How to reduce a floor’s security level in System Shock remake

Gouging the eyes of SHODAN

The goal for each floor of Citadel Station is typically different in the System Shock remake, but they are all unified by one need: you have to drop the security level on each one. This is important for a two reasons, and one of them is a spoiler (that is maybe good to keep in mind).

The first reason is that certain doors will be locked until you reduce the security level below a certain threshold. The other reason is that (here’s the spoiler) you’ll eventually need an access code that is assembled floor by floor as a side-effect of reducing the security level. The first reason is more immediate, but if you want to avoid backtracking you’ll want to pay attention to the second.

Here’s how.

Security breach

There are two ways to reduce the security level on each floor. The most obvious way is by taking out security cameras that dot the corridors of Citadel Station. The number of these cameras varies from floor to floor, as does their placement. The easiest way to see how close you are to taking them all out is to watch the security level percentage tick down each time you destroy one.

To find them, you typical want to listen to the telltale chirp they make whenever they spot you. It’s loud enough that no matter where they are in the room. You can also spot them on the map if you miss them while exploring. Their icons are small orbs. I find the best way to make them more noticeable is to toggle the security tab on the left-hand side of the map. Flicking it on or off will draw your eye to the changes happening on the map, which can be helpful.

Knowing the nodes

However, the cameras only cover part of a floor’s overall security level. To really drop that percentage, you’ll want to find the computer nodes. These are big monolithic devices that are usually in heavily protected rooms. If you find a set of them that aren’t heavily protected, that’s usually a sign that SHODAN has a trap for you. There’s one of these rooms on each of the levels one to six.

You can destroy these in any manner you choose, whether you want to huck a grenade into them or shoot them one by one. Just watch your back, since SHODAN likes to send in the cavalry to punish you for destroying her precious nodes.

Before you leave a room full of destroyed nodes, there’s one last thing you’ll want to do. Somewhere in the room will be a video monitor and it will display a number on it. If any of the nodes are still remaining, this number will change randomly, but once they’re destroyed, it will rest on one in particular. Make note of that number and remember the floor it’s on. Eventually, you’ll need this six-digit code, and if you didn’t write it down, you’ll be going back to these floors all over again.