Sync Disks are your ticket to improvement in Shadows of Doubt, but they can be quite the complex system to wrap your head around. Here we'll be breaking down which five sync disks are the best, and then discussing all sync disks in Shadows of Doubt.
Best Sync Disks in Shadows of Doubt
There are 18 Sync Disks in Shadows of Doubt, but not all of them are particularly worth the trouble of installing them. As mentioned in our Shadows of Doubt review, Sync Disks are a complex system, and each Sync Disk typically has one of two 'paths' you can go down when you first install them.
Some Sync Disks provide minor changes, such as an increase (or decrease) to your player height, some make you start dying every time you consume any non 'Kola' brand items. But, some are exceedingly powerful, and some are just great fun. So, which should you look out for in your run?
Beauty Sync Disk
The Beauty Sync Disk is one of those 'obvious' buffs, regardless of which path you take. Beauty has two paths, one being 'Allure' and the other being 'Charm'. Allure is the stronger of the two here; paying for information isn't always required, and any money you save from a 55% discount can certainly cover any costs.
| Effect & Upgrades | Allure | Charm |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Gain a 10% discount on any goods purchased from Citizens. | Citizens are 10% more likely to give you information (name, info on other Citizens) for free. |
| Upgrade 1 | Increases discount to 20%. | Increases chance to 20%. |
| Upgrade 2 | Increases discount to 35%. | Increases chance to 35%. |
| Upgrade 3 | Increases discount to 55%. | Increases chance to 55%. |
Community Sync Disk
Community is a Sync Disk for which one effect is notably more useful than the other. Whilst additional inventory space is a great upgrade, there are other Sync Disks that provide this effect, and in this instance, the other path is far more beneficial to you in the long haul. Therefore, I suggest taking Care in the Community.
| Effect & Upgrades | Heavy Lifter | Care in the Community |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Increases inventory space by 1. | Increases job payout by 10%. |
| Upgrade 1 | Further increases inventory space by 1. | Further increases job payout by 10%. |
Kaizen V-Love Plus Sync Disk
The Kaizen V-Love Plus Sync Disk is the first Sync Disk here with an initial side effect, but the benefits of this disk far outweigh the drawbacks. This Sync Disk is an absolute must on more difficult side jobs, specifically the ones in which you only have a very vague description of your target. Either path is super useful, so choosing may still be difficult. In my opinion, Physiological Perception is definitely the more powerful of the two.
| Effect & Upgrades | Physiological Perception | Socioeconomic Perception | Side Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Learn a Citizen's height from a photo. | Learn a citizen's salary from a photo. | Citizens are 25% less likely to give you free information. |
| Upgrade 1 | Learn a Citizen's age from a photo. | Learn a citizen's relationship status from a face to face meeting. | |
| Upgrade 2 | Learn a Citizen's shoe size from a photo. | Learn a citizen's current held wealth from a face to face meeting. | |
| Upgrade 3 | Removes side effect. | Removes side effect. |
Tenacity Sync Disk
The Tenacity Sync Disk is a purely combat focused Sync Disk, and the upgrades from this one are super important for long runs, because unless you're supremely sneaky when you're breaking and entering solving murders, you will eventually get into a scrap or two. All three of these paths are strong, but I suggest taking the 'Reflexes' path.
| Effect & Upgrades | Clout | Brawn | Reflexes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Increases fist damage by 20%. | Increases throwing power by 20%. | The first attack landed on you is ignored. |
| Upgrade 1 | You can no longer get the 'Bleeding' debuff. | Increases reach by 10%. | Taking damage grants you the 'Focused' buff. |
| Upgrade 2 | Further increases fist damage by 10%. | Increases throwing power by 10%. | You can no longer receive the 'Bruised' or 'Broken Leg' debuffs. |
| Upgrade 3 | Increases threat of raising fists by 100%. (Citizens more likely to flee.) | Using a held object as cover can reduce bullet damage by 90%. | Take 20% less damage from all damage types. |
Trespasser Sync Disk
Trespasser is the last one I'll be listing here, and frankly it's the only one I can't provide a suggestion on. All three of the potential upgrades for Trespasser are insanely strong, so this one is truly up to you. You'll be doing a lot of locking during your time in Shadows of Doubt, so make sure you choose wisely.
