. About 10 seconds max. Great for revives and repairs under duress.
I.M.S. fast trigger: Ignore. Between this and the +2 skill point upgrade, it fires too quickly and wastes shots. Makes it generally less useful; shooting the same honey dog twice unnecessarily. Maybe on certain maps? I keep trying this out and it is a waste in every scenario. I always leave this off now.
Keep valid attachments: Buy it. Self explanatory. Ignore it if you run pistols only exclusively. Tdb points out the interaction with 'start with a locker key' for free attachments. Just to be clear; a weapon from a locker will come with attachments. When you get a locker gun, the gun in your hand's attachments will be lost, they don't transfer to the locker gun. So, get a locker gun with attachments first, then buy the gun that you want and the locker-gun's attachments will transfer to the new one. Any time that you buy a gun, the attachments will transfer, if compatible. Only ark and ex mags (from Master Scavenger upgrade t200) will transfer to a sniper.
Update: Testing shows that the ark attachment (and possibly ex mags/not tested) will transfer to a gun taken from a locker, unlike most attachments. Fp6 can't have ex mags.
Magnum ACOG attachment (the 11th relic): Ignore. It is much worse than without it. It's like a magnum relic; it makes your game harder. I always leave this off now.
I.M.S. flaming pools: Depends on how you plan to use it. With this upgrade it can watch the drill while you hunt down the leper. Otherwise keep it away from your team as Grill warns me that it hurts teammates often. I don't recommend using the speed (teeth) upgrade with it normally as it defeats the purpose of the fire pools length of burn. Pools are like the propane tanks, but like a few at once and burn twice as long. Adds value as new ways to use I.M.S. Using it with one skill point makes it do a great job of drill-watching; it fires so slowly that it gives the pools time to burn a little before firing again. Usually leaving a flaming pool on the drill for further protection. Worthy upgrade. Engineer is immune to the fire (just like propane tanks, he may flinch and get hurt slightly the very first time he touches the fire, then the immunity kicks in for the rest of the game). You may pick up the I.M.S. between shots to maximize burn time (especially for engineer use). Won't fail challenges that turrets fail. A cryptid killed by just the ims fire alone will count towards propane challenge/glitch.
No snare. Buy it. Low priority, but helps when running from Hunters/seekers, especially on the poc home run without shield. Didn't seem to work on Seekers at all; the 'back attack' snare before they explode is still in effect. Face them to void the snare (run backwards as they get close).
Pistol ark attachment: Buy it. A must for pistol only (maybe not a must, but it covers it in awesome sauce). Adds damage. Excellent anyway. Cool kill animation; popping Rhino-berries is quite satisfying. Especially good with too many relics on. Note that any cryptids shot with this that then burn (shield/flaming, ims/flaming, incendiary ammo or CS ammo), will pop when the flames reach lethal damage. Pistols only was already one of the easiest ways to play, now even more true.
Class upgrade frequency boost: Buy it. The class upgrades can be life saving, sucks if you need it and it hasn't reset (rare, but it happens). Not top priority, but should be purchased. I opine that it will be best for weapon specialist, so he can continuously beast out, but great on any class. Solo Tank (or tank hybrid) can stab every rhino to death easily. Normal: 3 minute reset. Upgrade: 1.5 minute reset. Pretty much let's you use each ability twice per hive.
Vulture extended duration: Buy it. Normal time: (+0,+1,+2) 35s/ (+3,+4) 45 seconds. Upgrade: 50s/75 seconds and the +4 rockets are more frequent, making +4 worth the 3 SP.
Master scavenger: Depends. Ark attachments are a little random for some peoples tastes, but still a worthy upgrade overall. Can breathe new life into old maps. And don't be afraid to be greedy about the ark attachment; you bought the upgrade, take the damn thing. Great for flares, hk. If you get it for the ark, you will be disappointed sometimes. Some combo with HK a rhino with the extended duration. Ex mags and ark attachments can be found in any map and can transfer to any gun-exception; I've found the fp6 shotgun can't have extended mags.
If you go pistol only or don't buy a primary, it will be like regular scavenging, but with better hk and flares.
Once you buy a primary, you will find attachments, but you will also scavenge lots of useless cash and repeat items, so it is kind of a trade off; ark + crap or no ark and better finds. The more players with Master Scavenger, the more Arks found usually.
Hypno knife: turns creature green, seems about double life, double duration.
Flare: flare is red in use, seemingly lasts twice as long, greatly increased range of attraction.
Ark: on primaries only, replaces muzzle brake (if applicable), increases damage and adds special kill animation (burst).
Ex mags: replaces rapid or burst fire (if applicable), gives 50% more magazine size, and therefor, 50% more stock ammo for that gun.
