Chaos Theory: A guide to auxiliary weapons in The Secret World

With Issue #7 A Dream to Kill inching closer and closer, my anticipation for the new auxiliary weapon coming to The Secret World is reaching near impossible heights. I'll admit it: As a pyro at heart, I am giddy with the thought of wrapping my hands around a permanent flamethrower! And I'm certainly not alone in that sentiment, either.

But an excitement for the new weapon doesn't diminish any of the current ones that are already in game; each auxiliary weapon -- the rocket launcher, the chainsaw, the quantum brace, and the whip -- is awesome in its own right with distinct skills and style. Is one right for you? Heck yeah! If you aren't taking advantage of an auxiliary weapon, you are depriving yourself of some extra oomph in your fights, not to mention an eighth active and passive skill on your hot bar.

How do you know which one is better for you? Honestly, you needn't choose just one; as with regular weapons, you can earn all four. But with a hefty price of 35 SP per weapon, payable all at once, it's impossible to get more than one at a time. So which do you choose first? And then how do you go about getting it? This guide will give a general overview of the four current auxiliary weapons and the paths to acquiring them.

If you were like me, the first time you saw an auxiliary weapon hit the scene, you jumped on it. Without even blinking, I threw those 35 SP at the screen and said gimme gimme... then decided I didn't even want my character using a rocket launcher! Since the max SP you can have unspent on your character is 40 (after which you start losing any earned), spending 35 SP on something you have no intention of using anytime soon is a wee bit wasteful. It's not lost, but it could have been put to better use.

Instead, with 35 SP I could have built up and tried multiple other weapons or maxed out another regular weapon or talisman entirely. It's definitely better to spend your SP when you are ready and on the auxiliary weapon you want to incorporate into your play immediately. My excuse is I didn't realize that more weapons that I'd like so much better would come along in time. Luckily, I learned quickly and didn't get the chainsaw the second it was released. You, however, already know there is a selection, so you can be a bit more discerning on your purchase. What skills you want (each is 50 AP) or even the style you want to convey can affect your choice.

So which would you like? Do you want to whip out a rocket launcher and lay waste to your enemies, or maybe launch a whip attack at them instead? Perhaps your inner Leatherface wants to come out and play with a chainsaw? Or maybe you are more of a space-age superhero type and want the quantum bracers. Keep reading for an overview of each and a few tips and tricks to getting the one/s you want.

Warning! While this doesn't contain a complete step by step account of every quest, there are still spoilers involved. So if you'd rather find out as you go, skip ahead to the last section of the article.

The first auxiliary weapon to join The Secret World was the rocket launcher way back in Issue #2 Digging Deeper. This weapon is geared toward DPS and is quite large. Any player with 35 SP in his pocket can purchase the skill in the SP wheel. However, if you want to use a rocket launcher, you have to go complete the quest and get one. To get the quest, you must be at least faction rank 6 (4,400,000 total XP). Then visit your faction representative to pick up the quest Venetian Missile Crisis. It's a brown action mission labeled special assignment.

Venetian Missile Crisis involves retrieving a stolen shipment of -- you guessed it, rocket launchers -- and has six tiers. Except for the first one, each tier involves fighting your way through plenty of enemies sometimes even in waves, so come prepared with whatever potions you want. Some confrontations can be avoided by using the stacked cars and boxes and such in the environment to jump and avoid them. I suggest using these whenever possible. Besides saving your life, scaling boxes are going up ramps is also necessary at other times to actually find your objective (such as the schematics).

Another hint: Be very sure to avoid the light as much as possible as you will likely die to the sniper unless you have massive health. In this particular instance, shadows truly are your friend. The good news is that mobs don't respawn, so if you run into trouble, at least you won't have more mobs popping in to give you a headache.

A DPS and tank mix, the next weapon to become available was the chainsaw in Issue #4 Big Trouble in the Big Apple. For this one, everyone regardless of faction travels to visit Dr. Aldini in the Modern Prometheus plastic surgery "office" in New York. Not unlike Leatherface, you will be heading out to gather the necessary materials. In this case, the doctor wants body parts in order to create his "perfect being." Grab the doctor's action mission Just a Flesh Wound and prepare for a bit of gore, literally.

