Digimon Hacker’s Memory: Tips and Tricks For Beginners

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory is a follow-up to the 2015 release, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. Like its prequel, Hacker’s Memory is available on both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

If you have already played Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, then you mostly know what to expect. Hacker’s Memory is an entirely new package in regards to the story, but many core mechanics are shared between the titles. This beginner’s guide is more suited for true rookies of the series, as it will cover several elements that are in both games. However, with so many Digimon to collect, stats to keep track of, and mechanics to master, even Digimon Story veterans owe it to themselves to brush up on important beginner tips.

Don’t Get Attached, At Least Right Off the Bat  

Hacker’s Memory Tips and Tricks For Beginners

Newcomers need to understand how evolution works in Hacker’s Memory. Perhaps most importantly, players must know that Digimon don’t follow a concrete evolution path. Unlike Pokemon, Digimon evolve in a variety of ways and have a branching path of evolutionary options. Another important distinction to make between the two is that Digimon evolution is temporary and reversible. Unlike Pokemon evolution, which results in permanent changes, Digimon evolution is free-flowing and constant. In fact, evolving and devolving Digimon is a continuous process throughout playing Digimon Story, and being aware of that is important. When I first played Cyber Sleuth, I quickly grew attached to some of the awesome Digimon I created and was later disappointed when I inevitably had to devolve them. The interchangeability of the Digimon in Hacker’s Memory makes it hard to develop bonds initially, so don’t enter Hacker’s Memory hoping to bring your original starter to the finish line.

Because of this, don’t concern yourself too much with selecting your starter. While choosing a starter in a Pokemon game is an enormous decision that markedly affects the game’s difficulty, the Digimon Story series takes another approach. There are definitely differences between each starter Digimon, but with so many evolution lines and pathways, the importance of your starter quickly dwindles as you progress through the first hours of the game. The available starters are somewhat common finds in the actual game, and this abundance means that you should avoid painstaking deliberation over your starter.

This post was originally written by Sean Pyle.

Pay Attention To These Stats 

Hacker’s Memory Tips and Tricks For Beginners

With so many stats to keep track of in Hacker’s Memory, losing track of one or two is easy. However, two stats are of the utmost importance: ABI and CAM. In Cyber Sleuth, the purpose of these stats is never explicitly spelled out, and this confusion causes some players trouble. By knowing the function of ABI and CAM early on, you will put yourself in a much better position throughout Hacker’s Memory. To put it simply, ABI is a required stat-check for many evolutions. While you may have no trouble getting a Digimon to the Rookie or Champion stage, evolving them into certain Ultimate or Mega forms often requires a specific amount of ABI. To raise a Digimon’s ABI, you must perform evolutions and devolutions. Upping ABI is a frustrating task, especially when it stops a Digimon’s evolution path out of nowhere. So, be wary of ABI and its necessity, and be sure to consistently evolve and devolve your Digimon before investing too much time grinding their levels.

CAM is another mysterious stat that is required for some evolutions. Luckily, CAM is easier to boost than ABI. You have a few options to raise CAM, and one of them is feeding your Digimon. This feeding process happens at the digifarm, which is a well-explained feature in the game. A Digimon’s CAM also gets higher the more battles you fight with them in your active party. Raising CAM is simple, but making sure you are aware of future CAM requirements is important. Meat doesn’t grow on trees, and raising CAM through battles takes a long time. If CAM requirements are planned for, then meat can be saved for the right occasion and the right Digimon can be in your active party. When it comes to playing efficiently, knowledge of CAM and ABI may be the most important part of this beginner’s guide.

Know Your Match-ups

Hacker’s Memory Tips and Tricks For Beginners

In order to be effective in battle, players must understand the differences between the four different types of Digimon: vaccine, virus, data, and free. While obvious to longtime fans of the series, knowledge of these Digimon types is essential. Much like other RPGs, these different types make certain moves dole out more damage to certain types of Digimon. Being aware of these match-ups is crucial to battle, and here’s how it works: vaccine hurts virus, virus hurts data, and data hurts vaccine. Free, on the other hand, is neutral to all. Of course, identifying the types’ symbols is also necessary. The box shape is data, the tear shape is vaccine, the spiked shape is virus, and the dash is free.

Creating a team of Digimon with different types is important, but so is having a balance of affinity. In Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Hacker’s Memory, affinity is another attribute that dictates the damage done in battle. There are eight affinities: fire (red), plant (green), blue (water), brown (earth), electric (yellow), light blue (wind), holy (white), and dark (black). These affinities contain two triangular relationships much like the vaccine, virus, data one detailed earlier. Fire, plant, and water operate with a similar relationship, and so do electric, earth, and wind. On the other hand, holy and dark are on their own; both do extra damage to one another.

Dedication Pays Off

Hacker’s Memory Tips and Tricks For Beginners

If you played through the original Cyber Sleuth, Hacker’s Memory gives you bonuses after checking your data. Simply bringing in any data from Cyber Sleuth nets you a Tactician USB in Hacker’s Memory, which is one of the best ways to boost EXP in the game. But, if you actually beat Cyber Sleuth and have cleared save data, you receive all of the following: Arata’s Prized Comic, Cyber Sleuth Googles, Kyoko’s Special Coffee, Nokia’s Strange Candy, Yugo Special Program, and Yuuko’s Grand Feast. While all of these items are useful, a few stick out. For instance, Nokia’s Strange Candy quickly raises a Digimon’s CAM level by 100. Arata’s Prized Comic is another valuable bonus that can be sold for a decent sum at any of the in-game stores.

In addition, completionists will be thrilled to hear that the compendium carries over from the original game. The time spent collecting medals in the original Cyber Sleuth will not be lost, and the accomplishment will thankfully transfer over to Hacker’s Memory.

Do you have anything else we should add to our beginner’s guide? Hacker’s Memory is a jam-packed game, so be sure to check out Twinfinite for other Hacker’s Memory guides.