| Effect & Upgrades | Lockpicker | Resourceful | Invisible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Lockpicking is 50% faster. | You now use half as many lockpicks when lockpicking. | The lockpicking stance is no longer seen as an illegal action. |
All Sync Disks in Shadows of Doubt
Here we'll be going through the remaining 13 Sync Disks on offer in Shadows of Doubt, and explaining what they do, and what their upgrades are. Just because this lot didn't make the top five doesn't mean they aren't worth your time... apart from one in particular.
Ambassador Sync Disk
This Sync Disk provides two ways of earning money, either passively, or actively. I'd suggest taking Competitor Data Mining, and making a habit of installing the software on every Cruncher you come across.
| Effect & Upgrades | Case Flow | Competitor Data Mining |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Passive Income of 10 Crows every 2 hours. | Earn 50 Crows by installing data mining software on any Number Cruncher. |
| 1st Upgrade | Increases passive income by 5 Crows. | Earn 100 Crows for installing data mining software on the Number Cruncher of any business owner. |
| 2nd Upgrade | Increases passive income by 5 Crows. | Earn 60 Crows for installing software on regular Number Crunchers, and 120 Crows for installing software on business owner Number Crunchers. |
| 3rd Upgrade | Increases passive income by 5 Crows. | Earn 70 Crows for installing software on regular Number Crunchers, and 140 Crows for installing software on business owner Number Crunchers. |
Cartographer Sync Disk
This Sync Disk is very simple, and it simply earns you some Crows every time you either discover a new place, or go through vents. I'd suggest Urbex Cartographer, as it's far easier to do, and every apartment you go to counts as one of these unexplored areas.
| Effect & Upgrades | Urbex Cartographer | Crawlspace Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Earn 5 Crows every time you enter an unexplored area. | Earn 10 Crows every time you enter unexplored vents. |
Constitution Sync Disk
Constitution is a bit of a no brainer. Whilst no longer being able to get three negative status effects sounds great, getting rid of them normally is very easy. And compared to getting three whole inventory slots in exchange, it's simply not worth doing.
| Effect & Upgrades | Chemistry | Cardiovascular |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | You no longer take the Cold debuff. | Increase inventory space by 1 slot. |
| 1st Upgrade | You no longer take the Smelly debuff. | Increase inventory space by 1 slot. |
| 2nd Upgrade | You no longer take the Tired debuff. | Increase inventory space by 1 slot. |
Frame Sync Disk
Frame is, genuinely, a really funny Sync Disk to put points into when you go to the max in each path. Please, just go and max one of them out, you'll see for yourself. Neither tree provides you a single benefit whatsoever. Just do it anyway.
| Effect & Upgrades | Statuesque | Compact |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Become 15% taller. | Become 15% shorter. |
| 1st Upgrade | Become 15% taller. | Become 15% shorter. |
| 2nd Upgrade | Become 15% taller. | Become 15% shorter. |
Interceptor Sync Disk
Interceptor is yet another Crow earning disc, this one regarding citizens. I'd suggest Mailing List here, as you'll earn far more frequently as opposed to Safecracker.
| Effect & Upgrades | Mailing List | Safecracker |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Earn 10 Crows every time you discover the name AND address of any citizen. | Earn 25 Crows every time you discover a citizens passcode. |
Model Citizen Sync Disk
Yeah, this one is weird, but it's still a way to earn Crows. I really don't know which of the two to suggest here, so pick whichever you feel matches your play style more. For example, I don't find myself reading books all that often, but I do eat a lot of Yakisoba Pan.