After taking the quest, you head into the meat locker and start killing rotten nursed to dismember them. Remove the limbs from the corpses by clicking on them and selecting "use" using the assorted tools from the doc's bag in this order: a hammer, a sword, a rusty saw, and then the chainsaw. After you collect sufficient parts (20), you go harvest more flesh from a giant nasty blob, after hacking your way through a wall of flesh. Make sure to weaken the mob before taking the chainsaw to him for your second and third chunks of flesh, though.

Everything about this quest is pretty straightforward if nauseating. After delivering your goods to Dr. Aldini to complete the fifth and final tier, you get to keep your new friend, the chainsaw.

The third weapon to join the auxiliary ranks is the first (and so far only) one geared for healers. The quantum brace made its debut with Issue #5 The Vanishing of Tyler Freeborn. However, it's more than just a healing item; it has ranged offensive spells as well. To add this to your arsenal, go back to Kingsmouth and chat with Sandy Jansen, aka Moose, at the sheriff's office. He'll offer the quest The Uncertainty Principle to players at least faction rank six.

Personally, I found this mission and its six tiers to be the most fun. For this quest, players need to have a basic understanding of The Secret World'scraftingsystem because it entails assembling and testing experimental weapons for Moose. Follow Moose's diagrams and put things in the right order and you'll do fine. And once you put the components you gathered together (yellow quest clicks, not regular crafting materials), you get to go out and see what these babies can do!

First off, don't get discouraged when the quest asks you to kill large numbers for the test. You'll actually get the update much sooner because the test weapons actually break. At the end, you even destroy the main component, the quantum core, so you have to go hit up Edgar at the scrapyard for another. Follow his instructions and make a better core, then head out to test it.

And make sure you have time to continue on this quest before moving ahead. Immediately following the deviant decoherence, you'll be given a timed task to collect anima to charge your core. Then last but certainly not least, assemble all the parts into your new quantum bracer and enjoy!

Unlike the three previous weapons that can be acquired with the base game, the whip is only available to those who purchase the DLC Issue #6 The Last Train to Cairo. This weapon comes with support skills on top of the area attacks; players have access to an AoE speed boost as a passive skill. Obtaining it is also unique: There is no specific quest to acquire and complete. Instead, players need to play through the issue's content (The City Beneath us) and will actually happen across the weapon naturally. Of course, if you don't know what you are doing, you might miss getting the usable whip. So this is a big time spoiler alert!

While fighting the mobs in the passageway, players will get a loot drop called a whip, but it won't be a weapon. To infuse it with anima and make it an auxiliary weapon, you'll have to go into the alcove to the right of the ark on the podium at the end of the Issue #6 questline (before grabbing the ark and starting the fires!) and go drop the whip in the chest at the far end of the room just by clicking the box. After you leave the past and complete that full mission, head back to that same room in the present and pop open the chest. Voilà ! Now you can whip it real good.

If none of these weapons really tickles your fancy, the flamethrower will be here sooner than you know it. And after that, more are planned, so something is sure to fit your style. However, I suggest that you don't delay nabbing at least one, just for the extra skills it affords you.

And now for a bit of news. Because I am distracted by some super secret plans (perhaps I will share someday!), I have something special to divulge: I have invited a special guest to come in and regale you with his impressions and love of The Secret World as well! So next week, you will hear from ... Oh come now, you didn't think I'd just give you the answer, did you? This is a Secret World column, after all. You'll have to figure it out from the clues! It's your very own Chaos Theory investigation quest. The answer is already out there...

Conspiracies, paranoia, secrets, and chaos -- the breakfast of champions! Feast on a bowlful with MJ every Monday as she infiltrates The Secret World to bring you the latest word on the streets of Gaia in Chaos Theory. Heard some juicy whispers or have a few leads you want followed? Send them to mj@massively.com and she'll jump on the case!