Note that you should search while holding a gun with your preferred specialized ammo, so any found specialized ammo will be the same kind. Example; say that you just bought the mr-28, while holding it in hand, you search, going for an ark. But you find specialized ammo and since the mr-28 didn't have any yet, you may get Stun ammo. You will find attachments while holding your pistol out, as long as you have a primary, so do that to guarantee useful specialized ammo (assumes pistol has useful specialized ammo at this point).
Cryptid slayer ammo: Buy it. Realistically, this is overkill for a lot of teeth, but I'd rather save for this than buy some of the cheap-but-nearly-useless upgrades, it is quite good. Cost $2000, replaces your ammo spot in the Loadout screen. Can be scavenged (searched up) once you have some. Has regular ammo amounts, so only put 2 skill points into it for 100% stock ammo (reserve ammo, not magazine). Has a large orange cryptid-crossbones symbol, both in your on-screen D-pad display and when deployed on the ground. Due to the cost, put 2 sp in it early, or drop a small amount so that you can scavenge (search up) more ammo early. If you have at least 2 players with 'start with more cash' ($1000 extra), one can throw down $1000 so the other can throw down csa. It's common for random (and non random) players to throw down $1000 so that you can toss out more csa early in the game. Build it to +3 and hook folk up. (How to drop $1000= hold LT and A for 5 seconds. Don't do it again until someone picks up the money).
Arcing stun ammo: Ignore. 50 points to theoretically make the worst ammo possibly, but doubtfully, not be the worst? I can wait. Tdb points out the interaction with 'cryptid slayer ammo', so get this if you have csa. With csa, when it arcs it sets the next cryptid on fire. With the pistol ark and csa in my p226, one scout shot would arc to another and get 2 kills from one bullet in the early game. This upgrade looks really cool with stun/csa ammo.
Double class: Buy it. Buy the useful cheap upgrades first, then sit on teeth for this if you play a lot (alternately, save this for last and you'll get there eventually by just playing). This basically creates 6 hybrid classes. Hard to earn, but easily one of the best upgrades to have. While some hybrid classes may be too good, hybrids will breathe new life into the game. Hardcore players should embrace this; since you only get skill points for challenges, now you get twice as much for your points put into class. Primary class upgrade ability (t15) is up-up, secondary class upgrade ability (t15) is left-left. Only your primary class will show in the public class Loadout line by your name in the lobby, so you are stealth double class.
Hybrid class thoughts;
Most folk will probably want to add medic to another class, so those 3 hybrids will probably dominate. Tank is another great choice to combine with another class (especially solo, 2 player for the easy melee).
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Medank: Solo, 2 player; +1; move faster and stab scouts in one shot. MP; +4; immune to gas, stab scouts in one shot. Most health, unkillable. Solo real easy, mp savoir.
Experience: Medic, with double life, double melee damage, the 2 best class upgrades, is as good as you would expect. More than the sum of the 2 classes, a combo. Combo= 200% life, the ability to bring it all back every 3 (or 1.5) minutes, plus invincibility every 1.5-3 minutes.
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Mengineer: Fix everything. Protect, repair, revive, heal. Great team player, solo easy.
Experience: No real 'combo' effect, just the good bits of engineer with the good bits of medic.
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Wespedic (We/Sp + medic): Kill the fastest, heal/live. Great team player or solo.
Experience: No real combo, but very complimentary; all the ws killing with all the medic healing.
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Tangineer: They all attack you but can't get in. Run to drill, activate specials, run away, cryptids follow you, the guy fixing the drill has a shield while he repairs. Team player.
Experience: This is a very complimentary class in solo, 2 player; combining the early game that Tank brings with the stabs and long life-bar with the late game of the Engineer's money/traps/grenades. A slight 'combo' exists in Tank's ability to attract them and Engineers immunity to traps. While tank alone could stand in the trap and do this, engineer is more likely to already be there and won't take damage when the ability wears off.
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Wespank: Maxed out, you are THE killer. Special; you are invincible, being attacked by all and gunning them down. Great solo or teams.
Experience: This is an excellent class; giving wesp the needed life-boost and your combo of gun and melee damage is lovely.
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Wespineer: a good intermediate team class. Not overpowered, but a useful ally. Money, grenades, and traps plus extra bullet damage.
Experience: combo; engineer/grenades/kastet with speed reload. True weapon specialist. Use traps for safety, easy to get killed compared to some hybrids. Switch between too many weapons.
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Local help: if you have the upgrades, but can only play local, you won't get much teeth as of this edit.
Approximately every 600 kills, 1 for escape, 1 for relic, 1 for hc, if I'm not mistaken. So you won't see many of the pricey teeth upgrades.
I recommend: sentry armor, seeker protection, start with a skill point, ims flaming upgrade (as engineer for best results), faster health regeneration, medic upgrade (or your favorite class), flaming stowed riot shield, damage upgrade, improved incendiary ammo, trophy extended duration (if you can stand the 50 tooth grind), pistol ark (for a lengthy, but worthy grind).
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I hope some of this was helpful.
Happy gaming!
(typo edits and updated information)