| Effect & Upgrades | Street Cleaner | Bookworm |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Earn 2 Crows every time you put trash in a trashcan or dumpster. | Earn 6 Crows every time to read a unique book. |
| 1st Upgrade | Earn 3 Crows every time you put trash in a trashcan or dumpster. | Earn 16 Crows every time you read a unique book. |
| 2nd Upgrade | Earn 4 Crows every time you put trash in a trashcan or dumpster. | Earn 150 Crows when you read every book in a single series. |
| 3rd Upgrade | Earn 6 Crows every time you read a unique book. | Earn 2 Crows every time you put trash in a trashcan or dumpster. |
Physique Sync Disk
This one really depends on you. If you find yourself getting beaten up a bunch, I'd take Vitality. In my case however, I'm usually the one doing the beating, so Fortitude is better suited to me.
| Effect & Upgrades | Vitality | Fortitude |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Increases max health by 20%. | Increase inventory space by 1 slot. |
| 1st Upgrade | Increases health regen by 10%. | Increase inventory space by 1 slot. |
Spartan Insurance Sync Disk
This is the 'Insurance Fraud' Sync Disk. Gold Medical Cover is, handy if you're getting beaten up a lot. You can get the same effect AND the insurance fraud thing from Gold Accident cover, but only from self-imposed injury. Gold Legal Cover can come in handy from time to time, but I'd say just don't get caught.
| Effect & Upgrades | Gold Medical Cover | Gold Legal Cover | Gold Accident Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Medical costs in hospital now cost half as much. | Lose no stolen items worth less than 500 Crows when knocked out. | No medical costs from self-imposed injury, and earn 100 Crows for your troubles. (Once a day.) |
| 1st Upgrade | Medical costs are now free. | Lose no stolen items worth less than 1000 Crows. | Increased injury payout. |
| 2nd Upgrade | Wake up in your own bed, if owned, instead of in hospital. | Lose no stolen items worth less than 10,000 Crows. | Increased injury payout. |
Starch Brand Ambassador Sync Disk
Another Crow earner, but a more annoying one. If you must take this disk, I'd suggest Put Some Life Into It, as it's a higher and guaranteed payout.
| Effect & Upgrades | Spread the Word | Put Some Life Into It |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Allows you to promote Kola products when speaking to Citizens. Earn 2 Crows if they respond positively. | Allows you to give Citizens Kola products for 6 Crows. |
| 1st Upgrade | Earn 3 Crows if Citizens respond postively. | Earn 8 Crows when giving product. |
| 2nd Upgrade | Earn 4 Crows if Citizens respond positively. | Earn 10 Crows when giving product. |
Sugar Daddy Sync Disk
Under no circumstances should you install this Sync Disk. It will make your life hell, for quite some time. I guess if you have 3 Sync Disk Upgrade Vials to spare, this is technically a way to make 1000 Crows quickly, but otherwise, don't bother.
| Effect & Upgrades | Down Payment | Side Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Receive 5,000 Crows for installing. Uninstalling this Sync Disk costs 6,000 Crows. Consuming any Kola brand product reduces the uninstallation cost by 6 Crows. Consuming any non-Kola brand products increases the removal cost by 1 Crow. | Consuming ANY non-Kola brand products causes blurred vision and health damage. |
| 1st Upgrade | Reduces the uninstallation cost by 1,000 Crows. | |
| 2nd Upgrade | Reduces the uninstallation cost by 1,000 Crows. | |
| 3rd Upgrade | Reduces the uninstallation cost by 1,000 Crows. |
Vigor Sync Disk
This is a bit of a no brainer too. Power sounds great on paper, but barging doors down really doesn't take much effort. Being completely resistant to fall damage however is very much an upgrade.
| Effect & Upgrades | Power | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| Base Effect | Barging doors down only takes one attempt. | Completely immune to fall damage. |
If you've found this guide helpful, and you're looking for some more Shadows of Doubt content from us here at Pro Game Guides, check out our Shadows of Doubt Walkthrough Guide (1.0)!
Published: Sep 26, 2024 06:03 am