Improve Your Belt and NCU; An Introduction to Laddering

This a thought exercise and conceptual introduction to skill and ability implant laddering. The purpose of this guide is to describe, in general terms, the processes used to wear higher quality level belts, NCU and implants than your in-game character level.

Newcomers should be aware that in Anarchy Online there’s a game within a game; it’s the armor, weapons, implant and HUD gear swap puzzle game. Using bits and pieces of often distinctly different items we nudge skill numbers up towards a projected goal. The goal here is increase computer literacy to wear belts with increased slot space and higher quality level NCU chips.The totality of anarchy online - the game - is designed around the premise that players will be employing this equipping concept to increase character performance to overpower their PVM and PVP opponents. What this means is that monsters of a given level are balanced against players wearing equal-level implants and armor. We want to reach beyond that

Anarchy online differs from some of the more traditional online games; in those formats when you gain a level your skills automatically improve or scale up in power and are then offered a predetermined series of class-limited skills options to choose from. It doesn’t work like that in AO. Players may chose any skill path they wish to - and must to do all of that work manually and with forethought.

NCU is essential and the first step to improving your game character.

Here’s Where You Start.

The items shown on the equipment configuration tool may be found using Clicksaver or by searching basic and advanced store terminals. Some items are mission only. If you’ve looted a Guardian of Tomorrow belt at ToTW or Dream Mesh belt from Steps of Madness then swap to those instead of using the skill 161 computer literacy 4 slot belt or lowest skill 5 slot belts since not everyone have access to dungeon bosses. Implant and treatment laboratory quality levels are suggestions, if you find you can wear higher quality level items, then by all means do so.

The process is to install temporary implants to then equip semi-permanent HUD items, select armor pieces and implants which are 15-30 levels beyond our character’s current level. Weapons, armor and pets are governed by over equipping rules, while Belts, NCU and a few other items are not. One may wear over-equipped weapons and still get the benefit of the weapon skill or ability modifiers.

Over-equipping rules: https://www.ao-universe.com/guides/classic-ao/gameplay-guides-6/over-equipped

Collect needed items

Full omni med-suit set, treatment lab (crafted), two QL1 Original Electronicum pistols (NCU), two QL1 Old English pistols (INT), QL1 Tsakachumi PTO-HV6 Counter-Sniper Rifle (AGI), QL3 computer literacy tutor. Remember to collect buff armor from mission bosses. Put all that stuff in sorted and labeled packs. You may also want a treatment rifle for later - just ask people in chat to link one.

General stepping actions:

  • Wear Medsuit
  • Wear NCU or INT pistols or AGI rifle and swap as required.
  • Get Feline Grace /ability comp buffs.
  • Click Stationary surgery clinic for 100 point treatment buff.
  • Install AGI cluster implants in foot, leg, waist (AGI wear requirements.)
  • Double-check your math.
  • Now install pre/custom made (AGI wear requirement) computer literacy cluster Head, Right Hand and Eye temporary implants.
  • Click the QL3 Computer Literacy Tutor you purchased earlier if you’re short a point or three in computer literacy skill.
  • Install Treatment Laboratory
  • Install new belt and then install ncu
  • Remove the temporary computer literacy implants but leave AGI foot, leg and waist in place.

Install a treatment laboratory during the temp comp lit process because the treatment lab wear requirement is computer literacy based and it only makes sense to do it since your computer literacy skill is buffed pretty high now. We’re swapping ncu pistols and old english pistols or wearing one each of those two buff guns IE; If you’re lacking a couple points in a particular skill or need three extra points of NCU for a buff then you’ve got something to fall back on. For the same reason it’s important to collect buff armor from mission/dyna bosses - You may need 2 extra points of AGI skill to wear that new right hand implant (and needing one or two extra points in a skill happens very often when laddering implants). This is also why ywe reserve some IP for use during this process; you may need more pistol, fling or multi-ranged skill to equip buff guns for example.

Interactive equipment simulator is here: https://auno.org/ao/equip.php?saveid=207518

Okay, new belt and NCU installation complete. Now prepare to install class-defining specialist implants. Quality levels of items shown on the configuration tool are just approximations. You’ve got to do your own math. I’ve no idea what buff armor/gear people have collected, nor do I know your specific breed. Things vary just enough between breeds that what may be easy for a namomage may be very difficult to do on an Atrox and visa versa.

If you happen to be an Engineer then next build is what you may want to be wearing. QL’s are approximations. The Carbonum armor pieces are placeholders since the auno equipment configuration tool isn’t up to date. However, the Carbonum armor adds NCU space for more buffs (helm doesn’t conflict with Omni med-suit slots), so take a moment to consider that as well.

https://auno.org/ao/equip.php?saveid=207526

Implant design tools here:

Simple one-glance tool https://archive.org/details/anarchyonlineimplantdesigner

More tools found here: http://wiki.aodb.us/wiki/Tools#Implant_Tools

Wiki buff armor list:

Find Nova Dillon, Sekutek, Kirch, Servants of Eight as team mission/dyna boss loot.

http://wiki.aodb.us/wiki/Buff_Armor

AO Universe Buffing Computer Literacy:

AO Universe nano buff list:

Find Basic Biomech Armor Helmet in advanced armor shop terminals and as mission reward / loot:
https://auno.org/ao/db.php?id=120592&ql=75

2 Likes