Awakened Worlds CE

Do *not* purchase the unarmed abilities unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Adepts are generally worse than everyone else at their specialties, but better than what everyone else is worst at. You have a lot of flexible utility with unique powers. Remember to keep your mind as flexible as your powers. Picking and choosing what abilites you should have active before you enter a situation is 90% of the fight, and can score you a victory where you would ordinarily have none (see HELP ADDPOINT). Powers can be indirectly or directly useful to the situation or playstyle, and there's a lot of them to choose from. They can also fill a support role.

For the purposes of combat, adept powers tend to be more defensive in nature, which can support both ranged and melee styles. Also, unlike ultrasound, astral perception allows an adept to automatically see invisible enemies without requiring that they be in the same room, and therefore enables shooting at them from a distance.

On the subject of cyberware/bioware: Yes, they do reduce an adept's magic rating, and thus limit the total adept powers that can be active at the same time. But the magic lost from cyber/bioware can be substantially less than the magic cost for keeping a power active. If there is some bonus that you want to keep permanently active, it is well worth looking at 'ware options, even in chargen. There are also a variety of 'ware bonuses do not have an adept equivalent.
NOTE: To determine total magic lost, add together the essence costs of cyberware and half the bio index costs of bioware. The game calculates to at least four significant digits, if not more, but may not display such on the score screen.

Here is a comparison of magic cost for a few adept powers vs magic loss for equivalent bonuses from 'ware (assuming cultured or beta grade). In addition, it may be possible to stack adept powers and 'ware together for even higher totals.

The caveat is that if you only need a bonus/power active some of the time, then an adept's ability to deactivate powers and activate other powers is a more flexible use of their magic rating than losing them for a permanent bonus. Combined with initiations and infinite scaling you can *eventually* become better street-sams than street sams do. The key word is eventually. Resources you spend on magic they spend on cost-efficient 'ware and then funnel their extra resources into picking up skills. You're in for the long haul if you pick an adept. The really long haul.

Some notable 'ware where adept powers do not provide a similar effect:

• anything decking or rigging related
• smartlink (If you're struggling, this is cheap essence and nuyen wise, and this with a gun can carry you through encounters)
• enhanced articulation
• trauma damper

NOTE: while bioware damage compensators will limit the effectiveness of trauma dampers, the equivalent adept power, resist pain, is fully compatible with dampers.

Some notable adept powers where 'ware do not provide a similar effect:

• astral perception (Ultrasound pierces invis at a higher penalty, is not usable at range, cannot see astral entities)
• side step (+dodge dice for cheap)
• counterstrike (+melee combat dice when defending)
• magic resistance (+dice on resistance rolls)
• true sight (+dice on resistance rolls versus illusions like invis)
• empathic healing (heals stun damage, cannot use on self; the only way possible of doing this without waiting)

Notable adept powers that are far superior to any bonuses available elsewhere:

• kinesics
• rapid healing

NOTE: Kinesics provides a massive boost to the adept's ability to perform all charisma-related tasks, including negotiating for cash or obtaining high grade 'ware, as well as to purchase specialty goods such as APDS ammunition. It is very much worth grabbing the maximum rank of kinesics in chargen.